Out Wednesday February 4, 2009.

Keep it clean and on-topic, m'kay?

_{Well, AS on-topic as possible is highly preferred.}

Not much... we are revealed the orgin of the Insecticons, and Jazz relays to Kup about what went down in the battle where Optimus was fragged. Sunstreaker apparently has PTSD after being a headmaster, and Ironhide beats the tar out of Mirage.

Thats about it.

Wow...first post.

Anyway, as for AHM #7...

They did a neat thing with the artwork for this issue. All the present-day stuff features art by Guido Guidi, but flashbacks - the creation of the Insecticons, stuff involving Sunstreaker, and the battle on Earth that got them where they are now - are done by EJ Su. The issue itself, meanwhile, seems dedicated towards helping to smooth out some of the continuity wrinkles. Jazz says that the storms are still present, that just walking around on Cybertron's surface causes them pain, but that things are improving.

HIGHLIGHT to view:
In short - sometime following the events of Revelations and Maximum Dinobots, the Decepticons have gone to ground and a stalemate is in place. The lack of facsimiles is expressly pointed out, BTW. Finally, after getting a tip from Mirage concerning a possible power struggle within the Decepticon ranks, the 'Bots on Earth (joined by Trailbreaker, Sideswipe, Hound, Cliffjumper, Mirage and Tracks) are drawn into a trap by the Decepticons on Earth (joined by Soundwave & the cassettes, the Insecticons, the Constructicons, Reflector, Deluge and Dirge). Despite a brief rallying of the troops by Prime and Ironhide, Devastator puts them off-balance and the 'Bots are totaled, with the Matrix ripped from Prime's chest. The 'Bots are told they were betrayed, and are led into a one-way space bridge back to Cybertron and the waiting Swarm. Just as he's about to be pushed through, however, Prime goes on the offensive, fights back and destroys the portal just as he goes through, thus causing his current state. No firm word on Deluge or Dirge...but I've a strong hunch they're dead.

Sunstreaker, meanwhile, has been separated from Hunter, and is understandably hesitant to talk about the issue with anyone. Hunter's hinted to have been cast off and abandoned somewhere, but nothing concrete's established. Sideswipe confronts him about both this and Ironhide's reaction to the whole thing, but it gets nowhere as 'Streaker blows him off and Ironhide trashes Mirage, convinced that he's the traitor and pretty much grinding away his Autobot emblem, all while Mirage insists that he wasn't the traitor.

I think we can safely say what Ironhide and Prime were talking about in that preview to AHM #10 now, however.

All I can say is...bring on the next issue and its revelations.

Methinks someone has been reading the TF Wiki...don't know how to explain the random Hi-and-Die Dirge appearance otherwise...

Expositionary onslaught for this issue, not all of it necessarily good. Sure, we have answers now, but at what price? Six wasted issues...

the one thing i got from this issue is that either HIGHLIGHT to view:
sideswipe or sunstreaker is the traitor, and it's more likely to be sideswipe with the preview shot at the end

oh, and i might be the only one but i was excited to see deluge. my brother had him when we were younger and i always liked the toy. my brother let me have what was left of his tfs a few years back and deluge was one of them

Glad to hear at least some effort is being made to acknowledge past continuity at long last. Kinda spoiled by Bombshells second existence causing a whole new conflict in the same issue, but at least we can tick off a couple of things from the list.

It does sound to me a bit like lip service more than anything though. Just because they're giving explanations doesn't mean it fits well with what we've had previously. I half wonder if Shane didn't just stick a few lines in after reading the Wiki page for AHM, since as Shockprowl said, the role of Dirge would support him having read it, and by the sounds of it, if you took all those lines out it wouldn't affect the plot. There's also no references to the more recently raised errors, like Zeta Prime, the Matrix, Kup not being a crazy murderer, Bombshell etc.

