I'm just going through my folders to tidy up, wanted to share some art, feel free to do whatever else you want in this thread.
Transformers Thread
Ethan Perry
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Jaxson Stewart
William Hughes
Aiden Flores
Evan Morales
Brandon Robinson
Alexander Baker
Carson Diaz
Lucas Ward
Joshua Lewis
William Reyes
James Diaz
Parker Jenkins
Logan Wilson
Zachary Parker
James Lewis
Ian Murphy
Wyatt Foster
I got some stuff, mostly from /toy/. Haven't been there in a while actually, I wonder how they're taking the whole Unicron thing?
Zachary Kelly
Unicron thing? You mean the $500+ figure?
Daniel Bennett
Yeah, I wasn't around to see their reaction over there for the reveal.
John Watson
REEEE DELET THIS!
Jordan Lewis
Do not (!) delete this.
Isaac Hall
Jose Perez
About as well as everywhere else. Overpriced POS.
William Gomez
Elijah Campbell
Sad, the toy looks neat but the price is laughable, and getting people to pre-order it first seems somehow slimy.
Eli Mitchell
Kayden Parker
>gib moneys or we wont make it
Seems they're finally taking a page from Mattel's playbook.
Julian Hill
Aaron Martinez
Gabriel Clark
>tfw realizing they ripped that bit off in Cybertron with Crumplezone riding Ransack
holy shit
Brody Moore
Elijah Morgan
Grayson Clark
Christopher Baker
Matthew Smith
David Bailey
Jayden Richardson
Owen Walker
Hey OP, what do you think of Audioknight's channel? I liked that long video they have for issues 4&5 of MTMTE but seems all they do these days is podcast shit I've not bothered paying attention to. I think there was one or two other channels doing similar readings but I've forgotten them except for this one read by the "the basics" guy.
youtube.com
Michael Reed
Asher Parker
Never heard of them.
Joseph Thompson
>Arcee_Momprime
Hrm. We can do better than that.
Anthony Long
Transformers: Forged author back! I had thought of another idea for this little series of mine... dealing with Optimus Prime.
Some time ago, I had come up with idea of the faceplate of his being a cover to hide his scars (one of you kind Yea Forumsntructs suggested it be minor, but he sees it as major) representing his failures. Well, throughout the series, he'd be dealing with issues of him being leader, successes and failures, his relationships with both his team and allies, as well as with his enemies. But during a low point of his life, he'd be haunted by an enigmatic being...
Nemesis Prime.
Nemesis Prime would be the dark reflection of Optimus Prime, representing his inner turmoil, doubts, fears, and rage. It'd be left to the imagination if he's really there, or just inside of his head; no one else would acknowledge the dark Prime's existence.
Nemesis Prime wopuld look like Optimus, exceptt all black, and when his faceplate's removed, it would look mangled and horrifying, much like how Optimus looked like when he was nearly killed in an assassination attempt.
The two would battle every once in awhile, and while Optimus Prime would come up on top, it'd be a hollow victory at best, as Nemesis would always be there, waiting for the time to strike. It would also further alienate his teammates, who may view him as unhinged and unfit to lead.
It's only when Optimus finally make peace with himself, accepting his flaws, as well as be more open to his teammates, does Nemesis Prime finally leave him alone for good.
Jason Cooper
This thread just got me thinking of them again, hadn't checked in on them in a year or two.
You might like it, you might hate it, I would've liked more though and am a little disappointed they only did this one long one and a few short scenes.
youtube.com
Owen Rogers
>Optimus Prime's Faceplate
Oh, is that what you think it is?
Ryan Thomas
I have no idea what this is but I enjoyed it greatly and it reminded me of how badly I want a sit-com style Transformers series or something in the vein of Batman TBATB
Julian Fisher
>tfw you realize Swerve is a Quark rip off and Whirl is Odo
lol
Landon Martinez
I bet she gives great gifts
Nathan Collins
I'm probably in a minority, but it bums me out that not only did Optimus never restore Elita, IIRC, Word of God said they never would, she was gone forever.
With all the asspulls Transformers pulls in every series, surely they could have brought back Elita but still kept Blackarachnia? Do like a "reverse Tigerhawk" or some shit
Jacob Torres
Makes sense though, Blackarachnia is who she'd become, it's like trying to revert to the person you were 20 years ago it just won't work.
It is sad, though.
Ryan Bell
Here user have some more.
James Gray
First time posting here, I was pretty hopelessly addicted to Transformers when I was a little kid and Armada was airing.
I'm thinking of rewatching it in my downtime to see if it holds up, but can't find a digital copy anywhere. Is it worth buying the DVD box sets? Anyone know if there is anything like commentary and behind-the-scenes stuff?
And while I'm here, anything else I should look into? I was thinking that if I enjoyed Armada, I might just continue through Energon and Cybertron, but that continuity stops there iirc. Is there a cartoon currently airing, or maybe a comic in print that's good?
Lincoln Lopez
Jacob Sullivan
Easton Walker
Oliver Lewis
Carter Howard
Noah Williams
Jeremiah Carter
Jordan Sanchez
That means she likes you, bro!
Hudson Murphy
Ignore me if I sound like too much of a crotchety geewunner, everyone has their own tastes but I always found those three shows to be the bottom of the barrel when it came to TF stuff. Not that the original cartoon is anything good beyond nostalgia, but BW held up when I re-binged it a few years ago. Transformers Animated is pretty great too, though some people are pretty vocal about hating it. Transformers: Prime was pretty quality stuff but never kept my attention, you might enjoy it more than I did though.
As for comics, there's a bunch, a decade-long universe just got a recent reboot that is starting out slow. Pic related is pretty out-of-date but the stories shown are pretty good, especially LSOTW.
Owen Morgan
just pirate it
Jason Diaz
Caleb Ward
Yeah, I probably am just wearing nostalgia goggles and will end up disappointed. I was 10 when Armada was airing, and liked all sorts of crappy stuff.
I might just end up watching the first few episodes of some things and seeing what holds my interest the most.
Thanks for that chart, that's very nice! I only ever had one comic back in the day, but I remember really enjoying it. I had to do some digging through the wiki to find out which one it was, but it was the Prime Directive series by Dreamwave. Not sure if it's worth looking into that, since it looks like Dreamwave went bankrupt and closed shop. That's a bummer.
Well, I have plenty to look into now. Thanks user, I might be back in these threads sometime
Easton Cruz
She's got a great head on her shoulders
Dominic Gray
If it's any consolation, Armada is the best of that era of TF cartoons, the other two were low budget as fuck. If you liked Armada, give Robots in Disguise a watch, more anime-ish than other TF shows but it has it's own identity because of it.
And yeah, Dreamwave died out, I still have a small stack of their TF stuff but I only remember the stories being depressing.
You might say she knows how to get ahead in life.
James Peterson
Nathaniel Clark
Lincoln Martin
James Howard
Carter Hughes
Jaxon Kelly
Jayden Watson
Justin Gomez
Ayden James
Autobots prefer blondes
Hunter Evans
Jeremiah Lewis
Jayden Turner
Dammit, beat me by ten seconds.
Evan Wood
You're not wrong.
Joseph Wood
KS Marissa is hot.
Robert Ramirez
Shut the FUCK UP Boco!
But yeah, you're not wrong my man.
Jeremiah Lewis
John Jones
Carson Richardson
>tfw no 30 foot reconfigurable jetwife
William Gray
You'd spend hours waxing and buffing and love every last second of it.
Noah Diaz
You're goddamned right. A tiny robot is fine, too.
Thomas Reyes
William Russell
God I love Misfire.
Mason White
Matthew Powell
Leo Wood
I like this arcee prime design, ill see if i can draw it later
Thomas Mitchell
Benjamin Hall
Justin Jones
Go for it, iirc the context for the pic was designing an Arcee Prime to be used in the Titans Return line. The idea was that her minivan altmode could seat several titanmasters she drops off at soccer practice.
Kayden Ramirez
Grayson Reyes
Henry Scott
Isaac Phillips
How the fuck did Starscream live through this? His fucking spark is a gaping hole.
Alexander Harris
>swerve and tailgate being cute
why didn't we get more of these two hanging out together?
Blake Thomas
Will she show up again?
Jack Kelly
Because Primus hates us.
Jordan Powell
Jeremiah Torres
I miss Flywheels.
Nathan Cook
I know they're OCs but my mind keeps trying to turn them into Rule 63s. I think it's because the rightmost one has Armada Cyclonus's color scheme (or at least, my memory's interpretation of said color scheme) while the dark blue has a Armada Thrust conehead.
Evan Kelly
I don't know Armada stuff so I don't know, but I want to bump the thread anyway.
Elijah Price
Daniel Lopez
>robot ass pinup
Always loved that
John Roberts
How'd you guys feel about Megatron's run at being an Autobot?
Ryder Robinson
More interesting than I thought it'd be, I liked watching him wrestle with his ideals and the repercussions they'd wrought. Seeing him have to hold back and try to be mellow was different, I didn't hate it.
Adrian Hernandez
Logan Rogers
Josiah Collins
*ting ting ting*
AHEM
Ayden Martin
DON'T YOU SAY IT
Kevin Torres
Gavin Thompson
Is cyberverse good yet?
Noah Bell
I doubt it.
Oliver Stewart
Woops forgot my image
I appreciate what this artist is doing
It's fine
Christian Barnes
I thoroughly enjoyed it. It really just felt like IDW lite
Christian Scott
N
Leo Martinez
-EVER STOP LOVING YOURSELF!!!
Landon Moore
I
Carson Powell
G
Christian Baker
ET TOGETHER WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND BE HAPPY!!!
Caleb Peterson
G
Isaiah Collins
It's Starscream, he's incapable of dying
Nolan Bennett
Stupid and pointless, like most of the ideas conceived by that hack.
Justin Cox
Thomas Mitchell
Anyone have a bigger resolution for this?
Liam Martin
Wasn't there also one with all the Optimi at the time?
Lucas Jackson
Yeah, and this is the size I have for that one, which makes me hope the Megatron one has a bigger, un-blurry version.
Christopher Johnson
Daniel Adams
Shut the fuck up boco
Jacob Morris
It's already good.
Chase Cox
You don't have to keep your spark in your chest.
Levi Ramirez
That is too adorable.
People forget Starscream may be treacherous, but he is also competent.
Isaiah Edwards
>Ignore me if I sound like too much of a crotchety geewunner, everyone has their own tastes but I always found those three shows to be the bottom of the barrel when it came to TF stuff.
Virtually everybody thinks so.
Benjamin Williams
It's kind of his thing.
Caleb Davis
Starscream is immortal.
Mutant indestructible spark and all that.
Hell, he may be an outlier.
Dominic Richardson
>cold-constructed outlier
Ryder Powell
Even the fucking Diagnostic Drone
Oliver Reed
Hudson Thompson
>Typical Transformers General Thread
Zachary Gutierrez
>Shitting on his actually good ideas because he dropped the ball during the last stretch of the comic
Ok homo.
Kevin Smith
Samuel Turner
Hudson Davis
Luis Clark
Joshua Roberts
Brody Collins
Ah, those endearing Scavengers.
Blake Lewis
E
Levi Moore
Jaxon Gomez
William Johnson
i made that meme, pretty happy it's catching on.
Hudson Smith
What's the deal here, I mean outside of the Eric Andre reference.
