Transformers: Beast Wars - Second Chances - Page 4
Originally posted on February 2nd, 2011
Story - Mike Priest
Art - Jeffrey Witty
Colours - Jenny Son
Letters - HdE
deviantART
wada sez: This was originally meant to be Page 5, with some of the later Waspinator stuff moved earlier. As envisioned by Mike Priest, all of the pages for the comic would have individual titles, but only he seemed to like this idea and none of them made it into the final product. He gave this page the title “Eternal Too”, a reference to the fact that this entire story is an expansion of his previous Mosaic one-shot, “Eternal”. See below for the original script and an early sketch by Witty, along with Mike’s “Writer Spotlight”.
Beast Wars: Second Chances- Page 5
“Eternal Too”
By Mike Priest
-
(FIRST PANEL- Depthcharge’s hand slaps down on wet sand; he’s just pulled himself from the ocean.)
(SECOND PANEL- A full side-view of Depthcharge, on his hands and knees crawling from the surf- wet, caked with dirt, seaweed hanging from parts of his body…we cannot see his chest.)
DEPTHCHARGE:
G-geh…
(THIRD PANEL- Close-up of Depthcharge’s head, looking down at the sand, in confusion.)
DEPTHCHARGE:
Huh…how? I-I…thought…
(FOURTH PANEL- Depthcharge whirls and looks behind him in a panic, having heard a voice. We still can’t see the front of his chest.)
RAMPAGE:
(Dialogue bubble unlinked, border color differs)
Well…THIS is certainly interesting.
DEPTHCHARGE:
(Enraged)
X! WHERE ARE YOU??
(FIFTH PANEL- Depthcharge, horrified expression as he looks down at himself. We see the pulsing glow of a spark from below off-panel.)
RAMPAGE:
Where I’ve always been…
DEPTHCHARGE:
(Small text)
no…
(FINAL PANEL- Unveiling of Depthcharge’s chest- it is torn open enough for us to see a SECOND spark (smaller; it’s only a half) somehow messily “fused” onto Depthcharge’s larger spark, like some cancerous lump.)
RAMPAGE:
…a touch more literally now, it would seem. AHAHAHAH!
Ah, Beast Wars. For me, it's a case of "third time's the charm!"
Y'see, Beast Wars was Transformers' third coming for me. And once it hit, I was snared for life. As a wee lad, I was a fan of G1, from about the age of three 'til the age of seven or eight. Oh, there was the Real Ghostbusters and Spidey and His Amazing Friends and whatnot here and there. But Transformers was always the fallback, always something I could go back to when I lost interest with whatever the new fad was on the playground.
Around 1991 or 1992, while there were still some Transformers toys on the shelves, I was growing more enamored with Ninja Turtles and Marvel Superheroes, and Transformers was largely on the backburner, possibly for good this time.
But my growing love of comic books would bring me to Transformers yet again. One fateful day in 1993, on a routine trip to the comic store with my older cousin, I saw it on the shelf.
Transformers Generation 2 # 1. Everyone can remember that cover -- Optimus Prime with bullets jutting out of his skull and faceplate and the tag "This is NOT your father's Autobot."
I eagerly snatched it up and for the next twelve months, going to the comic store became a regular occurrence. I loved Spider-Man and X-Men and Iron Man, but Transformers Generation 2 was the comic I HAD to have every month.
You can imagine my disappointment when I discovered the book had been canceled after only twelve issues. Without supporting fiction to give my toy "adventures" some measure of credibility, my interest waned as it had before, and Transformers once again only became a fond memory.
Fast-forward to 1996. My younger cousins tell me of an awesome "computer-graphics" show airing in the morning called Beast Wars. "It's animals that transform into robots!", they tell me. I chuckle, inwardly wondering if it is some rip-off of Transformers. A few weeks pass and I catch an episode. "The Web", it is titled, but what shocks me most is the "Transformers" subtitle underneath the prominent Beast Wars logo. It isn't a rip-off, it IS Transformers!
Of course, as a bitter, world-weary twelve-year old at this point, my initial reaction is "Turning into organic-looking animals? Huh, dumb". This doesn't stop me from watching the show on weekday mornings before going to school, rationalizing that "nothing else is on".
