Grimlock ♥ Ultra Magnus

Spotlight Galvatron

I found this one confusing.  I mean, I got what happened, but the other Spotlights were more clear in where they stood in the overall universe, or at least felt more self-contained.  

I also wasn't digging the art as much on this one as many others.

Spotlight Blaster

Blaster's Spotlight was another that felt important in the large scope of things, and I enjoyed the twist at the end.   After Blaster is attacked, and left for dead, he has no urge to be 'The Voice' that led a revolution - but it also may be the only way to discover who tried to kill him before they try again.   

Spotlight Arcee

Arcee's history as The Transformers paints trans people as lunatics driven insane by dual inputs.   (There's no way to read this other than they're getting male and female inputs, and it drives them crazy, at least not to me.)  I enjoyed this once upon a time, before I realized how damaging the narrative was.   Now, I just see it for the shitshow it is.

New Avengers/The Transformers: Man and Machine

Weak on all fronts: art is iffy, writing is laughably bad.   I've read this twice now, and while this is supposed to happen between two Transformers mini-series, nope, I'm glad to report there's no way this is canon.   There's no way the Marvel heroes hadn't stumbled upon the Autobots - or Decepticons yet - or never show up again, and they don't - thus this is some non-canon bullshit right here. 

Devestation

More about the Machination.   You find out who kidnapped Sunstreaker and Hunter, and what happened to them.   Headmasters are introduced, and I liked the creepiness of it all.   Didn't save this volume from a knocked off half-star, though, because it wasn't that great despite liking the storyline and what it revealed.   The art is sub-par when compared to later series - MTMtE, RiD, LL, and OP - too.

Spotlight Grimlock

Unsurprisingly, one of my favorite Spotlights.    Not only does it star Grimlock - yay - but it also was one that fit most nicely into the larger plot lines, describing how Grimlock and the Dynobots escaped their tarry fate from Shockwave's Spotlight, and explores Grimlock's remorse over his own actions.   It's not something he's used to, or often shows, and I enjoyed seeing how uncomfortable he was because it meant not treading the same old ground with him.   It also, if I remember correctly, lays the ground for the Maximum Dinobots mini-series.   (Yes, they go from Dynobots to Dinobots.   That is not a misspelling.)

Spotlight Wheelie

Y'know what, fuck Wheelie and fuck this Spotlight.   I find his rhyming to be grating, and while this gave a reason why, a reason that makes him sympathetic, I kinda hate him at the same time.   He wants to be liked too badly, and his fucking rhyming.   

Yup, that about sums it all up.   An especially mixed bag.   Still, lays some of the ground for MTMtE and LL and RiD and OP and gives me a larger understanding of this continuity.   Before it goes away :(