BW: The Ascending

sprunkner · Post by **sprunkner** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:49 pm

One hell of a book. IDW seems to be dispensing with the cartoon-reverence shown by the first volume and doing, as per Furman's preference, a big wide-open space opera.

SPOILER

Only potential uggh is the mention of Unicron. I have so had enough of Unicron to last a lifetime. But hey, maybe I'll be surprised.

BB Shockwave · Post by **BB Shockwave** » Mon Oct 08, 2007 8:03 pm

S

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Heck, I welcome the big U. I don't think he will play a crucial role, after all, he is already destroyed in the BW universe, whichever continuity BW follows (Marvel or Sunbow cartoon)... I'm sure it'll be Shockaract who will be the main baddie.

Am I the only one who thinks Ravage was defeated too easily? I mean he was kicked into a wall, and all suddenly he loses conciousness. Maybe his skull is brittle?

The scene with Grimlock stepping on Snapper 'by accident' was funny, as was seeing Retrax rolling away to safety...

The colors left a lot to be desired in this issue... sometimes they were off, sometimes, they were bland. Where is Josh?

Legion · Post by **Legion** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:33 am

BB Shockwave wrote: Heck, I welcome the big U. I don't think he will play a crucial role, after all, he is already destroyed in the BW universe, whichever continuity BW follows (Marvel or Sunbow cartoon)... I'm sure it'll be Shockaract who will be the main baddie.

Ummm... i've not read it yet so please correct me if i'm wrong now, but from what i recall, isn't Shockaract the chap from the future who's empowered by Unicron's essence?
Wasn't he dealt with in that Botcon(?) comic a few years ago that (somehow involving G1 and BW characters fighting him)? Now, i'm all for tossing out that Botcon continutity (fanwank at the best of times)... but are we seeing a retreading of the story line here?
hmmm....

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 9:43 am

Legion wrote:Ummm... i've not read it yet so please correct me if i'm wrong now, but from what i recall, isn't Shockaract the chap from the future who's empowered by Unicron's essence?

Yes.

And he's also being assisted by the Blentrons, who were Unicron's emissaries in BW Neo.

Even if not directly involved, Unicron is the focal point of this story. Shokaract may be the vessel, but the Big U is the driving force behind events.

I'm genuinely not sure what my feelings about Ascending are. I had a few grumbles about The Gathering. And I can't shake the feeling of fankwank that the entire thing gives me... even before you throw in the "hey look, we're tying in all the BWII characters! And the Neo ones!".

To then try and tie it into the BotCon fanfic as well...

Feels like overload. Still, at least stuff will happen.

I'd just like to see some big dramatic portentous universal apocalypse type thing that somehow didn't revolve around Unicron.

BB Shockwave · Post by **BB Shockwave** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:11 pm

Brendocon wrote: I'd just like to see some big dramatic portentous universal apocalypse type thing that somehow didn't revolve around Unicron.

We might still do...

If you read Cicadacon's profile in the BW Sourcebook #1 - and of course there is that vague mention by Tarantulas in one of the last episodes of BW - it's pretty apparent that they Tripredacus Council are descended from somewhere else then the original Cybertron, most likely from the Leige Maximo's spawned Cybertronians. And - though I cannot find it now - I distinctly remember that Simon wrote on his blog that the Council will take direct involvement of the matters on Earth in the third story arc of BW. So we might see the return of the Hub as a main threat, perhaps... maybe Tripredacus wants to do the same as Tarantulas did, blow up the Ark thus killing both Prime and Megatron and ensuring they don't topple the Maximo's empire later....

The Sourcebook is, btw, really good, I mean the written text - the art is, well, let's just say I haven't seen so many mishaps and coloring/editor errors since DW's time...

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 7:03 pm

BB Shockwave wrote:
The colors left a lot to be desired in this issue... sometimes they were off, sometimes, they were bland. Where is Josh?

Yeah, and Don's starting to look overworked. All in all, not as good looking as The Gathering.

Enjoyable enough comic tho. Lots of action, no padding. Only a few steps away from being a botcon type comic though - lets hope it stays on target.

Razorbeast rocks.

BB Shockwave · Post by **BB Shockwave** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:34 am

spiderfrommars wrote: Razorbeast rocks.

Agreed... Thought not a BW collector I gotten urges to buy that toy. He's such a great character. Simon never really wrote an 'undercover agent' TF before.

I liked the exchange between him and Ravage. I guess kitty was top spy back in his time, but now that everyone has access to tech and the skills he used he's no longer the only master spy around...

Predabot · Post by **Predabot** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:25 pm

Hmm... rather interesting that this sideline of the Beast Wars appear to be in part a cold war, between two top spy's and their forces. Yes, quite a nice change of pace.

Also, I sure hope that everybody recalls that "Reaching the Omega Point" was actually written by a certain bald one, and drawn by a certain senior.

Furman pretty much invented the character of Shokaract, and his toy is really quite cool.

And besides... Come on! He eats sacrificed protoformal TF's! Eats babies!!

I think the furry one can do something good out of the concept.

Would be rather nice if this eventually indeed involved the Tri-predacus council, and their counterpart, the Maximal Elders. Both doth combine to form Magnaboss and Tripredacus.

I'd love to see those two in action, especially considering who the Maximal Council is supposed to be, fan-wanky as it is.