Kayden Kelly
I can see Starscream having his spark chamber moved to somewhere else in his body to foil assassins
Adam Davis
Mason Cruz
Transformers/Ghostbusters #3 iTunes preview
Samuel Stewart
Josiah Gomez
Connor Cook
Transformers #10 iTunes preview
Logan Williams
Jeremiah Hernandez
Jaxon Williams
Say, if some future writer attempted to flesh out some of the more obscure Transformers characters (like what they did with Needlenose and a good chunk of the MTMTE crew), what B-list/C-list characters would you like to see used more?
They don't have to necessarily have a major role, it can be small developments like Sparkstalker joining the security forces and getting married.
Gavin Powell
Quake getting a part in the reboot is a start.
Easton Young
My nigga Tote getting some lines. I'd say Scoop since he too is my nigga, but they did him dirty last time around so now I don't know. Maybe get Erector on Earth being confused as to why the fleshies keep laughing at his name?
I love the juxtaposition of a monstrous ex-con getting a qt like Lightbright, that shit was cute.
Landon Barnes
I know they're not really obscure but the Seacons, Terrorcons, and Predacons having actual character would be nice
Logan Davis
Some downtime with the Terrorcons might be fun, love to see them fleshed out more.
Jordan Phillips
This could have all been condensed into one page, one and a half pages at the most.
Zachary Clark
I do not feel bad about Rubble in the slightest.
Jaxson Lewis
twink arcee is adorable
Andrew Garcia
It's a rule Ectro, can't have more syllables in your name than your boss.
Gabriel Sullivan
For me, it's TM Airrazor.
Jordan Cox
... I'm not hearing Welker in this... I'm hearing fucking David Kaye... And I kinda like it.
Nathan Murphy
Camden Thomas
I'm using Jason Marnocha for Megatron, even though David is my favourite Megatron.
Bumblebee is Jeremy Levy from Cyberverse.
Adrian Lee
I would buy a bunch of those just for the custom jobs that can be made out of it
Jordan Jenkins
Skyfire and Wind Sheer. Skyfire was my first transformer, and seeing him and his asshole friend get to do something (other than appearing in that one Timelines story) would be nice. Also, I just like their colours.
Kevin Barnes
...That surfboard
Christopher Cruz
Well, you just posted a good one.
Sparkstalker and Lightbright need to have a fleshed out romance.
My number one is and always has been Reflector. He is the only member of the Decepticon class of 1984 to NOT be a memorable fan-favorite. And I get the reasons why that happened, but it would be nice for him to finally get his due.
The fact that Hasbro just released a new toy for him is an encouraging turn of event. So, fingers crossed.
Oil Slick is another one. Such a cool toy and design, but the Animated cartoon was a huge letdown where he was concerned.
Blake Cruz
It already IS a custom job. It's not called Obvious Plant for nothing, user.
Dylan Clark
>My number one is and always has been Reflector. He is the only member of the Decepticon class of 1984 to NOT be a memorable fan-favorite. And I get the reasons why that happened, but it would be nice for him to finally get his due.
>The fact that Hasbro just released a new toy for him is an encouraging turn of event. So, fingers crosse
i had this idea that he'd be an inventor who created a multplying device creating multiple version of himself as well as creating 3 cloned offsprings Spectro, Spyglass and Viewfinder however over time the more he clones himself the more he starts to look his personality and he goes insane over it, unsure if he is the real and original Reflector.
Eli Carter
TRANSFORMERS: THE BASICS on INFERNO
youtube.com
TRANSFORMERS: THE BASICS on SENTINEL PRIME
Ryder Young
Didn’t you get Tow-Line too in that pack
Bentley Watson
Thank you. Damn, I missed one of these threads. The comics ones were pretty much inactive for some reason.
Hunter Diaz
No, I found Skyfire alone in a yard sale.
Jackson Parker
>McFeely
Nah.
Hudson Gray
That sounds neat, wonder if Megatron has the real one locked out.
Jaxon Moore
Thanks user!
Nathan Rogers
If anybot could do it...
Jordan Harris
R
Nathaniel Phillips
I don't even think she'd need to be 'cured', just Optimus reaching her and bringing her back to being something of a goodguy and realizing the autobot crew don't care about her demi-organic condition.
Chase Bailey
This, not so much 'curing' her, but bringing her to the good guys.
Hunter Diaz
Thank you as well.
Ryan Kelly
Based
Ethan Brown
Sebastian Edwards
Alexander Turner
Gabriel Lopez
Jace Clark
Hey Yea Forums, look what I got
Austin Edwards
amazing...
Logan Russell
John Collins
I'm digging those head details.
Daniel Foster
>soon
Jaxon Cruz
he's a wonder of engineering, alright.
Henry Adams
THIS IS UNICORN.
Hunter James
thicc
Justin Hall
Nathaniel Taylor
Easton Young
source?
Angel Williams
She's so nice to discard. No, seriously, she's like Fem Buzz Lighyear Transformer with a hint of Strongarm.
Jaxson Peterson
nevermind jesus fucking christ what a nightmare of a tumblr
Anthony Cooper
If it is what I'm thinking of, then yes...
Anthony Powell
Jack Clark
damn, you just want to hug all those kitties.
Robert Butler
Wyatt Hall
yeah, that tends to be the case with people who draw transformers like that
Eli Perry
I've never seen lotor from voltron take so much dick
Josiah Wright
God, I haven't seen these comics in forever. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
And damn it, Megatron, that means she wants to smash.
Justin Kelly
Thomas Hall
Jack Thompson
This cracked me up.
Hudson Robinson
Ethan Roberts
...
>when he's married but he doesn't let that stop him
madman
Dylan Cruz
Star Saber is obsessed.
Cooper Campbell
Makes you wonder, is the Decepticon really that bad?
Kevin Powell
Depends on the continuity, I guess. In the Victory manga, he's not all that bad. That's where he's married. In the anime, he's an ass though. And in the IDW comics, I think he was meant to be not that bad.
Hunter Garcia
He def was wasted in the comics, the manga twist was pretty darn unexpected.
Charles Rivera
Yeah the manga was weird. Adopted human son, a wife, looking for a place for the Decepticons to live. As for the comics, I actually stopped reading them years ago. I wasn't keen on crazy zealot Star Saber in the comics, so basically I feared what they would do with Deathsaurus. Maybe now that it's all over, I should go back and read it.
Joshua Howard
Yeah, you better make peace with not-Star Saber, otherwise is gonna be painful. The sequel to MTMTE is very divisive.
Jace Nelson
That's what I've heard. I think I read a couple of later issues here or there, the one where Cyclonus finally tells Tailgate I love you, and maybe a couple more.
I never even finished watching Rescue Bots, and that was a pretty fun show. I just fell out of Transformers for a while. Are the new comics worth checking out at all?
Josiah Reed
Honestly...it's pretty slow and and the art can be crappy at times, but it does world building, I think it's worth a check.
Nathan Butler
Thanks. Yeah, I saw those preview pages up thread. The art wasn't very inspiring. Not everyones an Alex Milne, I guess.
Oliver Sanders
Asher Peterson
LioKaiser has such a wonderfully tacky color scheme.
Zachary Nguyen
>Hardly any girl bots.
So they do gay stuff right?
Robert Clark
Nicholas Reyes
Such a nice tacky, though.
Blake Lewis
Mostly, yes.
Jeremiah Hall
Ryder Carter
Sebastian Jackson
I must sleep soon. Comfy thread.
Jayden Jenkins
It's only good when he takes it from Sendak.
Juan Perez
I love her.
sleep well
Chase Reed
Vortex, Twin Twist and Triggerhappy.
Benjamin Smith
Jaxson Fisher
Grow up user, you're oogling sexy robot smut and trying to pass judgement on what others enjoy.
Anthony Powell
mobile.twitter.com
#Hasbro handed out these preview samples of an upcoming #Transformers art book by #JimSorenson from #VizMedia. The preview pages are impressive and I have already preordered this book. #SDCC #HasbroSDCC Follow me for more toy and con fun.
Dominic Evans
...
Brody Rivera
Parker Sullivan
Cameron Walker
Michael Cox
Judging by the cover, this is probably the first time something close to a movie artbook is being released.
Isaiah Jenkins
Yes, most likely.
Gabriel Howard
thanks user, here's the finished one
Joshua Harris
Nice work
How about some Minerva?
Ryder Cruz
Looks neat, thanks draw user.
Jose Reyes
Requesting your take on a combat ready version of Esmeral, Deathsaurus' wife.
Ryan Jenkins
>Someone saved my preliminary arcee prime design, but not the final one
I might be able to unpack my computer and post it today. Still, I appreciate you posting it at all
Tyler Cooper
Thanks in advance.
Brayden Kelly
I'll see if I can get to these, I was planning on moving onto doing more with this elita-1 sketch earlier.
Grayson Reed
>classic Elita
Nice.
David Thomas
i wish the retards at LoversLab could work on this for the Servitron mod
Colton Edwards
Adam Diaz
i feel bad for her VA, she seemed so excited to be in the franchise, she gets one line and then dead.
Brandon James
Blame machinima for hiring garbage writers, thankfully Machinima is now dead
Easton Robinson
I was going off of this MMC Elita-1 because I liked her headsculpt. I did take a stab at the PoTP elita some time ago with...mixed results.
Adrian Kelly
This one looks good, agreed, it's a nice headsculpt.
Luke Williams
this is dope.
Lucas Gray
I hope she gets a toy sometime.
Brandon Bailey
>Transformers thread
nice, almost missed it
Brody Wilson
Colton Cox
I still don't understand why Animated never got that last season
Carter Johnson
Hasbro/Cartoon Network feud.
Joseph Brooks
Cartoon Network was a total ass about this.
Logan Thompson
John Foster
The "realistic" bumblebee is both terrifying and adorable. I love it.
Justin Martinez
I wonder what they mean with realistic
Isaac Evans
Creepy?
Jackson Wright
Liam Lopez
Ordered by size, I see.
Angel Torres
Same
Connor Reyes
It's like the easiest retool.
Brayden Johnson
Christian Cook
Chibi Blackarachnia is a cutie.
Jonathan Morris
Ethan Wright
Don't do g1 screamer like this. He is a dastardly evil man, not a conflicted boy like idw cream
Landon Morales
can't find the final design version (I drew it up for a toy design, so I had to make functional changes) but here, have a cheesecake piece
(yes, I admit to using posing references, so no one jump down my throat)
Nolan Perez
Heh, that's nice. Thanks.
Luke Young
I miss video games.
Zachary Barnes
He's gotta fall for someone sooner or later.
Hunter Cox
Me too, they should do a battle royale with WFC .
Tyler Sanders
Are any of the Japanese series notable outside of Omni Productions memes
Noah Lee
Masterforce has some nice moments and Victory is pretty nice when you give it a chance.
Beast Wars 2 and Neo are alright.
Jace Moore
I like Victory. As a warning, it's very anime, so the transformation sequences happen every episode and are lengthy. It also has a shitload of clip shows, but the torrent on Nyaa has those taken out. The Decepticons are the stars of the series, but overall most of the cast is likeable.
Jace Stewart
no
Michael Long
1/2 still working on the robot form. I can barely find any references for her transector's vehicle form
Logan Johnson
Not requester, but I'll see what I can find!
Brayden Butler
I give up. The toy car does come close enough, though.
Adam Adams
What's the best Funpub stuff?
Robert Wood
The stuff from when they began until around Shattered Glass.
Ryder Reyes
When will this franchise get out of its rut and start being great again?
Landon Garcia
What do you mean by rut?
Nolan Ward
Nothing extraordinary has released for awhile, especially on the vidya side
Brandon White
>especially on the vidya side
Oh yeah, that. Damn Activision for sabotaging their development teams and Hasbro for being so short-sighted. We could have a WFC Battle Royale right now if they were smart.
