Some of Them That Work Forces, are the Same That Burn Crosses.
Autocracy Chapter 4: Cause and Effect. February 29th 2012.
You are an embarrassment to the Autobot cause, Orion…
Maybe they were easing us in gently, maybe the editors (and this had a long enough gestation period to go through several pairs of hands) started steering the writers, especially Dille, more in the direction they wanted as it went along, but Chapter 4 gives us something extraordinary… Continuity!
Mainly in relation to Chaos Theory, as Pax and Bumblebee are brought before Megatron, who talks about how the Autobot did his best Tony Benn impression and how this has convinced him They Are Not So Unalike.
Of course, this does have to kind of ignore that a key point in Chaos Theory was that Pax and Megatron has only met once and briefly before the war, but it’s still trying. Plus, it’s arguably as unlikely that Prime didn’t remember the first time he met Megatron when it led to him getting a pounding in front of the Senate, so it’s not as if even the continuity in that story was watertight.
You are an embarrassment to the Autobot cause, Orion…
Maybe they were easing us in gently, maybe the editors (and this had a long enough gestation period to go through several pairs of hands) started steering the writers, especially Dille, more in the direction they wanted as it went along, but Chapter 4 gives us something extraordinary… Continuity!
Mainly in relation to Chaos Theory, as Pax and Bumblebee are brought before Megatron, who talks about how the Autobot did his best Tony Benn impression and how this has convinced him They Are Not So Unalike.
Of course, this does have to kind of ignore that a key point in Chaos Theory was that Pax and Megatron has only met once and briefly before the war, but it’s still trying. Plus, it’s arguably as unlikely that Prime didn’t remember the first time he met Megatron when it led to him getting a pounding in front of the Senate, so it’s not as if even the continuity in that story was watertight.
The meeting here though is not up to their prior encounters, basically being Megatron trying to convince Pax that Zeta is their common enemy, even playing the recording Laserbeak made of the Senate meeting and Prime explaining the weapon. He also tries to convince the cop that Zeta had set the raid in Chapter One up to fail so the deaths of a bunch of officers would give them the excuse to use the weapon on the population (hmm, using the atrocities of a terrorist organisation to justify genocide of civilians? Well, I’m sure that would never happen in real life).
The best Pax can do is just coming out with “I don’t give a hoot, you’re the real crook” and turning out to just have been playing for time till a team led by Ironhide can burst into the room and rescue him and Bumblebee. Which, somehow, impresses Megatron and makes him think Pax is a cunning foe, even though Ironhide did all the work on that one, with the best Pax can manage is weak Arnie quips about bringing the place “Crashing down.”
The best Pax can do is just coming out with “I don’t give a hoot, you’re the real crook” and turning out to just have been playing for time till a team led by Ironhide can burst into the room and rescue him and Bumblebee. Which, somehow, impresses Megatron and makes him think Pax is a cunning foe, even though Ironhide did all the work on that one, with the best Pax can manage is weak Arnie quips about bringing the place “Crashing down.”
There has to also be some awkwardness about Megatron being surrounded by Autobots and them just running off rather than dealing with him, using the excuse that getting him out of Kaon will be too difficult, so it’s best to run away, for now. Which means Pax has successfully subdued his anger and rage that the first part made such a thing of for him not to just shoot Megatron there and then.
Megatron lets them go, on the assumption Pax will do more damage to Zeta free than they ever could. Which initially looks to be the case as, back at the Senate, he does push back slightly against the Prime chewing him out for being useless. But that doesn’t stop him accepting one “Final” prove himself mission, to take care of a bomber from Nyon who can’t be allowed to fall in with the Decepticons. An insurgent called…
Hot Rod.
Megatron lets them go, on the assumption Pax will do more damage to Zeta free than they ever could. Which initially looks to be the case as, back at the Senate, he does push back slightly against the Prime chewing him out for being useless. But that doesn’t stop him accepting one “Final” prove himself mission, to take care of a bomber from Nyon who can’t be allowed to fall in with the Decepticons. An insurgent called…
Hot Rod.
That part does try to have a bit more bite to it with the Pax and Megatron chat, but it’s not anywhere up to the level of what we’ve seen from them in this period before, and frankly, less is more when it comes to their pre-war interactions as it basically boils down to the same debate every time.
Pax is also painfully slow on the uptake and his stoically supporting the status quo is at odds with where he was at the end of Chaos Theory and will be when James Roberts gives us in its follow up. Making this issue an oddity in the chronology.
A mostly talky issue does not play to Livio’s strengths either, he simply can’t convey the facial expressions needed to bring any extra subtext that might have made this conversation seem more than it is. Though he does do fine when the action kicks off.
Next week, Rodimus isn’t the bomber, he’s the bomb as we jump back to the Lost Light.
ROBOTS IN DISGUISE ISSUE 2
2012
COMMENT
KO-FI
Pax is also painfully slow on the uptake and his stoically supporting the status quo is at odds with where he was at the end of Chaos Theory and will be when James Roberts gives us in its follow up. Making this issue an oddity in the chronology.
A mostly talky issue does not play to Livio’s strengths either, he simply can’t convey the facial expressions needed to bring any extra subtext that might have made this conversation seem more than it is. Though he does do fine when the action kicks off.
Next week, Rodimus isn’t the bomber, he’s the bomb as we jump back to the Lost Light.
ROBOTS IN DISGUISE ISSUE 2
2012
COMMENT
KO-FI