#will the tfs EVER have a good crossover comic. intrigued minds want to know.....

[istherewifiinhell]

oh boy if theres any cover that could get my attention

[ID: Comic cover art by Mark Texeira, showing Spider-man swinging a web around Megatron, his arms bound to his chest. Spidey's in the black symbiote suit, other decepticons reacting to their tussle. END]

well anyway its not very good. marvel tf no 3, or 5-6 in uk, 1984, (despite the cover indicating january, it was in the fall)

alright lets go-- Writer: Jim Salicrup, Pencils: Frank Springer, Inks: Kim Demulder & Mike Esposito, Letters: Janice Chiang and Others*, Colour: Nelson Yomtov, Editor: Bob Buduansky, EiC: Jim Shooter Digital re-master by digikore studios limited. collection edits by Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon. editorial notes and assistance by Mark. W. Bellomo

* thats really how they credited it. not even the wiki list anyone else. what the fuck.

normally i strive for these posts to be ordered either in a way for comedy, or perhaps one that will give a gist of the plot. this one were just gonna try and get thru. okay?

robots... COMMENCE

[ID: Caption box: "--Or. While still inside him, witnessing Starscream's amazing transformation will!" Starscream lands from jet to bot mode, and says "Machines have been slaves on this backward world long enough!" He opens his cockpit, continuing "Today the roles are rightly reversed!" Sparkplug, who's hoisted up by the shirt goes "Ulp!" END]

always good to check in. okay. thanks starscream.

[ID: Sparkplug looks distressed, as Megatron looms behind. He's thinking "And these guys ain't any friendlier than my jailkeepers when i was a prisoner of war in Korea. Well, if that's the case…" and then says "My name's William Witwicky!Sergeant first class, United States Marines! Serial number--" Megatron picks him up by the foot, dangling him at head height. "Enough! You will cooperate or cease to exist!" END]

wha-. WILLIAM??? he was a POW in the KOREAN WAR. what the fuck. dont say that. dont say that ever again. anyway

[ID: Inside the Decepticon base, the cons standing around. Megatron speaks "Rumble…", who in response, twists his hand and replies "Whatever you say, boss!" Sparkplug standing on a small platform, thinks "These stooges'll do whatever the big cheese tells them!" Rumble holds his now unscrewed hand in the other, directing the energon spilling from his wrist into a oil drum. He says "Say "When" Scraplet!" Sparkplug replies "Er-- that's enough!" END]

i mean. yeah i think when ur saying. okay. ill do the science u kidnapped me for, but ill need some samples. ur not really expecting. that.

[ID: Autobots in alt mode, Optimus with his trailer open, says "Hound, Sideswipe, you're both low in fuel! Ride with me!" Sideswipe is driving up the trailer ramp and Hound responds "As you command, Optimus!" but thinks to himself "Wait 'til Doc Ratchet sees he has to patch up Sideswipe-- again!*" editors note: *see last issue-Bob. END]

hey look, play features. (i always love an editors note when theres less than 5 issues lol)

and introducing in this episodes special introduction

[ID: Full body of Ratchet, hands on hips. Notable, he looks more like a regular transformer, with a clear head and face, a blocky but still human layout of body. END]

the character models have been finished! good to see ya ratchet, hows having a body suiting ya? oh sorry were you looking for spiderman?

[ID: Caption box: "Soon, in a nearby secluded spot…" Peter Parker hides behind some rocks, looking toward a crowd on the other side. He thinks "I'll have a much better chance at photographing whatever's in that fortress as Spider- man!" and the symbiote suit starts to cover his body. "This costume's quite a time-saver! All I have to do is think about changing and it takes care of the rest!" He swings up to a tree thinking "If only I could solve all my problems as easily!" Editors note reads "This story takes place before spider-man #258." END]

im gonna level with you editors. i dont know what that means and i dont care.