But I've come to accept that this reboot is to attract a different audience to one that would include me. If this is what sells more then awesome, but I loved the old IDW stuff, and this just doesn't do it for me, no matter how much they reference the old series, this just doesn't feel like the same universe to me, and I just plain don't like the direction the plot is very, VERY slowly taking.

So, I'm guessing, that someone was about to write the script to issue 7 when all the WHERE CONTINUITY??? hit? Sure seems like it!

I'm kind of surprised this hasn't come up, but... what if there IS no traitor? What if the 'cons just told the 'bots that to sow dissent in their ranks? I mean, obviously the 'cons snookered the 'bots with the whole 'power struggle' thing, but the same trick worked for the Predacons in Beast Wars.

Of course, that doesn't explain the security breakdowns. So I guess something, somewhere, was going on. But still.

Sunstreaker-as-traitor seems to make sense on a certain level...what if he's not the 'real' Sunstreaker?

You would think the Autobots would be smart enough NOT to kill Deluge and Dirge outright. They'd have valuable information about the Autobots' situation. ESPECIALLY Deluge.

It will be interesting to see how the Bombshell thing gets retconned. Oh, and Reflector. (was it established that Spotlight: Wheelie happens some time in the indefinite future? If so, I guess they get a pass there...) I mean, hey, we didn't seem too upset when Megatron returned from the dead in the Marvel run, or how the Matrix became a physical object that somehow nobody knew about, or whatever.

Meh...give me a little bit, and I'll think of something to explain the Bombshell issue.

As for Reflector - it has indeed been established that Spotlight: Wheelie takes place at some point in the future, so Reflector's presence is anything but a continuity issue.

Shane mentioned before Kup even appeared in AHM that he was looking forward to showing what he'd been doing since being in a CR chamber. And Denton, the IDW editor, confirmed very recently that Kup's recovery would be explored in a future issue.

Hmm, maybe even Spotlight: Drift? It's supposed to show Drift meeting up with the Wreckers.

I like the fact that they're more or less in constant pain just being on Cybertron, even if the storms are lessening. (We've had previous instances of TFs moving around on Cybertron without being constantly assaulted, anyway. Final battle with Thunderwing in Stormbringer, anyone? They've never been a 24/7 thing.) Regardless of whether this was originally going to be touched on (Shane says he always had it in mind), the fact really explains nicely even further why everyone's tempers are so volatile. Ouch! (Yeah, that last bit is my doing a little "reading into," but we're supposed to do that when we're thinking about comics. )

Man, Sunstreaker was not kidding about wanting to be rid of Hunter (In Max Dinos). I also liked his exchange with Sideswipe:

Sunstreaker: "Talk? That's not like you is it? Talking? You're usually running around half-cocked-'Who's the better 'Bot?' Right?"
Sideswipe: "It doesn't-it should be that way."
Sunstreaker: "No?"
Sideswipe: "Not anymore. All of that, it needs to be behind us. A lot of things do."

Considering AHM and Revelation were being released so close together, the SS/SS connection not being explored until recently can't be too heavily dumped on. Furman kinda pulled a 180 with Sideswipe's sudden "I always wanted to outdo him" attitude. Still, I like how this conversation takes it into account, and shows that Swipe has become the better man and put trying to prove himself the "bigger 'Bot" out of his mind...which is in line with how he came to terms with his rivalry with Sunstreaker and shelved it at the end of his Spotlight issue.

It was an alright issue. No Drift which was a plus. Still think the Swarm is stupid but it was really nice to finally get a little background info.

The canon duct-tape did seem kinda "after the fact" but I give Shane props for making an effort to address our concerns.

I'm not buying the book anymore, but I read it in the store. The obvious need to tie up loose ends was really apparent, and I'd almost be placated if it didn't seem so outright forced. The whole explanation of how they got to Cybertron requires both Prime and Megatron to be hugging morons. I will say that the art was beautiful and the switch between past EJ and present Guido deserves a tip of the hat.

