This time up it’s the turn of Transformers Devastation #6, the wrap-up of this the third ‘-ion’ arc (and as ever, I’ll try and make this more of a tease than a spoiler). And boy what an arc this has been! Big stuff happening! That tired old phrase ‘things will never be the same again’ is wholly and justifiably applicable here. Stuff is revealed! Stuff is tied up! Other stuff kicks off! It’s a packed old end of arc issue, with Reapers versus Decepticons (to a shattering conclusion!), Hot Rod versus Headmasters (to a turbo-charged conclusion… of sorts) and Hunter/Sunstreaker versus the head of the Machination (to a point where we absolutely know who is who and what is what, but with a distinct ‘To be continued…’). Oh yeah! Plus, (much) more on the Dead Universe cast, with Galvatron making his first Earthbound moves, and first full appearances for Jhiaxus and ‘the Transformer formerly known as Nova Prime.’ The main focus, though, falls on our second fully fledged no-holds-barred (devastating) battle of this arc, this time between the catastrophic Reapers and the Ore-13 charged Decepticons. Expect casualties! Carnage! Shocks! Last issue saw Starscream back in the fray, strutting his stuff, but this issue has him fighting (once again) side-by-side with Megatron (who isn’t exactly chuffed to see him!). Fallout/repercussions for sure. Hot Rod makes a shocking decision (kind of prompted by Optimus Prime’s equally momentous decision last issue) and Skywatch prepare to kick back before things get even more out of hand. And if you think that maybe feeds into a certain upcoming Spotlight, well, you’d be right on the money. Oh, and don’t think I’ve forgotten about Sixshot. He too has a part to play. All I can say is… phew! This one has it all! Really. Devastation #6 hits stores in February 08. Art by EJ Su.
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simon furman 
Just gotta say how happy I am that you’re bringing Jhiaxus back. I’m one of the biggest G2 fans.
Care to drop any insights about his design? Similar to G2? Completely different?
As for the rest, I believe I can find the correct usage of the word “crap” in relation to your stories: HOLY CRAP! 😉
Formally known or formerly known? So long as he’s not currently known as Unicron, all is good with the world. Though my spider sense is tingling and I suspect that his appearance may be sponsored by the letters “L” and “M”.
Genuinely can’t wait. Yayage.
Oops. Typo. Now corrected!
Actually, I’m saving LM for something else BIG that’s happening in 08.
Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh! Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!
The anticipation builds!
Would it be fair to say that for Skywatch, things will begin to look Grim?
Confession time: I missed most of the Gen2 stuff (hey, I was living in Hong Kong at the time) but have since been extremely intriqued by the little hints and snippets I’ve found. Simon, your Ultimate Guide was a godsend (plus, all hail the Wiki…). But LM makes it’s IDW debut next year? There goes the universe…
Interesting thought: could we eventually see Optimus Prime & Megatron vs t.a.f.k.a. Nova Prime & Galvatron? Now that could be an interesting ruck. And after seeing Don’s sketches in the back of Spotlight Prime, can’t wait to see more of Nova.
Question though Simon (I know, you probably get sick of hearing these, but we mean well, honest…), have you, or any of the crew at IDW, given any thought to mixing in any of the Takara casts? I remember that some of the Decepticons made cameos in the Dreamwave series as statues, and no doubt some of the cast would be ripe for re-interpretation by Don, Nick, EJ & company. (I aim high, sue me…)
Oooh. LM next year. Is that a scoop? Well, no, because Scoop’s a Wrecker now.
I’m going to now go off and pretend that we’ve just been promised a G2 continuation, despite knowing we haven’t. I CAN DREAM.
Now all I need is to be promised Spotlight: Spinister.
So Galvy is getting involved in Earth matters, eh?
Any chance of a Big dust off to the death between him and Magnus?
I mean, as if I’ll get an answer to that. Bloke’s gotta dream though eh?
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=10034
“but one thing I do aim to do […] is to pit him against Ultra Magnus”
=-o
Sounds fantastic. Send the preview copy to the usual address please.
what?
oh.
Damnit.
Leige Maxim-oh-yeah.
Chris, whilst Spotlight : Sinister would be more than welcome, i thought we had agreed that Spotlight: Blot, aka The Blotlight, was to be our next more than likley unfulfilled request?
Nah, I’m sticking with Spotlight: Rattrap, otherwise known as ‘How To
Crack-Wise And Irritate People In 5 Easy Steps’
So what BIIIIG event is coming in 08 that the LM could feature in?
Could the recent Marvel Avengers / IDW TF crossover have facilitated the release of previously tethered-to-Marvel characters?
An ultimate TF of sorts? A G1 Marvel continuation? (Sorry, I stayed up all night reading Eugenesis. Wow.)
Hmm, which Marvel character do we know who has played a signifigant roll in the TF universe?
A tricky one, yes?
My bad. Blotlight it is.
Followed by an exposé on the Pretender Monsters, in Sloglight. Or Wildflyght.
