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Transformers are way better than Gobots


DEF

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2 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Nope. This is the Marvel (UK) universe. There are several different histories depending on which version you're following, so "I think I heard" etc isn't likely to be the answer. In this one, he happened to be the leader at the time, that mantle passing around like the Hardcore title used to.

To be fair, though in the Marvel UK stuff, Shockwave was a former leader as well, wasn't he? I was thinking about it like with the Starscream thing mentioned earlier. Whatever the reason for that specific kicking is, the immediate element is only part of it, as the reason Galvatron/Megatron are laying in so hard is also because of their past history with Shockwave being a duplicitious, political shit that Megatron hates, as well as their paranoia.

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6 hours ago, Chris B said:

To be fair, though in the Marvel UK stuff, Shockwave was a former leader as well, wasn't he? I was thinking about it like with the Starscream thing mentioned earlier. Whatever the reason for that specific kicking is, the immediate element is only part of it, as the reason Galvatron/Megatron are laying in so hard is also because of their past history with Shockwave being a duplicitious, political shit that Megatron hates, as well as their paranoia.

Like I said, leadership of the Decepticons in the Marvel universe had become the hardcore title of its day. But it hadn't always been. And it wasn't the case that "Shockwave was the first leader of the Decepticons before Megatron toppled him".

Megatron founded the Decepticons, as established in State Games in the 1986 annual. He was the first and only leader at the point he attacked the Ark and became offline for four million years. (If there had been a break in continuity, this was never mentioned, anyway.)

The next leader was Trannis (Marvel UK), and at the time that Megatron was reactivated, Straxus was the leader. This is the point where we become acquainted with the story as readers.

Shockwave appears in US #5 and takes leadership of the Decepticons on Earth for a few months. Over the next few years we have several leaders: Soundwave, Megatron and Shockwave (joint leaders), Megatron (Shockwave conceding the logic of Megatron being the better fit), Ratbat taking over from Straxus on Cybertron whilst on Earth  Shockwave takes over from Megatron, who went insane and appeared to kill himself, Scorponok ...

Then it gets messy with Thunderwing, the Triumvirate of Legonis, Octus and Seizer (he had claws and it took me decades to pick up on the wordplay in his name!), a returning mix-up of Megatron and Straxus, Scorponok again for the battle with Unicron, and, finally, Bludgeon, at the point the comic comes to an end.

But then there's the complication of there being a (future) 2006 in the comic and a UK-only continuity which sits outside of the US one. That's how we get Galvatron (popping back in time), short-lived reigns of Megatron, Shockwave, Cyclonus and Scourge, Soundwave...

So there's no known long backstory with Shockwave, just a short one from 1985 onwards. And, of course, the covers were supposed to be used to accentuate and sensationalise. That particular cover (is Shockwave spurting blood in it?!) gives a bit of an exaggerated take on the single-page fight scene from the story.

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Edited by Ronnie
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21 hours ago, DEF said:

Some folk have already got it from the US and it's as big as Fortress Maximus. I've seen photos of it next to the original which was probably the best thing Father Christmas ever got me and it absolutely dwarfs it.

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Here's a shot of the box sitting on a staircase. It is indeed massive!

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Top notch box artwork too. Clutching Prime in his pincers gives a great sense of scale.

Edited by BigJag
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On 7/10/2020 at 3:00 PM, ReturnOfTheMack said:

I have a memory of reading a comic where Megatron and Galvatron meet up and talk about killing Starscream. Is my memory playing tricks with me?

 

On 7/10/2020 at 4:10 PM, Ronnie said:

I know the quote you mean but I couldn't find it when leafing through my collection a minute ago. From memory: a Galvatron who knows he cannot kill Megatron is desperately trying to explain his origin to his attacker. Once things settle down, Megatron asks him what he did in response to Starscream's betrayal. Answer: "What would you have done?" And then they both have a good old giggle together.

So the story Ronnie posted the covers from has already been elaborated on, but here’s the story of their first meeting, where they bond over hatred of Starscream. Shockwave, incumbent leader of the ‘cons, is fearful that Galvatron (arrived from the future) might be a threat to him. So he salvages long-missing Megatron who has recently been plucked out of the Thames (yes) by Richard Branson as part of Keep Britain Tidy (yes) to use as a pawn to protect himself. He tells Megatron of the “lies” that Galvatron tells of being him from the future and the fight ensues, as told in that years annual. The story I think was called Altered Image and the annual was I believe Christmas 88, leading into Time Wars, where the two murder a whole load of the 86-87 toyline.
 

Another time, thinking Time Wars, I’ll tell you why an imbiguous toy called Carnivac was one of the baddest asses ever.

 

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Megatron being pulled out of the Thames was the result of a GI Joe/Action Force crossover. Megatron was transported to the London sewers in a Spacebridge accident. After his plan to kill Prime failed. This part of the story happened in the lead up to Transformers UK 100. The readers were lead to believe that both Prime and Megatron perished in the Spacbridge accident. Prime ended up on Cybertron and Megatron in London.  Megatron's story continued in the pages of Action Force. Not in the Transformers comic. Blades and Grimlock help out the Action Force in taking down an injured and loopy Megatron. The Branson extraction is when Megtron's story is picked up in the Transformers comic again.

