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Comment on Devil's Bargain

Satoru on Chapter 2 Sat 23 Aug 2025 08:45PM UTC

Megatron's experiences throughout a difficult life have hardened him a lot, but they haven't changed who he is at spark. Ironically, that's one of the things he has in common with Prime (who will appear in this series as well).
It got me thinking that, while Megatron might have a realist shell and a softer, more idealistic inside, with Prime it might be the other way round: he's soft on the outside and keeps his more realistic side hidden... Unless this realistic side simply amounts to listening to three tiny voices of reason - who are named Prowl, Jazz, and Ironhide :P
Like Megatron, Starscream is extremely tenacious when it comes to what he wants (he stayed silent for a long time, and only started talking when Megatron offered to provide him with a safe place in Darkmount). So if/when he wants Megatron, he won't let anything stop him here either.
Mmm, I want it, now!... Oh, well...
I guess I find this scenario especially appealing because, one, I like stronger and more powerful characters getting pursued by someone "lesser", like a servant or a subordinate. It puts them in an unusual situation and they need to come to terms with their feelings while they're no longer the ones in control and doing the pursuing themselves.
Two, Megatron making the first move might be questionable due to the power imbalance. Of course, there's probably the least power imbalance between him and his Second-in-Command, but it still may imply that Starscream has no choice in the matter. Megatron thinking that his subordinate is hot is one thing, but a decent person wouldn't act on it, at least not uninvited. With his usual dynamic with Starscream, this could boil down to:
Megatron: Starscream, sleep with me!
Starscream: What the Pit? I hate his guts!... Wait a klik - this will give me a perfect opportunity to strike!, possibly evolving with time into Okay, maybe I don't hate him this much... Of course, this is a valid fanfic scenario, but not exactly the one working here ;)

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1. QoS on Chapter 2 Sun 24 Aug 2025 01:41AM UTC
  
  It got me thinking that, while Megatron might have a realist shell and a softer, more idealistic inside, with Prime it might be the other way round: he's soft on the outside and keeps his more realistic side hidden... Unless this realistic side simply amounts to listening to three tiny voices of reason - who are named Prowl, Jazz, and Ironhide :P
  Sometimes it's difficult to think of which Prime I should draw on for inspiration, because the ones I know best are G1 Prime and TFO Prime, who are so different (and then there are all the other Primes from other continuities, but that way lies potential madness). Perhaps it's a good thing that he doesn't play a major role in this series. He and Megatron don't even physically clash, because the war is still in the future.
  Still, I hope I wrote him as fairly as possible - and yes, he is a realist here. Idealistic too, absolutely, but he's not going to weep over a lost friendship with Megatron or pull any punches when trying to take away the Decepticons' political support.
  I guess I find this scenario especially appealing because, one, I like stronger and more powerful characters getting pursued by someone "lesser", like a servant or a subordinate. It puts them in an unusual situation and they need to come to terms with their feelings while they're no longer the ones in control and doing the pursuing themselves.
  Two, Megatron making the first move might be questionable due to the power imbalance.
  Oh, all of this! Megatron suspects that Starscream's horrible experiences in Altihex include coerced interfacing, so he's absolutely not going to compound the trauma by forcing himself on Starscream, but at the same time, he's... well, he's Megatron. He's not going to treat Starscream like he was made of spun sugar. And Starscream, for his part, is assertive about what he needs and what he's comfortable with. He does have some triggers when it comes to interfacing, because of what he's gone through, but he also has no problems when it comes to making the first move. This is definitely not going to be a fic where the powerful master is a sexpert while the slave is an innocent virgin. And thankfully I picked non-sticky interfacing, because sticky would have led to one of them being more dominant in the berth than the other, and I didn't want that to be the case.
  I also think that when it comes to these two, the balance of power is a precarious see-saw. Megatron : superior, as Soundwave would say, but Starscream has a few cards of his own to play - one is his knowledge of Seekers which Megatron needs, and the others will come into play later.
  Starscream: What the Pit? I hate his guts!... Wait a klik - this will give me a perfect opportunity to strike!, possibly evolving with time into Okay, maybe I don't hate him this much... Of course, this is a valid fanfic scenario, but not exactly the one working here
  Yeah, I've seen this one a lot of times before. It can be pretty good, but I want Starscream to have a different purpose in life from the usual "backstab Megatron, ???, profit" and yet his current agenda is going to cause Megatron just as many problems. Poor Megatron, he doesn't know what he's getting into...
  
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2. 1. Satoru on Chapter 2 Sun 24 Aug 2025 04:00PM UTC
    
    Sometimes it's difficult to think of which Prime I should draw on for inspiration, because the ones I know best are G1 Prime and TFO Prime, who are so different (and then there are all the other Primes from other continuities, but that way lies potential madness). Perhaps it's a good thing that he doesn't play a major role in this series. He and Megatron don't even physically clash, because the war is still in the future.
    I think that with OP, just like with Starscream, you can take various paths depending on the story, and each of them will work. The only consistent thing about Prime I can think of is the universe presenting him as always right (even when he very obviously isn't right), unless he himself admits he was wrong. Here, he might have some benefit of the daubt due to being relatively new and young leader, and his idealism may be more prominent than after millions of years of civil war. And we're not even touching this little thing about the Matrix which, maybe, talks to him - in the same way as in this saying: "When I talk to god, it's a prayer. When god talks to me, it's..." :P
    This is definitely not going to be a fic where the powerful master is a sexpert while the slave is an innocent virgin. And thankfully I picked non-sticky interfacing, because sticky would have led to one of them being more dominant in the berth than the other, and I didn't want that to be the case.
    You already have me signed up for all this but, um... Can I get myself signed up again?...
    ...What do they mean that I already left kudos here?!
    I also think that when it comes to these two, the balance of power is a precarious see-saw. Megatron : superior, as Soundwave would say, but Starscream has a few cards of his own to play - one is his knowledge of Seekers which Megatron needs, and the others will come into play later.
    And mysteries, the mysteries... Megatron keeps asking Starscream questions, but I can easily see him neglecting to ask about something crucial here and there, and hence Starscream's secrets are going to spring right into his face in the least opportune moment! Such is life with Starscream, he'll have to get used to it.
    Yeah, I've seen this one a lot of times before. It can be pretty good, but I want Starscream to have a different purpose in life from the usual "backstab Megatron, ???, profit" and yet his current agenda is going to cause Megatron just as many problems. Poor Megatron, he doesn't know what he's getting into...
    Yes, there's time and place for everything; and some variety would be nice as well. Now, here's hoping Starscream will make it all worth it for Megatron. He'll need to bring a lot to the table, but I believe he'll manage ;)
    
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  2. 1. QoS on Chapter 2 Sun 24 Aug 2025 04:42PM UTC
      
