Comic a Review: Sins of the Wreckers

[i_amtrunks]

After a lengthy absence, the Wreckers are back.

Penned by Nick Roche with colours by Josh Burcham, the story picks up years after the events of "The Last Stand of the Wreckers". In fact the story is set rather recently, after Prowl was beaten by Prime and after Rattrap secreted him away.

Prowl has gone missing, and it is up to Kup, Arcee and the no longer required Wreckers to find him.

It is another five part series running across the summer of 2015-2016.

[i_amtrunks]

Well, well , well...

What a fantastic opening chapter. This comic is incredibly written, it gets it's hooks into you straight away and drags you along. The issue reads more like MtMtE in terms of being very character focused but it still felt like a quick rad (even though it wasn't).

Unlike its predecessor, this comic is not stand alone, in fact background knowledge of the previous Wreckers series and at least an understanding of the current series would be beneficial. The series seems to have taken place just after the end of the Combiner Wars series, after Prowl is ferreted out of custody by Rattrap and before Blackrock initiates his attack on the Earth based Ark.

I would fathom a guess that this whole story will tie back into the AHM Coda issue 15 that Roche wrote all those years ago where pretender tech was utilised to restore Kup after his ordeal on an alien planet.

We get a couple of interesting developments, Kup blacks out when Prowl goes missing and has an affinity for his "tech", connecting him to Prowl as he was / is a puppet of Prowls thanks to the Pretender tech.
We also get to see what has become of The Wreckers in peace time, and it is not sitting well for them.
Lastly, and most interestingly to me, we see Verity Carlo, who is wracked with sickness and has just re established contact with her Cybertronians bodyguard.

It all ties to the data slug Verity is in possession of with the Aequitas trial data that she is threatening to expose, which would most likely reignite the Cybertronians war.

Imam incredibly excited by this series, it is both fresh and different and yet seems to mesh very well with the current stories.

Bring on the next four issues!

[bassbot]

I really enjoyed it for it's own story, but yeah it seems like it will have a lot that will tie into previous fiction. Roche and Burcham nailed the art too!

[GoktimusPrime]

I really liked this issue. I like the idea of peace being the thing that kills off the Wreckers, and how they need conflict to 'survive.' Which is really quite sad, because even Megatron and Starscream seem to arguably be better at adapting to civilian life than the Wreckers! :eek:

It's also a really poignant allegory for the true nature of war. For example, we're often taught that in wars like WWII, we had "good guys" and "bad guys," but even the children's series Horrible Histories points out that both sides committed terrible atrocities, and more recent movies like Fury and Inglourious Basterds have attempted to portray WWII in a more historically accurate unflattering light (the DVD special features for Fury shows how they consulted with actual WWII tank crew veterans, and much of the barbarism shown was based on their own experiences). And although Inglourious Basterds is a highly fictitious story, the Basterds themselves are actually based on real people (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._10_(Inter-Allied)_Commando). I think that Agent Fowler's description of the Wreckers in Transformers Prime is an apt one; they're black ops. They operate outside the normal chain of command. And yet when that chain of command no longer exists, they are unable to operate. The psychology behind the way that the Wreckers seem to also be making up their own micro-societal rules (re: Guzzle's crime and punishment) is interesting. Makes me wonder what the Wreckers would turn into if they were ever isolated... would there be some kind of nasty Lord of the Flies stuff happening?

[doublespy]

I haven't really followed Nick Roche's work since LSotW. But looks like he got better at inking, and he's always been good at shading. The line art looks very sharp and crisp.

[Paulbot]

[ I've spoiler hidden things in this post because this issue is newly out and with the holidays people might not have been to their comic shops and you should buy and read this comic before you look at spoilers. ]

Just read issue 2 and big spoilers ahead, but I was not expecting that there'd be Maximals! or that Carnivac would be one of the Wrecker's adversaries!! or a triple-changing Tidal Wave with a whale mode!!!

After issue 1 only one thing seem obvious and cliched (Verity's pregnant) and issue 2 seems to back that up even further (but I'm not sure why that would be a plot point for this series).

I wasn't totally sold on this series after issue 1 but am generally suprised by issue 2 and look forward to issue 3.

[GoktimusPrime]

As someone who would always rather the use of an existing toy, I would've liked to see them use Orcanoch. I suspect that this character shares nothing else with his original namesake beyond just the name.

