It’s almost time! Next Wednesday will see the release of the first issue of IDW’s Sins of the Wreckers – Nick Roche’s highly anticipated follow-up to the acclaimed Last Stand of the Wreckers. Prowl has been kidnapped, and with him goes all of the dirtiest secrets the Autobots hold. It’s up to the Wreckers to get him back! This full length preview care of Newsarama shows off the initial setup of the issue and introduces us to two of the main groups of characters involved in the story – be sure to check it out, and pick up the full issue when it arrives on Wednesday!
SMOG
Hard to believe it's already been 5 months since Prowl disappeared. Time flies!
I agree about Roche… plus it really seems like we have Roche to thank for the best elements of the Prowl we have today. He was pretty much a dull nobody in IDW until Roche's AHM story.
zmog
Insane Galvatron
What issue/story arc was this stated. I just remember them leaving at the end of Last Stand, and nothing since.
Rakzo
Um, Prowl has been absent from the Transformers comics for a while and, aside from his supposed appearance here, it seems like that still going to be the case for the moment considering that the next storyline is mostly Optimus-focused.
I really like the character and how Barber writes him. However, I'm glad that Roche is going to handle him once again here, he has always been the best Prowl writer.
grindcore138
Ok but imagine if Impactor just forgets about Guzzle until the end of issue #5, with each issue occasionally checking in on him screaming at no one from inside his time-out box.
ZeroiaSD
I like Barber Prowl a fair deal, but the guy just needs a break, and a step back.
Autovolt 127
>Jetstorm you mean Jetfire.
Otherwise you're right. RID should have been about all of these characters as a team. Personally I wish Prowl didn't have to go off the deep end, still be a manipulative bastard but do it quitely and appear like an all round respectable type of leader.
Agreed on all counts.
SMOG
Exactly… I agree that we could use a break from Prowl. Part of this is just because I don't find Barber does a very good job of writing Prowl intelligently. He always writes him in very broad, obvious strokes. Killing him is absolutely pointless… petty even. Keep someone like that around, so you can bring them back when they are most relevant.
Plus, Prowl has just disappeared. I think he needs some time away to reconsider the situation, to make new plans, and to cultivate a bit of mystery around him. And find a different writer who understands him, of course.
As I said before, he works best as a shadow-player… someone who pulls strings and controls things from the sidelines, or from behind a curtain. And while I prefer him to operate within the Autobots, now that he's on lam, I think it opens the door to introduce a greater degree of factionalism among the Autobots. Cybertron has been politically polarized for so long, that it's easy to forget that politics aren't always black and white, divided between just TWO sides or sets of interests. In the postwar setting, we can now look beyond Bot and Con, and instead look at all the little sub-groups that would spring up now that it's not just about war and survival.
zmog
Pumpkin latte
Under no circumstances should Prowl be allowed to play caretaker to any lifeform more complicated than a goldfish. If he can keep track of a small aquatic friend longer than six months under surveillance without doing anything regrettable to the poor thing, we'll talk. Until then I don't feel comfortable with leaving him alone with living creatures. I kid but… please don't do that to our warm fuzzy canine companions. They did nothing wrong.
I haven't gotten bored of Prowl yet. He's an interesting character. However I can definitely see how some would want to see a focus on others. When Kup returned I remembered joking on Twitter that he was probably only there because he had a connection to Barber's favorite character. As time rolled on without the character contributing anything of value, I started honestly wondering if that was honestly the case. He's mostly there to show how competent Jazz is. Neither one are used effectively. Barber has said Jazz
so if Kup ends up biting it, this will really start to look like some of these characters are merely plots to tell Prowl's story. I have faith it won't come to that but it's a threat when author favoritism comes knocking. It might be a good time to keep him away until Jro can work with him in the next big crossover.
For it's part I do like the subroutines as an idea but I'm not seeing the reason people like Kup so much. All hail Megatron saw him usurp command from Jazz and refuse to send for help(Hot Rod doing it anyway was what saved the day), underestimating the enemy and walking onto obvious traps, getting taken off guard by a Decepticon who could have easily killed him in LSOTW because he was showing off for the newbie, ignoring the common sense stealth protocols put in place in favor of sassing Jazz, and overall just not being written to be good at his job.
