Skybound Reveals the Decepticon Roster for Transformers #1 Coming October 2023

Novaburnhilde

Kind of a pointless hypothetical but I wish I was able to like, create alternate timelines and slightly mess with the premise of this comic a bit just to compare the reactions.

Like what if the premise was the same but instead of the dreaded Sunbow it was the base roster from Micron Legend / Armada, everything else is the same but instead of the rosters we have it'd be the Armada guys. Would that be a problem? Not at all, but I have a strong feeling a lot of the folks complaining would be a lot more positive.

Where's the issue with that? Well, it kind of makes their complaints / criticism look very surface level without much in the way of substance. It means all Skybound had to do (in theory) was slap on their preferred cast / era of the franchise and they'd suddenly have nothing but good things to say about it. That's not exactly a good look, because it means you're very easy to please (in theory).

*Presents product*
No sir, I don't like it.
*Slaps a new coat of paint onto the same product*
Oh, now THIS is fresh, this is new, this is a bold direction..!

Perhaps I'm not being charitable enough but I'm so used to seeing hypocrisy and double standards that I tend to just expect them at this point.

I think it has more to do with the compartive Sunbow-style saturation more than specifically being someone's least favourite style. I quite like the Sunbow designs and enjoy G1 as a show and while I'm cautiously optimistic about the comics, I imagine a different flavour would've went a long way to convince people. Variety is the spice of life and all that.

Novaburnhilde

Kind of a pointless hypothetical but I wish I was able to like, create alternate timelines and slightly mess with the premise of this comic a bit just to compare the reactions.

Like what if the premise was the same but instead of the dreaded Sunbow it was the base roster from Micron Legend / Armada, everything else is the same but instead of the rosters we have it'd be the Armada guys. Would that be a problem? Not at all, but I have a strong feeling a lot of the folks complaining would be a lot more positive.

Where's the issue with that? Well, it kind of makes their complaints / criticism look very surface level without much in the way of substance. It means all Skybound had to do (in theory) was slap on their preferred cast / era of the franchise and they'd suddenly have nothing but good things to say about it. That's not exactly a good look, because it means you're very easy to please (in theory).

*Presents product*
No sir, I don't like it.
*Slaps a new coat of paint onto the same product*
Oh, now THIS is fresh, this is new, this is a bold direction..!

Perhaps I'm not being charitable enough but I'm so used to seeing hypocrisy and double standards that I tend to just expect them at this point.

You say that like there aren't people who would also suddenly be turned off if the comic had an Armada roster. Would they be as hypocritical?  

But you're looking at this superficially. Would I be more excited because, say, Hot Shot was there instead of Cliffjumper, because of Hot Shot himself? Not really, because, you know, it's Hot Shot. But would I be more excited because characters like Hot Shot were confirmed to appear here, thusly increasing the possibility space for the comic far beyond the first three years of the franchise? Hell yes I would, because that means it's more likely that someone like Waspinator, Strika, Sideways, Tidal Wave, Vector Prime, Lugnut, Barricade, Bulkhead, Strongarm or Clobber might show up.

The thing is, I actually like G1. I grew up with it, I played on a MUSH for it as a teen, the one Optimus Prime on my main shelf is ER Prime. I've spent so much damn money on G1 comics, dvds and toys. I've consumed a ton of G1, but that's the rub. When I see something that's just G1, it isn't going to excite me as much unless they are very specific in how THIS G1 is going to be different from the other dozen G1-offs I've consumed.

If at the end of the day we just get a really good G1 retelling, it's not the end of the world, but I would definitely be disappointed at the regression to "just G1," given how the past few years have gone with G1 being the pillar that Hasbro is hanging the other parts of the franchise on.

EDIT: Also, if this was like a 90-120 minute movie or something, I'd also not mind as much, because that would just come out and then on to the next thing. This comic is again going to be the basis for Transformers in the Energon universe, which very likely is going to last for several years. Marvel had the license on and off for over a decade, IDW had it for 16 years, Skybound's license is probably going to last a good long while, which again makes me apply much more scrutiny to how this new universe is going to be.