Heck, if there was Cybertronian space bridge technology in this continuity... so much of the status quo of Furman's run now makes no goddamned sense. I think that's why Furman didn't include space bridges in his run.

The space bridge is labeled a newly developed technology created by one of the Insecticons. Hmmm...before now, I think the only guys confirmed to have space bridges were the Dead Universe, right? The orbital bounce is on a much smaller level, and who knows what was up with the portal Scorponok used in Spotlight: Ultra Magnus.

Yes. At the beginning of the issue, Wheelie sends his SOS, which was received in Spotlight: Optimus Prime. And then he spends a number of years stuck on the planet. Years and years. So Wheelie's there long past the events of AHM.

Bombshell and the Insecticons are an easy fix. Transformers: Cybertron gave us the idea of non-sentient mechanical lifeforms on Cybertron, like the Scrapmetals. Insecticons like the Bombshell seen in Spotlight: Blaster were basically animals, pets with useful features like cerebro-shells for the Decepticons to exploit. Megatron's experiments seen here were an attempt to turn the tiny, animalistic Insecticons into full-sized and sentient Decepticon warriors. One in a thousand became useful -- the others may have grown, but didn't achieve the level of thought and awareness necessary for soldiers.

And hey, for the continuity references, I'd be surprised if some people aren't upset that they revealed what happened to Sun-Hunter so soon, before Maximum Dinobots is over.

Considering Sunny has such a mad-on to find his head and be rid of Hunter in Max Dinos, I figured the outcome of his journey as a hero would be to achieve that goal. I also like that he's apparently still a jerk, having turned his back on the guy.

I understand what you guys are saying....Why have these events after Max Dinos then?? The end of that series had better make alot more sense then as I can't see the Dinobots not doing anything during this all out assault on earth....So does this mean that Megatron now knows about Shockave and Scorponok now?? Maybe Sunstreaker is losing it because he and Hunter are now seperated....Obviously Scorponok wouldn't make reversing the process that easy....

I haven't read this yet, but I hope this sunstreaker is a clone or something and the real one is with hunter.

The next issue page. I can see three possibilities from that:

(1) Sideswipe is the traitor. Sunstreaker figures it out and gets whacked. He deliberately pushed Sunstreaker this issue, knowing the dominoes that would fall as a result, making Ironhide would snap and go after Mirage.

(2) Sunstreaker is the traitor. Sideswipe's prodding leads to Sunstreaker slipping up about some detail, revealing his treachery.

(3) Someone else is the traitor. They catch Sunstreaker alone and kill him, knowing it will look like retaliation on Mirage's part after Ironhide beat the slag out of him.

Pretty interesting all the way around.

One question, though -- what were Dirge and Deluge planning to do? Yeah, feed the Autobots to the Swarm somehow, so...why didn't they? Why would two Decepticons go to Cybertron with the Autobots, outnumbered 7 to 1, if they didn't have some means of containing the Autobots on the other side? Prime did a lot of damage on the Earth-side of the Space Bridge, but that didn't seem to affect anything on the Cybertron-side, besides the Bridge collapsing. All we see is D & D standing in the midst of 14 fighting mad Autobots going, "...Whose idea was this again?"

Finally, some answers.

In terms of plot progression, this issue achieved more than the previous six combined, all the while maintaining some individual character focus. The amount of content in this issue should have been the standard for each issue of this year-long tale.

We know what happened to Prime. We know how it happened and why. We know how the Autobots ended up half dead on Cybertron. We get some explanation of why Cybertron is somewhat habitable. We understand why Ironhide is suspicious of Mirage. We know what happened to Sunhunter, but the fate of Hunter is yet to be revealed (probably in Maximum Dinobots). We know what the Swarm is, and how they came to be.

So we get some answers, which is nice, but after six issues of pussyfooting around, I find myself ....underwhelmed by those answers.

For example, the Autobots, led by the mighty Optimus Prime, fell to a textbook Sunbow-episode Decepticon surprise attack? Even if there is a traitor, how am I supposed to see that and not yawn? It's been done a million times before.

