People Like Us, know how to Survive, There’s no Point in Living if You Can’t Feel Alive.
Last Stand of the Wreckers Issue 5. May 19th 2010.
Pal, we all owe you. And you still talk too much.
For the final issue of his miniseries, Nick Roche is back on full art duties and opens proceedings with a dynamic splash page of Overlord ripping Guzzle in half (which it’ll turn out he survives, something that’ll feel a bit of a cheat if you haven’t read the secondary material that mentions his weak midsection from having been split in two before) in front of a blood-red sky and full moon.
Over which, extracts from “Wreckers Declassified Datalog 332” by Fisitron are quoted: The story of the Wreckers last stand. With quotes from The Charge of the Light Brigade and the summing up that this is a story of “Sacrifice and betrayal, and good people dying in stupid, pointless ways.”
Sounds like my dating life.
Still, not to continually pitch writers against each other in any way other than literally, compare that to the opening page of the last issue I covered, which was fully devoted to a small light in an empty room turning on. The difference in dynamism could give you whiplash.
Pal, we all owe you. And you still talk too much.
For the final issue of his miniseries, Nick Roche is back on full art duties and opens proceedings with a dynamic splash page of Overlord ripping Guzzle in half (which it’ll turn out he survives, something that’ll feel a bit of a cheat if you haven’t read the secondary material that mentions his weak midsection from having been split in two before) in front of a blood-red sky and full moon.
Over which, extracts from “Wreckers Declassified Datalog 332” by Fisitron are quoted: The story of the Wreckers last stand. With quotes from The Charge of the Light Brigade and the summing up that this is a story of “Sacrifice and betrayal, and good people dying in stupid, pointless ways.”
Sounds like my dating life.
Still, not to continually pitch writers against each other in any way other than literally, compare that to the opening page of the last issue I covered, which was fully devoted to a small light in an empty room turning on. The difference in dynamism could give you whiplash.
A moment that split fandom down the middle.
And that dynamism continues as Overlord bashes Kup on either side of the head with a half of Guzzle (in what looks to be a visual homage to Springer doing the same to Cyclonus with cars in the Marvel days), before getting a harpoon in the eye from Impactor. Setting them up for a showdown.
In Aequitas, Verity (“A woman so terrified of being abandoned that she risked her life to avoid it” according to the narrator) of all people is putting up a spirited defence of not killing Impactor because, whatever really happened around him, the idea of the Wreckers as created by “Fisitron” and what it means to the Autobots is far more important than the reality and killing one of their own would be the same as killing all the Wreckers.
Something Perceptor doesn’t initially seem so keen on as he points out that, no, actually everyone else won’t be killed by the detention chip, but they will be offed by the horde of angry Deepticons about to burst in.
Guess he doesn’t believe in death of the soul.
He does have a slightly unlikely feeling change of heart but does at least look disappointed he doesn’t get to do long distance violence.
So, the new plan, is Pyro volunteers to stay behind and buy the others some time as they run for it. It’s not the big, dramatic Prime aweing death he’d planned, but he’s realised that “Dying to save the people you care about is the most that anyone can do,” which makes Ironfist say he thinks Pyro has found his motto. To which Pyro responds that no, it’s his last words.
In Aequitas, Verity (“A woman so terrified of being abandoned that she risked her life to avoid it” according to the narrator) of all people is putting up a spirited defence of not killing Impactor because, whatever really happened around him, the idea of the Wreckers as created by “Fisitron” and what it means to the Autobots is far more important than the reality and killing one of their own would be the same as killing all the Wreckers.
Something Perceptor doesn’t initially seem so keen on as he points out that, no, actually everyone else won’t be killed by the detention chip, but they will be offed by the horde of angry Deepticons about to burst in.
Guess he doesn’t believe in death of the soul.
He does have a slightly unlikely feeling change of heart but does at least look disappointed he doesn’t get to do long distance violence.
So, the new plan, is Pyro volunteers to stay behind and buy the others some time as they run for it. It’s not the big, dramatic Prime aweing death he’d planned, but he’s realised that “Dying to save the people you care about is the most that anyone can do,” which makes Ironfist say he thinks Pyro has found his motto. To which Pyro responds that no, it’s his last words.
"So make sure they are when you write this"
Though his actual last words are to apologise to Verity and say that Prime was wrong, humans don’t need Transformers to look after them, it’s the other way round.
Which is actually a fairly drastic 180 turn from the original plan for this issue where Verity would have been the bloodthirsty one and the Autobots her moral barometers. The writers had originally wanted to subvert the “Autobots learn from humans” cliché, but I guess some things are clichés for a reason.