Cartoon side, I quite liked RiD (But I feel it could have been used to a fuller extent) and I don't hate Cyberverse, but the budget definitely shows. The comics are just there.
I think the franchise might hit it big with something, but it's really taking its time.
Isaac Thomas
!
Jason James
>just bought PotP Rodimus Prime for $15
Feeling pretty nice about that.
John Kelly
PRAISE BE TO
DECEPTICON
youtube.com
Dylan Lewis
Neat music.
Matthew Parker
>tfw binging Transformers Prime and enjoying the shit out of it but don't feel comfortable making a thread until I'm finished
Best characters
1) Optimus Prime
2) Ratchet
3) Wheeljack
4) Soundwave
5) Starscream
Megatron and Arcee get honorable mention
Jordan Anderson
good list
Jason Turner
you have good taste user, dont care for knockout though Im guessing?
Jordan Gonzalez
I don't mind him, but IMO he doesn't bring much new to the table. He's basically a watered-down Starscream.
Aiden Rodriguez
fair enough, its always interesting to see what people think of the various characters
Liam Price
exactly, they could've easily made one of them a select series or con exclusive, just retool some Windblade mold, any really and bam instant Maxima.
Ethan White
He and Breakdown started out strong but sorta fell into their sad sorta roles as slightly gayer whipping boy and double-corpse respectively.
Camden Anderson
>double corpse
When they fuck up your toy THAT bad.
Ian Perez
That's a very mature way of seeing things, I salute you.
Nathan Garcia
>watered-down Starscream
I've never seen him as that.
Knock Out never showed much in the way of ambition.
His thing was basically narcissism and vanity. He was never a schemer.
Sebastian Ross
True, he cared more for himself than the cause, as well as his job.
Jason Hall
Alexander Stewart
>TFW High Moon Studios have only been working on CoD and Destiny since 2013 for Activision.
On a side note, Is the reason for PS4 Fall of Cybertron being delisted from the store because Activision doesn't have the license anymore?
Ethan Gonzalez
>On a side note, Is the reason for PS4 Fall of Cybertron being delisted from the store because Activision doesn't have the license anymore?
Yes, that's one major bummer.
Gavin Torres
Sooooooo, what exactly happened here? I'm guessing this was headmaster or something?
Hunter Thompson
Headmasters, yeah. Galvatron had the plan to use the parts of the Decepticon army to turn himself into Grand Galvatron. Everyone thought he was crazy.
Isaiah Cook
How do you prefer scaling? Mini Vehicle characters smaller than others. Or should the artist interpret their own.
ex. G1 cartoon's mini vehicles were all over the place. Cosmos can carry Bee inside him but is portrayed the same height as Bee in robot mode. Or Warpath having "normal" size.
TL;DR
I miss Leader Class sized Cosmos...
Sebastian Perez
>turn himself into Grand Galvatron
I love that the comic that came with the Grand Galvatron combiner set references this plan.
Samuel Taylor
Yeah same, let someone like Cosmos be as big as needed.
Jaxon Baker
The whole Breakdown thing is still weird to me, like they couldn't find a way to release his voyager figure in the toyline?
Zachary Phillips
Can't wait for Slash to appear in a future show. She also should be a tomboy.
Jonathan Perry
still bothers me she wasn't in the old IDW continuity, she could've been the baby all grown up.
Asher Ramirez
He should be in the main shows at one point. He's really cool. Bonus if he had a rivalry with Predaking.
I'm getting some strange Penelope Pitstop vibes. Dunno why.
Yeah. That one of the massive bummers I had. It was one big unresolved plot point. The baby was just there and nothing was done with it.
Henry Flores
We just got a good movie a few months ago, calm down
Asher Hughes
>We could have a WFC Battle Royale right now if they were smart.
Dodged a fucking bullet there then.
Aiden Turner
Is that such a bad idea?
Thomas Flores
>tfw want to die but Transformers makes you postpone your body naturally giving up
I think this is the same artist as some others posted here, it's fun
Jose Smith
As far as Megatron plans go, I'm impressed the Autobots decided to settle it with a race.
Dylan Sullivan
>race
Huh
Justin Wright
>It was one big unresolved plot point. The baby was just there and nothing was done with it.
only exists just to have mpreg....
i could've forgiven that if the baby lead to something but nope they just sent it to a babysitter and that was it, no follow up or anything.
Lucas Smith
Yup. Really bloody hoped something will happen that involved it. BUT NOPE. A good plot potential wasted. Would've been fun to see Grimlock be big daddy.
Levi Phillips
I just hate the genre
Kevin Reyes
What kind of game would you like? Personally, I'd like another stab at the open world pseudo-GTA genre like 2007 DS game.
Carson Edwards
not that guy but I'd fucking love a fighting game
Ayden Hall
Roberts had planned a whole deal around the baby story but he didn't get to finish it before he found out Lost Light was being killed off so the whole universe could be rebooted with the new comic. He's mentioned it before on his twitter that he really regrets including it since he didn't get to tie it up like he wanted.
That said I still think it's retarded whether he got to finish it like he wanted or not.
Levi Barnes
What style? I'd like something similar to Smash Bros.
Luke Martin
That'd probably be the best way to make use of the Transforming aspect, although fliers would probably be pretty OP
Asher Bennett
They could limit the flying time.
Ryder Myers
Darn. Hoping that idea will be revisited one day.
Adrian Hughes
How would you write Screamer, anons?
Lincoln Ward
Agree (I even have him kinda an autobot's ISS in my story..)
Tyler Peterson
JAMES ROBERTS AMA: MTMTE/LL QUESTIONS ANSWERED TRANSCRIPT
Note: this was transcribed over the course of several installments, so please note there is a *lot* of text here.
I’d recommend at least reading "what was the plan for Rewind 1" and it is waaaay wilder than anything I could've thought. I have new respect for James. Wow.
As noted, there are actually a couple of questions mentioned elsewhere online that mysteriously do not show up in the recordings...I've taken the liberty of adding them at the end of the interview, with the exception of one pertinent one and that's noted there.]
James thanks everyone for asking questions.
James: Many many questions. I'll try to answer as many questions as I can - difficult ones I will try to answer, but may skip. Nasty ones I will ignore.
Many peoples questions seem to be along the lines of:
Chromedome and Rewind
DJD
What would have happened had the series continued
I think other questions seem to actually be veiled criticisms, i.e. "Would you have you have done more with X",
"maybe you wouldn't have treated this character so badly if you had more issues"...:)
Swerve loves human culture. Would he ever date a human, hypothetically speaking?
He would probably date Ryan Reynolds.
What obscure TF do you regret not adding in?
And this person likes what I did with Star Saber...there's one!
John and I and others picked the G1 carcass clean of characters, really. Even the Micromasters, Simon got in there first and hoovered them all up so they were accounted for. As they got into other iterations of the franchise, maybe I would've selected a Beast Wars character.
If Jack Lawrence draws Roller with some of his own mannerisms, who does he draw with your mannerisms?
Jack said "if you like James, you can tell them I draw *Rung* with your mannerisms. That doesn't help my anti-Mary Sue argument at all...thanks Jack
Lincoln Ross
Why did Rewind 2 and the duplicate briefcase not vanish when the duplicate Lost Light was cancelled out?
[James claps. Excited.]
*Good question*.
The briefcase didn't get cancelled out because it was a new briefcase, reconstructed by Brainstorm from scratch using new parts.
THe Rewind thing is more complicated. We'll come back to that. =)
You've implied that Rodimus was conflicted about Ratchet and Drift's relationship. Could you elaborate?
Did I imply that? Maybe. Rodimus is pleased for them. If we're talking at the end of the run, Rodimus is cool with it. As he says in the issue correctly, Ratchet is a keeper.
Sorry to disappoint the Rod/Drift fans, but I doesn't think Rodimus ever saw Drift as a long-term thing. Maybe a thing. Maybe it *was* a thing sometimes. But not like they were going to settle down together. "It was good when it happened."
Are there any fan pairings that you particularly dislike or love?
Uhhhmmmm...that's a dangerous question isn't it? =) I have never really ...people are going to be upset aren't they?
I don't really see the Rodimus/Magnus thing. That was certainly never intended to be ...I never scattered any breadcrumbs there.
Has the way a panel turned out to be drawn ever surprised you?
Oh yeah, all the time. Jack and Alex and Nick and Brendan and the others...it's always better than I have in my head. When Megatron strides onto the battlefield at the end of Dying of the Light, I was surprised at how amazing it looked, frankly. Not that I didn't expect Alex to deliver, but that was a particularly epic scene thanks to him.
Ayden Howard
If you could rewrite MTMTE and LL all over again, would you change anything?
Yeah, *definitely*, and I guess this touches on other questions about what do I regret/what didn't I like.
I'd probably decompress some of it - some of the earlier issues are very tightly packed, and I recognize that this is good for some people. But the earlier issues are a little busy, I'd space them out more.
Definitely would have more stories focused on the non-core cast.
Would've had more stories set on the Lost Light during the mutineer's takeover.
Always wanted to do 1-2 parters around characters like Hound, Inferno, Huffer, Gears, Bluestreak, Mirage, classic G1...a look into the backroom stuff.
There was going to be an issue with a new character being behind the Lost Light Insider.
The above would have happened partially to sell the idea that this was a ship with 200+ people.
I wouldn't have decapitated Red Alert.
I may not have killed Trailcutter.
I may have had another DJD conflict/story before they caught up with the crew.
The 4 acts of conjunx endura - a real thing, or another Getaway lie?
Not a lie, it was the real deal.
How did the LL crew - specifically Megatron - react to the deaths of Optimus, Soundwave, and Starscream?
Let's specifically focus on Megatron - he would've been conflicted about all three.
Would've been most cut up over Starscream's death, because there was a lot of unfinished business between him and Starscream, and the reformed pacifist Megatron never got to meet Starscream. That probably eats away at him.
Closely followed by Optimus.
Would've been incredibly interested in what Soundwave had done and would've been proud of him.
Imagine he would have been bitterly affected by all three deaths in slightly different ways.
Aiden Fisher
What was your favorite MTMTE/LL moment and why?
I think:
the message from Rewind in MTMTE 16.
Conversation between Chromedome and Brainstorm in the same issue.
Rodimus reacting to what he thinks is his future dead body.
Ravage+Megatron scene in Slaughterhouse.
Lot of moments in LL 25.
Rung punching the moon
Starscream's testimony in Megatron's trial
Seeing DJD designs for the first time.
Seeing a nuance or character detail that Jack [Lawrence] has put into the scene.
Does Rewind have color changing pants?
Yes he does. Fascinates Brainstorm. No one knows how he does it - he could be an outlier.
Was there any significance to the following numbers:
77 - Rodimus' Room
No.
113
Yes, first TF comic I got way back.
Any significance to them adding up to 190?
No, that's my fault for being "clever" with numbers and thus tricking the readers into treating them as having some significance.
What comes next? Where can we hope to find the next Roberts work?
Good question. Hopefully something coming out soonish, and then plans for something different after that. Will let you know on Twitter.
What do Transformers do with the gifted vials of innermost energon after they've recovered or died?
If you are fortunate enough to be given a vial of innermost energon when you're sick, and you recover, then you can choose. When someone gives you innermost Energon, they do so with no expectations that they will be getting it back. If the person recovers they can gift it back or keep it as a reminder of how much you are cared about.