[ID: Spidey is upside down, watching Gears transform, thinking "--I bet he's one of those robots returning to the nest!" Gears meanwhile thinks "How did i get stuck with this scouting mission? What do i care about these pesky little creatures?" He flies off, he continues musing "I've always suspected that Optimus Prime had a perverse sense of humor!" Spidey swings after him calling out "Hey! Hold on, big boy!--or as that funny lady on tv says, "Can we talk?" END]

spiderman can't u tell hes busy bitching about his job? all tho 10/10 first words to a transformers being hold on big boy.... me too man.

[ID: Caption box: Later, after extensive introductions and explanations… Spidey is hanging upside down over a congregation of Autobots in alt mode and remarks "I've fought alongside some weird characters in my career, Optimus--but this has to be a first!" Optimus replies "I am sure tales of your exploits would be interesting, Spider-man, but, for now, can you inform your military to step aside and allow us to deal with the Decepticons?" Spidey "Trust me--they'll never buy it coming from me! But i've got a plan!" END]

oh okay so were just. yeah okay were just gonna skip the interesting parts. no first meeting. okay. both of them: you seem cool but i havent read your comics. and also im not going to.

[ID: Caption Box: Meanwhile... Spidey and Gears scout out the Decepticon Base. Spidey, comically at length: We're in luck, Gears! With the army and your buddies keeping them busy out front, they're not guarding the back door! Of course, this sheer drop is enough to discourage most visitors--even traveling salesman-- but not your friendly out-of-town Spider-man! Gears thinks "This human reminds me of Bluestreak they both seem to love the sound of their own voice!" Spidey scales the cliff as Gears shoots up past him asking "Do all humans have powers like yours?" Spidey: Not since i checked last! I'd feel real foolish if they did! END]

does the bad text layout get a pass when its for a joke?

anyway give it up for the best three panels weve had all series

[ID: Spidey swinging around inside the base, Gears following, a door closing at the end of the hall. Spidey: They're trying to seal us in and i didn't even bring my overnight bag! He swings under the lowering bulkhead, calling out "See you later, big brother!" Gears simply bust thru the closed door saying "Not so fast! We're in this together, little one!" END]

wait what the fuck that was actually really cute. do that again, for a second there i thought i was reading good comics for a change

[ID: Spidey webbing up Megatron saying "Bazooka Joe's all tied up... Let's call a cab and split!" Gears is guiding Sparkplug away, who says "Remind me to thank that masked fella!" But Gears is thinking "This is worse than I expected! We don't have a chance against Megatron!" And calls out "Spider-man, hurry! We must--!" END]

Mf called him BAZOOKA JOE. alright. probably spiderman showing up after u were kidnapped by robits. not a big deal?

[ID: Caption box: Soon, after the other Autobots have disengaged from their battle with the Decepticons on the other side of the mountain… Autobots are standing over Gears, crumpled on the ground. One, Sunstreaker or Brawn, announces "That's the last piece-- we've collected all that's left of him!" Spidey is lowering down on a web asking "How can you all be so cold and unfeeling? He died a hero!" Sparkplug on the ground adds "Don't you even have mechanical hearts?" END]

lot of assuming "i know when robots are dead" from the humans here. hes fine. not that anyone even took the two seconds to say, "for us this is a recoverable injury he just needs the medic" lol. he waited until ratchet was actually. DOING that back at base. anyway. thats the crossover comic. its. not great. fine. maybe. OKAY BYE

[ID: Soundwave, heaving a massive piece of machinery over his head, and casually walking over a iron wrought fence that crunches under his feet. A guard shooting at him harmlessly and yelling "H-hey! Come back here with that!" And then thinks to himself "I'd quit this job if i wasn't so close to retirement! END]

(demastered edit. PURPLEWAVE YOU WILL LIVE ON IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS)

[themadcapmathematician]

all i know abt transformers is the shia movie and the fact that darren criss plays one in the cartoons i think? should i get into transformers is what i'm asking

Oh god this is my favorite question. I’m not sure how to answer it but its my fave. Pull up a chair. I hope you’ve got some time on your hands.