Then suddenly, about midway through the first season of Beast Wars, I realize I'm not watching it because "nothing else is on" anymore, I'm watching it because it IS Transformers and it is AWESOME! Before I knew it, I was hooked again! And this time would be for good. Never again would something push Transformers to second or even third-banana status with me. I was a Transfan through and through and I owed it to Beast Wars for reminding me.
To me, Beast Wars represents some of the very best Transformers storytelling has to offer and is unequivocally the best Transformers animated series of all time (so far). I jumped at any chances to contribute to the Beast Wars universe in anyway, through fanfiction, through Transformers Mosaic, and now, through BEAST WARS: Second Chances.
It's funny. We're calling it "Second Chances". But for me, Beast Wars was a THIRD chance. And like I said before, third time's the charm!
-- Mike Priest
Transformers: Beast Wars - Second Chances - Page 10
Originally posted on February 2nd, 2011
Story - Mike Priest
Art - Jeffrey Witty
Colours - Jenny Son
Letters - HdE
deviantART
wada sez: Priest gave this page the individual title “Out of the Cold”; you can read his script below. In case you were wondering where all these drones have come from, a later comment from the project explained: “Although never explicitly stated, many of the stasis pods likely became Tarantulas's drone army.”
Beast Wars: Second Chances- Page 10
“Out of the Cold”
By Mike Priest
-
(FIRST PANEL- Depthcharge walking along a path carved into the side of a mountain.)
RAMPAGE:
(Unlinked dialogue bubble)
This is just too delicious, really.
DEPTHCHARGE:
(Text box)
Shut up.
RAMPAGE:
(Unlinked bubble)
What? You aren’t having as much fun as I am?
DEPTHCHARGE:
(Text box)
Shut up.
RAMPAGE:
(Unlinked bubble)
Come now, I know you have a much more colorful vocabulary than th--
(SECOND PANEL: Depthcharge lashes out wildly at the side of the mountain with one fist, leaving a deep imprint in the rock. He’s clearly a bit unhinged.)
DEPTHCHARGE:
SHUT UP!
RAMPAGE:
(Unlinked bubble)
Well, well. What have we there?
(THIRD PANEL: Depthcharge looks across the sky and sees Waspinator in wasp mode flying by in a hurry.)
RAMPAGE:
(Unlinked bubble)
Ah yes. Another playmate. Going to say hello?
WASPINATOR:
Waszzpinator muszzt get help, muszzt get --
(FIFTH PANEL: Depthcharge in manta-jet mode pulls up alongside of a flustered Waspinator. Waspinator’s eyes go comically-wide as he tries to right himself.)
WASPINATOR:
Aigh! Fishie-bot??
DEPTHCHARGE:
And where are you off to in such a hurry, screw-loose?
(SIXTH PANEL: Waspinator points with one of his insect legs to the ground below and behind him. Depthcharge’s own optics follow.)
WASPINATOR:
Szzpider-bot will deszztroy everything! Getting help! Reinforcementszz! Fishie-bot come too!
DEPTHCHARGE:
What the…?
(SEVENTH PANEL: From Depthcharge and Waspinator’s position in the air, we can see dozens of “Steel Tech” Tarantulas drones, all in “cycle” mode, tearing through a valley below.)
RAMPAGE:
(Caption)
Ha, no rest for the weary, old friend.
Transformers: Beast Wars - Second Chances - Page 11
Originally posted on February 2nd, 2011
Story - Shaun Flaherty
Art - Jeffrey Witty
Colours - Jenny Son
Letters - HdE
deviantART
wada sez: Peep below for the original script.
PAGE ELEVEN (six panels)
Panel 1. A close-up of Depth Charge’s (robot mode) face. He is dumbfounded by what we see in Panel 2.
Note:
Although Rampage’s “healing factor” has helped Depth Charge to pull himself back together, he should still appear battle damaged until he logs some time in a creation/restoration chamber.
Panel 2. Waspinator (robot mode) presents his “reinforcements”, Inferno (robot mode) and Quickstrike (robot mode). The two Predacons are off-line, but Waspinator has reassembled them with mud, sticks, vines, etc.; he is surprised that Depth Charge is not as impressed as he is.