      I think that with OP, just like with Starscream, you can take various paths depending on the story, and each of them will work. The only consistent thing about Prime I can think of is the universe presenting him as always right (even when he very obviously isn't right), unless he himself admits he was wrong.
      About Autobot leadership, one thing I'm not keen on (just one thing?) is the fact that there doesn't seem to be any way for the Autobots to replace a Prime who makes consistently wrong decisions. I think most writers just take it for granted that anyone who carries the Matrix, or maybe anyone who's a Prime, is nearly always right, but come on. It's just difficult to buy that this faction is all about freedom and equality, but subscribes to what's basically a monarchy where the king rules until his death. Of course, Megatron also plans to lead the Decepticons until he's chilling out in the Crypt, but we're not expected to see the Decepticons as inherently good.
      You already have me signed up for all this but, um... Can I get myself signed up again?...
      I can't wait for the sex/romance to start so I can see your reaction to it. Especially since there was no romance at all with the Darkmount fics. But no worries, these will make up for that!
      And mysteries, the mysteries... Megatron keeps asking Starscream questions, but I can easily see him neglecting to ask about something crucial here and there
      Yes, without giving away spoilers, I can say that Megatron's problem here is that he doesn't know what he doesn't know. He's intelligent, but he can't guess at something if he has no idea it even exists. I once read a line in a fanfic which said, "a number of things began to fall into place in his mind – little pieces to a puzzle which he had ignored, because he hadn't known there was a puzzle to solve at all". That's similar to what's going to happen here (eventually).
      Yes, there's time and place for everything; and some variety would be nice as well. Now, here's hoping Starscream will make it all worth it for Megatron.
      Oh, he will. Right now Starscream no longer considers Megatron his enemy (improvement, right?) but he now thinks of Megatron as an obstacle in his way, and since he can't move said obstacle, he'll just have to find an alternate route around it. Once he finally starts seeing himself and Megatron on the same side, it'll be different. They'll go through hell to achieve their happy ending, but they will achieve it.
      
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    2. 1. Satoru on Chapter 2 Mon 25 Aug 2025 08:39PM UTC
        
        About Autobot leadership, one thing I'm not keen on (just one thing?) is the fact that there doesn't seem to be any way for the Autobots to replace a Prime who makes consistently wrong decisions. I think most writers just take it for granted that anyone who carries the Matrix, or maybe anyone who's a Prime, is nearly always right, but come on. It's just difficult to buy that this faction is all about freedom and equality, but subscribes to what's basically a monarchy where the king rules until his death. Of course, Megatron also plans to lead the Decepticons until he's chilling out in the Crypt, but we're not expected to see the Decepticons as inherently good.
        Yeah... And Megatron may see the Decepticon faction simply as his life's work to achieve certain goals - of course he's going to keep operating it until he's cold and grey. In the meantime, OP is playing the role of a servant ordained by whatever force to do good. You might expect someone like this getting elected, or at least carefully chosen (as opposed to falling to the right hole or deactivating right next to a wise elder itching to build a Prime); it should also be possible to change him whenever someone even better and more fitting emerges. But, no. He's basically like family - you have to endure him and don't get to choose him :P
        Now, there was an instance of a bad Autobot leader in the Marvelverse when OP was assumed KIA (together with the Matrix) and Grimlock took over. But our big guy with a speech impediment was obsessed with power and even commissioned an electric harness to torture the dissidents. But then OP returned and everything was good again: Grimlock decided that leading an entire faction was too much work and gladly stepped down. In the 2005IDW, several Primes preceding Optimus were deemed evil and usually assassinated (Megatron personally killed two, but then OP made it "the third's time a charm" for him). But, OF COURSE, after falling into that not-so-random hole Orion-Optimus found out the corrupted Primes weren't actual Matrix-bearers because the real Matrix has been hiding in this glorious hole this entire time, like Sadako on a VHS tape (or, more fittingly, in her well) waiting for someone to come over and nudge her into doing her thing. Basically, he's just an anointed chosen one. Source: this weird thingy in my chest, trust it bro!
        He's intelligent, but he can't guess at something if he has no idea it even exists. I once read a line in a fanfic which said, "a number of things began to fall into place in his mind – little pieces to a puzzle which he had ignored, because he hadn't known there was a puzzle to solve at all". That's similar to what's going to happen here (eventually).
        So he's going to have his own "Oh. Oh." moment - even powerful warlords aren't immune to mind games. Time to exert your brain muscles, Megs! (Metaphorically, of course)
        Right now Starscream no longer considers Megatron his enemy (improvement, right?) but he now thinks of Megatron as an obstacle in his way, and since he can't move said obstacle, he'll just have to find an alternate route around it. Once he finally starts seeing himself and Megatron on the same side, it'll be different. They'll go through hell to achieve their happy ending, but they will achieve it.
        *sigh* This really brings joy to my dark heart! I want to see our two fledgling villains finding love and happiness, y'know, like any normal person does ;) Peace through tyranny would be nice, but for now I want to see the fight for love!
        
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      2. QoS on Chapter 2 Tue 26 Aug 2025 09:54PM UTC
        
        it should also be possible to change him whenever someone even better and more fitting emerges.
        This is a really good point that I have never seen raised before. Of course everyone who we currently see in the Autobot faction is less suited to leadership in some way than OP; even if their mentalities/personalities don't conflict with the ideal in some way, they're clearly better suited to some role other than the top one. But who's to say it'll always be like this? What if there's someone who embodies all the Autobot values and who's also a natural leader? Do they have to accept that the highest they can rise in the faction is the #2 position until Prime dies? (G1 Starscream sympathizes)
        Now, there was an instance of a bad Autobot leader in the Marvelverse when OP was assumed KIA (together with the Matrix) and Grimlock took over.
        I don't usually go for crackfics, but this sounds like a great one. It's almost like OP did that on purpose, to show the 'bots how good they've got it with him.
        But our big guy with a speech impediment was obsessed with power and even commissioned an electric harness to torture the dissidents.
        This is awesome! It reminds me of the Discworld story where Colon becomes the acting captain of the Watch but the power goes to his head and he becomes an annoying micromanager, to the point where the rest of the Watchmen go on strike and march outside shouting, "Colon must go!" until someone tells them it sounds like they're demanding major surgery.
        But where was I? Oh yeah, Grimlock showing the 'bots that all this time, they've been dealing with the good cop. Now their luck has run out. I know torture should be taken seriously, but honestly, this storyline sounds hilarious. I can see the rest of the Dinobots being his reluctant or bemused enforcers, with the exception of Slag, who starts plotting for the top spot himself. (G1 Starscream approves)
        But then OP returned and everything was good again: Grimlock decided that leading an entire faction was too much work and gladly stepped down.
        Oh.
        Well, that was kind of an anticlimax. With the usual "status quo is God" ending. It's entirely in character, IMO, for Grimlock to not want the responsibility of leading the faction, but I was kind of hoping for more shenanigans. Like, OP reclaims his office and stares in bewilderment at the shock collars and thumbscrews now adorning the walls. "Did Grimlock turn the place into some sort of BDSM dungeon while I was gone?"
        In the 2005IDW, several Primes preceding Optimus were deemed evil and usually assassinated (Megatron personally killed two, but then OP made it "the third's time a charm" for him). But, OF COURSE, after falling into that not-so-random hole Orion-Optimus found out the corrupted Primes weren't actual Matrix-bearers because the real Matrix has been hiding in this glorious hole this entire time
        The Autobots really need to have some procedure in place for dealing with corrupted Primes other than whacking them with the Megatron-stick. And what's there to stop a corrupted Prime from being a Matrix-bearer regardless? Does the Matrix prevent a Prime from going this far? If so, that sounds like a serious check on free will.
        So he's going to have his own "Oh. Oh." moment - even powerful warlords aren't immune to mind games.
        It doesn't help that he thinks of Starscream as defenseless. Though to be fair, Starscream is not exactly in a position of power at this point, and Megatron isn't fool enough to give him complete repairs and the freedom of the city or anything of the sort. But Starscream still has a few cards to play...
        *sigh* This really brings joy to my dark heart! I want to see our two fledgling villains finding love and happiness, y'know, like any normal person does ;)
        I can't wait to get back to writing this. I'm going to be working the upcoming long weekend, but I hope things will be quiet enough to let me finish the final scene!
        