If you are dead, then like donating an organ it can be recycled.
Issue 14: the layout of the panel suggests Overlord's spark is being harvested. But it looks as if we're seeing something in the Functionist Universe.
That scene in 14 is in the regular universe, and we are seeing Overlord's spark being harvested. Functionists still had a role in the regular universe, just marginalized with the rise of the Senate.
Isaac Nguyen
Why did Whirl not accept Ratchet's gift in LL 25?
Was due to his perception of his disability - always felt he needed fixing, but he didn't. He realized that was the wrong way of looking at and he was complete.
At what point did you come up with the idea that Rung was Primus incarnate?
At the beginning, but after Chaos Theory if I'm honest. The dialog in Chaos Theory...maybe it was subconscious. In between writing Chaos Theory and preparing to write More Than Meets The Eye was when I came up with the idea of Rung becoming Primus. That's why you have the serial number in MTMTE 1, as proof for the skeptics down the line that it was considered from the beginning.
Any thoughts on what happened to Orion Pax in the FU?
He would have done incredibly heroic things, but Megatron was always the figurehead. Would have done great things together with Megatron, although a bit of a role reversal of sorts with Megatron being the mentor. Never any question that Orion could survive and come through the portal in Crucible - there was so much going on at that point with so many characters and events to account for...to give Orion enough time and explore him and Megatron's relationship, there just wasn't time. That's why Orion didn't make it through. Sorry Orion. That's why Terminus didn't make it through as well. With Terminus, you also have the reader's perspective of "Did Megatron ever find out that Terminus lied to him?" No, he didn't. There would have been an expectation that those things would've needed to have been addressed on the page.
[Some dude asked Roberts 26 separate questions...really...]
Brayden Long
What was the plan with 'Connie' [Scorponok's human baby, the Firstborn] and the actual plan with her if you could've had more time?
She would've been in broad terms part of the Scavengers and have them looking after her. She would've remained young, no artificial aging. She would've been wanted by Scorponok for furthering his plan. There were plans for one of the Scavengers to sacrifice themselves to protect her. Never got fleshed out much further than that.
What does 'warborn' mean?
Means simply that they came into being in the war, as some sort of cold construction or small scale random hotspot.
Would you have given more coverage to concepts like 'the shimmer' and 'blurred data' had the series continued?
Maybe. Sometimes I have lore mapped out - other times like the above you can come up with that "on the hoof". You might discover during an issue there's an opportunity to discuss those things or make a new myth and so you add to it "live", so to speak.
Are there any specific points in the series when they would've played Stan Bush's the Touch?
Played mostly all the time in Rodimus' head.
The montage in the Annual of Rodimus' "Till All Are One" moments.
In Shadowplay, Glitch says that his outlier ability causes him pain. Did this pain ever subside or is his transformation addiction a means of managing that pain like clenching and unclenching a hand to relieve a cramp?
That's a great idea although I did not think of it. The pain subsided and the transforming just gives him a hell of a rush.
Is Cyclonus actually rich?
Not anymore, sadly. He was rich and a landowner, but value can rise and fall. He doesn't own anything on new Cybertron...well, maybe he does! Maybe he and Tailgate have invested in some land.
Henry Kelly
If the series had gone on for another 100 issues...
My god.
...would there have been more of the DJD or is the conclusion you gave them the intended one?
Yes, really intended to be their end. If i had more space...as I said earlier if I could do it all again, I would have spaced things out and given them more stories. But they were never going to come back. Flashbacks only, sorry.
Was Tarn/Glitch's transforming addiction a plotline that was curtailed or dropped?
Eh, not deliberately, I didn't think of much more to do with it. Tarn was a very rich character - or had lots of gimmicks, depending on your perspective. It was difficult to find room to explore them all. I always wanted to do more about his voice killing people remotely and always wanted to do a telephone scene, and I did get to do that in the end with the flashback in Lost Light.
You left Flame's fate purposely ambiguous.
I didn't think - you're invited to assume he survived.
Liked LL 25 - did you have the Drift/Ratchet romance planned from the very start?
No.
When did your plans for them change or evolve?
As I went along? I think by the time they came back for Dying of the Light I thought "this could go that way". But - here's the secret - it wasn't till I sat down to write 25 that I decided to write that particular ending.
If you had more time and space, would you have covered the uneasy Rodimus/Drift/Ratchet triangle in more depth?
Never intended it to be uneasy. Rodimus was pretty relaxed about it, in as much as it existed. He was pretty cool about it.
Juan Bennett
Who was the mentor teaching Megatron medicine? Seemed like his skills outmatched Ratchet's.
They nearly did. I think Ratchet's still the ultimate. It's like "Hulk is always the strongest", and you want him to be. There's a variety of skills. You're not going to get a surgeon who is good at everything. Megatron's expertise, you can say, was around the "zero point" neurology and things like that.
Who's his mentor? he's self taught. He's probably the most ferocious autodidact.
Will Brainstorm continue living fine, or in the condition he was in in issue 25, or can he just get repaired or did he choose life support?
We're sort of straying in the territory of "that's up to you to decide"...I didn't write that with it in mind that he would be able to fix himself. That's his fate. He might live a long time, but he'll be very constrained in what we can do in the meantime.
Who are the Malware Brigade? I'm thinking a faction with that title would've been great, like the Phase Sixers or the DJD.
Sometimes a name kind of appeals and you scatter in some world-building confetti while you're going, and you might come back to it or you might not. I always wanted to go back to the Malware Brigade...I think it probably stems from being a kid and references to the "Software Wars" on someone's tech specs. Was it Chromedome? Maybe Guzzle's. There are times when you think to yourself, if you were to write a "real" Transformers story - and this would be bad, what I'm going to say - they wouldn't be running around. THey'd be fighting remotely, using hyper sophisticated drones, or viruses. The Malware Brigade would likely be a more visually interesting version of that concept. Someone else can write that now. =)
Adam Morales
Were there ever any plans to bring back Rewind 1, or was Overlords hand obscured in MTMTE 16 just to keep us guessing?
[ed note: buckle in]
Well, okay, let me have a little drink. =)
So let's tie together various questions here. So originally - there's a lot of disclosure you're about to hear - originally Rewind 1 *was* going to come back. Eventually. Rewind 1, we would've learned, would have - because if you remember Rewind 1 couldn't shrink and right back in the first issue we established that he turns into a giant USB stick, essentially. We would've learned that thanks to the intense trauma or panic or fear of being trapped in a slow cell with Overlord, his deep seated defense mechanism/reflex would've meant that he did rediscover the ability to transform and shrink. So he would've shrunk to that size and Overlord would've grabbed him as the ship exploded. So definitely, when the issue was drawn - 16 - the fist was clenched/obscured.
And this is where it gets more complicated.
So, we would have discovered that Overlord and Rewind were discovered by the Galactic Council. So some of that happened - Overlord was discovered by the Council. Originally the Council would find Overlord *and* Rewind, and they would have used Rewind in an experiment that they'd been working on for years - and there are shades of this in a sense, in the finale - a weapon that would punch its way into parallel universes. And they would've fixed Rewind, and given him a suit of armor necessary to jump from universe to universe. And to do that after the first successful jump to another universe, he would've discovered that it would be very difficult to find the power sources necessary to jump again...a bit like Back to the Future. He wanted to get home, a bit like Quantum Leap - just stealing from all these other sources.
Joshua Stewart
So the Council wanted to use Rewind as a weapon - it wouldn't be to jump to universes, it would be a super powerful directed teleportation weapon, but it would've malfunctioned and he would've been pushed in space and time, in the distant distant past in a different universe.
So the reason why Rewind 2 survived Slaughterhouse and didn't get cancelled out is because by that point Rewind 1 wasn't in our universe anymore. And so Rewind 1 would've been off-stage having these adventures, fighting his way back to our universe to be reunited with Chromedome, and encountering all sorts of different iterations of Transformers and I guess different Chromedomes, but he wanted the original. Had we had a series 4 or had I enough space in S3 to do the Chromedome/Rewind story I wanted to do, it would've been the return of Rewind 1. The bollocked thing about this and Chromedome and the 2 Rewinds, as you've picked up already, is that if Rewind 1 comes back...then one of the two of them would have to go. One of them is gonna be cancelled out. I had in mind an entire issue just with the three of them - and believe me, it would have worked out scientifically, there would have been a reason for this - they would have been aware of their situation and they could exercise choice over which one of the two Rewinds is gonna go. By this point, you would've hopefully taken Rewind 2 to your hearts and poor Rewind 1 - yes, we all love Rewind 1 - but Rewind 1 would've spent literally millions of years jumping and jumping to get back to Chromedome.
But, here's the other thing - back when Rewind is in a coma in issue 12, and Chromedome speaks to him, we don't know what Chromedome says. But what Chromedome does, is he confesses something.
James Garcia
And this ties in with Rewind's alleged allergy to ultraviolet light, and so storyline right back at the beginning...before I wrote issue 1, was that Chromedome was involved in Dominus Ambus' disappearance, and Chromedome was tasked by Prowl with removing from Rewind 1's memories the fate of Dominus Ambus and then removing the precise details of his disappearance from his own memory. When Chromedome and Rewind met at the relinquishment chamber, it was after Chromedome had done that. And Chromedome would have been burdened with this guilt, and he would have confessed this to Rewind when Rewind was in a coma in issue 12.
And if you go back to issue 12, you will see that in that panel, Rewind's recording. So even though he's in a coma, he's recording everything...including Chromedome's confession. So while Rewind 1 is universe hopping, at some point he would have accessed this memory - this recording - and discover what Chromedome did, and his motivation for returning to our universe would have gone from a desire to be reunited with his love to a desire to have a reckoning or to take revenge or...it became more complicated than love.
William Thomas
And the idea would be that Chromedome, when Rewind 1 came back into our universe, this three way conversation with the two Rewinds and Chromedome would've been very interesting; because what Chromedome did to Rewind 1 he would have also done to Rewind 2, but Rewind 2 would only just be finding out about it. And so, and...what I haven't said about it...the Galactic Council [James says "Functionists" here, but I think he meant GC based on earlier] fashioned this armor to look like Primus, because they reckoned that many Transformers were superstitious, and figured if they could teleport "Primus" into the middle of a battlefield, it would sow discord and confusion, etc. so Rewind 1 looked like Primus. And everything I've just told you was more or less going to happen - I'll come back to that - and when I absolutely definitively had to ditch that storyline was when I came to write the last part of the Mutineer's Trilogy, and that scene in issue 12 where we have the Scavengers interlude, that was originally an interlude set in the Marvel UK Transformers universe - and I wrote this scene - and it was set in the Target: 2006 story. In Target : 2006 for those who don't know, Galvatron travels back in time, fights Megatron, tries to build a weapon to blow up Unicron in 2006. Within that story Omega Supreme is brought up but never shows up and his disappearance is never accounted for. So this 5 page flashback would have utilized original Furman dialogue, and it would appear to be Primus arriving from nowhere, fighting Omega Supreme for "reasons", defeating Omega Supreme, and then hopping out of there, basically using Omega's power to hop him closer - very close, because 1986, although in a parallel universe is getting closer to "our" time. So that would've been that.
[Ed note: Roberts pronounces "Omega" like "Amiga" =) "Amiga Supreme", the greatest 80s computer the Autobots possess, I guess...