DINOBOT II (OP):
Tarantulas installed a C/R tank aboard the Nemesis --
Panel 3. Dinobot II (robot mode) walks toward us.
Reference:
Dinobot II (Seibertron)
Dinobot II (TFWiki)
DINOBOT II:
-- its wreckage is not far.
DINOBOT II (continued):
If you hurry, you may make it back in time.
Panel 4. Depth Charge points his weapon right in Dinobot II’s face.
DEPTH CHARGE/RAMPAGE (thought):
Just do it.
DEPTH CHARGE/RAMPAGE (thought):
Blow ‘im away.
DEPTH CHARGE:
And why should I trust you?
DINOBOT II:
It does not appear that you have much of a choice.
DEPTH CHARGE/RAMPAGE (thought):
You know you want to!
DEPTH CHARGE/RAMPAGE (thought):
I do.
DEPTH CHARGE:
Shut up!
Panel 5. A close-up of Dinobot II’s face. He means what he says.
DINOBOT II:
I give you my word of honor.
DINOBOT II (continued):
Tarantulas will not reach his objective.
Panel 6. In the foreground, we see the back of Dinobot II’s head; he looks upward, toward Depth Charge. In the background, Depth Charge (vehicle mode) flies away from us, carrying Inferno and Quickstrike.
Transformers: Beast Wars - Second Chances - Page 3
Originally posted on February 2nd, 2011
Story - Curt Lunsford
Art - James Ferrand
Colours - Jeffrey Witty
Letters - HdE
deviantART
wada sez: Per Flaherty on deviantART: “one of the things this story addresses is what happens to Dinobot after the end of "Nemesis" since his body is not found aboard the Nemesis in the G1 episode "Microbots".” See below for the original script for this one.
Page 3
Panel One
(Shot of Dinobot II(DBII) walking away from the Nemesis, in beast mode)
Panel Two
(Close-up of DBII’s face. He’s just raised his head, and has a puzzled look).
DBII: Hmm?
SOUND EFFECT(in small letters): Poooooosssshhhh
Panel Three
(Shot of DBII looking toward the sky. In the distance we can see a small sparkle, followed by a long plume of smoke)
DBII: No…
Panel Four
(Shot of DBII transforming. This doesn’t have to be very large)
SOUND EFFECT: BRRR-TTOON
Panel Five
(Close-up of DB II’s robot mode cyborg eye. It’s extended, similar to a microscope)
SOUND EFFECTS(near eye): Whirr…
Panel Six
(We see, still very far away and kinda blurry, the unmistakable shape of the Autobot shuttle the Maximal’s used to escape Earth)
DBII(tagless): NOOOO!!!!
Panel Seven
(Close up of DBII’s face. He has a look of disillusion, hopelessness)
DBII: The war is over…
Panel Eight
(Shot of DBII sitting on the ground. He’s sitting like all the strength in his legs gave out all at once)
Transformers: Beast Wars - Second Chances - Page 15
Originally posted on February 2nd, 2011
Story - Curt Lunsford
Art - James Ferrand
Colours - Jeffrey Witty
Letters - HdE
deviantART
wada sez: The Arachnid was an oddity from the original Beast wars toyline, a “Microverse” playset for little figurines. For whatever reason, all of the narration for this one is completely different from the original script, which you can read below! I wonder if Lunsford rewrote it, or HdE. Mike Priest says it wasn’t him!
Page 15
Panel One
(Shot of Dinobot II avoiding a giant spider leg)
TEXT BOX: I was too late. Tarantulas is already inside…
Panel Two
(Reveal of Arachnid! He’s dueling with Dinobot, and Dinobot is trying his best to avoid Arachnid)
TEXT BOX: …and he left a watchdog!
Panel Three
(Shot of DBII in front of a wall, sword raised. His body language suggests he’s about to make a quick sidestep to the right)
TEXT BOX: The creature’s power is overwhelming, but it cannot be unstoppable! Strategy is the key --
Panel Four
(DBII has just been bashed into the wall by two of Arachnid’s legs. They are holding him fast)
DBII: Gh-uh!!!
TEXT BOX: Its grip is too tight, escape is impossible.
