i really like looking back on my thoughts on something as i was first experiencing it. so, when i was first reading the idw comics (from november 11th 2024 to january 4th 2025) i wrote down my thoughts and a rating for every comic i finished! and then i just sorta kept going whenever i reread any of the comics. listed from earliest to most recent, theres a. Lot
(future-alastor note: at this point i was not using a reading guide i was just reading whichever comics looked interesting. this is what we call a Bad Idea)
All Hail Megatron - 4.5/5 - absolutely wonderful!! looved the decepticons coming apart at the seams, theyre so fucked without the war to unite them. starscream was Perfect!!! i also audibly gasped when optimus returned.. it also does a really good job of being serious and dark but still FUN and optimistic! in all, i think the comic does such a good job of exploring what the autobots and decepticons actually Believe. unfortunately i cannot give it full marks because the humans were so boring....
Megatron Origin - 1/5 - nooooooooooooo........ takes itself WAY too seriously, i haaaate it. cringe grimdark... also a megatron origin story which does not even include orion pax in passing is CRIMINAL
Spotlight: Orion Pax - one million/5 - OH ITS SO GOOD. ITS SUCH A DELIGHT. orion i LOVE YOUUUU. its fun and its lighthearted ORION IS THERE
Spotlight: Blurr - 5/5 - didnt expect to feel Anything towards blurr, im pleasantly surprised. hes fun. i like starscream appearing out of nowhere like some strange trickster god
Spotlight: Wheelie - 3.5/5 - didnt expect to like wheelie!! i do think this suffers a bit from taking wheelie too seriously, but it was a perfectly fun experience
Autocracy - 5/5 - oh its so good... orion is an absolutel gem, i looove him being a little fucked up and awful before becoming optimus. i do also think having orion and megatron overthrow the government together is a very fun origin. the scene where he gets the matrix is INSANE i LOVE IT, it puts into words what ive been thinking about optimus sacrificing his own individuality for the greater autobot cause auughhh. also HOT ROD. he was so good. i appreciated the references to the 86 film.. because i understood them <3
Monstrosity - 3/5 - it loses points for being boring in the first half, but gains points for a big dramatic final showdown and also the science quartet. i think optimus' thing about feeling unworthy of the matrix of leadership is Fine, it's just a bit generic. the dynobots were fine, their plot was interesting enough but i think it kinda dragged. megatron was absolutely the highlight, he was wonderful throughout
Primacy - 5/5 - ahh its been so delightful seeing optimus grow in this trilogy. his final battle with megatron at the end is the PERFECT culmination of their arcs. also "i will always hate you" "i know" is so fucking gay wow. megs not wanting to kill optimus but rather keep the war going forever is sooo gay. those robots. they are in hate your honour. hot rod and grimlock were also nice <3
Spotlight: Thundercracker - ONE MILLION/5 - EXPLODES AND DIES. goshhhhh. golly gumdrops. its so over for me. fuckkkkkkkk. thundercracker. i never thought id care for you. but hes so good!!!!! hes sooooo good!!!!!!! hes trying soooo hard to be what he thinks hes Supposed to be because he sees the universe as cruel and cold, because he cant fathom that anyone would just be good for the sake of it!!! hes hoping with all his heart that if he succeeds in becoming the ideal decepticon, if he just destroys any individual feelings or beliefs he might have, he can finally feel complete! and OKAY!! but he CANT. its impossible for him to kill his Personhood!!!!! godddd. fuck. this is making his death in all hail megatron even sadder: because he does end up betraying the decepticons, but its not a redemption. hes STILL trying to fulfill his "mission" right to the end - or at least, hes convinced himself thats what hes doing! thundercracker redemption arc god please.
(lmao imagine thinking death is real)
Spotlight: Cliffjumper - 2.5/5 - eh it was fine. i dont feel like i have any clearer picture of what cliffjumpers like but eh. the story was fine. i guess
Spotlight: Shockwave - 4/5 - a thoroughly good exploration of shockwaves character, and surprisingly lore relevant????? i really love shockwaves inner monologue. hes a little fucked up really
Spotlight: Hot Rod - 4/5 - oh hell yeah i love hot rod. you little daredevil you! he just doesnt want to hurt anyone but he cant help it!! the poor fool is such a sweet hero, hes so good at making tough decisions for the greater good! unfortunately, in idw world this just means you get to kill all your friends </3 doubledealer ill kill you. be nice to hot rod forever plese....
(at this point i started using a reading guide)
Infiltration - 5/5 - RATCHET COMIC!!!! life is sooooo so good, ratchet is the main guy!!! yayyy!!!! the plot was pretty Nothing, especially since the autobots. arent involved in it. theyre just watching the decepticons kill each other. which i find incredibly funny. but i think this is okay, it gives room for them to raise the stakes further and introduce stuff more gradually! i really loved verity, shes such a lovely, well-rounded character. have i mentioned that i love ratchet
Stormbringer - 3/5 - yeah it was okay. its fun to see what optimus was up to during infiltration. also jetfire was there (though he was pretty boring.) i dunno, there was a Lot of characters and i couldn't really keep track of any of them. or what was going on.