Asher Cruz
And it was written, and two things: by this point I was thinking, "I've already got a lot of stuff compressed into the last 12 issues and I don't think I can find room to have Rewind come back and have that special conversation and to give that the attention it deserves". That was one reason. The other reason was that I'd gone really cold on the idea of Chromedome doing that to Rewind. At the beginning - way back, before issue 1 came out, and you're mapping all these stories - it seemed like an interesting thing. It was a memory, it was using Chromedome's abilities against him, and it was high drama. But I didn't like - as those characters came to life and that relationship came to life - I didn't like that to be part of their relationship. And so we've got references in Dark Cybertron, in issue 14, to Prowl knowing something and using it to blackmail him. And I put those things in there thinking "Well, I can pick up on that or I don't have to." And so yeah...in the end I E-mailed my editor and said, "I don't know how I feel about this anymore" and we decided that, yeah, don't go there.
So hopefully that's explained the UV thing, the Prowl blackmail angle, the lost scene from the Mutineer's Trilogy...oh yeah! And at the end of the Functionist Universe, the end of Dissolution, you would have had an epilogue where Rewind 1 [as Primus] attacks the Functionist Council, and is responsible for them merging with Vector Sigma, which would have led to the Crucible events. And it was all tied together, and I sort of loosened some of those ties, but still would've been able to pursue the story if I wanted to.
So here we are. Canonically, Chromedome didn't do that to Rewind. Prowl's blackmail is of a different nature - to be determined, that original storyline went. And...yeah. So that's...yeah. So that's a lot of answer.
Jaxon Green
All that text and I didn't read a single word.
Luke Ramirez
Did you have any more plans for Ten?
I would've used him more. Again, if we'd spaced things out differently I would've used him more. I felt a bit bad; he deserved his own story, much like Roller.
If you had more time would you have fleshed out Ten's infatuation with Magnus?
Yes, I would've had that as a sort of gentle backplot/backdrop; it would've been sweet, and gentle, and innocent.
Why did Nautica say that Skids wasn't a great guy in issue 9? Were you implying that love made her blind to his mistake?
Um, no - she didn't regard him as her best friend. She didnt dislike him, but no longer had that connection to him, which was sad.
If Starscream had to have made an appearance, where and when would it have happened?
Actually that would've been fun. That would've been fun at the beginning of Megatron's time on board, when he wasn't quite set...when he hadn't quite embraced pacifism. It would've been interesting in different ways if he had appeared at the end. I like to imagine the meeting between Megatron and Starscream in the cell at the end, had Starscream still been around.
Was it intentional that the lightning bolt shaped cuts on Cyclonus' face on Tailgate's apparent death look like Drift's face at Ratchet's funeral?
Not on my part, no...I like the idea of that though. No, sorry, that wasn't intentional.
I was wondering why Megatron says he hasn't seen Minimus for centuries, but the Lost Light is still set in the same time as "Optimus Prime".
Right, okay. So that's because of the Warren. It's timey wimey isn't it? The Last Light has essentially jumped back in time to join the main crew.
Do you think you'll ever write these characters again? Maybe a short prose story from time to time?
If there was a big fat hardback ultimate edition omnibus thing, I'd like to do something new to make that worth your while, to enhance the package.
Josiah Wright
Give a time when fan reaction to something in the comics surprised you.
There must be tons of times! Just trying to think...you guys are quite hard to predict with your reactions sometimes. I thought "Dissolution" would go down better than it did. Oh! The reaction to Getaway being strung up and having his mouth removed. That was controversial, wasn't it? I was surprised at how people reacted to that.
Are Fort Max, Red Alert, and Cerebros in any sort of relationship? Some sort of polyamorous three way conjunx?
Let's just say yes; yes, they are, it works really well for them.
Does Grand Maximus exist as a member of Fort Max's family?
No, I don't think Grand Maximus exists in the IDW universe.
Were Rodimus and Drift Amica Endura?
Um...their relationship was...they could've been and no one would've batted an eye. They may have had the ceremony off panel; that would've made sense.
What exactly is the Simanzi massacre?
The information's in the title, really. It was a bad, bloody fight. It's one of those things that gives a sprinkle of color to the story. Someone should write a story about the Simanzi massacre.
Did Rodimus know that Overlord was on board or not?
Yes.
Is there something you really regret leaving out?
I'm of two minds - the little fanboy in me would've loved to have been able to say I contributed to the original Marvel Transformers universe, which I could've done through that Target:2006 interlude, but it would've been indulgent, even by my standards, and it would've meant that Rewind storyline, which wasn't as good.
Is there anything you hadn't planned to write but did anyway?
Most of it? =)
Did Rung really create all those Matrixes, or did he just have them stored in his secret ass compartment the whole time?
His "ass compartment"...no, he really created all of those Matrixes. He used most of his body to do so. Rung's "ass compartment" is not as capacious as people seem to think.
Grayson Thompson
Did you have any interactions between the LL Captains (specifically, Magnus and Drift) that you didn't get/choose to include?
Not specifically - I'd be able to answer that if I had physically written it and had to cut it for space; I did do that with some dialogue but rarely with entire scenes. I did quite like the vibe we were getting - the Magnus, Drift, Rodimus triumverate we had in the early days and then Megatron came along and squared that triangle. But no, sorry.
What was the Scavengers arc going to be about?
It was originally going to be a 5-part storyline, which was going to wrap up their adventures. I wanted them to have a trade to themselves. It was going to be a longer, more detailed version of what you saw in issues 14 and 15. More scenes, more locations, a bit of a chase. There would have been, vaguely, a "Last Stand" feel about it - I had some sort of floating oil rig that they had to weaponize and defend. Maybe to subvert Dying of the Light.
Would there have been more on the Guiding Hand?
It was always nice that the end reveal was going to be about them. It would have been nice to have seeded more information about them as we went along. But if you look at Lost Light in particular as our Season 3, the Guiding Hand are often mentioned, or they appear as statues, or whatever - there's quite a lot of Guiding Hand stuff in there.
Whatever happened to Pious Maximus?
Well, that's a reaction that surprised me - the love for Pious Maximus. I think it's just because he's got a very cool name, let's face it. Whatever happened to him? I sort of figured that he died. Maybe he died with a butchered mind in the cell.
How and when did the original Ultra Magnus die?
I don't know! It's that thing when you sort of create the details you need as you're writing them or you think you're going to need them. I don't mean this facetiously at all, but for some of the questions I get asked I'd need to have a bank of information that I simply never used.
Nolan Powell
Are Percy and Brainstorm a couple, or just the closest of friends forever?
Well, if you had to put a gun to my head, I'd say that they were a proper couple.
How much did Pharma hate being stationed at Delphi, even before the DJD? Also, what would you envision his holoform looking like?
There's a lot of Pharma fans out there, isn't there? I don't think he hated it, before the DJD made his life shit. He may have been a bit grumpy and he may have missed Ratchet, but he was in command. He would've run a good medicentre, and I think even before he fell from grace him and Ambulon, they certainly had a grudging respect for each other, even First Aid.
What would his holoform look like? All Pharma fans waiting for the right answer here...when I say things like "I'll come back to that", I want someone out there to remind me on Twitter and I'll tell you. [ed: it doesn't get answered here]
Do you think you have another Transformers opus in you?
I don't know, actually! Well, I had plans for a 12 issue series about something, about a particular character. I won't tell you about it in case one day it comes into being.
What's the conjunx endura ceremony like? Will Cyclonus and Tailgate become conjunx endura?
They certainly are conjunx by the time LL 25 comes around. What's the ceremony like? It's pretty much as sketched out by Getaway.
I understand that writing almost every character comes from a place of empathy. Is there any character you identify with the most?
Not one particular character. There are times when you relate to certain characters. I'm not going to say Rung, obviously...that just plays into people's hands. =) There's bits of all of them really. Chromedome maybe?
When you were writing "Swearth", did a scene between you and Swerve end up on the cutting room floor?
No, as indulgent and fourth wall breaking as things got, I never would've put myself in the comic, literally or through Rung.
Noah Gutierrez
[at this point, feed cuts out, comes back and James reveals he's been streaming on his data plan - no wifi!! The ultimate twist! He's also paid for more data just to continue answering questions!]
What do you want to see in a new iteration of Transformers?
Inclusivity, a variety of characters and places, you know...and I want it to be embraced, to continue to build community.
What was with that image Nick Roche posted the other day?
So Nick posted a page that was drawn for an issue of MTMTE that never made it into the issue. It was one half of a two page script that I wrote - at speed - and there's an NDA that I guess is still in force, so I can't say too much. But I will say that it was to do with what became the expanded Hasbroverse. What I can remember from those two pages is that Rodimus had just come from the fancy dress party in Swerve's. There was some dialogue I recycled from there..."a lone Megatron in a sea of Whirls" was in that originally.
How did Ratchet interpret and feel about Pharma's last words, in particular "my beloved Ratchet"?
I think there was an imbalance in feeling between Ratchet and Pharma. Before Pharma's fall from grace I think Ratchet certainly cared for him and respected his abilities as a doctor. But there may have been a bit of a Brainstorm/Quark dynamic to that.
How many times have Rodimus and Drift slapped each other's ass?
I've signed an NDA; I can't disclose that, I'm afraid.
Is there any special meaning to the patterns on Drift in LL 25?
Yes and no - yes, that's why they were there and no I can't tell you what they mean. They're to denote moments in their lives, either literally or symbolically. Might be a version of chronolingualism/spectralism, evoking certain emotional truths. I'll be honest with you, when I wrote the scene in LL 25 with Rodimus and Drift holding hands, I didn't have chronolinguistics in mind.
Chase Ramirez
I *love* the way Jack drew that closeup though, and it certainly looks like - and this is something you could only say in the context of this continuity - a "post-chronoliguistic". It looks as if there's a message there.
Is Cyclonus actually a good singer or does only Tailgate think he is?
I think he's a good singer. He's a bit like an opera singer in that his talent isn't always appreciated by the uncultured. And Tailgate would've liked whatever he was doing at that stage in their relationship.
Of the final Lost Light crew, who would win in a game of "Shoot Shoot Bang Bang"?
Probably Whirl, but he would bend the rules.
The end of Lost Light was a love letter to fanfic...
Yes, it certainly was...
What are your favorite fanfictions, and use that word as broadly as you like?
In terms of actual fan fictions, it's been quite a while since I read any for professional reasons. Some of the fan-art that I've seen that sort of sells a scene, relationship, or dynamic between characters. I love to see that sort of thing, particularly around the Scavengers. They've had relatively little time on the page, but some of the fanart around them really speaks to the volume of information on the interdynamics on the team we don't see on the page.
Was the recurrence of the phrase "trapped light" tied to an unused reveal, or always meant to be left mysterious, or did I miss something obvious?
You didn't miss anything! It was meant to refer to "trapped light" within Rung or within the Matrix.
Were you ever tempted to have Unicron and Primus have a faceoff ala the UK stories?
Not really. I wanted to keep the LL storyline in and of itself, just because it was neater that way.
What would have been the big cliffhanger for S3 before the compression?
I cant give much detail, but probably around the Infinites and First-born. As a character, Scorponok would have been a bigger villian, both in terms of the Infinites and the army he had built up. It would have been around him.
Christopher Smith
You're known to have a special style of writing; such as knowing each and every detail and planning the entire storyline in advance. Can you let us in to some of your process when writing?
