Seeker, Chosen One, and chronic backstabber Starscream is faced with a problem – how to win the hearts of the people? How about a movie – and who better to write it than his fellow seeker, Thundercracker! That’s the story for this month’s Optimus Prime Annual – it’s Starscream: The Movie – a Thundercracker Film.
With a premise like that, we’re fully expecting a lighter-hearted story that focuses on the trials and tribulations of the natures of showbiz, the film industry, and being a former Decepticon turned screenwriter. It should be a refreshing break from how dark and serious the Optimus Prime series has become at times, and the three page preview – care of Apple’s iTunes – gives a good flavor of what to expect. Check it out, and be sure to pick up the full story on February 28!
Murasame
Looks interesting. I think I'm gonna buy this for a change
Deezaster1982
Hi!
I do understand those who commented about what can clearly be seen as a lack of character evolution in TC's case, and which can be kinda disappointing. But I do have another theory; You guys certainly noticed how naive and 'slow-minded' TC has been behaving recently, this ever since his return in the comics after his 'accident' with Skywarp…
Fact is, Thundercracker doesn't seem to be capable of any intelligent or deep thinking anymore, he doesn't reflect on his role in life anymore, he doesn't seem to be wary of anything or anyone anymore and he does joke about everything with no trace of sarcasm. He just goofs around with his dog and writes crappy stuff…I was wondering if his present characterization is a deliberate result of having half his brain blown to bits by Skywarp in the end of All Hail Megatron…
What do you think?
(Sorry for my bad English, ain't my first language)
PredaconElder
This makes so much sense.
Dramatic Spoon
I hope this confirms that theory that Thundercracker's Holomater avatar is Michael Bay.
fishpop
This is obviously set before the TAAO Annual.
Also; on the cover between Starscream\'s left hip and arm: Is that Mettaton EX!?
BB Shockwave
I hear ya! I hated this from the get-go. TC is an ancient robot who has been fighting a civil war for millenia, yet he cannot graps how a similar conflict on an organic world would have played out?
And let's not forget, he was there, in disguise, infiltrating Earth under Starscream's command. He kidnapped humans and replaced them with facsimile constructs. He knows how governments work, and in one issue he helped Megatron instigate a bloody border conflict with Russia!
But no, let's make him into a fanfic writer nerd, who reads like I was indeed reading that G1 cartoon fanfic comic (I forget the name, it's a long-running one) where he and Skywarp are renting a flat and having human jobs because "sitcom".
Not even remotely the same thing. In all two of these scenarios, they are actors hired to play roles. Not writers.
I really barely remember that G1 episode (it was bad and cringy, that's all I recall), but with Skullgrin, it's established there and his later appearances that he is rather… dense, and child-like. He was a grunt used to grunt work and following orders, and when he suddenly became a star (as a cover for his operation of establishing a fuel storage) he simply gotten to enjoy the attention and being pampered, so he choose to ignore his mission. And when he was exposed, he simply returned to Scorponok and continued to serve him.
This is not really comparable to Thundercracker, who just sits around his thrusters all days writing bad fanfiction about "Johnny Human" or whatnot, and lazes about while Cybertron underwent at least 3-4 major crisis, like collapsing universes, undead titans and evil Primes returning.
BB Shockwave
Boy, a whole issue dedicated to a Decepticon who is still too stupid to understand how Earth works. I mean, this was a lame joke even back when Barber first did it, but by now, TC has no excuses for not understanding humans considering he spent years there…
(Let\'s not even consider that he spent how many years undercover there during Infiltration, 'cause I bet Barber has forgotten that long ago, too).
Me too! To think he is now writing horrible CGI kids' show episodes these days… (Matt Hatter ).
Umm, I feel in-universe, this movie would be considered incredibly stupid and tasteless, considering the Cobra wars, as I understood, were a real thing that happened (off-screen) inbetween the Costa run and Dark Cybertron, with Earth almost destroyed by snake-themed terrorists. In comparison, this movie in our universe would feel like if someone did a light-hearted comedy movie on Bin Laden.
Barber had a lot of opportunities for that since he had "use" of both seekers for years, but he never brought it up, so frankly, I am guessing he forgot what happened at the end of AHM and how Skywarp basically killed TC for betraying the cause.
I do not see any obscure judaic mythological archangel of records on the cover… Metatron – Wikipedia
Dark Starscream
I understand exactly what you mean. I can barely trudge through Barber's books. I get genuinely excited about Lost Light, which is the only thing that keeps me reading a TF comic at all.
