‘Cos if You Want the Best ones and You Don’t ask Questions, Then Brother, I’m Your Man.
The Transformers issue 29: Police Action Part 3: A Second Chance at Eden. November 2nd 2011.
Finding answers is what I do. And I’ve found all the answers. But all I have is doubt.
As we hit the home straight for the end of the Costa era with the conclusion of his Earth stories, you’re immediately into a sense of anti-climax as the dramatic back and forth cat and mouse scene between Spike and Prowl plays out with all the drama of a wet fart.
It basically boils down to Spike insisting taking care of Scrapper was a perfectly fine thing to do, with Prowl being all “But what about trust?!,” as if, as Spike points out, there actually ever was any trust between the two sides. Even Prowl trying to give Spike a personal motive for what he's done by bringing up a friend who died in the New York tunnels gets rebutted by him pointing out lots of friends of his died in the invasion.
It’s a scene that depends on you having an emotional investment in these two characters and their points of view that simply isn’t there.
Mildly more interesting is that, after Prowl is called out to meet Bumblebee, we see that a data slug exactly like the one from Last Stand of the Wreckers. Which appears a couple of times throughout the issue (including the last panel), apparently intended as a visible reminded of Prowl’s own hypocrisy.
Finding answers is what I do. And I’ve found all the answers. But all I have is doubt.
As we hit the home straight for the end of the Costa era with the conclusion of his Earth stories, you’re immediately into a sense of anti-climax as the dramatic back and forth cat and mouse scene between Spike and Prowl plays out with all the drama of a wet fart.
It basically boils down to Spike insisting taking care of Scrapper was a perfectly fine thing to do, with Prowl being all “But what about trust?!,” as if, as Spike points out, there actually ever was any trust between the two sides. Even Prowl trying to give Spike a personal motive for what he's done by bringing up a friend who died in the New York tunnels gets rebutted by him pointing out lots of friends of his died in the invasion.
It’s a scene that depends on you having an emotional investment in these two characters and their points of view that simply isn’t there.
Mildly more interesting is that, after Prowl is called out to meet Bumblebee, we see that a data slug exactly like the one from Last Stand of the Wreckers. Which appears a couple of times throughout the issue (including the last panel), apparently intended as a visible reminded of Prowl’s own hypocrisy.
"We're not so unalike, you and I"
Except, destroying the slug would have been the hypocritical thing to do, having kept it around is exactly what Ultra Magnus wanted, and there’s been no indication that Prowl hasn’t properly followed through on the decision at the end of that series. It’s no wonder the eventual Wreckers sequel will simply ignore this (in an era where very little continuity gets ignored) and have Prowl having gotten rid of it immediately.
There’s also an unintentionally funny moment of Prowl thinking about how he should respect Spike, but doesn’t, whilst staring at a photo of Scrapper’s corpse like Wolverine in that meme.
There’s also an unintentionally funny moment of Prowl thinking about how he should respect Spike, but doesn’t, whilst staring at a photo of Scrapper’s corpse like Wolverine in that meme.
My sweet headless Scrapper.
The meeting with Bumblebee is about Ben Simpson, as apparently Sandra (not appearing in this issue) has given them his location. And, no, I’m not sure how a regular TV pundit and leader of a political movement apparently doesn’t have his address known to the authorities already. Nor what Sandra’s connection to him was. Or even why the Transformers are so focused on one outspoken critic of them when the media must be full of such opinions at this point.
We also get a straight up repeat of Jazz going “I should come on this mission” and being told “No, you’re under investigation.” You’d think that might have sunk in by now.
Simpson, who barely looks like he did in his previous appearances, turns out to live in a bit of a hovel in a dirty vest, which is at odds with his previous sharp suited appearances.
We also get a straight up repeat of Jazz going “I should come on this mission” and being told “No, you’re under investigation.” You’d think that might have sunk in by now.
Simpson, who barely looks like he did in his previous appearances, turns out to live in a bit of a hovel in a dirty vest, which is at odds with his previous sharp suited appearances.
Me reading this comic.
He also has to put up with an Autobot convoy rolling up outside his house and a bunch of Skywatch troops breaking in. Which feels an extraordinary overreaction to what he’s done.
