Transformers: Till All Are One Volume 3 Discussion

It's a very appropriate time to be like, you

can't tell me what to do in my own head, Mike.

Well, we're talking about being in other people's

heads. Exactly. This issue, this episode. Hi,

this is Margaret Scott, the first female writer

on Transformers Comics, and you are listening

to All Things Transformers. Oh my gosh, this

is so great! Hit record. Yeah, I did that already.

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Autobotly August 2018 concludes as we talk about

Transformers Till All Are One Volume 3. That's

right, the Fembots are back for another week

of Transformers comic goodness here inside the

pull bag on all things Transformers. This is

episode 323 .5 of the pull bag. I am, of course,

TFG1 Mike. Joining me are three Fembots that

would give even Austin Powers a run for his money.

First up, we have that Cyclonus -loving Knockout

Droolin'. Cartoon Reel loving Nicole Beals Diva

Hailstorm. Hello. Oh, baby. Hello. How's it going?

It's going. Sometimes I wish it would stop. Then

we have the Megatron obsessed wrong prime worshiping

Heather, a .k .a. Highy Prime. Robbed her mistrules.

What's up, children? Then there's that whirling

wrecker girl who will put your eye out. She wrecks,

she rules. It's Amy, a .k .a. Lady Wreck. You'll

put your eye out. I did that the last time, didn't

I? I'm sorry. You just say that, and I just remember

that little, you'll put your eye out. Yeah. Yes,

no one here is dressed in a bunny suit, thank

God. Oh, hell to them. I meant me more so than

you people. Today we explore the final chapter

of Till All Are One by Margaret Scott. Till all

are done. Yeah, till all are gone. I know this

conflict mattered at the time when this series

was running, but at this point, currently, it's

like this was all for naught. Man, I hope not.

I know. I'm just sitting over here going, let's

pretend that it's still alive and we're still

going to be getting more story and la, la, la,

la, la. Don't listen. La, la, la, la, la. Pretty

much. All right. So we start out with issue nine

of the series. Take it away, Amy. Okay. Do you

want me to give all the, like everybody that's

in it and everything? just did that a minute

ago uh but written by margaret scott art and

all that margaret scott sarah uh johanna lafuente

on colors tom on tommy long on letters uh with

carlos guzman doing the series edits yes okay

so this issue is titled heavy We pick up after

the events in the last issue. The supposed badgeless

that was accused of killing the Decepticon in

the last arc is having his day in court. Starscream

is bored about it, and Bubblebee knows it. Everyone

is rebuilding after last issue's apocalyptic

event. Metroplex is being repaired, and things

are getting somewhat back to normal. But all

is not really back to normal. While Starscream

is mulling to himself over the affairs of what

is going on in the trial and the political temperature

of Cybertron, Rattrap lets him know that he has

something that he may want to see. He's happy

for the interruption and calls for an hour recess,

at which time he'll give his ruling. That's the

first one. Okay, so Rattrap shows him that Alita

-1 is taking... I have not. obviously edited

my own notes here it's talking to the press and

he's not happy about it at all he's basically

being called she's basically being called the

hero of Cybertron says she has no idea what Starscream

attacked her and that she was present when Windblade

and Carcer made their sacrifice Starscream is

so wonderfully happy about that he crushes the

data pad rat trap it's more than just that he's

just like about ready to flip the table Then

he tells Rattrap he wants to see Alita immediately.

However, the Mistress of Flame meets him in the

hall outside his office because she has something

to talk about with him. But he ropes her into

the meeting he's setting up with Alita in front

of a select group of delegates to confront her

about hiding Liege Maximo on her ship. at which

point she confirms he was on their ship, and

that had they not meddled, he wouldn't have been

released, nor would they be in this predicament,

and it's all Starscream's fault. Yeah, right.

Starscream gets to the point of the meeting.

He wants her to explain to them why they, why...

They shouldn't release this information and then

let everyone on Cybertron know that you guys

aren't heroes at all, are you? So Alita1 explains

when Liege, Maximo, and Carcer were tried for

their crimes ages ago, her people took it upon

themselves to not only take him away from Cybertron,

But to make sure his silver tongue never repeated

his past offenses again, they locked Carcer in

his ship mode and imprisoned Liege Maximo and

vowed to forever keep him that way away from

Cybertron. And that's what they've done all this

time that they've been away until Windblade released

him. She may have saved Cybertron, but for how

long? Silverbolt asks why she didn't trust them.

with the information to begin with, and she explains

that she didn't trust the information with anyone

because she couldn't risk someone power -hungry

finding out who may have tried to release him,

thinking that they could gain more power from

Oxmo. Cough, Starscream, cough. I mean, she doesn't

say Starscream, but you know that she's like,

oh, I don't know, someone, blah, blah, blah.

And I was just like, you just forgot to say Starscream.

She proposes now that her people are completely

dependent. Oh, wait, hold on just a second. Okay,

so she proposes that now that her people are

completely dependent on Cybertron, it'll take

weeks to repair, months until they can make their

ship into orbit, that they rebuild. become as

united and strong as possible so that when maximo

returns they will be able to resist his vengeance

and he will re and he will return no matter what

the inhabitants of cybertron believe he's um

he will want to exact his vengeance on all of

cybertron when he gets back if they aren't ready

for him he will rip the planet apart one way

or another um so they all have to decide will

they tell all of cybertron of what the carcerians

have brought If they do, Alita will be forced

to reveal that Starscream endorsed the attack

to release him, which may unbalance the alliance,

sending all the factions back to where they came

from. And this distance may grant them protection

from his wrath, but then it might not. She will

guarantee that her people will say nothing, although

they vowed to never tell lies. They won't be

correcting others' lies. She leaves Starscream

and the council members to decide what they will

do. So, ha ha, there you go. She just laid her

nice little, you know, hand of cards right there.

I love Lolita. I know. She's got a set of real

big brass ones, doesn't she? I know she does.

Yeah. So, at that point, the council are completely

divided, leaving Starscream the deciding vote.

The council will bow. back whatever decision

he makes. And he's actually amazed at this. He

was amazed at that too. But dismisses them because

he's got to think on this decision first. The

delegates leave except for Mr. Saflame. So that's

the second decision he's got to go for. He's

got two decisions so far and I just got one more.

And Mr. Saflame that has a request that Chromia

be released to Camille. authorities because regardless

of his decision they all owe their lives to a

chameleon and she wants to you know gather that

right now starscream isn't happy about this because

uh she admitted to her crimes on live coverage

and it's kind of hard to you know undo that and

people will be upset about that so the mystery

the mistress leverages her request over having

menasor and swindle released to chamanus on the

same grounds that they damaged and attack attacked

Caminus and Cybertron has continued to hold them.

Bruticus, not Menasor. Menasor? No, it was totally,

it was Menasor who went to Caminus because Swindle

gathered all the Sunticons together and he rode

in on Menasor's shoulder. We had that whole argument

last time about Swindle and Bruticus and this,

that, and the other thing, combiner, non -combiner,

whatever. I put that right out of the comic,

so it was either the comic is wrong or I didn't

do my research right. But no, she wants those

guys. So it's either Chromia or the other two,

and that really makes one more. That's the third

decision that Starscream has to make. contemplate

on poor Starscream jeez let's just pile on his

play here woo woo so as soon as he leaves he

again is ready to flip a table Bumblebee and

he have a heart to heart and Bumblebee advises

him to do the right thing release the badges

badge badgeless badgeless That he knows was set

up because it's obvious. Make the trade with

Caminus. And finally, Cybertron the truth about

Carcier and Alita. And he turns right around

and does none of these things. Guilty. I love

the look of Bumblebee. He's so crushed. He's

so crushed. It was so perfect. Oh, my gosh. Sarah

is amazing with her artwork. Oh, my gosh. Yes,

she is. I think we need to remind the audience

that Bumblebee is still dead. Yes. Okay. We'll

go with that. The Bumblebee stuff throughout

this entire story is all Starscream's mind games

that he's playing with himself. Pretty much.

Yeah. No one else wants to play with Starscream,

so they gotta play with himself. Oh, gosh. So,

lastly... He gives, Starscream gives Chromia

a compromise. He asks her to find Liege Maximo

and bring his head back out of Pike in exchange

for pardoning her so he can keep his combiners

and eat his cake too. That's another t -shirt

worthy quote. Keep your combiners and eat your

cake too. That's awesome. Okay, so discussion,

discussion on number nine. This was... It shouldn't

surprise me at this point, but it surprised me

how much Marigrid crammed into this without it

feeling like it's rushed or it's too long. This

whole month that we've been doing this, as I've

said, I've also been reading Optimus Prime and

Lost Light. Well, Lost Light's a gem. Optimus

Prime is the one... Out of these three series,

that is just... I trudged through that series.

It takes me forever to read the Optimus Prime

trades. It really does. This is refreshing. It's

interesting. It's fun. The writing is so well

done. And it's Marigrid. We should know by now

what she's... It's so good. Yeah. The conflict

is really great. I mean, that's one of the reasons

why I had a hard time, right. Summarizing this

and just like a few, I couldn't really summarize

it in a few sentences because there's so much

going on and all the conflict that's in there

is like super packed. I mean, it, it, it goes

by so fast and yet there's a lot going on here.

