Bumblebee #4 Options

[lonegamer8]

Bumblebee #4 out Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

[Echowarrior]

Bumblebee #4 out Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

And not a bad end to the series. Can't say it was among IDW's best entries, but it wasn't a bad one.

I wonder how the end will effect the ongoing...

[Shockprowl04]

Bumblebee #4 out Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

I wonder how the end will effect the ongoing...

Probably not at all, considering their track record of late with design consistency.

[Powered Convoy]

I hope Skywarp's okay and comes back.

After all, Thundercracker was completely wrecked. Maybe Skywarp teleported out (unless he couldn't, I only skimmed it, I didn't read the whole thing).

Randy

[Echowarrior]

I hope Skywarp's okay and comes back.

After all, Thundercracker was completely wrecked. Maybe Skywarp teleported out (unless he couldn't, I only skimmed it, I didn't read the whole thing).

My understanding is that Skywarp is merely severely damaged by the control board going all explodey - odds are he's in Skywatch custody for the time being. Severely damaged, but otherwise more than capable of coming back in the future.

[Xaaron]

In a comic universe where body models are explicitly allowed to change randomly between each artist and comic, the big payoff and lasting consequence of this limited series...is a new body model for Bumblebee.

Huh.

[Echowarrior]

In a comic universe where body models are explicitly allowed to change randomly between each artist and comic, the big payoff and lasting consequence of this limited series...is a new body model for Bumblebee.

Huh.

One that appears to be modeled after Movieverse 'Bee, however. Not sure if that's a good thing, but hey, why not?

[Powered Convoy]

It does resemble the Camaro, but the actual robot bits don't look like it. I really don't like the design of the robot much either.

Randy

[Cattleprod]

Bumblebee getting a new body is a major plot point. After he got a new body for literally no reason at the start of the series. So bloody stupid.

[Zodberg]

Pretty good - I think this might have worked better as three issues. The main climax of the story built much on Bumblebee's relationship with the little girl, which was only introduced so late as #3. So the whole thing about Blurr just feels like the comic was jumping through a hoop to show how tight the continuity is with Blur being chased off at the end of one issue in the ongoing and showing up on the run in this series - although off the top of my head I can't think of a better way to structure it, and I'm fairly sure that Bumblebee (Goldbug) will work better reading it in one piece. Eagerly anticipating Prowl.

[Walky]

I liked the issue a lot. It was no Wreckers, but I thought it was a very good story about Bumblebee, with some satisfying payoffs.

[General Tekno]

Agreed - I honestly didn't think it was a bad issue.

I hate the fact though that suddenly, in a miniseries where the designs have already varied drastically from the ongoing (especially in Bumblebee and Blurr's cases), suddenly a new design is a plot point.

I don't mind Chee's STYLE at all, and I do like the style. But I hate the design inconsistencies, ESPECIALLY when we're then expected to accept a new design that's being carried over to the ongoing.

I wish we'd seen Chee's versions of Don's designs rather than G1 animation models.

[Moroboshi Ataru]

Thought I would mention that Schmidt has copped to the Blurr thing being a genuine mistake:

And to be fair, when talking about the design versus artistic license (and please feel free to continue if you like) the Blur alt mode discrepancy was, point blank, something I missed. Had I caught it, I would have changed it. So, while that does exist in print, it's not an example that accurately depicts our intentions. And I do apologize for missing it. I am only human after all.

This at least makes me feel better than thinking it was something they were cool with. I don't particularly mind the redrawing of Bumblebee in a different style (It's pretty minor), but the Blurr bit seemed going too far for something the company actually wanted. I'll gladly take an admission of mistake over a concerted direction toward open inconsistency.

He also mentioned that HIGHLIGHT to view:
as of issue 6, Don will be drawing Bumblebee with his new body.

Eh, anyway, I still say he shed his Earth form for the hovercar so he could go faster. Where's my No Prize?