Maybe I'm being overly cynical in this regard. Maybe the seven months that have passed to get to this point have left me a bit bitter, with a higher threshold for entertainment.

It seems like Shane used this issue to appease the many complaints about how explanations were not forthcoming regarding how things didn't jive with previous continuity. That's fine. I'm happy that he did this. It's just that giving these answers scattered throughout the previous six issues, even as single lines of dialogue, would have been so much more effective in storytelling than clumping the answers together in a single issue seven months later. Questions like the fate of Sunhunter and Cybertron's atmosphere could have been answered in two or three panels of issue one.

Basically, the lack of attention to previous continuity has led to a sort of "catch up" strategy, which is forced.

One also has to wonder, seven issues in, if the title All Hail Megatron will be done justice, because thus far, I don't seen anything to hail Megs about. Guess it's coming.

Artwise, I found the back and forth between E.J. and Guido a bit jarring. The one constant positive thus far for me had been Guido's art and Hutchinson's covers. Seems like that is now in danger.

Anybody know who that crazy bot was that was building the Insecticons?

I give it a "B". Glad to see some answers, but was hoping for something a bit more epic, something a bit more "wow"-inducing. Hope Guido is back for the next issue.

Wow, 6 issues of disconnect and then, suddenly, CONTINUITY DUMP!!111!!

All the continuity explanations crammed into one issue felt really, really sloppy. Especially so when they could have been sprinkled about the previous issues with ease.

Ah well. At least Guido's art is purdy.

That works for me.

It seems like E.J. has learned a lot from Nick Roche and Guido about expressiveness in TFs. His early work reminded me very much of Katsuhiro Otomo (and I wouldn't be even a little bit surprised if that's one of his major influences), but it also had the same sense of restraint in expression...although that works for robots. But these pages almost leapt off the page when it came to the way the characters emoted.

I do agree that at least some of these things, especially the state of Cybertron's atmosphere, would have enhanced the whole experience if they'd been subtly included earlier on, but ah well. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if it really was Shane's idea to wait until the 'first issue' of the second half of the arc to reveal the background that is normally revealed in the first issue of the first half of an arc. I think he was trying to go for an "OMG how did things get like this" effect to really invest people in the series, and thereby make what would be normal exposition or background info into a 'big reveal'. I just think that he overplayed his hand in that regard. If he'd revealed even a couple minor details of how things are different, people would have had faith that there really WOULD be an explanation, and it would have seemed more like a legitimate 'reveal'. As it is, at least some people think of it as a 'patch' or a reaction to fan criticism instead of a deliberate choice.

I think the rest of the Decepticons planned to go through the Space Bridge too (at least some of them), and Optimus disabled it so they couldn't follow. Deluge and Dirge went through first to get something ready, but they weren't supposed to be the ONLY Decepticons through.

I like the development of the Bridge and even what seems like a tie-in with Spotlight: Ultra Magnus. (Scorponok's use of something akin to this might be exactly the reason why Kup and Jazz mentioned him)

I don't think the Space Bridge was necessarily one-way.

My impression is that their plan was to send all the Autobots through, then bring a bunch more 'cons through and lead them to the Swarm.

The intention never was to leave them ALIVE on Cybertron... the idea was to feed them to the Swarm. Prime scuttled that idea.

Also... does anyone else think that Mirage is dead? I certainly do, going off everybody's reactions, plus his ever-weakening responses. Would add that much more emphasis to what Ironhide did - keep in mind the Autobots ARE all weak in general.

i don't think mirage is dead. but he's definitely not in any shape to do anything other than be dragged around

To be fair, the basic framework of events in the flashbacks was laid out in previous conversations, i.e. Autobot unit was attacked, Devastator was used to gain the upper hand, Prime has the Matrix stolen by Megatron, traitor in the group is involved in setting them up, Autobot shunted back to Cybertron against their will. So this issue pretty much filled in the specifics, but the general events themselves weren't anything we hadn't heard of. I was more thinking as I read it, "So this is how it happened," as opposed to "What, where'd this come from?"