And, and it's just like, I couldn't think of

anything that was missing. If anything, I was

like three different conflicts, all within, you

know, seconds of each other. I'm going, geez,

Starscream. Oh, goodness. And there's so much

character development here, too. I mean, the

fact that the Mistress of Flame, woman, you're

getting all political now, aren't you? She's

learned how to be manipulative. And this is really

this issue totally, she's throwing down her hand

on that one. I was like, ooh, goodness. So much

for being a spiritual leader now, eh? She's got

some interesting backstory, but it's in different

books. Yeah. Yeah. No, I thought this first part

of this was amazing. I thought issue nine of

the series was very well done. The story is just

flowing right along. And the whole Starscream

Bumblebee's ghost thing. I don't think I made

this reference last time or the time before that.

Essentially, Starscream is Demi Moore and Bumblebee

is Patrick Swayze. I see it. I see it. I don't

see... That'd be awkward at the potting wheel.

Yeah. I don't think Bumblebee plays arms around

it. You'll never look at that movie the same

way again, will you? And technically a rat trap

is Whoopi Goldberg. Wow. Okay. They have the

same non -existent eyebrows. What did you think

of the middle of the art style change when they

were talking about the Liege Maximo's history

lesson? It was so cool. I like that. I think

that was really cool. It really worked for me

too. I was like, Whoa, that's awesome. I love

that. It was beautiful. It was great. I'm almost

certain that part is just all Sarah, because

I know that she does a very painterly style when

she's doing her own art and colors. And this

looks like something she would have just done

the whole thing of. Oh yeah. So you think it's

not Joanna on colors? Cause I was going to say.

It is Sarah throughout the, like there are no

other actual artists in here besides Sarah and

Joanna. But what you're saying is, is that you

think that flashback scene is all Sarah and none

of Joanna's colors. Yeah. I think just those

two, you know, three quarter page sections where

it goes back into the past. I think that's just

Sarah on her own. We can ask her. I've got the

individual issue. Hold on a second. I'm trying

to get to it. Yes. Additional colors on pages

nine, 10 by. Sarah. Oh, wait. Way to go researching.

Good job. No, I just have the individual issues,

so it's not just the whole thing. Let me look

and see if that's number 10 and 9 and 10. Let's

see. I think it is, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's

it. 9 and 10. She did. That was all her. That

was all Sarah. It's all Sarah. I feel like Sarah's

art has, like, come up. even yet another notch

in this trade. It feels like she has become much

more free in her characterization through expression.

The way she draws the poor little badgeless dude

on trial. He is a living little tiny chibi plush

man where you just want to take him home and

love him and pat him and name him George and

cuddle him forever. And that's the reason why

you could definitely tell this guy had no idea

what he was doing. And just a lot of things where

she does it too with Bumblebee where she just

really accentuates certain facial features to

show you through the way he looks the type of

personality that needs to be conveyed for him

to have. And there's even just some subtle things

like when Alita is talking to the populace on

the news where she does this really nice, welcoming,

kind smile. And yet you know that she's really

a hard aft. Oh, I'd say more than that. She's

quite literally, I think Starscream's already

at some point from here on in, before the end

of this, all the issues that we're reviewing.

I think she even basically told them that she's

going to be the next tyrant. She rules with an

iron fist. I still have such a hard time accepting

this version of Alita, just because I am so used

to old Hollywood Alita that it's freaking me

out. But anyway, oh, oh, just so you guys can

enjoy it, there's a tiny little art thing that

I love. And it is at the beginning where Starscream

is presiding over the court. If you notice, the

stained glass window is behind him. Uh -huh.

I'm going to see this now. I'm just going to

let you find them. They're amazing. Okay. At

the very beginning? Yeah. Okay. He's sitting

on a tall chair with, like, a sunburst behind

him and on either side of these stained glass

windows. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. They're two jets

just like flying literally into the sun. I'm

like, oh my gosh. Good sir. Well, he did call

it his court. When it comes to all of Sarah's

art in the flashback, I feel like it's a different

version of Livio's art. I feel like that's the

stuff that he would normally do. The way her

style is in this, the way the colors are, the

way the bots are drawn, the background, I feel

like it's not saying that he was looking over

her shoulder, but I feel like that's who she

was trying to emulate with the flashback. Because

I'm looking at this in the full page now, and

I'm like, oh, hmm. It's got a very painterly

style. In fact, you can actually see textures

in here. Yeah, you can see brush strokes. Livio

does something a little bit different with his

brush strokes and textures and things like that.

This looks like it should literally be an oil

painting on a canvas. Which is super cool. That's

an interesting comparison, Mike, and I see where

you're going with it because it's a slightly

less delineated, more kind of... blocky, sketchy

look for everybody, and the colors are more muted

and more kind of gray. They're muted in places,

but they're also bright in places as well. Yeah,

the contrast, the light versus dark. She uses

the color to play, to draw your eye. absolutely

that's cool I hadn't thought to compare it with

Livio but yeah well it's what we've become accustomed

to in these books where anything from the deep

past tends to be done by Livio until Keizama

showed up now she does you know things too but

yeah the Sarah's cover for issue 10 I should

have figured it out I should have figured it

out as soon as I saw it, but I did not expect

Arachnid to show up in this series. Look at the

cover with Onslaught and Blastoff, and look what's

behind them throughout the whole thing. Are you

talking about the next issue? Yes. You ready

to summarize it, Amy? Let me just make sure that

I have one more thing that I wanted to bring

up about number nine. Okay. Okay, there are two

things, and it's all about Starscream. Of course

it is. I love the fact that in this issue, I

mean, it's been building up to this. I mean,

this is just, we're going to get like payoff

after payoff all the way to the very end where

things happen with Starscream. So I like that

in this one issue, we have so many reactions

and moments bringing him to this point where

he can, like where everybody's like, he's perfect

set up to be the better bot. Or to be the person

that everybody wants him to be, and he literally

does an about face and does everything opposite,

even if it's going to backfire later. But it's

true to form for him. It's like everybody's setting

him up to be this thing, and he's literally bucking

against it completely. But yeah, he turns around

and gives Chromia a choice, and she chooses completely

differently than what he would. For different

reasons. But he has this really nice moment where

he's like, oh, I want you to be the better person.

Oh, yeah, that was a good line. I love that line.

It was like, whoa, deep, but yet you won't do

that for yourself. Yeah, he's starting to become

self -aware and question his knee -jerk reactions,

maybe. It was a really surreal parallel at the

very end. And strangely enough, that felt like

a payoff to me. Yeah. Like we were going to learn

something in the next four issues here based

off this little setup that we have right here.

This little tidbit of this nugget of fun. And

you're going to, this is a real parallel between

the two of them. And I kind of thought, whoa.

Yeah. Star screen. Whoa. Comparison time. But

yeah. And that's the only thing that I wanted.

That was it. Everything else, we've covered.

Before Amy does summarize issue 10, I want to

bring up an interesting point that I noticed

in the art. I know Bumblebee's dead. I know he's

a ghost. He has not a bot symbol. Starscream

does not have a Decepticon symbol anymore. On

Bumblebee's chest, he has an Autobot symbol.

On Starscream's chest, on his nose cone, he no

longer has a Decepticon symbol. Oh, Mike, I remember

when he ripped it off. He ripped it off clear

back at the beginning of R .I .D. That's true.

Yeah, that's right. That's been one of his power

grab moves was like, I am a man of the people

now. Oh, that's okay. That's right. So he hasn't

had a Decepticon symbol for a long time at this

point. Which is maybe why the Decepticons feel

extra betrayed by him. Probably. Because they're

the ones stuck in the ghettos at this point.

He has not taken care of his own dudes. Especially

since we're going to find out some of the...

In this next issue, we find out some of the things

that certain... bots used to do oh my gosh this

next issue oh yeah okay bring it bring it bring

it let's do it okay all right so this issue is

titled the price of you such a good title the

price of you i know isn't it perfect oh okay

sorry i'm just like looking at it going yeah

there's so much so much to be up to appreciate

in this one yeah okay so uh okay The issue opens

with a conversation between Bumblebee and Starscream

on the fallout of his decisions in the last issue.

The one thing that Bumblebee is happy with is

what he did for Chromia. But it's interrupted

by a message inviting a rendezvous with a shady

character that Bumblebee then tries to convince

Starscream to be wary of. But he pretty much

says he's still going to be by himself regardless

of... Bumblebee's ghostly attempts to trying

to convince him to be a better bot. If he doesn't

like it, then he can leave. He's like, hey, I'm

going to do my thing. If you don't like what

I'm going to do, then go away. As he's saying

this, he opens the door to Arachnid's lab. Ah,

Arachnid, yes! She's the one. She looks good

to you, man. So she's the one who sent him the

message and is fully aware of his unusual conversations

with nothing. It's not at all that uncommon for

hallucinations and paranoid delusions. She would

know. But he continues with his claims that there's

nothing out of the ordinary here. He was thinking

out loud. Yeah, we'll call it that Lord Starscream.