This is probably the weakest part of the issue, as it requires Perceptor and Pyro to completely change their minds in a conversation that, though it took a month for us, covered about five minutes in real time.
One of the darkest, and funniest gags in the whole series is, as the Wreckers (lugging Fort Max with them) run and the Decepticons burst in, Ironfist reassures Verity that Pyro will put up a good fight for them.
Which is actually a fairly drastic 180 turn from the original plan for this issue where Verity would have been the bloodthirsty one and the Autobots her moral barometers. The writers had originally wanted to subvert the “Autobots learn from humans” cliché, but I guess some things are clichés for a reason.
This is probably the weakest part of the issue, as it requires Perceptor and Pyro to completely change their minds in a conversation that, though it took a month for us, covered about five minutes in real time.
One of the darkest, and funniest gags in the whole series is, as the Wreckers (lugging Fort Max with them) run and the Decepticons burst in, Ironfist reassures Verity that Pyro will put up a good fight for them.
The worst thing for me would be being executed by such a weedy gun.
Cut to him instantly having fallen and being pulled apart by Decepticons in a visual homage to either Shaun of the Dead or Day of the Dead, depending on your age and inclination.
As the Wreckers go to meet up with Springer (via a trip to the armoury as Ironfist has an idea), Verity admits she was lying about the truth not mattering at all and now wants to know all the gossip. So Ironfist tells her what really happened on Pova…
Which turns out to be the hard opposite of what he thought. It’s raining and dirty and Springer is not a happy volunteer for being shot through the middle by a grumpy Impactor as he does not actually have any circuit dampeners. Impactor does it anyway, knocking Springer out till after the fight has been won and the other Wreckers have made Squadron X “Uncomfortable.”
Which is when Impactor calls up Prowl for a prison ship, at which point Prowl points out their neutrality agreement with the Povians means the Decepticons have to be let go, and quickly before it completely destroys their diplomatic relations.
The problem with reading the Costa comics at the same time, is that if Roberts/Roche Prowl were the only one we were getting at the moment, you could take it as read that Prowl was all but winking at Impactor as he said this.
As the Wreckers go to meet up with Springer (via a trip to the armoury as Ironfist has an idea), Verity admits she was lying about the truth not mattering at all and now wants to know all the gossip. So Ironfist tells her what really happened on Pova…
Which turns out to be the hard opposite of what he thought. It’s raining and dirty and Springer is not a happy volunteer for being shot through the middle by a grumpy Impactor as he does not actually have any circuit dampeners. Impactor does it anyway, knocking Springer out till after the fight has been won and the other Wreckers have made Squadron X “Uncomfortable.”
Which is when Impactor calls up Prowl for a prison ship, at which point Prowl points out their neutrality agreement with the Povians means the Decepticons have to be let go, and quickly before it completely destroys their diplomatic relations.
The problem with reading the Costa comics at the same time, is that if Roberts/Roche Prowl were the only one we were getting at the moment, you could take it as read that Prowl was all but winking at Impactor as he said this.
It is kinda hard to feel sorry for the guy doing the Transformers equivalent of wearing a necklace of the bones of his victims.
But Costa Prowl, an honourable, nice man, would only believe in the upholding of law and being fair.
So, is this the guy from last week, or not?
Of course, I imagine absolutely very few but me has read the IDW comics in their original publication order in 12 years, and even less of those who have read Wreckers have even bothered with the Costa stuff due to its reputation. So, not a problem for new readers.
Impactor’s choice, as a wounded and crawling Springer is the only one to try and stop him, is to lock himself in the ship, looks down at the pitiful and tied up Squadron X, and executes them one by one. Winding up standing over their corpses, covered in their blood.
The rights or wrongs of this are thorny, difficult, and so much more complicated than anything we’ve seen yet.
On the one hand, summary executions are evil, soldiers need to obey orders and can’t assume they know better about the big picture than their superiors.
On the other, Squadron X are a literal death squad, SPACE Nazis. And as I grow older and more tired of the world’s descent into new fascism and the risks to my friends and loved ones, I’d say the best thing you can do with a Nazi death squad is shoot them in the back of the head.
So, is this the guy from last week, or not?
Of course, I imagine absolutely very few but me has read the IDW comics in their original publication order in 12 years, and even less of those who have read Wreckers have even bothered with the Costa stuff due to its reputation. So, not a problem for new readers.
Impactor’s choice, as a wounded and crawling Springer is the only one to try and stop him, is to lock himself in the ship, looks down at the pitiful and tied up Squadron X, and executes them one by one. Winding up standing over their corpses, covered in their blood.
