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* MoralEventHorizon: Overlord undoubtably crossed it years before this series. It would be easier to describe the moments he ''isn't'' crossing it. However the moment he loses all possible likability is when he horrifically murders [[spoiler:Pipes]] for no reason at all, then goes off to do the same to everyone else on the ship.
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* MoralEventHorizon: MoralEventHorizon:
** Overlord undoubtably crossed it years before this series. It would be easier to describe the moments he ''isn't'' crossing it. However the moment he loses all possible likability is when he horrifically murders [[spoiler:Pipes]] for no reason at all, then goes off to do the same to everyone else on the ship.
** Overlord undoubtably crossed it years before this series. It would be easier to describe the moments he ''isn't'' crossing it. However the moment he loses all possible likability is when he horrifically murders [[spoiler:Pipes]] for no reason at all, then goes off to do the same to everyone else on the ship.
* TheScrappy: [[spoiler:Getaway was this after ''Our Steps Will Always Rhyme'', having gained his fair share of detractors, due to his sudden Yandere vibes over Tailgate, despite otherwise being generally affable with the majority of the crew. The reveal of #47 has moved him from being a scrappy and squarely into HateSink category.]]
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* TheScrappy: [[spoiler:Getaway was this after ''Our Steps Will Always Rhyme'', having gained his fair share of detractors, due to his sudden Yandere vibes over Tailgate, despite otherwise being generally affable with the majority of the crew. The reveal of #47 has moved him from being a scrappy and squarely into HateSink category.]]
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* SeasonalRot: Season Two has been subject to harsher critical reception than at any point in the book's history, largely due to a lack of plot progression, gratituous pop-culture references (summer 2015, see below), plot fake outs (like Cyclonus' DisneyDeath in #47), developments seen as AssPull's (Tailgate becoming an [[spoiler:Outlier]]), and other complaints. It's Lampshaded in the bonus #50 story when Atomizer says that most series hit their stride in their second season - but that's not the ''absolute'' rule.
** The issues of summer 2015 (#41-43) got the worst reception from most fans thanks to Roberts' rampant AuthorAppeal regarding songs and pop culture references and having little plot development, as well as them being mostly BizarroEpisode's. #42 disappointed fans as it appeared to promise that TonightSomeoneDies when ''no one dies''. #43 in particular disappointed several fans since the promotional material seemed to imply that Deathsaurus' War World was pursuing the ''Lost Light'', advancing the DJD/Deathsaurus plot introduced in #39. And it ended up being a BizarroEpisode focused on Swerve's mind. #44 is generally agreed to have got things back on track, since it addressed long-standing plots like Dominus Ambus, Megatron's judgment, the actual quest, and the Necrobot.
** The issues of summer 2015 (#41-43) got the worst reception from most fans thanks to Roberts' rampant AuthorAppeal regarding songs and pop culture references and having little plot development, as well as them being mostly BizarroEpisode's. #42 disappointed fans as it appeared to promise that TonightSomeoneDies when ''no one dies''. #43 in particular disappointed several fans since the promotional material seemed to imply that Deathsaurus' War World was pursuing the ''Lost Light'', advancing the DJD/Deathsaurus plot introduced in #39. And it ended up being a BizarroEpisode focused on Swerve's mind. #44 is generally agreed to have got things back on track, since it addressed long-standing plots like Dominus Ambus, Megatron's judgment, the actual quest, and the Necrobot.
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* HateSink: [[spoiler:Getaway and Atomizer]] following the reveal in issue 47.
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* HateSink: [[spoiler:Getaway and Atomizer]] following the reveal in issue 47. Issue 50 actually manages to make us hate them even more.
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** Does [[spoiler: Atomizer genuinely support Rodimus or does he want him off the ship and is manipulating Rodimus to get him kicked out of captain position]]? Notably [[spoiler: he uses the same sort of trick that Prowl apparently used to convince Rodimus to let Overlord on board.]]
*** The fact that [[spoiler: the voting list is fake]] certainly points towards the latter, but it's still not really clear.
*** The fact that [[spoiler: the voting list is fake]] certainly points towards the latter, but it's still not really clear.
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** Does [[spoiler: Atomizer genuinely support Rodimus or does he want him off the ship and is manipulating Rodimus to get him kicked out of captain position]]? Notably [[spoiler: he uses the same sort of trick that Prowl apparently used to convince Rodimus to let Overlord on board.]]
***]] The fact that [[spoiler: the voting list is fake]] certainly points towards the latter, but it's still not really clear.
***
** PlayedForLaughs with [[spoiler: Sunder. After an intense action scene with Megatron, Rung, and Thunderclash he seems unstoppable... and than Tailgate ''[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments throws the Rodpod at him]]''.]]
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** In issue 45 there was James Roberts' handling of Grimlock's disability, particularly after a poll-tweet he started on twitter on whether you'd sell Grimlock or not has started a movement on tumblr labeling Roberts as an ableist and whatnot. A large portion doesn't seem to give a hoot about it though. Issue 46 either remedied the problem or made it worse depending on which fan you ask.
* BizarroEpisode: '''Issue 43'''. It's comparable to the weird, one-off genre homages ''{{Series/Community}}'' often did. WordOfGod suggests that it was [[InvokedTrope deliberately designed this way]].
* BizarroEpisode: '''Issue 43'''. It's comparable to the weird, one-off genre homages ''{{Series/Community}}'' often did. WordOfGod suggests that it was [[InvokedTrope deliberately designed this way]].
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** Whirl has also become one, if for no other reason than being totally CrazyAwesome. In fact when the promotions of issue 6 made it out as if TonightSomeoneDies, most of the comments on them consisted of "I'm cool as long as Whirl makes it".
** Cyclonus, in part because he matches Whirl's badassness on the field and his {{Tsundere}} personality. Tailgate is also an ensemble darkhorse in part because of his friendship with Cyclonus.
** Cyclonus, in part because he matches Whirl's badassness on the field and his {{Tsundere}} personality. Tailgate is also an ensemble darkhorse in part because of his friendship with Cyclonus.
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** In issue 29 when Atomizer is trying to convince Rodimus to [[spoiler:take the voting list]] he gets a little ''too'' close and friendly with him. This had the members of TFW 2005's forums declaring the Atomizer was Rodimus's secret admirer. It helps that Atomizer very much looks as though he's got a [[ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers Primus-Apotheosis-style]] hero worship thing going on for Rodimus. [[spoiler:Though it's quickly subverted when it's revealed Atomizer was trying to play Rodimus.]]
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** In issue 29 when Atomizer is trying to convince Rodimus to [[spoiler:take the voting list]] he gets a little ''too'' close and friendly with him. This had the members of TFW 2005's forums declaring the that Atomizer was Rodimus's secret admirer. It helps that Atomizer very much looks as though he's got a [[ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers Primus-Apotheosis-style]] hero worship thing going on for Rodimus. [[spoiler:Though it's quickly subverted when it's revealed Atomizer was trying to play Rodimus.]]
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** Though they don't get to actually cross it, Krok, Crankcase, and Spinister wary dangerously close to this in issue 45 when they consider selling Grimlock to Demus.
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* SeasonalRot: The issues of summer 2015 (#41-43) were poorly received for some thanks to Roberts' rampant AuthorAppeal regarding songs and pop culture references and having little plot development, as well as them being mostly BizarroEpisode's. #42 disappointed fans as it appeared to promise that TonightSomeoneDies when ''no one dies''. #43 in particular disappointed several fans since the promotional material seemed to imply that Deathsaurus' War World was pursuing the ''Lost Light'', advancing the DJD/Deathsaurus plot introduced in #39. And it ended up being a BizarroEpisode focused on Swerve's mind. #44 is generally agreed to have got things back on track, since it addressed long-standing plots like Dominus Ambus, Megatron's judgment, the actual quest, and the Necrobot.
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* {{Squick}}: The DJD making Blip hold his own brain in his mouth in issue 39. Tarn's FauxAffablyEvil dialogue doesn't help.
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* {{Squick}}: The DJD making Blip hold his own brain in his mouth in issue 39. Tarn's FauxAffablyEvil dialogue doesn't help.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Though many obscure characters are used in prominent roles, just as many are ignored or summarily killed off. A notable example is Countdown, who is a minor EnsembleDarkhorse and MemeticBadass. He appears and is killed off in the space of one issue.
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* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Though just as many obscure characters are used in prominent roles, just as many are ignored or summarily killed off. A notable example is Countdown, who is a minor EnsembleDarkhorse and MemeticBadass. He appears and is killed off in the space of one issue.
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* CompleteMonster: Besides the return of [[ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers Overlord]], [[AxCrazy Pharma]] is a former [[MadDoctor Autobot Medic]] who [[FaceHeelTurn went evil]]. After saving one of the main character's lives, he became the head medic at a medical facility on the planet Delphi. There he received death threats from an elite Decepticon unit who threatened to overrun the place, and [[WellIntentionedExtremist began bribing them with organs]], first from dead bots but later he began killing living ones. Eventually [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope it becomes too much]], and he has two other Decepticons unleash a plague on the facility to kill everyone and cover up his crimes. When he's revealed, he shoots a life-support, sending about 20 patients into near death states to distract everyone. He then tries to kill Ratchet twice before [[DisneyVillainDeath being thrown off the facility]]. He survives the fall and is recruited into Chief Justice Tyrest's group (who drilled a hole in his head and is trying to destroy all Transformers he considers inferior); all the Decepticons admit to being freaked out by him. When he finds Ratchet again, he separates Ratchet's head and spark from his body and starts torturing him. To prove he is a better medic, he has one of his co-workers from Delphi, Ambulon, [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe sliced in half]], vertically from head to crotch, with a {{chainsaw|Good}}, and tells Ratchet to fix him. Ambulon dies in agony before the chainsaw leaves him. Later Pharma shoots Brainstorm.
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* CompleteMonster: Besides the return of [[ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers Overlord]], [[AxCrazy Pharma]] is a former [[MadDoctor Autobot Medic]] who [[FaceHeelTurn went turned evil]]. After saving one of the main character's lives, he became the head medic at a medical facility on the planet Delphi. There he received death threats from an elite Decepticon unit who threatened to overrun the place, and [[WellIntentionedExtremist began bribing them with organs]], first from dead bots but later he began killing living ones. Eventually [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope it becomes too much]], and he has two other Decepticons unleash a plague on the facility to kill everyone and cover up his crimes. When he's revealed, he shoots a life-support, sending about 20 patients into near death states to distract everyone. He then tries to kill Ratchet twice before [[DisneyVillainDeath being thrown off the facility]]. He survives the fall and is recruited into Chief Justice Tyrest's group (who drilled a hole in his head and is trying to destroy all Transformers he considers inferior); all the Decepticons admit to being freaked out by him. When he finds Ratchet again, he separates Ratchet's head and spark from his body and starts torturing him. To prove he is a better medic, he has one of his co-workers from Delphi, Ambulon, [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe sliced in half]], vertically from head to crotch, with a {{chainsaw|Good}}, and tells Ratchet to fix him. Ambulon dies in agony before the chainsaw leaves him. Later Pharma shoots Brainstorm.
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** Getaway ''started'' as this, being a flashy superspy update of a well-liked character from Fuman's run. Then he turned his attention to Tailgate and things... [[NoYay changed]] [[spoiler:Ironically, the reveal that he really ''is'' an utter, utter bastard won him back quite a few naysayers, with many liking the vicious subversion of his introductory appearance and being warm to the idea of an evil Autobot on board.]]
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** Getaway ''started'' as this, being a flashy superspy update of a well-liked character from Fuman's run. Then he turned his attention to Tailgate and things... [[NoYay changed]] changed]]. [[spoiler:Ironically, the reveal that he really ''is'' an utter, utter bastard won him back quite a few naysayers, with many liking the vicious subversion of his introductory appearance and being warm to the idea of an evil Autobot on board.]]
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* MagnumOpus: Many are considering the comic to be this for both James Roberts and IDW's Transformers comics in general. In terms of the series, most fans seem to consider "Remain In Light" to be the best storyline so far (it even got MTMTE nominated for an award) while Roberts himself considers issue 16 to currently be the best issue.
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* CriticalResearchFailure: Despite being a JerkAss, Whirl wouldn't be diagnosed as a sociopath ''or'' a psychopath in real life. He shows far too much concern for his fellow crewmates, and feels guilt for his part in Megatron starting the war. Sociopaths are almost impossible to treat because of their arrogance, while Whirl appears to have low self-esteem that he tries to hide by 'bigging himself up'.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or some form of Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or some form of Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
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* CriticalResearchFailure: Despite being a JerkAss, Whirl wouldn't be diagnosed as a sociopath ''or'' a psychopath in real life. He shows far too much concern for his fellow crewmates, and feels guilt for his part in Megatron starting the war. Sociopaths are almost impossible to treat because of their arrogance, while Whirl appears to have low self-esteem that he tries to hide by 'bigging himself up'.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or some form of Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or some form of Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
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* DidNotDoTheResearch: Partially down to the fans, but also due to once being referenced. Despite being a JerkAss, Whirl wouldn't be diagnosed as a sociopath ''or'' a psychopath in real life. He shows far too much concern for his fellow crewmates, and feels guilt for his part in Megatron starting the war. Sociopaths are almost impossible to treat because of their arrogance, while Whirl appears to have low self-esteem that he tries to hide by 'bigging himself up'.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or some form of Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or some form of Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
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* DidntDoTheResearch: Partially down to the fans, but also due to once being referenced. Despite being a JerkAss, Whirl wouldn't be diagnosed as a sociopath ''or'' a psychopath in real life. He shows far too much concern for his fellow crewmates, and feels guilt for his part in Megatron starting the war. Sociopaths are almost impossible to treat because of their arrogance, while Whirl appears to have low self-esteem that he tries to hide by 'bigging himself up'.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
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* DidntDoTheResearch: DidNotDoTheResearch: Partially down to the fans, but also due to once being referenced. Despite being a JerkAss, Whirl wouldn't be diagnosed as a sociopath ''or'' a psychopath in real life. He shows far too much concern for his fellow crewmates, and feels guilt for his part in Megatron starting the war. Sociopaths are almost impossible to treat because of their arrogance, while Whirl appears to have low self-esteem that he tries to hide by 'bigging himself up'.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or some form of Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or some form of Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
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** Whirl. Is he a monster, or is he just that ''angry'' about losing his hands, and trapped in his own self-hate? He may be a JerkAss to people but he doesn't do ''that'' many bad things, and he does do good things without asking for repayment. Genuine psychopaths are often highly narcissistic and it's been established that Whirl hates himself as well as other people. In fact his mental state isn't so much diagnosable as psychopathic as it is manic depressive with psychotic episodes...
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** Whirl. Is he a genuine monster, or is he just that ''angry'' about losing his hands, being forced into service, betrayed by the senate, enduring Empurata and being thrown in prison, and trapped in his own self-hate? He may be a JerkAss to people but he doesn't do ''that'' many bad things, and he does do good things without asking for repayment. Genuine psychopaths are often highly narcissistic and it's been established that Whirl hates himself as well as other people. In fact his mental state isn't so much diagnosable as psychopathic as it is manic depressive with psychotic episodes...self-hate?
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** The revelation of [[spoiler: Ultra Magnus being Minimus Ambus]] upset some fans but as time goes on this rift seems to have died down.
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** The revelation of [[spoiler: Ultra Magnus being Minimus Ambus]] upset some fans but as time goes on this rift seems to have died down.down as long as he keeps his suit on most of the time.
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* DidntDoTheResearch: Partially down to the fans, but also due to once being referenced. Despite being a JerkAss, Whirl wouldn't be diagnosed as a sociopath ''or'' a psychopath in real life. He shows far too much concern for his fellow crewmates, and feels guilt for his part in Megatron starting the war. Sociopaths are almost impossible to treat because of their arrogance, while Whirl appears to have low self-esteem that he tries to hide by 'bigging himself up'.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
** Due to his mood swings, he's more likely to be diagnosed with Bipolar Type I, or Psychosis (which is different to Psychopathy), both of which are treatable.
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** Also, this comic is very popular in the UK, where it normally ranks in the top 10 digital sales for the week, ahead of titles like Batman & Robin Eternal, Chewbacca and All-New Wolverine.
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** Also, this comic is very popular in the UK, where it normally ranks in the top 10 digital sales for the week, ahead of titles like Batman & Robin Eternal, Chewbacca and All-New Wolverine.Wolverine, and even ranked among the Best Ongoing Series of 2015 on Comixology UK.
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** Ultra Magnus is [[spoiler:Minimus Ambus]]. When first revealed, this was a twist that absolutely floored the fandom and was a fresh new take on a character who'd been around for decades. Now it's one of the more well known aspects of the series, and Ultra Magnus's post season 1 role usually references that big reveal. Even his newest toy was structured around it.
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** Ultra Magnus is [[spoiler:Minimus Ambus]]. When first revealed, this was a twist that absolutely floored the fandom and was a fresh new take on a character who'd been around for decades. Now it's one of the more well known aspects of the series, and Ultra Magnus's post season 1 role usually references that big reveal. Even his newest Generations 2015 toy was structured around it.(a widely distributed figure that wasn't an Optimus repaint), incorporated this reveal.
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** Tailgate's age tends to come up when debates about shipping flair, especially with issue 47. Age itself is a different concept with Cybertronians, where things like Fort Max being very young and Whirl being very old never really seem to be a factor. However then there's Tailgate who's mannerisms and holomatter avatar (which is supposed to represent his mental image) are that of a young child. This has lead to some fans feeling that putting Tailgate into a romantic relationship (within canon) is squicky because Tailgate seems underage. Not helping this is [[spoiler:Getaway's]] courting of Tailgate is framed like an adult creepily attempting to pick up a child (and is even referred to as grooming). Others feel that these are semantics, and Tailgate himself is only child-like, and his actual age makes him considerably older (seeing as he was born during Nova Prime's time), thus a romantic relationship isn't out of the question
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** Getaway is livid when he learns that [[spoiler:Brainstorm]] is a traitor, and is noticeably angrier than any of the other Autobots. Later revelations about Getaway lend to some interesting ideas on to why he felt this way. He could just be faking his emotions, trying hard to demonstrate strong Autobot moral fiber with his outrage. Or [[spoiler:Getaway's just that big of an Autobot fanatic]] and he's genuinely that disgusted.
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* GrowingTheBeard: Hayato Nakamoto's art saw a significant improvement in this series when compared to his Takara pack-in comics and previous Botcon fill-in. His use of perspective has gotten much better, and all the {{Fanservice}} was reigned in greatly. His art has been praised for its bright and detailed, yet cartoonish look, similar to Nick Roche, but distinctive in its own right.