I love that. The reason she called Starscream

here was to discuss the fate of Swindle and the

other Combaticons. Basically, Arachnid is a mimosurgeon.

On Eucharist, she was a... Eucharist, okay. She

was a fate spinner who did not have the gift

of prophecy. Instead, she attempted to learn

this talent through scientific methods, which

left her experiments pretty much brain dead.

And the other fate spinners... They frowned on

this. So she was close to making a breakthrough,

but apparently they shut her down and exiled

her. So, aw. And now she's using her unique skills

to fix Swindle and manipulate the Combaticons

to work for Starscream. Only there's one catch.

She made an important epiphany that it's not

that it's disloyal. It just remembers that it

is. I really, really, really like that. I had

to point that out. If they can convince one of

them to be their linchpin and enforce the false

memories she's trying to plant, it'll take. They

just have to figure out which one. And that one

is Blastoff. Oh, poor Blastoff. I love Blastoff.

He is also infatuated with one of his team members,

Onslaught. But that feeling has never been reciprocated.

So he's just suffering silence. Poor little guy.

Starscream makes a personal dreamland appearance

to pitch his plan right in the middle of a wonderfully

revealing fantasy where both Blastoff and Onslaught

are domestically entangled. They have a painfully

truthful discussion about why Blastoff isn't

the monster that the rest of them are. It's simply

that he cares more than he should enough to make

justifications for those that are the monsters.

And that really pisses him off. This infuriates

him so much to the point that he literally beats

the brains out of dream sequence Starscream.

But it is all in just Blastoff's head, so Starscream

continues his pitch. He wants Blastoff and the

whole team to work for him, be loyal to him,

he will plant different memories, actually saving

their lives twice, all this fun stuff. And Blastoff

will be in on the truth and the lie, so he can

sell the lie whenever Onslaught starts to get

a niggle. That doesn't add up. In return... Starscream

can make all the domestic dreams a reality. Blastoff

rejects his offer initially because he wants

his life back the way it was. And then Starscream

reminds him of what that life actually is. He

lives in a hubble with a drunk sadist and someone

who doesn't even know he exists. They're all

financially ruined and mostly brain dead, which

if they survive, they'll be spending the rest

of their lives in jail. And if they escape, Onslaught

is never going to get over or get beyond the

war. This will eventually destroy him. Think

of it this way, Blastoff. I really liked this

page, so we're going to have to discuss it. You're

saving his life to make him happy and ultimately

you happy. And, you know, it's good. Yeah, the

one panel that... I can so make a reference for

for this is when Blastoff says to him, you're

asking me to live a lie. Does that mean Blastoff

is Rihanna and Onslaught is Eminem, love the

way you lie? That's a good reference. My absolute

favorite panel from this issue is, it's not really

manipulation, it's just a little nudge. The way

that Sarah and Joanna did the art and the colors

and the way the characters are positioned. It's

like Starscream is just twisting that knife in

his back. There is no knife in Kristoff's back.

It's better than that. He's giving him the ultimate

temptation. He's justifying it right there. It's

not really manipulation. It's just a little nudge.

What he doesn't say is the rest of it is up to

you. It's implied. Horrifying. So twisted. Oh

my God. This is what gets to me is the thing.

The last issue I was like, you're like, I feel

sorry for Starscream. I've started to feel sorry

for Starscream. And then you get to this issue.

You're like. Asshole. Bad, bad, bad man. This

is why I like Starscream. People are like, oh,

you're such a Starscream fangirl. It's because

he's the character you never know what you're

going to get because he plays for himself. He's

kind of the Loki character. You're just like,

you never know. what's going to bring the next

page. And that's why I like his character. Cause

you're like, Oh, I feel sorry for him. I'm like,

no, I don't. Oh, maybe I do. Oh. And you're just

like, ah, don't do it. You never know. Like his

loyalty. He's loyal to himself, but at the same

time, he can be loyal to a situation that worked

out for him, which is really odd. So he has,

he has a code. It's just a very twisted one.

Anyhow, um, black stuff agrees. Then we do a

quick scene change. He converses with Ironhide

about the Combaticons and what he's found out,

and they're waiting for them to recover, and

they might actually not even be responsible for

their actions, blah, blah, blah. Then we do one

more sweet scene change, and Onslaught wakes

up. Blastoff is there, already awake, has been

watching him, and they do this little kidding

thing that they've been doing. previously been

talked about in other issues. And then Onslaught

notices something that he didn't before and puts

his hand over Blastoff. And you're just like,

oh shit. He totally did it. I was like, oh my

god. That's the issue, yeah. I feel bad for Blastoff,

but after they say some of the things that the

Combaticons used to do, I'm like, holy crap,

these guys are bad. Vortex still... Hobby? Yeah.

Oh my goodness. Wow, that was fun. This issue

is, I think, of all the things that have ever

been written in Transformers, this is the one

that has the most things in it that make me actually

sick to my stomach to think about. Because it

just... really dark ground. The thing is, they

never really go into incredible depths of the

actual sins of everybody on both sides. They

always imply things. They talk about, they do

a lot of telling it, in fact. They do a lot of,

oh, everybody made concessions on both sides

and did bad things. Last stand of the records,

we found out that lots of things happened. that

shouldn't have happened. Even the wreckers went

off the rails and killed people that they shouldn't

have and got in trouble for it. On both sides.

War is bad, yo. War is bad. Give me a handout.

I think the difference is between this and war

is bad is everything in this is not just personal

but actual personality manipulation and and words

as torture like where you are watching people

being broken and I can't think of a time I mean

yes there's that scene in Wreckers where someone's

actually literally being tortured with the altogether

now endoscopic claw which is Horrible, but it

is physical torture. Yeah. Which, yes, okay,

I have a really powerful imagination and that

thing scared the everlasting crap out of me and

used to keep me up at night. But this is... Sorry,

I shouldn't be laughing. Hey, you can laugh.

It's funny. But this stuff in here is just viscerally

horrifying because we can identify with it. You

know, it's something that you can... You can

feel in yourself. Yeah. All of these things.

Margaret was really good about making it something

that you can relate to. Yeah. I'm just going

to say this right now. Margaret Scott is her

own person. She's her own writer. She can weave

her own tales. However, after reading this issue

again, it's like James Roberts is just pulling

her puppet strings. I know he's not. I know he's

not. She just went to a very dark place to write

this. I mean, even when Starscream shows up in

his dream world and Blossom says, this is the

worst kind of violation. Yeah. Yeah. And lays

it right out there. How many people do you let

into your dreams? Yeah. I'm just saying, anybody

out there thinking about that, you're worse.

You're fantasy land. How many people do you bring

into that? So it's like, probably nobody does

that, but that is exactly what this is. It's

a violation. And then he goes on because he was

a Decepticon. He knows things about these guys

that the sins of what they've done in the past

and how they are still those people, but you're

not. And yet you're with them and he twists the

knife. And he takes all of those little things

to the extent that it infuriates Blastoff that

he's willing to beat the crap out of him. Like

literally, like in one page, you find out just

how pissed off that made him. And he beats the

brains out of Dreamland Starscream, which of

course does nothing because he's just, you know,

a different version of him behind him. It's like,

you know, it's like. Have you gotten it all out

of your system now? Or does knowing that it's

not real suck the joy out of attempted murder?

Yeah. Yeah. You know, I had another thought.

Another reason why this is so rough to read is

that we are watching two characters that we had

come to have hope and love for fall. We're watching

Starscream do... horrible horrible stuff like

this is the worst thing this is there is no worse

yeah there is no worse thing done to anyone in

all of transformers there's like equally bad

stuff any anytime someone's brain is actually

reprogrammed it is bad but this is the first

time we are experiencing it and it is a choice

yeah Yeah, that's true. The only other thing

I can think of is worse is if Unicron's munching

on your limbs. This is worse to me. It is. No,

I agree. Because he's giving you the temptation.

The ultimate temptation. This is his temptation.

He's, you know, whatever. Right at the border

of the gates of hell and, you know, Starscream

is the devil and handing him exactly what he

wants. And he falls for it, you know. Making

Arachnid a nemo surgeon was a stroke of evil

genius. Oh, yeah. Well, I like how they incorporated

all the spider bots as in because they show Black

Arachnia as one as well in just that little panel.

Her original Beast Wars, Black Arachnia in that

one little panel right there. I thought that

was pretty cool, too. But even just, well, and

actually too, because we, Arachnid is another

character who's fallen by wanting something badly

enough that she no longer will keep to her scruples.

