The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye

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The name or term "More than Meets the Eye" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see More than Meets the Eye (disambiguation).
All of your favorite childhood heroes... and Drift.

The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye is an ongoing comic series published by IDW Publishing, starting in January 2012. This series follows the adventures of Rodimus and his team as they travel through space, hunting for the legendary Knights of Cybertron and having adventures along the way. But mostly it's about lonely nobodies hanging out pretending they have friends.

The series picks off from "The Death of Optimus Prime", the epilogue to the previous ongoing, and takes place at the same time as a second ongoing series, Robots in Disguise, which together form the fourth major "act" of IDW's ongoing Generation 1 continuity.

In 2014, it was nominated for three True Believer Awards (formerly the Eagle Awards): Favourite American Comicbook: Colour, Favourite Single Story (#13), and Favourite Continued Story (Remain in Light).[1]

"Everyone on board the Lost Light is cracked in the head!"

"Yeah, dysfunctional isn't the word! There isn't a normal 'bot among you!"

"And that wouldn't be so bad if you actually made progress—but as far as I can make out, all you do is argue, crack jokes, and get sidetracked doing pointless, silly things that only you find amusing!" Various members of the Circle of Light , "Little Victories"

« The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye issues:

Overview

In contrast to the Cybertron-based setting of Robots in Disguise, More than Meets the Eye is set predominantly within the walls of the Lost Light, the spaceship captained by Rodimus that carries his crew on their expedition to locate the Knights of Cybertron, a mythical group who left the planet ten million years prior to the present day to spread peace and enlightenment across the universe. The book features an ensemble cast, who come and go from the spotlight with each passing issue, made up in large part of characters who have been overlooked by past fiction.

The "main cast" at the series outset includes Rodimus himself, a daredevil egotist who could not be more ill-suited to command; his officious second-in-command Ultra Magnus, whose obsessive-compulsive traits make life on the ship difficult for everyone; third-in-command Drift, now with a relentlessly positive outlook on life following a near-death experience; the talkative Swerve, who immediately became a fan favorite; ship's doctor Ratchet, now feeling his age and looking for something new in life; dangerously unhinged ex-Wrecker Whirl, who soon forms a murderous enmity with disillusioned ancient Cybertronian Cyclonus; ship's security officer Red Alert, even more paranoid then ever; timid psychiatrist Rung, who slowly seems to be more than he appears; and diminutive archivist Rewind and mnemosurgeon Chromedome, who would come to draw much attention as the first truly official "gay" romantic couple in Transformers fiction.[2] In short order, the crew is joined by Tailgate, a naive Transformer who has been offline for the duration of the war and finds himself forced to choose a side, and Skids, a long-missing Autobot who reappears with amnesia and a bad attitude. As the series progresses, more Autobots come into focus on the fringes of the story, like the over-eager, luckless Pipes, and resentful, boozy, one-trick-pony Trailbreaker.

All of your favorite childhood heroes... wait, what's he doing there?

More than Meets the Eye uses its "quest" backdrop to tell multiple smaller adventures, throughout which are threaded many, many seeds for future stories, together forming a grand tapestry that has clearly been planned out very far in advance. Following an unexpected quantum jump upon launch, the Lost Light is hurled off into the depths of space, where the crew is joined by Skids and contends with a stowaway Sparkeater. A visit to Delphi by Ratchet to help cure a plague introduces the threat of the Decepticon Justice Division, who then feature in a Decepticon-dedicated story menacing a band of misfit Decepticons, and also brings the facility's surviving patients and staff onto the ship—including Fortress Maximus, whose post-traumatic stress causes him to snap and nearly kill Rung. Hoping to cure Rung's damaged brain, Rewind gathers a small group together to recount a shared story from their past about Orion Pax foiling a Senate plot to discredit the burgeoning Decepticon movement in the days of Functionism. Unfortunately, the little archivist is soon badly wounded in battle, sending Chromedome into a grief spiral that allows Drift to manipulate him into carrying out a plan laid out by Prowl: using his mnemosurgery skills to tap the memories and learn the secrets of mass-murdering Decepticon Overlord, secretly hidden on board the Lost Light. Unfortunately, Chromedome accidentally allows Overlord to escape, and Rewind has to sacrifice himself to jettison the monster from the ship. Ultra Magnus is also fatally wounded in the battle, but when his body disappears from the ship's Medibay, the crew track it to Luna 1, where they discover and foil a twisted plot by Chief Justice Tyrest to wipe out all those Transformers he sees as tainted by original sin.