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        Satoru on Chapter 2 Fri 29 Aug 2025 05:34AM UTC
        
        What if there's someone who embodies all the Autobot values and who's also a natural leader? Do they have to accept that the highest they can rise in the faction is the #2 position until Prime dies? (G1 Starscream sympathizes)
        And even this isn't a guarantee because, as we remember from the Movie, everybody saw Ultra Magnus as a worthy successor, but the Matrix still rejected him. I also got an impression that the 'Bots are as unambitious and non-threatening towards their leader as possible, bordering on learnt helplessness. In Marvel, Grimlock became an unlikely leader solely because he was the only one who stepped in while others were just running around like headless chickens lamenting what they would do now. In the 2005IDW, after OP surrounded himself to the humans because their hostility made him feel bad (and he wanted some vacation too, I guess... Ladies and gentlemen - our hero!), the remaining 'Bots forced Bumblebee to become their leader, because he was the easiest to bully into this role. And he was quite good at it, even though he hated it, but, of course, the darned Matrix-bearer was eventually back. Some Autobots can see themselves as commanders, but faction leaders - not so much.
        I don't usually go for crackfics, but this sounds like a great one. It's almost like OP did that on purpose, to show the 'bots how good they've got it with him.
        He... Did it on purpose, in a way. IIRC, it was after OP killed himself over a computer game. He couldn't stand the fact that, when duelling the 'Cons in a sorta immersive virtual reality, he accidentally killed some innocent pixelated NPCs (even though he has no problems killing the 'Cons and their neutral Cybertronian slaves, and there was also this one time - which I don't personally remember though - when he was angry with the Aerialbots and got them lobotomized). His personality survived in the game though, but it took the developer a bit to convince him he wasn't just a game character. Not bad for a comic from 1980s, I'd say. But aside from that, as I said, the 'Bots are always comfortable to have OP in charge and nearly never question him, so he didn't even need to show them how good they have it with him. Whether it's really that good is a question for another day, of course, but I'm pretty sure the G1 Optimus wasn't created to be a fallible leader. So, yeah, if you have a problem with blindly following authority figures, you're gonna have problems with him :P
        Well, that was kind of an anticlimax. With the usual "status quo is God" ending. It's entirely in character, IMO, for Grimlock to not want the responsibility of leading the faction, but I was kind of hoping for more shenanigans. Like, OP reclaims his office and stares in bewilderment at the shock collars and thumbscrews now adorning the walls. "Did Grimlock turn the place into some sort of BDSM dungeon while I was gone?"
        Yeah, it definitely wasn't on the table. The electric harness was only in development when the 'Bot it was for just booked it (while the rest were fearfully watching what their new leader was doing), found another group of the Autobots and tried to convince them to rebel against Grimlock, but they refused. The only thing I had a problem with was that Grimlock wasn't in any way punished or even reprimanded for his bad behaviour, which shows that one, he can do what he wants if he only have the audacity (and Marvel!Grimlock isn't a nice guy by any means), and two, the remaining 'Bots are going to take it without fighting back. Not very out of place in the '80s Marvel comic, but definitely wouldn't fly in the cartoon.
        The Autobots really need to have some procedure in place for dealing with corrupted Primes other than whacking them with the Megatron-stick. And what's there to stop a corrupted Prime from being a Matrix-bearer regardless? Does the Matrix prevent a Prime from going this far? If so, that sounds like a serious check on free will.
        I wonder if Orion Pax (who, allegedly, was a perfect candidate... Or was he?) was the only ever mech to fall into that hole, so the Matrix kinda took the first guy to come by, or there were corpses of the ones it rejected stashed somewhere out of Orion's view - and I can't decide which possibility is worse :P
        It doesn't help that he thinks of Starscream as defenseless. Though to be fair, Starscream is not exactly in a position of power at this point, and Megatron isn't fool enough to give him complete repairs and the freedom of the city or anything of the sort.
        Oh, good on him! He knows that Starscream maybe shouldn't attack him physically, but he still can't be trusted. After he pulled that "the call coming from inside the house" stint, Megatron is going to think thrice before granting him access to anything more complicated than an energon cube... I can't wait to see what those two will come up with next! :)
        
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        QoS on Chapter 2 Fri 29 Aug 2025 02:59PM UTC
        
        And even this isn't a guarantee because, as we remember from the Movie, everybody saw Ultra Magnus as a worthy successor, but the Matrix still rejected him.
        I wonder what was the reason the Matrix rejected him. Yes, the writers wanted the twist of Hot Rod turning out to be the Chosen One and redeeming himself for his boneheaded behavior that got the previous Prime offed (G1 Starscream is green with envy at this point). But what was the in-story reason for Ultra Magnus not being good enough?
        I also got an impression that the 'Bots are as unambitious and non-threatening towards their leader as possible, bordering on learnt helplessness.
        Absolutely. It's like ambition is defined as a Decepticon trait, therefore all the 'bots have to be perfectly content with the status quo, and no one can ever aspire to the top spot. Only the Matrix gets to decide that.
        In the 2005IDW, after OP surrounded himself to the humans because their hostility made him feel bad (and he wanted some vacation too, I guess... Ladies and gentlemen - our hero!), the remaining 'Bots forced Bumblebee to become their leader, because he was the easiest to bully into this role.
        They forced Bumblebee to be the leader? In this universe, did Prowl, Jazz, Ironhide, Silverbolt, etc. not exist? I can think of half a dozen 'bots more suited to leadership than Bee. It sounds like he stepped up to the plate and did his best, but the means of choosing him sounds ridiculous. Again, it's the idea that goodness = not wanting a higher position, so you have to be pressured into it by your teammates or chosen by God. Unless you're a Decepticon, in which case you have autonomy (which is pretty ironic given the faction names).
        He... Did it on purpose, in a way. IIRC, it was after OP killed himself over a computer game.
        Oh man, I remember reading about this long ago, but it was so unbelievable that I forgot about it. It reminds me of a fanfic which got mentioned on tf_afts where, on 9/11, Optimus sees a plane crash into a building and is so horrified that, you guessed it, he kills himself. I have never come across a hero so hellbent on killing himself in one way or another.
        there was also this one time - which I don't personally remember though - when he was angry with the Aerialbots and got them lobotomized).
        Would that be the Mirrorverse fic "Cat's Cradle", where the newly-built Aerialbots question the Autobot way and end up brainwashed?
        I'm pretty sure the G1 Optimus wasn't created to be a fallible leader. So, yeah, if you have a problem with blindly following authority figures, you're gonna have problems with him
        Yeah, no kidding. IMO, if you can't question the decisions of an authority figure, especially when those decisions don't appear to make sense, it's a dictatorship and I'm not about to support that. Transformers as a franchise tries to compensate for this by OP being treated as perfect, but then it gets frustrating to see him make wrong decisions (like in the fic where he adopts a child without even consulting his partner Ironhide) and never be called out on those.
        The only thing I had a problem with was that Grimlock wasn't in any way punished or even reprimanded for his bad behaviour, which shows that one, he can do what he wants if he only have the audacity (and Marvel!Grimlock isn't a nice guy by any means), and two, the remaining 'Bots are going to take it without fighting back.
        That just sounds like it fits in with the general Autobot mentality where the leader's decisions are good and beyond question. Grimlock might not have had the Matrix, but he was benefiting from the usual compliance towards whoever's giving the orders. That was one reason I liked the Aerialbots. They were the only ones who didn't automatically follow Optimus even when his decisions didn't make sense to them.
        I wonder if Orion Pax (who, allegedly, was a perfect candidate... Or was he?) was the only ever mech to fall into that hole, so the Matrix kinda took the first guy to come by, or there were corpses of the ones it rejected stashed somewhere out of Orion's view
        Eesh. What a terrible image. :)
        Oh, good on him! He knows that Starscream maybe shouldn't attack him physically, but he still can't be trusted. After he pulled that "the call coming from inside the house" stint, Megatron is going to think thrice before granting him access to anything more complicated than an energon cube.
        Megatron's problem is that Starscream is smart and competent and determined, all qualities that Megatron likes and wants to harness for the Decepticon cause. Unfortunately Starscream isn't a Decepticon and doesn't feel any loyalty towards Megatron. So yes, he can't be trusted. Let's hope that Megatron always remembers this. ;)
        
