Crossing the Rubicon : Mister Attack at the halfway point of Transformers: Regeneration One (#89-#90)
April 25th, 2013
Despite my seeming full mental breakdown after the first issue of Transformers: Regeneration One, I held on to my sanity well enough to continue buying it on a monthly basis. Didn’t take long for a feeling to creep in that, beyond the initial shock, things were maybe… Off the boil? I continued to buy it more out of a sense of nostalgic loyalty than any actual engagement. After all, who doesn’t want to see the creators of their childhood iconography still get paid, in this crazy work for hire world?
At some point I chucked a few issues of RG1 to Illogical Volume. He and I have occasionally dipped a toe in the water regarding the subject of how much more open I appear to be to the continuation, or re-imagining, of the properties I grew up with, versus his much more compartmentalised approach. His policy of suspicion seems fairly sane to me, as with huge licensed characters there’s not always a guarantee that what you will get will be an inherently good comic in it’s own right, and not just, say, “good for a Transformer” comic. Which is why, for example, I’ve been passing him bits of IDW’s More Than Meets The Eye, but not it’s sister book, Robots In Disguise. He serves as an objective party, and if it engages him, then there’s a chance it’s more than just good within it’s own sub-bracket. When contrasting the first few issues of RG1 with some random issues of MTME, he reached the conclusion that although MTME was a decent book, it was the sheer weight of nostalgic continuity that caused him to react more strongly to RG1.
His enthusiasm helped cause me to re-evaluate my current position on RG1, which I was almost prepared to summarise in a pithy but brutal comparison to Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Maybe drawn out to say something along the lines of “successfully marries the tone of the past to modern horrible pacing”, and the probably waffle for a bit about Furman’s early IDW run. But I didn’t do that. I re-read the thing from beginning to current issue. I was shocked to find how caught up I got in it.
So, what we really need to frame over this entire thing is this: if you were never there, you just won’t get it.
The framing tells us that twenty-one years have passed in-universe, but that shouldn’t be mistaken for a clean break. The series is as advertised: a continuation of the Marvel comic that ended at issue 80, that brings that series to a new and final conclusion at issue 100. What exactly was left to tell, you may ask? Well, here’s the thing… Simon Furman, the scribe of this book, threw around a lot of different possible timelines in his tenure as writer for both the UK and US version of this comic. We who grew up with the Marvel UK series glimpsed a wider range of stories than were ever told in the pages of the US book, especially where it came to concern the cast of the animated movie. For convoluted reasons (read that: marketing), the animated movie from 1986 is part of the continuity of the UK version of the Transformers comic. Furman’s legacy in the UK was cemented with a moment of inspired lunacy, when he elected to construct a time travel saga that happened off-panel during the US material that the UK book was reprinting, and off-screen during the film. Intertwining both and laying the roots for stories for the next 150 issues. It’s taken as read that Furman’s signature character is Grimlock, but I think it’s fair to say that Rodimus Prime, the black sheep of Autobot leaders, was probably better served by his role in Furman’s work, than say anything that was ever animated, and was easily the centre of much of the bombast. Hot Rod’s classic heroic journey to becoming Rodimus Prime was something that happened via the handoff of a mystic bauble in the animated movie. Furman fleshed out his own version of the neophyte leader in action after his upgrade, but his Hot Rod self was barely a bit player in any fiction, mostly due to the fact that he only existed to fill the Luke Skywalker role of the animated film. And empty your parent’s wallet once, twice, thrice. Hot Rod milled around the background of the earlier Budiansky comics, in a manner that suggested contempt for their animated origins.
It feels like this book is about bridging the gap between Furman’s UK work and the US work he inherited when he took over that book with issue 56. How could he reconcile the 80 issues that were, with the apocalypse he loved to tease us with? Time has crept on, and the curse of the time-travel story has always been the ever-changing now. It probably would have been simpler if this book had picked up from the year 1991, and in leaps and bounds told the story of how things came to be in the state we saw them when the 1980′s book looked to the future. You’d end up with a giant Möbius loop, and and a series that could be said to have several crescendo moments, but that ultimately lived up to that most looming of Furmanisms: IT NEVER ENDS.
