Ugh. Another Midnight:30 Report

Oh well. I just finished reading the first 6 chapters of Transformers: Hardwired. It’s damn cool, even if it is just my fandom talking. It’s set in the same world as the Dreamwave comics, where the Transformers, after they’re pre-movie exploits back in the 80’s, were finally able to get the Decepticons under control, and rocket home to Cybertron, only to have their shuttle explode shortly after lift off, then get reanimated in present day, and continue their vicious war as though it never stopped. A few differences are there, though. The Transformers are all much deeper characters than the children’s cartoon from my childhood. In effect, this is basically an in depth analysis of what the 80’s TV cartoons usually had us take for granted. There were two teams, a good side and a bad side, and they’re fighting. That’s it. They fight over and over, week after week, and nothing changes. No one dies, nothing really unchangeable happens from episode to episode. Of course, that’s not how life works. In a real war, there is morale to consider, there are motives to consider, there casualties to consider. No one ever died on the Transformers cartoon (except for the Movie, but even then, Optimus Prime was brought back later on in the series.) This new series takes a much more adult look at the situation. It’s to be expected, I suppose, seeing as how the people who used to watch the show back in the day are now grown up, that the Transformers should, too. Many times, Optimus has doubted his abilities as leader. “Could I have prevented this death here? Or those deaths there? Which is more important: the lives of my friends and comrades, or those of the innocents who didn’t ask for two armies of robots to use their home planet as a battlefield?” I know, it’s almost cliché to read, but still, its kind of fun to imagine a Giant Fighting Robot (™) thinking about such things.

So, the story I’m reading: After the initial battle that took place in L.A. (in the first comic volume), the entire west coast lies in ruins, and many people are blaming the Autobots for the mess. And yes, partially it is their fault, but still… Anyway, Prime, Jazz, and Bluestreak head off to Tokyo for a goodwill PA kind of meeting, to let everyone know they’re cool, really. Of course, Megatron shows up. Just Megatron, however, and no one knows how he managed to sneak into the country, or where he’d been hiding before then. After what could have been the final battle where Prime almost kills Megs (no, he needs to capture the evil giant for interrogation), all four of the Transformers, as well as over 200 human ‘hostages’ are captured, and sent to some place where the robots can relive their original design purpose: Gladiatorial Combat. Meanwhile, Spike is being used to infiltrate some mysterious group known as the Followers, Prowl and Bumblebee are being used to fan the media flames of anti-Autobot sentiments (Bumblebee apparently sucks at interviews. Go figure), and to top it all off, Starscream, after assuming command in Megatron’s absence, is headed for Vegas. Who knew they fighter jets gamble in Nevada? Oh, and I love his quote, so I shall leave you with it:

“Who needs to rule the world when you can be a god in a city that’s a world onto itself?”