Yeah, while waiting until the full product before passing final judgment is important, it's also worth noting that the reason people are speculating and forming opinions based on these marketing materials, is because that's what these marketing materials are supposed to do; to inform people about the product, get people excited about the product, get people talking about the product etc. etc.

If people aren't getting jazzed based on these previews and interviews, that's on Skybound for having uninspired marketing. Literally so far their pitch is "We're making Transformers. It's part of a shared universe. Here's a cast of characters who is entirely from 1984 aside from the one girl that we had to pull from 1986." and, to me, that's not what's going to excite me. There's nothing there that tells me what sets this apart from all the other Transformers comic and cartoons. I'm still assuming they have something up their sleeve besides "It's Transformers", so hopefully Skybound starts actually talking about that soon.

One important thing to consider is that this isn't some random story in an off continuity. If it was, people probably wouldn't be as focused on this, but not only is this part of a major continuity, it's setting the entire universe up. I don't presume that Kirkman is going to give up on this anytime soon, so we're looking at this comic being the cornerstone of Transformers comics for the next several years, if not the next decade. Naturally people are going to subject it to a lot more scrutiny that, say, King Grimlock or something.

dj_convoy II

It's the point I keep.trying to make. Everyone declares "I'm so tired of this" and we don't really know what "this" is yet. We know nothing about the story beats, the intent, what kind of world building we are looking at, characterization, nothing. Instead, it's twenty pages of "Ew, Sunbow" and RIBFIR nonsense.

We live in an era where all information must be obtained and opinions-are-facts in order to start a vlog for an accomplishment of 47 views and three subscribers. Speculation is the drama most individuals thrive on, so here we are. A thread full of individuals who are so steadfast, yet will likely be first to stand outside their LCS on release day. Either to read it, then toss it on eBay, or both.

Reality is, we readers have no idea what the comic will be like until issue #1 hits shelves in October. End of story.

Girl Pants

I haven't gone through all the interviews in detail yet, but has anything about the plot, themes, mood, etc actually come out?

Not "the dude liked G1 therefore that means it's obviously going to be Sunbow 2.0" or "they never read IDW so that means no novel characters or romance", but like, actual tangible points beyond "GI Joe will be there too"?

It's the point I keep.trying to make. Everyone declares "I'm so tired of this" and we don't really know what "this" is yet. We know nothing about the story beats, the intent, what kind of world building we are looking at, characterization, nothing. Instead, it's twenty pages of "Ew, Sunbow" and RIBFIR nonsense.

Ganon2099

For the 40th we are getting another g1 Arcee, prime, Cliffjumper, and wheeljack

We are, in fact, getting at least Origins Wheeljack.

That reminds me. Hasbro had a strong influence on IDW in the later years (and Marvel back in the day) to showcase the new toys on the shelves. I wonder if they’ll do the same here? It doesn’t look like it based on the promo images, but that could change.

MGX

I think there might be some confusion here. I've been supportive of this back to basics G1 approach.

I was speaking about the fans in this thread who are bored of the Sunbow/G1 heavy direction and want peak IDW all over again. I was noting that even IDW started out with G1 and took awhile to get to random mixes of characters both popular and obscure.

Haha my apologies. It was a long day, and my brain didn't connect the dots until you did it for me here!

Sure, but the only franchise with legs is Beast Wars (and that even was retroactively connected to G1). Skybound isn't gonna relaunch the comics with Unicron Trilogy stuff or Animated or RiD. Prime has come and gone. I'm guessing they want to let Earthspark be it's own thing. The main franchises, for better or worse, are G1, Beast Wars to a lesser extent and the movie stuff. Realistically, if they wanted to reach the most people in theory, that would mean doing a movie comic, but there are probably Byzantine licensing considerations, there.

G1 is a safe save point to start a fresh from. We already know it isn't going to be "pure" G1 and it's connected to GI Joe more strongly than previous incarnations.

Drakimusprime

Update on matt… He has been dealing with this though time like a trooper and I want to say that he is going to live! We are very happy and proud of him and he is doing better.

LFG!!!!