Instead, and what will keep me gripped ’till the final issue is that there’s a chance for new, alternate timeline to overwrite what we knew, but in a way that ends it all, rather than completing the loop. An actual narrative conclusion, and not a cancellation.
How will it all end?
One other thing that has to be framed about this book is that old saying “everything old is new again”. Twee, but it says about all that needs to be said. A key thing that probably coloured Illogical Volume’s reading of this series was his unfamiliarity with any other Transformer comic that Simon Furman has written. Whereas I guiltily followed Generation 2 with the worry that I shouldn’t have been reading it at the age I was, and had pursued Furman’s earlier IDW work after it had been and gone. There’s a lot of familiar details in here from Aspects of Evil, Generation 2 and the -ation series that an over-familiarity with may cause you to tire of the series faster. But this book isn’t about the new, it’s about all the old familiar places.
Now… Reap the whirlwind…
Twenty-one years since the defeat of Bludgeon at Klo, Cybertron exists in an uneasy peace. The Decepticon’s bristle under the new status quo, and the veteran Autobot warriors find it hard to settle down into peactime. Optimus Prime prepares Hot Rod to succed his role in the future. Kup, dissatisfied with Prime’s behaviour, leaves with the Wreckers to travel to Earth, a first stop in a campaign to clean up the messes left in the wake of the war.
But it’s already too late.
A revived Megatron has obliterated most of mankind with the power of the Ark and an army of lobotomised Decpticons. With the help of Spike Witwicky and the human resistance, the Wreckers attempt to end this madness, while Prime heads to Earth for a final confrontation with Megatron.
Meanwhile, Grimlock travels to Nebulos to seek assistance curing the problems that have befallen the Autobots who were changed by the introduction of Nucleon into their systems. Like Earth, disaster has befallen Nebulos, in the form of a revived Scoponok. Free now of the weakness of Lord Zarak, Scorponok plots a takeover of Cybertron that will alter all individuals to the Decepticon perspective. Grimlock faces a choice: Are his colleague’s lives worth sacrificing their entire race for?
All the while Bludgeon and Soundwave plot their own Decepticon uprising. They just need to revive another previously defeated nightmare to do it…
Can Hot Rod rise to the occasion by finding a solution to all this madness somewhere within the hidden catacombs of their creator, Primus, and right a wrong their God so callously brushed aside?
Because somewhere, somehow, the Chaos Bringer stirs…
81 Responses to “Crossing the Rubicon : Mister Attack at the halfway point of Transformers: Regeneration One (#89-#90)”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
April 28th, 2013 at 1:35 pm
I read a volume of ‘robots in Disguise’ recently, and enjoyed it thoroughly. I’m in danger of being dragged back into the Furmanverse by articles like this one, but would that really be a bad thing?
I get the same nostalgia/continuity/nerd ‘hit’ from Transformers that I guess other comics dweebs get from their superhero stuff, so I do, and it’s a part of myself I will one day have to face up to. Yes.
Oh, and that ‘Peace’ story from the orange annual with Scorponok on the front, that is some amazingly bleak shit to read when you’re a kid, but then, Furman’s Transformers pretty much dealt in bleakness quite a lot, so you get used to it.
This ‘Regeneration One’ dealy looks pretty interesting, and I shall certainly be looking for it in my local library.
This comment doesn’t add much, sorry, but I felt sad seeing a good Transformers post go unacknowledged.
April 29th, 2013 at 4:59 pm
Thanks!
I found RiD to be a little dry. The constant voice-over caption thing wore me down a bit, as well as the fact that the interesting things that were being done with Starscream were being sidelined for obtuse plots that seemed to only exist to sort out minor continuity glitches from earlier books. When I didn’t manage to get issue 10 due to a shortage at my local, I took it as a sign to call it a day. I had heard the story was picking up, so I decided Spotlight: Thundercracker would be the make-or-break test to see if I should give it a second chance, but it lived up to every complaint I had.