The short answer: yes. You should at least give it a try. Transformers is a 30+ year old muti-media franchise that gets rebooted almost every 3 years so it basically has something interesting to offer almost any fan. If you end up not liking it that’s cool but there’s a lot to try before you decide.

The long answer is: yes you should and here’s why and here’s a rough idea of all the options you have to sample. I’m about to go on a long rant anon so you can check it out now or later or whatever but I’m just warning you ahead of time.

The basic Transformers plot (which I’m sure you know but I’m gonna go more in depth in a minute) is that a race of giant robot aliens who can turn into vehicles and other things have been engaged in a civil war that has lasted millions of years. This is the basic plot that all tf franchises spawn from although some explore slightly different subject matters. If that doesn’t appeal to you I mean there /might/ be a few other things you might find worth sticking around for because there’s just so fucking much of it, but you’re welcome to turn back now because that’s the basic things tf has to offer: giant robot aliens, cars and planes, fighting, some drama. Those are what tf is best at, with some variation.

It has a very active and long lived fan base and each section of the fan base is interested in different stuff with some crossover. There are people who literally only care about collecting the toys, people who wont try any other series except g1, people who only like the comics, etc. Etc. You’ll probably find people who like what you do pretty readily. If you like the toys there are toy forums and blogs. If you like the cartoons there are forums and blogs made for that too. If you like the comics, same. There’s a pretty active following of the comics and cartoon series on Tumblr alone; I would try searching the #maccadam tag since most tf activity has been moved there since the bay movies came out. Id also use the tf wiki liberally because it has pm all the information you’ll need to know about the fandom and the canon lore. There’s also plenty of fan fiction on Ao3 and ff.net if you’re into that and pm anyplace that hosts fan art has tf fan art.

Now there are several series, including comics, cartoons, the Michael bay films, the cartoon movie, spin off books, and video games. I’m gonna go over my personal favorites because I like and know them best but there are more than these if you’re interested in digging deeper.

(More under the cut)

G1: there are a lot of forms of what fans refer to as Generation 1 or G1 but if you live in the US its likely they’re talking about the very first cartoon series.

Summary: the autobots and the decepticons stripped their planet of resources and went looking for a new planet to continue surviving on. They both crashlanded on earth where they lay dormant for millions of years until conveniently awakened somewhere during the 1980s, where they continue their war all over again

Why you should try it: listen its cheesy as hell and full of nonsense plotlines and animation errors but not only is it good fun but at least watching an episode or two might give you a decent grasp on what spawned this enormous franchise in the first place.

G1 movie: this movie was a game changer. Its technically right in the middle of the g1 cartoon but it works as a standalone film too. while it has many trappings of the cartoon its better animated and has a more consistent and dramatic story.

Summary: Optimus Prime and Megatron fight, OP dies (yes he fucking DIES for the very first time. thousands of 10 year olds bawl their eyes out), Megatron gets mortally wounded, and the Matrix of Leadership (aka an autobot holy item/macguffin [this is the proto-cube btw]) has to choose a new leader.

Why you should try it: decent animation, classics lines, tons of 80s rock music, and it establishes a lot of tf conventions that would be carried over to all series that come after it.

Beast Wars: haha the 90s couldn’t be left out of the transformers fun, now could it? This was one of the first all-cg cartoon series in history and while its not much to look at nowadays, it was a big step in the 90s.

Summary: the series doesn’t center on Optimus Prime and Megatron but their decendants. The war is long over but some factions are starting to clash once again. Several members of these factions do the whole “crash land on earth while fighting” thing except they wake up during times before humans and instead of taking vehicle modes, they take animal forms, thus the name.

Why you should give it a try: it establishes the idea of Sparks for the first time, it has historical significance in the cgi realm, and it has a decent storyline with interesting characters. If you can muscle through the 90s-computer-animation look it might be the show for you!

Transformers: Animated: I dont think its a secret that this is one of my favorite tf series of all times. It was the first cartoon series I ever watched of tf and it also features my favorite toy line.