We often got UK specific stories whilst waiting for more material from the American comic. 

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6 hours ago, BigJag said:

We often got UK specific stories whilst waiting for more material from the American comic. 

For the interested ; the story of everything that happened to Megatron since his accident including returning to Earth, meeting Galvatron and everything in Time Wars was later contradicted in the US story, that he’s been in hiding on Cybertron the whole time, which we learn when he abducts Ratchet to his secret lab to help him construct new Decepticon Pretenders, starting with Starscream. Simon Furman would retcon this that the Megatron that had all his UK exclusive adventures on Earth was in fact a clone built by Lord Straxus (of Smelting Pool notoriety) in the event that his plan to transfer his consciousness to the REAL Megatron’s body would fail (it did). This story was wrapped up in “Two Megatrons” where they met and the genuine article convinced the clone to kill himself, so they might defeat Straxus once and for all.

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They look superb. I saw the Ghostbusters Prime at Reading comic con last year. I think I'm going to have to try and get my hands on that and the regular Masterpiece Prime. They are stunning.

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One thing that that article perhaps doesn't convey is that whereas MP10 seems to be the definitive Masterpiece Prime mould there have been a number of generations.

They started with 

MP1

MP2 Was a white version of MP1. Think original G1 Ultra Magnus.

MP4 Prime (Convoy)-Perfect Edition with trailer and other accessories. No Roller though.

MP10 This is the go to mould of G1 Prime. A plethora of different designs have been released using the same mould.

MP44 Is another more recent mould of Prime. It comes with his trailer and Roller. Plus a load of other accessories. Including a couple of fleshlings. There seem to be a few quality issues with this one. I've read that the Prime figure has knee issues. As well as paint defects.It's also very expensive. Up around the £400 range.

MPM4 Is the Bayverse Movie Prime. 

You then have to decide between whether you want the Hasbro(Western) version or Takara(Japanese) version. They both have their merits. Generally the Japanese versions have a reputation for being that little bit cooler.

 

Edited by BigJag
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Weirdly, that list of MP Prime's is the first time I've consciously noticed the tendency for Autobots to have blue eyes and Decepticons to have red eyes. I know there are plenty of exceptions, but I can't believe I've never picked up on that before.

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7 minutes ago, Chris B said:

Weirdly, that list of MP Prime's is the first time I've consciously noticed the tendency for Autobots to have blue eyes and Decepticons to have red eyes. I know there are plenty of exceptions, but I can't believe I've never picked up on that before.

Yep, that was certainly the case with the original cast. And whenever an Autobot was taken over and became a baddie, his optics changed colour accordingly:

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Did you notice that the Autobots' weapons shoot yellow blasts whilst the Decepticons' are pink? Once you know it, you can't unspot it!

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I am good few issues into MTMTE now and really starting to enjoy the whole story, I have never been a huge Transformers fan but this has really charmed me. 

My question is, probably to be answered by @Chris B is what should I read after. I know there are a lot of different timelines all running alongside one another but should I go back to the Marvel comics first and go from the beginning or is it better to just read certain story arcs? 

 

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I'm not Chris B, so discount as appropriate :)

MTMTE had a twin ongoing series which also got rave reviews and which incorporated James Roberts's worldbuilding. The two series came together at points during their runs for large "events". So if you've worked your way through MTMTE and Lost Light (MTMTE was given a name change after season 2 ended), then you might want to consider the sister series written by John Barber. It was called Robots in Disguise, then changed to The Transformers (volumes 9 and 10), before switching to Optimus Prime.

Both MTMTE and RID start together. The War is over and it's time to create a new society. MTMTE features a crew leaving Cybertron to track down the mythical Knights of Cybertron. RID is the Cybertron left behind.

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Yeah, I'm pretty certain @Ronnie has more knowledge of this stuff than me...

However, it depends what you're looking for. Robots in Disguise was good in places, but I tended to find most of the more recent comics stuff a bit overblown and self-consciously epic. Robots in Disguise didn't keep me on board in the way that MTMTE/Lost Light did, but there was some good stuff in there.

Previously, the US reboot of the Transformers comics have been hit and miss for me. The run with Robots in Disguise and MTMTE was by far and away the highlight. That said, I'm reading All Hail Megatron and enjoying it a lot - the cliffhangers are great.

I'd probably go back to the 80s/90s Transformers UK stuff. There's some great stuff in there that builds, and there's plenty of it available. The early Man of Iron story is unlike anything else - proper UK comics stuff. Early on, they're mixing the US series with the UK, but after a while, it just became the UK stuff and it really takes off.

There's been a recent reboot of the comics line, which ended MTMTE etc - I've tried it, and got bored after a few issues. Happy to hear why I should give anything a second chance though.

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1 hour ago, Ronnie said:

I'm not Chris B, so discount as appropriate :)

Actually, to be fair, @Joe Blog said "probably to be answered by Chris B", not probably best answered by Chris B. So he might have been justifiably noting that I'd turn up with my opinion, no matter what.

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