Not every single detail is mapped out ahead of time. A lot of it is - the spine of the story is. But two things - you've got to give wiggle room to accomodate things, such as Megatron becoming an Autobot. And you have to rely on yourself to have new ideas while you're writing and include them - or like the Chromedome and Rewind stuff, to jettison things you've gone cold on. You can't be too tied up or you don't give yourself any room to adapt. And you find - I mean - someone said "it's surprising how you can remember everything". I don't remember everything. But bear in mind, you're thinking about this story *every day*. Whether you're writing or not, it's always in your head, so you're living and breathing it. It becomes easier if you think of it like that, to understand how you can keep a lot of plates spinning like that. You're examining the story from every angle, turning it over in your head, figuring out how to best tell it. And picking up details from every angle. When you're doing that, you tend to know things exhaustively. You do come to really understand, become very familiar, with how things fit together.
Which issue or arc was the hardest to write?
Shadowplay was hard to fit into three issues. Crucible was hard, for similar reasons, given there were a lot of characters and events. The end of Remain in Light was very hard to scale down into 22 pages, and I've said before we were originally going to have the briefcase opening there and the pages running out of sequence - it was right to postpone that. I found the 2 parter around Skids and Nautica on Troja Major very hard to write.
Brandon Cooper
Similarly, talking about regrets...I do recognize it was suboptimal, no it was bad to have Cyclonus sustain those injuries at the end of MTMTE 47 and then to have him up and about in 48 with sort of not much in between those two events. I would've done that differently.
Was there anything to Pharma and Tarn besides business?
Is that...am I being asked if there was any shipping stuff going on there? In which case, no sorry. Tarn's a bad guy, and he was principally responsible for Pharma's mental collapse.
Did you have any plans to write Optimus' character further after Chaos Theory?
I would've liked to. I would've done or liked to have done more stories with "The Outlaws", as I called them in my notes. Pax and Roller and his team that we meet at the beginning of Chaos Theory. I would've liked to have told more stories in the Functionist Universe after Megatron stays behind with Pax.
Would Cyclonus and Whirl become Amica Endurae?
Yes, I think they would.
Why am I so into Roller, and why are you making me so into Roller?
I can't explain why Roller has that effect on you, other than what's due to Jack's lascivious designs.
Was information creep entirely a result of Adaptus' weapon, or did it exist independently of that?
I think it existed independently of that. It might've been called something else, but conceptually the idea that data corrodes and is mis-remembered...I mean, I conceptualized that before I linked it to Adaptus' weapon. When it was introduced it was my idea to explain why these robots with software, why it was possible for these near immortals with huge power of recall to have contested history.
Was Ten a composite Cybertronian, with memories of lives or past lives housed in one spark?
I like that idea, I didn't have that idea, but it would account for some things.
Christopher Miller
Did Megatron feel he was a failure at the end of LL after promising Optimus to find the Knights, or was he more humbled by not getting his way?
I don't think Megatron felt like a failure...by that point, the reality of the Knights of Cybertron has become apparent. They succeeded in their quest in so far as they ended up with a new Cybertron, beyond finding the Knights that was their goal. I think he was at peace with that side of things.
Anything you wish you hadn't done in the stories?
The fake-out with Red Alert didn't do me any favors, sometimes the pacing has been a bit rough or I've had to skip around like the Cyclonus injury in 47.
Which is your least favorite issue and why?
Um...maybe, and this is purely from a writing perspective, nothing to do with the art because the art is always amazing...I will answer this but I will say that some issues didn't benefit from their sequence or closeness to other issues. The Swerve issue following the charisma parasite issues didn't do me any favors because it was three "high-concept" issues in a row.
The Troja Major two parter, I didn't pull that off as I wanted to. I mean, I'm obsessively careful about not submitting an issue until it's the best I can make it. There are bits of every issue I think are good and lots of things I think aren't good. Something in that I couldn't get to work the way I wanted to.
Considering everyone forgot Rung by the end of LL, where does everyone think the additional Matrixes came from?
I thought somebody would ask that...the simple answer is that no one's quite sure. It's just people having to invent explanations for it, since they can't even detect a Rung-shaped absence, let alone explain *that*. Information creep possibly accounts for that, but...conflicting theories.
What was the original rationale for the DJD confronting the LL?
"Dying of the Light" would have originally been based on the DJD coming after Drift.
Brandon Phillips
Do you own any Mastermind Creations?
I don't...I'm very tempted by the MTMTE Megatron as miner, I don't know who put it out...
On what grounds did the Galactic Council have the right to intervene in the Transformers business and punish Megatron?
There's sort of parallels with the UN really, and with the court of international justice. Many worlds have signed up for this and agreed to surrender a degree of sovereignty in a greater justice system. The Cybertronians have been frozen out of that, having made themselves galactic pariahs over the years, and at the end of LL we see efforts by Prowl and othres attempting to re-integrate. It's a combination of "if you want to be part of the Galactic Council you need to surrender to our justice system", and that Megatron is such a divisive character that it carries a bit of weight to say "we will trust your judgment over our own".
[Editor's note: The following question has been said to have been covered in the Q&A, both online and by @unknown456 . However, after listening to the entirety of the stream again I can't find evidence of it. Maybe *it* disappeared into the Warren? I've added a version of it here for context for the question that immediately follows it, which is part of the recording.]
If there had been more time devoted to the Guardians plotline, what would have occurred?
Originally, Rodimus would sacrifice himself in Crucible to stop the Omega Guardians from using the Warren to enter our universe and take it over. Even saying that is making me yawn. Everyone would’ve thought Rodimus was already dead, and as such another character would’ve gotten credit for his sacrifice. Rodimus would’ve known this, and sacrificed himself anyway as a way to show how he had grown as a character.
Levi Green
At TFCon, you mentioned you intended to kill off several more characters in the finale. Who else was on the death list and how were they going to die?
Well I've told you about Rodimus [ed: huh!?], Brainstorm was another near-miss, and I want to say Whirl as well but that's going back a long way.
Why aren't Brainstorm and Chromedome amica endurae?
They might be. Like I said, just because they don't refer to it doesn't mean it hasn't happened. To unpack that a bit, you might have people for whom conjunx endurae carries a certain weight but amica endurae doesn't. Or Chromedome might've been burned out.
Was the secret identity always going to be Glitch?
Yes. People didn't believe me, but yes. That was true.
Of the playlist songs out of your playlist, what songs do you use for writing?
I don't normally listen while writing, but of all the songs I've offered up over the years, it was a Dr. Who Song called "Heaven Sent" that I played a lot during writing of that issue.
Why was Riptide's Autobot brand grey midway through? Did it change when the mutiny went wrong because he thought everyone had been super-murdered by the DJD?
"Super-murdered". I like that phrase, in a different time we would've said that was deserving of a No-Prize. Something where someone says "There's a continuity error, how can we fix this, how can we explain it?" and I would've said, "That's fantastic, that's a great explanation". Someone else asked me why certain Autobrands are gray and others are not. To be honest, we just took our eye off the ball there and had to stick with it. You can see it's perhaps reflective of different stages of grief.
Were there any romantic feelings in Velocity and Nautica's relationship?
Not really, but...it's a spectrum isn't it, feelings. There may have been times where something ebbed and flowed and flared and faded, but they were never intended as such. It was never a consideration of mine.
Hunter Sanchez
In the version of MTMTE where Megatron joins the crew, would the green spark from "Remain in Light" turn out to be Quickswitch?
Yes! Good guess.
Other things left on the cutting room floor - I planned to have the crew using information garnered through Chromedome's invasion of Overlord for them to build their own phase-sixer through Quickswitch, given him life through a spark they acquired, and coat him with ununtrium. There's a seed planted in "The Sound of Breaking Glass" regarding this. Reference to Swerve having a tray of liquid metal that he takes away.
I thought it was pronounced "you-new-trium".
No. Well.
Is that a spider on your wall? I hope not.
No, that's a fancy light.
Do you ever see yourself writing Transformers fiction again, or is this the end?
I feel like a little prose story for an omnibus. Or I might have a fantastic idea and try to persuade IDW to let me run with it. I don't know - there might be a gap.
How would Whirl be as a roommate?
He'd be very messy and destructive. You'd probably have a crush on him and then hate him.
Will you ever write "2 Horsepiece"? [ed: !?!]
Not unless I can find a way to get paid to do it and take time off to do it justice. =)
If you voiced a character who would it be?
All of them.
What would Quickswitch's personality be?
Quickswitch was going to be the pacifist character. They'd have gone to all this trouble to create the ultimate super-warrior and he'd never ever want to fight.
Favorite Chris Barry sitcom?
Definitely the British Empire.
Is Kup pronounced "Cup" or "Coop"?
It's obviously pronounced "Coop".
Tell us about Spectralism.
I didn't really think too much about it.
Do the cast remember the truth about the Guiding Hand?
Yes, to a degree. Rung's role is confused.
Does Megatron miss any of his Decepticons?
Yes indeed.
What is considered attractive in Cybertronian society?
Metal.
Favorite phase sixer?
Sixshot, definitely.
What was Wheeljack's original role in your story?
Brainstorm.
Jaxson Martinez
What's a Cybertronian wedding like?
Long.
Were the Sharkticons planned to be found in space?
No.
Did Ratty and Drifty...
Ha, I'm always surprised at people's reactions to "Ratty".
Did Ratty and Drifty get together on the way back to the LL or after?
They got together on the way back.
Do you find prose or comics more interesting to write?
Depends on my mood.
Swerve on finding out about Blurr's death?
Inconsolable.
How was the CyGate wedding?
Very loud due to singing.
Do turbofox furries exist on Cybertron?
No comment.
Was there anything between Swerve and Velocity planned?
Absolutely not.
Does Minimus ever transform?
Yes.
What's Rodimus' favorite meme?
He likes the butterfly meme.
Who had more crushes on them: Rodimus or Getaway?
Getaway.
How did Getaway feel when Riptide outsmarted him?
Not happy.
Are there any other duplicates on the Last Light?
That was something that occurred to me, but was too much to explore in Crucible without complicating things.
Any thoughts on Drift's thighs?
They are certainly impressive.
Did the Scavengers raise the Firstborn in our universe?
Yes.
Say something about FU Impactor?
He was a hero.
Did Skids love Nautica as a conjunx?
...yeah, I'd say he was in love with her.
Ravage to Megs - "Don't change back".
Aww we're never gonna answer that one. =)
Are you excited for the Bumblebee movie?
Yeah I am! And that's even before I knew there was a Smiths reference in it.
Roller and Nickel - yea or nay?
I sometimes look at the panel where he's spinning her wheels and think that is the most outrageously erotic thing we've ever put in the comic.
Was Nautica always going to forget Skids?
Yes, sadly.
What alt universe is the crew in at the end of LL 25?
That's for you to decide.
Random fact about Black Shadow?
Scared of oil.
Will Swerve find love ever?
I think he's destined to be a good friend to many.
Juan Cooper
Wasn't Chromedome going to have the Firstborn early on?
Yes, *very* early on. I had an image of him holding a baby in his hand.
Did Swerve get Misfire's number?
Yes.
Who do you regret killing?
Tailcutter. Tailbreaker. Trailbreaker, even. [clearly James is feeling the Corona at this point...]
Who would win...
My god, no one has asked me a question about who would win! In who would win questions, it's always the first person that you list.
Was Kaon's death always planned?
No.
Will Drift and Rod see each other again?
Definitely maybe.
#1 TV Show?
Community, obviously.
Why did it seem heavily implied in LL 24 that Whirl died while opening the matrix?
That was never intended! I was surprised people read it as that. He was just injured.
Who's the clumsiest Transformer?
Discharge.
What's the most self-indulgent thing you wrote?
The disco scene, which I probably shouldn't have done.
Where did the Guiding Hand get their mortal names from?
Some sort of folkloric information creep. People filling in the blanks, feeling the need to do that.