Spotlight: Nightbeat - 5/5 - that was horrific? oh my god. that ending was genuinely Terrifying, i didnt expect this to go down such a horror-route. as it happens, i fucking LOVE it when a sci-fi mystery turns into a sci-fi horror! jesus fuck.
Spotlight: Sixshot - 4/5 - that was fun! i think the reapers motive is very interesting, it was NOT what i wouldve expected from the scary world-destroyers. its really neat how the story manages to phrame sixshot staying loyal to the decepticons as the right move. the nightmarish living weapon and his five lil buddies <3
Spotlight: Ultra Magnus - 3.5/5 - i think ultra magnus (and characters like him, with an incredibly strict moral code) are very fun to put in Situations. i think his vendetta against scorponok not even being personal is very nice, and the epilogue showing him dealing with swindle over and over is Perfect. i just wish theyd done more with it yknow! i wish he'd done more against his code than just deal with swindle.. make him feel conflicted and bad!!
Spotlight: Soundwave - 2/5 - ehhh.. not too fussed about this characterisation of soundwave, hes far too similar to any other decepticon personality-wise. i liked him silently watching everything transpire, i think that was fun. overall, it was just kinda meh. and i was so excited to see how theyd explore his character and why hes so loyal to megatron!! ach...
Escalation - 5/5 - i was just supposed to read one issue....... but it fucking HOOKED me. god its so good!!!! megatron was fantastic, his fight with optimus was. so homoerotic jesus christ. and hot rod was such a delight! poor sunstreaker nd hunter, its so fucked reading this after all hail megatron, knowing precisely what happens to them. with how many unrelated things were happening at once, im very impressed at how easy the plot was to follow. stellar work!
Spotlight: Kup - 5/5 - esus fuck? what the shit?? good lord holy fuck??? that was nightmarish. ok firstly, LOVE the dont starve-esque style for kup's hallucinations. all the cuts back to outbacks silent corpse... fucking CHILLS. but more to the point, god this is so tragic. kups had such a profound effect on his friends that springers SO desperate to have him back. but hes fucked beyond repair!!!!! its so fucked up!!!!!!! just killing him would be so much better than this..
Spotlight: Galvatron - 3.5/5 - mostly im confused, but i think that was fun? im realising im not too big a fan of when the spotlights are super tied to the main plot, i feel like it hinders the overall goal of focussing on this one specific character from all angles (also they whitewashed the shit out of verity and im so annoyed.) this galvatron was definitely spooky scary though!
Spotlight: Optimus Prime - 3.5/5 - aw, they gave him awful trauma :[ and literally no one he could talk about it with :[ i wish there was more focus on Optimus, but this is fine. i think his realisation that the ONE person he was comfortable to turn to was kinda fucked up and evil is heart breaking. the fact hes so quick to condemn what omega supreme did was really nice, he is so moral and admirable (which i havent particularly felt with this optimus til now!) but still, it couldve been more.
Spotlight: Ramjet - 4/5 - jesus christ, that was wonderful. looooved ramjets rants about how hes so much better than megatron, and then the cut back to megatron currently murdering optimus prime. the panels disintergrating as he dies was also such a good touch. gosh ramjet was sooo funny. he didnt deserve that <3 rip baby
Devastation - 4/5 - loses points for being a rather unsatisfying conclusion to the trilogy, not necessarily because it specifically is worse than the other two. remember when verity and jimmy got to Do stuff..? anyhoo, sunstreaker and hunter are fucking horrific.. those poor boys, i love it. hot rod and hardhead were nice, you really get a sense of their history in just a few conversations. the hightlight was, of course, the decepticons. starscream baby i love you. galvatron was neat i guess, though ive been having quite some trouble following his plot... all in all, i think they kinda bit off more than they could chew and didnt have time to wrap most of it up.
Spotlight: Blaster - 4/5 - im sorry it was BEACHCOMBER. fucking. BEACHCOMBER?????? i dont care if he was mind controlled i can NOT take BEACHCOMBER seriously as a threat. the autobots resident geologist. damn. anyway, this was fun, blaster why are you so suicidal. i very much like blaster HATING soundwave, i think its perfect.
Spotlight: Arcee - 1/5 - wow that just sucked. even disregarding the transphobia and misogyny, this is just a bad story.. or rather, there IS no story. arcee isnt a character! things just sorta happen, events are alluded to, and then its over. ah if i Have to pick out a nice thing.. ultra magnus said his stupid catchphrase again? thats cute.