Panel Five
(Shot of Arachnid beginning to take out DBII’s spark. with it‘s mouth)
TEXT BOX: What is it doing now!?
TEXT BOX: Wait, this could work to my advantage. If I were to detonate my spark core at this moment, the chain reaction would render the creature immobile, and when reinforcements arrive they can…
TEXT BOX: No. No. Sacrifice is not an option. I won’t die again.
DBII: I --
Panel Six
(Close-up of DBII slashing Arachind with his finger claws rapidly)
DBII: -- WANT --
Panel Seven
(Close-up of DBII’s face. He has a very determined look on his face. His cyborg eye has a VERY large ball of energy powering up inside of it. He’s about to unleash his most powerful blast ever)
DBII: -- TO --
Panel Eight
(Shot of DBII blasting Arachnid away. Arachnid has literally been blown backwards and away from DBII, and his head is smoking. However, it is obviously still functioning)
Story - Matthew Simon Hessey
Script, Colours, Letters - wadapan
Art - Jeffrey Witty
Edits - Mary Canada
deviantART
wada sez: Jeffrey Witty had shared his art process for this one on deviantART, but for whatever reason, the strip was never colored or lettered. I got in touch with Jeffrey to see if he could provide me the original script—and as it happened, he still had it! The story was clearly inspired by Simon Furman’s work on the Transformers: Movie Prequel comic series from IDW, but I felt like Hessey’s script itself did little more than recap the events we already know from that comic and from the film itself. As a huge fan of the first live-action movie with strong opinions on Megatron’s character, seeing as I’d be spending so much time coloring and lettering the strip, I decided I wanted to write my own version of the strip. I know that’s very cheeky of me, but after two years of working on this archive, I felt like I could have a little bit of archival misconduct as a treat. Of course, I’ve also lettered up Matthew’s original script, so you can read that version below as well and compare for yourself—which do you prefer? And after that, stay tuned for a full process breakdown and a much more in-depth commentary on the choices I made!
PANEL 1:
(MEGATRON IS FALLING THROUGH THE ICE, SIMILAR PICTURE TO THE ONE OF HIM FALLING THROUGH THE ICE IN THE MOVIE PREQUEL COMIC)
TEXT BOX (GREY): I am Megatron, leader of The Decepticons. I arrived on this pitiful planet in search of the Allspark millennia ago, but was denied at the last possible moment.
Megatron: No! Not when I was so close!
PANEL 2:
(MEGATRON IS IN THE WATER, REACHING FOR THE HOLE IN THE ICE DESPERATELY)
TEXT BOX (GREY): Upon my landing, the ground collapsed beneath my feet and I plunged into the icy cold liquid below, causing most of my primary systems to shut down. Leaving me only able to watch and wait as I was entombed.
PANEL 3:
(CLOSE UP OF THE GLASSES LYING IN THE ICE WITH THE ALLSPARK SYMBOLS ON IT)
TEXT BOX (GREY): That is, until I was discovered by a biological entity. Using one of my last remaining vestiges of power, I burnt the location of the Allspark onto the creature’s visual enhancement pieces.
PANEL 4:
(HOOVER DAM IN THE BACKGROUND WITH A TRUCK AND A TRAILER LARGE ENOUGH TO CONTAIN MEGATRON DRIVING UP TO IT)
TEXT BOX (GREY): I was moved between laboratories as these ‘humans’ experimented on me to allow their own pitiful understanding of technology to advance. But, eventually I came to be stored in a place known as ‘The Hoover Dam’.
PANEL 5:
(PICTURE OF THE ALLSPARK IN HOOVER DAM)
TEXT BOX (GREY): It was here that for the first time in millennia I felt the call of the Allspark, it was so close that I could almost smell it, touch it even. Yet I was powerless to do anything about it.