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        Satoru on Chapter 2 Mon 01 Sep 2025 05:55AM UTC
        
        They forced Bumblebee to be the leader? In this universe, did Prowl, Jazz, Ironhide, Silverbolt, etc. not exist? I can think of half a dozen 'bots more suited to leadership than Bee. It sounds like he stepped up to the plate and did his best, but the means of choosing him sounds ridiculous.
        It's worth mentioning that this was the era of the worst 2005IDW writer - the same one who killed off Scrapper (after Hasbro forbade him to kill Bumblebee) and who claimed that they're all robots, robots don't have feelings and form relationships, how else was he going to create drama if not killing someone? The leader Bumblebee is just a blip on a radar compared to his other sins, much less aggravating than turning Spike Witwicky into a bloodthirsty troglodite and bad pacing; among other things. The 'Bots were only a small core crew stranded on Earth, Silverbolt was probably somewhere else (if he'd been introduced at all; I only remember the Aerials appearing closer to the end), Ironhide was on Cybertron presumed dead, Jazz was probably too smart to try leading this disaster of a group, and Prowl, presumably, felt the same. And Bee was a better leader than OP, because he didn't assume he was always right - to such an extent that when OP finally returned, they told him to GTFO :P
        Oh man, I remember reading about this long ago, but it was so unbelievable that I forgot about it. It reminds me of a fanfic which got mentioned on tf_afts where, on 9/11, Optimus sees a plane crash into a building and is so horrified that, you guessed it, he kills himself. I have never come across a hero so hellbent on killing himself in one way or another.
        Something tells me that taking a stance and making a statement is more important to him than, y'know, leading.
        IMO, if you can't question the decisions of an authority figure, especially when those decisions don't appear to make sense, it's a dictatorship and I'm not about to support that. Transformers as a franchise tries to compensate for this by OP being treated as perfect, but then it gets frustrating to see him make wrong decisions (like in the fic where he adopts a child without even consulting his partner Ironhide) and never be called out on those.
        I guess this is why your age when you get into Transformers makes a difference. If you're a little tot, you may see OP as a dad figure, but when you're older, you can think: "I don't trust this guy. The other side at least isn't pretending to be right all the time!"
        (Not to mention, the 'Cons are simply more interesting and have cooler alt-modes :P )
        That just sounds like it fits in with the general Autobot mentality where the leader's decisions are good and beyond question. Grimlock might not have had the Matrix, but he was benefiting from the usual compliance towards whoever's giving the orders.
        Oof... Sounds scary, but totally is a possibility!
        Unfortunately Starscream isn't a Decepticon and doesn't feel any loyalty towards Megatron. So yes, he can't be trusted. Let's hope that Megatron always remembers this. ;)
        Yeees, hopefully, he always remembers about it ;)
        
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        QoS on Chapter 2 Mon 01 Sep 2025 06:48PM UTC
        
        It's worth mentioning that this was the era of the worst 2005IDW writer - the same one who killed off Scrapper (after Hasbro forbade him to kill Bumblebee) and who claimed that they're all robots, robots don't have feelings and form relationships, how else was he going to create drama if not killing someone?
        I'm sorry, robots don't have feelings or form relationships? Isaac Asimov's "Robbie" was published in 1940! Any writer who believes X can't have emotions, whether X is robots or computers or dinosaurs or whatever, should not be writing about them. What a lack of imagination. And it's even weirder when you consider what a long tradition the Transformers franchise had by then when it came to robots who do form such emotional connections with each other.
        And Bee was a better leader than OP, because he didn't assume he was always right - to such an extent that when OP finally returned, they told him to GTFO
        That's actually amusing. I can't see the 'bots doing this in practice, but it gives me a fun, crackfic vibe. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this story regardless, because I'm a bit tired of Bee getting so much screen time in shows and then TF:One, but it's good to hear he didn't let the power go to his head.
        I guess this is why your age when you get into Transformers makes a difference. If you're a little tot, you may see OP as a dad figure, but when you're older, you can think: "I don't trust this guy. The other side at least isn't pretending to be right all the time!"
        I think another reason I preferred the 'cons after watching G1 was that Megatron seemed so much more proactive than OP. Megatron was always coming up with new schemes and ideas, even if some of them were completely crackpot, whereas the Autobots often seemed to be reacting to whatever he did rather than taking the initiative. I'm always going to prefer active characters to passive ones. (Plus, as you said, the Decepticons have cooler alt-modes, except maybe for poor Reflector)
        Have a good one!
        
        Last Edited Mon 01 Sep 2025 06:48PM UTC
        
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        Satoru on Chapter 2 Fri 05 Sep 2025 05:59AM UTC
        
        I'm sorry, robots don't have feelings or form relationships? Isaac Asimov's "Robbie" was published in 1940! Any writer who believes X can't have emotions, whether X is robots or computers or dinosaurs or whatever, should not be writing about them. What a lack of imagination. And it's even weirder when you consider what a long tradition the Transformers franchise had by then when it came to robots who do form such emotional connections with each other.
        I know, right? It's mind-boggling how Costa was even hired in the first place. His Wiki page is wonderfully sarcastic... Nothing like Pat Lee, who committed actual IRL crimes, but it's still something. I guess the IDW tried for someone new, and not a fan... It got better after him, even though I look at other authors and tend to wonder how well they knew their Transformers (including the goddamned editor).
        That's actually amusing. I can't see the 'bots doing this in practice, but it gives me a fun, crackfic vibe. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed this story regardless, because I'm a bit tired of Bee getting so much screen time in shows and then TF:One, but it's good to hear he didn't let the power go to his head.
        Yeah... Bee is freaking everywhere. Given his newest iterations, I would be worried what he would do with a little bit of power, let alone a whole-aft leadership... Fortunately, in the good ol' IDW he was presented as an innocent youngish bot who liked making friends and didn't like war, who had to learn to stand up for himself and his people... It worked even too well, turning him into a bitter and disillusioned guy, and it finally (I'm not joking) killed him. But even then he wasn't free because he returned as a ghost to haunt another Cybertronian leader - Starscream :P
        (It makes me want ot write a fic where he actually found ways to enjoy his power)
        
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        QoS on Chapter 2 Sat 06 Sep 2025 06:55PM UTC
        
        I know, right? It's mind-boggling how Costa was even hired in the first place. His Wiki page is wonderfully sarcastic...
        
        This guy is actually on record saying that Transformers don't have romantic relationships because they don't have women? I don't even know where to start with that one. Not only are female Autobots canon since G1, but has this writer never heard of gay people? And if the reasoning is that robots can't have sex because they don't have the requisite body parts, then use your imagination! A lot of animals on earth manage in inventive ways, so why couldn't alien robots do the same thing?
        
        I can kinda-sorta understand someone thinking that these are robots, therefore mating is not relevant to their (continued) existence. But I can't understand "they don't have relationships because they don't have females". Since when were alien robots so strictly heteronormative?
        