Spotlight: Cyclonus - 2.5/5 - honestly i hate how this whole dead universe nemesis prime galvatron plot has been so vague. like, it was cool and intriguing at first, but now Please just give us a straight answer to Anything thats going on. its hard to care about The Expansion or whatever when i dont know any details! but thats not this specific comics fault. it was Fine, i think cyclonus hating everyone for what they did to cybertron, before realising he is the exact unpredictable force of chaos he claims to hate was a fun angle to take with his character. also magnus said his stupid catchphrase again
Spotlight: Hardhead - 3.5/5 - yeah hardheads a fun character! hes so sad, really the wrecker ideal. poor nightbeat. i worry that none of these revalations are going to score particularly high however, as i Really do not care for this plot
Spotlight: Doubledealer - 4/5 - OUUGHH DEALER. MY LOVE. god i ADORE characters who are constantly lying! arrghhh!!!! god, the repitition of 'let no one in' while focussing on hot rod was SO GOOD. AAUGHH. this fool got attatched!!! if he couldve just admitted that to himself, hot rod wouldnt have killed him i know it! AUUHGHHH. GOD. FUUUCKKKK. dealer baby. darling. nemesis prime was also there i guess but WHO CARES, DEALER MY LOOOVE. MY DOOMED FOOL.
(hot rod Definitely wouldve killed him anyway)
Spotlight: Sideswipe - 2/5 - uuhghhgh i dont CARE. at least we can finally move on to something more interesting.. christ. nemesis prime was such a boring villain, shit just Happened with no rhyme or reason. uhghhggh
(lmao imagine thinking the dead universe plotline ends here)
Spotlight: Grimlock - 3.5/5 - aw poor grimlock! he doesnt want to destroy everything, he just wants to do whats right..... i also appreciate the skyfire reference <3
Maximum Dinobots - 4.5/5 - yayyy the sunstreaker stuff got resolved!! gosh but it is so tragic knowing what happens in all hail megatron....... anyhoo, grimlock!!! hes so saaad!!! everyone in this comic is so sad...... and poor hot rod, he just couldnr catch a fucking break! unfortunately loses points for verity and jimmy
Spotlight: Mirage - 5/5 - i am not sure what just happened but i LOVED it!!! FINALLY, a spotlight that actually examines its character rather than just being ANOTHER part of the wider story!!! its sooo fun, i love you mirage!!! for a character so ambiguous and distrustful it is SO PERFECT to have it unclear whats true IN HIS OWN STORY!!!!! ouhghhghhhhhhhh. it is also always fun to mess about in alternate timelines to a limited capacity. for the Murder <333 ouhhhghhhhhh <3333333
Hearts of Steel - 5/5 - OH THAT WAS A DELIGHT!!!! god i LOVE steampunk.... all these designs were absolutely gorgeous (especially like the autobots bug theme and the decepticons nautical theme, very alternia), and god the humans were fun! mark twain is there!!!
Spotlight: Jazz - 5/5 - AUUGHHJ :DDDDDDD WHAT A GEM!! WHAT A DELIGHT!!!!! ouuugh. OUYGGHHH. :DDDDD everything is SO WONDERFUL!!!!!!!! jazz i LOVE YOUUUU!!!!!! i feel like i finally understand why hes the second in command!!!!!!!! hes soooo goood AUGH. also tracks <33333 baby i LOVE you. i also really like the detail of sunstreaker looking so anxious and guilty after tracks' story.... you traitorous buffoon <333
Spotlight: Drift - 4/5 - yeah drift is fun ^_^ i think a lotta the dialogue was very on the nose, but drift is a lovely (and new) character so ill forgive it. i do love me any character that sorta blurs the line between autobot and decepticon!!
Spotlight: Metroplex - 4/5 - woaw metroplex is cool/terrifying. i looove how his speech is stylised! the throttlebots are also lovely, they are friends!!!
REREAD: All Hail Megatron - 4.5/5 - uughh i am SO annoyed that the human plot is just BARELY bad enough that i dont feel like i can give this 5 stars. because everything else is SOOO GOOD. even better now that i know more context! god hunter you poor poor boy.. and also optimus being so very heroic has even more impact after all these comics of him being. well not Evil but, a bit self-serving. hes finally grown to be a Leader rather than just the guy in charge!!!!!!! achhh also the oneshots in the last four issues are PEAK. god.....
Drift - 2.5/5 - need to have a word with the genius who decided drift and wing should look fucking identical. seriously, whys Everyone so spikey?? um anyway this was really boring. sorry drift :[
Bumblebee - 5/5 - oh what an absolute delight!!! its so very g1 (just with a few more corpses.) bumblebee you fucking sweetheart, you absolute gem!!!!!!!! skywarp was also incredibly fun, he sure does love the sound of his own voice. ach and wheeljack and ratchet <3333 gosh really this was just such a PERFECT blend of serious and silly!!!!!!!
Spotlight: Prowl - 3.5/5 - hey character development! not sure im Thrilled about it, considering this makes prowl indistinguishable from any other autobot.. i liked his moral ambiguity, it was something to sink my teeth into. now he's just a regular hero but he likes maths.., i mean its Fine, its just a bit boring. but just looking at this story individually, i think its nice! "the numbers were accurate but they werent right" was fun.
Last Stand of the Wreckers - ONE BILLION MILLION GAZILLION/5 - im never going to be okay again. i feel sick. god fucking fuck. jesus. oh my sweet lord above. fucking christ. godddddd. ough my fucking god. its so over for me. christ alive. i took one look at those sweet darling new wreckers and i knew oh lord above they are going to die so painfully, each and every one of them. and still i got SO attatched. god. fucking lord. oh my god. oh my God. i am so unwell. also verity was there!!!! the wreckers need a weirdgirl in every timeline. god. i love you the wreckers.......................