The rights or wrongs of this are thorny, difficult, and so much more complicated than anything we’ve seen yet.
On the one hand, summary executions are evil, soldiers need to obey orders and can’t assume they know better about the big picture than their superiors.
On the other, Squadron X are a literal death squad, SPACE Nazis. And as I grow older and more tired of the world’s descent into new fascism and the risks to my friends and loved ones, I’d say the best thing you can do with a Nazi death squad is shoot them in the back of the head.
Poridge was never like this.
But we’ll never know if Ironfist’s cynical take is any truer than his positive version, nor will we ever hear if there were actually serious consequences from the Povians over this. So, the reader has a great deal of leeway in making their own choices on if Impactor was right.
And we certainly haven’t been getting this lever of moral debate from any of the other comics this year.
Over at the present-day fight, Impactor has fallen as well, and Overlord takes great delight in telling Springer that his hope for a rescue from the freed Autobot prisoners is not a goer because, the moment the Wreckers arrived, he had all the Autobots killed. Giving us a great, macabre call-back as we see the bodies of the prisoners we saw back in issue 3, now dead and one with an Autobrand stuck in his mouth.
And we certainly haven’t been getting this lever of moral debate from any of the other comics this year.
Over at the present-day fight, Impactor has fallen as well, and Overlord takes great delight in telling Springer that his hope for a rescue from the freed Autobot prisoners is not a goer because, the moment the Wreckers arrived, he had all the Autobots killed. Giving us a great, macabre call-back as we see the bodies of the prisoners we saw back in issue 3, now dead and one with an Autobrand stuck in his mouth.
Big dick energy.
However, as the narrator points out, hope stirs amongst the cadavers as Perceptor and Ironfist arrive, with Ironfist throwing a massive gun to Springer. Which he greets with “Sweet” before shouting “Wreck and Rule you spawn of a glitch!” and firing hundreds of small bullets at Overlord.
Which doesn’t really slow him down but does annoy him as he punches Springer so hard it leaves the Autobot’s face in his hands. Which also gets a “Sweet.”
Perceptor then gets bashed aside as well, leaving Ironfist as the last Wrecker standing. Which doesn’t impress Overlord much, till Ironfist explains that the gun Springer used wasn’t firing bullets. It was firing detention chips. And now he can use his Aequitas powers to not only make sure only specific chips are fired (luckily for Impactor), but to now turn Overlord into a minefield. Bang.
Which doesn’t really slow him down but does annoy him as he punches Springer so hard it leaves the Autobot’s face in his hands. Which also gets a “Sweet.”
Perceptor then gets bashed aside as well, leaving Ironfist as the last Wrecker standing. Which doesn’t impress Overlord much, till Ironfist explains that the gun Springer used wasn’t firing bullets. It was firing detention chips. And now he can use his Aequitas powers to not only make sure only specific chips are fired (luckily for Impactor), but to now turn Overlord into a minefield. Bang.
Nothing worse than an itch.
Look, Ironfist, mate, there was a pause between Springer firing off the chips and Overlord removing Springer’s face, that’s the point to set off the plan. Don’t wait for a chance to explain how you’re so clever.
Perhaps the guilt of that pause taking out two Autobots got too much, as Ironfist collapses after having pulled off his trick. Which may be bad for Verity, as it turns out Overlord’s design is based on a Terminator, his exoskeleton emerging from the flames. And he’s pissed because what will he do if Megatron turns up now?
Which is where Verity gets to deliver the killer blow: Megatron is dead. He’s been dead for three years. Overlord has set all this up for nothing. He’s obsessed over Megatron and getting a final showdown, whilst Megatron died having never thought of Overlord again.
Which makes Overlord have a proper breakdown, collapsed on his knees screaming “He owes me!”
So, it’s probably better for him that Impactor has recovered enough to shoot him down (and let us see his alternate mode for the first time).
Then, even though Verity is calling him on to do it, Impactor chooses not to kill Overlord, remembering Springer’s words to him, “They deserved to die Impactor, but that didn’t give you the right to kill them!” so he decides to make sure Overlord stands trial because, like him, the Decepticon is guilty as hell.
Perhaps the guilt of that pause taking out two Autobots got too much, as Ironfist collapses after having pulled off his trick. Which may be bad for Verity, as it turns out Overlord’s design is based on a Terminator, his exoskeleton emerging from the flames. And he’s pissed because what will he do if Megatron turns up now?
Which is where Verity gets to deliver the killer blow: Megatron is dead. He’s been dead for three years. Overlord has set all this up for nothing. He’s obsessed over Megatron and getting a final showdown, whilst Megatron died having never thought of Overlord again.