Also, IDW keeps on misspelling "damn" as "damm," but they can spell "condemn" correctly. :confused: And I don't accept that it's a censorship thing, because IDW have used far worse words than "damn" in their TF comics -- words that I cannot even repeat here. Words that I wouldn't use IRL! :eek:

[Paulbot]

As someone who would always rather the use of an existing toy, I would've liked to see them use Orcanoch. I suspect that this character shares nothing else with his original namesake beyond just the name

The only Orcanoch bio I can find suggests it is an AI not an actual Transformer and it doesn't have a robot mode, and it's a dolphin (and much smaller than a whale) so wouldn't have been a great choice for this role. And if you're going to have a 'bot be a giant aquatic animal they chose well and I hope it gets made into an actual toy in the Titans and/or BW20th line.

[GoktimusPrime]

Fair call. I would love to see a BW Tidal Wave get made as a toy as we've never had a whale TF before! :D Although the one beast mode that I really, REALLY want to see is a chicken. I'm serious.

[i_amtrunks]

I like where this is going, and loved the introduction of beast based Cybertronians, if only for them to be wiped out!

Surely the big bad that has Prowl is IDW verse Tarantulas? It's not spoilers and I cannot be the only one thinking it, the mad cackling and the webs with the tech organics? Although I do wonder who broke Prowls connection.

I loved Tidal Wave being a huge whale, I would buy that Titan or leader class toy in a heartbeat, and I've been very finicky and sparse with my tf choices of late. I did love that he was super sensitive and that he didn't have a robot mode. Both amusing and a way for the Wreckers to get on board, I am glad we aren't having four issues of setup and one to conclude.

Guzzle has lost his marbles completely, ripping apart Polar claw like he was ripped apart in The Last Stand of the Wreckers. Also not sure if Carnivac spoke to Impactor or not, hope that gets resolved or mentioned again if it's some kind of hypnosis or something.

Come on issue 3!

[GoktimusPrime]

I never thought that, but that is a pretty cool idea. :)

[bassbot]

Seen the preview for #3? Mesoluthas character reveal (though the clues made it obvious) and he is intense!

[SMHFConvoy]

I have a feeling that Nick Roche hasn't kept up with MTME because I suspect he's going to do a twist on a character that may not work chronologically...

[GoktimusPrime]

Kudos to everyone who correctly guessed Mesothulas' identity. :) I'm wondering where to put the stress in that name though... Meh-SOTH-oolas, Meh-so-THOO-las... I'm going with the former. :o Is it even "meh-so" or "mee-so"? Mesoconfused. :p

I also just noticed that Tidal Wave actually is Armada Tidal Wave, but now with a beast mode! I didn't recognise him last issue, but yeah, this issue gave me a better view of his robot mode parts and it's clearly Armada Tidal Wave. I want this toy!!! Stakeout's fate had me saying holy (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Holi) four-letter F-word (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Fire)! :eek: Ditto Hubcap's revelation! I really like it when IDW take previously underused original G1 characters and suddenly make 'em really interesting. :D

Nice move with Mesothulas' original form (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Sideways_(Armada)) and calling his naughty thing the Noisemaze (http://toys.tfw2005.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2009/12/Noisemaze_1260026620.jpg). I see what you did there, IDW. ;)

[i_amtrunks]

Nice move with Mesothulas' original form (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Sideways_(Armada)) and calling his naughty thing the Noisemaze (http://toys.tfw2005.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2009/12/Noisemaze_1260026620.jpg). I see what you did there, Nick Roche

Fixed! :p

A few twists I didn't see coming, namely the stakeout scene, having he and Carnivac both ex- Magnus officers was a nice connection.

I also didn't expect Taratulas/ Mesothulas to be the creator of Aequitas, or for the Aequitas slug to be only bait. I'm guessing that Verity will have to do some rescuing as I doubt Hubcap did anything to her.

[GoktimusPrime]

I wonder what the deal is with Verity's cramps... it's either going to lead to something epic, or Verity just got really unlucky and started having that time of the month while being in the Noisemaze... and being strapped to Impetus. Not a great day for her, either way. :o And hooray -- IDW finally worked out how to spell "damn" correctly! <fairy.clap> Hopefully this will mean that they're finally going to improve their standards in spelling and grammar.