Infestation - 3.5/5 - hm i expected that to be so much worse! it was fine really, and the art was gorgeous! prowl and kup were really good
Ironhide - 4/5 - SUNSTREAKER!! also alpha trion!!!!!!!!! i think ironhide fucking Hating alpha trion is really funny and also perfect. im not sure im Thrilled about sunstreakers revival, i think his ending was very poignant in all hail megatron, but im not Against it either. guess well just have to see where this goes. ironhide himself is very lovely, him reminiscing about cybertron in the first issue was heartbreaking
Heart of Darkness - 1.5/5 - ugh okay. yknow reviving literally Everyone really weakens previous stories... though, all the dead universe stuff sucked anyway, so i guess it could hardly get much worse. sorry thats mean. i like the dynamic of galvatron beinga fucking insane doomsday preacher and cyclonus and scourge being just. regular fucking guys. who are rather worried because hes so unstable but too scared to do anything ,, because hes so unstable. but also d-void is such a stupid fucking name i CANNOT take it seriously im sorry.
The Transformers (2009) - 4/5 - ough man. auw gee. ok firstly, SO weird to be done w phase 1. scary. but anyhoo. this definitely had its ups and downs. im not a big fan of tf military and like ,international relations ,.,,stuff. so that north korea arc was just Not my cup of tea. chaos was SUCH a good ending though, i loooooved orion and megs. overall, op and meg were SOOO fucking in love/hate, more than id ever seen them (even counting tf one!!! now thats an achievement!!!!!) rodimus was of course a highlight of the comic, his arc was so lovely! i feel like bumblebee and jazz couldve been done better on the whole. bumble was great at the start but became rather boring at the end (he lost his whole personality..) and jazz was great at the end but didnt do SHIT at the start. if we fused their powers, we could make a character whos relevant for the entire comic! like,rodimus <3
REREAD: Autocracy - 5/5 - ah its fun having the context of what orion Did before that got him in zetas bad books (and megatrons good books.) gosh. that matrix scene!!!!!!! you go optimus!!! hot rod was such a gem, hes so! argh!! he just wants to do whats right and hes sooo lonely and arrogant and SAD about it. he doesnt get to make unequivocally moral choices like optimus, hes gotta compromise and choose the lesser of two evils and GOD. i LOVE him!!!!! ultra magnus is also kinda interesting. in everything weve seen of him thus far, he has been 100% pro-law, even when he Knows its immoral. him being so quick to join the autobots against zeta is inch resting! ill think more about this when i get a better read on him as a character..
The Death of Optimus Prime - 5/5 - OUGHHH. GOOD. GOOOOOOOD. what a FANTASTIC start to phase two GOD. just. oughhh. its SO perfect how no one knows what the fuck to do with themselves after the war!!!! like. no one ever actually expected it to be Over - but theyve gotta keep going!!!! and it makes SO much sense that theyd be so divided as to how to proceed!!!! bumbly and rodimus have both matured so much but in completely different ways!!!!! and its kinda heartbreaking!!!!!!!!!!!11 anyhoo welcome back orion pax <3
REREAD: Spotlight: Orion Pax - 4/5 - ah that was lovely!! i do think i ranked it too high on my initial read just because it was So much better than the other stuff i was reading at the time. but its still lovely and fun! orion you reckless idiot <3
REREAD: Spotlight: Thundercracker - 5/5 - HE MAKES ME SICK. "if all autobots were like you" GODDDDDD. HES TRYING SOOO HARD TO BE WHAT HES SUPPOSED TO BE. "its what i am. its what i do" TRYING TO DEFINE HIMSELF BY HIS JOB IN ORDER TO KILL THE MISERABLE PART OF HIMSELF THAT WANTS. hes having such an awful time and this fool thinks doing his job MORE is better than making an actual change. goddd thundercracker
Spotlight: Megatron - 500000000000000000000000/5 - im gpoing to fucking throw up. okay where do i even fucking begin holy shit. i could spend the rest of my life analysing this one comic. okay, firstly. megatron and starscream. i am of course incredibly biased towards horrible violent abusive murderous yaoi. so basically they wrote them SPECIFICALLY for ME. starscream you POOR FUCKING SOUL, JESUS CHRIST. im going to vomit. they make me sickkkkk. i. god. i fucking. screamerrrr...... i dont know where to begin bc it feels impossible to talk abt starscream without talking about megatron and vice versa.. starscreams silence just. fucking kills me. he. GOD. hes been in this horrifically abusive relationship for literally millions of years, he KNOWS the formula. he knows hes fucked no matter what.. and maybe thats the Only difference between him before and him now. before, he had hope.but now! god, how can he have hope in ANYTHING, when the ONE thing hes been striving towards - leadership of the decepticons, freedom from megatron - turned out SHIT and then CRUMBLED RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. no wonder hes LIKE THAT!!!!!!!! but MEGATRON. godddd. he wants to continue this same song and dance forever. i mean, thats the whole thing with him. he doesnt WANT change! he wants the war to continue forever (like he said in primacy)!!!!!!!!! its all a ,Performance i guess, to him. hes just Saying Words, because in truth hes ALREADY GOT WHAT HE WANTS. hes won! and maybe thats what sets him so starkly apart from screamer: starscream actually Wants something after the war. starscream sees the war as a means to his end, but for megatron the war IS the end! starscream baby GET OUT. YOU CAN BE BETTER THAN THIS. HONEY DARLING IT DOESNT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
REREAD: Spotlight: Megatron - UAAAAHAGAGHGHGHGHH/5 - its so rough out here. SCREAMER AUYGGGGHHHH. AOUAUAGGGHHHHHH. AUYUYGAGGGHJGGJFGJFGHGJFSH GSJJAGJHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. god, megatron egging on screamer til he Breaks.... hes a clever guy, he knows how to adjust his strategy to Destroy Starscream in this new situation......... goddd screamer..