So she wants to have this ability of prophecy

that some of the other spiders have. And she's

willing to do absolutely horrific stuff to try

to get it. And so she has been. hacking into

people's brains and killing them trying to get

a sort of there's a lot of matrix parallels in

this for me yeah just because her idea is uh

what is it by examining everyone's minds in their

entirety it should be possible to predict the

future far more accurately so she's just trying

trying to hook into everyone's brain and have

like this incredible power you know another character

who's just hungry for power and willing to do

whatever to get it so if she's the morpheus who

the hell is the neo oh she's definitely not morpheus

neither of them But Starscream is Agent Smith

and... Oh, God, no! Last off is Morpheus in It's

Not Really Manipulation, It's Just a Little Nudge.

That is absolutely that scene. Absolutely that

scene. That's true. I did like how they used

the art to show the twisted... wicked web that

she's twisting between all of the combaticons

in the art did you remember did you guys catch

that yep yeah beautiful that was that that was

really really cool i like that parallel right

there that was good yeah this is this is an issue

i have not read to my kids you can't read to

your kids and that was hard for me it when when

this came out this issue traumatized me for a

lot of reasons i think i've talked to you guys

about it but like I wasn't ready for like smooching.

And because I just I'm like, really? Do they

though? They're robot people. And it just the

themes in it are so dark. I'm just like, this

is the first time there's been a comic and I

can't read it to my kids. technically they really

don't do anything they're just having a very

domestically schmoopy schmoopy moment where they're

talking nice and you know almost like pillow

talk but not pillow talk because they're not

in a bed oh they are at the beginning though

they are when he first wakes up yeah and he's

like i'm totally wasted and then onslaught's

like nuzzle nuzzle and then they've got like

this big old bed that they share so how old are

your kids again Well, now they're older because

it's been a couple of years. I gave it to my

oldest. My kids are 16, 14, 11, and 9. Okay.

You could probably read this to the 11 and 9

-year -old and somehow equate it to sex ed. No,

they know about all this stuff. It's not like

it's unfamiliar territory. It's just I wasn't...

When this came out, I wasn't ready to... It took

me like a good year to make peace with this issue

because I have my own baggage, you know, and

I I'm just I'm a product from a different time

and a different culture. And it took me a while.

But also just this is really messed up stuff

and the whole thing. So I don't know. I mean,

there's times when I'll be reading them. I'm

like, check this out. This is messed up, guys.

But this, I'm like, this is, I don't know, man.

It took you a while to process. We still will

be like, don't let anyone get away you, okay?

Do not let people pull this crap. Don't let anyone

get away you. I like that. That should be on

a t -shirt. We had like a serious discussion.

I'm like, if someone starts making you feel crappy

about yourself just so that you'll do what they

want you to do, you tell me about it and you

kick them in the shin. Only in the shin. I don't

know. If they get really pressing, you kick them

a little higher up. Anything else we want to

talk about in this issue? It was really good.

I mean, this is from the last two issues. I like

the whole series, but this one really just hit

a high point for me, just because you see this

situation where Starscream is back in his own,

he's doing his thing. He's doing what he does

well, which is he knows how to manipulate people.

If anything, I think he would be, he's like the

current Liege Maximo. Oh, yeah, definitely. He's

got a silver tongue. He knows how to work this.

It's a moment where he plays a role. He wants

to get something done. And he plays the ultimate

temptation for somebody who wants something that

he's never had. So, yeah. I mean, it's just like...

It's sad to see them fall into the depths of

hell over it. Because they literally put themselves

in position. It's just like, wow. You know, in

one issue, we go from really liking these guys

to realizing that they're just as messed up as

the rest of them are. Yeah. You know, I just

realized, A, I think this is one of the best

issues, single issues ever of all time in Transformers.

And this is also one that if there was a person

that was being snotty and being like, comic books

aren't literature, I'd be like, read this. And

then come back and talk to me. All right, we

ready? Ready. Let's go for the next one. Okay.

Strap the heck in, you guys, because these next

two issues are my favorite story that has ever

been told in all of Transformers. So, okay. Gushing

alert. Yep. This issue is called If I Know You.

Onslaught is holding Blastoff's hand when Starscream

walks in to establish the Combaticon's role as

his bodyguards now. Blastoff jerks his hand away

and hides his hands behind his back. Starscream

saunters out and is met by a medic who tells

him... Hang on, I'm pulling my paper up close

so I can not be facing away from the mic. I actually

wrote out a summary and everything, you guys.

I'm super on it. That's awesome. Starscream saunters

out and is met by a medic who tells him Windblade

is in stasis and declining because Carcer's brain

downloaded into hers. The medic asks Starscream

to help him find a specialist to save Windblade

-ish because she is the bot who saved Cybertron.

And Starscream gets all huffy because he saved

Cybertron too and nobody helps him. Oh, I'd say

it was more than just Huffy. I think he actually

got angry. Oh, yes. Like, if there was a table

around, he'd be flipping it. I'm just saying.

Totally. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Hang on. Totally lost

my place. Bumblebee chides his petty, poor leadership.

And now I just read a long time for just a second.

So Bumblebee is getting in his face and he says,

people expect things of you because they believe

in you. He's just said you haven't been a schemer

only for a long time. You've started to be a

more complex person. OK, people believe in you

and that's something you should be proud of,

not something you're determined to destroy. Why

is it so important for you to be alone? And Starscream

says. Because I am alone. Because the nanosecond

I forget that life, most often in the shape of

Megatron, beat the truth back into me. Literally.

It's been a while since we found, what is it?

Was it Spotlight Megatron where we actually see

how he was to Starscream? This is not just him

upset. This is him unglued. He is unglued over

this. Yeah, because he was. He is a product of

abuse. Again, remember how I just said that whole

thing with Starscream? Now you kind of feel sorry

for him again. You're just like, dang it! Dang

it! Throughout this whole exchange between him

and Patrick Swayze, At the end of it, when he's

like, Bumblebee? And then it pans out to the

panel of him just standing there with him slumped

over and his head hanging down. I'm like, you

put some lockers on those walls and he's essentially

the loneliest kid in school. This is a moment.

They use a whole page to get this across. Absolutely.

Yeah, he's like, if my behavior is so offensive,

why don't you leave? And Bumblebee disappears.

And this heartbreaking line, see, I told you.

It's heartbreaking. It made me cry the first

time I read it. And not only that, it's like

this self -fulfilling prophecy. He's using this

as evidence that he should be alone. Damn it,

Bumblebee, why did you leave? Oh, I'm on Bumblebee's

side in this one, though. I know, but still.

Starscream has reached a certain very specific

point. Anyway, okay, so moving on. So we cut

to a mindscape city where Carcer is trumping

around, crushing it as a symbol of how he's weakening

Windblade's brain. Windblade tells him she knows

what he's up to, but is willing to die if it

means he stays trapped in her mind and he dies

too. He tempts her with power and he shows her

the dangerous weakness of Starscream and Alita's

power grabbing. He looks into Windblade's past

and brings up her sins as she has had to become

kind of a little bit like Starscream. He says

that... She has outplayed Starscream at his own

game, which is harsh. He's trying to get her

to let him take over her body to quote -unquote

save Cybertron by making her doubt herself. So

we go back to Starscream, who's at his desk working.

We see him working all day and all night, and

he keeps... kind of reaching out to bumblebee

but he never gets a response um that evening

onslaught and blastoff come in to report and

he when he first hears them calling him he's

like b it's so sad then he realized it's them

um so they report um onslaught's being his loyal

bodyguard now because he's been programmed Blast

Off stays behind for kind of a more secret tete

-a -tete with Starscream. And Starscream mocks

him for being angry while he gets to date Onslaught.

And there's another little bit I wanted to read

aloud, but I forgot to switch around. Crap. I

was so on the ball. He's acting angry, but to

be honest, he's just ashamed of what he's done.

And that's why Blastoff is the better bot is

because he's actually ashamed for what he fell

for. And that's the reason why he was so easy

to manipulate too is because he had this temptation

and Starscream exploited it. But he's back to

his old games again where he's like, if you're

going to yell at me, please do something. Just

let me know before you do it. Oh, yeah. That

was the part I was going to read. It's so good.

It's such good writing. It's such good writing.

Yeah. Sorry. I was talking right over you. So

nobody even heard it. But it's really good. All

right. So. Okay. So. Okay. So Blastoff's like,

take me to see Swindle or I will tell everyone

what you did. So Starscream takes Blastoff to

see Swindle. Arachnid. is totally not creepily

at all repairing him. And Swindle's all, hey,

I'm totally happy. How you doing? And there's

this heartbreaking little face where Blastoff's

like, it's good to see you, Swindle. Little half

-sad smile. So while Blastoff and Swindle are

catching up, Starscream takes Arachnid aside

and asks about Windblade. He actually cares enough

to ask if there's any way to fix her. And Arachnid's

like, sure. But the only way to fix her is for

someone else to be willing to risk themselves

by going into her brain to fight Carcer with

her. But since she's already... dying from having

carcer in her brain having an extra person will

just make her die faster and arachnids just like

delicious isn't it that's not how she talks but

that part that's how she talks kind of it is

how she talks because the whole time i'm listening

the whole time i'm reading this i'm hearing gina

torres exactly yeah there she goes full tim curry

Anyway, the last page is just Starscream kind

of tossing and turning on his bunk and he's still

talking to Bumblebee and like railing against

an impulse to do something good. He's trying

desperately to not care, to not want to help.