A few twists I didn't see coming, namely the stakeout scene, having he and Carnivac both ex- Magnus officers was a nice connection.
Also a nice homage to G1 Carnivac's morally ambiguous persona from the old Marvel comics. And of course, appearing in a series involving the Wreckers and being part of a group called Mayhem... yep. ;) I want an IDW Carnivac toy now. Really. I'm also curious to learn more about what happened to Ostaros.

Speaking of which, some of these new names are interesting. Ostaros seems to be derived from Ostara, the Pagan celebration of the Spring Equinox from which Easter is derived from (Ostara→Ēostre→Easter). Ēostre is also the goddess of the dawn, and both Ostara/Ēostre and Easter have loads of references to the renewal or resurrection of life. So who was Ostara? Was the the original Ultra Magnus? (who is the "resurrected" via his predecessors who don the Magnus armour) :confused:

Mesothulas appears to be a modification of the word "mesothelae," (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesothelae) which is a rare and primitive suborder of spiders. Although tarantulas aren't part of the mesothelae sub-order, they're part of the more common opisthothelae (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opisthothelae). Any Greek speakers here help out with what "mesothelae" means? I know it's not 'spider' (which is ἀράχνη (arachne)). :o

[Paulbot]

I wonder what the deal is with Verity's cramps... it's either going to lead to something epic, or Verity just got really unlucky and started having that time of the month while being in the Noisemaze... and being strapped to Impetus. Not a great day for her, either way. :o

From the first issue I assumed she's pregnant, because in fiction when a woman randomly throws up and has stomach cramps it's foreshadowing.

But this morning I was reminded of something else: Optimus Prime thinking HiQ was dying in the lead up to #75...

[MayzaPrime]

From the first issue I assumed she's pregnant, because in fiction when a woman randomly throws up and has stomach cramps it's foreshadowing.

But this morning I was reminded of something else: Optimus Prime thinking HiQ was dying in the lead up to #75...

She could have used some of the headmaster tech and is connected to Ironfist in some way kind of like Sunstreaker and Hunter :p

[SMHFConvoy]

She could have used some of the headmaster tech and is connected to Ironfist in some way kind of like Sunstreaker and Hunter :p

I'm thinking that Tarantulas may have done something to Verity remember he has a, "work in progress."

[i_amtrunks]

I'm thinking that Tarantulas may have done something to Verity remember he has a, "work in progress."

I like the your Emory, I thought that hubcap was his work in progress, but that would be to banal and mundane for a Roche story.

[Lord_Zed]

Pretty cool issue, I like the twist of Tarantulas wanting Prowl to join him, though not feeling all that much menace for the rest of the Wreckers.




I also just noticed that Tidal Wave actually is Armada Tidal Wave, but now with a beast mode! I didn't recognise him last issue, but yeah, this issue gave me a better view of his robot mode parts and it's clearly Armada Tidal Wave. I want this toy!!! Stakeout's fate had me saying holy (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Holi) four-letter F-word (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Fire)! :eek: Ditto Hubcap's revelation! I really like it when IDW take previously underused original G1 characters and suddenly make 'em really interesting. :D


Stakeout lasted a whole 3 issues, for a Micromaster in an IDW comic that's positively ancient, they usually die a few pages in, red shirts have longer lifespans.

I'm wondering if Hubcap might end up being a double agent, playing the long game.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I'm wondering if Hubcap might end up being a double agent, playing the long game.

I'm wondering the same. Not effected the same way by the others in the chaos thingie and Tarantulus talked about having an agent able to keep an eye out for certain Prowl like blips in the information network - sounds like a communications expert to me. Plus Tarantulus talks about disaffected Autobots - maybe Pipes death sent Hubcap over the edge.

[i_amtrunks]

I'm wondering the same. Not effected the same way by the others in the chaos thingie and Tarantulus talked about having an agent able to keep an eye out for certain Prowl like blips in the information network - sounds like a communications expert to me. Plus Tarantulus talks about disaffected Autobots - maybe Pipes death sent Hubcap over the edge.

I thought the same, but that would be too obvious right? If there is one thing we've learnt is it's never who you expect.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I thought the same, but that would be too obvious right? If there is one thing we've learnt is it's never who you expect.

Actually, reread no3 tonight and it is him. If you look on the last page you can see Hubcap standing in the background near Tarantulus' throne whilst everyone else is chained up. Never noticed that before

[Paulbot]

Just noticed it's going to be at least two months between issue and issue 4?!

