YMMV / The Transformers: Drift

• Contested Sequel: Empire of Stone is seen either as an improvement or a step down from the original series.
  • Its fans feel that it's an Even Better Sequel or a Surprisingly Improved Sequel. The artwork is suitable, Drift's character has more self-awareness and depreciation (carried over from MTMTE), Grit and Knockout are interesting, and Hellbat's big villain speech is where the writing really shines, giving a villain familiar to the nihilistic likes of Overlord but with McCarthy's own spin.
  • Its detractors feel that it's a case of Sequelitis or a series equally as bad as the first. Reasons include: Guidi's Regeneration One style isn't as good as Milne's artwork, Drift and Ratchet's dynamic is only a pale imitation of its past, Vanquish's appearance creates a continuity headache which could have easily been avoided, and Stone Army itself was a big disappointment.
• Creator Backlash: Shane McCarthy regularly voices his disdain for any incarnation of Drift who was not penned by him, especially more popular versions than his like Drift under James Roberts' pen or even Age of Extinction Drift.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Grit and Knockout are incredibly popular.
• Nightmare Retardant: The titular Stone Army is built up as a massive army capable of razing worlds, brought to life from dead Autobots and Decepticons with genocide in mind. When they actually appear they're quite ineffective, just as powerful as regular mooks (especially considering the last mook army, the Legislators, actually were a threat in their own right despite being killed en masse) with their only strength being a Zerg Rush. They're unarmed, primitive, and have no means of getting off planet, a defense force with adequate ammunitions could kill them (or hell, just getting into a ship and bombing them would be effective if they ever came into conflict with a flight capable race). Yet Ratchet, Hellbat, Drift, and Gigatron all believe that it's a powerful force capable of turning the tide of the war.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: Drift. Sorta. The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye rescued him after his initial introduction, All Hail Megatron AND his first miniseries, then he was Put on a Bus after issue 16. Empire of Stone happens after this, which reverts some of the things that made him not disliked. At the end, fans hope his return to MTMTE can rescue him again.
• Tear Jerker:
  • The death of young Gasket, killed in Drift/Deadlock's back story.
  • Wing's death in The Transformers: Drift.
    Dai Atlas: How many more do I need to lose!?
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Hellbat in Empire of Stone.
  • Gigatron, for some.

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