He's bringing up everything he can about why

he shouldn't like or help Windblade. And he says

he needs someone who's actually a good person.

And then he finally just stops and he's just

like, I hate you. And we see an actual shadow

of actual Bumblebee who replies, I know. I love

it. I love it. I thought you didn't need Bumblebee,

Starscream. Everyone needs a bumblebee in their

life. But you know, that's the thing is that

it's, it's the charm of the fact that he believes

bumblebee is like, they're kind of, you know,

being his bestie trying to make him trying to

help him do things. He gets frustrated with him

because he's like his conscience and he just

wants to kick him and throw him and get him away.

But then when he's not there, he actually misses

him. Yeah. I think this is a moment where you

kind of see a little bit of he's changed because

he's never had a bumblebee until now and now

that he's had it he actually enjoys the companionship

and that's really interesting coming off the

bootstraps of the last issue Where he could easily

fall right back into his silver tongue, you know,

old habits. And yet here, he's actually becoming

more of a leader than he even thought that he

could be. Because he's actually listening to

somebody that actually cares. Wow. It's amazing.

Two cool things. One. I still get the sense that

we are meant to believe eventually that that

was somehow real Bumblebee. Am I right? I feel

like... I'm getting the hint of that because

when Starscream goes into Blastoff's mind, if

Bumblebee was just a figment of his imagination,

wouldn't he have seen all of that too? But he

didn't. They never have a conversation about

it. Ever. Yeah. I feel like he is somehow projecting

himself out from the little singularity he's

trapped in. And I love that he, like, that speaks

well of Bumblebee, that he decides, you know

what? I feel like I can actually help Starscream.

And he's been very patiently trying to build

Starscream up in a positive way and help him

be a better leader. Bumblebee sees more than

anybody else does. Other people have done the

same thing. Ironhide has given him that. Wheeljack

has given him that. That's true. There have been

people along the way that have been there for

him in different capacities. Even Metalhawk.

Get out of my brain. That's what I was going

to say. Everybody has seen things along the way.

Bumblebee sees more than anybody else because

we're not quite sure what his state is. But I

think he sees more than everybody else because

of whatever it is that he's stuck in. The reason

why I think he's alive is because this is the

first time we've actually seen some physical

manifestation that he's actually there with the

shadow. And that's like, this is where I went,

ooh, ooh, he's not dead. He's not dead. There's

a shadow. He can't be dead because there's a

shadow, dammit. So I was, like, super excited.

Like, ooh, Barber, you've got to tell us this

story now. Bumblebee was off in Never Never Land

with Peter Pan and having a spot of tea and fighting

Captain Hook. I've been waiting. Let's just say

this came out, what, a year, a year and a half,

however long it came out. I'm still waiting for

that, okay? I still want to see that. Little

tidbit mind by Mr. John Barber, and I still haven't

read it yet, and I hope that it's somewhere in

Optimus Prime at this point, because I want that

story! I haven't been waiting this long for that

payoff! Yes, you have. I want my money back,

dammit! Comics are lemons, and you ain't getting

your money back. He's... Wait, we're still talking

about Bumblebee, right? I feel like I lost both

of you. He's out now. Out. Like, Prime went in

and got him. Okay, shh. Don't tell me. I want

to read it. Okay. Sorry. There is an explanation.

Yeah, there is an explanation. That's why I was

like... I've been waiting so long for that explanation

that I'm just like... I, when this, when this,

when till all or one ended, I was like, crap.

No, we'll never know. Bumblebee is. Yeah. I feel

like because I have such a harder time keeping

the story of the Optimus prime series in my head,

I'm still unclear as to what actually happened,

but yeah. I'll go back and reread it. What do

you guys think of like the way, and it's so funny,

if I'm looking at him and he's got his face markings,

he becomes Vigilim in my head. But if he doesn't

have his face markings, he's Carcer. What do

you think of the way he looks when he turns into

his dark wind blade mode? Oh, that was awesome.

That was like really creepy. It was. It's very

creepy. It was. I totally agree with that. It's

like he morphs into, because she gets really

big. And, like, she's trying to, like, cut him

in two. And even, like, she even gets more decorative

when she gets huge. And then he starts morphing

into, like, a dark version of her, like a shattered

glass of her. And I was like, ooh, wow. It looks

like, oh, what is it? It looks like the... Are

they called Oni? The devoid version of her or

something? Yes, yeah. I feel like there's these

Japanese demons. Yeah, they're oni. Thank you.

Yeah, that's what... Oh, like Cyclonus almost

looks a little bit like that. That same sort

of jaw with the open cheeks. Yeah. Same kind

of look. There's a really... threw me off a little

at first the way this is visually representing

a very morphable landscape and how things change

according to people's strength of will and so

sizes morph and the landscape morphs and it because

they are static pictures it would throw me and

I would lose I would miss key visual elements

on occasion, but now I've read it enough times

and closely enough that I'm like, Ooh, ah, well,

it makes sense because they're basically in a

mindscape basically. Yeah. And which is so cool.

It's so conceptual, but yet there are images

that work when they need it to work that way.

And they, they morph and change when they need

them to. And I really liked that about going

into, you know, her, brain and that's what's

going on there. Yeah. Absolutely. That's good

stuff. So have we said everything that we wanted

to say about Starscream and his bumblebee? No

one? I think so, yeah. Alright. There was one

more thing I was going to say. Oh, go ahead.

I'm trying to find it. Go for it. Maybe not.

Poop. Poop. So, issue 12. That cover, oh my god.

Yeah, that cover's messed up. Both of these covers

are messed up. I love this cover. I find it deeply

disturbing. I love it. Yeah. All these covers.

This whole series of dark, creepy covers that

Sarah did are really memorable. shall we say,

and become increasingly memorable as the series

goes on. It's like the first one was like, oh,

dang, that's cool. And then like the second one,

oh, dang. Oh, dang. Oh, now I remember what I

wanted to point out. Sorry. Go ahead. Okay, so

it's going back to the Bumblebee Starscream thing.

I wanted to point this out. Bumblebee never really

left. He just made it so that Starscream couldn't

see him. Yeah. And that's the sad part. It's

like, dude, you think you're alone, but actually

Bumblebee never really left. I bet he's been

watching him the whole time and just been like,

I'm going to let you sit on this one and feel

it for a while. I was a little manipulative of

Bumblebee, but at the same time, like, you know,

but he. Starscream is so, it's like he's torturing

himself for all the torturous things that Megatron

did to him. And it's like, dude, you do realize

that no one, this is all in your head. No one

actually left you. Bumblebee's still there. He's

probably just, you know, not showing up for various

reasons. But in the end, the people still support

him. Nobody knows what's going on in his head.

And yet he is isolating himself. he has the support

no one knows what's going on in his deepest darkest

head and yet he's torturing himself yeah man

this is a good book yeah gosh dang it by the

last page of that issue i'm just like fully like

i love starscream like a real person yeah you

just want to reach out and give him a big hug

yeah again don't forget how you felt the issue

before i know it's a problem That's the problem

with Starscream. This is why I like Starscream,

because he's just so complex. I love those complex

characters. I have a confession to make. I have

hated Starscream for so long. When I first met

you, you were like, I hate him. I don't get why

people like Starscream. I remember when I first

met you, you hated him so much. I hated him.

I was like, get rid of that guy. He's a jerk.

Until Merigrade got a hold of him. Until I saw

Transformers Prime and then she got a hold of

him in the IDW stuff. I'm like, I hated him.

And I had to read about him last night after

reading this. What the heck? I do not get this

way about Starscream. Yes, you do. Darn it, Scott.

Yeah, she's good. She's really good. She's got

it in my head. She got in your head like a memo

surgeon. And for anyone that wants to hear Amy's

Starscream hater story, you can listen to her

Origins episode way back in the pullback episode

15. Good stuff. Final issue in the series before

the annual is called Your First Mistake. So we're

in Windblade's mind, and Vigilum splits into

three aspects. His dark Windblade look, his carcer

look, and Vigilum look. Windblade earthbends

the ground to hold him, but he tells her it's

no use. In the instant she passes out just before

her death, he'll take over her body. And at that

point, he is blasted in the back. And we see

Starscream there and he's all full heroic mode

and he's got this snobby face and he's all, don't

worry, the cavalry's here. Starscream, how did

you? You idiot! Windblade panics because it is

good. But she panics because she knows that Vigilim

will just now try to possess Starscream and he,

unlike her, has no training. So Starscream, who's

just arrived thinking he's Optimus -level hero,

I put that in for you, Mike, only to be called

an idiot by the one he was trying to rescue,

looks up at Vigil. Because Optimus is an idiotic

leader. Rodimus is so much better. In a fire.