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*** A later issue has him take down an orbital platform by having Trailbreaker wrap him in a forcefield and Windcharger hurl him at it like a living missile. He tears right through, destroying the platform in a single blow. Tailgate declares it the most awesome thing he's ever seen.
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** Amusingly Getaway got a bit of this after a HoYay-filled scene in issue 30 where he hangs out with Tailgate. Since Tailgate is basically a child this caused some fans to jokingly compare him to ''Pedobear''. [[spoiler:His attempts to turn Tailgate against Cyclonus in issue #40]] have only made things worse.
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** Amusingly Getaway got a bit of this after a HoYay-filled scene in issue 30 where he hangs out with Tailgate. Since Tailgate is basically mistakenly thought of as a child by some fans this caused some fans to jokingly compare him to ''Pedobear''. [[spoiler:His attempts to turn Tailgate against Cyclonus in issue #40]] have only made things worse.
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** Getaway ''started'' as this, being a flashy superspy update of a well-liked character from Fuman's run. Then he turned his attention to Tailgate and things... [[NoYay changed [[spoiler:Ironically, the reveal that he really ''is'' an utter, utter bastard won him back quite a few naysayers, with many liking the vicious subversion of his introductory appearance and being warm to the idea of an evil Autobot on board.]]
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** Getaway ''started'' as this, being a flashy superspy update of a well-liked character from Fuman's run. Then he turned his attention to Tailgate and things... [[NoYay changed changed]] [[spoiler:Ironically, the reveal that he really ''is'' an utter, utter bastard won him back quite a few naysayers, with many liking the vicious subversion of his introductory appearance and being warm to the idea of an evil Autobot on board.]]
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** In issue 47, [[spoiler:Getaway's plans for Tailgate]] are revealed, and as bad as [[{{Yandere}} previous]] [[ManipulativeBastard implications]] were, the truth is so very worse. [[spoiler:It turns out that Getaway, Atomizer and Whirl have been trying to goad Megatron into giving the crew a reason to re-incarcerate or execute him. Following the failure of a direct assault by Whirl, Getaway decides that the best course of action is to manipulate a patsy into attacking Megatron, to be killed. He picks Tailgate, a naive little child of a 'bot, spending months sending him romantic signals and playing his insecurities, driving him away from Cyclonus in the process. When Whirl has an attack of conscience and tries to talk the other two out of the plan, Getaway ]] [[spoiler:Atomizer]] is also fully complicit in the plan, so this likely counts as a shared MEH for both.
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** In issue 47, [[spoiler:Getaway's plans for Tailgate]] are revealed, and as bad as [[{{Yandere}} previous]] [[ManipulativeBastard implications]] were, the truth is so very worse. [[spoiler:It turns out that Getaway, Atomizer and Whirl have been trying to goad Megatron into giving the crew a reason to re-incarcerate or execute him. Following the failure of a direct assault by Whirl, Getaway decides that the best course of action is to manipulate a patsy into attacking Megatron, to be killed. He picks Tailgate, a naive little child of a 'bot, spending months sending him romantic signals and playing his insecurities, driving him away from Cyclonus in the process. When Whirl has an attack of conscience and tries to talk the other two out of the plan, Getaway ]] [[spoiler:Atomizer]] mocks him as Atomizer wipes his memories of the conspiracy, then smugly does the same to Cyclonus as the ancient 'bot runs off to save Tailgate. Atomizer]] is also fully complicit in the plan, so this likely counts as a shared MEH for both.
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** Getaway ''started'' as this, being a flashy superspy update of a well-liked character from Fuman's run. Then he turned his attention to Tailgate and things... [[NoYay changed [[spoiler:Ironically, the reveal that he really ''is'' an utter, utter bastard won him back quite a few naysayers, with many liking the vicious subversion of his introductory appearance and being warm to the idea of an evil Autobot on board.]]
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* LoveToHate: Prowl, Overlord, Pharma, and Star Saber.
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* LoveToHate: Prowl, Overlord, Pharma, and Star Saber.Saber, and now [[spoiler:Getaway and Atomizer.]]
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** After completely fooling ''everyone'' for one and a half seasons, [[spoiler:Brainstorm]] rapidly establishes himself as one of the most competent and effective villains the crew has ever had to face; [[spoiler: even if his actual goal is much more noble than what was expected.]]
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** After completely fooling ''everyone'' for one and a half seasons, [[spoiler:Brainstorm]] rapidly establishes himself as one of the most competent and effective villains the crew has ever had to face; [[spoiler: even [[spoiler:even if his actual goal is much more noble than what was expected.]]]]
** In the footsteps of Prowl, [[spoiler:Getaway]] continues the proud Special Ops tradition of being both a brilliant, DangerouslyGenreSavvy operator and utter scum.
** In the footsteps of Prowl, [[spoiler:Getaway]] continues the proud Special Ops tradition of being both a brilliant, DangerouslyGenreSavvy operator and utter scum.
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** In issue 47, [[spoiler:Getaway's plans for Tailgate]] are revealed, and as bad as [[{{Yandere}} previous]] [[ManipulativeBastard implications]] were, the truth is so very worse. [[spoiler:It turns out that Getaway, Atomizer and Whirl have been trying to goad Megatron into giving the crew a reason to re-incarcerate or execute him. Following the failure of a direct assault by Whirl, Getaway decides that the best course of action is to manipulate a patsy into attacking Megatron, to be killed. He picks Tailgate, a naive little child of a 'bot, spending months sending him romantic signals and playing his insecurities, driving him away from Cylonus, ]] [[spoiler:Atomizer]] is also fully complicit in the plan, so this likely counts as a shared MEH for both.
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** In issue 47, [[spoiler:Getaway's plans for Tailgate]] are revealed, and as bad as [[{{Yandere}} previous]] [[ManipulativeBastard implications]] were, the truth is so very worse. [[spoiler:It turns out that Getaway, Atomizer and Whirl have been trying to goad Megatron into giving the crew a reason to re-incarcerate or execute him. Following the failure of a direct assault by Whirl, Getaway decides that the best course of action is to manipulate a patsy into attacking Megatron, to be killed. He picks Tailgate, a naive little child of a 'bot, spending months sending him romantic signals and playing his insecurities, driving him away from Cylonus, Cyclonus in the process. When Whirl has an attack of conscience and tries to talk the other two out of the plan, Getaway ]] [[spoiler:Atomizer]] is also fully complicit in the plan, so this likely counts as a shared MEH for both.
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** In issue 47, [[spoiler:Getaway's plans for Tailgate]] are revealed, and as bad as [[{{Yandere}} previous]] [[ManipulativeBastard implications]] were, the truth is so very worse. [[spoiler:It turns out that Getaway, Atomizer and Whirl have been trying to goad Megatron into giving the crew a reason to re-incarcerate or execute him. Following the failure of a direct assault by Whirl, Getaway decides that the best course of action is to manipulate a patsy into attacking Megatron, to be killed. He picks Tailgate, a naive little child of a 'bot, spending months sending him romantic signals and playing his insecurities, driving him away from Cylonus, ]] [[spoiler:Atomizer]] is also fully complicit in the plan, so this likely counts as a shared MEH for both.
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** Gateway/Tailgate got this thaks to [[spoiler: Getaway getting increasingly creepy.]]
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** Gateway/Tailgate Getaway/Tailgate got this thaks to [[spoiler: Getaway getting increasingly creepy.]]
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* TheScrappy: [[spoiler:Since ''Our Steps Will Always Rhyme'' Getaway has gained his fair share of detractors, due to his sudden Yandere vibes over Tailgate, despite otherwise being generally affable with the majority of the crew. [[WordOfGod Roberts]] has kept quiet as to whether this was on [[HateSink purpose]] or not.]]
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* TheScrappy: [[spoiler:Since [[spoiler:Getaway was this after ''Our Steps Will Always Rhyme'' Getaway has Rhyme'', having gained his fair share of detractors, due to his sudden Yandere vibes over Tailgate, despite otherwise being generally affable with the majority of the crew. [[WordOfGod Roberts]] The reveal of #47 has kept quiet as to whether this was on [[HateSink purpose]] or not.moved him from being a scrappy and squarely into HateSink category.]]
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** Also, this comic is very popular in the UK, where it normally ranks in the top 10 digital sales for the week, ahead of titles like Batman & Robin Eternal, Chewbacca and All-New Wolverine.
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** [[spoiler:Getaway]]'s creepy and underhanded behavior in issue #40 effectively killed the [[spoiler:Getaway/Tailgate]] ship.
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** [[spoiler:Getaway]]'s creepy and underhanded behavior in issue #40 effectively killed the [[spoiler:Getaway/Tailgate]] ship. It promptly became even deader after it was revealed that [[spoiler: Getaway was faking his feelings, and was in fact manipulating Tailgate so to use him in a plan that would of gotten Tailgate murdered.]]
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* HateSink: [[spoiler:Getaway and Atomizer]] following the reveal in issue 47.
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** Ultra Magnus is [[spoiler:Minimus Ambus]] when first revealed, was a twist that absolutely floored the fandom and was a fresh new take on a character who'd been around for decades. Now it's one of the more well known aspects of the series, and Ultra Magnus's post season 1 role usually references that big reveal. Even his newest toy was structured around it.
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** Ultra Magnus is [[spoiler:Minimus Ambus]] when Ambus]]. When first revealed, this was a twist that absolutely floored the fandom and was a fresh new take on a character who'd been around for decades. Now it's one of the more well known aspects of the series, and Ultra Magnus's post season 1 role usually references that big reveal. Even his newest toy was structured around it.
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* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler:Overlord has been smuggled onboard of the Lost Light. Also Shockwave is a TragicMonster.]] It doesn't help that the former is revealed only six issues in.
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* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler:Overlord ItWasHisSled:
** [[spoiler:Overlord]] has been smuggled onboard of the Lost Light.Also Shockwave is a TragicMonster.]] It doesn't help that the former is this was revealed only six issues in.in.
** [[spoiler:Shockwave]] is a TragicMonster. This played an important and much advertised role in ComicBook/TheTransformersDarkCybertron that it's hard to miss.
** Ultra Magnus is [[spoiler:Minimus Ambus]] when first revealed, was a twist that absolutely floored the fandom and was a fresh new take on a character who'd been around for decades. Now it's one of the more well known aspects of the series, and Ultra Magnus's post season 1 role usually references that big reveal. Even his newest toy was structured around it.
** [[spoiler:Overlord]] has been smuggled onboard of the Lost Light.
** [[spoiler:Shockwave]] is a TragicMonster. This played an important and much advertised role in ComicBook/TheTransformersDarkCybertron that it's hard to miss.
** Ultra Magnus is [[spoiler:Minimus Ambus]] when first revealed, was a twist that absolutely floored the fandom and was a fresh new take on a character who'd been around for decades. Now it's one of the more well known aspects of the series, and Ultra Magnus's post season 1 role usually references that big reveal. Even his newest toy was structured around it.
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** Josh Burcham leaving and being replaced by Joana [=LaFuente=]. Just about everyone wished Josh good luck when he announced he was leaving MTMTE but still working on other IDW titles, and are happy that he went on to color ComicBook/TransformersSinsOfTheWreckers, but opinions on [=LaFuente=] are mixed. Some feel Josh's pastel muted-color pallet was more suited to the series, while others feel her more loud color pallet is an improvement. Naturally a third faction has cropped up that just holds the two as different, but still contributing well to the series.
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** Josh Burcham leaving and being replaced by Joana [=LaFuente=]. Just about everyone wished Josh good luck when he announced he was leaving MTMTE but still working on other IDW titles, and are happy that he went on to color ComicBook/TransformersSinsOfTheWreckers, ''ComicBook/TheTransformersSinsOfTheWreckers'', but opinions on [=LaFuente=] are mixed. Some feel Josh's pastel muted-color pallet was more suited to the series, while others feel her more loud color pallet is an improvement. Naturally a third faction has cropped up that just holds the two as different, but still contributing well to the series.
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** Whirl is shown in Issue 14 having issues with the Targeting Visor as he mentions it was designed for robots with "100% more eyes" than him. Cue ComicBook/TransformersDarkCybertron and Shockwave having a binocular microscope and the RunningGag that came out of it.
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** Whirl is shown in Issue 14 having issues with the Targeting Visor as he mentions it was designed for robots with "100% more eyes" than him. Cue ComicBook/TransformersDarkCybertron ''ComicBook/TheTransformersDarkCybertron'' and Shockwave having a binocular microscope and the RunningGag that came out of it.
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** In the first issue, Rewind complains that everyone makes fun of him because he turns into a giant memory stick and not a "super space tank". Cue the Transformer's Collector's Club second figure subscription service, and one of the figures that is part of it is Rewind (with an Eject repaint) based on the Demolition Rumble toy that was never released Stateside...and turns into a tank.
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** In the first issue, Rewind complains that everyone makes fun of him because he turns into a giant memory stick and not a "super space tank". Cue the Transformer's Collector's Club second figure subscription service, and one of the figures that is part of it is Rewind (with an Eject repaint) based on the Demolition Rumble toy that was never released Stateside... and turns into a tank.
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* AbandonShipping: After TheReveal in issue #33 Brainstorm/Nautica got ditched pretty quick, with some switching to Nautica/Nightbeat. [[spoiler:The reveal that Brainstorm is an AntiVillain]] got it started pretty quickly again, though.
** [[spoiler:Getaway]]'s creepy and underhanded behavior in issue #40 effectively killed the [[spoiler:Getaway/Tailgate]] ship.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: [[http://drpsyche.tumblr.com/post/63456058524/uniformshark-maybe-they-are-born-with-it-maybe Many characters]], but Huffer particularly stands out.
* AdaptationDisplacement: This comic's portrayal of several characters are much more well-known and popular than their usual interpretations. Notable examples include Swerve, Tailgate, Whirl, Chromedome, Rewind, and Cyclonus.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: A large number of the characters have too much psychological complexity to say anything for certain about them. Some notable examples:
** Did [[spoiler:Drift really bully Rodimus into working with Prowl's plan like Rodimus claims or was Rodimus just passing off his guilt]]? Or rather [[spoiler:did Rodimus really agree to the plan or did Prowl arrange some mnemosurgery to be done on Rodimus to ''make'' him agree]]?
** Does [[spoiler: Atomizer genuinely support Rodimus or does he want him off the ship and is manipulating Rodimus to get him kicked out of captain position]]? Notably [[spoiler: he uses the same sort of trick that Prowl apparently used to convince Rodimus to let Overlord on board.]]
*** The fact that [[spoiler: the voting list is fake]] certainly points towards the latter, but it's still not really clear.
** Was [[spoiler:Brainstorm's advice to Chromedome]] heartfelt, or just a way to add more dimension to the masquerade?
*** Events of #38 "Elegant Chaos Part 3" suggest that Brainstorm was actually being sincere, in one of his rare few not-completely-[[BunnyEarsLawyer bunny-eared]] moments.
** A number of fans have [[http://draikinator.tumblr.com/post/107345171460/its-time-to-talk-about-chromedome-a-fair interpreted]] Prowl as having been an abusive partner to Chromedome, at least emotionally, which may explain Chromedome's issues with self-worth and depression.
** When Tyrest was shot with the thought bullet he claimed that the attack convinced him that his path was righteous. The implication was that due to his damaged processor, the Nudge Gun was a NoSell and he figured out he was attacked. He interpreted the attack as someone trying to stop his crusade, and thus convinced himself it was righteous as people were out to stop him. Some fans have questioned whether the thought bullet reacted to his damaged processor and drove him even further into insanity.
** Whirl. Is he a monster, or is he just that ''angry'' about losing his hands, and trapped in his own self-hate? He may be a JerkAss to people but he doesn't do ''that'' many bad things, and he does do good things without asking for repayment. Genuine psychopaths are often highly narcissistic and it's been established that Whirl hates himself as well as other people. In fact his mental state isn't so much diagnosable as psychopathic as it is manic depressive with psychotic episodes...
* AngstWhatAngst: Drift accidentally butchering an innocent at Delphi is pretty quickly forgotten by just about everyone. Than again, given what the guy [[BodyHorror looked like]] it seems that he was about to be dead anyways.
* AntiClimaxBoss:
** Sonic and Boom against Fortress Maximus. Probably intentional.
** [[spoiler:Dai Atlas]] against Star Saber. Saber himself against Cyclonus, though that confrontation was non-fatal.
* {{Applicability}}: Roberts has woven a political message into his story both in obvious and subtle ways, though the most obvious (and most deliberate) comparison is the Russian Revolution. The themes of apartheid, religion, unchecked government power, and revolution leading to both good and bad outcomes have been interpreted as many different ideas, institutions, and historical movements from both past and present.
* AuthorsSavingThrow: There were some complaints about the Decepticon Justice Division sort of falling off the radar after taking off after Overlord. Come season 2, we find out that [[spoiler:they attacked the duplicate ''Lost Light'', and already ''did'' take care of him in a sense.]]
** Fans of Chromedome and Rewind were obviously less than pleased about [[spoiler:[[BuryYourGays the latter's apparent death]]. The very first arc of Season 2 sees his return thanks to quantum superposition.]]
* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt
* BaseBreaker:
** The revelation of [[spoiler: Ultra Magnus being Minimus Ambus]] upset some fans but as time goes on this rift seems to have died down.
** Star Saber being a violent religious zealot. Though it comes as no surprise to readers of Robert's TFMUK stories, some fans don't really like the interpretation.
** The art of Issue 22, or rather, the inking, which makes the issue awfully dark and gloomy, even though it's a lighthearted issue.
** Megatron's HeelFaceTurn. Boy oh boy. Roughly half the fanbase sees it as an ambitious foray into previously unexplored areas, while the other dislikes this as this flies in the face of all the evil that he's done. That said it seems to be decreasing as the issues actually come out, since it's acknowledged and discussed in-universe. A third camp doesn't really care either way and are just happy that James Roberts is writing Megatron again, since many felt the character's portrayal in ''Robots In Disguise'' was a bit underwhelming compared to Roberts' portrayal back in "Chaos Theory".
** [[spoiler:Trailcutter]]'s death. Much like the demise of [[spoiler:Breakdown]] on ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', some see it as a bold move reinforcing that AnyoneCanDie, while others view it as an unnecessarily cruel [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Bridge Drop]] on a promising character.
