You Should’ve Heard Those Knocked out Jailbirds Sing.
Autocracy Chapter 10: Rise. May 23rd 2012.
Heard there was a prison-break in progress! We didn’t want to miss the party!
We’re at the point now where even the Wiki has given up on commenting on more than the bare minimum about these chapters, which is probably a more conclusive critique than anything I could say.
Why the general attitude towards this series has settled towards apathy is best summed up by the opening scene, where Hot Rod comes in for his meeting with Megatron and is buttered up by being told how great he is, and how blowing up Nyon was exactly the right thing to have done to stop Zeta.
It’s perfectly functional, but, again, it’s not remotely the Hot Rodimus who’s currently leading one half of the critically lauded relaunch going on around this. It’s so disconnected, the idea that Megatron once tried to recruit Hot Rod and had great things to say about him won’t even warrant a mention when the two are reluctantly thrown together again in the second season of More Than Meets the Eye.
And the last temptation of Hot Rod never really convinces anyway, not when a tortured Bumblebee is brought in for Megatron to gloat over before his execution.
Heard there was a prison-break in progress! We didn’t want to miss the party!
We’re at the point now where even the Wiki has given up on commenting on more than the bare minimum about these chapters, which is probably a more conclusive critique than anything I could say.
Why the general attitude towards this series has settled towards apathy is best summed up by the opening scene, where Hot Rod comes in for his meeting with Megatron and is buttered up by being told how great he is, and how blowing up Nyon was exactly the right thing to have done to stop Zeta.
It’s perfectly functional, but, again, it’s not remotely the Hot Rodimus who’s currently leading one half of the critically lauded relaunch going on around this. It’s so disconnected, the idea that Megatron once tried to recruit Hot Rod and had great things to say about him won’t even warrant a mention when the two are reluctantly thrown together again in the second season of More Than Meets the Eye.
And the last temptation of Hot Rod never really convinces anyway, not when a tortured Bumblebee is brought in for Megatron to gloat over before his execution.
Imagine if these two ever hung out like this more.
So, it’s not surprising when, after a quick cutaway to show Optimus is back on the surface and heading for Nyon and very much believing in hope, that Hot Rod stages a jailbreak for the Autobot prisoners. But at least his “Megatron wants a word” not working and him just having to shoot his way through is quite funny and almost feels like the asteroid surfing to do a jailbreak version from early IDW.
Though it does kind of sum up how undercooked his arc is, that his excuse for teaming with the Autobots, mumbling something about justice and Megatron being just as bad as Zeta, doesn’t feel very convincing.
Still, with the timely arrival of Ultra Magnus and Springer’s team (creating an unintentionally funny in retrospect moment of the appearing before he was created Springer being complimented on his great timing), they blast through and, tracking his “I.D. code,” go to join Prime in Nyon.
Hmm, hope he switched that way for anyone to track him easily off after this.
With Prime now being Prime, he gives a big speech about how his character arc of being angry is over, and now, as he shows off the Matrix, they’re going to fight evil Till All Are One.
Though it does kind of sum up how undercooked his arc is, that his excuse for teaming with the Autobots, mumbling something about justice and Megatron being just as bad as Zeta, doesn’t feel very convincing.
Still, with the timely arrival of Ultra Magnus and Springer’s team (creating an unintentionally funny in retrospect moment of the appearing before he was created Springer being complimented on his great timing), they blast through and, tracking his “I.D. code,” go to join Prime in Nyon.
Hmm, hope he switched that way for anyone to track him easily off after this.
With Prime now being Prime, he gives a big speech about how his character arc of being angry is over, and now, as he shows off the Matrix, they’re going to fight evil Till All Are One.
HAVE YOU SEE TRANSFORMERS THE MOVIE (1986)?
Which apparently made an impression on Hot Rod, but that’s as close a connection to the stories going on around this as we're going to get considering everyone is immediately in awe of the Matrix and the power of the Prime, despite what James Roberts is soon to reveal about their recent activities. Suggesting editorial was as bored of all this as we were.
And Prime shows what the Matrix can do by using it to awaken a sleeping giant beneath the surface… Metroplex!
Which, surely completely unintentionally, gives us the real lasting legacy of this series, starting a long running thread of everyone being obsessed with Titans.
At best, you can call it a bridging issue. But it’s very clear the entire thing is running out of steam, and frankly it is becoming harder to find new things to say, which is why I’ve given up pointing out the endless Transformers: The Movie quotes. There’s also not really much chance for Livio to show off his strengths this issue outside of the Metroplex panel, and trying to convey Hot Rod’s inner struggle through his expressions is something that very much does not bring out the best in him.
It's not atrocious—indeed, if this is the lowest quality we’re going to get from this era of the relaunch, we won’t be doing too badly—but it is nowhere on the same level as the comics around it and is so out of energy, it’s actually amazing there’s still three issues left.
Next week, I suspect they’ll be a little more to say about what John Barber is cooking.
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE ISSUE 5
2012
COMMENT
KO-FI
And Prime shows what the Matrix can do by using it to awaken a sleeping giant beneath the surface… Metroplex!
Which, surely completely unintentionally, gives us the real lasting legacy of this series, starting a long running thread of everyone being obsessed with Titans.
At best, you can call it a bridging issue. But it’s very clear the entire thing is running out of steam, and frankly it is becoming harder to find new things to say, which is why I’ve given up pointing out the endless Transformers: The Movie quotes. There’s also not really much chance for Livio to show off his strengths this issue outside of the Metroplex panel, and trying to convey Hot Rod’s inner struggle through his expressions is something that very much does not bring out the best in him.
It's not atrocious—indeed, if this is the lowest quality we’re going to get from this era of the relaunch, we won’t be doing too badly—but it is nowhere on the same level as the comics around it and is so out of energy, it’s actually amazing there’s still three issues left.
Next week, I suspect they’ll be a little more to say about what John Barber is cooking.
MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE ISSUE 5
2012
COMMENT
KO-FI