[philby]

Just noticed it's going to be at least two months between issue and issue 4?!

i asked about the wait in the global news comics thread, apparently there is a 'family thing' going on with one of the staff or something.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Man, sometimes I forget just how brutal the Wreckers comics can be!

We had all those long-time Wreckers characters and a bunch of newbies die in Last Stand. Now in issue four of Sins we have Impactor murdering Hubcap because he is a security risk and Tarantulus shrinking down, literally getting inside Roadbusters head and then resizing so we are treated to an image of a giant organic looking spider bursting RB's head like an energon-filled water balloon! :eek:


So now we've had Roadbuster, Twin Twist and Topspin die on Wrecker missions, Broadside is on the Lost Light with a bunch of mutineers, Whirl got kicked out of the Wreckers and is currently trapped on the Nercobots homeworld facing the DJD and Sandstorm is in prison for murder! Not many of the original Wreckers left - just Impactor and Springer at this stage.

[GoktimusPrime]

I see what you did there, IDW. ;)

Roadbuster also died a horrifically violent and pointless death in G1. In the Time Wars (one of the best G1 stories evah!), Roadbuster was attempting to use an experimental weapon known as the Pathblaster. It malfunctioned and exploded (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/f/f3/RoadbusterdeathTimeWars.jpg), killing Roadbuster instantly. Here we have Tarantulas mass-shifting up and exploding out of Roadbuster's head, killing him instantly.

I hope that Impactor doesn't end up dying and coming back as a zombie (http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/d/d3/Impactorzombie.jpg).

[Paulbot]

Maybe the slow release schedule killed some of the momentum, but curious what others thought of the conclusion. Can't say this series won me over at all, maybe it'll read better as a whole?

[prjkt]

, maybe it'll read better as a whole?

that's what I'm hoping... will read the whole series again soon when I get the chance and then decide if I like it or not

[Lord_Zed]

I need to re-read it from the start too, before I pass final judgement. But it was a different kind of story to LSOTW

Overall for my first reading I feel it lacked the oomph of the first one.

One reason for that I feel is the more ambiguous morality in this series. I thought Tarantualas was a good villain and he had reasons for the evil he was doing, but he wasn’t the irredeemable sadist that Overlord was, so there wasn’t the same level of payoff when the badguy got taken down. Also I found many of Prowl’s actions just as cold and evil. For me Prowl was also a villain in this comic who once again for the good of the Autobots has escaped judgement or reprisal from his fellow Autobots (though Guzzle tried). For that reason I found the epilogue at the end with Impactor interesting, I wonder if they ever make a third series will it be Wreckers vs Prowl? Aren’t they getting tired of dying for him?

Another reason the first one is such a classic is it had Ironfist who was written as a very relatable character for the reader to easily become attached too, while Stakeout and Hubcap played a similar role in this series they were killed maybe a bit too early, once they got down to the big names who may be more popular but less relatable and kind of untouchable the suspense vanished for me.

[GoktimusPrime]

The true identity of Ostaros came as a complete surprise to me! :D

New theory about the meaning of the name "Ostaros": the word "ostaro" means "skeleton" in Esperanto. This may be a reference to Ostaros being the first of a new breed having been built from "bare bones." Or perhaps a reference to Ostaros being the underlying structure for Springer.

Anyway, I now know two words in Esperanto, the other being the word for 'yoghourt' (Yakult). :o

[SMHFConvoy]

So does this mean that Rattrap handed Prowl over to Tarantulas after the Combiner Wars epilogue in Transformers? (formerly RID)

[i_amtrunks]

I want to know what Ye ramifications are for Springer now.

Is this why he came to just in time for Prowl to be saved? Is he programmed to obey Prowl much like Kup had been?

More questions than answers again. It's a good story, a very grey one, another one making Prowl super shady which was only touched upon really in the main books. I think it will read far better in one sitting than it did piece by piece.

More of an espionage thriller as compared to the all out action vibe of Last Stand.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

So, I just finished reading this (the whole bunch at once), and yeah...a bit of a mixed bag. What it did well it did very, very well, but what it didn't do well was not good. And unfortunately gets worse the more I think about it.

Spoilers btw.