Kaon and Dominus - were they involved? James, please!
Not in the way you want them to be. Sorry.
What time do you have to be up in the morning?
You're right! I have to be up in the morning to write, actually!
Does Swerve prefer "Queen is Dead" or "Strange Ways"?
OOOOH! Ahhhh, man. Queen is dead. Even though Strange Ways is the cool choice.
Was there always tension between Cyclonus and Getaway?
Yes.
(at this point many people chimed in through Instagram to say they liked the disco scene)
Thank you, everyone, for liking the disco scene!
Does Whirl still make clocks?
Yes he does make clocks! You saw him do that in LL 25.
Has the faith changed now that there is knowledge that the Guiding Hand is real?
Great question! Yes, it must have, I think.
Are you still writing comics?
Yes!
If you were a Transformer, what would your alt mode be?
It would be...a pair of really nice headphones.
Liam Wilson
Did Megatron get to read any of Minimus' poetry?
Minimus took it to him in the last days in his cell.
Did Swerve actually watch all of Earth's entertainment?
Yes. Twice. Apart from Iron Fist.
Does Brainstorm like Inspector Gadget?
He's conflicted about that.
What would Death's Head's alt mode be?
A horn.
Optimus and Megatron - how would that conversation have gone?
Oh my god, it would have been the most intense conversation they've ever had respectively.
Besides Rung, favorite original character created?
I don't know if Rung *is* my favorite! I think Nautica.
Is Deathsaurus a Point One Percenter or a Phase Sixer?
He's not a Phase Sixer.
Does Swerve like the Big Bang Theory?
No, because he's got a functioning brain.
Are there any other Cybertronian neuro-diverse conditions?
Yes! I would have liked to have explored some.
Does Pharma feel bad for what he did?
Yes, originally, but then he sort of got overtaken by the mania.
Does Swerve like South Park (early series)?
Yes.
Did Minimus face discrimination because of his furry alt mode?
He did.
Who would win...Cyclonus or Drift?
Cyclonus.
Would you ever do a writing workshop at a convention?
Yes, I would, if there was a demand for it. If I'm invited to conventions anymore!
Do you think Ambulon deserved better?
Yes.
Who's the furry in the Lost Light crew?
Hoist.
Will Rung be in any future projects?
Not my own.
Is Tailgate the cutest?
Yes, he's like a little marshmellow.
Do all of the Lunarians look like Rung, or just some of them?
They all have aspects of Rung...and actually, that's something in LL 25 that we were trying to...we wanted through Jack's designs and Joanna's colors to try and get the idea across without being too obvious about it.
Why couldn't Rook have been Primus?
...sorry.
Hoist and Zootopia?
Yeah, Hoist and Zootopia...he's a big fan of that film.
Is it hard to break into the comics writing scene?
Yes it is, and I was very lucky to have contacts that gave me a chance.
Jeremiah Anderson
Is Rung watching from above?
Yes.
Who is considered the hottest on the Lost Light?
Getaway was, actually. Followed by Skids. They were a very hot duo.
Were there any cut Scavengers?
Not in terms of team members that I dropped.
What does Perceptor do in his spare time?
He doesn't have any spare time.
What did Rung see on Mediri?
...(thinking) Oh! Yes, that's a good question. Actually, I'm trying to think of whether I contemplated that.
What happened to Functionist Universe Anode?
She was an incredible war general.
Did Nickel have a girlfriend on Prion?
Yes, I think she probably did.
Did Rapidfire survive? Can you tell me about his personality?
He is - as the name suggests, he talks 10 to the dozen, he can't sit still, he's got Attention Deficit Disorder.
Favorite TF toy as a kid?
My favorite TF toy as a kid was Hot Rod, followed closely by Sandstorm...very good.
Grimlock and Misfire - amica possible?
Amica definitely.
Swerve's favorite Quantum Leap episode?
He likes the final episode *a lot*, otherwise it's "The Leap Home" parts 1 and 2.
Is it weird not being on a monthly deadline?
Yes it is weird, actually! My life is lacking shape at the moment in terms of that. It's nice to have time to read and watch things though.
Did Grimlock reunite with Swoop in our universe?
Yes.
Will there be a comic about the DJD in the future?
I was going to say "very unlikely" but who knows?
Current favorite song?
Oh my god it's this song by Grace Petrie called Farewell to Welfare
Who was Nickel's favorite DJD member?
Tarn
What was Fortress Maximus going to do in MTMTE 15 that was so morally horrible?
...hmm. I've forgotten.
Did Crankcase get together with cons4eva in our universe?
Yes.
Easton Richardson
Decepticons beef with organics...where did it start?
I *should* know that answer...it's a fundamental question! Um...I think it was in...weren't the Cybertronians attacked by organics first? I'll come back to you on this one.
What do you think of this season of Dr Who?
I am...I really wish it well. I'm a bit underwhelmed. There's been some great episodes or great moments, but...something's just not quite right.
Would you like to have done more like Star Saber?
Yes, I would've liked him to have had longer fights with people. =)
How long were Ratchet and Drift together?
Decades and decades, but you've gotta be vague because the time difference in 25 is vague.
What would you tell your child fanboy self?
Try to unlearn things. Don't feel you need to scratch every fanboy itch. Try to relax and do different things.
Swerve and Misfire thoughts?
I think they are the Booster Gold and Blue Beetle of the Transformers Universe.
Which Lost Lighters like the movie "Monsters vs. Aliens"?
None of them.
What styling product do you use, and why do you keeping running from this question, and thus running *from yourself*?
I use "Fish".
Does Rung know that we love him?
No he doesn't. He's very lonely.
What's the one thing you would tell a new comic writer?
Never ever settle for "will this do". If you think something can be better than make it better.
Was Crucible originally going to be longer?
Kind of - it would have been spread out over multiple stories in a way.
Can we have a Spotlight: Hoist #2?
Oh that's the *other* person who liked Spotlight: Hoist! Thank you, nice to meet you!
What bots like Shrek?
No single character likes all of the Shrek movies. They all like the first one.
Did Grimlock and Fort Max reconcile?
Yes.
Rodimus' favorite Disney movie?
Robin Hood.
Lug and Anode wedding song?
"I can't take my eyes off of you".
Which Transformer gives the worst hugs?
Octopunch.
Easton Reed
Does Swerve sort of remember Rung because of the fourth wall breaking?
Swerve remembers the cover to a comic that had Rung on it and can't explain what that means.
Would Rodimus eat Doritos?
Oh yeah.
Who gives the best hugs?
Funnily enough, Megatron. I was gonna say Magnus gives the best hugs, but he's only learned this after Megatron.
When did you start writing anything?
Like about six. Six o'clock! No, six years old.
Top three easy on the eye lost lighters?
That's for you to tell me.
Cygate wedding song?
Surely you don't have to ask that one. [ed: Huey Lewis, Power of Love]
How did Chromedome and Brainstorm meet?
At the new Institute.
Has Swerve read your erotic fan fiction?
Yes he was embarrassed, but flattered.
Could you have done an Inhumanoids spinoff any justice?
I don't think I could have done that. I don't think I could have brought the passion you need for that project.
What would a "simpatico" wedding be like?
Very complicated. They'd be trying to outdo each other in subtle ways - it would make a good sitcom episode actually.
Favorite podcast?
Seb Patrick's office podcast, I like that a lot.
Why did Rodimus feel great with the Matrix?
I think that was slightly psychosomatic. He's always fancied himself Matrix compatible...and maybe he is!
Can Grimlock get a boyfriend?
Unlikely.
How would you feel about a Jem/TF crossover?
Fantastic. Bring It On.
Which character would you have liked to have used but didn't get to?
Prowl.
Would you ever consider writing prose for a fanzine?
Uh...it's not the fanzine part...it's just whether I think I need a little break from TF at the moment.
Would Nightbeat like 'Sherlock'?
Oh god yes.
Who was Tusk?
One of the early beast warriors. An elephant.
Swerve's reaction to his fans?
Oh my god. Swerve would be both the best and worst Twitter user of all time.
Any romances among DJD members?
Not that I thought about.
Nolan James
What's your favorite gift from a fan?
I can't choose - but everything that's been handmade I do like.
Have you watched TFP or Animated?
I have watched both but not all the way through. I can see why they have large fanbases.
Skids as Dr. Who...what's the link?
That was just sort of an in-joke that we ran with.
Will you start reading all the fanfic now?
Yes...but please don't - in the nicest way - you can send me links but I can't guarantee I'll read it because I imagine I'll get quite a lot.
What's the worst movie Rodimus likes?
Caddyshack.
How was Terminus' confession going to go?
Terminus was never going to confess to Megatron.
Would Ratchet and Drift open a clinic together?
I like the ambiguity of the word 'clinic' there...yes, they'd open a 'clinic'.
Is "Toaster" the real mastermind of the mutiny?
Yes. He's got issues, Toaster has.
How do you feel about Whirl's many admirers?
I can see why Whirl has many admirers.
Which Transformer would you like as a best friend?
Skids or Rung would be good as a best mate.
Have the LL ever heard the song "Boogie Wonderland"?
No, it hasn't reached them.
Does Whirl miss his Wrecker teammates?
Yes, of course he does! They were his first family.
Execution of Megatron - was it Prowl's idea?
The Galactic Council's, but Prowl was very much in favor of it.
Who would be the best romantic partner?
It depends on your tastes.
Who was Rung's romantic interest?
He didn't really think of people romantically. He was very close to Skids. He was fundamentally a lonely person who liked feeling connected to people.
Who plays Fortnite?
Tailgate, Swerve, Rewind.
Any franchises or universes you'd like to write beyond Transformers?
I'd like to do - back when IDW had the X-Files license, that would have...yeah, X-Files...there should be a Quantum Leap comic. A Death's Head comic...
What's your favorite superhero?
Spider-man.
Cameron Fisher
Please publically apologize for sinking Ratchet/Pharma.
Oh goodness me! When I gave that answer I failed to consider the *very* passionate and devoted Ratchet/Pharma fanbase out there. I'm just giving you my interpretation...but I'm sure, it's not canon anymore is it? Because it's not on the page.
Did Megatron and Ratchet and Minimus ever hug?
There's been contact...touching in the sense of Christmas decorating, of course.
Have you ever read the Warriors books?
No.
Who made the first move: Ratchet or Drift?
It's one of those complicated things where they both think the other one did.
And with that, James wraps the Q&A...BUT WAIT.
So for some reason, this 2 hour recording is *missing* several parts in it that I've seen repeated elsewhere, so here are those, taken from
Jame Roberts’ Instagram Q&A -November ‘18
and reposted here:
Does Rodimus' "flame on" ability make him an outlier?
Rodimus’ flame abilities are not an outlier ability, but an upgrade he got along the way; it's like getting a really excessive tattoo.. The ability is really painful and uses up a lot of Roddy’s energy.
Is Springer hot?
Yes, he is certainly hot. First Aid has a crush on him.
Who would you ship Rodimus with?
Rodimus is an interesting case. Unlike the rest of the cast, hee’d actually be quite well-versed in the area of romance. He wouldn’t pine for people. Roller.
Other scenes with Cyclonus and Drift?
I wanted to included a scene between Cyclonus and Drift, where Drift proclaims his new respect for Cyc after seeing his Great Sword. This scene would’ve happened around the Remain in the Light arc.
[fin]
Xavier Mitchell
I didn't read a single word
Jonathan Gomez
Me too! What kind of autist goes to the trouble of posting shit no one cares about?
Cameron Gomez
Thank you. This is going to take a while.