** The Personality Ticks from issues 41-42. To some they're a CreepyAwesome brand of antagonist whose anatomy and powers are great examples of "out there" sic-fi that's perfectly at home with the comic's tone. To others they're just characterless monsters whose powers and biology push past the suspension of disbelief and end up looking stupid.
** In issue 45 there was James Roberts' handling of Grimlock's disability, particularly after a poll-tweet he started on twitter on whether you'd sell Grimlock or not has started a movement on tumblr labeling Roberts as an ableist and whatnot. A large portion doesn't seem to give a hoot about it though. Issue 46 either remedied the problem or made it worse depending on which fan you ask.
* BizarroEpisode: '''Issue 43'''. It's comparable to the weird, one-off genre homages ''{{Series/Community}}'' often did. WordOfGod suggests that it was [[InvokedTrope deliberately designed this way]].
* BrokenBase:
** Josh Burcham leaving and being replaced by Joana [=LaFuente=]. Just about everyone wished Josh good luck when he announced he was leaving MTMTE but still working on other IDW titles, and are happy that he went on to color ComicBook/TransformersSinsOfTheWreckers, but opinions on [=LaFuente=] are mixed. Some feel Josh's pastel muted-color pallet was more suited to the series, while others feel her more loud color pallet is an improvement. Naturally a third faction has cropped up that just holds the two as different, but still contributing well to the series.
** Hayato Sakamoto due to his OldShame / BleachedUnderpants background, to the point some wanted him fired, or at least blacklisted, before his issue even came out.
** Who's Holomatter Avatar designs are better; Guido Guidi's or Alex Milne? While DependingOnTheArtist can be handwaved (the bot's themselves mention that they can change their looks to how they want), there's obviously differing opinions on some of the designs. Whirl: better as an adorable little girl (suiting his PsychopathicManchild nature), or a more punk inspired teenager (suiting his rebellious side)? Rung, better as a plain looking guy (suiting his non-memorable role), or the handsome redhead (suiting his intelligence and dignity)? Are Guidi's designs too simple? Are Milne's too detailed?
* CargoShip: Brainstorm sometimes gets this with his briefcase, which was kind of inevitable given that he's so attached to the thing that he ''brings it to a funeral''. James Roberts jokingly suggested that this trope is in effect with Nautica and her wrench.
* CharacterRerailment: After some minor derailment [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW under the pens of Mike Costa, Dan Abnett, and Andy Lanning]] (thanks to carrying the IdiotBall and CriticalResearchFailure respectively), Rodimus and Cyclonus are put back into their usual characterizations thanks to CharacterDevelopment in the previous ongoing.
* CompleteMonster: Besides the return of [[ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers Overlord]], [[AxCrazy Pharma]] is a former [[MadDoctor Autobot Medic]] who [[FaceHeelTurn went evil]]. After saving one of the main character's lives, he became the head medic at a medical facility on the planet Delphi. There he received death threats from an elite Decepticon unit who threatened to overrun the place, and [[WellIntentionedExtremist began bribing them with organs]], first from dead bots but later he began killing living ones. Eventually [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope it becomes too much]], and he has two other Decepticons unleash a plague on the facility to kill everyone and cover up his crimes. When he's revealed, he shoots a life-support, sending about 20 patients into near death states to distract everyone. He then tries to kill Ratchet twice before [[DisneyVillainDeath being thrown off the facility]]. He survives the fall and is recruited into Chief Justice Tyrest's group (who drilled a hole in his head and is trying to destroy all Transformers he considers inferior); all the Decepticons admit to being freaked out by him. When he finds Ratchet again, he separates Ratchet's head and spark from his body and starts torturing him. To prove he is a better medic, he has one of his co-workers from Delphi, Ambulon, [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe sliced in half]], vertically from head to crotch, with a {{chainsaw|Good}}, and tells Ratchet to fix him. Ambulon dies in agony before the chainsaw leaves him. Later Pharma shoots Brainstorm.
* ContinuityLockOut: One of the few real problems with the comic is that it's clearly intended to be read from the very beginning; there's ''loads'' of continuity, set-ups, characters, subplots, and jokes that can all appear or disappear at any time and it's not uncommon for the running gags to get zig-zagged all over the place.
** This was somewhat lessened at the beginning of Season 2, since it provided a ''much'' more detailed recap page, but it's getting as bad as Season 1 was as it progresses.
* CounterpartComparison:
** Whirl has had a lot of comparisons to Deadpool, as well as [[{{Series/Firefly}} Jayne Cobb]].
** Some have compared [[spoiler:Chief Justice Tyrest]] to Judge Claude Frollo from ''Hunchback Of Notre Dame''.
** Nightbeat's comparisons to Sherlock Holmes are nothing new, but here he's specifically been compared to [[{{Series/Sherlock}} the Benedict Cumberbatch]] version, with his fast talking, stir crazy, AllergicToRoutine attitude and LackOfEmpathy. The Sherlock shout outs and the Author's love of the show have only fed this. Funnily enough, when Nightbeat's human holomatter avatar appears in issue 43 however, he has the likeness of [[{{Series/Luther}} a completely different British TV detective.]]
* CrackShip: Brainstorm/Atomizer seems bizarrely popular, despite the fact that they never spoke to each other until issue 33. The fact that they were both stationed at Kimia might have something to do with it.
** Misfire/Fulcrum is also surprisingly popular even though Misfire is kind of a dick to Fulcrum in the comic.
** Helex/Tesarus from when Milne drew [[http://markerguru.deviantart.com/art/Merry-Christmas-2013-421994258 Tesarus holding up Mistletoe and smirking at Helex]] on his Devientart.
** Overlord/Trepan has gathered a number of fans with the revelation that Overlord kidnapped Trepan and forced him to teach him mnemosurgery. Fans of TeacherStudentRomance and MindGameShip both hopped aboard.
* CrazyAwesome: Whirl is very likely insane, and his impressive amount of jerkassery and insanity gets him through the day. When beaten, impaled and then threatened by a crazy ShellShockedVeteran, Whirl's response is to taunt him in cruel and amusing ways, diffusing the situation, and then impaling the guy when things heat up again. Rewind casually mentions that Whirl punched himself in the face to prove that he's super-invincible, and apparently introduces himself by saying he has no known weaknesses. He solves the problem of moving Ultra Magnus by having everyone's avatar jump on him till he transforms. As of issue 28, he's the only person in the history of the franchise to ''kick Megatron in the crotch''.
** Then in issue 10 Orion Pax ''flies down from the sky out of nowhere'' and slams down on top of the guy attacking Chromedome and Prowl. Chromedome assumes that he probably ''jumped off a random rooftop'' to do this but isn't sure...
--->'''Chromedome''': He did that sort of thing a lot.
** Brainstorm practically runs on this.
* CreepyAwesome: The DJD, Overlord, Pharma, and The Functionist Council.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: Whirl is constantly crossing it. At one point he tries to defuse a hostage situation by straight up telling a ShellShockedVeteran to shoot himself in the face.
-->'''Rung''': WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?
** Brainstorm's "My First Blaster" gun that he gave Swerve. It's an obscenely large gun that's apparently designed for ''children'' judging by the design. If you get a direct hit with it, it makes a little jingle and says "You got a direct hit!" like a toddler's toy.
** In issue 20 [[spoiler: when the Killswitch hits Constancy and starts affecting Krok, Spinister, and Crankcase]], if you look in the background you can see that Grimlock (still mentally disabled from whatever happened to him on the Worldsweeper) is ''playing pengu with some toy blocks''.
* DesignatedVillain: Mirage does nothing other than open a bar, but Swerve is able to drive him out of business without any repercussions. Conversely, Swerve comes away from the situation [[DesignatedHero looking like a complete asshole]]. Ratchet doesn't come off looking much better, since the whole thing was his idea.
* DracoInLeatherPants: Pharma got a little bit of this after ''How Ratchet Got His Hands Back'' due to his backstory and hints of JerkassWoobie. His [[MoralEventHorizon later appearance]] in the ''Remain In Light'' arc [[SubvertedTrope changed]] that.
** Surprisingly inverted with Whirl. Despite his tragic backstory making him a perfect candidate for this trope, most fans seem to ''prefer'' him as a complete asshole.
** Played a bit straight with Cyclonus. His fans gloss out his initial abuse of Tailgate, including the slapping and kicking after Tailgate tells him he lied to him about the war in ''Life After The Big Bang''. Of course, Cyclonus grows out of it, becomes a nicer guy, [[spoiler:and saves Tailgate's life in the ''Remain In Light'' arc -- but the abuse still happened, and it isn't until ''Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet'' when Cyclonus apologises for it.]]
* EnsembleDarkhorse: ''More Than Meets The Eye'' is arguably a series known for taking a group of previously obscure characters within the franchise as a whole, and turning them into a bunch of Ensemble Darkhorses:
** Swerve, typically a rarely noticed background character in other continuities, has quickly become popular due to his fast talking, smart-assed, hilarious, and very personable portrayal in this storyline.
** Roberts' character Rung has also picked up a posse of fangirls, due to his awkward, adorably gangly design, and matching adorkably geeky personality.
** Tarn, the leader of the Decepticon Justice Division, if simply for looking really badass and having several cool gimmicks going for him. He became even more popular after issue 39, where he was given more character depth and shown to be a TragicVillain.
** Whirl has also become one, if for no other reason than being totally CrazyAwesome. In fact when the promotions of issue 6 made it out as if TonightSomeoneDies, most of the comments on them consisted of "I'm cool as long as Whirl makes it".
** Cyclonus, in part because he matches Whirl's badassness on the field and his {{Tsundere}} personality. Tailgate is also an ensemble darkhorse in part because of his friendship with Cyclonus.
** Brainstorm, a MetaGuy extraordinaire with a penchant for ''brilliantly'' outlandish inventions (see CrossesTheLineTwice). This increased after his complex backstory and motivations were revealed in season 2.
** Nautica, for being extremely {{Adorkable}} and nice towards everyone.
** Nightbeat, who was already a massive Ensemble Darkhorse for the rest of the franchise.
** The Scavenger plotline in general. They only appear every dozen issues or so and have yet to majorly impact the MythArc, but they're just as popular as the Lost Light crew.
** In one bizarre example, the segway/scooter that Rung is seen riding in issue 37 has become beloved by fans.
** Nickel, for being a hilarious TeamMom for the DJD who creates some of the most absurd MoodWhiplash ever seen.
* EpilepticTrees: This comic inspires some ''truly'' insane speculation; just look at the WMG page. Some of the more out-there theories include Rung being one of the Guiding Hand and a flashback in issue 35 actually being an alternate timeline created by [[spoiler: Brainstorm going to the past]]. Note that [[spoiler: the latter ended up being ''correct''.]] Brainstorm and the DJD are Epileptic ''Woodsmen''.
* EvenBetterSequel: To ''ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers'', which it takes several semi-major plot points from.
* EvilIsCool: The DJD, Tarn in particular.
* EvilIsSexy:
** Overlord is just about this personified, with his handsome (for a giant robot) looks and campy, charismatic, and theatrical mannerisms. (Doesn't make him any less scary or creepy, however.)
*** In fact, one defining trait of Overlord has been his luscious lips. Possibly lampshaded by IDW themselves with the alternate cover for issue 15 which is basically a close-up of Overlord's lips. This was later confirmed by the [[WordOfGod creators]], where they indicated they based his looks on the Roman/Greek busts of old, pout and all, hence the luscious lips.
** Oh, so you noticed all the work Alex Milne put into Pharma's design? So did the fans.
** Star Saber is not exactly a slouch in this department. Neither is Tyrest, despite [[BodyHorror routinely drilling holes in himself]].
** This is about the only nice thing one could say about the Senate.
* FanficFuel: What kind of adventures did [[spoiler:The Alternate Lost Light]] have? Well, according to James Roberts that's up to you, so hop to it.
* FanPreferredCouple: Tailgate/Cyclonus and Skids/Swerve are getting extremely popular.
** Rodimus/Drift, too, though not quite to the extent of the first two.
** Due to the events of issue 33, Nightbeat/Nautica seems to have gained a big boost.
** Drift/Ratchet is the most popular ship on Ao3 right now.
* FoeYay: Tarn sure does love getting up close and personal with the competition.
** ''Hello'', Pharma.
* FountainOfMemes: For transfans at least.
* FridgeBrilliance: [[spoiler:Sandstorm]] is one of the bailiffs at Megatron's trial. That same trial that allowed one of the most infamous war criminals in the universe to get off relatively easily. Suddenly [[VigilanteExecution his actions]] in the ''Punishment'' motion comic make even more sense.
** In the Slaughterhouse arc that [[spoiler: duplicate!Overlord's death at the hands of the DJD was almost nothing compared to what they did to the alternate ''Lost Light'' crew. However, as ''Land Stand Of The Wreckers'' shows, Overlord can withstand anything the 'bots and 'cons throw at him, something the DJD were most likely aware of. So to counterbalance this, they decided to execute him in way that, for one of the 'con's most powerful warriors, is relatively undignifying.]]
** Dominus Ambus' defense of the Disposables might not have just come from his love for Rewind. Given the size of his brother Minimus, who explicitly notes [[IJustWantToBeSpecial he wanted to be more than what he was designed for]], something impossible on Functionist Cybertron, it's entirely possible Dominus was fighting the system to give ''both'' of the 'bots he loved a chance to be happy, without fear of persecution or segregation.
* FridgeLogic: Whirl's upset about his lost hands which he used for making watches and he wants them back. Ratchet has shown to be able to make new hands, and [[spoiler: even offers to give his to Whirl should he die]], there was a question as to why he could not make Whirl some new ones [[spoiler:even Shockwave replaced his claws with a hand and a gun.]] This turned out to be intentional, as Whirl addresses it in issue 19; turns out he keeps his claws by choice.
-->"Life's messed up. I'm messed up. I've done bad things and I continue to do bad things, because the voice telling me not to...? He's not said much for a while. And y'know what keeps me going? Anger. Anger's an insulator. Stops life getting too close. If I got myself "fixed," maybe the anger would leave me—and then I really would be screwed."
** Who coined "Wreck n' Rule"? Impactor or Whirl?
*** Ironfist states that Impactor coined it in ''Last Stand Of The Wreckers,'' with the caveat that Impactor was the first one to use it as a Wrecker. The phrase seems to predate Impactor and might actually be Whirl's seeing as it was scribbled in the walls of his cell, before Impactor became his cellmate, and way before there were Wreckers in the first place.
*** [[WordOfGod Roberts]] declares that Impactor was the one that made the phrase popular, but did not create it. As for whom was the original author of the phrase, he just said [[RiddleForTheAges "let's just leave that unresolved"]].
* FriendlyFandoms: With ''[[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Who]]''. Transfans and Whovians have always gotten along somewhat, but this comic pretty much cemented it due to the writer being a fan of ''Doctor Who'' and Overlord's personality being based off of the Master (specifically the John Simm version).
** Also with ''Arrested Development'' due to a.) James Roberts being an avowed fan of the show and b.) the comic having a similar style of humor and storytelling to the show.
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Every single thing Brainstorm's done once it's revealed [[spoiler:he's a Decepticon plant.]] Suddenly those horrific crimes against science stop being so funny.
** Linked to this is a scene in issue 22 where Rodimus mocks Thunderclash for [[spoiler: having a spy in his crew in the form of Paddox.]]
** In issue 3 a humorous conversation has Ultra Magnus mention a Decepticon named Blip who thought he was a sparkeater. Issue 39 shows that Blip was later brutally murdered by the DJD for that belief.
* GeniusBonus: Quite a lot.
** "Sound Bombs" are actually possible. There are studies that have shown cephalopods suffering massive trauma caused by noise, in some cases causing the nerves inside their heads to explode, leaving gaping holes in their heads.
** In "Shadowplay" the Senator refers to his students as "outliers". An outlier is a math term for a number in a large collection of numbers that is different from the rest.
** The Scavengers' ship is called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic_principle "The Weak Anthropic Principle"]], a philosophical belief that claims that observations of the physical universe must be compatible with the conscious life that inhabits it.
** "Omega's Conundrum" is filled with allusions to the notorious [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat Schrödinger's cat]] paradox.
** There is a principle of Cybertronian biology called "Rossum's Trinity", a reference to the 1920 Czech science fiction play "Rossum's Universal Robots", which introduced the word "robot" into the English language.
** In the 2012 annual we're given a quote from Megatron that paraphrases a quote from Karl Marx; "Religion is the opiate of the people".
** Issue 9 is titled "Post Hoc" a term that refers to the examination of data in search of patterns after an event. The issue includes a reference to a place called Apophenia, a word which refers to the experience of seeing connections in meaningless or random data.
** There's a reference to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6bius_strip Möbius strip]] in issue 13.
** Issue 14's prologue references a the socialist play "An Inspector Calls".
** Issue 14 mentions a place called Thymesis; the Greek word for "Remembering". [[FridgeBrilliance Considering the subject matter of the issue]]...
** Thunderclash's ship is called the "Vis Vitalis", which is the name of a classical alchemical principle of a "life force" possessed by living creatures.
** Tyrest's failed "two-city state solution" is a reference to the fabled "two state solution" in Israel and Palestine's peace process.
** Chief Justice Tyrest is designed to resemble a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_angelic_hierarchy#Principalities_or_Rulers Principality]] a member of the highest order of the Third Sphere of angels in the Christian angelic hierarchy.
** Issue 19's title is taken from R. D. Laing's The Divided Self, a seminal work on understanding madness.
** Empurata is an anagram of the Latin word "amputare", meaning "to cut away". In ancient times, amputare was often used to punish criminals, marking them as lawbreakers and publicly humiliating them by removing specific digits or limbs. Sure enough, Empurata is given a similar purpose here.
** Ununtrium is indeed a real synthetically created element.
** The "Ambus Test" is a reference to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_Test Turing Test]], a scientific exercise designed to test when human-engineered "artificial intelligence" in computers has reached the level of sentience.
** Cyclonus belongs to a religious order called the Clavis Aurea. "Clavis aurea" is a 16th century theological term that refers to the means by which hidden meanings in texts may be discovered; it means "golden key" in Latin.
** K'Gard's name is an allusion to the philosopher [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard Søren Kierkegaard]].
** The Ammonites' name refers to both [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonoidea an extinct genus of molluscs]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammon an ancient tribe]] which existed in biblical times.
** "Momus" is the name of the Greek god of satire and mockery. It's also the name of an obscure indie band.
** Nautica is a quantum mechanic, a play upon the real-life field of quantum mechanics. The cheat engines and Möbius ships she professes interest in are also wordplays, on heat engines and Möbius strips respectively.
