Transformers Prime and Rage of the Dinobots writer Mairghread Scott previews IDW’s Beast Hunters comic on this March 13, 2013 Radio Free Cybertron. Brian Kilby hosts with Diecast, Don and Rob Clay. They cover Takara’s Encore Fortress Maximus with painted eyes and a Transformers Go combiner solicitation. Aimee reviews Monstrosity issue 1, and Rob and a co-reviewer pick apart Regeneration One issue 89. Aimee and Nicole close their Darkness Rising retro review, and Transformers Rewind takes on the G1 finale The Rebirth.
News
Encore Fortress Maximus Gets Painted Eyes
Takara’s Encore Fortress Maximus will ship in Styrofoam, have painted eyes and a sword that comes apart. Don says the original’s blade only came off the hilt. The crew wonders whether the idea came from third-party sword upgrades or Armada Star Saber. Don notes the Japanese cartoon had two swords, one for Cerebros and one for Fortress Maximus. One host is tempted to buy one as a spare. [Source: not found]
Transformers Go Combiner Solicited
Big Bad Toy Store has a solicitation for a Transformers Go three-part combiner made of a jet, a police car and a fire truck. They might be Starscream, Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus. The pieces can combine in several arrangements, which Blade Raider compares to Getter Robo. The mock-up photo looks like Masterpiece Prowl. One figure is said to have lights and sounds, unusual for Japanese releases. [Source: Big Bad Toy Store]
Getting Friends Into Transformers Comics
Brian asks listeners how to persuade a non-fan friend to read More Than Meets the Eye. Rob says it has the best writing and the most interesting characters of any Transformers comic, though new readers may lack background. The chat recommends Last Stand of the Wreckers as a self-contained trade. Don suggests the Dreamwave More Than Meets the Eye guidebooks for finding characters to follow.
Interview: Mairghread Scott
Mairghread Scott grew up on Beast Wars and joined Transformers Prime as writer’s assistant, the show’s continuity keeper. She checks scripts and tracks the Aligned continuity across the Exodus and Exiles novels and the War for Cybertron, Fall of Cybertron and Prime video games. She co-wrote Rage of the Dinobots with Mike Johnson, which seeds Easter eggs for Prime Season 3. Their Beast Hunters comic uses two-issue stories so new readers can jump in. It jumps far ahead, with Grimlock running an underground Dinobot city and struggling as a peacetime leader. The first issues focus on Sludge and finally explain what happened to him in the tunnels. New characters seek the Dinobots’ help, and comics let them explore more of Cybertron than CG allows. She also wrote the Prime episodes Hurt and Stronger, Faster and suggested the Bantor reference.
Comic News: Monstrosity Issue 1
Aimee notes an alternate cover for More Than Meets the Eye issue 15 and a Satellite of Doom book due in the fall. She reviews Monstrosity issue 1, Derelicts, by Chris Metzen and Flint Dille with art by Livio Ramondelli. The Dinobots work a bad deal for Swindle, Dai Atlas challenges Optimus Prime’s rule, and Scorponok dumps a broken Megatron on Junkion. Aimee enjoys the surprise character appearances and Livio’s improving, moody art, and she gives it a four.
Regeneration One Issue 89
Rob and his co-reviewer find that very little happens in Regeneration One issue 89, a pattern for the fourth issue of an arc. They call the Scorponok and Perceptor dialogue meandering. One reviewer suspects Simon Furman is steering G1 continuity toward his unused G2 plans, and they suggest he should have simply started after G2. They worry the 20-issue run will end in an info dump, and they argue the book needs a stronger editor. They note last issue’s Grimlock and Scorponok standoff now seems pointless.
Prime Retro Review: Darkness Rising Part 5
Aimee and Nicole finish their retro review of Darkness Rising. The Autobots ground bridge into space to stop Megatron’s space bridge, while Jack, Miko and Raf infiltrate a satellite array that Soundwave has hijacked. Soundwave outmaneuvers the kids without harming them, and he even takes a photo of them. Raf’s copied code lets Ratchet overload the space bridge. Arcee is blasted into space and rescued by Bumblebee, and the bridge explodes in Megatron’s face. Season 3, Beast Hunters, premieres March 22 on The Hub.
Transformers Rewind: The Rebirth
The crew revisits The Rebirth, the three-part G1 finale. Brian loves it, and another host loves it like a three-legged dog. One host calls it a bridge to a fourth season that never came. Chris McFeely likes its open ending, which left room for the toy line’s later stories. Don, who has spoken with David Wise at several BotCons, says Wise was promised five parts and cut to three after learning the show was ending. The crew calls the Headmaster partnerships the most plausible version of humans and Transformers working together, with untapped potential. Galvatron’s plan to destroy Cybertron, Earth and the sun is worthy of a series finale, they say. Don explains his love of Arcee, the only Headmaster and last movie-era character never made as a G1 toy.
RFC Live and Google+ Hangouts
RFC streams live around 8:30 p.m. Eastern, followed by a Google+ Hangout hosted by Diecast. Upcoming Rewinds include Darkglass in April.
Radio Free Cybertron is the world's first and oldest toy and action figure podcast — broadcasting from the heart of the Transformers fan community since October 1999. What started as a scrappy fan show has grown into an institution, with nearly 1,000 episodes and over 25 years of coverage. Every week, host Brian Kilby and the RFC crew dig into the latest Transformers news, toy reveals, collecting, and everything hitting shelves from Hasbro, Takara, and beyond. No fluff, no hype — just informed, passionate collectors who have been doing this longer than anyone else on the planet. The original. The longest running. Till all are one.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:11:56 — 60.4MB) | Embed
Radio Free Cybertron 678 – Spend Brian’s Money
Radio Free Cybertron for December 16th 2009
RFC News Desk 101 – Studio Series Goes To 1986 With Grimlock And Gnaw