But I do agree that revealing being on Cybertron was still definitely not healthy for them would have been something nicely slipped in earlier in the series, to make their situation seem even WORSE than it already was, and create more of a sense of threat.

I find that the dialogue in this series, especially in the case of the robots, tends to be written with great care; it can be a bit opaque at times, since not all information is put across cleanly in traditional comic book style, but I find that to be an intentional device that allows me to enjoy working out the meaning of what's being communicated. I also really appreciate the pauses, repetition...devices that get across the sense of real speech, and infuse character into the lines.

Of course, as with all things, one's milage may vary there. I pretty much just post my own opinions, not expecting agreement, disagreement...just with the goal of getting my thoughts out there for...I dunno, their own sake?

If you look at the preview for issue 10...

HIGHLIGHT to view:
Sideswipe is clearly visible, but there's no sign of Sunstreaker, which might indicate either he was killed by or was the traitor.

Sunstreaker being the traitor I think would make slightly more sense, since Hot Rods in MD, and was using the Magnificence to track the Machination. Either Sunstreaker could have been a jerk, and used it as a bargaining chip to get off Earth, be rid of Hunter or something, or that's infact one of the Machinations clones. Personally I'm hoping Sunhunter is still on Earth, and this guys the clone, since we know Furman wasn't going to serperate them, and I really like Sunhunter.

They mention in this issue that the Autobots went to great trouble to separate Sunstreaker and Hunter, and then Sunstreaker turned his back on him. However, even if he and Hunter were separated, there's STILL the possibility that he could be somehow influenced, maybe even unwittingly, through having this original head, which was in the hands of the Machination for quite some time, and was tampered with, back. Some might say "Too connected to previous events for AHM," and I might cautiously grant that; it is intended to stand alone to a large degree. But considering some effort is now being made to make things link up, it would be an interesting possibility that Megs got ahold of Headmaster technology and was able to exert control, maybe even making Sunstreaker think betraying them was his own idea. (Going with the "willing traitor" fact.)

Given how Megs treats dissenters, I'm almost expecting Scorponok to get the old "tap on the shoulder" and "Just what do you think you are doing?" from Megs at the end of Max Dinos, assuming he survives encountering the Autobots.

Here's a thought...

Suppose that Sunstreaker is regretting being separated?

But... space bridges were used in Revelations!

When it comes down to it, this debacle is all Prime's fault. If he hadn't been so bloody bent on making a point to himself, he'd have listened to Omega Supreme and dumped the Monstructor team back in that dimensional prison where they belonged. But no, he had to try and help the psychotic killers and now the Decepticons have exploited the combiner technology.

Self-righteous, shortsighted idiot.

And yet, if he had put them back in that prison or killed them or whatever, he wouldn't be the Prime we know and love.

Not much of an excuse, but there you are.

Yes. The Space Bridges in use were also NOT Autobot or Decepticon technology, but in fact devices belonging to the Dead Universe crew (they DO have Jhiaxus after all, who probably spent millions of years developing the tech).

It's also possible that the Tyrest Accord covers Space Bridges - or even that they aren't used for energy concerns.

He killed Thunderwing outright.

Monstructor's technology was probably *more* of a danger in the long run.

Y'know, I've been giving some thought to who the traitor might be. Admittedly, this is probably going to be totally ignored, and probably won't be how things end up, but I want to throw it out there.

It's specifically said that the traitor was one of the Autobots present on Earth when they were defeated. That narrows it to the original eight (Prime, Prowl, Ratchet, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Jazz, Sunstreaker), plus their reinforcements (Tracks, Sideswipe, Hound, Cliffjumper, Trailbreaker, and Mirage). I doubt it's Mirage, between it rarely being the obvious suspect and the fact that he got pounded by Ironhide in this issue, and I seriously doubt it's one of the original eight (save maybe Sunstreaker).