April 30th, 2013 at 6:10 am
Spent a good hour and a half trawling through that wiki with only vague trauma from Transformers:The Movie as a reference point.
Thank you?
May 1st, 2013 at 12:39 am
You’re more than welcome. I’m thinking of setting up a support group. We’ll play with toys, comb through the wiki, and make little mini-comics about our favourite robots.
May 1st, 2013 at 10:56 am
That’s a dangerously appealing idea, especially as I’d just end up making endless horror comics about The Scraplets.
January 27th, 2023 at 1:48 am
https://over-the-counter-drug.com/# cvs over the counter covid test
January 29th, 2023 at 10:21 pm
https://zithromax.science/# zithromax over the counter uk
January 31st, 2023 at 1:36 pm
https://stromectol.science/# order minocycline 50mg online
February 2nd, 2023 at 3:26 pm
Read information now. Read now.
stromectol for humans
earch our drug database. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
February 2nd, 2023 at 6:22 pm
Drugs information sheet. Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics.
ivermectin drug
Everything what you want to know about pills. Read information now.
February 3rd, 2023 at 9:02 am
Get here. Generic Name.
ivermectin new zealand
Everything what you want to know about pills. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.
February 3rd, 2023 at 3:06 pm
Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Actual trends of drug.
https://stromectolst.com/# buy ivermectin
Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
February 3rd, 2023 at 4:51 pm
Get warning information here. Everything what you want to know about pills.
https://stromectolst.com/# ivermectin cost canada
Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
February 4th, 2023 at 12:26 pm
Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. All trends of medicament.
ivermectin rx
Read information now. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
February 4th, 2023 at 12:46 pm
drug information and news for professionals and consumers. Actual trends of drug.
ivermectin 5 mg
Best and news about drug. Get here.
February 4th, 2023 at 10:51 pm
Best and news about drug. Read here.
https://stromectolst.com/# ivermectin uk coronavirus
Get warning information here. Read now.
February 5th, 2023 at 3:36 am
Read information now. Actual trends of drug.
https://stromectolst.com/# ivermectin 3mg tablets
safe and effective drugs are available. Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics.
February 5th, 2023 at 9:08 am
What side effects can this medication cause? Cautions.
stromectol drug
Read information now. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
February 5th, 2023 at 7:00 pm
Everything information about medication. Cautions.
https://stromectolst.com/# ivermectin 50 mg
Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
February 6th, 2023 at 8:24 am
earch our drug database. Best and news about drug.
stromectol price in india
Read information now. earch our drug database.
February 6th, 2023 at 1:40 pm
Read information now. Read here.
ivermectin 1 cream generic
Long-Term Effects. Everything what you want to know about pills.
February 6th, 2023 at 2:00 pm
earch our drug database. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
ivermectin 1% cream generic
Everything about medicine. Get information now.
February 7th, 2023 at 1:00 pm
Everything about medicine. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
zestril medication
Top 100 Searched Drugs. Everything what you want to know about pills.
February 7th, 2023 at 6:12 pm
Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. All trends of medicament.
cost of nexium no prescription
Read information now. Everything about medicine.
February 8th, 2023 at 11:35 am
safe and effective drugs are available. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
https://mobic.store/# where can i get generic mobic tablets
All trends of medicament. Drugs information sheet.
February 8th, 2023 at 11:50 am
Everything what you want to know about pills. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
zestoretic 10 12.5
Long-Term Effects. Everything what you want to know about pills.
February 9th, 2023 at 2:48 am
Long-Term Effects. Read information now. https://avodart.science/# how can i get avodart online
Read information now. Drugs information sheet.
February 9th, 2023 at 3:39 am
Some trends of drugs. Drug information. https://avodart.science/# how can i get cheap avodart for sale
Generic Name. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
February 9th, 2023 at 10:25 am
Best and news about drug. Everything what you want to know about pills.
can you get mobic without insurance
Everything information about medication. Everything information about medication.
February 10th, 2023 at 3:50 am
Actual trends of drug. Read now.
zestril
Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Everything about medicine.