It’s obvious that the first Takara character to be introduced would be Sixknight. I also have a slew of jokes here involving Dogfight and Fistfight, but fear that the joke may already be dead in the water.
hey simon i was wandering if you are ever going to use punch/counterpunch steve
Jhiaxus and the impending appearance of the Liege Maximo in 2008. Oh dear lord I am so happy right now!!!!!
Andy
Oh… LM! THUNK. Penny drops. Sigh! I am very giddy! I loved the G2 series, and am pleased this is being added to the series! Good stuff 🙂
oh hell, this 08 biggie thing seems like it’s gonna be huge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The transformer formerly known as Nova Prime will probably be Nemesis Prime. RiD Scourge is not a Nemesis Prime despite sharing similar color schemes.
Wow, just wow 🙂
Hah. Yeah, things are definitely looking ‘grim’ for Skywatch. Expect BIG things.
As far as LM goes, don’t expect anything that smacks too much of G2. As I’ve said before, all of these characters are reinventions (to a greater or lesser degree) or a whole new character (but with the same name). Nevertheless, expect BIG things.
Ultra Magnus vs Galvatron? Hell, yeah! Expect BIG things. In fact, 08… just expect BIG things!
I expect BIG things.
I now expect Spotlight: BIG Daddy.
Simon Furman wrote: “Ultra Magnus vs Galvatron? Hell, yeah! Expect BIG things. In fact, 08… just expect BIG things!”
Classic! Your original ongoing saga of the UMAG vs. GALVY enmity was one of the best things… ever! Both ‘psychologically’ gripping, and had totally kick-ass action between those two.
Magnus Vs Galv’s -2008 should be a rollicking good bust-up. Espeacially as this version of Magnus seems far more comfortable in his role than previous interpretations.
Not that seeing him crack up in the old UK comic wasn’t fun, it’s just that for his power level and position he has proven to be a right scmuck over the years…
Hmmm. A big part of the appeal with their original UK encounters was UMagsy gradually reinforcing his nemesis (in Mag’s mind) as an ever-more-dangerous boogeyman, and Galvs recognizing this (and exploiting it so well). Galvatron (talking to the Sparkabots) dismissing UM as not worth the effort was a superb example of it (perversely humourous in a way too) – reinforcing his status as uber-spectre in Magnus’ mind. Ultra Magnus having to overcome this negative mindset was very well portrayed (and Magnus viciously clobbering Galvatron on the side of the Con hideout was a spectacular comeback), all set up for a big big BIG blow-off between the two. Alas with the Time Wars (very good in itself), the resolution didn’t really get a chance to materialize in the UK run.
Fingers (and toes) crossed for their IDW embroilments down the line!
Actually Joel, that’s a very good point. Just imagine if Time Wars had never taken place, or been delayed, to allow Simon to give Mags his ‘rubber match’ against Galvy. On the other hand we would probably have missed out on the insane level of escalation that TW’s introduced in each new chapter, plus the well-worth-it sight of The powers of time & space taken sweet, sweet revenge on tha artist formerly known as Megs. (runs to dig UK TF graphics of bookshelf…)
Will we be seeing Cyclonus and Scourge anytime soon?
Hey Mal, Cyclonus is the more likely right now (in imminent terms). But I’m sure Scourge will surface soon enough.
As for UM, he’s got his share of big battles/confrontations coming up. Look for him to feature BIG in 08. But, like people have said, it won’t be the same UM vs Galvatron dynamic. In fact, it’s something very different I have in mind.
“But, like people have said, it won’t be the same UM vs Galvatron dynamic. In fact, it’s something very different I have in mind”
Ah. They’ll be taking each other out to dinner in between scraps, then. Then Magnus will find Galvatron in bed with his wife and it’ll all go off big style.
It’ll be like Hollyoaks, but with giant space robots. Awesome.
Maybe it’ll be a custody battle over the mechannibal and two scraplets Ultra Magnus was raising on Cybertron!
So, uh, Simon…
When are we getting Spotlight: Wheelie?
(seriously, though – think about it; he’s basically the TF equivalent of Mowgli or Tarzan; a feral child abandoned on a distant planet, surviving by his wits and skill. That’s got the potential to be some compelling stuff, if you look past the relatively goofy cartoon interpretation.)
Simon, will we be seeing a return to Nebulos and its Decepticon Infiltration Team (as shown briefly in Stormbringer) or its few surviving members?
And since somebody mentioned Time Wars earlier here, maybe you could answer this old but still burning question – did you intend for Ultra Magnus to die? He’s referred to as an Autobot casualty by Optimus Prime, is seen carried back by the other future Autobots and is never seen again in the storylines set in the future. Or are the old Marvel comics just too old for us to be asking questions about?
And Hooper, I would like a Spotlight: Wheelie (I know Simon said he is his most hated character so he won’t be writing it) but maybe somebody else can manage to write a Spotlight for him that makes him an endearing character that makes people like him. Such a thing is mentioned (perhaps a joke portrayed seriously) here: http://www.oneshallstand.com/articles/orbital.html
Ultra Magnus does not die in Time Wars, though he gets very badly damaged by his “allies”.
Simon (speaking as Dreadwind) revealed as such in the UK letters page a few issues after issue #205.