Luckily for the boys, Simpson turns out to not only have a Megatron gun, but when this provides an excuse to shoot him full of holes, he also has purple blood.
Simpson and the way he predicted the Farage style TV pundit was one of the few things I’ve praised about this series, so him turning out to be a facsimile construct under a Decepticon’s control could arguably also be predicting how many of those nasty pieces of work are (or were, till the cash run out) funded by Russian money. But frankly, it feels more like it completely undermines the idea there would be legitimate opposition to the Transformers on Earth after they murdered millions if it all turns out to have been orchestrated by Transformers.
It's a weird messy end to this plot thread and is especially baffling as there were no immediate plans to return to Earth, so the situation could have just been left that most of humankind genuinely want them gone without outside influence.
Speaking of messy ends, after a quick chase and fight, Ultra Magnus captures the Decepticon behind all this: Swindle.
Luckily for the boys, Simpson turns out to not only have a Megatron gun, but when this provides an excuse to shoot him full of holes, he also has purple blood.
Simpson and the way he predicted the Farage style TV pundit was one of the few things I’ve praised about this series, so him turning out to be a facsimile construct under a Decepticon’s control could arguably also be predicting how many of those nasty pieces of work are (or were, till the cash run out) funded by Russian money. But frankly, it feels more like it completely undermines the idea there would be legitimate opposition to the Transformers on Earth after they murdered millions if it all turns out to have been orchestrated by Transformers.
It's a weird messy end to this plot thread and is especially baffling as there were no immediate plans to return to Earth, so the situation could have just been left that most of humankind genuinely want them gone without outside influence.
Speaking of messy ends, after a quick chase and fight, Ultra Magnus captures the Decepticon behind all this: Swindle.
This guy gets a full page death.
Who, back at Omega Supreme (and after Spike has seen him be walked in), reveals he has been behind everything all along for…erm…reasons. Including selling weapons to everyone, all sides, and people. Including Spike!
What a shocking twist… well, except it was a big thing Spike killed Scrapper with homemade equipment and the Decepticon’s own gun. So, what did Swindle give him, and what did he use it for? Or is this meant to be how Skywatch got their mech suits? Because no one at any point up till this has acted like this is technology humanity couldn’t have developed naturally in the aftermath of the invasion. So, it all feels like it’s come out of nowhere.
And what did Spike even pay Swindle with? At least the Koreans have energon.
This is also, bafflingly, enough for the Autobots to make their move on Spike with no other evidence other than the testimony of a guy called Swindle. But, because Spike isn’t an idiot, he’s already left the base. Which does at least give us a nice moment of Omega Supreme (who is dealing with being split in two over a distance of light years) being sheepish over not having Spike on his “Do not trust” list.
And that’s Spike out of the book, his fate deliberately left as a dangling thread for future writers (possibly Costa was even thinking it might be him, if he’d not decided to burn his bridges yet) to use or ignore as they see fit. Unfortunately, as he is a completely awful character the series is well rid of, the decision will be made to use him. Though at least that’s a few years off, and we’re going to get a good break from him.
What a shocking twist… well, except it was a big thing Spike killed Scrapper with homemade equipment and the Decepticon’s own gun. So, what did Swindle give him, and what did he use it for? Or is this meant to be how Skywatch got their mech suits? Because no one at any point up till this has acted like this is technology humanity couldn’t have developed naturally in the aftermath of the invasion. So, it all feels like it’s come out of nowhere.
And what did Spike even pay Swindle with? At least the Koreans have energon.
This is also, bafflingly, enough for the Autobots to make their move on Spike with no other evidence other than the testimony of a guy called Swindle. But, because Spike isn’t an idiot, he’s already left the base. Which does at least give us a nice moment of Omega Supreme (who is dealing with being split in two over a distance of light years) being sheepish over not having Spike on his “Do not trust” list.
And that’s Spike out of the book, his fate deliberately left as a dangling thread for future writers (possibly Costa was even thinking it might be him, if he’d not decided to burn his bridges yet) to use or ignore as they see fit. Unfortunately, as he is a completely awful character the series is well rid of, the decision will be made to use him. Though at least that’s a few years off, and we’re going to get a good break from him.
I wish I knew what he was talking about.
Also gone from the base is Pennington. Whose absence has Bumblebee shocked because “He can’t even walk!”