** The arena in which Megatron's trial is held is named the "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raskol Raskol]] arena", the Russian word for "split" or "schism". The term specifically refers to the 17th century splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church, triggered by reforms introduced by its patriarch.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The series has a decent following in Japan and Spanish-speaking countries.
* AGoodNameForARockBand:
** Mega Starpuncher.
** Mighty Spaceship.
** Universal Killswitch.
** Soulsnatchers.
** Propagator Of Infinite Sin.
** Predisposed to Sin.
** Falling Beyond God's Reach.
** Five Inches from Enlightenment.
** Suicide by Facepalm.
* {{Gorn}}: There can be some especially jarring scenes of violence, and/or torture, like [[spoiler:Ambulon]] being graphically cut in half lengthwise or heads exploding in some messy fashion.
* HarsherInHindsight: The Shadowplay arc sheds some new light on many of the actions of [[spoiler:Shockwave.]] Specifically, when he feels emotions [[spoiler: in his spotlight and Maximum Dinobot comics, he discovers rage, how to feel anger and hatred and use that to his advantage. He expresses wonder and intrigue at these feelings, which we have just learned he was stripped of before the war.]]
** Remember how funny it was that Tailgate got stuck transforming? Well, issue 17 revealed that [[spoiler:it's because he has cybercrosis and is ''rotting from the inside'']], with the damage including his transformation cog.
*** And then we learn that [[spoiler:he was only online for about 2 weeks prior to being trapped under rubble and put offline until found in modern times. He's an infant dying of old age. Makes his baby holo-avatar a lot darker]].
** Ultra Magnus' SuperOCD tendencies are pretty funny, right? Ha, he thinks skewed Autobot symbols are tantamount to mutiny. Well, turns out his SuperOCD is because he's having a full-on ''nervous breakdown'' because he can't handle peacetime. And it turns out his boss Chief Justice Tyrest found out about it and was ''not'' amused.
*** Even worse, his StatOVision in the annual, when he looks at his reflection reads 'laughingstock'.
** Ultra Magnus chewing out Rodimus in issue 3 over how reckless he was during the Sparkeater incident given that [[spoiler: the alternate Rodimus actually died because of his recklessness with fighting the Sparkeater.]]
** Brainstorm's advice to Chromedome in issue 16, as issue 38 shows [[spoiler: Brainstorm ignored his own advice, refusing to move on from the death of his love and instead attempting to destroy an entire timeline just so he could potentially be with Quark.]]
* HeartwarmingInHindsight: In issue #6, Rewind is busted for storing recordings of graphic deaths in his head, basically being the equivalent of snuff films in the Transformers-Verse. Issue #12 shows why he does this- he's looking for a friend that he lost millennia ago, and is looking for any evidence of where he went or what happened to him.
* HesJustHiding: A lot of fans don't buy [[spoiler:Rewind's]] death, as he was lost in a messy explosion and the body wasn't found. Lampshaded when Swerve recaps issue 33 to the audience and is surprised when he realizes that the audience never really thought he was dead in the first place. [[spoiler:The Rewind the crew find isn't ''their'' Rewind, either...]]
** The fact that [[spoiler:Trailcutter]] died just before the series introduced [[spoiler:time travel]] is raising a few eyebrows. This was ''partially'' undone by the ''Elegant Chaos'' arc, which made clear that [[spoiler: time travel in this universe can't change the past, only act out predestined events.]]
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Website/{{Cracked}} once made a list of the [[http://www.cracked.com/funny-7170-10-most-useless-transformers/ "10 Most Useless Transformers,"]] a list which included Rewind, Chromedome, Mainframe, Skids, and Swerve. Come this series, Rewind is a walking database, Chromedome is the best Mnemosurgeon alive, Mainframe one of the central bridge crew, Skids is an enormously {{Badass}} spy, and Swerve [[spoiler:helps figure out a cure to the dreaded disease cybercrosis.]]
** An extremely powerful AmnesiacHero is best friends with a smaller MotorMouth prankster. ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', anyone?
** Swerve asking Skids if he's an ex-wrecker when they first met. [[spoiler: He's from the Diplomatic Corps, another autobot special ops team, seen as a foil to the Wreckers.]]
** There is an episode of ''Futurama'' in which Professor Farnsworth builds a "Death Clock" that functions almost exactly like the Death Clock Ratchet has. To top it off, [[spoiler:in both ''Futurama'' and this comic the local NaiveNewcomer is shown to have a very short time to live by the respective Death Clocks.]]
** Whirl is shown in Issue 14 having issues with the Targeting Visor as he mentions it was designed for robots with "100% more eyes" than him. Cue ComicBook/TransformersDarkCybertron and Shockwave having a binocular microscope and the RunningGag that came out of it.
** In issue 12, there's a brief scene during the big fight where Chromedome rides Overkill (a Decepticon who has a dinosaur form). Not even two years later, ''Transformers Age Of Extinction'' has a scene where Optimus Prime rides Grimlock into a battle in the exact same way. Made even funnier by the fact that the issue has a scene where Rewind accuses Chromedome of pretending to be Optimus Prime.
** In the first issue, Rewind complains that everyone makes fun of him because he turns into a giant memory stick and not a "super space tank". Cue the Transformer's Collector's Club second figure subscription service, and one of the figures that is part of it is Rewind (with an Eject repaint) based on the Demolition Rumble toy that was never released Stateside...and turns into a tank.
* HoYay: Tons and tons and tons. And this is excluding the canon couple ''and'' Prowl and Chromedome's past relationship.
** Rodimus' [[LikeAnOldMarriedCouple texts to Drift]] might be easy enough to write off as Rodimus being Rodimus. Less so is Drift trying to impress Rodimus by interrogating Cyclonus (which he takes ''way'' too far), giving Rodimus [[FreudWasRight sword lessons]], complete with a HandsOnApproach shot, or [[spoiler:accepting full responsibility for the Overlord affair to shield Rodimus.]]
*** Drift happens across Rodimus and Snap Trap fighting in issue 12. He immediately stabs the latter through the head, claiming that "the ones with swords are his."
** Cyclonus and Tailgate too. Especially when [[spoiler:it looks like Tailgate's going to die.]] Cyclonus goes so far as to gouge his face in self-loathing when his bad advice makes the little 'bot even more miserable.
** Red Alert's monologue at the comatose Rung's bedside has heavy shades of this.
** Brainstorm's "highly conflicted Perceptor fanboy" status got a lot of this treatment very quickly. Their interactions in "Dark Cybertron" only added fuel to the fire.
-->'''Brainstorm:''' You? Me? ''Simpatico''.
** Tyrest and Magnus's interactions are far more casual than you would expect [[ByTheBookCop from either]] [[TheJudge of them]].
** In issue 29 when Atomizer is trying to convince Rodimus to [[spoiler:take the voting list]] he gets a little ''too'' close and friendly with him. This had the members of TFW 2005's forums declaring the Atomizer was Rodimus's secret admirer. It helps that Atomizer very much looks as though he's got a [[ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers Primus-Apotheosis-style]] hero worship thing going on for Rodimus. [[spoiler:Though it's quickly subverted when it's revealed Atomizer was trying to play Rodimus.]]
** Tailgate and Getaway in issue 30, so much so that Cyclonus walked out of the room. [[spoiler:[[NoYay Come issue #40, however...]]]]
** Fayren's Retailer Incentive cover for Issue 33 looks like it could easily be from a scene of a slashfic featuring Tarn and Fulcrum.
** Some readers have pointed out the events surrounding the Shadowplay arc and Dark Cybertron imply that one point Optimus Prime had feelings for [[spoiler: Shockwave]] of all people.
* {{HSQ}}: "Remain In Light" and "Slaughterhouse".
* IKnewIt: Many fans correctly guessed that Prowl was responsible for Overlord being on the Lost Light. Many also correctly assumed [[spoiler:that Brainstorm was in on the whole thing. Drift being the ''real'' conspirator]] was much less expected, though, as was [[spoiler:Rodimus's involvement.]]
** [[spoiler: Ultra Magnus being a LegacyCharacter]] was also guessed correctly.
** A lot of people also figured out that [[spoiler: Ravage snuck onto the Lost Light to spy on Megatron for Soundwave.]]
** There were two competing theories for the second Lost Light, Alternate/Branched Timeline and Quantum Superposition. [[spoiler: It is the Quantum Superposition theory that was right. When the Lost Light took off and had a failure, the engines created two possible destinations, pretty much like [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Will and Tom Riker and the teleporter accident they had]].]]
** [[spoiler:Some fans suspected that Brainstorm was not after Pax, but after Megatron. Issue 37 confirms that.]]
* InferredHolocaust: Bitterly lampshaded by Rodimus and Getaway when they discover [[spoiler: that the hot spot on Luna 1 won't reignite, meaning thousands of Cybertronians essentially just died in utero.]]
* IronWoobie: Sunstreaker.
-->"SORRY SORRY SORRY! I spend my whole life apologizing! Just once- '''just once'''- I'd like to have ''nothing'' to apologize for!"
* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler:Overlord has been smuggled onboard of the Lost Light. Also Shockwave is a TragicMonster.]] It doesn't help that the former is revealed only six issues in.
** Good luck avoiding the knowledge that Megatron joins the quest in season 2. Made even worse by the fact that IDW itself spoiled this through promos.
* JerkassWoobie:
** Whirl, after we learn his {{Backstory}}.
** Chromedome. In addition to having one of the most dour and cynical outlooks of any of the cast, many of his worst troubles can be attributed to his own faults and sometimes questionable ethics. But even taking those into account, so much of his life just ''sucks''.
** [[spoiler:Brainstorm]] is implied to be one in issue 16. This is confirmed in issue 38; [[spoiler: his entire motivation for travelling through time was to try and prevent the death of his one-true-love Quark]].
-->[[spoiler:'''Brainstorm]]:''' Your pain will change. It won't fade-- course not, course it won't-- but it'll eventually turn into something else. Something you can live with. Take it from someone who knows.
** Cyclonus. At times he's incredibly cold and abrasive, but when you consider how ridiculously traumatic his past six and a half million years have been, it's a wonder he's coping as well as he is. Gets taken UpToEleven when Tailgate becomes ill.
** Megatron, who is filled with regret over his actions in the war and desperately trying to atone. Also he's ReformedButRejected. Starscream actually lampshades this in his speech at Megatron's trial, portraying Megs as a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds who got in over his head and succumbed to the same evil he fought.
** Ravage. He genuinely believes in Megatron and the Decepticons and is devastated by Megatron's abandoning of the Decepticon cause.
** Surprisingly, issue 39 reveals that [[spoiler: ''Tarn'' may count as this. He's secretly horrified and disturbed by the violence the DJD commits and his mask is actually there to hide the fact that he closes his eyes in remorse and disgust when they torture people. He's also implied to be filled with self hatred, with him constantly criticizing himself through his inner monologue. The only reason he even helps them is because he sees his duty as absolutely necessary.]]
* LGBTFanbase: This series has gotten a lot of attention from the LGBT community for featuring the first official homosexual couple in ''Transformers'' in the form of Chromedome and Rewind.
* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: [[spoiler: While the story hasn't pulled any punches in killing some of the 'bots, a big name bot, like Ultra Magnus, does seem covered by PlotArmor, even with the revelation that Ultra Magnus is a LegacyCharacter]].
* LoveToHate: Prowl, Overlord, Pharma, and Star Saber.
* MagnificentBastard: It doesn't become clear until "Remain In Light" just how much [[spoiler: Prowl]] has manipulated the Lost Light crew. For one thing, [[spoiler: he correctly guessed that Chromedome would end up a point where Drift could convince him to join up with the Overlord project]] and played [[spoiler:Rodimus]] like a fiddle to get him to do what he wanted. However, it's also {{deconstructed}} as his manipulations end up having loads of horrible consequences. Not only that, but once the consequences are real, those that were manipulated realize they were and some even call out Prowl on it.
** After completely fooling ''everyone'' for one and a half seasons, [[spoiler:Brainstorm]] rapidly establishes himself as one of the most competent and effective villains the crew has ever had to face; [[spoiler: even if his actual goal is much more noble than what was expected.]]
* MagnumOpus: Many are considering the comic to be this for both James Roberts and IDW's Transformers comics in general. In terms of the series, most fans seem to consider "Remain In Light" to be the best storyline so far (it even got MTMTE nominated for an award) while Roberts himself considers issue 16 to currently be the best issue.
* MartyStu: Thunderclash. [[ParodySue Done completely intentionally]] and PlayedForLaughs.
* MeaningfulName: Theophany (the planet where Crystal City is) is a Greek word meaning [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic "the appearance of God witnessed by a person"]].
* MemeticBadass: Whirl. Fortress Maximus is one ''in-universe''.
** James Roberts himself is starting to get this treatment amongst the fandom.
* MemeticMolester: Pharma, after his insanely creepy behavior in issue 18.
** Amusingly Getaway got a bit of this after a HoYay-filled scene in issue 30 where he hangs out with Tailgate. Since Tailgate is basically a child this caused some fans to jokingly compare him to ''Pedobear''. [[spoiler:His attempts to turn Tailgate against Cyclonus in issue #40]] have only made things worse.
* MemeticMutation:
** Prowl flips tables when angry. (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
** Social Justice Tarn. [[note]]Explanation: A running gag amongst the fandom, portraying the BigBad, KnightTemplar Tarn as a stereotypical Malcom X-style social crusader for Decepticons.[[/note]]
*** On that note, Everyone is Tarn. [[note]]Explanation: Because Tarn's face is an obvious Decepticon symbol mask, it's a bit of a joke to guess at who he used to be.[[/note]]
** Courage Rodimus. [[note]]Explanation: Rodimus is insanely reckless at times and fans love pointing out his insane leaps in logic such as making medics fight on the frontlines or allowing a ShellShockedVeteran to walk around with a loaded gun.[[/note]]
** As of Issue 18, Overly-attached [[spoiler:Pharma]].
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbKsZZ_B9NI FUCK DA POLICE]].
*** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcPBlR4xuV8 It's not unusual to be lonely...]]
** [[SkywardScream JAAAAMMMMEEESS]] [[SayMyName ROOOBBBEEERRRTTSS]]!!!
** [[VerbalTic BOMP!]]
** [[Series/DoctorWho Everyone lives Rose! Just this once everyone lives!]] [[note]]Explanation: A ShoutOut joke about how [[spoiler: EveryoneLives in the dreaded issue 21]].[[/note]]
* {{Moe}}: Tailgate and to a lesser degree Nautica.
* MoralEventHorizon: Overlord undoubtably crossed it years before this series. It would be easier to describe the moments he ''isn't'' crossing it. However the moment he loses all possible likability is when he horrifically murders [[spoiler:Pipes]] for no reason at all, then goes off to do the same to everyone else on the ship.
** Star Saber crossed it in the backstory [[spoiler:when he tried to commit genocide against ''everyone in the galaxy that didn't believe in Primus''.]] If that didn't do it, then [[spoiler:murdering [[TheObiWan Dai Atlas]]]] definitely did.
** Tyrest crosses it when he activates the Universal Killswitch.
** Pharma crosses it when he murders [[spoiler:Ambulon]] just to prove that he is a better doctor than Ratchet and win the "contest".
** Megatron likely crossed it ages ago (the events of ''All Hail Megatron'' come to mind). His character arc seems to be based around whether someone who has crossed the horizon can possibly find a way to redemption.
** In case it wasn't clear how monstrous the DJD is; [[spoiler: issue 32 shows how they slaughtered an alternate version of the Lost Light crew, torturing or mutilating everyone except the alternate Rewind than blowing the ship in half out of spite. And issue 33 shows that they forced Rewind to film everything by promising to spare Chromedome, than tried to force Chromedome to erase his memories of Rewind before brutally murdering Chromedome with his own needles when he said no.]]
*** Possibly subverted by issue 39, which reveals that the DJD only did so because [[spoiler: they were whacked off their skulls on [[FantasticDrug Nuke]] and lost control when they saw Drift.]] However, [[spoiler: Vos and Kaon murdering Trailcutter]] just after ''he saved their lives'', has no excuse.
** Though they don't get to actually cross it, Krok, Crankcase, and Spinister wary dangerously close to this in issue 45 when they consider selling Grimlock to Demus.
* {{Narm}}: "Primus hates you." It works in context when you take [[TheFundamentalist who]]'s saying it into account, but by itself it sounds like the kind of thing a spiteful five-year-old might say.
** Cyclonus rushing to the medibay is supposed to be dramatic, but the exaggerated fashion in how he's drawn running makes it ''hilarious''.
* NoYay: Pharma acting like somekind of [[{{Yandere}} stalker/jilted lover]] towards Ratchet in issues 18-19.
** [[spoiler:Getaway]]'s progressively creepier behavior towards [[spoiler:Tailgate]] retroactively sours anything the two had going on between them.
* ParanoiaFuel: Issue 28 reveals that Ravage has stowed away aboard the Lost Light and is spying on the crew. This is revealed to us by showing him sitting barely two feet away from Megatron and Rung during their session... ''without being noticed''.
** Later he manages to sneak onto the Rodpod [[spoiler:as the Lost Light is evacuated]] and keeps hidden almost the entire time. He's only caught when Hound catches a glimpse of him by sheer chance.
* OCStandIn: Overlord was originally this between Megatron: Origins and ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers, and now the [[MisaimedFandom fans]] have run with that and pretty much made him a [[DepravedBisexual depraved]] {{sadist}} 'con, in part due to his EvilIsSexy traits.
** Getaway, whose only previous appearance in the IDW universe was a single shot in Spotlight:Blaster.
** Swerve, whose sole personality trait prior to Roberts had been that he DrivesLikeCrazy.
** Zig-zagged with Deathsaurus. His IDW personality clashes with his portrayal on the Anime/TransformersVictory tv-series, but is actually on-par with his manga depiction, where's more of an AntiVillain / NobleDemon who cares for those under him.
* OneSceneWonder: Quite a few:
** Torque, the [[DissonantSerenity overly-cheerful suicide bomber]] from Fulcrum's flashback in issue 8. Even more so after the reveal in issue 16 that [[spoiler: [[BadassNormal he killed one of the Magnus armor holders with his suicide jump]].]]
** The Megatron-sounding Nautilator and AffablyEvil Blip in issue 12 who only show up for two pages.
** Flywheels only appears very briefly for two issues before getting killed off, but comes across as one of the funniest and most likable Scavengers.