My husband yesterday was talking about Roddy,

and he was like, man, he goes from a hot rod

to an RV. That was the 80s, though. It was a

space Winnebago. I mean, you know, Lone Star

and... Mike, space Winnebago are the words that

came out of your mouth. Exactly. Because I know

what the 80s toy and design was. It was a space

Winnebago. It's where Lone Star and Barf hang

out. I know. Transformers meets Spaceballs. This

must be where they got the space Tyrannosaurus

Rex from, right? Oh, Trypticon? Yeah, probably.

No, it's a space dino -bot. You don't remember

that? That's how they pitched it to Asbro, as

they called him. He's a space dinosaur. All right,

so Starscream looks up at Vigilim, and he's trying

for his usual bravado, and he says, you wouldn't

be the first person to underestimate me, you

flying tin can. And Vigilim, who can now see

through him, says, I'm sure I'm not. Who were

the others? And he grows in size, and he says,

and which one do you fear most? And poor Starscream's

eyes get huge, and he's terrified. He says, you're

not real. You can't hurt me. I know that. And

now Vigilim has transformed into full G1 Megatron.

And he's got his fusion cannon trained at this

poor, tiny, silhouetted Starscream. And he says,

are you sure, Starscream? After all, there are

so many kinds of pain. And he shoots him. And

I remember at the very beginning of IDW, where

they are establishing Transformers as... They're

establishing the base. Characterizations. And

Starscream has. Kind of gone against Megatron.

And Megatron shows up. As this all powerful.

Just force of nature. And he blasts Starscream

into a cliff. Just like this. And everyone assumes

that he has just killed him. And that's what

it reminded me of. And anyway. As he has shot

Starscream. And they both disappear. Down this

like. black hole way that is an entrance into

Starscream's mind. Windblade takes a moment to

kind of figure out if she can do it or if she

should and she follows them in to go and try

and rescue Starscream now. I have to say about

the art here from Sarah like after we see the

part where Starscream says where Megatron says

So you do have a spark, one just as unremarkable

as any other. The next panel where it's him saying,

you don't seem quite so special from here, Chosen

One. I love this panel. This is the best Megatron

has ever looked in these comics. You're skipping

ahead, right? It's so refreshing to see, too.

Go ahead. Go ahead, Heather. It's all good. No,

but yeah, this art is amazing. This art is powerful.

Because, yeah. Anyway, okay. So... It's interesting

to me, though, that Starscream's mindscape is

Kaon, but it is a ruined Kaon. I think that's

really interesting. I think the reason why that

is, is because Megatron ruined his life. That's

where it started. That's where it started, is

in Kaon. Dang. This is some serious psychology...

Level 400 class stuff, man. Yeah, it's totally.

That's why I said I married went to a dark place

and channeled a dark place to do this. It's she

did such a freaking good job. So we see Megatron

and he's just like. He's not even crouched beside

Starscream. He's crouched on him. Starscream's

on his back, and Megatron is ripping his armor

off in layers, and under each layer is the previous

sort of look. that he has worn because, as we

remember, he has gone through a bunch of different

bodies. And Megatron says, so vain, Starscream,

wrapping yourself in all these facades. Maximo

always said to beware of bots who change their

skin too often. They're always trying to hide

a rotten core. So he is just, he's getting at

Starscream's deepest, deepest weaknesses. And

yeah, the part that you were bringing up, Mike,

where he has ripped him down to his beginning

of IDW look. And his chest is broken open and

you can see his spark. And Megatron Vigilance

says that it's just, there's nothing special

about it. And just as he is about... Starscream

devolves into nothing but a spark lying on the

ground, and just as Megatron Vigilum is charging

his fusion cannon to blast him into oblivion,

Windblade jumps in, clutches the spark to her

chest, and throws herself across the room to

save him from the blast. And she tells Vigilum

she's not finished. And Vigilum is back to himself

now. He's all, really? Do you think he's going

to walk it off? You normally need legs for that.

That was good. That was a good, nice little stab

there. And then, oh, he's just so good at undercutting

people. The next thing he says is, but then you

are one of Caminus' spawn. He was just as naive

as Solas. Guess it ran all the way down the line.

And then he puts his hand down and he begins

rewriting Starscream's brain. The city falls

down and it starts to become these red lines

that are Vigilum's face glowing in cracks in

the ground. And he now is sort of halfway buried

in the ground scape of Starscream's brain. He's

allowing himself to be absorbed. Oh yeah, yeah.

It's a good way of thinking. It's like absorbing

right through one of the eyes. It's like he's

merging. It's just like, ah, stop him, please.

Yeah. And he's still undercutting her. He says,

don't feel shame, Speck. Solas Prime was no warrior.

You have no advantage here. And a spark is no

weapon. And here's where it becomes like revelatory

crap. And she says, Windblade says, no, it's

not a weapon. It's so much more. And she remembers

the way. That line right there got to me when

I read that. Yeah. It's so good. It's so good.

It's so good. This story. I wish that panel was

bigger. I just wish that single panel was bigger

with that single line. That line and that panel

should have been so much more. It should have

been bigger. Except, then where would you put

the next panel? I know, I know, I know. Man,

this is so good. Okay, so she... Alright, hang

on. Guys, this is the issue that I grabbed my

poor husband and I'm like... This issue spoke

to me on like a change who I am level. I need

to read this out loud. And I read it to him.

And this is the part where I just started blubbering

because I just love this so much. Okay, so Windblade,

we're just going to read aloud, kids. Gather

round, you know, crisscross applesauce, story

time with Prime. Okay, a spark is not a weapon,

it's so much more. It is the flame of Primus

itself, the forge in which each Transformer is

shaped according to his design. And she's remembering

her training under the Mistress of Flame, who

tells her that the act of creation is sacred

above all things, but no task is more costly

than that of building something new. Every new

alliance, new weapon, new world is forged and

reforged in the burning heart of truth until

all slag falls away. The Mistress of Flame is

speaking words which she has been told by Solas,

who is standing behind her in this vision of

memory. It is only the purest servant of Solus

Prime who can keep forging until they reach the

real miracle, the creation of a single true thing.

Which, oh my gosh, you guys! I'm always telling

people anything I ever make, I'm like, I'm just

trying to make something true. I still like to

have somebody write it down. I'm like, ah, so

good! It is so very good. When Blade is now able,

holding Starscream's spark, she's able to see

his history, and she sees how he was taken from,

like, literally a batch, like a cooler full of

sparks, and put into one of the gajillion seeker

repaint bodies. And she says, a spark is shaped

by all who touch it, but the first hand meant

to is Primus. Sparks are meant to be forged in

the design of his divine choosing. but not for

you. And she's horrified by cold construction

and how he is never allowed, bots not born, but

built, never allowed to find their true shape.

And I'm like, whoa, what a cool concept, Marigrid.

Instead, forged and formed to the specifications

of another's greed. I just, I hadn't thought

before that this was, of the idea of that cold

construction was that maybe there was a different

choice that you were meant to be different. That

that's a cool idea that I don't think anyone

had thought of before Margaret anyway. Um, and

she's like, is, is this what you were seeking?

Starscream escape from a foreign skin, the belonging

you thought was lost forever. Did you forget

it was here all along? And she gets this blinking

hammer and she says, Vigilim, I may not be a

warrior, but I do worship a smith. And there

is no forge purer than a spark. It remembers

everyone who touches it. And she starts pounding

with this hammer that's like she has called up

in her mind the forge of Solus Prime. And she

calls up... She pounds the spark, and kind of

this ghost version of Bumblebee pops out, and

Vigilum just mocks her, and he's like, a copy

of a cripple? A copy of a cripple, it won't be

enough. I said everyone, and she whangs it again

and again, and all these people come out, all

the people who have been influential in Starscream's

life, including for all the people who ship them,

Skyfire. But, like, there's Wheeljack, and, like,

Metalhawk, and... Chromia, Soundwave. Yeah. Ironhide.

Alita 1, strangely enough. And I think Jetfire

and Optimus Prime. I know. But all of these kind

of blue ghosts attack Vigilum and he... Rat Trap

is there too. Sorry. Yeah, he's right behind

the clang, clang, clang. You can't really see

him. He sees kneecaps. The words got in the way.

Oh, my gosh. Whoops. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Ooh,

and Ravage. Ravage is there, too. Yeah, I know.

I was noticing Ravage. That's, oh, man. I think

we got him. Yeah. Usually, Mr. Tom B. Long is

really, really good at letter placement, but

every so often, there's no good spot to put things.

I'm sure that he couldn't really help that, but

I still saw him. I still saw Rattrap. Don't worry,

Tom. He represented rat traps there, just like

the little, you know, rat that he is. So all

of these memories attack Vigilum, and he is unbowed.

And he says, I will not be defeated by such weak

facsimiles. And Windblade says, this is not about

your defeat, Vigilum. It's about doing the only

thing that really matters in this life, making

something true. And she pounds again. and this

light shoots up, and we see this person we've

never seen before, this sort of blue and white,

sort of interestingly flared -out armored guy

who's looking down at us. Sort of like if you

combine drift and hot rod and... Dark screen.

Yeah, but here's the thing, you guys. I saw him,

and I instantly felt like I knew him. I'm like...