Finding out that he was apparently in charge of security has me shaking my head because I can't understand why anyone would choose Lip over Jazz for the position?
Going by Kup's track record in exrid(I'm not counting his suspicious attempts to derail Arcee here because I think Roche is trying to make it seem ooc), his competence for the job is on par with a cartoon cop antagonist stereotype. If I were Prowl, I'd be embarrassed to take credit for Kup's actions. One of his saving graces as a character came in the form of his easy acceptance of Drift(which was just used McCarthy to make Drift cooler, I know, but I take what I can), because that kind of understanding towards others would make friends, people would know that no matter how far they'd fallen he'd take them back if they asked. This was promptly taken from him so he can be yet another person alienating Arcee. I don't really see the attraction. It really seems like IDW Kup owes his continued existence to the actions of more competent soldiers than himself and this really isn't something that would inspire confidence in the common soldier. It would be one (extremely tragic) thing if his actions we're an intentional plot point but I doubt IDW is going there. I'll be honest, I don't even want them to go there because thinking about him from that angle gets me emotional but at least his behavior would serve a point!
If Barber doesn't improve on the portrayal, I really hope the reason Kup is seen as a charismatic figure gets answered in SOTW.
*For the record, I don't mind Kup as a character, I just don't think he's been written as especially suited for the job in exrid. Barber is going for 'old people' humor when he writes him, but that falls flat when it endangers lives.
ZeroiaSD
I agree that Prowl needs a break. If he goes into hermit mode for awhile after Sins, that'd work for me. Give him time to process and feel, and not just plan and react.
Hmmmm….
Anyone else think he could use a pet dog? ^^
GoLion
We've been sorely lacking in action lately with the Transformers books. Hope this is a nonstop oil fest.
Well said.
Skeeve
Prowl doesn't have to be killed, but he is long due for a break. Actually, what I mean is that readers are long due for a break from him. Most of the traits I've seen listed as what makes him interesting are the traits that have been developed and displayed over hundreds and hundreds of pages of comics that I'd rather see occupy other characters.
It's true that he can be redeemed with good writing, but I'd rather not see that page time wasted on him when I could see it used to highlight a different character. Jetstorm. Sideswipe. Cosmos. Sky Lynx. This is supposed to be a team book, and I feel that any one of these characters could be amazing if given half the amount of page time devoted to Prowl. Any story that reiterates Prowl's deceptions or machinations is redundant and boring as hell at this point. It works better for Starscream because respectable villains are so much more fun than dark heroes.
Autovolt 127
I agree all the way especially with the idea that Prowl has a mindset that certain characters could actually agree with and follow as well as much far worse bots who actually get forgiven and excepeted I.E Megatron.
Rockdown
Amen to that! There is also the lack of camp 'witty' dialogue.
GoLion
Honestly, I think the end of the war has had a huge almost profound impact on Prowl. He's a warrior without his war. It's lead Prowl to see an enemy around every corner. He's smart and looks for clues even if they're not there. That's interesting.
The most interesting aspect I like about Prowl is that he not only views the Decepticons as a blight on the universe, but the autobots as well. That part of his character development is downright interesting.
So… do I think we need a bit of a break from the character? Yes, but only because I worry that too much of him will turn people off of the character.
SMOG
That's a rather unsustainable argument. There are lots of characters in the TF universe… why spend time on any of them? Prowl certainly has more going on than half the other characters in the spotlight these days.
There are plenty of interesting characters in Transformers, and they all potentially have roles to play… but some end up being foregrounded because their stories are more likely to drive events.
I think Prowl is actually particularly relevant and useful as a character in the current setting, but Barber has been stubbornly inconsistent in terms of developing him… putting him at the center of events, but not actually taking him anywhere that makes sense. In spite of that, I still don't think the character is ruined forever.
I mean seriously… former Autobot officer with grave philosophical differences with Optimus, moral flexibility, and a million years' worth of secrets and spy games and knowing where all the bodies are buried… now rogue and at large… and you can't see ANY story potential or value in keeping that character in play somehow? Wow, that's nuts.
What does that even mean?
I can't take that seriously at all. Normally you express yourself in much more measured terms, but on this topic I find your stance seems completely dogmatic and unreasonable.