** Blip, the Decepticon who thinks he's a sparkeater in issue 39. Mainly for having the balls to actually [[DefiantToTheEnd stand up to Tarn and call him out on his hypocrisy even while the DJD are torturing him]].
** Skullcruncher, the self-hating Decepticon comedian.
* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: Some fans react this way whenever someone other than Alex Milne or Nick Roche does the art. This view is not helped by the fact several of the artists who have chipped in (other than Guido Guidi) seem to have some trouble [[OffModel staying on model]].
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: The portrayal of Drift--another author's CreatorsPet--in this series has made quite a bit of headway in redeeming him to some of his haters. Hell, the guy's become a bit of an EnsembleDarkhorse by this point.
** On the creative level, Alex Milne. His previous IDW work on the Spotlights and ''MegatronOrigin'' had proved very unpopular, to the point that many were actively dreading him replacing Nick Roche as artist - Roche's colorful, characterful, and expressive style had been nearly the inverse of Milne's DullSurprise and very overdrawn designs. But when #2 rolled around, Milne nailed the style and designs perfectly, and many are now hailing him as one of the best Transformers artists ''ever.''
* RewatchBonus: This comic is practically the poster boy of this trope. It takes multiple rereads to get the loads of subtle jokes, references, bits of continuity, and foreshadowing.
** In ''Who's Afraid Of The DJD?'', when Tarn fights the Scavengers, he changes modes the most, he disembarks the ship, transforms, then transforms again to go to the container, while everyone else just walks the short distance. When [[spoiler: Grimlock]] attacks the DJD, Tesarus pounds on him, but Tarn transforms to run him over with his treads. When Crankcase gets a mechsuit, Tarn transforms to shoot him, instead of just shooting him. Previously, in ''How Ratchet Got His Hands Back'', Pharma mentions how the leader of the DJD is addicted to shape changing. Pharma doesn't mention his name, but one can figure it out on their own.
** Everything involving [[spoiler: both Shockwave]] and the "Conspicuously-Unnamed Senator", after the revelations in ''Shadowplay: An Intimate Beheading''.
** A lot of scenes involving Whirl take on a lot more relevance once you learn in ''Interiors'' that he's a DeathSeeker. Ditto for Rewind after the stuff we learn about him in issue ''Before & After''.
** A bit of a cross-title one, but the fact that Swerve isn't actually best friends with Blurr is actually foreshadowed in the ''Robots In Disguise'' comics when you realize that despite apparently being such great friends, Blurr never talks about or mourns Swerve's apparent passing with the rest of the ''Lost Light'' crew, or ever mentions him to Ironhide while being talked into reopening Maccadam's.
** The flashback in ''Rememberance Day'' will make a lot more sense if you re-read it after what you learn in later in that issue and in ''Remain In Light, Part 1: The Fecund Moon''. [[spoiler: You're witnessing Overlord's birth.]]
** Tailgate's green inner energon from issue 12-- [[spoiler: is because its curdled up from the cybernecrosis, as Ratchet points out.]]
** Whirl overdosed on [[BerserkButton Berzerker Buttons]] and flipped out when someone asked him the time. Whirl was a watchmaker, a job that he enjoyed until the empurata, it seems to be his BerserkButton.
** ''Everything'' about Ultra Magnus, [[spoiler: after he reveals that he's Minimus Ambus.]]
*** The conversation between Swerve and Ultra Magnus in issue 13 foreshadows a lot of developments about the characters that come up later. [[spoiler: Ultra Magnus actually straight up admits to working for Chief Justice Tyrest at one point, but because he's drunk and he doesn't say Tyrest's name, Swerve just ignores him.]]
*** Issue 16, with all the close calls Ultra Magnus goes through makes us rewatch all the previous issues, as it gives us Ultra Magnus' FreudianExcuse for being the bot he is, as in, no smiles, no funny quips, hating dirt and crooked Autobot badges. Turns out it was all a RedHerring after Issue 18 and 19 [[spoiler: flip all that and reveal that Ultra Magnus is a LegacyCharacter, and we were actually watching the death of an Ultra Magnus every single time.]]
*** A comment Skid made on Ultra Magnus, about remembering him to be more cheerful in the past. [[spoiler: That's because it was a different "Ultra Magnus".]]
--->'''Skids''':''Well, I think it's sad. The Ultra Magnus I remember was always so cheerful. He'd make all these little quips whilst bludgeoning you over the head and dragging you to the cells...''
** In issue 2, Skids notes that he feels like he's running away or escaping from something. [[spoiler:As Chromedome later notes, he wasn't experiencing the need to run away, he was trying to remember Getaway.]]
*** Also, during the Shadowplay arc, it's shown that Skids dosen't know who Prowl is. [[spoiler: This makes much more sense when it turns out that Skids destroyed his memories of being a member of Spec Ops and everything related to it, which naturally includes Prowl.]]
** Tailgate's naïve behavior makes a lot more sense when we learn in issue 21, [[spoiler: that he's only two weeks old mentally. It most likely also explains why his subsconsciously-generated holomatter avatar back in issue #13 was an infant.]]
** Issue 14 has Tailgate crafting something, with Hoist and Skids trying to figure out what it is. [[spoiler: Issue 21 reveals it's Cyclonus' missing horn]].
** Notice how in issues 2 and 3, despite Swerve talking about how he's really good friends with Blurr, he seems to almost latch onto Skids for no real reason, pestering him for attention and friendship. As issue 13 shows, that's because he's so lonely that he latches onto nice actions as a sign of friendship.
** In issue 21, the symbols that [[spoiler: the strange spark being]] shows include an Autobot and Decepticon badge above a picture of the Lost Light. Now we know that after ''Dark Cybertron'', Megatron joins the crew in their quest...
** Chromedome and Prowl's backhanded behavior and Rewind's constant jabs at Prowl take on a whole new meaning after Shadowplay (where we learn they were partners on the police force) and the WordOfGay from James Roberts regarding their relationship.
** In issue 3 the Sparkeater has Brainstorm cornered, than suddenly just turns and runs after Skids and Rung. Then in issue 21 [[spoiler:Brainstorm keeps the Point-One Percenter spark in his chest compartment... where his spark should be.]] Both of these things make a horrifying amount of sense now that we know Brainstorm is basically [[spoiler:a walking corpse.]]
** Megatron flipping out when Optimus mentions Chromedome's mnemosurgery skills and his apparent fear of needles. It's because [[spoiler: the Senate tried to use mnemosurgery on him before the war]].
** Brainstorm sneaking his own drinks into Swerve's bar. [[spoiler: It's because he's been spiking the engex in the bar.]]
** Throughout issue 35 there are signs posted everywhere by the Functionist Council saying "You are our eyes". [[spoiler: At the end this phrase turns out to be ''quite'' literal.]]
** Basically every single reveal in ''Elegant Chaos'' causes this on all the previous issues; the audience was practically being told what would happen from day 1.
* SeasonalRot: The issues of summer 2015 (#41-43) were poorly received for some thanks to Roberts' rampant AuthorAppeal regarding songs and pop culture references and having little plot development, as well as them being mostly BizarroEpisode's. #42 disappointed fans as it appeared to promise that TonightSomeoneDies when ''no one dies''. #43 in particular disappointed several fans since the promotional material seemed to imply that Deathsaurus' War World was pursuing the ''Lost Light'', advancing the DJD/Deathsaurus plot introduced in #39. And it ended up being a BizarroEpisode focused on Swerve's mind. #44 is generally agreed to have got things back on track, since it addressed long-standing plots like Dominus Ambus, Megatron's judgment, the actual quest, and the Necrobot.
* ShipToShipCombat: A couple examples.
** A fair amount between Brainstorm/Perceptor and Brainstorm/Nautica shippers.
** Cyclonus/Tailgate and Getaway/Tailgate are running into this.
* ShipSinking: As collateral damage to [[spoiler:Brainstorm/Nautica and Brainstorm/Perceptor]] shippers, given the reveal of Issue 33.
** Gateway/Tailgate got this thaks to [[spoiler: Getaway getting increasingly creepy.]]
* {{Squick}}: The DJD making Blip hold his own brain in his mouth in issue 39. Tarn's FauxAffablyEvil dialogue doesn't help.
* SpiritualAntithesis: Interestingly, one could make a case for MTMTE being this for Roberts's previous work ''Last Stand Of The Wreckers''. Whereas LSTOW was all about deconstructing the themes and clichés of Transformers, this comic strays more towards taking those same ideas and [[{{Reconstruction}} gluing them back together]] in an improved state. Also while LSTOW was a ''very'' grim tale of morality set in the tail end of a horrific war, MTMTE is a {{Dramedy}} with loads of humor, snark, and lampshade hangings set in a time of peace.
* SpiritualLicensee: This comic captures the spirit of ''Star Trek'' better than any of the actual ''Star Trek'' comics. It even has some similar character archtypes (reckless captain, TheComicallySerious second in command, grouchy medic, eccentric engineer, etc.). Alex Milne actually makes the comparison that he feels Rodimus is Season 1 [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Riker]] and Megatron is Season 1 [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Picard]], although fans seem to have suggested that Megatron is closer to [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Captain Jellico]].
** Some also feel that it's the closest thing to a continuation of ''Firefly'' that we'll ever get.
* TakeThatScrappy: Though the series sees him RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap, Ratchet's tirade in issue two about how much of an idiot Drift is probably qualifies.
* TheScrappy: [[spoiler:Since ''Our Steps Will Always Rhyme'' Getaway has gained his fair share of detractors, due to his sudden Yandere vibes over Tailgate, despite otherwise being generally affable with the majority of the crew. [[WordOfGod Roberts]] has kept quiet as to whether this was on [[HateSink purpose]] or not.]]
* ToughActToFollow: The ''Sensuous Frame'' arc and ''The One Where They Go To Earth'' are generally considered the weakest stories so far, partially because they had the unfortunate luck of coming right after a string of [[WhamEpisode Wham Episodes]] that propelled the MythArc forward, as well as coming right ''before'' the highly anticipated second Scavenger arc.
* UglyCute: Bob and The Pet.
** Glitch, one of the outliers from "Shadowplay."
* UnpopularPopularCharacter: Whirl. InUniverse the Autobots hate or fear him, and Ratchet is uncomfortable with repairing him. Out of Universe he's loved for being a CrazyAwesome hilarious badass.
** Cyclonus as well. InUniverse, he is known for having been Galvatron's right hand man, and having killed many 'bots during his assault on Kimia. Even after he pulls a HeelFaceTurn that saves Cybertron, and helps Optimus stop Galvatron, he still gets mislabeled as a Decepticon, others openly reject him because they knew some of his victims at Kimia. Out of Universe, he's loved for his evolving relationship with Tailgate, being a honorable bot, and matching Whirl in badassness. [[spoiler: This eventually culminates in him being more accepted by the crew following the ''Remain in Light'' arc]].
** And of course Megatron, who's hated by the crew for obvious reasons. Out-of-universe fans like him since, well, he's ''[[EvilIsCool Megatron]]''.
* TheUnReveal: Roberts acknowledges that he deliberately concealed Chromedome's original name ([[spoiler: Tumbler]]) as one of these. His original name, Roberts notes, is just a standard name - it's "Chromedome" that's important, because it shows he worked at the Institute.
** When asked which leg Ambulon turned into, Roberts gave us this quote.
-->"You know how sometimes, a seemingly innocuous, tongue‐in‐cheek and throwaway question, if answered sincerely, can give away absolutely massive spoilers? This isn’t one of those times. He turns into a right leg."
* VillainSue: The Decepticon Justice Division edges into this territory in issue #32, where it's revealed that they managed to kill of the majority of the crew of [[spoiler:an alternate Lost Light.]] Yes, Tarn is spoken of as though he were on par with a phase sixer, but this is a crew of around two-hundred Autobots. To contrast, Overlord, an actual phase sixer, needed an army to take Garrus 9, while the DJD massacred the [[spoiler:Lost Light]]'s crew with just themselves. Possibly subverted by the fact that [[spoiler: Vos and Kaon were injured, disabled, and left behind afterwards by an attack from the Galactic Council and Black Box Consortia. It's hinted that they could've escaped unscathed with their mission complete if they hadn't [[DickDastardlyStopsToCheat wasted all their energy, time, and ammo slaughtering the alternate Lost Light crew after taking out Overlord]].]]
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Though just as many obscure characters are used in prominent roles, just as many are ignored or summarily killed off. A notable example is Countdown, who is a minor EnsembleDarkhorse and MemeticBadass. He appears and is killed off in the space of one issue.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: As the Transformer Wiki points out, in issue #21, Rodimus allows himself to be strapped to a ''cross''-shaped table so that he can use the power of their creator deity to wipe away the consequences of Tyrest's sins, at the possible cost of his own life. The cables connecting him to the killswitch even make it look a little like he has a crown of thorns around his head.
* WinBackTheCrowd: For IDW's ''Transformers'' comics, after they had slipped into a minor DorkAge.
* TheWoobie: Everyone at some point, but even so a few stand out.
** Tailgate. Guy's just woken up from missing ''six million years'' of war, and as such is incredibly naive about what has transpired. He spends an issue walking around an Autobot ship declaring that, based on the history Cyclonus has shared with him, he wants to be a Decepticon, and invites mistrust upon himself before being subjected to a brutal montage of Decepticon atrocities. Add to that Cyclonus beating the crap out of him in issue #4, leaving Tailgate a quivering wreck curled up in the fetal position, and you just want to give him a big hug. In issue 13 he becomes even more Woobie-licious when we find out, he's not a crewmember of the Ark 1 like he said he was. He's just a garbage man who fell while swapping out the ship's coolant and lied because he just wanted someone to actually ''care'' about him. Not only that, [[spoiler: it turns out that he's dying of cybercrosis from all the radiation he received while in stasis for 6 million years, and before he went missing, he had only been alive for 2 weeks.]]
** Red Alert's paranoia is initially portrayed in a somewhat humorous light. [[ProperlyParanoid Not so much]], [[SanitySlippage as the]] [[BungledSuicide series progresses]].
** ''Fortress Maximus''. To add to the already disturbing implication that he's essentially a ChildSoldier, there's his absolutely horrific torture on Garrus-9, which leaves him a violent, psychotic wreck under incarceration for the first half of Season 1. Towards the end he regains the crew's trust and is eventually allowed to police [[spoiler: Luna-1]], but it's obvious that while he's constructively dealing with his issues, he's not free of them just yet.
** The end of the "Shadowplay" arc reveals ''[[spoiler:Shockwave]]'' to be one. One of the few decent members of the corrupt, pre-War senate, he sacrifices himself to save Roller's life. [[spoiler:He is mutilated, and has his personality completely inverted, changing from an outspoken, affable benefactor to a cold, emotionless scientist.]] He's portrayed with such depth prior to this transformation that we really feel for him, despite the fact that years later, he's one of the Decepticon elite.
** Ultra Magnus.
** Rewind. He's been searching in vain for Dominus Ambus for ''millions of years'', [[spoiler:only to die terrified and alone, feeling betrayed by Chromedome and with his search unfinished. His other self has it even worse: He had to record the DJD slaughter all of his crewmates to save Chromedome's life, only for Vos to kill him anyway when they changed the terms and Chromedome refused to comply. Given that Rewind admits in issue 16 that he's terrified by the thought of outliving Chromedome...]]
** Swerve, after TheReveal in issue 13.
** Tyrest, [[spoiler:pre-SanitySlippage.]] He gave his all for the Cybertronian race, and ended up creating [[spoiler:a multitude of Cybertronians he believes are predisposed to criminal acts. He starts mutilating himself as penance, and eventually damages his brain, rendering him a twisted, insane shadow of his former self.]]
** Issue 31 reveals Riptide to be one; he's an [[ChildSoldiers MTO]] and was forced to go through a training exercise so traumatic that he refuses to talk about it. Plus he missed the initial launch and spent over a year being miserable on Cybertron because he got the crap kicked out of him by the Lost Light's prior owners.
----
** [[spoiler:Getaway]]'s creepy and underhanded behavior in issue #40 effectively killed the [[spoiler:Getaway/Tailgate]] ship.
* AdaptationalAttractiveness: [[http://drpsyche.tumblr.com/post/63456058524/uniformshark-maybe-they-are-born-with-it-maybe Many characters]], but Huffer particularly stands out.
* AdaptationDisplacement: This comic's portrayal of several characters are much more well-known and popular than their usual interpretations. Notable examples include Swerve, Tailgate, Whirl, Chromedome, Rewind, and Cyclonus.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: A large number of the characters have too much psychological complexity to say anything for certain about them. Some notable examples:
** Did [[spoiler:Drift really bully Rodimus into working with Prowl's plan like Rodimus claims or was Rodimus just passing off his guilt]]? Or rather [[spoiler:did Rodimus really agree to the plan or did Prowl arrange some mnemosurgery to be done on Rodimus to ''make'' him agree]]?
** Does [[spoiler: Atomizer genuinely support Rodimus or does he want him off the ship and is manipulating Rodimus to get him kicked out of captain position]]? Notably [[spoiler: he uses the same sort of trick that Prowl apparently used to convince Rodimus to let Overlord on board.]]
*** The fact that [[spoiler: the voting list is fake]] certainly points towards the latter, but it's still not really clear.
** Was [[spoiler:Brainstorm's advice to Chromedome]] heartfelt, or just a way to add more dimension to the masquerade?
*** Events of #38 "Elegant Chaos Part 3" suggest that Brainstorm was actually being sincere, in one of his rare few not-completely-[[BunnyEarsLawyer bunny-eared]] moments.
** A number of fans have [[http://draikinator.tumblr.com/post/107345171460/its-time-to-talk-about-chromedome-a-fair interpreted]] Prowl as having been an abusive partner to Chromedome, at least emotionally, which may explain Chromedome's issues with self-worth and depression.
** When Tyrest was shot with the thought bullet he claimed that the attack convinced him that his path was righteous. The implication was that due to his damaged processor, the Nudge Gun was a NoSell and he figured out he was attacked. He interpreted the attack as someone trying to stop his crusade, and thus convinced himself it was righteous as people were out to stop him. Some fans have questioned whether the thought bullet reacted to his damaged processor and drove him even further into insanity.
** Whirl. Is he a monster, or is he just that ''angry'' about losing his hands, and trapped in his own self-hate? He may be a JerkAss to people but he doesn't do ''that'' many bad things, and he does do good things without asking for repayment. Genuine psychopaths are often highly narcissistic and it's been established that Whirl hates himself as well as other people. In fact his mental state isn't so much diagnosable as psychopathic as it is manic depressive with psychotic episodes...