Which makes Overlord have a proper breakdown, collapsed on his knees screaming “He owes me!”
So, it’s probably better for him that Impactor has recovered enough to shoot him down (and let us see his alternate mode for the first time).
Then, even though Verity is calling him on to do it, Impactor chooses not to kill Overlord, remembering Springer’s words to him, “They deserved to die Impactor, but that didn’t give you the right to kill them!” so he decides to make sure Overlord stands trial because, like him, the Decepticon is guilty as hell.
Luckily they just about managed tio get this out before Megatron was no longer dead.
This is an ending that suffers from this story having sequels. Not only because Overlord goes on to kill more people (that’s just the stock “Why doesn’t Batman kill the Joker?” bad faith arguments), but because, eventually, Springer and Impactor will kill Overlord.
Indeed, they’ll give him a fate worse than death. So, killing him here and now would have been better for everyone, including Overlord.
Blimey, I’m bloodthirsty in my old age.
Not dead is Ironfist, who wakes up. Yay for Ironfist! So happy for him.
Over the page (and past a quick explanation the Decepticons will all be running from the planet. I’m surprised Ironfist didn’t kill every con with a chip), and sometime later, Ultra Magnus is reporting to Prowl, both on the dead and the survivors (including the comatose Springer and Fortress Maximus), how Impactor was pardoned and took off with the stitched together Guzzle and Ironfist…
Well, Prowl assumes Ironfist died in the chamber (he’d arranged for the guy to do a suicide mission by unlocking Aequitas because of what we’re about to find out…) but of course, Ironfist…
Indeed, they’ll give him a fate worse than death. So, killing him here and now would have been better for everyone, including Overlord.
Blimey, I’m bloodthirsty in my old age.
Not dead is Ironfist, who wakes up. Yay for Ironfist! So happy for him.
Over the page (and past a quick explanation the Decepticons will all be running from the planet. I’m surprised Ironfist didn’t kill every con with a chip), and sometime later, Ultra Magnus is reporting to Prowl, both on the dead and the survivors (including the comatose Springer and Fortress Maximus), how Impactor was pardoned and took off with the stitched together Guzzle and Ironfist…
Well, Prowl assumes Ironfist died in the chamber (he’d arranged for the guy to do a suicide mission by unlocking Aequitas because of what we’re about to find out…) but of course, Ironfist…
Well, hell is downstairs, like a basement...
Died on his way home. Because of a (and I’ll talk more about this in the next entry) cerebro-centric bullet that had been moving slowly towards his brain like Robert Carlyle in that Bond film.
It’s one of the darkest and most brutal gut punches in the series, to not only deny Ironfist the dignity of his hero’s death, but to have it as an off-panel afterthought, with us only seeing a flashback panel of Verity crying over his body. It’s a bold, striking move that hurts in the right way.
Prowl meanwhile has some bigger issues. He only rescued the transcripts because they’d have been a propaganda victory for the Decepticons, he’s never agreed with the idea that, once all the trials are concluded and sentences passed, the entire thing be made public (as Impactor’s sentencing was said to be 20 years ago, Cybertronian justice really is clogged up). Being in that chamber next to Xaaron and the oddly mysteriously has his face in shadow Chief Judge Tyrest and seeing the full list of every prisoner’s crimes is something that still haunts him.
Though it’s nice to see Marvel UK character Flame as the Autobot prisoner in the flashback, in a thread that, amazingly, will be followed up on.
It’s one of the darkest and most brutal gut punches in the series, to not only deny Ironfist the dignity of his hero’s death, but to have it as an off-panel afterthought, with us only seeing a flashback panel of Verity crying over his body. It’s a bold, striking move that hurts in the right way.
Prowl meanwhile has some bigger issues. He only rescued the transcripts because they’d have been a propaganda victory for the Decepticons, he’s never agreed with the idea that, once all the trials are concluded and sentences passed, the entire thing be made public (as Impactor’s sentencing was said to be 20 years ago, Cybertronian justice really is clogged up). Being in that chamber next to Xaaron and the oddly mysteriously has his face in shadow Chief Judge Tyrest and seeing the full list of every prisoner’s crimes is something that still haunts him.
Though it’s nice to see Marvel UK character Flame as the Autobot prisoner in the flashback, in a thread that, amazingly, will be followed up on.
So James and Nick, what do you think of the super fanbois?
Magnus is very aware that there’s only copy (they know of) of the data slug. That it could have been corrupted in the transfer. He’s chosen not to check it before handing it to Prowl as that would have been a disservice to them both, but he sure hopes that it won’t turn out to be broken.