February 10th, 2023 at 3:42 pm
Drugs information sheet. Read information now.
https://mobic.store/# buying generic mobic pills
Everything about medicine. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
February 10th, 2023 at 4:32 pm
Everything about medicine. Drug information.
can i buy levaquin price
Long-Term Effects. Best and news about drug.
February 10th, 2023 at 10:29 pm
Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information. Get warning information here.
cheap nexium without prescription
What side effects can this medication cause? Read information now.
February 11th, 2023 at 6:32 am
safe and effective drugs are available. Read information now.
https://mobic.store/# can you buy mobic without insurance
Read now. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.
February 11th, 2023 at 4:01 pm
earch our drug database. All trends of medicament. amoxicillin 500mg buy online canada
Generic Name. All trends of medicament.
February 11th, 2023 at 5:56 pm
All trends of medicament. Get information now.
zithromax generic cost
Actual trends of drug. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.
February 12th, 2023 at 2:28 pm
Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Actual trends of drug. https://amoxicillins.com/ over the counter amoxicillin canada
What side effects can this medication cause? earch our drug database.
February 12th, 2023 at 5:13 pm
Everything information about medication. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. amoxicillin 500mg no prescription
Everything about medicine. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.
February 12th, 2023 at 9:56 pm
Everything information about medication. Get here.
https://azithromycins.com/ zithromax over the counter uk
Read here. All trends of medicament.
February 13th, 2023 at 2:41 am
Everything about medicine. Drug information.
how to buy clomid without dr prescription
Cautions. Everything about medicine.
February 13th, 2023 at 5:26 am
Commonly Used Drugs Charts. Get warning information here.
can you get generic propecia no prescription
Actual trends of drug. Best and news about drug.
February 13th, 2023 at 9:29 pm
Drug information. Long-Term Effects. amoxicillin 500mg buy online uk
Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Long-Term Effects.
February 13th, 2023 at 9:48 pm
Read information now. Read now.
https://clomiphenes.online how can i get clomid without a prescription
Actual trends of drug. Actual trends of drug.
February 14th, 2023 at 6:14 pm
Drug information. Drug information.
zithromax capsules price
Cautions. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
February 14th, 2023 at 6:39 pm
Drug information. Get information now.
https://finasteridest.online can i buy generic propecia without prescription
Cautions. Actual trends of drug.
February 14th, 2023 at 8:49 pm
Read now. What side effects can this medication cause?
can you buy generic propecia online
Everything about medicine. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
February 15th, 2023 at 5:50 am
п»їMedicament prescribing information. Drugs information sheet.
https://azithromycins.com/ zithromax for sale usa
Get information now. drug information and news for professionals and consumers.
February 15th, 2023 at 6:01 am
Long-Term Effects. Read now.
zithromax 500 mg for sale
Get here. Medscape Drugs & Diseases.
February 15th, 2023 at 4:58 pm
Best and news about drug. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
https://finasteridest.com/ can you get propecia without dr prescription
Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.
February 20th, 2023 at 11:25 am
earch our drug database. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
https://canadianfast.online/# non prescription ed pills
Some trends of drugs. Read now.
February 20th, 2023 at 1:50 pm
Read information now. п»їMedicament prescribing information.
https://canadianfast.online/# buy anti biotics without prescription
Read now. Read here.
February 20th, 2023 at 10:01 pm
Commonly Used Drugs Charts. safe and effective drugs are available.
safe reliable canadian pharmacy
Drugs information sheet. Medicament prescribing information.
February 21st, 2023 at 7:28 am
Read now. Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics.
https://canadianfast.com/# non prescription ed pills
Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
February 21st, 2023 at 3:23 pm
Drug information. Cautions.
ed meds online canada
Actual trends of drug. Drug information.
February 21st, 2023 at 3:49 pm
Get here. Read information now.
pain meds without written prescription
Generic Name. Get information now.