--------------------------------------------------------------------


Tarantulas was great. Really well done. I loved Tidal Wave. Carnivac and friends were pretty sweet too, and the beasties' design was also very, very good. Up until the end, it was well-written, and I was genuinely interested to see where it was going.

But.

It kind of seems like it was trying too hard, and - in contrast - the story didn't really take advantage of the already ample resources it had. Tarantulas' designs/inventions are/were revolutionary by Cybertronian standards, but they all just get blown up with his base/the Noisemaze. Prowl's glimmers of conscience are potentially a really interesting topic/character trait/narrative feature, as is the relationship between Prowl and Mesothulas, but neither ever really gets explored in all that much depth. The biggest thing that annoyed me, though, is that the series seemed to just throw away a lot of significant stuff for not all that much impact. Kup/Prowl's mind-link thing? Nup, it's gone now, and the only real consequence is Prowl getting punched again. Hey, Guzzle's still gunning for Kup for his pals all getting killed, he's been waiting all this time for his revenge, and...oh, wait, he's dead. Verity Carlo's dying from radiation exposure, from the Wreckers' previous mission to Garrus-9, and...oh, look, she's better now! Thanks, creepy scientist guy, I sure didn't want to see how something like that might have gone down with the tight-knit Wreckers, especially not their feeling-responsible-now leader Impactor. And Springer...Springer. Springer's mysterious new origins just didn't 'feel right'. Springer isn't a minor character, he's a major character from the G1 cartoon series and one of the major Wreckers. He has a well-established personality and role, which just doesn't work with the cheerful-looking tabula rasa we see in the comic. The TPB notes say that the original draft was going to have Prowl kill Ostaros, and that Nick Roche rewrote it after the editor pointed out that Prowl doing bad things wasn't shocking anymore. That left him with Ostaros as a loose end, and he tied it up with Springer. But it just feels forced somehow, and also sort of messes with a pretty iconic character. I really think the potential of an artificial Cybertronian could have been put to better use, and that Springer was sort of a poor fit for the smiley little protoform. Heck, Roche could have used Stakeout, which would have added to the tragic aspect of how he wrote Tarantulas.

It's less that it was bad and more that it had so much potential, which ultimately just got wasted in a rush to wrap things up and/or for the sake of having a plot twist. I can't help but feel that trying for a better story and more consistent characterisation with bit less 'significance' and/or shocking reveals would have resulted in a better comic all around.

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't see how Springer's G1 persona should affect his IDW persona. They're two completely different continuities, and IDW have made far greater deviations with other G1 characters which Springer would pale in comparison by (e.g. Swerve, Brainstorm, Getaway, Prowl, Star Sabre, Dai Atlas, Spike - heck, even Megatron - etc.). Yet IDW have given us the most G1-accurate representation of characters such as Hasbro Overlord, Thundercracker, Hubcap etc. IDW always just pick and choose which characters they want to remain G1 faithful to and which ones they want to just massively deviate from. And Springer's origins doesn't contradict with any previous IDW canon (unlike say, Megatron's origin in the G1 cartoon :p).

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

It feels (and actually sort of was) shoehorned in, is what I was getting at. A poor fit. As always it's just my opinion, but there it is.
In the case of, say, IDW Prowl, it still sort of works with his G1 self - logical, calculating, dispassionate, needing to be in control/on top of of situations. Likewise for Brainstorm - a chatty font of ideas. Star Sabre I can let slide since 1) he was really just the archetypal flawless hero in Japanese G1, meaning he didn't really have much of a personality to begin with and 2) the 3 pillars of society (medicine, law, religion) gone wrong thing is pretty clever. Star Saber worked as a religious extremist, and Prowl works as a rational-to-a-fault scheming puppet master. Even Megatron still seems like Megatron, albeit an older, more tired Megatron. Plus, most of the 'altered' IDW characters are relatively minor, at least from a Western G1 point of view. Getaway, Swerve, Tailgate...they were all pretty much nobodies until Roberts got hold of them. About the only 'established' character that springs to mind who's really, really different from their G1 self in MTMTE is Cyclonus, and personality-wise he's basically a different character altogether.
Springer's not minor, he has a well-established 'tough guy' character (which by its very nature also incorporates a certain degree of 'ordinary working bot'), and the adaption here doesn't really work IMO. It's like if Pokemon had started with Gyarados, and then - playing it seriously mind you - decided it started out as a Magicarp in a later release.