Leaving us on Prowl holding the slug with slightly too much force, as the narrator wonders if this will be the “End of the road” for the Wreckers, because everyone has a breaking point and it’s just a question of how much pressure is applied.
Luckily, we readers know Prowl is now a decent, wonderful, loving man who never would.
And then we hit our final twist (ironically, it would later be impossible for such a twist to be foreshadowed by a seeming Transformer quoting Earth culture in a script that involves James Roberts), on Earth, in Mr O’s diner (down the bottle on the Marvel reference drinking game) as a police car the writers assured us isn’t Prowl or Streetwise is parked outside.
More on that in the sequel.
Leaving us on Prowl holding the slug with slightly too much force, as the narrator wonders if this will be the “End of the road” for the Wreckers, because everyone has a breaking point and it’s just a question of how much pressure is applied.
Luckily, we readers know Prowl is now a decent, wonderful, loving man who never would.
And then we hit our final twist (ironically, it would later be impossible for such a twist to be foreshadowed by a seeming Transformer quoting Earth culture in a script that involves James Roberts), on Earth, in Mr O’s diner (down the bottle on the Marvel reference drinking game) as a police car the writers assured us isn’t Prowl or Streetwise is parked outside.
More on that in the sequel.
"Can you performe under pressure?" "No, but I can have a crack at Fat Bottomed Girls"
Inside, the identity of the Fisitron writing his last Datalog is revealed to be none other than Verity. Determined to keep his memory and legacy alive (more on that in the sequel), as she ends with “You see, this is one of those stories with a moral. And the moral is simply this: Life persists.”
I wish Roberts would have remembered that later when it came to Ten and Nightbeat.
The most depressing thing about this comic is I’ve only reached late May in 2010 and the best series of the year, of close to two years in fact, is already over.
There may be a couple of oddities here and there (that oddly, stand out more reading it issue by issue rather than in a trade), but this has been a dense, thoughtful, funny series that has asked bigger and more serious questions than any Transformers story up to this point. It is a literal game-changer for the at least all of IDW’s output, and arguably of the franchise as a whole.
It may take a while for the rest of the comics to catch up, but ultimately, nothing will ever be the same because of this series. It is no exaggeration to say that Nick Roche and James Roberts between them, completely redefined what was possible with an 80's toy-based franchise. Other revivals of the period have tried to be “Adult” (Megatron crushing a pissing soldier in Dreamwave, or the horrendous Thundercats Rape Comic), but this is the first time someone has successfully achieved maturity.
I wish Roberts would have remembered that later when it came to Ten and Nightbeat.
The most depressing thing about this comic is I’ve only reached late May in 2010 and the best series of the year, of close to two years in fact, is already over.
There may be a couple of oddities here and there (that oddly, stand out more reading it issue by issue rather than in a trade), but this has been a dense, thoughtful, funny series that has asked bigger and more serious questions than any Transformers story up to this point. It is a literal game-changer for the at least all of IDW’s output, and arguably of the franchise as a whole.
It may take a while for the rest of the comics to catch up, but ultimately, nothing will ever be the same because of this series. It is no exaggeration to say that Nick Roche and James Roberts between them, completely redefined what was possible with an 80's toy-based franchise. Other revivals of the period have tried to be “Adult” (Megatron crushing a pissing soldier in Dreamwave, or the horrendous Thundercats Rape Comic), but this is the first time someone has successfully achieved maturity.
Nick Roche never met a font that was too large for him.
Whilst also doing “Bitch” sounds like “Glitch” jokes. The two writers have layers.
And of course, there’s nothing wrong with a silly kids’ franchise being silly and for kids (and Nick Roche is currently keeping that spirit alive with his design work on Earthspark), but this opens up so many doors of potential. Which will eventually be walked through with enthusiasm by the next wave of writers.
I mean, just compare how much I’ve written on any one of these issues compared to any Costa issue to date. The difference is staggering, and a credit to the work put into this series.
And it’s not over yet, as there’s still some bullets in the chamber…
IRONHIDE ISSUE 1
2010
COMMENT
KO-FI
And of course, there’s nothing wrong with a silly kids’ franchise being silly and for kids (and Nick Roche is currently keeping that spirit alive with his design work on Earthspark), but this opens up so many doors of potential. Which will eventually be walked through with enthusiasm by the next wave of writers.
I mean, just compare how much I’ve written on any one of these issues compared to any Costa issue to date. The difference is staggering, and a credit to the work put into this series.
And it’s not over yet, as there’s still some bullets in the chamber…
IRONHIDE ISSUE 1
2010
COMMENT
KO-FI