Spotlight: Bumblebee - 4/5 - awww bumble you sweet fool.. hes trying SO hard but hes just ,not very good at leadership. i like him giving up the whole 'what would prime do' and going with what he knows HES good at: being sneaky and making friends. like thundercracker!!!!!! thundercracker i love you, living your peaceful little life. he truly is just hanging out <3
Spotlight: Trailcutter - 5/5 - OUGHHH LOVELY!!! trailcutter I LOVE YOU SO MUCHHHH. he is so sweet and should be allowed to kill rodimus. pairing him with whirl was sooo much fun. also rodimus managing to make everything about himself is SO good, he is SUCH an asshole!!!! <333
Spotlight: Hoist - 5/5 - oh my god that ending?? hoist are you SURE your personality isnt the product of a crippling psychological disorder???????? i have my doubts. but yeah that was very fun!!! i ADORE them lampshading how hoist is such a Nothing background character. also sunstreaker gets to DO something again!!!! yayyy
More Than Meets the Eye "Season 1" - AUAUAGGHGHGGHGH ONE BILLION BILLION/5 - M GOING TO KILL EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER WALKED THE EARTH. I WILL SNUFF OUT ALL LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE. I WILL LEAVE NOUGHT BUT DUST IN MY WAKE. mtmte is reaaly good,.................... ok. so. it is SO fucking good at setup and payoff, which feels like a really stupid basic thing to say but genuinely. chekovs fucking firing squads in here. theres SO many twists and turns but not a SINGLE one feels unjustified!!!! its brilliant!! but of course the highlight is THESE FUCKING CHARACTERS. GODDDDDD. GOD. FUCKING. AUAGHH. SPECIFICALLY CHROMEDOME. chromedome broke into my house and murdered me in my sleep. BUT EVERYONE ELSE IS ALSO SOOOOOOOOO GOOD. rodimus needs to go to character development hell, like vriska but More. issue #22 killed me dead.. rewind my darling my love.. i miss you baby </3
Robots in Disguise "Season 1" - 4.5/5 - took a while to get Good but oh when it did!!! bumbly makes me so sad, he is so bad at this but he is genuinely trying SO hard.... he is NOT okay. the highlight of the whole comic so far has of course been STARSCREAM. he is in his fucking element!!!! he keeps killing his friends but the thing is he doesnt even see it as a betrayal!!! why is he like this <333 i also like that hes friends with wheeljack. i love wheeljack i hope he can do more in the future! arcees also shifting towards a less shit character which is so lovely! i really like her struggling to fit in with normal people but still really trying, its so sweet! ALSO issue #22 made me understand soundwave, who ive NEVER gotten a good read on (especially like that it completely retconned his personality and motives from spotlight: soundwave cough cough.) he is so intense.
(lmao imagine thinking wheeljack is gonna be allowed to do Anything in this continuity)
Dark Cybertron - 3.5/5 - finally, WOMEN ARE REAL!!!!! it took like fifty comics, but at last, we have FOUR WOMEN!!!!!! i do like how DRAMATIC the plot was. it was just Everything. and i mean if anyones gonna figure out how to literally destroy Time Itself of COURSE itd be shockwave. i did really like his ending, it was so tragic </3 the dead universe stuff was also really fun!!!!! optimus and rodimus are really great... op's reaction to rod telling him what he did was SO good, he was so mad! and rods litl speech was FANTASTIC!!! its also really great to hve nightbeat back, i loved him. of course i must mention the chromedome and prowl scene bc GOD IT WAS SOOO GOOD. i am of course completely biased bc chromedome, prowl, and magnus are my Darlings, but still! now. megatron. hm.,.,,, i. i am very hesitant about this... i suppose we will have to see where it goes. im not opposed to a meg redemption on principle, its just. it does NOT feel justified with what weve seen of megatron up until now.. hmnmm.,,,, i dunno..
