Thanks to Newsarama, we have some 5-page previews of upcoming comic books including: More Than Meets The Eye #43, Transformers: Combiner Hunters Special, and Transformers: Windblade #5.
We’ve mirrored the pages for you after the jump, you can also use Newsarama’s viewer to see them all in sequence.
Negativedark
Velocitron is a lot like the classic Star Trek episodes where they'd go to some planet, find some problem, Kirk would make out with some babe, topple the social structure, and then go off leaving the natives to sort it out, and hopefully grow. Wow that sounded real bad when I actually typed it out.
Anyways lets see how things go when we get Velocitron's actual history more in depth. If we do.
Raiju
Looks like fun on the bun!
MatrixOfWumbo
At the end of the day MtMtE always knows the difference between a plot hole and a mystery. That's why I wasn't initially dissuaded by the preview.
Soundbarricade
For anyone who have trouble with the MtMtE preview:
The first two pages, with Tailgate and Cyclonus, are supposed to be one double page, with the story going from the top left, page one, to the top right page two, and so on ^^
So the first pic is a long one with the two of them together in the living room. It helps to understand the story, if you, like me, are on a phone, and zoom in on the two thumbnails of the pages
Autovolt 127
Yeah it's at least good to know what's exactly going on.
Yeah I agree with you. Everyone needs to tell Chromia to GTFO.
Murasame
Why can't you guys just wait and see what direction the story goes. Seriously, these discussions based on nothing make me sick.
soundwaverulls
Well, going off of what was said last issue, it could be possible this is a result of their society degrading. That as they lost their urgent problems, they became less interested in anything but racing. That would mean that they haven't always been this way and that's why their society's yet to reach the point of collapse.
Haywired
Physical prowess in a relatively primitive hunter-gatherer society or in an ancient city-state is not an impractical criterium because back then being an accomplished hunter/warrior was also a proof of ones problem-solving capability and how good they're at survival. If they lived and were successful in a harsh environment with only primitive tools at their disposal it was also a proof that they can take care of society/lead the army in a proper manner. That they have muscles AND brain.
Physical prowess in an industrialised and organised society like modern human or Cybertronian is a dumb idea because it tells absolutely nothing about how good or bad you are at administration or diplomacy. Celebrities, be it actors or sportsmen, go into politics with their charisma, which is an useful trait for a politician/administrator.
Not even classic "rule of the strongest" depiction of Decepticons goes that far because they pretty much accept any kind of prowess in getting rid of your competitors, usually a mixture of punching faces, charisma AND backstabbing so whoever survived to the top of their pecking order is guaranteed to be at least passable as a leader. Or at least to not be a complete idiot.
Now, Velocitronians aren't at war and their version of physical prowess does not involve subjugating others by force, just being a good racer. It's not needed for survival because their cities are moving.
Having racers as a kind of very popular calebrities which makes going into politics easier for them, pretty much like pre-war Blurr was a very popular person, would be less of a stretch.
But then, this concept was lifted from kid's cartoon so it's hard to expect logic. Though maybe it could be toned down and less exaggerated in a book for older audience.
So far both Velocitronian ambassadors are a good example why it is not working. They're terrible diplomats. Knockout is arrogant and offensive from the first sight, Moonracer is unsure and easily dominated in talks. They're lucky to have Starscream as their partner in negotiations, or rather having him in a situation when he can't simply use force to get what he wants.
But if this pair was sent to negotiations with a someone who can simply take what they want, or breaking relations with them would be harmful for Velocitron? Incoming trainwreck in 3..2..1..
But maybe that's the author's intent, to show why it is not working. But then a the question arises – if it is that bad, why it lasted for so long? Unless Velocitronian society is in a really sorry state, full of corruption and incompetency. But then it would probably crashed long times ago.
Coffee
Yup. Difference is Cybertron was a much simpler show with a much simpler universe. Even then, we didn't have so much of a negative mantra presented towards a lower class of non-racers like we have here, and that only complicates things further.