Jesus H Christ Bumblebee, don’t be such an ableist dick. How do you think the guy gets too and from work?
It turns out Pennington has actually left with Jazz, with the Autobot having tricked him into visiting Skywatch’s new and never before mentioned base in New Mexico for….
…well, it’s never really clear what Pennington thinks they’re there for, and he cheerfully fails to spot Jazz probing him about weapons.
Jesus H Christ Bumblebee, don’t be such an ableist dick. How do you think the guy gets too and from work?
It turns out Pennington has actually left with Jazz, with the Autobot having tricked him into visiting Skywatch’s new and never before mentioned base in New Mexico for….
…well, it’s never really clear what Pennington thinks they’re there for, and he cheerfully fails to spot Jazz probing him about weapons.
Maybe the base is just built of explodium?
Once inside, Jazz uses an excuse to get rid of Pennington, he goes to the comms room and calls up General Allenby, as the most critical person on Skywatch’s overview council and tells him about Spike’s crimes, albeit with the proviso he’s pretty sure someone upstairs knew and was turning a blind eye.
Jazz is also recording all this despite not presenting any proof or reason anyone should believe the cop killer if he goes public. He’s also going to set off an EMP to destroy all the records at the Skywatch base Pennington has already told him hasn’t been properly opened and doesn’t have any classified stuff in it, seemingly sincerely. Presumably, all the Skywatch equipment is actually at Omega Supreme. So, a completely empty gesture.
Also, either Mike Costa or Brendan Cahill doesn’t understand what an EMP is, as rather than an electronics disabling pulse, Jazz just fires his gun and sets off a lot of explosives we never saw him have chance to plant, before sheepishly telling Pennington he totally likes the guy, but he’ll have to find his own ride home.
All of which leaves Prowl, as the Autobots prepare to leave Earth (I’ll guess we’ll have to wait till the end of Chaos to find out how they’ll do this with only half an Omega Supreme), wondering what any of the point of all this was as he’s gotten all the answers he wanted, but the result is only doubts.
I know how you feel, mate.
Jazz is also recording all this despite not presenting any proof or reason anyone should believe the cop killer if he goes public. He’s also going to set off an EMP to destroy all the records at the Skywatch base Pennington has already told him hasn’t been properly opened and doesn’t have any classified stuff in it, seemingly sincerely. Presumably, all the Skywatch equipment is actually at Omega Supreme. So, a completely empty gesture.
Also, either Mike Costa or Brendan Cahill doesn’t understand what an EMP is, as rather than an electronics disabling pulse, Jazz just fires his gun and sets off a lot of explosives we never saw him have chance to plant, before sheepishly telling Pennington he totally likes the guy, but he’ll have to find his own ride home.
All of which leaves Prowl, as the Autobots prepare to leave Earth (I’ll guess we’ll have to wait till the end of Chaos to find out how they’ll do this with only half an Omega Supreme), wondering what any of the point of all this was as he’s gotten all the answers he wanted, but the result is only doubts.
I know how you feel, mate.
If it's not the slug from Last Stand, maybe it's his robo-porn collection?
What a baffling concluding issue. It never really pins anything irredeemable on Spike beyond him being an arsehole, and there’s completely random and poorly connected to previous events moments like Simpson, and Swindle as the author of all our pain.
It’s definitely trying to contrast with Chaos by being more character driven and introspective than action, but that only works if the reader has any investment in the characters. It’s as shallow as a park paddling pool but thinks it’s saying something. Which is probably as big an indictment of Costa and his mediocre with delusions of being profound writing as you’re going to get.
With one miserable mess of a story over, next week, it’s the conclusion to the other miserable mess of a story as this whole sorry era hits its endgame.
THE TRANSFORMERS ISSUE 28
2011
COMMENT
KO-FI
It’s definitely trying to contrast with Chaos by being more character driven and introspective than action, but that only works if the reader has any investment in the characters. It’s as shallow as a park paddling pool but thinks it’s saying something. Which is probably as big an indictment of Costa and his mediocre with delusions of being profound writing as you’re going to get.
With one miserable mess of a story over, next week, it’s the conclusion to the other miserable mess of a story as this whole sorry era hits its endgame.
THE TRANSFORMERS ISSUE 28
2011
COMMENT
KO-FI