        Nothing like Pat Lee, who committed actual IRL crimes, but it's still something.
        
        Something to be googled for another day!
        
        Yeah... Bee is freaking everywhere. Given his newest iterations, I would be worried what he would do with a little bit of power, let alone a whole-aft leadership... Fortunately, in the good ol' IDW he was presented as an innocent youngish bot who liked making friends and didn't like war, who had to learn to stand up for himself and his people... It worked even too well, turning him into a bitter and disillusioned guy, and it finally (I'm not joking) killed him. But even then he wasn't free because he returned as a ghost to haunt another Cybertronian leader - Starscream
        
        Wait, I thought some writer wasn't allowed to kill Bee off, so he killed Scrapper off instead? Or am I getting this wrong? Regardless... wow, that's a gutsy move. I actually like the idea that leadership would turn this happy-go-lucky, naive character into someone bitter and disillusioned, and then he'd die (all sounds pretty grimdark). But then he returned as a ghost to haunt Starscream? Why Starscream in particular?
        
        IDW leaves me confused so often. :)
        
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        Satoru on Chapter 2 Tue 09 Sep 2025 09:10PM UTC
        
        This guy is actually on record saying that Transformers don't have romantic relationships because they don't have women? I don't even know where to start with that one. Not only are female Autobots canon since G1, but has this writer never heard of gay people?
        Yes, for real. Even if IDW in the 2000s followed the rule "don't say gay", Costa could dig deeper into the TF canon and find any kind of a relationship his heart desired, but why bother. Back then, IDW was a relatively new publishing home and they would change approach whenever the sales weren't good. It's a small miracle that 2005IDW iteration still somehow looks like one convoluted story instead of a complete mess. But hiring a writer who neither knew nor understood the lore... Well, he was there only for two years and wrote thirty-something issues, so it might be assumed that they booted him as soon as they possibly could. Other writers have their own issues (except for James Roberts. James Roberts can do no wrong!), but at least none of them was another Costa.
        Something to be googled for another day!
        No need to google! Being (in immortal words of Wayward) the greatest villain in the TF history, he introduced us to such wonders as dull surprise or pelvis thrust - which, I feel, a reader may deserve a compensation for being subjected to. Like... This comic isn't 18+!
        Wait, I thought some writer wasn't allowed to kill Bee off, so he killed Scrapper off instead? Or am I getting this wrong? Regardless... wow, that's a gutsy move. I actually like the idea that leadership would turn this happy-go-lucky, naive character into someone bitter and disillusioned, and then he'd die (all sounds pretty grimdark). But then he returned as a ghost to haunt Starscream? Why Starscream in particular?
        Yes and yes. When Costa started writing in 2009, the IDW Transformers were around for four years, and Bumblebee definitely hadn't done anything significant yet. You don't butcher your golden goose when it's still a duckling, I mean, goosling. But the "killing" happened closer to the (unexpected) end and reboot of the iteration, where the readers might have a low-key Bee fatigue. Also, it happened during a big and dramatic so-called "event" and his death was really impactful and meaningful - stupid as it sounds, it actually convinced Megatron to become an Autobot (okay, it IS stupid). And, last but not least, he didn't actually die. It was just, y'know, astrophysics and stuff. He returned to haunt Starscream for drama, of course, so other people would see 'Screamer talking to no one in particular and think he's going bonkers.
        And why Starscream? Well, after receiving one final beating from Megatron, in the hands of one of the final writers and the chief editor Mark Barber, Starscream was finally done and decided to go Neutral. Something happened (I'm really not sure because it was drawn by Livio Ramondelli and my brain refuses to retain any of his... Creations) and the Decepticons found themselves defeated and the 'Bots tried to contain them in a makeshift prison on Cybertron which, simultaneously, was flooded by the Neutrals who fled at the beginning of the war, and now were returning. Starscream tried to prop himself up as a spokesmech for both 'Cons and Neutrals and Bee, who liked neither of them and didn't like him, tazed him with a taser hidden in his cane and had him arrested for a night on one occasion. But things changed when Starscream and other nosy members of the public stumbled upon an ancient teleporting titan who just then awakened and announced that 'Screamer was the Chosen One from an existing ancient prophecy and should rule Cybertron and things would happen then.
        So the 'Bots were forced by the public to let him go live in a palace and wear a crown (but not a cape). Ever since, Bee and Starscream were clashing on every occasion because Starscream seemed stubborn and contrarian just on principle. And Starscream was ruling (he's actually an ex-politician in the 2005IDW instead of a scientist) and doing quite a good job, all things considered; it wasn't his fault that every other week something tried to destroy Cybertron and he had to call others for help. He was quite hostile towards the Decepticons who became marginalised and were causing trouble; also, try dealing with such a fragile political situation without a secret prison, I dare everybody to try. We, readers, saw that our favourite Seeker was doing a good job and surely redeemed himself or whatever, right?... Wrong. It turned out Starscream was supposed to be an evil tyrant in need of redemption, only John Barber couldn't write it for shit. So Bee's "ghost" appeared later on to discuss with Starscream his newest evil-doings and his lack of ethics, and Starscream just now could realise that Bee was his only friend - so, even a bitter and jaded politician, Bee has proven true to his main feature and was making friends wherever he went :P In the end, right before the reboot, there was a mini-series where Unicron came to eat everyone (it was shit) and there, Starscream redeemed himself by sacrificing his own life out of the blue to help destroy the monster. As if anybody, anywhere, wanted it. They also killed Optimus Prime at the end and, for once, he didn't come back, but it's a really small cherry on a rancid cake. But, conversely, Bee got to live and do whatever was left in that universe to do after everything and everyone meaningful was gone. Ugh!
        
        Last Edited Tue 09 Sep 2025 09:17PM UTC
        
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        QoS on Chapter 2 Sat 13 Sep 2025 04:03PM UTC
        
        Yes, for real. Even if IDW in the 2000s followed the rule "don't say gay", Costa could dig deeper into the TF canon and find any kind of a relationship his heart desired, but why bother.
        
        And if no relationships except het ones were acceptable, then... why not give the characters het relationships? I mean, even the fan-created Mirrorverse had original female characters who were clearly there for that reason. I didn't enjoy them, but at least the writers weren't starting out from the assumption that these are robots, therefore they don't feel or have relationships.
        
        Back then, IDW was a relatively new publishing home and they would change approach whenever the sales weren't good.
        
        Wow, way to end up with a consistent canon!
        
        I can imagine what the razor-thin profit margins are for a new publisher, but still. As you said, this is an easy way to end up with storytelling that's a mess.
        
        No need to google! Being (in immortal words of Wayward) the greatest villain in the TF history, he introduced us to such wonders as dull surprise or pelvis thrust - which, I feel, a reader may deserve a compensation for being subjected to. Like... This comic isn't 18+!
        
        I'm sorry, their Megatron is magenta and lime green?
        
        I don't know what to be more appalled by, the color scheme or the crotch thrust. Why even a crotch thrust? Is this a stickyfic in disguise? More than meets the thighs?
        
        But the "killing" happened closer to the (unexpected) end and reboot of the iteration, where the readers might have a low-key Bee fatigue. Also, it happened during a big and dramatic so-called "event" and his death was really impactful and meaningful - stupid as it sounds, it actually convinced Megatron to become an Autobot (okay, it IS stupid).
        
        LOL! I can imagine one or two of the 'bots thinking, "That was all it took to convert Megatron? Win-win!"
        
        And why Starscream? Well, after receiving one final beating from Megatron, in the hands of one of the final writers and the chief editor Mark Barber, Starscream was finally done and decided to go Neutral.
        