After the abysmal nonsense that was Transformers vs. G.I.Joe, Barber should be fired already.
Nocturne
Forgot to mention this earlier but I want o know more about Cybertronian movies. The one Starscream's watching looks like a historical piece, maybe about the 13 tribes(kinda ties into the current arc in OP) But knowing Cybertron's past I can't help but wonder if a lot of their films were propaganda, pushing functionism.
primalxconvoy
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Have I forgotten any others?
Coffee
Why is this comic doing the same things I saw this comic doing over a year and a half ago when I dropped it?
I\'m not weird in saying the exchange of
Starscream: \"Look at Optimus Prime! Being liked– I hate it! They should like me instead!\"
Rattrap: \"You\'re sure right boss.\"
has happened like three times already, right? I know this is set kind of in the past, since Starscream is still ruler, but do we need to tread this ground again? It feels like exposition for folks that haven\'t read this comic yet, but like, why would you try to introduce someone to a series with a joke-issue? I don\'t know, there\'s something kind of disappointing about going \"I wonder what\'s been happening in OP since I left\" only to check and see the same shit I saw when I left. At least in LL when you look at a preview or whatever you see something new. Like hey, Shockwave and Scorponok had a run in with the DJD! Red Alert and Fort Max are doing shit! The mutineers are a thing!
Also what\'s with Thundercracker still doing bad writing and people finding it funny? Am I alone in finding this whole joke super stale and not remotely clever or funny? I mean I get why it\'s supposed to be funny: because robots don\'t understand earth so hijinks inevitably ensues when they try to adopt earth customs. Only writing, language, and dialogue aren\'t strictly earth customs, they are things that should exist throughout this universe (and if it didn\'t, that would make for a pretty stale universe) so that entire scene we saw written by Thundercracker isn\'t a result of him not understanding how human language or relationships work, it\'s just shows his writing is bad. Is bad writing funny? Well yeah, take a gander at The Room. I feel like Thundercracker\'s thing would actually be funnier if his writing and personality was as odd and surreal as Tommy Wiseaus. But when it comes to the bad writing Barber tries to pull off it just comes off as writing that is too bad to be believed, so it takes me out of the story quite a bit when it feels like I\'m being told to laugh. \"Oh hey guys, you know what\'s bad writing? Immensely exxagerrated exposition and redundancies in speech!\" Hahah.
Seriously though, when did Thundercracker being a bad writer become this beloved staple of his character and this running joke people are somehow not bored of after nearly FOUR YEARS? I was actually expecting his writing to, like, improve with time to coincide with some kind of character development he might have had. Because woo, it\'s Thundercracker, he had been absent for all of MTMTE and RID S1 for like three years. He was a major character in the last couple of series, and had a highly anticipated return. But he has literally not changed or developed since he returned in the first issue of RID S2. Maybe I missed something recent with his character, but his development comes off as so non-existant that it makes him seem like he has some kind of learning disability. I know why he\'s not changing or developing– because people still find this weird bad-writing thing the funniest thing in the book for some reason, so if his writing stopped being stupidly written people wouldn\'t find him funny anymore, because aside from his badly drawn dog, that\'s like his only personality trait.
Pravus Prime
I think I'll take a look when it comes out. I've only been reading Lost Light and gave up on RID and all it's later iterations a long time ago.
hardlurk
Oh no the Annual is funny!
This is the first time such a thing has happened in the history of comic books!
Ruined forever!!!
Omegashark18
IDW does have other comics you know. My Little Pony and TMNT, for starters.
legotron123
Wait what?
*looks at the cover again*
Huh. So there is, just underneath Starscreams armpit. Hair’s over the wrong eye though.
Targetmaster Kup
Such beautiful art in this book!
artiepants
…stories that have gone basically no where but circles for 6 years and strange 1/2 way between cartoony and anime art…
Man, I miss Simon Furman. (and Don. Oh i miss you Don. I'll even forgive your weird movie/G1 hybrids)
not exactly tons these days… (not sure how IDW is staying afloat, honestly, or most comic publishers for that matter)
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Spartan Prime
Tons of people, yes. Get with it.
CleverNamePendingatron
This is true.
And speaking of Barber and Krake, when's Barber finally going to sort out what happened to Krake? He was a big deal in the comics, then seemingly vanished off the face of the Earth when a new writer came in. It's the kind of dangling plot thread Barber's made a career of tying up.
I was hoping for it to come up in Revolutionaries, especially when they did that whole Tomax/Cobra Commander story, but nope. It's still a mystery.
Ateam_WFCTX_117894
People actually read this?