Windblade (2014) - 5/5 - aaahhhh windblade is so fun!!!! auhgh the way she and chromia have SUCH strong senses of duty but in Completely different ways!!!!! chromia my girl my darling, willing to kill Literally EVERYONE for windblade... i love lesbians. i also love starscream being a real threat. hes a manipulative little schemer and windblade isnt used to him, hes scary!! gosh i really cant wait to see more of windblade, i need to understand her mind.
Drift: Empire of Stone - 5/5 - he fucked that old man. anyway, that was so wonderful!!!! hellbats motive was so neat, its nothing like any other villains. and i looove drift deciding he doesnt wanna be an autobot either, it just feels right. also glad grit is alive :D
Punishment - 5/5 - oh i LOVE me a mystery!!!!!! this was so fun and dark jesus christ. its just so depressing..... the war is never allowed to end, theyre just gonna keep killing each other in revenge Forever... damn this punitive justice thing sure does have some Flaws..... i love you sandstorm, i hope we see you again someday!!
Combiner Wars - 4/5 - im counting combiner wars as its own thing fuck you. okay, PROWL. PROWLLLL. i LOVE prowl soooo much, he has been such a highlight of comics-that-arent-mtmte. hes so hopeless!!!!!! hes so full of himself!!! he sees himself as this genius machiavellian schemer but he just ISNT!!!! he feels SO many emotions all the time and he fails SO MUCH. the second anyone disagrees with him even Slightly he writes them off as a betrayer! hes SO ALONE!! GOD PROWLLL. i need horrible things to happen to him. i LOVE optimus completely giving up hope on him only after hed LITERALLY BEEN IN HIS MIND. AUGH. loses points for being such an overt ad it was distracting, and also because i am biased against combiners. and because i wish ironhide, streaker, and mirage could do more, they were just kinda There.. missed potential :[
Combiner Hunters - 5/5 - find it SO funny how you can just be minding your business at work then you touch a weird fucking Thing and BAM. you cease to be an individual and are psychically bonded with your coworkers for the rest of your life. windblade you are so lovely, the only person on cybertron who isnt Constantly Backstabbing EVERYONE. windblade you beacon of morality you!! chromia is lovely as always, i think her and arcee would be such a fun pair. they would destroy Literally Everything. love you arcee, keep being transgender <3333
Sins of the Wreckers - 5/5 - hell yeah PROWL SUFFERS!!! SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! finally, a whole miniseries of HORRIBLE THINGS HAPPENING TO MY #1 GUY <333333333 achhh he is. actually not the worst. god i LOVE HIM. the noisemaze is suuuch a fun setting, i ADORE how fucked everything got as it was collapsing!!!! gosh roadbusters death was... Grim. yiiikes.. god but springer and impactor are SO much fun. gay as shit being foils!!!! and poor verity, just cant catch a break! ah goodness. LOVE wrecker stuff, it is so relentlessly miserable <3 the agony <3 but the hope!! augh!
Transformers: Holiday Special - ONE MILLION BILLION/5 - why did they keep making comics after the transformers christmas special, when this was OBVIOUSLY the PEAK of comics - nay, ALL OF LITERATURE. GOD. EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS SO GOOD AND PERFECT. this was soooo fucking weird to read after sins of the wreckers christ alive.. ITS SOOO FUN AND SILLY!!!!!!!!
Redemption - 2/5 - oh look our first phase 2 comic i didnt like! wow! eh mainly it was really boring. i guess theres a pretty fine line between making a relentless misery-fest engaging and heartbreaking, and making it just Boring. im not sure where that line is, but i know which side this comic is FIRMLY on. i also think boiling the autobots and decepticons down to 'they were both just trying to do what they thought was right, and in the end they got as bad as each other' is REALLY boring (and also, one sides goal was to wipe out all organic life??? i feel like were all very quick to forget that here in idw world????) also i wish bludgeon would finally STOP. at least theyre not pretending hes actually dead this time at least. strafe is nice and fun i guess
Titans Return - 4/5 - huh, sentinel! didnt expect that! but i mean, Whatever, were not even pretending death is real anymore so why should even a guy whos been dead since before the beginning get the luxury of staying dead. im becoming less bitter about this and accepting it as simply a fact of these comics. anyway, this did not feel like a complete story? in stark contrast to all other idw tf stuff, i could definitely tell you what happened but i could not tell you what it was About. and gi joe are here too now. however, it was very fun so it gets four stars. prowl <3 red alert <333
More Than Meets the Eye "Season 2" - 3.5/5 - that rating feels harsh... there was definitely a lotta stuff i loved!!! the time travel arc was FANTASTIC, swerves arc was Everything, and dying of the light was PEAK!! but there was far more Meh than season 1... megatron definitely grew on me towards the end, but i think it took a Very long time for him to. not suck. WAY too long in fact.. i mean, crucially, season 2 never really captured the same Emotional Anguish as season 1 did. despite there being plenty of plots which are very similar to overlord on paper, it felt like the comic was too scared to actually Change the status quo. but what was so fantastic about overlords Fun Adventure is that it had lasting consequences!! even though they revived both rewind and overlord (which i Hate by the way) you can still feel the consequences! in season 2, that fucking eye-guys ramage is never mentioned again.. you could cut it entirely and lose Nothing (save some cool art.) so yeah, thats my main gripe with this part of the comic.. too episodic, no consequences :[ also chromedome and rewind got boring </3