        The only way I could see this happening is if Starscream somehow still has a great deal of power and authority as a Neutral. Because even if he gets beaten up by Megatron, that doesn't change the fact that he's still the Air Commander of the Decepticon Army and only one step away from the top spot. Becoming a Neutral would mean losing all that, unless the other Seekers defected along with him and still considered him their leader.
        
        But things changed when Starscream and other nosy members of the public stumbled upon an ancient teleporting titan who just then awakened and announced that 'Screamer was the Chosen One from an existing ancient prophecy and should rule Cybertron and things would happen then.
        
        Talk about a deus ex machina. This storyline just sounds more and more bizarre, though I'm not surprised that Starscream ended up wearing a crown.
        
        Ever since, Bee and Starscream were clashing on every occasion because Starscream seemed stubborn and contrarian just on principle. And Starscream was ruling (he's actually an ex-politician in the 2005IDW instead of a scientist) and doing quite a good job, all things considered
        
        I wouldn't mind reading a realistic story where Starscream actually had to learn to rule. Those fics where Megatron is defeated usually have Starscream stepping up to the plate now that he's no longer in the shadow of his leader's evil, but I don't recall the fics showing how he deals with the day-to-day work of leadership. It would be interesting, and certainly different, to see him developing the soft skills he needs to hold and strengthen such a position. And I'm sure there would be a lot of pitfalls and moral grey zones (like the secret prison you mentioned) in his way.
        
        Wrong. It turned out Starscream was supposed to be an evil tyrant in need of redemption, only John Barber couldn't write it for shit.
        
        Having a character realize they were very wrong and sacrifice their life for others as a way of making amends... it can be done very well. But IMO, it's been done so often that I'd like to see the character live instead, and redeem themselves that way. It's (relatively) easy to die; that way you don't have to come to terms with whatever you've done, or to accept that some of your victims are going to hate you no matter what, or to make conscious decisions every day to be a better person. That's the hard way, and I'd like to read this more often. Might be an interesting topic for another fic. :)
        
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        Satoru on Chapter 2 Tue 16 Sep 2025 09:16PM UTC
        
        And if no relationships except het ones were acceptable, then... why not give the characters het relationships? I mean, even the fan-created Mirrorverse had original female characters who were clearly there for that reason.
        I think Costa was complaining just to complain and wasn't going to actually give them any relationships (might be another thing he wasn't good at), since nobody else gets them either. Spike is shown, once, leaving a house of some random pantless woman who wasn't Carly (she doesn't appear in this iteration, probably for the best), and that's about it. I don't see someone happy to kill off established characters being eager to introduce new ones; or maybe he was contractually obliged to write only about canon Transformers and he didn't feel that Elita's female squad was canon or something. Arcee was around but she was made into a bloodthirsty psychopath (NEVER let Simon Furman write Arcee; he did it twice and both times are a disaster!) - pretty unromancible.
        I can imagine what the razor-thin profit margins are for a new publisher, but still. As you said, this is an easy way to end up with storytelling that's a mess.
        On the one hand, it was nice that they dared to experiment and gave us, for example, gay and lesbian Transformer relationships, Megatron the revolutionary, a million ideas from James Roberts (because James Roberts can do no wrong), Simon Furman gave the 'Cons an interesting modus operandi to sneakily "infest" a planet, sow dissent, and cyberform it in peace after the inhabitants are done nuking each other, that infamous romantic plot between Onslaught and Blast Off with Starscream evilly interfering, even Prowlastator had potential (in theory)... They finally gained momentum, to then bury the 2005 G1 iteration by introducing the Hasbroverse - all of a sudden, my TF comic had G.I. Joe (okay, this is practically canon), Action Man, M.A.S.K., and other Hasbro IPs, except My Little Pony and Jem and the Holograms, sadly. If they hadn't gotten themselves into this mess, they wouldn't have to (arguably, they didn't have to go that far) reboot everything into the 2019 iteration which, too, ended up disappointing. But they managed to push TF comics for nearly 20 years, longer than any other publisher so far, so maybe we shouldn't talk about them failing.
        I'm sorry, their Megatron is magenta and lime green?
        I don't know what to be more appalled by, the color scheme or the crotch thrust. Why even a crotch thrust? Is this a stickyfic in disguise? More than meets the thighs?
        Ah, Armada!Megatron... Not his weirdest design ever, but still weird. I wonder why this constant focus on his crotch, after this iteration gave him such a pretty bish face - his optics are up here, guys! The prevailing pelvis thrust doesn't seem to be something widely discussed, unlike the dull surprise - pity, I would like to know where the heck did it come from. Was it another element Pat Lee insisted on for some insurmountable reason?
        I can imagine one or two of the 'bots thinking, "That was all it took to convert Megatron? Win-win!"
        Well, it was the tipping point when Megatron tore off Bee's Autobot emblem together with the "skin" and plastered it on his own chest, and allowed himself to be seen like that in public. Actually, Shockwave used him AS space bridge, torturing and destroying him in the process. Bee found and rescued him and Megs was quite shattered and docile when Ratchet was repairing him; and then Megatron witnessed Bumblebee die, and then Prime practically peer pressured him into declaring himself an Autobot. This is why I will always claim it was just massive PTSD on Megatron's part, not the sudden change of his spark. After their concerted effort to repel Shockwave for good paid off, Megs was swiftly imprisoned, put on trial, and (surprising, I know) sentenced to death... But Megatron found a loophole and requested a spot in a certain expedition to get a chance to redeem himself. I'd argue he simply wanted to live and wasn't exactly dying to get redemption; anyway, after the expedition ended they had to return and Megatron was, possibly, finally executed - and that's all, folks!
        The only way I could see this happening is if Starscream somehow still has a great deal of power and authority as a Neutral. Because even if he gets beaten up by Megatron, that doesn't change the fact that he's still the Air Commander of the Decepticon Army and only one step away from the top spot. Becoming a Neutral would mean losing all that, unless the other Seekers defected along with him and still considered him their leader.
        What a nice lore you've got here! Pity nobody in IDW seemed to know it... In reality, there were many Decepticons more powerful than Starscream who were ready to challenge him as soon as Megatron was out of the picture. This is what earned him that beating: after Megatron got shot in the head, Decepticons abruptly left the Earth (some were left stranded there, including Skywarp and Thundercracker) and ended up on a distant asteroid. Earlier, Megatron tore the Matrix out of Prime's chest and now, fearing someone would challenge him, Starscream started wearing it on a chain around his neck. Nobody questioned him because the troops were too busy starving and even resorting to cannibalism. Unfortunately, the damned thing gave him crippling depression and he couldn't do much. Soundwave and Shockwave were busy rebuilding Megatron and simply ignored Starscream pleading with them to do something about their fuel shortages. Luckily, Hot Rod finally appeared and stole the Matrix from him (should it even count as theft?). When Megatron woke up after three years, he found his army in shambles, and in order to repair their morale he proceeded to first verbally assault Starscream to snap him out of his mental state and provoke an attack, to then beat the ever-loving shit out of him. Probably no one knew it back then, but it was the exact moment when Megatron freaking lost him.
        Of course, Starscream was a formidable enemy when the writers remembered about it, but his main power seemed to lie in his words. And thus, he saw the Neutrals as untapped resources where he could gain influence before his notoriety caught up with him. The leader of the Neutrals, Metalhawk (a truly dreadful character; I wasn't sad at all when Starscream finally killed him for, he heh, political reasons :P ) quickly came to like him, dunno, probably because Starscream was hot.
        Talk about a deus ex machina. This storyline just sounds more and more bizarre, though I'm not surprised that Starscream ended up wearing a crown.
        Oh, it gets worse - it was just time-travelling Shockwave. When Starscream thought that, finally, something good and deserved happened to him and tried to act like the Chosen One taking care of his realm, while somebody kept attacking the said realm, Shockwave approached him and told him the prophecy was a hoax and Starscream was, and always had been, nothing. Something tells me Starscream decided to sacrifice himself in the fight with Unicron because he simply felt that his life was over...
        Those fics where Megatron is defeated usually have Starscream stepping up to the plate now that he's no longer in the shadow of his leader's evil, but I don't recall the fics showing how he deals with the day-to-day work of leadership. It would be interesting, and certainly different, to see him developing the soft skills he needs to hold and strengthen such a position. And I'm sure there would be a lot of pitfalls and moral grey zones (like the secret prison you mentioned) in his way.
        Oh, I wanted to read about it! Unfortunately, it wasn not only Autobot-centred, but action-focused and our brave leaders were just running from an incident to an incident, with Starscream yapping that it surely wasn't the Decepticons! (Only in one case it wasn't the Decepticons) As often with Barber, Starscream's leadership was another wasted idea. There was more about it in Mairghread Scott's series about Windblade - unlike Barber, she knew how to focus on characters. Starscream was presented there as a total villain against a peaceful and idealistic Windblade. He had evil schemes for her to uncover, the secret prison, the (not so) secret police, evil plans to deal with the dissenting population; mainly the 'Cons who hated him... It was quite unpleasant after seeing him as mostly doing a good job in the main series. But he seemed to have a slow and implausible change of spark. At one point he risks his life to save Windblade even though letting her perish would benefit him greatly, but this awful tyrant apparently befriended that annoying bitch who kept interfering with his plans... See, it tried to be realistic, but failed.
        Having a character realize they were very wrong and sacrifice their life for others as a way of making amends... it can be done very well. But IMO, it's been done so often that I'd like to see the character live instead, and redeem themselves that way.
        The stupidest thing is... He did. Influenced by Windblade, he spontaneously went and publicly confessed all his crimes (it took quite a while), to get put in prison for his moral courage. I swear... Scott first made Starscream as evil as she could to make Windblade look better in comparison, and then she made him lame at the end. He was determined to do his time and stay out of trouble, until bad people destroyed his prison and he had to go out and try to get his footing in the newest skirmish (so Shockwave could easily approach him and tell him he wasn't the Chosen One, to add insult to injury). He really didn't have to die, it felt like a final "fuck you" directed to us readers!
        