[GoktimusPrime]

But IDW established that Springer has no memory of being Ostaros. So whatever personality he had before is irrelevant because he was essentially born anew when he was rebuilt as Springer. At least IDW explicitly explained this, unlike say G1 cartoon Optimus Prime whose entire persona changed when he transformed from Orion Pax. Still had his memories of being Orion, but had a complete change of personality. Now you could argue that Optimus Prime's personality changed because he had a near-death experience as Orion Pax and learned from his grave error, fine... but then what about Rodimus Prime? He magically changed from this impulsive and rash Autobot to becoming this stoic and matured sage-like character after being transformed by the Matrix. And when he loses the Matrix he becomes his old impulsive self again! And this happened in both the G1 cartoon and the comics. :rolleyes:

Also, his old smiley self as Ostaros is arguably reminiscent of the softer side of Springer's G1 persona, which he often showed towards characters like Arcee and Daniel etc. And we know that IDW Springer has a soft side to him too when he momentarily left the Wreckers to go and rescue Kup, which I felt was a beautiful "To Sir With Love" moment between Springer and his former teacher. :o

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

But IDW established that Springer has no memory of being Ostaros. So whatever personality he had before is irrelevant because he was essentially born anew when he was rebuilt as Springer. At least IDW explicitly explained this, unlike say G1 cartoon Optimus Prime whose entire persona changed when he transformed from Orion Pax. Still had his memories of being Orion, but had a complete change of personality. Now you could argue that Optimus Prime's personality changed because he had a near-death experience as Orion Pax and learned from his grave error, fine... but then what about Rodimus Prime? He magically changed from this impulsive and rash Autobot to becoming this stoic and matured sage-like character after being transformed by the Matrix. And when he loses the Matrix he becomes his old impulsive self again! And this happened in both the G1 cartoon and the comics. :rolleyes:G1 'toon Orion-Pax-to-Optimus-Prime was pretty awful too, but it has the excuse of being part of the G1 cartoon which - let's face it - wasn't really all that great as far as character depth/narratives go.
I'd dispute 'stoic and sage-like', but other than that ditto for Rodimus. It was kind of funny though.

My point, again, is that Springer-as-Ostaros felt shoehorned in, and a poor fit, not to mention a waste of potential. I'm criticising it in terms of a storytelling device/narrative feature, rather than in terms of whether it conflicts or not with previously established IDW lore.

[KingGrimlock]

Late to the party but just picked up the comic today. Had to sit and think for a while after finishing it. I really like the story on this one and the conflict that each of the characters had, the moral issues didnt come from the typical hero vs villain fight but from the characters and their own personal demons. Speaking of villains I thought it was a nice twist that tarantulas wasnt just out for revenge. I feel like the real villain in this was Prowl (not much of a shocker really). Tarantulas made some good points when he talked about how Prowl was his muse, Prowl was the one who decided how tarantulas talents were used, as tarantulas showed by creating an artificial spark and curing verity, his talents could have been used in different ways. Some things were a bit more ambiguous, like Guzzle towards the end, sure he was a hothead but he had a point when he talks about the blood on Prowl and Kups hands (although I think kup had a decent reason a lot of lives were still lost just for him, although thats more of a issue for springer). Sadly I think we are running out of some of the best wreckers now but I look forward to seeing some new ones. Wreck and rule.

[GoktimusPrime]

I like how BW Tarantulas and IDW Tarantulas are entirely different characters, but both are incredibly fascinating. :D Although BW Tarantulas is pure evil whereas IDW Tarantulas is, as you said, a tragic character. Prowl is a character that I love to hate because he brings a real sense of realism to Transformers. The fact that you cannot win a protracted war by being a goody-two-shoes like the G1 cartoon Autobots. It's also part of IDW's overall theme that there are good, bad and neutral characters on all sides, just like IRL, and of course how the notion of good and bad can be subjective.


Sadly I think we are running out of some of the best wreckers now
That's G1 accurate! :D :cool: Most of the G1 Wreckers didn't survive the Time Wars. The few who remained allied themselves with the surviving members of the Decepticon Mayhem Attack Squad (except for Snarler who refused the alliance) and formed the team aptly known as the Survivors (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Survivors).

[Tabias Prime]

I finally got around to reading this the other week...damn it was heavy but one of the best graphic novels I've read in ages....