February 21st, 2023 at 5:20 pm
safe and effective drugs are available. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
https://canadianfast.com/# best ed pills non prescription
Drug information. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
February 21st, 2023 at 9:25 pm
Best and news about drug. Read now.
https://canadianfast.online/# how can i order prescription drugs without a doctor
Read here. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
February 22nd, 2023 at 1:00 am
Read information now. Some trends of drugs.
canadian pharmacy online
п»їMedicament prescribing information. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
February 24th, 2023 at 12:17 am
generic for cialis 2012; 140 277 81
February 24th, 2023 at 12:53 pm
Erlonat is usually given as 100 mg tablets, at least an hour before or two hours after the intake of food, for curing of pancreatic cancer, in combination with gemcitabine coupons for cialis 20 mg
February 26th, 2023 at 3:50 pm
Drugs information sheet. Everything information about medication.
viagra pay pal
Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side. Everything information about medication.
February 26th, 2023 at 6:48 pm
Actual trends of drug. All trends of medicament.
sildenafil online no prescription
Everything about medicine. Everything information about medication.
February 27th, 2023 at 3:42 pm
Everything information about medication. Get warning information here.
sildenafil rx drugstore online
Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Actual trends of drug.
February 27th, 2023 at 3:45 pm
Drug information. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
https://viagrapillsild.online/# viagra single packs commercial
safe and effective drugs are available. Read information now.
February 27th, 2023 at 10:56 pm
Commonly Used Drugs Charts. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
https://viagrapillsild.com/# sildenafil 20 mg discount
Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. Read here.
February 28th, 2023 at 3:53 pm
Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Long-Term Effects.
10mg tadalafil
Read information now. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
February 28th, 2023 at 6:43 pm
What side effects can this medication cause? Prescription Drug Information, Interactions & Side.
tadalafil online price
Top 100 Searched Drugs. Top 100 Searched Drugs.
March 1st, 2023 at 1:06 am
safe and effective drugs are available. Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics.
https://tadalafil1st.online/# best price for tadalafil 20 mg
What side effects can this medication cause? Actual trends of drug.
March 2nd, 2023 at 7:07 am
Read information now. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
https://tadalafil1st.online/# tadalafil otc usa
Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Drug information.
March 2nd, 2023 at 11:42 am
Get information now. Read here.
cialis australia online shopping
Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. Drugs information sheet.
March 2nd, 2023 at 12:37 pm
Actual trends of drug. Get information now.
https://tadalafil1st.com/# is cialis over the counter in usa
Commonly Used Drugs Charts. earch our drug database.
March 2nd, 2023 at 1:41 pm
Read information now. Comprehensive side effect and adverse reaction information.
cialis dapoxetine australia
Everything what you want to know about pills. Actual trends of drug.
March 3rd, 2023 at 4:12 am
Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
tadalafil 20 mg best price
Medscape Drugs & Diseases. Medscape Drugs & Diseases.
March 3rd, 2023 at 7:33 am
Medicament prescribing information. Best and news about drug.
buy brand cialis online usa
Read information now. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
March 3rd, 2023 at 1:08 pm
safe and effective drugs are available. Read here.
generiac cialis
Get information now. Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe.
March 4th, 2023 at 2:42 am
Everything what you want to know about pills. Medscape Drugs & Diseases.
tadalafil
Cautions. Commonly Used Drugs Charts.
March 4th, 2023 at 7:11 am
Cautions. Read now.
https://tadalafil1st.online/# tadalafil 22 mg
Some are medicines that help people when doctors prescribe. What side effects can this medication cause?
March 5th, 2023 at 12:29 pm
All trends of medicament. Cautions.
15 mg prednisone daily
Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions. п»їMedicament prescribing information.
March 9th, 2023 at 9:52 am
Generic Name. Everything about medicine.
how can i get cheap propecia
Definitive journal of drugs and therapeutics. Learn about the side effects, dosages, and interactions.
March 12th, 2023 at 7:25 am
Dear mindlessones.com administrator, Thanks for the well written post!
March 17th, 2023 at 4:27 pm
Can I show my graceful appreciation and show my appreciatation온라인바카라 really good stuff and if you want to have a checkout
Let me tell you a brief about how to get connected to girls for free I am always here for yall you know that right?