PANEL 6:
(CLOSE UP ON MEGATRON’S FACE, WITH BRIGHT RED GLOWING EYES)
TEXT BOX (GREY): But now, I feel my power slowly, but steadily, returning to me. Soon I will be free. Soon I will have the Allspark. And soon I shall have my revenge.
wada sez:
Whew, it’s so refreshing to step outside the confines of my usual single-paragraph commentary! This was a labour of love for me, inspired by Terry van Feleday’s singular opus of cinematic analysis, “I actually kind of appreciate the Transformers movies.” The essay on the first movie, towards its end, veers into straightup fanfiction, providing a very interesting interpretation of Megatron’s inner thoughts during his cryogenic sleep. I’ve mirrored the segment in question at the very end of this post; hopefully you can see how it formed the basis for my script.
The central conceit of van Feleday’s reading is that the cry of “I am Megatron!”, spoken in plain English, is actually addressed to the humans, a declaration of self-actualization following decades of callous dissection. In my script, I incorporate Hessey’s title into the strip diegetically, as one of many radio transmissions overheard by Megatron during his imprisonment. I wanted to gather all the epithets I could think of from the movie and its ancillary material, to build up a picture of how the humans view this impossible creature. I actually started out with way more, and pared it back because I felt it was cluttering the artwork too much!
It felt important to me to lean into the horror of Megatron’s paralysis, and to express that horror in a uniquely mechanical way. I also wanted to stay true to what I viewed as the core emotion of Hessey’s script—namely, the feeling of being so close to accomplishing a goal, yet being utterly powerless to do so.
The film implies that the AllSpark’s coordinates being seared onto Archibald Witwicky’s glasses is something that happens unconsciously, but Terry van Feleday instead interprets it as a deliberate attempt at communication on Megatron’s part.
I liked the idea of portraying this relationship between Megatron and the scientists, where they are unknowingly creating this horrific impression of human nature. With that interpretation in mind, Megatron’s characterisation after awakening in the film reads less menacingly, and honestly much more favourable towards the human characters such as Sam. I think that’s the real power of transformative works, to recontextualise an existing story and allow you to view it through a new lens.
In the final panel, I had to cheat a little with the script; obviously, the intention is that Megatron is frozen, which is why we have this extreme closeup; the omission of his mouth literally depicts him as a mute. I wanted to recontextualize the panel as being the exact moment where he’s breaking free, speaking for the first time on this planet. I hope you found it effective.
As for the colours... the first thing I wanted to point out was that Jeffrey appears to have inadvertently horizontally squished his art while inking it! Still, this was the highest-resolution version of the art, so I just rolled with it. So if you noticed that the cube in particular is very malproportioned, well, now you know why!
I deliberately used very different tones between the left and the right columns, to help guide the reader’s eye down the page first; the lettering also straddles the panels to help in this respect. I do like Jeffrey’s composition, using the full height of the page to create this feeling of falling. The second panel in particular is very simple and effective, definitely the best in the piece.
In the first panel, I initially gave Megatron much cooler hues, but I revised it once I realised it was supposed to be referencing a specific sequence from the prequel comic, where Megatron’s armor is given a white-hot glow from re-entry; it’s this which melts the ice beneath his feet.
Anyway, here’s the extract from Terry van Feleday’s essay...
Imagine you just had the worst day of your life.
Well, it wasn’t really a day. Hours and days have no meaning for you. You have lived far too long to follow such microscopic temporal distinctions. You built an empire, and lived to see it dying. What can a day matter? A year?
How about a thousand?
Your planet was dying. Your species was dying. What can a king do, when his children are dying because there is nothing to eat? You knew the answer: The Allspark. You hung onto that fairy tale even as your followers declared it absurd, taking off immediately, all alone, as soon as there was a sign of it. No delays; Without the Allspark, everything you ever knew and loved would slowly wither away and die. And all you needed to do was move to a completely insignificant planet it found itself drawn to and pick it up. You would be more than a leader, you would be a hero, a savior. There would be no more need for war, no more fear of death and hunger, and no more dying younglings.
And then everything went wrong.
The moment still constantly plays before your eyes. You break into the planet’s atmosphere, and it nearly destroys your sensors. That vivid feeling of total disorientation, the hard, sudden impact, and the cold darkness that closed around you as the cavern froze around your unmoving body. You weren’t ready to die. You thought back to your planet, your people – you still had to save them. Had to. What would they do without you? The people saw their leader off, promising them to bring back utopia. Knowing you wouldn’t return would shatter their morale completely.
