you know, it's so funny to me that in the early idw pj kinda appeared before us in opposite of how the fandom usually describes and writes their relationship. jazz is a stoic gloomy leader, suffering under the weight of responsibility, having a difficult relationship with faith, the people around him and the whole world, lost in his thoughts, in darkness, dreaming of peace and solitude. a prudent, serious, tired and lonely warrior
while prowl is the one who desperately tries to remain optimistic and hopeful, not because he sincerely believe in a better outcome, but because that is what his partner needs right now. prowl is the one who seeks contact, closeness, the one who emits support and care, who fights jazz's demons, who sees so much more in him, when others can't or don't want to. and prowl is the one whose feelings and enthusiasm are not shared (right people in the wrong time)
ohhh, all these little interactions between my guys here are absolutely amazing. prowl literally has some kind of sixth sense that lets him know when someone is being rude to his BEST FRIEND, and then in a second he teleports to the place ready to defend jazz's honour! and jazz. jazz is so embarrassed and confused by such fervor. he thanks him dimly, wishing to quickly escape back to some dark hidden balcony to indulge in sadness alone... what actually is unlikely to happen now, as prowl had decided that he would follow him like a freaking shadow, never letting him out of his sight. oh lord, oh lord! prowl overhears some positive news and immediately rushes to share it with jazz, hoping to see him smiling again. jazz, who's already sick of such attention, smirks slightly and thanks copbot, silently begging the universe for this guy to finally leave, find something else to do and stop bothering him. you know those cute but clingy dogs? that's how prowl behaves. brilliant, absolutely brilliant
tf 2009 prowl is probably my favorite idw-1 version of prowl. the way his character was handled in this story, especially in the last few chapters, was almost perfect
i like his personality - isolated, brooding, calm, composed, mysterious, always on his own mind, playing his own games. a lone wolf. a hunter. ready for anything. in control of everything. i like the way he thinks, i like that we can finally get inside his head and find out how he sees the world. i like the way he behaves, the way he presents himself, the way he talks and reacts to everything that happens around him. i like his constant sly half-smirk, insightful gaze and tricky speeches
i like the way he interacts with others. i like that he's "two-faced", he thinks highly of his mates, he values teamwork, support and help from others, he cares about the crew and each of its members, but he doesn't let any of them too close to him or his business. i like that no matter how hard he tries to stay true to logic, no matter how much he tries to keep his mind pure, detached, collected, he can get attached and he can get hurt and he’s not always able to let go of feelings so easily. i like that he can get confused, lost and vulnerable, he could be gullible, could be wrong and could be outsmarted, despite all his skills, experience and intelligence there are some things he can't handle
i like that he doesn't want to be a leader. he will lead if necessary, but he understands perfectly well that it’s not what he was created for. i like how passionate he is about his real job, i like that he treats his duties both responsibly and playfully, that he gets naturally high from his work. investigating, searching, analyzing, questioning, manipulating - this is his life, his true purpose. i like that he’s good at it, damn good, and i like that he knows it
so. "why we fight back" storyboard... OMG, can we talk about how much the emotional part of the sova's story changed during the production?
of course, concept arts always differ from the final product, but i was deeply struck by the fact that in the cinematic they went with completely different emotions for sova in literally every possible moment. the mood and meaning of the most of his scenes had changed drastically, just look at this:
severity, coldness, sternness were replaced by pride and satisfaction
i can't stop thinking about the reasons behind this decision. and, yes, i said drastically, because these images give us two very different directions for understanding both sova's story and character
here? anger and rage have been replaced by detachment, acceptance and readiness for action. in the final version sova sees his friend's victim, remembers his past and his loss and prepares for the fight. in the concept art he is motivated straight by the fury that boils inside him all the time. he seems to allow himself to feel pain and allows others to see it
AND HERE?? ohhh, lord. of course, i like the final version - sova is the only one who feels sorry for brimstone, his close friend and commander. he's saddened and uncertain, but he understands that it's necessary. in the draft? he is as wounded as viper and the others. he is disappointed. he is mad. he feels rage. he is done with this man, his mistakes and his path
by the way, i also wanted to note how much more explicit the stabbing was in the storyboard. like. oh. wow
i also like the emphasis on the number of corpses in this scene. the cinematic's shot is very beautiful, but this? so cruel and brutal...