Robots in Disguise/The Transformers (2014) "Season 2" - 4/5 - writing that title makes me feel sick. anyway, thundercracker! hes the only character. i love you thundercrackerrr. im generally not a fan of military stuff, but i can forgive this because marissa fairborne is really lovely. unfortunately, i Cannot forgive spike witwicky dude what is your fucking problem!!! hes the WORST. yknow who else is the worst? PROWL. I LOOOVE HIM. hes so dirk strider, i love him so much. ive also Really loved arcee!! shes changed SO MUCH from how she was introduced but, unlike Other Characters Who I Wont Name, her change has been part of a very big, very gradual, and very well written Character Arc. i know, crazy! love it when a character is written well! however!! i think optimus whole thing about feeling like hes continuing an evil legacy has felt sorta dragged out.. doesnt he have Anything else to his character??? i also think soundwave becoming good in the space of a single fucking page is incredibly stupid and i hate it (looks like we spend all our character arc budget on arcee! i didnt even know that was a finite resource!) whats most annoying about it is that it couldve SO EASILY been done well!!!!!!! WE WERE SO CLOSE. but nope... sighhh. at least theres buster and d0c and bob <3
Revolution - 1.5/5 - wful start to phase 3, god i hated that... i just dont care about these other 80s toys im sorry! rom is fun though i will say. i feel no desire to check out any of these other franchises, but i feel the least indifferent towards rom. i hate how people keep antagonising the autobots for no fucking reason, and then Optimus has to apologise for it!!! NOT HIS FAULT!!!! these humans are such assholes, i dont get Why optimus is so insistent on saving them above anything else!!!
SPECIFICALLY More Than Meets The Eye: Revolution - 5/5 - I LOVE YOU THE SCAVENGERS!!!!!!!!! how wonderful to end a crossover i didnt like with a oneshot mocking it!!! i should have expected nothing less from mtmte!!!!!! crankcase and his shapeshifting wraith boyfriend <333 also grimlock was wonderful!! more seriously, i think this did something really simple thats been Completely lacking from the comics recently: um., showing humans not being fucking horrible??? its nice :]
Salvation - 2.5/5 - welp, thats the dinobot trilogy done. this was fiiiiiine. its whatever. trypticons nice, i like him not being evil. strafe is nice. sandstorm must feel real weird as a helicopter/car in a group of exclusively dinosaurs
Rom vs Transformers: Shining Armor - 5/5 - did not expect to love that so much! stardrive MY DARLING YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER. i feel soo horrible for her. i do find it incredibly funny how the ultra magnus thing was originally supposed to be top secret but now fucking everyone knows for some reason. retroactively makes the crew of the lost light seem really out of the loop. also wraith magnus is so insanely hot it is UNFAIR HOLY SHIT.
Windblade (2015)/'Til All Are One - 5/5 - STARSCERSAM TRANSGENDER. SHE IS TRANSGENDER. EHSS.. EHHSH HHJJ TARASNSTTDF. STARCERSSAMME. IM NEVER GONN A BE OKAYS AGAIN. HOOOOOOOLY SHIRTTTTTTTTTTTT. okok but tahst just the last arc. theres other things that happen in this comic that arent about starscream. and theyre SOOOOO GOOD. windblade is such a fantastic protagonist!!!!!!!! her arc is jsut really well written, mairghread scott you are FANTASTIC!!!!!!! and yknow, its just real nice to read a story bout a lady finding her voice and stopping putting herself down for others.. FUCK YEAH WINDBLAAAAADE. she grows so much she is SO PERFECT!!!!! starscream is sooo fucking good too.... they have a really nice dynamic, screamer just. ARGH. i cannot start talking about starscream because i will NOT stop. love you windblade. love you starscream. and i love their respective spouses: chromia and brain ghost bumblebee <333
Revolutionaries - 3.5/5 - hey, didnt expect to enjoy that! action man and kup are soooo fun, they are best friends!!!! how long kup spent in the dead universe changing every time its mentioned is also very funny, even if it wasnt intentional. i couldnt follow the main plot That well, but thats less the fault of the comic and more than i dont know shit about fuckk and do not care to learn. i am rather curious about mr action man and miss doctor x.,... and also how skywarp joined gi joe. enough to actually read their comics? whos to say. i was also surprised by how much i liked mr sgt savage! hes such a sweetheart??!!! reminds me of g1 optimus (FAR more than idw optimus does...)
First Strike - 3.5/5 - last big crossover event, thank god! granted this one was also pretty good. scarlett makes me so sad.,,.. she loved joe so much and now hes EVIL. AUGH. its so tragic!!! she is lovely. i really liked aileron taking charge, shes great and everyone treats her so horribly! poor aileron.. oh and arcee was wonderful, shes so character development!! again, kup and action man are fantastic besties forever. and Again, loses points because o dpnt care about the plot. and i still dont know what the talisman actually is
Requiem of the Wreckers - 4/5 - goodbye the wreckers <333 goodbye verity carlo <333333333 ahh, i love them so much.. this was sweet. overlord and taratulas spending the whole time bickering was incredibly funny. ahh and impactors death was so perfect! AUGH. and SPRINGER. SPRINGERRRR. god i am not okay. have i mentioned i love verity carlo.