The years start piling on. You try to move, try to melt the ice, try to do anything, but the world only seems to become colder around you. Ten years. Fifty years. Five hundred years. Unable to move, with only your own thoughts and worries to give you company. Your mind can’t take it, and your sanity falls apart. Everything you thought and wished for slowly shatters into pieces, leaving only hate and chaos behind. Eight hundred years. Thousand years. After a while, you simply stop counting.
Then you hear a crash from the ceiling.
Through your delusional fever dreams, you aren’t sure if it is real or not, or what is truly happening. A tiny creature descends upon you, clearly primitive, shouting in rough, poorly-coordinated language, but perhaps not too dissimilar to you. You failed to bring the cube to your people – but maybe, maybe there is some slight chance that he can. So you tell him where he can find it, the only way you can right now. You rest a bit more easy. Perhaps it is time to rest after all.
But, more small creatures start filling your cavern. They begin chopping away at the ice that binds you, clumsily, but surely. They want to free you. For the first time in millennia, you feel just that little bit more warm - finally you will be able to return, to not be a useless statue, but the great hero you were destined to be. Your silent cheer fills your own head as the humans, as they call themselves, with great difficulty, raise you out of the cavern and put you onto a transport.
They seem bewildered with you. Curious. A little too curious, perhaps. As grateful as you are, you have a mission to attend to, and they will only get in the way. You are defrosted enough to stand up.
Panicked shouting erupts among the small ones. It seems they hadn’t expected you to still be alive. You notice too late the all-too-familiar cold creeping up your body, and suddenly you cannot move again. They froze you!
Burning rage fills your heart. What do they think they’re doing!? They lock you underground again, and, to your horror, begin to force parts of your body open, dissecting you alive.
You start picking up on their language, and slowly begin to understand what they’re saying. They’re just using you to expand their technology. These primitive insects have attached themselves to you like filthy parasites, using your suffering to create for themselves more meaningless conveniences. You should be their god. You wanted to save your own kind, but instead, you are treated like a chunk of garbage. And as a final injustice, the insult to the injury, they did not even treat you to a proper name.
Needless to say, as soon as you are free, someone will pay.
wada sez: This strip, set post-Beast Wars (with an iconic quote lifted from “Nemesis Part 1″), offers a backstory to Depth Charge’s Universe redeco, drawing inspiration from the colour scheme to depict him as a hybrid with his nemesis, Rampage, whose immortal spark is seen in the final panel here. This backstory differs from that seen in the last published issue of the Universe convention comic by Furman, which similarly saw Depth Charge resurrected, just under very different circumstances. Mike Priest gave his own commentary on BotTalk: “Storywise, this is my own little piece of shameless "fanon". This always was running around in my head as a way to bring both Depthcharge and Rampage back after Beast Wars. In fact, it was going to be part of a post-BW fanfiction I was going to pen at one time, but I never got going. The idea is that Rampage's spark fragment merged with Depthcharge's spark upon their "deaths" and regenerated Depthcharge's body, albeit with a new color scheme. ("Universe" Depthcharge's head always seemed a bit Rampage-colored to me.) The story potential I think, is huge, having Rampage "possessing" Depthcharge and constantly whispering in his ear, as it were. And it harkens back to Starscream's ghost possessing people too, so it's not particularly a stretch to assume Rampage's spark can do the same. psychomud did a fantastic job on the art; the final panel had to be rather "iconic" and he succeeded spectacularly. I also love the easter egg of the crab on the beach. [...] In any case, it's a better resurrection story than the official Universe explanation of "Hey, he's back. Primus did it." [...] And yeah, there's a bit of inconsistency there; Rampage should have been drawn about to be stabbed with an Energon shard, not Depthcharge's cutlass. But it's minor and I just chalk it up to "artist interpretation". [...] Death in fiction is particularly cheap, and especially for Transformers, who can come back from the most final of defeats. I do believe resurrections can be good stories though; just because one writer couldn't do anymore with a character, doesn't mean another writer still didn't have ideas for them. But I felt Depthcharge and Rampage's "deaths" still resonate and their new "status quo" here wouldn't take away the fact that Depthcharge gave in and murdered someone in cold blood.” See below for some work-in-progress lineart.