Summary: Optimus Prime is much less a war hero and more of a ..janitor really. He flunked out of the academy and spends his time repairing space bridges. One time during repairs though, they stumble across the Cube and just their luck, Megatron and some nearby cons are looking for it. They portal away to earth where they, you guessed it, crashland, until they’re awoken sometime in the future and go on adventures in futuristic Detroit.

Why you should give it a try: I like tfa’s art style and story and characterisation best tbh; Optimus is younger and more unsure of himself but also more earnest, with more visible baggage. The rest of his team feel like a ragtag band of misfits (which I have a weakness for no lie lmfao) who are still trying to find their place in this conflict and the future ahead of them. Sari is also one of the more beloved human companions and the show’s take on classics characters feels fresh and interesting, and the interpretation of the autobots and decepticons themselves is surprisingly nuanced.

Transformers: Prime: remember that 90s animation? Kiss that shit good bye my friend. This cgi is some beautiful shit. More than a few fans wish tfp is the art direction the movies had taken, storyline aside.

Summary: the autobots are already on earth, staking it out and fighting a more subdued sort of conflict with the cons. One day they get some human kids involved and stumble across some conspiracy shit and it all spirals out of control from there.

Why you should give it a try: great animation and atmosphere, gorgeous character designs, a solid interpretation go the characters, and it offers a more serious take on the story over all.

Rescue Bots: I’ve noticed this show doesn’t make the list a lot which is a shame? It has a much younger audience than any of then other series but its still quality and one of my fave tf series.

Summary: the ship of four non-combatants who were left in stasis before the war detect a transmission telling autobots to go to earth, so it…goes to earth. There they wake up on some island and are told they’ve gotta start building a repatoire with the native species…but they can’t reveal that they’re sentient aliens yet.

Why you should give it a try: ok ok, most of the series are made for 7-12 year olds with the teen and adult fans sort of in mind, this show…is a show made for pre-K kids, no joke. Its a lot less…murder-y, and this is especially saying something because it came out at the same time TFP did and in fact is supposed to take place in the same universe!

BUT, but it has a consistently well-written story and characterization, it addresses stuff I never thought it would, and its a nice break from the ridiculously high stakes of the other series. Honestly Rescue Bots is great and I wish more people talked about it because its a series totally worth watching, certainly as much as any of the others.

More Than Meets the Eye comics: there are a lot of comic series but so far this is my favorite one lol

Summary: the war is over, Optimus is done with everyone’s shit and splits the matrix in half, giving one to rodimus and they other to bumblebee. And what does roddy do with his newfound matrix half? Decide he’s going on a quest of course! And who better to go with than literally every unqualified misfit the autobot and neutral factions have to offer?

Why you should give it a try: ridiculous shenanigans, horror, drama, intrigue, strong characterisation, and a killer aesthetic. Damn it may not always give me what I want but its got a lot of exactly what I’m always looking for.

There are some video games (Fall of Cybertron, War For Cybertron, Transformers: Devastation), other comic series (Robots in Disguise, G1/UK comics), and the Robots in Disguise cartoon, however I don’t have a decent enough grasp on them to describe them super well I just know they’re pretty good and have had people recommend them to me. You’re welcome to try those as well of course.

Also if you’re into toy collecting or want to get into it there’s a lot of materials you can read and such but my personal advice is pretty simple:

1) go to walmart, target, a store that sells collectibles, a convention, or a garage sale

2) buy a cheap toy that you like. Don’t spend over like $20

3) decide if that was a fun experience or not and if you like having this toy or not

If you liked it enough to keep buying, then congrats, toy collecting might be right for you! Do your research, Don’t blow too much money too quickly, take it easy, have fun.

But yeah sorry this is really long but I do hope you consider giving transformers a try since I know I love it a lot and it really has a lot to offer. I hope this wasn’t like…a crazy response. That a crazy person might give. And that I didn’t scare you away or anything XS

the key is to try some stuff and have fun and if its not your thing that’s cool too! Have a chill night anon