Well, for me, it's not so much them adding another side to the characters' personalities, but more along the lines of the characters being so different that they are pretty much "in name only."
RexBlazer1 well like you said it's taking bits and pieces from other continuities to form thier own and some characters are gonna be diffrent personally i like that star saber is a religious fanatic gives him a holy war Crusader feel rather than just a two bit optumis prime
The whole reason I want to check out the IDW books is because of the DJD and the Lost Light stories. The DJD are just so different from any Decepticon group I've seen before. I mean there's the combiner teams but so often those groups are built around a gimmick and their combining power: Constructicons are arrogant scientists/engineers, Stunticons are a gang from a Mad Max movie, Combaticons are like an evil version of the A-Team, and so on. The DJD are more like a professional mercenary unit or a special ops organization crossed with a cult family. Every member has a defined role, their devotion is to the mission first and interpersonal stuff 2nd. I always wondered how someone like Megatron from the 80's show could've built up an army around himself. What few snippets I've seen of Tarn's thoughts on Megatron and the Decepticon cause provide more clarity to a picture that only started to make sense when the Aligned Continuity rewrote Megatron's backstory.
I think one reason why they changed some Autobots into villains is that there are way more of them and taking a character like Star Saber, who isn't widely known in the US, is a chance to show corruption can still happen in the Autobots and a reminder that their past isn't all that squeaky clean.
I agree. To your point, I didn't even know who Star Saber was before IDW, the only Japanese series I was familiar with at all were the Western version of Robots In Disguise/Car Robots and having a very general idea of The Headmasters. And on the other side, you had good guys turned villains like Getaway who literally were barely characterized in the past so I had no problem with the writers giving ones like that more depth than they've ever had.
After reading all of the Transformers IDW comics, my takes are. 1. A more mature (as in actually mature, not just grim and gritty) take on transformers is good direction to take the series. 2. The comics were mostly good, cept for the crossovers and the optimus prime comics. 3. Megatron is the main character of these comics. 4. It changed many characters, but mostly for the better. Say what you want about Star Saber, but he was the blandest character in an already bland as all Hell anime. 5. The 2015 Christmas special is the greatest Christmas comic ever written.
Pyrrhic victories seem to fit in with the earth-focused storylines of Brooks' run on Transformers. Just when something seems like it's going good, someone comes and fucks it up. I'm glad they're lightening up on that, but I kinda wish we got Jimmy and Verity back.
There is one point I have to disagree. You don't like how religion has been used in the series. But you leave out how Tarn says having any religion is against the Decepticon way as he executes someone just for having a religion and how Ratchet mocks Drift's faith. Those are worth mentioning too. As an Atheist I get so tired of the "religion = morality/non-religion = immoral" meme that goes around in popular media and I'm glad that MTMTE points out that religion is often a force of hate, just like in the real world. And to be fair, you also didn't point out how religion has been pointed out as a positive. For example Soundwave's belief that everyone is one of "Primus children" - mechanical or organic and how it's made him a better person, willing to help Cosmos (a former enemy).
Couple thoughts: making Optimus the sole benign Prime means that after millennia of corrupt jerk after corrupt jerk Cybertron was finally blessed with somebody actually worthy of the title, which I consider tons more engrossing than an entire lineage of squeaky clean, goody two shoes. Hell, Megatron acknowledges this near the end of Dark Cybertron, referring to his longtime opponent as a Prime like no other that had come before. It helps this version of Optimus stand apart from prior iterations, that & his more cynical, world weary disposition. Speaking of Optimus you referred to Star Saber's characterization from TF Victory as being very much in line with OP but him NOT being in line with OP is why I prefer IDW Star Saber. Japanese Prime clone, more or less, or entirely separate character doing his own thing? Gonna board the Latter Train, dear sir. The Neutrals COULDN'T save Cybertron. They abandoned their homeworld because G.W. had reached such a fever pitch that by that point there wasn't any chance of reversing it. It was too late. Only thing to be done was load up into escape shuttles, find remote corners of the galaxy & hide away comfortably until both sides eradicated each other. I agree with you in that IDW Spike was an unpleasant little shit stain, but honestly I've never cared for ANY incarnation of Mr. Witwicky. As for the supernatural cop out issue, I seriously doubt they'd do something like that with Primus & Unicron. *beat.* Yeahhhh....
Eh, the supernatural copouts were fine. The transformers of IDW are creatures of science and them just believing the supernatural makes them human. Seriously, every iteration of super natural events in the IDW comics run was a push by Hasbro, in order to do promotional stuff and crossovers. Not exactly the direction they wanted to go to. The only recurring twist that they used that really annoyed me, was "Shockwave did it."
@rudy2fat That's actually something I'll give them huge props for: depicting him as an independent villain pursuing his own agenda. So sick of how every cartoon these days depicts Shockwave as Megs loyal minion/go to science guy and nothing else. It's boring. He's much more interesting whenever he's working for himself.
I don't treat any of their comics as official cannon of any kind, but pockets of ideas/concepts that may or may not come to fruition one day on a show or videogame.
about #2 @3:04 don't forget about how at one the humans were working with - the FREAKIN' DECEPTICONS!!! I was like WTF?!? It was them that invaded the earth, slaughter countless humans - but they attack the Autobots! REALLY?
Well, I'm not defending the story decision by any means, but at the time, word had somehow gotten to Earth that Megatron, the one who instigated the invasion, had switched over to the Autobots, and that lead to the humans believing that Optimus was in league with the guy who slaughtered many of their people. But yeah, it's a questionable story choice all the same.
Warning my opinion Things I like in IDW 1 DJD 2 Funkionist Universe 3 Cool villians Like Overlord,Bludgeon and Shockwave 4 Brutal deaths 5All Hail Megatron 6 Lost light 7 Megatron Origins 8 Scavengers 9 The Colony worlds 10 Whirl ( He is my favourite Charakter in IDW) 11 Shockwaves Time travel to the the thirteen Things I don't like 1 Autobot Megatron 2 To many Gay Charakters ( I am Not homophobig and I like Rewind and Chromedome but the Over Gay couples felld so forced) PS: Sorry for my english.