        Last Edited Tue 16 Sep 2025 09:26PM UTC
        
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        QoS on Chapter 2 Sun 21 Sep 2025 12:59AM UTC
        
        I think Costa was complaining just to complain and wasn't going to actually give them any relationships (might be another thing he wasn't good at), since nobody else gets them either. Spike is shown, once, leaving a house of some random pantless woman who wasn't Carly (she doesn't appear in this iteration, probably for the best), and that's about it.
        
        So Spike, who IIRC was a murderous psycho in a comic, got a relationship but the canon characters didn't? Then again, maybe the woman was a professional who got compensated for the experience. I can only speculate.
        
        On the one hand, it was nice that they dared to experiment and gave us, for example, gay and lesbian Transformer relationships, Megatron the revolutionary, a million ideas from James Roberts (because James Roberts can do no wrong), Simon Furman gave the 'Cons an interesting modus operandi to sneakily "infest" a planet, sow dissent, and cyberform it in peace after the inhabitants are done nuking each other
        
        I really like that idea! I've always been fascinated by aliens who choose subtle methods of taking over, as opposed to just landing and blasting away at anything which moves (not that that can't be fun under the right circumstances, like in A Quiet Place). But when Decepticons show how they earned their faction name in a smart way, I'm hooked.
        
        Ah, Armada!Megatron... Not his weirdest design ever, but still weird.
        
        I'm not sure why the classic silver with dark grey detailing wasn't good enough. Even Megabull from Cyberworld has a better color scheme, although I'm not crazy about the amount of gold in his color scheme. I guess when it comes to Megatron, there are some colors that just don't work for me - anything bright and cheery, or anything too colorful (like the amount of purple on Beast Wars Megatron).
        
        Well, it was the tipping point when Megatron tore off Bee's Autobot emblem together with the "skin" and plastered it on his own chest, and allowed himself to be seen like that in public.
        
        Now I'm imagining Megatron making a suit out of various 'bots he's defeated. "It puts the polish on its skin or it gets the gun again!"
        
        Actually, Shockwave used him AS space bridge, torturing and destroying him in the process. Bee found and rescued him and Megs was quite shattered and docile when Ratchet was repairing him; and then Megatron witnessed Bumblebee die, and then Prime practically peer pressured him into declaring himself an Autobot. This is why I will always claim it was just massive PTSD on Megatron's part, not the sudden change of his spark.
        
        Sometimes, reading these descriptions is like getting a season's worth of soap opera plot boiled down to a few sentences. Are these storylines just more plausible in the comic, where they could unfold more gradually and maybe with more character development and plausible reasons behind events?
        
        In reality, there were many Decepticons more powerful than Starscream who were ready to challenge him as soon as Megatron was out of the picture. This is what earned him that beating: after Megatron got shot in the head, Decepticons abruptly left the Earth (some were left stranded there, including Skywarp and Thundercracker) and ended up on a distant asteroid. Earlier, Megatron tore the Matrix out of Prime's chest and now, fearing someone would challenge him, Starscream started wearing it on a chain around his neck.
        
        "My preciousss..."
        
        Nobody questioned him because the troops were too busy starving and even resorting to cannibalism. Unfortunately, the damned thing gave him crippling depression and he couldn't do much. Soundwave and Shockwave were busy rebuilding Megatron and simply ignored Starscream pleading with them to do something about their fuel shortages. Luckily, Hot Rod finally appeared and stole the Matrix from him (should it even count as theft?).
        
        Poor Starscream, he does so love his dramatic and/or bling-y accessories, and yet he keeps losing them. The Matrix ending up in the hands of their enemies has to have a serious impact on the 'cons, though. I wonder why the decepticons don't just destroy the damn thing, especially considering that they don't need it to maintain authority within their own faction. And if for whatever reason it can't be destroyed, why not hide it in some really out-of-the-way place like one of Voldemort's Horcruxes?
        
        When Megatron woke up after three years, he found his army in shambles, and in order to repair their morale he proceeded to first verbally assault Starscream to snap him out of his mental state and provoke an attack, to then beat the ever-loving shit out of him.
        
        Believe it or not, this was the only part of the story that even came close to making sense for me.
        
        The leader of the Neutrals, Metalhawk (a truly dreadful character; I wasn't sad at all when Starscream finally killed him for, he heh, political reasons :P ) quickly came to like him, dunno, probably because Starscream was hot.
        
        "Metalhawk"? They're all metal. Why does his name need to specify this? Surely readers aren't going to think he's made of plastic or ceramic otherwise. It reminds me of Raksha's self-insert, which was called MetalliCat (and probably wasn't much better written).
        
        Oh, it gets worse - it was just time-travelling Shockwave. When Starscream thought that, finally, something good and deserved happened to him and tried to act like the Chosen One taking care of his realm, while somebody kept attacking the said realm, Shockwave approached him and told him the prophecy was a hoax and Starscream was, and always had been, nothing. Something tells me Starscream decided to sacrifice himself in the fight with Unicron because he simply felt that his life was over...
        