and there's another question that's been on my mind for a long time: why do both sovas have the same scar? yes, someone could have given a!sova this scar, buuut he stabbed his double, he didn't cut him. where did that cross come from then? oh, riots, riots... i hope, one day you will stop confusing everything in the world that relates to this guy's eyes :'D
it's so interesting to see evil done unintentionally. when a really good person makes a mistake, a serious terrible mistake, and becomes the cause of someone else's grief and pain... it's moments like this that give you a glimpse of their true nature. give you a new perspective of them. the way they try to make amends with all their might, try to justify and explain themselves, the way they suffer, regret what they have done and dream of turning everything back... life journeys like this, especially solo journeys, that's what i love. and, oh, jazz had it rough
you know, after everything cybertronians have been through it's hard to stay that way. sympathetic. after centuries of violence, brutality and fear, after endless battles and losses it's truly hard to sincerely feel compassion or guilt, hard to feel sorry for anyone but yourself. you want to be selfish, you want to finally let go of the past and live the damn life, you want to forget all your sins and enjoy the well-deserved victory, the home, the precious peace for which you went through hell. but jazz can't do that
he's done a terrible thing. he killed a human. many in his place would just accept that "little inconvenience" and move on. again against the backdrop of everything that had happened to them this event really meant nothing. a few lines in the giant book of their history. a few heavy seconds in the flow of the thousands of years of their lives. nonsense. trifle. the death of a bad person who deserved it. a cruel decision of fate. an accident beyond their control. so many ways to justify themselves! but jazz can't do that. shame for what he has done haunts him. he tries to put it aside, tries to start over, but he keeps getting pulled back, to the heat of battle, to the darkness of his former life, by the hands of those closest to him and by his own efforts. it's this event that fundamentally changed something about him. changed the way he looks at the world and himself
he can't forgive himself. he can't forget. he wakes up every night with nightmares, reliving that day and hundreds of other days over and over again. why is he reacting this way? he became a bad man a long time ago. so much blood on his hands, so many murders, so many ruined fates at his mercy, but the bitter sharp shame still stubbornly follows him. he can't move on knowing what he and his people have doomed the earth to by involving it in their conflict, he can't move on knowing that in the eyes of the earthlings they are far from heroes, far from fighters against injustice. for humans there is no much difference between an autobot and a decepticon, they are all murderers, they are all destroyers of their home. if this is his legacy, if his struggles and sacrifices have led to this outcome, doesn't that mean he's been wrong all his life? was it all for nothing? what was even the point? is the only thing he's actually good at is destruction? it can't be true. it can't stay that way!
he wants to understand what he means to others, he wants to make a difference, he's really trying, but the scary truth is... nothing will change. no matter what he does, no matter how hard he tries, there's no going back. he'll remain a monster in their eyes and he'll remain a monster in his own eyes. they won't forgive him and neither will he forgive himself. he'll have to live with that. he accepts it eventually. it will never get any easier, but he will live through it
oh, the new cinematic gives so much to think about!