I'm betting on it being either Trailbreaker or Cliffjumper. Trailbreaker's been suspected before, if I remember the Blaster spotlight correctly, so there's a possible out for him having been infected with a cerebro-shell at around the same time as Beachcomber and kept in reserve. Cliffjumper, meanwhile, has had the most screen time and activity of this storyline of the new six, save Sideswipe and Mirage (who'd both appeared in previous IDW stories), and given past storylines he'd be an extremely off-the-wall choice for a traitor among the 'Bot ranks.

We'll see in a month's time, I suppose, but I'll stick to my hunches.

HIGHLIGHT to view:
Cliffjumper is in the preview for issue 10, so unless the traitor is forgiven that'd rule him out, but I can't make out Trailbreaker now you mention it...

No he didn't. He shot at him a lot. Thunderwing ran out of gas.

Even if he HAD killed Thunderwing (which no doubt was his intent), there's a difference between killing someone who is about to destroy a planet and killing someone who can't fight back.

Trailbreaker actually wasn't a suspect in Spotlight: Blaster. It was Beachcomber, Mirage, Inferno and Bluestreak.

Prime wouldn't have hesitated to kill Thunderwing though, he just wasn't able.



But all Omega told him was to keep Monstructor imprisoned, not kill him.

That wasn't unreasonable.

The whole chunk told in flashback left me very cold I'm afraid. Though personally that's one technique I really hate since it leeches a lot of drama and immediacy from the story.

Ironically in comics, the one time that I think it /was/ done well was in that issue of Target: 2006


Full props to the use of Deluge though. I was feeling really suffocated by the exclusive use of '84-86 characters. It is always nice for someone else to get a chance to shine rather than the usual suspects.

i feel bad for mirage. i can tell he was just as shocked as any other autobot.

I too felt really bad for Mirage. Ironhide really gave it to him and he didn't fight back. I'm not liking Ironhide too much (due to his attitude - though justifiable).

The inclusion of Deluge & Dirge was nice, having a G2 character and the only unseen conehead show up (unless I'm forgetting some background appearance similar to Thrust's). I'm doubting the Autobots intentionally killed them (why wouldn't they just escape being a jet & a race car they could out run most of the Autobots). Unless the Swarm got to them.

Nice to see Thundercracker not liking any of what Megatron has pretty much been doing since they landed on Earth. I like Megatron and Starscream's non-reaction to his protests.

I see Sixshot isn't the only Decepticon strong enough to tear someone's arm off with their bare hands.

Randy

I suspect..... Prowl. He verified the data, he would also have high enough security clearance to have access to the command codes to the defense network.

Perhaps he saw how Optimus's and Megatron's involvement had escelated things yet again. How Prime had been making some rather illogical calls, and he just didnt belive in him anymore perhaps he thought it best time for new leadership.

Prowl attempting to overthrow Optimus Prime because its the only logical route to Autobot supremacy.

There's some "Awesome!" latent in that statement, I won't lie.

RE: Monstructor. I think Prime must have realized he was taking a big risk, considering the fact that Jetfire and the Technobots were on orders to kill the "Monstercons" before the Decepticons could get their hands on them. (Spotlight: Arcee).


Prowl's also been somewhat undercut and overshadowed since Prime arrived. Ironhide went against his wishes by summoning Prime in the first place, creating no small amount of enmity between them ("It's time...we had words!," Prime decided to summon reinforcements, which Prowl also disagreed with (And had to accede to, reluctantly, despite protesting initially), and Prime again took the helm when Prowl was unable to effectively deal with Sixshot's attack. There's also the fact that Sentinel Prime pretty much delegated everything to him unless the task involved shooting a gun.

I can see why he might be somewhat bitter, although his reasons would most likely extend beyond mere dissatisfaction.