* AngstWhatAngst: Drift accidentally butchering an innocent at Delphi is pretty quickly forgotten by just about everyone. Than again, given what the guy [[BodyHorror looked like]] it seems that he was about to be dead anyways.
* AntiClimaxBoss:
** Sonic and Boom against Fortress Maximus. Probably intentional.
** [[spoiler:Dai Atlas]] against Star Saber. Saber himself against Cyclonus, though that confrontation was non-fatal.
* {{Applicability}}: Roberts has woven a political message into his story both in obvious and subtle ways, though the most obvious (and most deliberate) comparison is the Russian Revolution. The themes of apartheid, religion, unchecked government power, and revolution leading to both good and bad outcomes have been interpreted as many different ideas, institutions, and historical movements from both past and present.
* AuthorsSavingThrow: There were some complaints about the Decepticon Justice Division sort of falling off the radar after taking off after Overlord. Come season 2, we find out that [[spoiler:they attacked the duplicate ''Lost Light'', and already ''did'' take care of him in a sense.]]
** Fans of Chromedome and Rewind were obviously less than pleased about [[spoiler:[[BuryYourGays the latter's apparent death]]. The very first arc of Season 2 sees his return thanks to quantum superposition.]]
* SugarWiki/AwesomeArt
* BaseBreaker:
** The revelation of [[spoiler: Ultra Magnus being Minimus Ambus]] upset some fans but as time goes on this rift seems to have died down.
** Star Saber being a violent religious zealot. Though it comes as no surprise to readers of Robert's TFMUK stories, some fans don't really like the interpretation.
** The art of Issue 22, or rather, the inking, which makes the issue awfully dark and gloomy, even though it's a lighthearted issue.
** Megatron's HeelFaceTurn. Boy oh boy. Roughly half the fanbase sees it as an ambitious foray into previously unexplored areas, while the other dislikes this as this flies in the face of all the evil that he's done. That said it seems to be decreasing as the issues actually come out, since it's acknowledged and discussed in-universe. A third camp doesn't really care either way and are just happy that James Roberts is writing Megatron again, since many felt the character's portrayal in ''Robots In Disguise'' was a bit underwhelming compared to Roberts' portrayal back in "Chaos Theory".
** [[spoiler:Trailcutter]]'s death. Much like the demise of [[spoiler:Breakdown]] on ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', some see it as a bold move reinforcing that AnyoneCanDie, while others view it as an unnecessarily cruel [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Bridge Drop]] on a promising character.
** The Personality Ticks from issues 41-42. To some they're a CreepyAwesome brand of antagonist whose anatomy and powers are great examples of "out there" sic-fi that's perfectly at home with the comic's tone. To others they're just characterless monsters whose powers and biology push past the suspension of disbelief and end up looking stupid.
** In issue 45 there was James Roberts' handling of Grimlock's disability, particularly after a poll-tweet he started on twitter on whether you'd sell Grimlock or not has started a movement on tumblr labeling Roberts as an ableist and whatnot. A large portion doesn't seem to give a hoot about it though. Issue 46 either remedied the problem or made it worse depending on which fan you ask.
* BizarroEpisode: '''Issue 43'''. It's comparable to the weird, one-off genre homages ''{{Series/Community}}'' often did. WordOfGod suggests that it was [[InvokedTrope deliberately designed this way]].
* BrokenBase:
** Josh Burcham leaving and being replaced by Joana [=LaFuente=]. Just about everyone wished Josh good luck when he announced he was leaving MTMTE but still working on other IDW titles, and are happy that he went on to color ComicBook/TransformersSinsOfTheWreckers, but opinions on [=LaFuente=] are mixed. Some feel Josh's pastel muted-color pallet was more suited to the series, while others feel her more loud color pallet is an improvement. Naturally a third faction has cropped up that just holds the two as different, but still contributing well to the series.
** Hayato Sakamoto due to his OldShame / BleachedUnderpants background, to the point some wanted him fired, or at least blacklisted, before his issue even came out.
** Who's Holomatter Avatar designs are better; Guido Guidi's or Alex Milne? While DependingOnTheArtist can be handwaved (the bot's themselves mention that they can change their looks to how they want), there's obviously differing opinions on some of the designs. Whirl: better as an adorable little girl (suiting his PsychopathicManchild nature), or a more punk inspired teenager (suiting his rebellious side)? Rung, better as a plain looking guy (suiting his non-memorable role), or the handsome redhead (suiting his intelligence and dignity)? Are Guidi's designs too simple? Are Milne's too detailed?
* CargoShip: Brainstorm sometimes gets this with his briefcase, which was kind of inevitable given that he's so attached to the thing that he ''brings it to a funeral''. James Roberts jokingly suggested that this trope is in effect with Nautica and her wrench.
* CharacterRerailment: After some minor derailment [[ComicBook/TheTransformersIDW under the pens of Mike Costa, Dan Abnett, and Andy Lanning]] (thanks to carrying the IdiotBall and CriticalResearchFailure respectively), Rodimus and Cyclonus are put back into their usual characterizations thanks to CharacterDevelopment in the previous ongoing.
* CompleteMonster: Besides the return of [[ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers Overlord]], [[AxCrazy Pharma]] is a former [[MadDoctor Autobot Medic]] who [[FaceHeelTurn went evil]]. After saving one of the main character's lives, he became the head medic at a medical facility on the planet Delphi. There he received death threats from an elite Decepticon unit who threatened to overrun the place, and [[WellIntentionedExtremist began bribing them with organs]], first from dead bots but later he began killing living ones. Eventually [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope it becomes too much]], and he has two other Decepticons unleash a plague on the facility to kill everyone and cover up his crimes. When he's revealed, he shoots a life-support, sending about 20 patients into near death states to distract everyone. He then tries to kill Ratchet twice before [[DisneyVillainDeath being thrown off the facility]]. He survives the fall and is recruited into Chief Justice Tyrest's group (who drilled a hole in his head and is trying to destroy all Transformers he considers inferior); all the Decepticons admit to being freaked out by him. When he finds Ratchet again, he separates Ratchet's head and spark from his body and starts torturing him. To prove he is a better medic, he has one of his co-workers from Delphi, Ambulon, [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe sliced in half]], vertically from head to crotch, with a {{chainsaw|Good}}, and tells Ratchet to fix him. Ambulon dies in agony before the chainsaw leaves him. Later Pharma shoots Brainstorm.
* ContinuityLockOut: One of the few real problems with the comic is that it's clearly intended to be read from the very beginning; there's ''loads'' of continuity, set-ups, characters, subplots, and jokes that can all appear or disappear at any time and it's not uncommon for the running gags to get zig-zagged all over the place.
** This was somewhat lessened at the beginning of Season 2, since it provided a ''much'' more detailed recap page, but it's getting as bad as Season 1 was as it progresses.
* CounterpartComparison:
** Whirl has had a lot of comparisons to Deadpool, as well as [[{{Series/Firefly}} Jayne Cobb]].
** Some have compared [[spoiler:Chief Justice Tyrest]] to Judge Claude Frollo from ''Hunchback Of Notre Dame''.
** Nightbeat's comparisons to Sherlock Holmes are nothing new, but here he's specifically been compared to [[{{Series/Sherlock}} the Benedict Cumberbatch]] version, with his fast talking, stir crazy, AllergicToRoutine attitude and LackOfEmpathy. The Sherlock shout outs and the Author's love of the show have only fed this. Funnily enough, when Nightbeat's human holomatter avatar appears in issue 43 however, he has the likeness of [[{{Series/Luther}} a completely different British TV detective.]]
* CrackShip: Brainstorm/Atomizer seems bizarrely popular, despite the fact that they never spoke to each other until issue 33. The fact that they were both stationed at Kimia might have something to do with it.
** Misfire/Fulcrum is also surprisingly popular even though Misfire is kind of a dick to Fulcrum in the comic.
** Helex/Tesarus from when Milne drew [[http://markerguru.deviantart.com/art/Merry-Christmas-2013-421994258 Tesarus holding up Mistletoe and smirking at Helex]] on his Devientart.
** Overlord/Trepan has gathered a number of fans with the revelation that Overlord kidnapped Trepan and forced him to teach him mnemosurgery. Fans of TeacherStudentRomance and MindGameShip both hopped aboard.
* CrazyAwesome: Whirl is very likely insane, and his impressive amount of jerkassery and insanity gets him through the day. When beaten, impaled and then threatened by a crazy ShellShockedVeteran, Whirl's response is to taunt him in cruel and amusing ways, diffusing the situation, and then impaling the guy when things heat up again. Rewind casually mentions that Whirl punched himself in the face to prove that he's super-invincible, and apparently introduces himself by saying he has no known weaknesses. He solves the problem of moving Ultra Magnus by having everyone's avatar jump on him till he transforms. As of issue 28, he's the only person in the history of the franchise to ''kick Megatron in the crotch''.
** Then in issue 10 Orion Pax ''flies down from the sky out of nowhere'' and slams down on top of the guy attacking Chromedome and Prowl. Chromedome assumes that he probably ''jumped off a random rooftop'' to do this but isn't sure...
--->'''Chromedome''': He did that sort of thing a lot.
** Brainstorm practically runs on this.
* CreepyAwesome: The DJD, Overlord, Pharma, and The Functionist Council.
* CrossesTheLineTwice: Whirl is constantly crossing it. At one point he tries to defuse a hostage situation by straight up telling a ShellShockedVeteran to shoot himself in the face.
-->'''Rung''': WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?
** Brainstorm's "My First Blaster" gun that he gave Swerve. It's an obscenely large gun that's apparently designed for ''children'' judging by the design. If you get a direct hit with it, it makes a little jingle and says "You got a direct hit!" like a toddler's toy.
** In issue 20 [[spoiler: when the Killswitch hits Constancy and starts affecting Krok, Spinister, and Crankcase]], if you look in the background you can see that Grimlock (still mentally disabled from whatever happened to him on the Worldsweeper) is ''playing pengu with some toy blocks''.
* DesignatedVillain: Mirage does nothing other than open a bar, but Swerve is able to drive him out of business without any repercussions. Conversely, Swerve comes away from the situation [[DesignatedHero looking like a complete asshole]]. Ratchet doesn't come off looking much better, since the whole thing was his idea.
* DracoInLeatherPants: Pharma got a little bit of this after ''How Ratchet Got His Hands Back'' due to his backstory and hints of JerkassWoobie. His [[MoralEventHorizon later appearance]] in the ''Remain In Light'' arc [[SubvertedTrope changed]] that.
** Surprisingly inverted with Whirl. Despite his tragic backstory making him a perfect candidate for this trope, most fans seem to ''prefer'' him as a complete asshole.
** Played a bit straight with Cyclonus. His fans gloss out his initial abuse of Tailgate, including the slapping and kicking after Tailgate tells him he lied to him about the war in ''Life After The Big Bang''. Of course, Cyclonus grows out of it, becomes a nicer guy, [[spoiler:and saves Tailgate's life in the ''Remain In Light'' arc -- but the abuse still happened, and it isn't until ''Elegant Chaos Part 2: Stet'' when Cyclonus apologises for it.]]
* EnsembleDarkhorse: ''More Than Meets The Eye'' is arguably a series known for taking a group of previously obscure characters within the franchise as a whole, and turning them into a bunch of Ensemble Darkhorses:
** Swerve, typically a rarely noticed background character in other continuities, has quickly become popular due to his fast talking, smart-assed, hilarious, and very personable portrayal in this storyline.
** Roberts' character Rung has also picked up a posse of fangirls, due to his awkward, adorably gangly design, and matching adorkably geeky personality.
** Tarn, the leader of the Decepticon Justice Division, if simply for looking really badass and having several cool gimmicks going for him. He became even more popular after issue 39, where he was given more character depth and shown to be a TragicVillain.
** Whirl has also become one, if for no other reason than being totally CrazyAwesome. In fact when the promotions of issue 6 made it out as if TonightSomeoneDies, most of the comments on them consisted of "I'm cool as long as Whirl makes it".
** Cyclonus, in part because he matches Whirl's badassness on the field and his {{Tsundere}} personality. Tailgate is also an ensemble darkhorse in part because of his friendship with Cyclonus.
** Brainstorm, a MetaGuy extraordinaire with a penchant for ''brilliantly'' outlandish inventions (see CrossesTheLineTwice). This increased after his complex backstory and motivations were revealed in season 2.
** Nautica, for being extremely {{Adorkable}} and nice towards everyone.
** Nightbeat, who was already a massive Ensemble Darkhorse for the rest of the franchise.
** The Scavenger plotline in general. They only appear every dozen issues or so and have yet to majorly impact the MythArc, but they're just as popular as the Lost Light crew.
** In one bizarre example, the segway/scooter that Rung is seen riding in issue 37 has become beloved by fans.
** Nickel, for being a hilarious TeamMom for the DJD who creates some of the most absurd MoodWhiplash ever seen.
* EpilepticTrees: This comic inspires some ''truly'' insane speculation; just look at the WMG page. Some of the more out-there theories include Rung being one of the Guiding Hand and a flashback in issue 35 actually being an alternate timeline created by [[spoiler: Brainstorm going to the past]]. Note that [[spoiler: the latter ended up being ''correct''.]] Brainstorm and the DJD are Epileptic ''Woodsmen''.
* EvenBetterSequel: To ''ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers'', which it takes several semi-major plot points from.
* EvilIsCool: The DJD, Tarn in particular.
* EvilIsSexy:
** Overlord is just about this personified, with his handsome (for a giant robot) looks and campy, charismatic, and theatrical mannerisms. (Doesn't make him any less scary or creepy, however.)
*** In fact, one defining trait of Overlord has been his luscious lips. Possibly lampshaded by IDW themselves with the alternate cover for issue 15 which is basically a close-up of Overlord's lips. This was later confirmed by the [[WordOfGod creators]], where they indicated they based his looks on the Roman/Greek busts of old, pout and all, hence the luscious lips.
** Oh, so you noticed all the work Alex Milne put into Pharma's design? So did the fans.
** Star Saber is not exactly a slouch in this department. Neither is Tyrest, despite [[BodyHorror routinely drilling holes in himself]].
** This is about the only nice thing one could say about the Senate.
* FanficFuel: What kind of adventures did [[spoiler:The Alternate Lost Light]] have? Well, according to James Roberts that's up to you, so hop to it.
* FanPreferredCouple: Tailgate/Cyclonus and Skids/Swerve are getting extremely popular.
** Rodimus/Drift, too, though not quite to the extent of the first two.
** Due to the events of issue 33, Nightbeat/Nautica seems to have gained a big boost.
** Drift/Ratchet is the most popular ship on Ao3 right now.
* FoeYay: Tarn sure does love getting up close and personal with the competition.
** ''Hello'', Pharma.
* FountainOfMemes: For transfans at least.
* FridgeBrilliance: [[spoiler:Sandstorm]] is one of the bailiffs at Megatron's trial. That same trial that allowed one of the most infamous war criminals in the universe to get off relatively easily. Suddenly [[VigilanteExecution his actions]] in the ''Punishment'' motion comic make even more sense.
** In the Slaughterhouse arc that [[spoiler: duplicate!Overlord's death at the hands of the DJD was almost nothing compared to what they did to the alternate ''Lost Light'' crew. However, as ''Land Stand Of The Wreckers'' shows, Overlord can withstand anything the 'bots and 'cons throw at him, something the DJD were most likely aware of. So to counterbalance this, they decided to execute him in way that, for one of the 'con's most powerful warriors, is relatively undignifying.]]
** Dominus Ambus' defense of the Disposables might not have just come from his love for Rewind. Given the size of his brother Minimus, who explicitly notes [[IJustWantToBeSpecial he wanted to be more than what he was designed for]], something impossible on Functionist Cybertron, it's entirely possible Dominus was fighting the system to give ''both'' of the 'bots he loved a chance to be happy, without fear of persecution or segregation.
* FridgeLogic: Whirl's upset about his lost hands which he used for making watches and he wants them back. Ratchet has shown to be able to make new hands, and [[spoiler: even offers to give his to Whirl should he die]], there was a question as to why he could not make Whirl some new ones [[spoiler:even Shockwave replaced his claws with a hand and a gun.]] This turned out to be intentional, as Whirl addresses it in issue 19; turns out he keeps his claws by choice.
-->"Life's messed up. I'm messed up. I've done bad things and I continue to do bad things, because the voice telling me not to...? He's not said much for a while. And y'know what keeps me going? Anger. Anger's an insulator. Stops life getting too close. If I got myself "fixed," maybe the anger would leave me—and then I really would be screwed."
** Who coined "Wreck n' Rule"? Impactor or Whirl?
*** Ironfist states that Impactor coined it in ''Last Stand Of The Wreckers,'' with the caveat that Impactor was the first one to use it as a Wrecker. The phrase seems to predate Impactor and might actually be Whirl's seeing as it was scribbled in the walls of his cell, before Impactor became his cellmate, and way before there were Wreckers in the first place.
*** [[WordOfGod Roberts]] declares that Impactor was the one that made the phrase popular, but did not create it. As for whom was the original author of the phrase, he just said [[RiddleForTheAges "let's just leave that unresolved"]].
* FriendlyFandoms: With ''[[Series/DoctorWho Doctor Who]]''. Transfans and Whovians have always gotten along somewhat, but this comic pretty much cemented it due to the writer being a fan of ''Doctor Who'' and Overlord's personality being based off of the Master (specifically the John Simm version).
** Also with ''Arrested Development'' due to a.) James Roberts being an avowed fan of the show and b.) the comic having a similar style of humor and storytelling to the show.
* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Every single thing Brainstorm's done once it's revealed [[spoiler:he's a Decepticon plant.]] Suddenly those horrific crimes against science stop being so funny.
** Linked to this is a scene in issue 22 where Rodimus mocks Thunderclash for [[spoiler: having a spy in his crew in the form of Paddox.]]
** In issue 3 a humorous conversation has Ultra Magnus mention a Decepticon named Blip who thought he was a sparkeater. Issue 39 shows that Blip was later brutally murdered by the DJD for that belief.
* GeniusBonus: Quite a lot.
** "Sound Bombs" are actually possible. There are studies that have shown cephalopods suffering massive trauma caused by noise, in some cases causing the nerves inside their heads to explode, leaving gaping holes in their heads.
** In "Shadowplay" the Senator refers to his students as "outliers". An outlier is a math term for a number in a large collection of numbers that is different from the rest.
** The Scavengers' ship is called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic_principle "The Weak Anthropic Principle"]], a philosophical belief that claims that observations of the physical universe must be compatible with the conscious life that inhabits it.