Unicron - 3.5/5 - damn.. damn. well shucks, it feels weird having to judge this on its own merits.. but oh well. i do think this finale could have been better. mostly, its a bit underwhelming. it doesnt feel like an ending to the whole continuity yknow, just optimus prime.. i really wish lost light had ANY relevance! i also think unicron is a kinda boring threat. its just Another big powerful monster to fight - and shockwaves big eye was scarier! unicron doesnt feel Special yknow, its just this weeks villain.. which is a massive letdown. the deaths were also not done very well. theres no room to actually feel the Consequences of people dying - no one grieves! theres never any room to breathe, its kinda exhausting. but i think the actual Ending was great. optimus' confrontation with the guy (yknow. the guy) was very good. there was never any chance of this story Not ending with optimus dying, and i think they did it well. they wrapped up everything very nicely, is my point. but everything other than the wrapping-up was Meh
Optimus Prime "Season 3" - 3.5/5 - and its over.. well, i never was the biggest fan of the earth stuff. i do think this is the weakest of the big three series. i am a fan of characters FAR more than big action sequences, and the characters here just arent particularly strong. but this was fun. idw optimus is a very interesting guy... he has so many problems <3 thundercracker of course remains the highlight. he is so dear....
Lost Light "Season 3" - 5/5 - things arent okay. im not okay. i will Never be okay. god fuck.. holy shit. god. okay. what do i even say now? god fuck this comic was so good.. jesus. im glad the ending was so bittersweet and open ended.. its really perfect. this never shouldve had a clear happily ever after <3333 GOD. its SO GOOD.mann. um yeah the season as a whole.. i Really loved the new characters.. anode and lug you are PERFECT. god fuck the last arc was so good. fuck, ALL the arcs were fantastic!! THIS COMIC IS SO GOOD. i am unwell. james roberts broke into my house and murdered me dead.
(at this point i realised id accidentally skipped the 2017 annual. so i read it and felt so little towards it i couldnt be bothered writing a review.)
REREAD: More Than Meets the Eye "Season 1" - 5/5 - im gonna kill myself. GODDDDD. GOD. its NOT FAIR how PERFECT this is. im just. ARGH. i think mtmte might actually be better on a reread, just bc the plot is so twisty turny and ITS SOOO WELL PLANNED OUT. GOD THE FUCKING FORESHADOWING. IT IS SOOOO GOOD. ive specifically been trying to pay attention to characters i know become more important later who sorta faded into the background before i knew anything. pipes youwere so good you deserved better </3 but yeag CHROMEDOME. CHROOOOMEDOOOOME. hes so fucked up. he and rewind are so bizzare what the fuck is their PROBLEMMMMM. also WHIRL. whirl. baby. darling. YOUR ISSUES. god and skidssssss. everything is sooo fucked these guys have every mental illness.
REREAD: Dark Cybertron - 3/5 - theres a lot of individually really good scenes (prowl and chromedomes fight, op getting mad at rods, the endinggg....) but overall the comic is kinda meh. its a lotta action for the sake of action, which is really not my style. it does also drag for a whiiile. that being said, 'i will remember you as you were' has me tearing up. and thats where shockwave died its true, he never comes back.
REREAD: Last Stand of the Wreckers - 5/5 - aughugghh.. god. GOD. life fucking persists! AUGH! achhh its really fun seeing how much stuff from this got carried over to mtmte. oh god pyros death...... man. good comic...
REREAD: More Than Meets the Eye "Season 2" - 4.5/5 - yeah i was too harsh on s2 on a first read, i was too bitter about the changes. but hooooly shit everything is wonderful and great. i LOVE megatron and rods, theyre aggressively fun. i also ADORE nautica and her gang, theyre a very neat group to focus more on and holy shit why do only Three of them survive. i paused reading in the middle of dying of the light because i was so distraught that skids was about to die. I MISS HIM. MY LOVE MY DARLING... getaway is also REALLY fun, it great rereading it and knowing the twist. hes so conniving and dreadful, and for what! ahh i really love him. i do think rodimus is at his Peak Asshole in this season, which i do appreciate. he SUCKS <3
(i then reread lost light and forgot to review it. oops)
REREAD: Spotlight: Thundercracker - 5/5 - thundercracker transgender? likely
REREAD: Spotlight: Trailcutter - 5/5 - trailcutter babyyyyy. what if he lived and didnt die horribly what then. whirl is soo fucking funny here its unreal. i also never clocked that this takes place at the same time as spotlight hoist which is, embarassing considering i read them back to back
REREAD: Spotlight: Hoist - 4/5 - hm i think the main thing that makes it a bit boring is the pacing? theres not really a structure to the plot, things just happen and then it ends. but other than that, very fun! ooohhhh their crippling psychological disorders!!!!!