Oh well. I'm happy Prowl is in Roche's hands for now… I look forward to him having his fingers in Kup's brain, and SotW will be a welcome alternative to reading The Transformers or Till All Are One and grinding my teeth every month.
zmog
Haywired
I disagree because I see no reason to spend as much screen time on Prowl just to have him relevant. Other characters are also there, not just Prowl.
Other bots dropping balls because of Prowl is what was happening with him often enough to not expect anything changed.
He's a liability… Either kill him or mothball him into skulking in shadows forever and move on.
SMOG
I thoroughly disagree with that argument… it's entirely arbitrary. His presence doesn't define or necessitate any characters being written as morons. That can only be rectified on the level of the writers themselves. Write the characters (Prowl AND those around him) with more cleverness, and it trickles down. The obvious answer is to get better writers, not kill off characters.
I think that as a general rule, Starscream (now and always) leans far far more heavily on plot armour and a suspension of disbelief than Prowl ever did… and if he starts getting written with an ounce of intelligence, charisma, or nuance any time soon, I'll be happy to brush aside the past lapses in favour of a much better character.
That's the beauty of comic book fiction… it relies on a certain degree of flexibility, since the serial, multi-author structure lends itself to inconsistency, with characters falling into doldrums, and then redeeming themselves on a regular basis. In the end, it's the iconic value of the character that becomes most important… not the incidentals, since they can reinvent themselves whenever there's a creative turnover.
And after all, among the Autobots, Prowl at least has a history of having people who considered him a friend and long-time comrade in arms… people who tried to help him, who believe his motives are just, and who would want to give him a second chance. His "crimes" at this point are hardly something he can't come back from (hell, if Sunstreaker is a valued member of the team again…)
Plus, the idea that there is nobody in the entirety of the Autobot ranks who understands, respects, or sympathizes with Prowl's point of view is a tremendously unimaginative assertion. He can't be the only paranoid, hawkish Autobot who believes that it's better to be safe than to be sorry, or that the ends justify the means. It's not a stretch at all to imagine a cell of Autobots who aren't happy with the current state of affairs, or who have a different vision for Cybertronian society. We also have to consider the possibility that, for millions of years, Prowl was actually probably pretty good at his job… and that should count for something. All it takes is for someone to write him properly.
It's also possible that Prowl could develop (with a better writer… maybe like Roche) a more complex and self-reflective outlook on the situation (more than just "gnarrrgh! Decepticons can't be trusted! Nyeaah!").
There's also a whole universe out there of people that he could end up working with… Cybertronians of various factions, colonists, organics… a whole secret network that we might imagine that he has access to (and helped build) during his days (er, millions of years) running Autobot Intelligence.
My feeling is that Prowl (even as he's been misused) is an excellent character to have around… but most especially in the shadows, rather than front-and-center. I think Roche understands this (indeed, that was actually the core idea behind Everything in its Right Place) and I hope he doesn't take such a dismal, sour-grapes view as you are putting forward here. If anyone can make Prowl a relevant and exciting character again, it's likely him.
zmog
Autovolt 127
Prowl Did Nothing Wrong, There I had to say it.
Oh man it's nice to see Impactor, Roadbuster and Guzzle again.
I agree with you completely. Prowl is too good and fascinating of a character to just off for good. Not at this stage of the game.
What he needs is an a new crew, one that is willing to follow him. He could take a bunch of poor saps or even hire a bunch of mercenaries…he's got Rattrap but even then who knows how long that'll last.
ZeroiaSD
The role *of* an outcast could be an interesting one…
Haywired
The problem with having Prowl alive is that other characters needs to be diminished in order for him to work. Nowadays everyone knows how treacherous Prowl is, he has no real Autobot friends and probably any Decepticon would put him offline if given a chance.
For any of his schemes working now, other bots would need start dropping balls and be completely naive to even talk with him. When even people like Dinobots and Wreckers are shown to be slowly adapting to peace time. Prowl's not a powerhouse who can force himself on anyone Galvatron/Overlord style and give no damn to anyone around him. Nor he has a power base like Starscream. He's an outcast.
Getting rid of him would be beneficial if only for the sake of removing a possibility of other characters going idiots because of Prowl's plot armor.