** "Omega's Conundrum" is filled with allusions to the notorious [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat Schrödinger's cat]] paradox.
** There is a principle of Cybertronian biology called "Rossum's Trinity", a reference to the 1920 Czech science fiction play "Rossum's Universal Robots", which introduced the word "robot" into the English language.
** In the 2012 annual we're given a quote from Megatron that paraphrases a quote from Karl Marx; "Religion is the opiate of the people".
** Issue 9 is titled "Post Hoc" a term that refers to the examination of data in search of patterns after an event. The issue includes a reference to a place called Apophenia, a word which refers to the experience of seeing connections in meaningless or random data.
** There's a reference to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6bius_strip Möbius strip]] in issue 13.
** Issue 14's prologue references a the socialist play "An Inspector Calls".
** Issue 14 mentions a place called Thymesis; the Greek word for "Remembering". [[FridgeBrilliance Considering the subject matter of the issue]]...
** Thunderclash's ship is called the "Vis Vitalis", which is the name of a classical alchemical principle of a "life force" possessed by living creatures.
** Tyrest's failed "two-city state solution" is a reference to the fabled "two state solution" in Israel and Palestine's peace process.
** Chief Justice Tyrest is designed to resemble a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_angelic_hierarchy#Principalities_or_Rulers Principality]] a member of the highest order of the Third Sphere of angels in the Christian angelic hierarchy.
** Issue 19's title is taken from R. D. Laing's The Divided Self, a seminal work on understanding madness.
** Empurata is an anagram of the Latin word "amputare", meaning "to cut away". In ancient times, amputare was often used to punish criminals, marking them as lawbreakers and publicly humiliating them by removing specific digits or limbs. Sure enough, Empurata is given a similar purpose here.
** Ununtrium is indeed a real synthetically created element.
** The "Ambus Test" is a reference to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_Test Turing Test]], a scientific exercise designed to test when human-engineered "artificial intelligence" in computers has reached the level of sentience.
** Cyclonus belongs to a religious order called the Clavis Aurea. "Clavis aurea" is a 16th century theological term that refers to the means by which hidden meanings in texts may be discovered; it means "golden key" in Latin.
** K'Gard's name is an allusion to the philosopher [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard Søren Kierkegaard]].
** The Ammonites' name refers to both [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonoidea an extinct genus of molluscs]] and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammon an ancient tribe]] which existed in biblical times.
** "Momus" is the name of the Greek god of satire and mockery. It's also the name of an obscure indie band.
** Nautica is a quantum mechanic, a play upon the real-life field of quantum mechanics. The cheat engines and Möbius ships she professes interest in are also wordplays, on heat engines and Möbius strips respectively.
** The arena in which Megatron's trial is held is named the "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raskol Raskol]] arena", the Russian word for "split" or "schism". The term specifically refers to the 17th century splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church, triggered by reforms introduced by its patriarch.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: The series has a decent following in Japan and Spanish-speaking countries.
* AGoodNameForARockBand:
** Mega Starpuncher.
** Mighty Spaceship.
** Universal Killswitch.
** Soulsnatchers.
** Propagator Of Infinite Sin.
** Predisposed to Sin.
** Falling Beyond God's Reach.
** Five Inches from Enlightenment.
** Suicide by Facepalm.
* {{Gorn}}: There can be some especially jarring scenes of violence, and/or torture, like [[spoiler:Ambulon]] being graphically cut in half lengthwise or heads exploding in some messy fashion.
* HarsherInHindsight: The Shadowplay arc sheds some new light on many of the actions of [[spoiler:Shockwave.]] Specifically, when he feels emotions [[spoiler: in his spotlight and Maximum Dinobot comics, he discovers rage, how to feel anger and hatred and use that to his advantage. He expresses wonder and intrigue at these feelings, which we have just learned he was stripped of before the war.]]
** Remember how funny it was that Tailgate got stuck transforming? Well, issue 17 revealed that [[spoiler:it's because he has cybercrosis and is ''rotting from the inside'']], with the damage including his transformation cog.
*** And then we learn that [[spoiler:he was only online for about 2 weeks prior to being trapped under rubble and put offline until found in modern times. He's an infant dying of old age. Makes his baby holo-avatar a lot darker]].
** Ultra Magnus' SuperOCD tendencies are pretty funny, right? Ha, he thinks skewed Autobot symbols are tantamount to mutiny. Well, turns out his SuperOCD is because he's having a full-on ''nervous breakdown'' because he can't handle peacetime. And it turns out his boss Chief Justice Tyrest found out about it and was ''not'' amused.
*** Even worse, his StatOVision in the annual, when he looks at his reflection reads 'laughingstock'.
** Ultra Magnus chewing out Rodimus in issue 3 over how reckless he was during the Sparkeater incident given that [[spoiler: the alternate Rodimus actually died because of his recklessness with fighting the Sparkeater.]]
** Brainstorm's advice to Chromedome in issue 16, as issue 38 shows [[spoiler: Brainstorm ignored his own advice, refusing to move on from the death of his love and instead attempting to destroy an entire timeline just so he could potentially be with Quark.]]
* HeartwarmingInHindsight: In issue #6, Rewind is busted for storing recordings of graphic deaths in his head, basically being the equivalent of snuff films in the Transformers-Verse. Issue #12 shows why he does this- he's looking for a friend that he lost millennia ago, and is looking for any evidence of where he went or what happened to him.
* HesJustHiding: A lot of fans don't buy [[spoiler:Rewind's]] death, as he was lost in a messy explosion and the body wasn't found. Lampshaded when Swerve recaps issue 33 to the audience and is surprised when he realizes that the audience never really thought he was dead in the first place. [[spoiler:The Rewind the crew find isn't ''their'' Rewind, either...]]
** The fact that [[spoiler:Trailcutter]] died just before the series introduced [[spoiler:time travel]] is raising a few eyebrows. This was ''partially'' undone by the ''Elegant Chaos'' arc, which made clear that [[spoiler: time travel in this universe can't change the past, only act out predestined events.]]
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Website/{{Cracked}} once made a list of the [[http://www.cracked.com/funny-7170-10-most-useless-transformers/ "10 Most Useless Transformers,"]] a list which included Rewind, Chromedome, Mainframe, Skids, and Swerve. Come this series, Rewind is a walking database, Chromedome is the best Mnemosurgeon alive, Mainframe one of the central bridge crew, Skids is an enormously {{Badass}} spy, and Swerve [[spoiler:helps figure out a cure to the dreaded disease cybercrosis.]]
** An extremely powerful AmnesiacHero is best friends with a smaller MotorMouth prankster. ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'', anyone?
** Swerve asking Skids if he's an ex-wrecker when they first met. [[spoiler: He's from the Diplomatic Corps, another autobot special ops team, seen as a foil to the Wreckers.]]
** There is an episode of ''Futurama'' in which Professor Farnsworth builds a "Death Clock" that functions almost exactly like the Death Clock Ratchet has. To top it off, [[spoiler:in both ''Futurama'' and this comic the local NaiveNewcomer is shown to have a very short time to live by the respective Death Clocks.]]
** Whirl is shown in Issue 14 having issues with the Targeting Visor as he mentions it was designed for robots with "100% more eyes" than him. Cue ComicBook/TransformersDarkCybertron and Shockwave having a binocular microscope and the RunningGag that came out of it.
** In issue 12, there's a brief scene during the big fight where Chromedome rides Overkill (a Decepticon who has a dinosaur form). Not even two years later, ''Transformers Age Of Extinction'' has a scene where Optimus Prime rides Grimlock into a battle in the exact same way. Made even funnier by the fact that the issue has a scene where Rewind accuses Chromedome of pretending to be Optimus Prime.
** In the first issue, Rewind complains that everyone makes fun of him because he turns into a giant memory stick and not a "super space tank". Cue the Transformer's Collector's Club second figure subscription service, and one of the figures that is part of it is Rewind (with an Eject repaint) based on the Demolition Rumble toy that was never released Stateside...and turns into a tank.
* HoYay: Tons and tons and tons. And this is excluding the canon couple ''and'' Prowl and Chromedome's past relationship.
** Rodimus' [[LikeAnOldMarriedCouple texts to Drift]] might be easy enough to write off as Rodimus being Rodimus. Less so is Drift trying to impress Rodimus by interrogating Cyclonus (which he takes ''way'' too far), giving Rodimus [[FreudWasRight sword lessons]], complete with a HandsOnApproach shot, or [[spoiler:accepting full responsibility for the Overlord affair to shield Rodimus.]]
*** Drift happens across Rodimus and Snap Trap fighting in issue 12. He immediately stabs the latter through the head, claiming that "the ones with swords are his."
** Cyclonus and Tailgate too. Especially when [[spoiler:it looks like Tailgate's going to die.]] Cyclonus goes so far as to gouge his face in self-loathing when his bad advice makes the little 'bot even more miserable.
** Red Alert's monologue at the comatose Rung's bedside has heavy shades of this.
** Brainstorm's "highly conflicted Perceptor fanboy" status got a lot of this treatment very quickly. Their interactions in "Dark Cybertron" only added fuel to the fire.
-->'''Brainstorm:''' You? Me? ''Simpatico''.
** Tyrest and Magnus's interactions are far more casual than you would expect [[ByTheBookCop from either]] [[TheJudge of them]].
** In issue 29 when Atomizer is trying to convince Rodimus to [[spoiler:take the voting list]] he gets a little ''too'' close and friendly with him. This had the members of TFW 2005's forums declaring the Atomizer was Rodimus's secret admirer. It helps that Atomizer very much looks as though he's got a [[ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers Primus-Apotheosis-style]] hero worship thing going on for Rodimus. [[spoiler:Though it's quickly subverted when it's revealed Atomizer was trying to play Rodimus.]]
** Tailgate and Getaway in issue 30, so much so that Cyclonus walked out of the room. [[spoiler:[[NoYay Come issue #40, however...]]]]
** Fayren's Retailer Incentive cover for Issue 33 looks like it could easily be from a scene of a slashfic featuring Tarn and Fulcrum.
** Some readers have pointed out the events surrounding the Shadowplay arc and Dark Cybertron imply that one point Optimus Prime had feelings for [[spoiler: Shockwave]] of all people.
* {{HSQ}}: "Remain In Light" and "Slaughterhouse".
* IKnewIt: Many fans correctly guessed that Prowl was responsible for Overlord being on the Lost Light. Many also correctly assumed [[spoiler:that Brainstorm was in on the whole thing. Drift being the ''real'' conspirator]] was much less expected, though, as was [[spoiler:Rodimus's involvement.]]
** [[spoiler: Ultra Magnus being a LegacyCharacter]] was also guessed correctly.
** A lot of people also figured out that [[spoiler: Ravage snuck onto the Lost Light to spy on Megatron for Soundwave.]]
** There were two competing theories for the second Lost Light, Alternate/Branched Timeline and Quantum Superposition. [[spoiler: It is the Quantum Superposition theory that was right. When the Lost Light took off and had a failure, the engines created two possible destinations, pretty much like [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Will and Tom Riker and the teleporter accident they had]].]]
** [[spoiler:Some fans suspected that Brainstorm was not after Pax, but after Megatron. Issue 37 confirms that.]]
* InferredHolocaust: Bitterly lampshaded by Rodimus and Getaway when they discover [[spoiler: that the hot spot on Luna 1 won't reignite, meaning thousands of Cybertronians essentially just died in utero.]]
* IronWoobie: Sunstreaker.
-->"SORRY SORRY SORRY! I spend my whole life apologizing! Just once- '''just once'''- I'd like to have ''nothing'' to apologize for!"
* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler:Overlord has been smuggled onboard of the Lost Light. Also Shockwave is a TragicMonster.]] It doesn't help that the former is revealed only six issues in.
** Good luck avoiding the knowledge that Megatron joins the quest in season 2. Made even worse by the fact that IDW itself spoiled this through promos.
* JerkassWoobie:
** Whirl, after we learn his {{Backstory}}.
** Chromedome. In addition to having one of the most dour and cynical outlooks of any of the cast, many of his worst troubles can be attributed to his own faults and sometimes questionable ethics. But even taking those into account, so much of his life just ''sucks''.
** [[spoiler:Brainstorm]] is implied to be one in issue 16. This is confirmed in issue 38; [[spoiler: his entire motivation for travelling through time was to try and prevent the death of his one-true-love Quark]].
-->[[spoiler:'''Brainstorm]]:''' Your pain will change. It won't fade-- course not, course it won't-- but it'll eventually turn into something else. Something you can live with. Take it from someone who knows.
** Cyclonus. At times he's incredibly cold and abrasive, but when you consider how ridiculously traumatic his past six and a half million years have been, it's a wonder he's coping as well as he is. Gets taken UpToEleven when Tailgate becomes ill.
** Megatron, who is filled with regret over his actions in the war and desperately trying to atone. Also he's ReformedButRejected. Starscream actually lampshades this in his speech at Megatron's trial, portraying Megs as a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds who got in over his head and succumbed to the same evil he fought.
** Ravage. He genuinely believes in Megatron and the Decepticons and is devastated by Megatron's abandoning of the Decepticon cause.
** Surprisingly, issue 39 reveals that [[spoiler: ''Tarn'' may count as this. He's secretly horrified and disturbed by the violence the DJD commits and his mask is actually there to hide the fact that he closes his eyes in remorse and disgust when they torture people. He's also implied to be filled with self hatred, with him constantly criticizing himself through his inner monologue. The only reason he even helps them is because he sees his duty as absolutely necessary.]]
* LGBTFanbase: This series has gotten a lot of attention from the LGBT community for featuring the first official homosexual couple in ''Transformers'' in the form of Chromedome and Rewind.
* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: [[spoiler: While the story hasn't pulled any punches in killing some of the 'bots, a big name bot, like Ultra Magnus, does seem covered by PlotArmor, even with the revelation that Ultra Magnus is a LegacyCharacter]].
* LoveToHate: Prowl, Overlord, Pharma, and Star Saber.
* MagnificentBastard: It doesn't become clear until "Remain In Light" just how much [[spoiler: Prowl]] has manipulated the Lost Light crew. For one thing, [[spoiler: he correctly guessed that Chromedome would end up a point where Drift could convince him to join up with the Overlord project]] and played [[spoiler:Rodimus]] like a fiddle to get him to do what he wanted. However, it's also {{deconstructed}} as his manipulations end up having loads of horrible consequences. Not only that, but once the consequences are real, those that were manipulated realize they were and some even call out Prowl on it.
** After completely fooling ''everyone'' for one and a half seasons, [[spoiler:Brainstorm]] rapidly establishes himself as one of the most competent and effective villains the crew has ever had to face; [[spoiler: even if his actual goal is much more noble than what was expected.]]
* MagnumOpus: Many are considering the comic to be this for both James Roberts and IDW's Transformers comics in general. In terms of the series, most fans seem to consider "Remain In Light" to be the best storyline so far (it even got MTMTE nominated for an award) while Roberts himself considers issue 16 to currently be the best issue.
* MartyStu: Thunderclash. [[ParodySue Done completely intentionally]] and PlayedForLaughs.
* MeaningfulName: Theophany (the planet where Crystal City is) is a Greek word meaning [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic "the appearance of God witnessed by a person"]].
* MemeticBadass: Whirl. Fortress Maximus is one ''in-universe''.
** James Roberts himself is starting to get this treatment amongst the fandom.
* MemeticMolester: Pharma, after his insanely creepy behavior in issue 18.
** Amusingly Getaway got a bit of this after a HoYay-filled scene in issue 30 where he hangs out with Tailgate. Since Tailgate is basically a child this caused some fans to jokingly compare him to ''Pedobear''. [[spoiler:His attempts to turn Tailgate against Cyclonus in issue #40]] have only made things worse.
* MemeticMutation:
** Prowl flips tables when angry. (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻
** Social Justice Tarn. [[note]]Explanation: A running gag amongst the fandom, portraying the BigBad, KnightTemplar Tarn as a stereotypical Malcom X-style social crusader for Decepticons.[[/note]]
*** On that note, Everyone is Tarn. [[note]]Explanation: Because Tarn's face is an obvious Decepticon symbol mask, it's a bit of a joke to guess at who he used to be.[[/note]]
** Courage Rodimus. [[note]]Explanation: Rodimus is insanely reckless at times and fans love pointing out his insane leaps in logic such as making medics fight on the frontlines or allowing a ShellShockedVeteran to walk around with a loaded gun.[[/note]]
** As of Issue 18, Overly-attached [[spoiler:Pharma]].
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbKsZZ_B9NI FUCK DA POLICE]].
*** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcPBlR4xuV8 It's not unusual to be lonely...]]
** [[SkywardScream JAAAAMMMMEEESS]] [[SayMyName ROOOBBBEEERRRTTSS]]!!!
** [[VerbalTic BOMP!]]
** [[Series/DoctorWho Everyone lives Rose! Just this once everyone lives!]] [[note]]Explanation: A ShoutOut joke about how [[spoiler: EveryoneLives in the dreaded issue 21]].[[/note]]
* {{Moe}}: Tailgate and to a lesser degree Nautica.
* MoralEventHorizon: Overlord undoubtably crossed it years before this series. It would be easier to describe the moments he ''isn't'' crossing it. However the moment he loses all possible likability is when he horrifically murders [[spoiler:Pipes]] for no reason at all, then goes off to do the same to everyone else on the ship.
** Star Saber crossed it in the backstory [[spoiler:when he tried to commit genocide against ''everyone in the galaxy that didn't believe in Primus''.]] If that didn't do it, then [[spoiler:murdering [[TheObiWan Dai Atlas]]]] definitely did.
** Tyrest crosses it when he activates the Universal Killswitch.
** Pharma crosses it when he murders [[spoiler:Ambulon]] just to prove that he is a better doctor than Ratchet and win the "contest".
** Megatron likely crossed it ages ago (the events of ''All Hail Megatron'' come to mind). His character arc seems to be based around whether someone who has crossed the horizon can possibly find a way to redemption.
** In case it wasn't clear how monstrous the DJD is; [[spoiler: issue 32 shows how they slaughtered an alternate version of the Lost Light crew, torturing or mutilating everyone except the alternate Rewind than blowing the ship in half out of spite. And issue 33 shows that they forced Rewind to film everything by promising to spare Chromedome, than tried to force Chromedome to erase his memories of Rewind before brutally murdering Chromedome with his own needles when he said no.]]
