I read this in IDW’s April solicitation for its Transformers comic: “MEGATRON joins the AUTOBOTS! The perfect jumping-on point for new readers!” This may in fact be the least true statement in comics.
I don’t know, it seems like the whole point of Megatron is that he is irredeemably evil. I guess it’s the cannon. When I was a kid I couldn’t help but notice all the good guy robots had little pistols, and the head bad guy robot had this giant arm-mounted nuclear bazooka and I was like “That’s not faiiiirr!!!” To me that’s the basic appeal of Megatron–he is a machine hardwired to be a dick.
Granted, this is probably a turning point in a larger story, where Megatron’s shifting loyalties are competently explained, and this unlikely alliance will lead to a return to the status quo. But stuff like this is exactly why I could never get into the Transformers comics, even though I love the ’80s cartoon. Once in a while I’ll be watching that hokey old cartoon, and be like “Gosh, I can’t get enough Transformers, I wish there was more of it!” And then I’ll think of the comics and be like “Ennh, actually, this is plenty right here.”
It always seemed more chic to prefer the comics to the cartoon. The comics had Simon Furman and detailed mythology and half-naked cyber-ladies and that one ninja Skeletor guy. The cartoon had Bumblebee and Spike getting a giant can of bug spray to fight the Insecticons. Nevertheless, I feel like the cartoon had a better grasp of the concept, which is–let’s face it–pretty simplistic. Transformers is fundamentally just good toys in an endless war with evil toys.
David Wise, who wrote the cartoon’s finale, once compared the Transformers’ war to Doctor Strangelove–the only major developments turned on some silly new gimmick which was inevitably adopted by both sides. On the surface that theme comes across as a crass marketing tactic, but it also forced the cartoon to set its stories within the “doomsday gap.” Optimus Prime and Megatron can’t dwell on the big picture, or dream up some truly novel way to turn the entire war upside down. Their forces are deadlocked in a war of attrition, and it’s all either of them can do to maintain the stalemate. The drama is in how the characters cope with that–Prime can’t lower his guard and it’s giving him an ulcer, Megatron’s authority is constantly challenged by Starscream, etc. Most of the cartoon’s plots were frankly interchangeable, but all of them provide that sense of getting a snapshot of life in the trenches.
The comics, to me anyway, never seem satisfied with that. Every time I take a look somebody is becoming a robot god, or there are parallel universes, or a somebody decides to create a third force in a definitively dualistic conflict. I suppose the realities of selling a monthly comic force you to employ those kinds of plot devices. But it ends up feeling more gimmicky and cheap, ironically, than the toy line itself.
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As a fine connoisseur of overpriced plastic toys in that era, I always thought the core group of transformer toys was pretty decent. I don’t get the hate for the toys themselves.
GoBots sucked.
You have two, basically unrelated points in your post:
1. That’s a terrible jumping on point.
2. Transformers comics are terrible.
Superior Spider-Man proved to be an excellent jumping on point, despite the entire concept being massively continuity laden. More of a jumping-back-on point, for those who had given up on the comic.
Perhaps this new Megatron as an Autobot will prove to be similarly well done…
Oh, right, there’s that second point. Yes, Transformers comics are pretty terrible, so no, Megatron the Autobot will not be good.
Transformers comics don’t have to be terrible though, even with third factions, greater threats, space gods, and all that ridiculous mysticism. The Generation 2 comic had all of that, but it was good. Well, decent.
And I would say that the cartoon needed a little bit more of that, to make the show less formulaic.
I’m going to say this, your not giving the story enough credit. I’ve been reading this comic for the past two years it’s been out and I’ve got to say, it’s one of my favorite comics of all time, as much as it’s not a good idea to jump in on that, the writer has been doing a good job of making a compelling character driven story about toys who go to war.
I’m going to actually read the story first before judging it because let me tell you it’s been a good ride. Also the comics are now very different then the show ever was.
Er, no.
“Every time I take a look somebody is becoming a robot god, or there are parallel universes, or a somebody decides to create a third force in a definitively dualistic conflict.”
Except for going to parallel universes, I’m pretty sure that happened in the cartoon a dozen times. Starscream did both! He’d go off and form his own team with whoever he could convince that yeah, this time, he’d really make it on his own and it was totes better to be besties with ol’ Starscream than that crumb bum Megatron.
The big difference with the comics is that they expect you to remember that shit more than one issue down the road. The cartoon did not expect you to know or care that last week Beachcomber got turned into a merman but at the end of the episode changed back to continue the millions of years long war between Autobots and Decepticons. Or that Powerglide had a human girlfriend. You were not supposed to ask questions about time travel sheenanigans – like why no record of the Transformers going back to Ye Olde Englande survived or why Optimus Prime did not remember the Aerialbots saving his life when he was Orion Pax.
I like what the comics are doing with Starscream right now. Starscream in power is always fun to watch. Although I am behind, so that might have already finished.
Megatron an Autobot? Yeah, right, and Lex Luthor is in the Justice League.
So uh…..How is this any different from any other comic book?
I mean, if you see an X-Men comic with Magneto being part of the team, do you go ‘Man, I really preferred the X-Men cartoon, where Magneto was just a bad guy’. How’s it any different?
And even more, this may well be the kind of ‘Magneto is suddenly on the X-Men! Except maybe it’s actually his good alternate reality clone from the future! Read the comic to find out!’ sort of thing thing.
That, and I’m not quite sure why Transformers has to be limited to ‘good toys versus bad toys’, any more than superhero comics have to be light hearted stories targeted at children….It sounds more like the comics just don’t appeal to you, which is fine, but it’s doesn’t mean they are ‘bad’.
Though to be fair, the first couple of lines seems pretty accurate – I can’t see ‘Megatron is now a good guy’ being a good starting point for anyone.
What I want in stories about characters I like, whether in comics or animation or whatever else, is stuff like compelling character development, interesting plot twists and the like, which I got in spades from Furman’s original Marvel run, the Beast Wars cartoon and currently in John Barber’s Robots in Disguise.
You’re welcome to your opinion, of course, and the G1 series was fun, but the “it’s just good toys fighting bad toys” mentality is what leads to handing over the live action property to Michael Bay cause he can makes things fight real good.
And that’s how we wind up with cold-blooded psychopath Optimus obsessed with facial mutilation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE3uMlC-tME
Possibly one of the worst takes of all time.