Samuel Williams
I tried playing the PS1 Transmetal game the other day and had no fucking clue what I was doing.
Who knows, but at least he bumped the thread.
Andrew Morgan
Its fine when people use pastebins like back in the day.
Jeremiah Turner
Was it good at least?
Dylan Johnson
and this is the kind of people who asks why the thread dies so fast
Caleb Wright
Ian Carter
What future crossover comics do you want to see?
Jacob Long
TMNT/Transformers seems like an obvious one, considering how many crossovers they both do.
Technodrome Galvatron when
Asher Jones
vs Street Fighter
Christian Thompson
Masters of the Universe
Mega Man
Godzilla
Justice League
Those would be cool, imo
James Jackson
Do what Lego Nexus did and have it crossover with itself.
Some dimensional fuckery is going on so Vector Prime needs to assemble a dream team of Transformers from the different series to stop the bad guys or whatever.
Jaxon Richardson
Nice. Wonder if MOTU would ever be possible.
Chase Gutierrez
didn't read
Easton Kelly
>all the Megatrons gathered
>IDW and shattered glass Megs are stuck on a table on their own
>Prime Megs' seat is still empty
>none of the Japanese ones are sure they turned up to the right place
Noah Reyes
That's the whole plot of the first Universe toyline/fiction.
Juan Gonzalez
Terminator
Easton Nelson
Cybertronians vs Skynet
Nathan Davis
Charles Nguyen
Is there any good art of Whirl and Whirl Jr.
Jeremiah Howard
How about this one?
Jaxon Gomez
better to let the thread die then hit the bump limit with pointless and repeat posts
Charles White
Samuel Roberts
Jordan Johnson
She's such a nice kid.
Adam Reed
Screamer is best written as a cocky Ace pilot.
Basically, he's extremely talented, so everything comes easy to him, and as a result he doesn't give any fucks
It's that attitude which makes him constantly screw up though.
He's to be feared for a reason, because if you actually show yourself as an obstacle to him, his rage kicks in. Obstacles are for lesser cybertronians, you see.
Hence why he both admires and wants to replace Megatron. Megatron proves himself better than screamer constantly, but replacing Megatron is the only thing starscream ever wanted that he has to really, really work for.
Noah Rogers
Is this characterization based on something in particular?
Leo Perez
a transformers x DC would be fantastic, especially if the justice league is caught off guard by the invasion
Luis Clark
Fuckin cute
Easton Barnes
Hard to tell, neat models but unintelligible controls and handling of transformation. Maybe if I spent a while longer mastering it I'd say it's a fine fighter, but I dunno.
Jose Taylor
I recall derrick j wyatt talking shit about the legends comic. Anyone save that? I didn't know about this until recently when a friend told me about it.
Jonathan Hall
I can see why the did a fighting game, but it seems like an odd choice in hindsight. Thank you.
Gabriel Kelly
Actually it was the opposite, some guy insulted the Legends artist and Wyatt said the Legends artist was a much better artist than that other guy.
Owen Smith
Nathaniel Flores
Didn't know Wyatt was that quit to anger, although I've heard he was "difficult" to deal with at cons he's attended according to staff.
Christopher Smith
Hybrid of g1 and prime screamer
Aaron Moore
For the record, M Sipher is quite toxic, so we can't completely fault Mr. Wyatt.
Seems like a good hybrid.
Colton James
>the growing fear you'll never get to write the Transformers comics you've wanted to write
>Could cope with the pain if there weren't so many genuinely awful TF comics that have been made over the decades, and you wonder if you're really somehow worse than THOSE
Justin Martin
Rest easy, 8/10 your fan fiction is better than what passes for TF comics nowadays. You never know.
Austin Ward
James Barnes
Thundercats. Mix Beast Wars joining the cast with G1 becoming the vehicles and temple.
Elijah Garcia
That has happened multiple times.
That’s why Galvatron just kind of shows up, how Chip Chase became Prowl’s twin in Beast Wars, and why G1 Optimus knows Lio Convoy and Optimal Optimus. Also why G1 Megatron is CEO of a company that mostly just sells sex slave Nightbirds to humans and Beast Wars characters.
Asher Cooper
Also, the TransTech continuity. Which I may be the only fan of.
Cooper Perez
This is the first thing I did with the Takara two-pack.
Benjamin Nelson
Here's an idea: let's *not* kill off Bumper in a flashback arc.
Ryder Clark
I like it.
I like the new IDW Megatron just as much, even if shit is moving at a glacial pace.
Wyatt Smith
Moon.
Joshua Thompson
Here are some more pages from the upcoming #Transformers visual history book by #JimSorenson and
@VIZMedia
. This preview book was given out by #Hasbro at #SDCC. Really looking forward to this.
Follow me for more toy and con fun.
#HasbroSDCC
@tfw2005
mobile.twitter.com
Brody Sanders
Michael Cruz
Andrew Lee
Kevin Bailey
durr two piles of metal
Elijah Price
No new issue today?
Andrew Robinson
Hey, you guys know there's an alternative theme to the Transformers Movie?
Easton Young
>Was there anything between Swerve and Velocity planned?
>Absolutely not.
Julian Gomez
I honestly prefer it over the actual theme.
Way to tramp all over our feelings, Roberts.
Oliver Garcia
I wonder the same.
Matthew Richardson
Not until next week.
Carter Johnson
Thanks be. Enough shit with Death's Head this week.
Jack White
What, is it bad?
Benjamin Rivera
Just your typical awful 2019 Marvel comic.
Jose Gray
Angel Morales
Nightbird is best girl.
Homeplanet pride.
Jaxon Moore
>tfw didn't read bc there's no new information
aaaaaa
Sebastian Taylor
If you are kreon user, rabb.it just died.
Parker Cox
eh, I guess I'll skip the car to keep things less cluttered
Josiah Sanders
Thank you. Robot mode has a nice face.
Caleb Smith
She looks so cute without her mask too.
Owen Richardson
>replying to an image with just an image
For what purpose
Levi King
more mecha shit
getter robo makes way too much sense
Jacob Green
She has a face?
Liam Butler
its just a waifufag being retarded
Noah Allen
Is it a meme or a reference I’m missing?
Jayden Baker
Huh, its literally in what I posted without realizing it. I guess she also wears a Kusinagi one-piece outfit underneath the armor too.
Christopher Lopez
Here's another. Her normal look is basically armor, it seems.
Julian Turner
Holy shit, this magnificent bastard just made a giant Phicen waifu and tricksd the Decepticons into bringing her to life for him.
Also gave her two fucking layers of armor without sacrificing dexterity.
Then completed his master plan to kill the last Witwicky and Wheelie with an army of her.
Why didn’t they make this guy a villain in the Bay films? He’s amazing.
Bentley Barnes
>It was a false flag operation from the start.
Everything finally makes sense.
Jack Miller
He also built Raiden.
Fucking Raiden.
He built the strongest Combiner for no reason other than to defeat the remaining Decepticons so all Cybertronians would leave Earth. By the time of the Beast era they aren’t allowed near Earth at all, and even the Predacons obey the order.
He’s the greatest Transformers villain because he’s the only one that really won.
Elijah Harris
He played both sides and made them leave at the end. You are right.
Liam Bennett
>Starscream: Megatron gets his own army of nightbird wives, and i cant even get Windblade and Thunderblast to do a threesome with me.
Joshua Ramirez
Yeah, but Starscream doesn’t have to deal with having a twin sister who wants to fuck him.
Parker Morgan
So how's the reboot?
Benjamin Reed
Boring.
Charles Rogers
Slow.
Seems the best continuity for people who liked the moral complexity of justified but didn’t like the edgelord previous Autobot regime or the obvious psychopaths somehow being in charge from the start of the Decepticons.
But oh so slow. Its like a character study movie, whole issues could be condensed into single pages. We’re still learning the basic setting and history until now after two years. However, the new characters aside from the Archduke Franz Ferdinand type are interesting and the cast is so far pretty spread out among continuities with hints we’ll see all eras at once.
I like it. But FUCK is it slow. It feels like something that should be released like manga, like 100+ pages at a time.
Nolan Mitchell
*of the last continuity where the Decepticons were justified
I don’t know how I managed to delete that.
Christopher Barnes
This is the best take so far. The art could be better, the main artist in particular.
Carson Ramirez
Prime Screamer could have been so good, if only they hadn't fallen for Blum's screams.
Ian Clark
AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE
Carter Baker
But Starscream does have to deal with someone else's twin sister trying to fuck him. Seriously, she cut off his head at one point so he couldn't run from her anymore. Why couldn't we get the Megatronia team in IDW instead of the Torchbearers?
Xavier Powell
slow, now speeding up somewhat
Andrew Gutierrez
>who knows if all of Slipstream's fixation with him is also the fact that she wants to fuck him?
Benjamin Ross
Ayden Miller
What's hotrod thinking?
Easton Kelly
>if it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college
Jonathan Lopez
Wait.
So the Contructicons built Megatron, and later because of continuity issues he built them which we can handwave with time travel or something. He was supposed to rule the fledgling Decepticon movement.
They also built Megaempress out of leftover parts, and while Megatron was leading all the males she created and lead the female Decepticons out of the last of the leftover parts from Megatron’s birth.
Lunaclub has the hots for Starscream. Lunaclub is like Megatron’s daughter with his sister that he didn’t know he had. She lopped off Screamer’s head to keep him captive.
So...Starscream is trapped with the inbred hillbilly family of Cybertron? With the patriarchs being six burly gay construction workers who gave birth to the antichrist?
Nathan Cooper
I need an adult!
Anthony Reed
>lets build Megatron!
>sure, this bit goes here.. this bit there...
>ok, finished!
>why's there like, 6 bodies worth of parts left over?
>fucking Quintesson instruction manual!
Ryan Stewart
Wow, my thread is still here!
Landon Rivera
We needed one of those.
Daniel Parker
Any love for the best conehead?
Luke White
I mean, if they were like legit construction workers before the war they probably just used everything in a supply depot.
It’d be funny if Megatron had a repurposed traffic light for his eyes, or concrete shoes or something.
Robert Sullivan
I like to think that being allowed to flip back the cone is a privilege reserved for officers.
Carter Nelson
Dirge is the best, Thrust is cool, Ramjet...why do they hate Ramjet?
Gutsman Megatron?
Nice headcanon.
Connor Bell
Which one was the one who went to medieval times? Was it Ramjet?
Xavier Powell
Yes, that exact one.
Jace Rodriguez
Asher Ortiz
Henry Morris
Brayden White
>Definitely would have more stories focused on the non-core cast.
mtmte/LL was the first series where i would actually enjoy reading filler issues and more if they could have written more,
like see how they interact with each other and some other mundane things
instead of watching how favorite character died in just one panel and then never mention about it again
FUCK YOU GETAWAY
Caleb Perry
I agree with that sentiment. I just can't process why LL ended up as it was even if it was rushed.
Angel Turner
Does anyone in here play the TCG I checked /tg/ and didn’t see any threads about it
Nathaniel Hughes
Do any of you know who this is from?
Matthew Richardson
So far I think there's like two anons but I dunno if they are here. To be fair I'm interested in the game and I'd like to check it out later on.
Robert Nelson
or rather who made it.
Nathaniel Hill
Artist is altronage, sadly his twitter seems to have been suspended for the time being.
Aiden Garcia
Previous threads (it's been a while)
Eli Russell
This was good, hopefully we get another thread soon. Maybe on Friday.
Tyler Bennett
Next week for sure, when the next issue comes out.