The book then goes into the "Dark Cybertron" crossover with Robots in Disguise with the More than Meets the Eye issues mainly dealing with the Lost Light's quest to find and revive Metroplex and Orion Pax's investigation into the relation of the Dead Universe to Shockwave's overall plot. The casts of both series finally meet again in Robots in Disguise #26.

All of Ten's favorite adulthood heroes.

After the conclusion of "Dark Cybertron", "Season 2" of the series kicks off with a three part story arc involving Megatron's trial and the events that lead to him captaining the Lost Light set in the six months between Dark Cybertron and Season 2 while the present day story deals with the arrival of a coffin; disappearing objects and a mystery involving Rewind's Message. The cast underwent a reshuffle, as tertiary crew members like Trailcutter were moved to the main cast and new crew members like Nightbeat were added. The new members included two new original characters, Nautica and Riptide. Answers to the mysteries revolving around the coffin led to the time-traveling "Elegant Chaos" arc, as the Lost Lighters scramble after Brainstorm, who has gone back in time bent on changing the future. Along the way, the gang inadvertently answers some of the series's longest-standing questions, as they discover that they can't fight fate.

In the aftermath, several characters departed for other comics while new people Velocity and Thunderclash joined the crew. Elsewhere, the Decepticon Justice Division learned Megatron had called for an end to Decepticon warfare; they doubled down and joined forces with Deathsaurus's splinter faction, determined to kill Megatron for heresy. The Lost Light discovered a message from a (dead) spy within the DJD while helping Swerve with his self-worth issues and followed its directions to the Necrobot's planet. It contained a sobering reminder that all of them were killers and would one day have to face it, and Megatron was shaken to see a visual representation of the billions he was responsible for.

Creative team

Series artist Alex Milne (left) and writer James Roberts (right)

The series is written by James Roberts, fresh from the critical success of Last Stand of the Wreckers. Roberts had already been assigned the series when he wrote the two-part "Chaos Theory" in issues #22 and #23 of the ongoing series, and seeded many early plot points for the series into those two issues, including Whirl as the prison guard. Also furthering the link between the ongoing and More than Meets the Eye, when Roberts co-plotted "Chaos" with Mike Costa, Costa let him script all of the Kimia escape shuttle scenes, populated with characters who would be aboard the Lost Light.[3]

Alex Milne serves as the series regular artist, with colors by Josh Burcham. The visual "look" of More than Meets the Eye that the pair have created is very unique, with slightly exaggerated, cartoonishly stylized character models unlike anything in Milne's past work, cel-shaded with a textured, muted color palette that combines to create something quite unlike any modern Transformer comic. So key is this "visual identity" to the book that almost all other contributors who have worked on the title have striven to emulate it, adapting their own lineart and coloring styles to match the expected look and tone of the book. Frequent Roberts collaborator Nick Roche provided art for issues #1 and #6, as well as "B" covers for every issue, while Brendan Cahill co-pencilled #12, Guido Guidi stepped in for #13, Agustin Padilla filled in last-minute for #16, and James Raiz drew the lineart for #22. Joana Lafuente and Josh Perez have also lent their colors to the book, while Marcelo Matere regularly provides retailer incentive variant covers for the series. Following the "Dark Cybertron" crossover event, Burcham stepped down as the book's regular colorist, and Lafuente took his place, bringing a new palette and gradiated shading to the series.

Soundtrack

Pick up the latest issue of The Transformers: More Than Meets the Indie Disco!

In a unique touch, writer James Roberts would visit the IDW Publishing forums shortly before the release of each issue and offer up a "teaser" post containing one or more songs that served as a "soundtrack" that would set the tonal and/or emotional stage for the upcoming issue, usually tending toward the independent- and folk-rock genres. This began at issue #2, with the songs for #1 being provided later; TFWiki lists these songs on each issue's respective article. Non-issue-specific songs for the series and its characters in general include:

Songs for Season 2

Collections

  • The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 1 (June 13, 2012) ISBN 1613772351 / ISBN 978-1613772355
  • Contains issues #1 to #3, as well as the preceding The Death of Optimus Prime one-shot.
  • Bonus material includes art from most covers, 12 promotional images, "Meet the Crew" page, design sketches from Alex Milne for various characters and ship locations, and a 2-page editor's comment with "behind the scenes" information about the series.
  • The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 2 (October 17, 2012) ISBN 1613774982 / ISBN 978-1613774984
  • Contains issues #4 to #8.
  • Bonus material includes art from most covers, "Meet the Crew" and "Meet the 'Cons" pages.
  • The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 3 (March 27, 2013) ISBN 161377592X / ISBN 978-1613775929
  • Contains Annual 2012 and issues #9 to #11.
  • Bonus material includes "Meet the Crew", variant covers, and designs for the Guiding Hand.
  • The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 4 (July 17, 2013) ISBN 1613776918 / ISBN 978-1613776919
  • Contains issues #12 to #16.
  • Bonus material includes art from most covers, and the prose story Signal to Noise.
  • The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 5 (November 13, 2013) ISBN 1613778023 / ISBN 978-1613778029
  • Contains issues #23 to #25, as well as Dark Cybertron issue #1 and Robots in Disguise issues #23 and #24.
  • Bonus material includes art from most covers.
  • The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 1 (reissue) (May 21, 2014) ISBN 1613779658 / ISBN 978-1613779651
  • Contains issues #1 to #3, as well as the preceding The Death of Optimus Prime one-shot.
  • New cover by Livio Ramondelli.
  • Bonus material UNKNOWN
  • The Transformers: Dark Cybertron Volume 2 (June 11, 2014) ISBN 1613779984 / ISBN 978-1613779989
  • Contains Robots in Disguise issues #25–#27, More than Meets the Eye issues #26–#27, and "Dark Cybertron: Finale".
  • Bonus content includes covers of each issue.
  • Includes "The Death of Optimus Prime", More than Meets the Eye #1–5 and Robots in Disguise #1–6.
  • The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 6 (December 10, 2014) ISBN 163140184X / ISBN 978-1631401848
  • Contains issues #28 to #33.
  • Bonus content includes covers of each issue.
  • The Transformers: Dark Cybertron (February 11, 2015) ISBN 163140072X / ISBN 978-1631400728
  • Contains issues #23 to #27, as well as Dark Cybertron issue #1 Robots in Disguise issues #23–#27 and "Dark Cybertron: Finale".
  • Bonus content UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.
  • The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 7 (May 18, 2015) ISBN 1631403273 / ISBN 978-1631403279
  • Contains issues #34 to #38
  • Bonus content includes covers of each issue.
  • The Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye Volume 8 (October 7, 2015) SCHEDULED by AMAZON ISBN 1631404520 / ISBN 978-1631404528
  • Contains issues #39 to #44
  • Bonus content Cover Gallery.
  • Volume 1 cover by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
    Volume 1 cover by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
  • Volume 2 cover by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
    Volume 2 cover by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
  • Volume 3 cover by Alex Milne and Joana Lafuente
    Volume 3 cover by Alex Milne and Joana Lafuente
  • Volume 4 cover by Alex Milne and Joana Lafuente
    Volume 4 cover by Alex Milne and Joana Lafuente
  • Volume 5 cover by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
    Volume 5 cover by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
  • Dark Cybertron Volume 1 cover by Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
    Dark Cybertron Volume 1 cover by Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
  • Volume 1 reissue cover by Livio Ramondelli
    Volume 1 reissue cover by Livio Ramondelli
  • Dark Cybertron Volume 2 cover by Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
    Dark Cybertron Volume 2 cover by Phil Jimenez and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
  • IDW Collection Phase 2 Vol 1 cover by Sarah Stone
    IDW Collection Phase 2 Vol 1 cover by Sarah Stone
  • Volume 6 cover by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
    Volume 6 cover by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
  • Dark Cybertron Hardcover cover by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
    Dark Cybertron Hardcover cover by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente
  • Volume 7 cover by Alex Milne and Josh Perez
    Volume 7 cover by Alex Milne and Josh Perez

In fiction

IDW Generation 1 continuity

Your childhood's hero you pretended was your favourite after your gran bought it and not that Ultra Magnus you wanted.
...I didn't say I didn't like it—I just don't understand all of the words, and it presumes a familiarity with the Autobot/Decepticon war that I still don't have...Tailgate, "The One Where They Go to Earth"

After being exposed to Brainstorm's meta-bomb and briefcase, the Autobot Swerve somehow created a reiterative time-loop inside him, allowing his holomatter generator to create a life-sized replica of the planet Earth to which his mind retreated when he was dying from a rust infection. The only literature on "Swearth", as it was swiftly dubbed, was a comic book series called More than Meets the Eye that detailed the adventures of the Lost Light's crew up until that point, which Tailgate read in order to gain clues as to Swerve's location. The One Where They Go to Earth


Footnotes

  1. ↑ True Believers Comic Awards nominees
  2. ↑ Quote marks around "gay" 'cause IDW has previously established that Transformers are genderless in their continuity, but let's not kid ourselves here.
  3. ↑ From the 'Everything You Didn't Realize You Needed To Know About More Than Meets The Eye' section of the TPB
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