This post has been edited by Moroboshi Ataru: Mar 11 2010, 06:06 PM

[Chris McFeely]

Man, I just assumed that he was going to be rebuilt into Goldbug at the end, and then I remembered IDW had made Goldbug a separate character. Which made little sense at the time, and now REALLY stands out as pointless when THAT would have added a neat touch to the end of this story. But I suppose I can't moan THAT much, as it means... well, he's still Bumblebee.

But yeah, I really quite enjoyed this mini.

This post has been edited by Chris McFeely: Mar 11 2010, 06:13 PM

[Moroboshi Ataru]

I actually prefer this, because it's less "Just like it was in G1" to have Goldbug as his own 'bot. (Meanwhile, I like Galvatron, Scourge and Cyclonus to consistently be a trio. It...bothers me when one isn't present, like in Worlds Collide, when Dirge replaced Cyclonus. So it's arbitrary with me, apparently, whether I want them to follow G1 or not.)

(And in IDW's defense, they were originally going to go a more original direction with Scourge, i.e. have him not be in the DU crew, and be the Decepticon Kup instead, but Hasbro nixed it.)

This post has been edited by Moroboshi Ataru: Mar 11 2010, 06:35 PM

[Cattleprod]

Spotlight: Metroplex came out right around the same time as Coda, which featured the prologue to the Bumblebee series. In hindsight, Goldbug was probably introduced as a separate character for no other reason then to justify why Bumblebee wouldn't take that name and look upon being upgraded.

[Moroboshi Ataru]

That's kind of a cynical way to look at it, though. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif) Or it implies more forethought toward continuity than IDW sometimes shows. Anyhow, you ask me, the more characters, the better (And this is a more believable "Two characters" thing than B'Boom and Apache being separate guys. That was just...hm.) Heck, Bumblebee and Goldbug have more different-looking bot modes than Bumblebee and Hubcap (esp. w. the Su design for Bee...though the brand-new design in this comic also makes him a distinct bot), who have long been separate characters.

Having read the issue, I like that Wheeljack and Ratchet tend to view this new upgrade of 'Bee's as a mistake, and a sign of his not staying himself, instead of being agog at how cool he looks.

This post has been edited by Moroboshi Ataru: Mar 11 2010, 07:07 PM

[Walky]

Heck, Bumblebee and Goldbug have more different-looking bot modes

But they have the same head, transformation, and altmode!

[Moroboshi Ataru]

Well, yeah, but G1 Bumblebee is rarely depicted with the toy-accurate head that he shares with Goldbug. Plus, I feel that the different transformation of the rear of the car differentiates them by virtue of Goldbug having the back end of the car magically turn into a rectangle behind his head. Also, Goldbug had a much more rectangular character model, with sharper edges (For instance in the shape of the shoulders and in the torso), Bumblebee a more rounded and basic one. I dunno...I know that Hubcap is a different guy than Bumblebee, who happens to share the same transformation, but I can't help but feel like he's Bumblebee with an orange face and a slightly different chest and head design.

Round vs. boxy:
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Image:PlagueOfInsec..._Spike_hide.jpg
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Image:Goldbugthecure.jpg

(Geez, G1 Bee needs to lay off the ro-nuts....)

Also, in the current comics, Bumblebee tends to have the hood on his chest, door wings, etc. (I consider the Bumblebee pictured in this series up till just before the end of issue 4 to be sort of an aberration, i.e. he didn't really look like that but for artist's interpretation. I mean, even Ratchet in this mini was an interpretation of Su's design, as Don's versions often tend to be, so drawing the Bee G1-style was just a little odd.). Whereas Goldbug is a teched-up version of his original character model with a Cybertronian alt mode.

Then again, I always preferred Goldbug. Apparently I was the type of kid Hasbro was looking for. Hey, Prime's dead! Aw...wow, Rodimus! Awesome!

This post has been edited by Moroboshi Ataru: Mar 12 2010, 12:36 AM

[Monocle]

I enjoyed this issue, it was a satisfacotry, and bittersweet ending to the mini series.

Bumblebee better watch out though, you never know when Ratchet may decide to rebuild him back into his old body! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-arcee.gif)

This post has been edited by Monocle: Mar 12 2010, 08:58 AM