20 April 2008

Megatron Origin - issue #04 easter eggs (part 1)

Previous chapter: Issue #03 easter eggs

Issue #04 was packed with easter eggs and G1 tribute moments. I attempt to record some of them here.

*Spoilers from here forward*

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Fusion Cannon
I think its fair to say die-hard G1 fans grew up with the notion that Megatron always had his fusion cannon. Here, we see how, why and from whom he got it from- it was, ironically, a gift from the treacherous Starscream!


Starscream arming Megatron with his fusion cannon (Page 6)

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Squarkbox
The first comic appearance of Squarkbox? (Other than in Dreamwave's MTMTE)


Squarktalk appears on Soundwave's right!

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A TFTM moment
There prima facie isn't anything special about this panel until I quickly recognized how much it reflected the moment in TFTM when Megatron and Starscream were conversing after decimating the crew of the Autobot shuttle.

There are certainly a lot of similarities in terms of the way both are laid out.



Top: Megatron talking to Soundwave (page 7, last panel)
Bottom: Megatron talking to Starscream (TFTM)


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The Cybertronian social life
An insight into how Cybertronians enjoyed life and socialized before the first great war and before factions. The ladies seem to have pretty interesting headgear... kind of like Melbourne Cup day here.


Cybertron high society (page 7, panel 1)

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Autobots can't fly?
Just like what Galvatron said to Optimus Prime in The Return of Optimus Prime (part 2), Starscream here tells Trailbreaker- 'I just remembered... you can't fly'. For the record, Galvatron said 'I just remembered... Autobots can't fly'. =)

This at least confirms 2 things in IDW's TF continuity:
(1) a flying Transformer is rare among Cybertronians, as is also alluded to issue #03 when Megatron specifically asks Soundwave to source for 'flight-capable combatants'; and
(2) Autobots generally cannot fly.

This gives an added dimension to my theory in Autobots can't fly, can they?


Starscream ditching Trailbreaker (page 9)

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The origin of Ratbat's mode
Ratbat was not always a cassette, that is, before he was betrayed and made into one.

This here actually made me think that Dreamwave's War Within vol. 2 & 3 does not fit into IDW's continuity. Here is why:

If Ratbat is already a cassette before the first great war, then it is unlikely for him to have the robotic mode he had during War Within vol. 2 (see issue #02), and then later have a cassette mode again during the regular G1 continuity. What I'm saying is that, it is unlikely, but not impossible- after all, it would hardly be fuel efficient to keep morphing from one mode to another.

It is reasonable to assume that he became a cassette here, which is before War Within vol. 1, and remains as one. At the very least, it casts doubt on whether elements and plot points from War Within vol. 2 (and vol. 3) are to be considered part of IDW's TF continuity.


Soundwave betraying his former master Ratbat and surreptitiously turning him into a cassette (page 13)

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That's a wrap for the first part (of 2) of issue #04's easter eggs. Gosh, there are just so many of them this issue that I had to split them into 2 parts. Next, I will look into the final part of Megatron Origin and the formation of the fearsome Decepticons!

Next: More issue #04 easter eggs!

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Read all Megatron Origin chapters!
Chapter 01: The Mini Series
Chapter 02: Issue #02 easter eggs
Chapter 03: Issue #03 easter eggs
Chapter 04: Issue #04 easter eggs (part 1)
Chapter 05: Issue #04 easter eggs (part 2)
Chapter 06: Quotes from Megatron Origin

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2 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed reading this Easter Egg hunt. A lot of these I didn't pick up on. Thanks!

    ps. Might I suggest using a slightly lighter text font? Reading gray on black is a real eyestrain.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey dude, great that you like it! I had real fun reading this 4 issues. I had a blast actually.

    I'm posting the final installment in a couple of moments and once you've seen it maybe you can give me some feedback on whether I missed stuff.

    I'm you would have picked up stuff that I probably overlooked.

    PS: I'll look into the fonts issue. Thanks for the heads up. =)

    ReplyDelete

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