*** Possibly subverted by issue 39, which reveals that the DJD only did so because [[spoiler: they were whacked off their skulls on [[FantasticDrug Nuke]] and lost control when they saw Drift.]] However, [[spoiler: Vos and Kaon murdering Trailcutter]] just after ''he saved their lives'', has no excuse.
** Though they don't get to actually cross it, Krok, Crankcase, and Spinister wary dangerously close to this in issue 45 when they consider selling Grimlock to Demus.
* {{Narm}}: "Primus hates you." It works in context when you take [[TheFundamentalist who]]'s saying it into account, but by itself it sounds like the kind of thing a spiteful five-year-old might say.
** Cyclonus rushing to the medibay is supposed to be dramatic, but the exaggerated fashion in how he's drawn running makes it ''hilarious''.
* NoYay: Pharma acting like somekind of [[{{Yandere}} stalker/jilted lover]] towards Ratchet in issues 18-19.
** [[spoiler:Getaway]]'s progressively creepier behavior towards [[spoiler:Tailgate]] retroactively sours anything the two had going on between them.
* ParanoiaFuel: Issue 28 reveals that Ravage has stowed away aboard the Lost Light and is spying on the crew. This is revealed to us by showing him sitting barely two feet away from Megatron and Rung during their session... ''without being noticed''.
** Later he manages to sneak onto the Rodpod [[spoiler:as the Lost Light is evacuated]] and keeps hidden almost the entire time. He's only caught when Hound catches a glimpse of him by sheer chance.
* OCStandIn: Overlord was originally this between Megatron: Origins and ComicBook/TheTransformersLastStandOfTheWreckers, and now the [[MisaimedFandom fans]] have run with that and pretty much made him a [[DepravedBisexual depraved]] {{sadist}} 'con, in part due to his EvilIsSexy traits.
** Getaway, whose only previous appearance in the IDW universe was a single shot in Spotlight:Blaster.
** Swerve, whose sole personality trait prior to Roberts had been that he DrivesLikeCrazy.
** Zig-zagged with Deathsaurus. His IDW personality clashes with his portrayal on the Anime/TransformersVictory tv-series, but is actually on-par with his manga depiction, where's more of an AntiVillain / NobleDemon who cares for those under him.
* OneSceneWonder: Quite a few:
** Torque, the [[DissonantSerenity overly-cheerful suicide bomber]] from Fulcrum's flashback in issue 8. Even more so after the reveal in issue 16 that [[spoiler: [[BadassNormal he killed one of the Magnus armor holders with his suicide jump]].]]
** The Megatron-sounding Nautilator and AffablyEvil Blip in issue 12 who only show up for two pages.
** Flywheels only appears very briefly for two issues before getting killed off, but comes across as one of the funniest and most likable Scavengers.
** Blip, the Decepticon who thinks he's a sparkeater in issue 39. Mainly for having the balls to actually [[DefiantToTheEnd stand up to Tarn and call him out on his hypocrisy even while the DJD are torturing him]].
** Skullcruncher, the self-hating Decepticon comedian.
* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: Some fans react this way whenever someone other than Alex Milne or Nick Roche does the art. This view is not helped by the fact several of the artists who have chipped in (other than Guido Guidi) seem to have some trouble [[OffModel staying on model]].
* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: The portrayal of Drift--another author's CreatorsPet--in this series has made quite a bit of headway in redeeming him to some of his haters. Hell, the guy's become a bit of an EnsembleDarkhorse by this point.
** On the creative level, Alex Milne. His previous IDW work on the Spotlights and ''MegatronOrigin'' had proved very unpopular, to the point that many were actively dreading him replacing Nick Roche as artist - Roche's colorful, characterful, and expressive style had been nearly the inverse of Milne's DullSurprise and very overdrawn designs. But when #2 rolled around, Milne nailed the style and designs perfectly, and many are now hailing him as one of the best Transformers artists ''ever.''
* RewatchBonus: This comic is practically the poster boy of this trope. It takes multiple rereads to get the loads of subtle jokes, references, bits of continuity, and foreshadowing.
** In ''Who's Afraid Of The DJD?'', when Tarn fights the Scavengers, he changes modes the most, he disembarks the ship, transforms, then transforms again to go to the container, while everyone else just walks the short distance. When [[spoiler: Grimlock]] attacks the DJD, Tesarus pounds on him, but Tarn transforms to run him over with his treads. When Crankcase gets a mechsuit, Tarn transforms to shoot him, instead of just shooting him. Previously, in ''How Ratchet Got His Hands Back'', Pharma mentions how the leader of the DJD is addicted to shape changing. Pharma doesn't mention his name, but one can figure it out on their own.
** Everything involving [[spoiler: both Shockwave]] and the "Conspicuously-Unnamed Senator", after the revelations in ''Shadowplay: An Intimate Beheading''.
** A lot of scenes involving Whirl take on a lot more relevance once you learn in ''Interiors'' that he's a DeathSeeker. Ditto for Rewind after the stuff we learn about him in issue ''Before & After''.
** A bit of a cross-title one, but the fact that Swerve isn't actually best friends with Blurr is actually foreshadowed in the ''Robots In Disguise'' comics when you realize that despite apparently being such great friends, Blurr never talks about or mourns Swerve's apparent passing with the rest of the ''Lost Light'' crew, or ever mentions him to Ironhide while being talked into reopening Maccadam's.
** The flashback in ''Rememberance Day'' will make a lot more sense if you re-read it after what you learn in later in that issue and in ''Remain In Light, Part 1: The Fecund Moon''. [[spoiler: You're witnessing Overlord's birth.]]
** Tailgate's green inner energon from issue 12-- [[spoiler: is because its curdled up from the cybernecrosis, as Ratchet points out.]]
** Whirl overdosed on [[BerserkButton Berzerker Buttons]] and flipped out when someone asked him the time. Whirl was a watchmaker, a job that he enjoyed until the empurata, it seems to be his BerserkButton.
** ''Everything'' about Ultra Magnus, [[spoiler: after he reveals that he's Minimus Ambus.]]
*** The conversation between Swerve and Ultra Magnus in issue 13 foreshadows a lot of developments about the characters that come up later. [[spoiler: Ultra Magnus actually straight up admits to working for Chief Justice Tyrest at one point, but because he's drunk and he doesn't say Tyrest's name, Swerve just ignores him.]]
*** Issue 16, with all the close calls Ultra Magnus goes through makes us rewatch all the previous issues, as it gives us Ultra Magnus' FreudianExcuse for being the bot he is, as in, no smiles, no funny quips, hating dirt and crooked Autobot badges. Turns out it was all a RedHerring after Issue 18 and 19 [[spoiler: flip all that and reveal that Ultra Magnus is a LegacyCharacter, and we were actually watching the death of an Ultra Magnus every single time.]]
*** A comment Skid made on Ultra Magnus, about remembering him to be more cheerful in the past. [[spoiler: That's because it was a different "Ultra Magnus".]]
--->'''Skids''':''Well, I think it's sad. The Ultra Magnus I remember was always so cheerful. He'd make all these little quips whilst bludgeoning you over the head and dragging you to the cells...''
** In issue 2, Skids notes that he feels like he's running away or escaping from something. [[spoiler:As Chromedome later notes, he wasn't experiencing the need to run away, he was trying to remember Getaway.]]
*** Also, during the Shadowplay arc, it's shown that Skids dosen't know who Prowl is. [[spoiler: This makes much more sense when it turns out that Skids destroyed his memories of being a member of Spec Ops and everything related to it, which naturally includes Prowl.]]
** Tailgate's naïve behavior makes a lot more sense when we learn in issue 21, [[spoiler: that he's only two weeks old mentally. It most likely also explains why his subsconsciously-generated holomatter avatar back in issue #13 was an infant.]]
** Issue 14 has Tailgate crafting something, with Hoist and Skids trying to figure out what it is. [[spoiler: Issue 21 reveals it's Cyclonus' missing horn]].
** Notice how in issues 2 and 3, despite Swerve talking about how he's really good friends with Blurr, he seems to almost latch onto Skids for no real reason, pestering him for attention and friendship. As issue 13 shows, that's because he's so lonely that he latches onto nice actions as a sign of friendship.
** In issue 21, the symbols that [[spoiler: the strange spark being]] shows include an Autobot and Decepticon badge above a picture of the Lost Light. Now we know that after ''Dark Cybertron'', Megatron joins the crew in their quest...
** Chromedome and Prowl's backhanded behavior and Rewind's constant jabs at Prowl take on a whole new meaning after Shadowplay (where we learn they were partners on the police force) and the WordOfGay from James Roberts regarding their relationship.
** In issue 3 the Sparkeater has Brainstorm cornered, than suddenly just turns and runs after Skids and Rung. Then in issue 21 [[spoiler:Brainstorm keeps the Point-One Percenter spark in his chest compartment... where his spark should be.]] Both of these things make a horrifying amount of sense now that we know Brainstorm is basically [[spoiler:a walking corpse.]]
** Megatron flipping out when Optimus mentions Chromedome's mnemosurgery skills and his apparent fear of needles. It's because [[spoiler: the Senate tried to use mnemosurgery on him before the war]].
** Brainstorm sneaking his own drinks into Swerve's bar. [[spoiler: It's because he's been spiking the engex in the bar.]]
** Throughout issue 35 there are signs posted everywhere by the Functionist Council saying "You are our eyes". [[spoiler: At the end this phrase turns out to be ''quite'' literal.]]
** Basically every single reveal in ''Elegant Chaos'' causes this on all the previous issues; the audience was practically being told what would happen from day 1.
* SeasonalRot: The issues of summer 2015 (#41-43) were poorly received for some thanks to Roberts' rampant AuthorAppeal regarding songs and pop culture references and having little plot development, as well as them being mostly BizarroEpisode's. #42 disappointed fans as it appeared to promise that TonightSomeoneDies when ''no one dies''. #43 in particular disappointed several fans since the promotional material seemed to imply that Deathsaurus' War World was pursuing the ''Lost Light'', advancing the DJD/Deathsaurus plot introduced in #39. And it ended up being a BizarroEpisode focused on Swerve's mind. #44 is generally agreed to have got things back on track, since it addressed long-standing plots like Dominus Ambus, Megatron's judgment, the actual quest, and the Necrobot.
* ShipToShipCombat: A couple examples.
** A fair amount between Brainstorm/Perceptor and Brainstorm/Nautica shippers.
** Cyclonus/Tailgate and Getaway/Tailgate are running into this.
* ShipSinking: As collateral damage to [[spoiler:Brainstorm/Nautica and Brainstorm/Perceptor]] shippers, given the reveal of Issue 33.
** Gateway/Tailgate got this thaks to [[spoiler: Getaway getting increasingly creepy.]]
* {{Squick}}: The DJD making Blip hold his own brain in his mouth in issue 39. Tarn's FauxAffablyEvil dialogue doesn't help.
* SpiritualAntithesis: Interestingly, one could make a case for MTMTE being this for Roberts's previous work ''Last Stand Of The Wreckers''. Whereas LSTOW was all about deconstructing the themes and clichés of Transformers, this comic strays more towards taking those same ideas and [[{{Reconstruction}} gluing them back together]] in an improved state. Also while LSTOW was a ''very'' grim tale of morality set in the tail end of a horrific war, MTMTE is a {{Dramedy}} with loads of humor, snark, and lampshade hangings set in a time of peace.
* SpiritualLicensee: This comic captures the spirit of ''Star Trek'' better than any of the actual ''Star Trek'' comics. It even has some similar character archtypes (reckless captain, TheComicallySerious second in command, grouchy medic, eccentric engineer, etc.). Alex Milne actually makes the comparison that he feels Rodimus is Season 1 [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Riker]] and Megatron is Season 1 [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Picard]], although fans seem to have suggested that Megatron is closer to [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Captain Jellico]].
** Some also feel that it's the closest thing to a continuation of ''Firefly'' that we'll ever get.
* TakeThatScrappy: Though the series sees him RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap, Ratchet's tirade in issue two about how much of an idiot Drift is probably qualifies.
* TheScrappy: [[spoiler:Since ''Our Steps Will Always Rhyme'' Getaway has gained his fair share of detractors, due to his sudden Yandere vibes over Tailgate, despite otherwise being generally affable with the majority of the crew. [[WordOfGod Roberts]] has kept quiet as to whether this was on [[HateSink purpose]] or not.]]
* ToughActToFollow: The ''Sensuous Frame'' arc and ''The One Where They Go To Earth'' are generally considered the weakest stories so far, partially because they had the unfortunate luck of coming right after a string of [[WhamEpisode Wham Episodes]] that propelled the MythArc forward, as well as coming right ''before'' the highly anticipated second Scavenger arc.
* UglyCute: Bob and The Pet.
** Glitch, one of the outliers from "Shadowplay."
* UnpopularPopularCharacter: Whirl. InUniverse the Autobots hate or fear him, and Ratchet is uncomfortable with repairing him. Out of Universe he's loved for being a CrazyAwesome hilarious badass.
** Cyclonus as well. InUniverse, he is known for having been Galvatron's right hand man, and having killed many 'bots during his assault on Kimia. Even after he pulls a HeelFaceTurn that saves Cybertron, and helps Optimus stop Galvatron, he still gets mislabeled as a Decepticon, others openly reject him because they knew some of his victims at Kimia. Out of Universe, he's loved for his evolving relationship with Tailgate, being a honorable bot, and matching Whirl in badassness. [[spoiler: This eventually culminates in him being more accepted by the crew following the ''Remain in Light'' arc]].
** And of course Megatron, who's hated by the crew for obvious reasons. Out-of-universe fans like him since, well, he's ''[[EvilIsCool Megatron]]''.
* TheUnReveal: Roberts acknowledges that he deliberately concealed Chromedome's original name ([[spoiler: Tumbler]]) as one of these. His original name, Roberts notes, is just a standard name - it's "Chromedome" that's important, because it shows he worked at the Institute.
** When asked which leg Ambulon turned into, Roberts gave us this quote.
-->"You know how sometimes, a seemingly innocuous, tongue‐in‐cheek and throwaway question, if answered sincerely, can give away absolutely massive spoilers? This isn’t one of those times. He turns into a right leg."
* VillainSue: The Decepticon Justice Division edges into this territory in issue #32, where it's revealed that they managed to kill of the majority of the crew of [[spoiler:an alternate Lost Light.]] Yes, Tarn is spoken of as though he were on par with a phase sixer, but this is a crew of around two-hundred Autobots. To contrast, Overlord, an actual phase sixer, needed an army to take Garrus 9, while the DJD massacred the [[spoiler:Lost Light]]'s crew with just themselves. Possibly subverted by the fact that [[spoiler: Vos and Kaon were injured, disabled, and left behind afterwards by an attack from the Galactic Council and Black Box Consortia. It's hinted that they could've escaped unscathed with their mission complete if they hadn't [[DickDastardlyStopsToCheat wasted all their energy, time, and ammo slaughtering the alternate Lost Light crew after taking out Overlord]].]]
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Though just as many obscure characters are used in prominent roles, just as many are ignored or summarily killed off. A notable example is Countdown, who is a minor EnsembleDarkhorse and MemeticBadass. He appears and is killed off in the space of one issue.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: As the Transformer Wiki points out, in issue #21, Rodimus allows himself to be strapped to a ''cross''-shaped table so that he can use the power of their creator deity to wipe away the consequences of Tyrest's sins, at the possible cost of his own life. The cables connecting him to the killswitch even make it look a little like he has a crown of thorns around his head.
* WinBackTheCrowd: For IDW's ''Transformers'' comics, after they had slipped into a minor DorkAge.
* TheWoobie: Everyone at some point, but even so a few stand out.
** Tailgate. Guy's just woken up from missing ''six million years'' of war, and as such is incredibly naive about what has transpired. He spends an issue walking around an Autobot ship declaring that, based on the history Cyclonus has shared with him, he wants to be a Decepticon, and invites mistrust upon himself before being subjected to a brutal montage of Decepticon atrocities. Add to that Cyclonus beating the crap out of him in issue #4, leaving Tailgate a quivering wreck curled up in the fetal position, and you just want to give him a big hug. In issue 13 he becomes even more Woobie-licious when we find out, he's not a crewmember of the Ark 1 like he said he was. He's just a garbage man who fell while swapping out the ship's coolant and lied because he just wanted someone to actually ''care'' about him. Not only that, [[spoiler: it turns out that he's dying of cybercrosis from all the radiation he received while in stasis for 6 million years, and before he went missing, he had only been alive for 2 weeks.]]
** Red Alert's paranoia is initially portrayed in a somewhat humorous light. [[ProperlyParanoid Not so much]], [[SanitySlippage as the]] [[BungledSuicide series progresses]].
** ''Fortress Maximus''. To add to the already disturbing implication that he's essentially a ChildSoldier, there's his absolutely horrific torture on Garrus-9, which leaves him a violent, psychotic wreck under incarceration for the first half of Season 1. Towards the end he regains the crew's trust and is eventually allowed to police [[spoiler: Luna-1]], but it's obvious that while he's constructively dealing with his issues, he's not free of them just yet.
** The end of the "Shadowplay" arc reveals ''[[spoiler:Shockwave]]'' to be one. One of the few decent members of the corrupt, pre-War senate, he sacrifices himself to save Roller's life. [[spoiler:He is mutilated, and has his personality completely inverted, changing from an outspoken, affable benefactor to a cold, emotionless scientist.]] He's portrayed with such depth prior to this transformation that we really feel for him, despite the fact that years later, he's one of the Decepticon elite.
** Ultra Magnus.
** Rewind. He's been searching in vain for Dominus Ambus for ''millions of years'', [[spoiler:only to die terrified and alone, feeling betrayed by Chromedome and with his search unfinished. His other self has it even worse: He had to record the DJD slaughter all of his crewmates to save Chromedome's life, only for Vos to kill him anyway when they changed the terms and Chromedome refused to comply. Given that Rewind admits in issue 16 that he's terrified by the thought of outliving Chromedome...]]
** Swerve, after TheReveal in issue 13.
** Tyrest, [[spoiler:pre-SanitySlippage.]] He gave his all for the Cybertronian race, and ended up creating [[spoiler:a multitude of Cybertronians he believes are predisposed to criminal acts. He starts mutilating himself as penance, and eventually damages his brain, rendering him a twisted, insane shadow of his former self.]]
** Issue 31 reveals Riptide to be one; he's an [[ChildSoldiers MTO]] and was forced to go through a training exercise so traumatic that he refuses to talk about it. Plus he missed the initial launch and spent over a year being miserable on Cybertron because he got the crap kicked out of him by the Lost Light's prior owners.
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