You're right, there's plenty of instances where physical strength has substituted for a proper form of government, but in most still existing cultures where that is the case, unless I'm missing some blatant examples, tend not to be nearly as advanced as cultures comparative to Cybertronian or Velocitronian culture. It's just the way we have a culture that is depicted as advanced as Cybertron while still clutching to an idea that is blatantly flawed to any advanced form of civilization. But it's not just that, but the relegation of duties. Especially something such as the employment of an ambassador based on physical prowess alone. Ambassadors require a specific skill-set, and to ignore all of that to focus on how well they drive is really something else. It's just really bizarre for a culture to be advanced enough to fully recognize the position of an ambassador and to know full well the duties an ambassador is meant to uphold, only to somehow not be able to put together that those skills might need to actually exist in the individual for the function of "ambassador" to actually work. I get that we're supposed to find this weird, but it's a real stretch in belief. Not in sci-fantasy terms like I have with mtmte, but in just general belief in characters' attitudes.
femmebotfangirl
It's not that much of a jump really, a lot of human cultures have linked physical prowess with morality and/or competence so the idea that a Cybertron colony have done that seems perfectly reasonable. A lot of things which can seem ridiculous to one group of people make sense within another group, and things we think are rational and sensible can be entirely arbitrary and viewed as weird to others.
I'm looking forward to all of these issues, especially Combiner Hunters because my SDCC exclusive should be arriving around the same time.
T.F. Allen
So, everyone who is criticizing Velocitron's political structure and how everything is determined by racing, y'all do realize this is deliberately pulled straight out of Cybertron/Galaxy Force, right?
Coffee
We have, yeah. Ahnold is one of them. And there is still plenty of stupidity in politics like with Trump. But for a culture to have such a sum of stupidity that it has people basing their positions off of how well they can race, makes it kind of unbelievable, and not in the sci-fi sort of way. It's like a system of government depicted in the movie Idiocracy, except without the humorous and ironic tone that makes it work, it's played completely straight.
Plus just the scenario of Moonracer's getting her job is kind of unbelievable. It's something along the lines of:
"Yo, check this out." *does a sick kick-flip*
"That's fucking awesome. Want to become the ambassador of our entire race and manage the future of our potential relationship with the rest of our race across the galaxy?!"
"Because of a kick-flip?"
"It was a pretty cool kick-flip."
No qualifications or anything, just send the chick who can drive as fast as your city to fulfill negotiations with the rest of your race. We know that Velocitron has a ton of racism beneath it's surface but I can only think of so many other problems considering Velocitron houses a major, easily refinable source of energy that they won't even share with Cybertron because they don't like their style. Velocitron could be a paradise if it weren't for it's bizarre form of racism, further perpetuated by its unbelivable job structure.
I just feel like I'm supposed to be reading about a unique, alien culture when it feels like I'm reading about a crew of Autobots trying to make negotiations with a planet of idiots.
Hadlen_Weltall
"that was your first and last 'please' "
ha!!!
Negativedark
Yeah, another four million years of it and she can either get to be made co captain of the Lost Light, or a limb for an Optimus Prime Combiner. Or at the very least left in charge of the earth contigent while Optimus is away.
While I understand the reasons why she did what she did, Chromia probably should be in prison. On the other hand considering how many guys who commited war crimes are just walking around Cybertron… Well she possibly made the bottom fifty for crimes commited, but still going free.
Sumner Sturgeon
Hmm. I don't have any thoughts either way on the writing so far, but I can see your criticism on the art there. I don't agree myself, but you do have a point on the heads thing.
Haywired
Chromia really should be separated from Winblade. There's no way to keep this frendship going in focus without making WB look bad.
Some people still somewhat did not trust Drift for his Decepticon past despite him being a heavily promoted character.
Then a lot of mechs is still rightfully ****ed at Megatron.
Then Prowl is universally disliked for his "charming" self.
Then people generally dislike Arcee and are unafraid of stating it, as did Kup.
Then all the flak and distrust Sunstreaker was given.
Then basically it's no **** given to Chromia's dumb idea.
Ok, figured she can't be imprisoned or anything without wasting a character, but every time when someone who knew about her bombings acts as if she was completely ok it actually makes this other character look bad.
Rakzo
Also, I really hope we see more of Bluestreak in this issue.
… You know, for character development.
Negativedark
Velocitron's social system and government being all racing… Well lets not forget even here on earth you have people getting elected to office, or their opinions carrying weight about things they really shouldn't just because they are famous. And actor who gets elected to a high posistion despite having no previous political experience for example. As we're seeing this has definitly become a problem under the surface of Velocitron. A social caste system based on something frivolous to outsiders is hardly a new idea in fiction.
Driskull98
Yeah, it does. Especially this page, with special focus on everyone's ginormous heads.
The writing is really bad too. Sounds like something out of a bad deviantART comic book.
Rakzo
That's Newsarama for you.