        You were right, it did get worse! Resolving a plot in this cop-out way is likely to make readers think they wasted their time and energy, if the writers are so willing to yank the rug out from under them and show that haha, it was all just a dream or a fraud or whatever. No one wants to feel that they invested in a tale full of sound of fury that signified nothing. Starscream's characterization wheeling wildly from evil to so morally redeemed that he confesses his crimes, accepts imprisonment and then sacrifices his life because he was taken in by a hoax... well, that's just more of the same. Killing off characters isn't a problem in and of itself, but killing them for no reasons other than because the writers can't think what else to do with them, or as a metaphorical finger to the readers who actually cared about the character? Well, that's how you get the last season of Game of Thrones. And I never watched that in its entirety either.
        
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        Satoru on Chapter 2 Fri 03 Oct 2025 06:46AM UTC
        
        So Spike, who IIRC was a murderous psycho in a comic, got a relationship but the canon characters didn't? Then again, maybe the woman was a professional who got compensated for the experience. I can only speculate.
        Technically, Spike counts as a canon character too. Doesn't he look just like our ol' relatable teenage character? (I swear, when I finally get my hands on this motherfragger, I'll make him grow his hair and have them in a freaking ponytail. I need to go scorched earth on this image!) He started as an army someone in "All Hail Megatron" and became a hero after sniping Megs in the head and effectively ending the Decepticon invasion on Earth. He didn't trust the Autobots, understandably so since they'd done little to stop the Decepticons. Quite a decent send-off, but when our nice author Costa took over, he tried to make Spike into some "cool" antihero type who joined an organisation hunting and containing Cybertronians. Among other things, he captured Breakdown, blockaged him, and used him as his personal car until the remaining Stunticons broke the poor mech free from the bastard.
        According to Optinus Prime, he was going to become a great leader in next to no time - this prediction turned out to be idiotically incorrect. Spike's bloodlust (energonlust?) made him into a fugitive and the most hated IDW character. After he was later pardoned, or something, John Barber kept him on the fringes of important events, and dialled his psycho factor down. And the said woman is described as an ONS at best, but here's hoping that she actually got compensated and made Spike lose her number afterwards. Out of all his unconvincing qualities, making him into a ladykiller was, mercifully, never revisited.
        I really like that idea! I've always been fascinated by aliens who choose subtle methods of taking over, as opposed to just landing and blasting away at anything which moves (not that that can't be fun under the right circumstances, like in A Quiet Place). But when Decepticons show how they earned their faction name in a smart way, I'm hooked.
        Oh, yes! Furman's "Infiltration", "Escalation", and "Devastation" (warning: doesn't contain Devastator) really had potential; but were cut short. The Decepticons had entire infiltration protocol to "colonize" other planets after, conveniently, Cybertron became uninhabitable, and the Autobots would try to sneakily stop them. The 'Bots would use so-called holoforms to have human avatars, made of hardened light or something scientific like that, while the 'Cons would grow so-called facsimiles of important persons to destroy the worlds from within, because nothing says "villain" like taking inspiration from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" ;)
        
        I'm not sure why the classic silver with dark grey detailing wasn't good enough. Even Megabull from Cyberworld has a better color scheme, although I'm not crazy about the amount of gold in his color scheme. I guess when it comes to Megatron, there are some colors that just don't work for me - anything bright and cheery, or anything too colorful (like the amount of purple on Beast Wars Megatron).
        
        Then, I guess, you don't know the 2001 Robots In Disguise Megatron, or as I call him, "What Louis XIV would look like if he was a Transformer". One of his six forms is a hand ;)
        (I don't know if I'll ever watch this anime, but if I will, I hope it's exactly as stupid as it appears) [OMG, those links went crazy, now I'm afraid to try to fix them...]
        Now I'm imagining Megatron making a suit out of various 'bots he's defeated. "It puts the polish on its skin or it gets the gun again!"
        Yeah, it wasn't the best way to learn that Cybertronians, apparently, have skin. Fortunately, it was never addressed again...
        Sometimes, reading these descriptions is like getting a season's worth of soap opera plot boiled down to a few sentences. Are these storylines just more plausible in the comic, where they could unfold more gradually and maybe with more character development and plausible reasons behind events?
        I'm mostly recurring Costa's and Barber's runs so, not really. Costa's things were either forgettable or baffling, and Barber, frankly, had some good ideas (mostly wasted) and the rest of the not-so-good ideas, either boring or a bit memorable. None of them was good at character development, things would just suddenly happen and boom! A character has been modified. It's easy for me to recount all this because those were, kinda, highlights... While James Roberts packed his runs so choke-full of everything that even if I tried- - Okay, okay, I'm shutting up now! I guess that conventional TF fans probably preferred Barber because he still kept the majority of important characters and those characters, occasionally, would do something. Barber's final run was titled "Optimus Prime" and, frankly, I barely remember what it was about. I was actually relieved when it came to an end, because reading it felt like a chore.
        The Matrix ending up in the hands of their enemies has to have a serious impact on the 'cons, though. I wonder why the decepticons don't just destroy the damn thing, especially considering that they don't need it to maintain authority within their own faction. And if for whatever reason it can't be destroyed, why not hide it in some really out-of-the-way place
        I think Megatron originally intended to keep it as a trophy, but after he was sniped the 'Cons were supposed to destroy it, but hesitated, someone hid it somewhere on their ship, Starscream found it, it did him no good, and then it was stolen... I'm sorry, reclaimed.
        "Metalhawk"? They're all metal. Why does his name need to specify this? Surely readers aren't going to think he's made of plastic or ceramic otherwise. It reminds me of Raksha's self-insert, which was called MetalliCat (and probably wasn't much better written).
        Metalhawk was a pre-existing obscure character and I didn't even blink at his name. Could be way worse - at least it's not Erector, amirite? MetalliCat at least contains a pun.
        You were right, it did get worse! Resolving a plot in this cop-out way is likely to make readers think they wasted their time and energy, if the writers are so willing to yank the rug out from under them and show that haha, it was all just a dream or a fraud or whatever. No one wants to feel that they invested in a tale full of sound of fury that signified nothing. Starscream's characterization wheeling wildly from evil to so morally redeemed that he confesses his crimes, accepts imprisonment and then sacrifices his life because he was taken in by a hoax... well, that's just more of the same. Killing off characters isn't a problem in and of itself, but killing them for no reasons other than because the writers can't think what else to do with them, or as a metaphorical finger to the readers who actually cared about the character? Well, that's how you get the last season of Game of Thrones.
        Well... Remember how I mentioned that Barber wasn't the best at conveying his ideas and foreshadowing? I think he was convinced that Starscream is a villain and should remain as such, because that's what he (nearly) always is - maybe even Hasbro wanted it, who knows. So, when he made Starscream the fake Chosen One who then appeared to try his best to be a good ruler of Cybertron, we the readers who liked Starscream were rejoicing that he's finally got what he deserved. In Barber's mind, though, it absolutely wasn't what Starscream deserved - he had to be revealed as a treacherous villain and punished, then maybe get a chance for redemption. He overestimated that we didn't care and just wanted our Seeker to finally be happy, Starscream really seemed changed for the better. But he wasn't changed for the better, as the Windblade comics immediately showed, since Scott knew how to actually convey it. I think that, even after all this hoopla with Starscream getting changed and ready to pay for his crimes, Barber thought it wasn't enough - he had to be stripped of his chosen title, and sacrifice himself for the greater good. Otherwise, the readers won't be happy. Maybe non-Starscream fans were satisfied with this, hard to say.
        
        Last Edited Fri 03 Oct 2025 01:15PM UTC
        
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