Oh, there you are, Starscream. And I bawled my

guts out. My transistors are trembling. Starscream

stomps Vigilum through the floor and back into

Windblade's brain. And Windblade is now huge

and powerful, and she realizes that instead of

having to fight Vigilum... All she needs to do

is embrace him. And she does this thing that

Madeline L 'Engle wrote a long time ago that

I've always loved of taking the bad, horrible

thing and just putting it into your own being

and thus taking away its power. And because the

writing in the... TF Wiki is so beautiful that

I believe it deserves to be highlighted. The

last line in their description is, that is written

in the TF Wiki, it's probably McFeely, good job,

says, just as the forge of Starscream's spark

burned away everything until the singular truth

of his being was revealed, Windblade uses her

spark as a forge to burn away Vigilum until all

that remains is his single truth. But there is

no truth to be found in the heart of the Titan

that serves Liege Maximo, Prime of Lies. And

he is incinerating the fires of her soul. Booyah!

That's awesome. Drop the mic. Yep. So that is,

thank you all for listening. This has been Storytime

with Prime. That's awesome. I love it. That's

what happens. So they basically wake up. Arachnid

says, welcome back. And they kick her out, look

at each other. Oh, yeah. Sorry. And he's trying

to say nothing changes, but Windblade says she

has changed and she will now speak for herself,

not for the Mistress of Flame, not for him, not

for anything. She is not going to be under his

thumb anymore. Under anyone's thumb, really.

Yeah. And Solas and Primus gave me truth, too.

And I'm going to speak with my own voice from

now on, which is very powerful because she's

been speaking for other people her whole life.

She's been a city speaker. And now she's like,

I won't be me. So it's a good issue. I love it.

It's interesting that the first thing that happens

is he tells Arachne to get out because literally

he's revealed completely in everything. to Windblade

in a way that he couldn't stop. The fact that

he's still processing. She's like, no, I know

exactly what I want to do with my life. I'm like,

hey, I just had an epiphany and I am not going

to be that anymore. Boom. And he's still going,

what? Even his look, he's just completely dumbfounded.

What just happened? I thought this was about

me. It's like, no, it was about her. he this

is the first second that he has and this will

become more apparent in the annual we get to

it this is the moment and he's still processing

what that moment meant he says it doesn't mean

anything nothing changes but everything has changed

he's still denying it he's still doing that thing

where he's self -abusing himself like dude And

I suppose that's good writing because it would

be so tempting to be like, and now Starscream

is fine and good and righteous all the time because

he's seen his true form. But we don't change

as quickly as we might like to. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah,

no. That's good stuff. Change may be constant,

but it's difficult. It depends on the person.

It depends on the consequences and the... cost

of what you've done so far? Because that's the

next thing we have to find out is in the annual...

Well, with Windblade's change, that was not gradual.

That's been over three different series at this

point. That's like, you know, 17 million nanoclicks

in Cybertron. But she saw it only because she

saw what Starscream went through and realized,

I don't want to be that person, so therefore...

I'm going to make a change. Boom. It's not the

same for Starscream, because even his change,

there's got to be consequences to your actions,

and he has a lot of consequences. He's done a

lot. This is going to be juicy. All hail Starscream!

Okay, are you guys ready? We are so ready. Okay,

so starting off the annual, I got my... Kind

of like how this wraps up everything. So Windblade,

she wakes up. Love the girls. She actually gets

some sleep. Finally. She's having an inner monologue,

and she's looking about the damage that's done

on Cybertron, and she's trying to fight back.

I love this. Her inner Starscream voice. Yeah.

And she's finding herself more lonely than ever

as she's saying goodbye to Chromia. because Chromie

is departing with her new crew as they try to

scourge the galaxy to defeat Liege Maximo. Then

when Blake finds herself in a small little ceremony

at the councils with the press there, but during

the hype with the press there, she leaks out

that Liege Maximo is on Blues. Oh, what? Oh,

no. Then this kind of upsets... Sorry, this is

a quick review. This upsets the mistress of flame

and that a delegate, a delegate would actually

act this way. And she gets five fingers across

the face. I was like. When Blake kindly reminds

her, I am no longer a delegate and I don't have

to abide by the rules. And I love this diva mood

move as she runs out the door and she's like,

you two come here. And she spills it all. I love,

I love this woman. So the news guys. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. And so then because of this move, she starts

like. basically the next political upheaval um

and then good times at brawls uh at the at the

bar with blur you know so uh many brawls have

started and uh blur actually convinces her why

don't you run for office what huh okay and then

uh then we go over to star screen where he is

going over his visions of grandeur that he was

having, you know, in the previous episode, issues

that we were talking about from his link up with

Windblade. And Rattrap walks in and he gives

Rattrap the details to the debate and the transitions

to what's going to be happening with the new

elections and stuff. And then we turn back to

Windblade where she is drinking up a storm with

the people that she's meeting up with. My gosh.

She knows how to hold her liquor, this girl.

Oh, yeah. She's been working up to it for a while.

This girl needs a drink after what she's been

through. And then here comes her last customer,

Rattrap. And he spills it all about secrets about

himself, about Starscream and everything. Well,

then that means when Blade rushes over to Starscream

and is like, what the hell? And she throws the

briefcase and all hell is breaking loose. So

she pretty much reveals that she is going to

run against him and she's going to reveal everything

at the debates. And of course, Starscream is

like. my gosh, I was going to plant, I had all

these great plants, I was going to change everything,

I was going to become a good guy, and I kind

of feel sorry for him again. You're just like,

dang it! Stupid feeling sorry for him again.

And then we move over to the debate night. Windblade

gives an amazing speech, you know, how she's

talking about, I was not born here, but, you

know, I am one of you, and it was an amazing

speech. But what comes next is what makes this

issue. Starscream's turn comes up. And the one

panel, they say, he confesses it all. Well, I

was not expecting that. I was not expecting that.

It's so not a Starscream move. It's just like

he confesses everything. And I was just like,

I would have never guessed. I was shocked when

I saw that. I was just like, did not see that

coming. Did not see that coming. Nobody else

did either. It was just like, what? Wow. Wow.

And so fast forward, basically when Blade wins

the elections, spoiler alert, and is the new

leader. But she has one last interaction with

Starscream as she basically saves him from the

death penalty. And she gives him the one last

reminder of what he can still become, which is

so beautiful because, you know, she gives him

the reminder of the leader that he saw when they

were linked up again. And I thought that was

so beautiful because Starscream still has that

ounce of hope. You know, and you're just like,

again, you go back just three issues and you're

just like, you are a horrible human being. But

then you feel sorry for him again. You're just

like. Dang it. No, this issue was like a really

good wrap -up of a good little bow on the present

that we had with the previous four issues. A

good tie -in of what happened. The conclusion.

Absolutely. My favorite moment out of this entire

issue here is the last moment that she has with

Metroplex before she goes to meet the people.

Yeah. Windblade heard the voice of Metroplex.

Windblade will hear the voice of Cybertron. If

you lead others to make your life better, you

will be a tyrant. If you lead others to make

their lives better, you'll be a hero. Good stuff.

Absolutely love that. Yeah. Yeah, that's cool.

This is when she realizes that she's going to

be running and she needs a moment to run away

from her party. And it made absolute sense that

the first person she'd go to is him because he's

kind of been, again, we've already highlighted

their relationship as it is. This is like her

father figure to a point. And so she goes back

to Papa. Yeah. Her grandfather or whatever. I

was totally going to say dad too. This is the

father figure relationship that she has is with

Metroplex. He's old and ancient and she runs

to the first person that she's the most revealed

with is with him. That's true. Absolutely. My

other random favorite part is where there's two

Combaticons out guarding... Because that's their

new job, is to guard Starscream. And hang on,

I've got to find it. Oh, that's right! Merigrid

is so good at writing banter, okay? And like

dudes being dudes. And so Vortex is like, what

do you think they're talking about in there?

It must be important if we weren't even allowed

to stay in the building. Think they're planning

a murder? Murder? Really? Conjunk's into a proposal

then. She's doing it right now. How does your

brain even work? She's stormed out. Murder. If

it was a proposal, I'd have heard more screams.

That was so awesome. That was brilliant. I'm

like, okay, team Vortex now. So good. But then

later after Starscream's confessed everything

and the Combaticons are all in one jail cell

and everybody shoved over to one side looking

crestfallen and angry and Blastoff is all by

himself. Oh, geez. Because he's been outed. Yeah.

And Onslaught's, like, refusing to look at him.

That's right. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Now, Merigrid

says that if this story had continued, that Onslaught

would eventually have been like, let's be conjunks

in Dura, and Blastoff wouldn't have been able

to keep tricking him. He would have been like,

okay, I gotta tell you something, dude. Here's

what is really going on. And... So I liked that

she had that in her head that, that he wasn't

going to continue to trick him forever, but it's

still, it's messed up on every side. Cause like

on the one hand I'm like, but you two get along

so well, but that's really messed up. Yeah. Very

messed up. Come on, Mary grid. I honestly, I

didn't see that until now. Like actually having

a little bit of emotion here for Blastoff going,

dang it, that's not fair. I hadn't noticed it

either. Yeah, it is fair. It is fair. It is fair,

but I'm just like going, but oh, I feel so much

for Blastoff right now. Gosh darn it. Flip a

table, dang it. Yeah. Prowl's not around, sorry.