I really like Ironhide and Sunstreaker together. Ironhide's always bent the rules a little in this 'verse if he feels it's right. He went against Prowl to summon Prime, was the first to speak out in favor of rescuing Sunstreaker (Only to be countermanded bluntly by Prime), and again went against those orders in insisting to be taken along on the rescue mission. He also rammed his way into the IDW facility, risking his own life, to rescue the kids, and doing so put the Autobots to great trouble in having to rescue his body. A lot of this was to rescue someone nobody even LIKED, too!

Really seems like a "Leave no Bot/person" behind kind of guy, which is why I can see the idea of someone violating those bonds of loyalty would anger him so. Poor Mirage, I was actually wincing a little at those punches!

[quote name='Ataru' date='Feb 6 2009, 07:24 PM' post='1126722']
RE: Monstructor. I think Prime must have realized he was taking a big risk, considering the fact that Jetfire and the Technobots were on orders to kill the "Monstercons" before the Decepticons could get their hands on them. (Spotlight: Arcee).[quote]

I don't recall this order at all.

I'm referencing the Spotlight Volume 3 trade, pg. 44, but it takes place during the firefight between the Combaticons and Technobots/Clones:

Fastlane: "Yes. Optimus Prime was clear-the subjects cannot fall into enemy hands, even if it means termination!"
Scattershot: "Preparing to cross-connect now. The feedback will fry their neural pathways. I just wish...there was another...WHT!" (Gets shot)

"Their" refers to the Monster Pretenders. Scattershot is just about to connect a cord to fry their neural pathways when he gets shot.

I love AHM.

It was a little unsettling seeing Ironhide open a can of whoop-ass on Mirage like that, but I guess that emphasises how desperate and bleak the situation is for these stranded Autobots.

It's kinda like in the comic series "The Walking Dead" when

HIGHLIGHT to view:
The survivors find that prison and have a relative amount of protection from the zombies, and it's only as a result of tensions within the group caused by the horrors surrounding them that they start to turn on each other.

I really liked the interaction between Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, and was pleased to see the ties to past continuity that I always suspected would be included within the series.

Really looking forward to the next issue.

(Also, my money's on Sunstreaker)

Ugh. This issue was just awful.

Every single explanation we got was just such a waste. "They stopped using fascimiles because they decided to defeat us directly". Hello! Facsimiles were never used for the Autobot/Decepticon war, they were used as a way to get a planet's population to destroy itself so the Decepticons could easily (and energy-efficiently) swoop in and raze the planet's ressources.
The Insecticons' creation doesn't make a lick of sense, considering both Bombshell and Kickback being around long before then, Bombshell being in Spotlight Blaster and Kickback showing up in Megatron Origin #4.
Bombshell's introduction was absolutely cringe-worthy.

The whole traitor plot is incredibly poorly handled, with only Mirage as a suspect/punching bag, which makes it obvious it's not even him. Shane doesn't even bother dropping hints that it COULD be someone else, which'll just make the traitor revelation feel like a waste. "You thought it was Mirage? SURPRISE IT'S IRONHIDE!". Feh.

I also love how the big dramatic NEWKULAR cliffhanger from last issue isn't even touched upon. Shane really needs to learn how to pace his plot better.

And again, the whole Matrix deal is just weak. Megatron had plenty of opportunities in Megatron Origin and Escalation to snag that Matrix, but he didn't. All of a sudden, he does. Complete with OMGCARTOON "Darkest Hour" mention.

The throwaway lines about Cybertron's status are just weak, and we're somehow supposed to accept that in spite of it causing them pain they've all been acting pretty hunky-dory about it.

And Prime's plan... to destroy his only way off Cybertron... and nearly kill himself in the process... is incredibly stupid.

And last, the Space Bridge was somehow created from scratch by a trio of newly-created Decepticons, in record speeds, in spite of the fact that the best scientists on either side of the war couldn't do it even with Nemesis Prime's space bridge technology in their hands...