I'm just channeling my inner Prowl right now,

so what can I say? There's a lot going on in

all of those panels where you see Windblade walking

through the various, past the various cells.

Yeah. Like, Rattrap's just like, I'm so safe

in here, I'm the happiest dude ever. I'd rather

be here than anywhere else because, yeah. Oh

my gosh, Arachnid is like... digging holes. She's

punching holes in the wall with her spider feet.

Yeah. She's angry. Anyway, moving on. All right,

folks, that's going to do it for Autobotly August

2018. This is episode 323 .5, Chilala 1, volume

3. Nicole, what would you rate it, zero to five?

Zero to five. Like I said, when I was reading

this for the second, or actually the third time,

I'm just going to say it. It's a five. I loved

every moment of it, all the different emotions,

the artwork, the, yeah. Margaret and Sarah. Blew

it out of the park. Loved every moment of it.

Heather, what about you? Well, I feel that the

annual, I can see the plot pieces being put into

place. And so it's not quite as fun a read as

the previous four issues because it feels very

deliberate and this is us winding up all the

story and it's not quite as real feeling and

satisfying. That said, There isn't a high enough

rating for me to give this. I mean, this is some

of my favorite Transformers fiction of all time.

And the art is phenomenal. And everything is

just... Yeah, the best thing ever. Zero to five,

make a choice. Five. Six. What about you, Amy?

I'm going to rate it a 10. Fight me. I'm also

going to rate it a 5. Yes, technically. I'm also

going to rate it a 5. I absolutely loved it.

I loved all three of these volumes. I loved the

entire story from the writing to the art. All

of these women did an amazing job. I can't wait

to see if they ever come back to whatever next

new incarnation is. When they come back. When?

When? When? If? You never know. I mean, you know,

Merigrid's over there on Batgirl right now. So,

you know, killing that stuff at DC. Nicole, where

can the people find you online? I just Google

Beatles Diva. That's Beatles like the band, not

the bug. You'll find me there. Heather, what

about you? Google Hockey Prime and it's me. Amy,

what about you? Lady of Rack, fight me. Watch

out. I know where you live. Stop saying that.

Well, you just bowled over anything I was going

to say about it. I just said that. You're like,

you went on to whatever you were going to say.

I was like, okay, all right, fight me then. Come

find me online. I'll tell you what I really think

about Till All Are One. You can find me at TF2

and Mike. Sadly, folks, there are only seven

episodes left this year for The Pull Bag. So

we've got episodes 324 to 330 coming up before

the end of the year. Uh, and then we're taking

a couple of months off at the beginning of next

year. Cause I don't know what the hell is going

to happen with this show right now. Uh, you can

find us on Twitter at the pull bag at geek cast

radio, visit geek cast radio .com. Make your

greatest game in the comics. And we will catch

you next time here inside the pull bag. But wait,

there's more. We Decepticons now face our darkest

hour. I know that we talk about like, oh, the

perfect text. Look, I look at story as not ever

being perfect. There's no such thing as a perfect

story. But when you're getting all of the elements

together, you're getting good character development,

great art, wonderful dialogue. When everything

is working in the right direction, you get what

they call a perfect experience. And that's exactly

what was reading this. You get this payoff that

you didn't expect. And, you know, I like the

fact that Windblade becomes the next leader of

Cybertron. And it's sad that, you know, Starscream

has this moment where he wants to turn things

around and the consequences of his action catch

up to him. Make that not possible. Does that

mean that he can't become that person? Oh, he

can definitely become that person. He just won't

be doing it leading Cybertron. There's just so

much here. The most interesting character development

for Starscream that I've ever experienced. And

Windblade, new to... transformers basically she

hasn't been around for that long and yet she

we've got a really strong storyline that we've

had for her as well it's just it's it's brilliant

you know and then just trickle down from there

all of the other sub characters that pop up we

get great you know rat trap i mean i'm gonna

miss somebody because we're not gonna have all

the time to go through every single one of the

characters and say look how much they grew Every

character that Marigrid got a hold of, she made

them move in a way and develop in a way. She

made it look like it was so freaking easy. Marigrid

ever comes back to Transformers, I'll be embracing

that news. The second it happens, I'm going,

yay! We're back! We'll throw our own party. We'll

make the nearest bar be Blur's Bar. Exactly.

So that's why she did. I did hear her mention

that the idea of Windblade becoming the ruler

of Cybertron was something that John brought

up. John Barber was saying, you know, eventually

she probably should rule because she's the one

person who's able to rule fairly without bias.

And the fact that this was able to have like,

you know, when, when Windblade was first invented

and. If somebody had said, oh yeah, she's going

to eventually be in charge of all Cybertron,

we would have thrown knives. You know? That's

true. After they did the fan contest and made

her and all of that, if they would have done

the same thing they did with direct work, he's

cool. Look how cool he is. You're right. Realistically,

Yeah, it made sense. In fact, now that I've,

you know, hindsight 2020 being what it is, looking

back at it and saying, you know what, they're

right. She should be the leader because she's

definitely been moving in that direction. I love

the fact that she stood up to the mistress of

flame. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Like, wow. She just said

something very. blasphemous right in her face

in such a huge way but not to be mean or defiant

like a jerk would she's just like no this is

my truth yeah you know another cool thing that

Marigrid does in the annual is the little scenes

where people are having drinks with the candidate

and talking to Windblade about things there's

Really good little bits and my absolute favorite.

So these are single page character moments. Almost

single panel, in fact. Yeah. And my favorite

one is Brawl. And he shows up and he's got a

drink with all the fancy straws and umbrellas

in it. And he's like, I only drink straight NJECs

if the guys ask. So right away we know. That

he's someone who's pretending to be tough, but

is actually more complicated than that. And then

he talks about how when they combined with Swindle

when he was brain dead, he felt what it was like

to be dead. And he now no longer wants the war

to come back. And it's such a simple little thing.

And Windblade just kind of reaches across the

table to put her hand on his arm. And it's just

this beautiful little moment of showing... here's

just a random guy that we've always seen as a

bruiser and doesn't really care and is kind of

dumb. And here's, there's more to him and he's

learned. And I'm like, good job. He was the one,

he was the one Combaticon that they, that she

didn't actually do anything with. So that's kind

of interesting. I mean, you're right. I saw this.

And not only that, is that I don't want the war

to come back. Windblade puts her hand on, on

him. And then the next panel, See how he's getting

up and he's got the hand with the finger going

up, kind of like I said something that made me

vulnerable and now I'm pulling away, kind of

like I can't say anything else. Yeah. Like he's

all, I'm big now and tough. Yeah, I'm back. I'm

hiding my fancy glass. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's

just the storytelling is really good with that.

Oh, my goodness. She's made us love all the Combaticons.

That's real good. She's such a, I know that she's

a very politically aware person, and that really

does come out in her writing. All the things

that, the stories that she chooses to tell. You

can always tell that she's putting a lot of her

own thoughts in, in a positive way, not a preachy

way, like a, here, everyone, I'm telling you

what to feel. And I know I've complained that

I thought there was a little bit much of the

police brutality stuff. But, yeah, she makes

me want to vote. Gosh dang it. I also like the

fact that Rattrap is the guy that's been sneaking

around behind everybody. Oh, yeah. DC -357 dude.

Who is that? Who is that? It's Rattrap. He's

been playing underhanded the whole time. So he's

been gathering stuff on Starscream to use it

at the right moment. And even he gets conflicted

because he's seen since he came back out that

he's been doing different things. And so he's

like, I can't make this decision. That's why

he throws it on Windblade to do it. Poor Windblade.

I know. Well, she'd be the most fair, to be honest.

Yep. That's what she does. She opens up and looks,

and then she takes it to Starscream and throws

it in his face. You're insane, Starscream. Talking

with Bumblebee attached to Cavanis? Don't get

me started on your eight -legged friend and the

quiet. That was good. That was really good. She's

essentially Elizabeth Warren and he's Trump.

please don't say that i'm gonna have my ears

off now please don't say that oh come on starscream

is redeemable just say the difference is okay

okay okay then rat trap is trump somebody's got

to be no no they don't nobody has to be no no

we're not going to immortalize that guy in transformers

please oh gosh please no holy cow That trap is

Ted Cruz. Shut your mouth. I'm no longer here.

I'm plugging my ears. Quiet or I will dispatch

you myself, boy. I mean, you know, Fat Tanker

could be Chris Christie. Okay, cut it. The Everlasting

Frag out. That's funny. There's not really any

more. That's about it. Till all are one. You've

just heard the latest episode of The Pull Bag,

the GCRN's first comic review and discussion

podcast. There are several ways to get in touch

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until next time, make your great escape into

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