"sova, i spared you when we first met. i can't let you go again." so, judging by this line, it should be their first meeting? alpha sova doesn't take revenge on omega sova in this scene, it's his so-called "mercy". he lost his eye in a different way and for some reason he lies to his comrades about this incident
mercy in his understanding, of course, looks very... interesting. the fact that he destroyed an entire squad single-handedly and deliberately harmed his double... that is a pretty unexpected view of him as a character
i wonder, what was the reason for this fight. since this is omega sova's point of view, he seems to be the victim. but knowing that it's the omega earth who attacked first, that they are the instigators of this conflict, could it be that alpha sova was just defending himself? there was a whole group of soldiers for a reason and it's unlikely that was people of a!sova. hm, if it weren't for the eye scene, it would be easy to assume so. but we shouldn't forget about another line - "don't be afraid, i've gone through rifts before." this could be happening on omega earth, this attack could have been provoked by a!sova. unfortunately, we can only speculate on this topic
the most important question is why on earth did he gouge out omega sova's eye? what was his motivation, the reasons for this decision? was it a desire to equate his mirror with himself? or was it some kind of punishment? just look at him, at that smile, he feels delight, pride in his work (hey, sasha, your babushka told you not to brag...)
sova can be a violent person, do not be fooled by his "guys, i love you all so much" lines, he's not afraid of blood on his hands and he states this directly. but he has never been cruel on purpose before, he harms only when the situation demands it, only when it's necessary. he doesn't kill the way reyna kills and he doesn't feel satisfied by murder like she does
or does he? he is a hunter, after all. he kills animals. for food, for fun, for excitement, for whatever reason. "this bow has taken man and beast alike. i found there is little difference." is it possible that it really makes no difference to him who he hunts? could it be that his double was his target this time?
"your justice frightens me, viper. is there no other way to find peace?" one of his phrases to viper. either sova is suddenly very two-faced (i can believe in his hypocrisy, but sova is still a man of principles and it is unlikely that he's written as a character who has created a completely false image for himself) or, according to him, his actions are nothing compared to viper's
in any case, as i said, i don't think this scene is alpha sova's revenge or a search for justice. otherwise, omega sova's shot loses its power at the end. it's "an eye for an eye", not "an eye for an eye for an eye", haha (tho the circle of revenge is definitely a good addition to his story. just not specifically in this cinematic). the desire for revenge must be pure, it is o!sova's reason to fight. if he was the one who took alpha sova's eye, then he is to blame for losing his own and then his revenge takes on a different nature, reducing its intensity and tension. although, what curious is that this can bring us back to the topic of hypocrisy, only now from the perspective of omega sova
oh, sasha novikov, you are such a mystery. i can't wait to figure you out one day
i want to talk a bit about my second favorite prowl. idw-2 prowl. i think this version of him is one of his best characterisations, not in terms of character development (alas, they didn't have time to do much with the story) but in terms of the qualities and traits gathered in him. let me elaborate. in my opinion here we have a pretty good balance between his cold, mean and rude side which everyone is accustomed to and his deeper, tender and more vulnerable side
so. he's a prick
he really is. he's even had his career stalled because he pisses everyone off, guys... he could have been a big shot but because of his temper and behavior the main position was offered to chromia (she certainly deserved it too, i just find the whole situation very funny. and i love that prowl doesn't rage about it in any way, he doesn't care about rank or status. he knows he's the best, lol). he's mean and sarcastic, throwing caustic comments left and right, there isn't a single character he hasn't said something nasty to, whether it's an innocent young soul or a future fragging prime. he doesn't care. he doesn't like anyone. he doesn't like you either, the person reading this! the only thing he likes is scaring poor kids and getting on everyone's nerves. i think he has that kind of attitude written into his factory code or something, haha. i mean, orion pax literally uses prowl's image to explain someone's else discontent, i'm crying
so, yeah, he's a pain in the ass. but!
he has friends, people close to him. he cares for them, in his own way, of course, but he cares. the picture with his colleagues in his house? all those discreetly spoken words of support and encouragement to his subordinates? his rare but warm smiles? oh, my heart. he's also actually a worrying person. he easily blames himself for any mistake. he can't stop thinking about rubble's death. he's so affected by this incident that he keeps bringing it up on and on even though more frightening and serious events begin to happen to them. and he talks about it to others. i don't think it's so typical of him to show his true feelings to those around him. and again, in his own style, but he does care about the people connected to his life, about the bratty troubled kids he has to watch out for, the last thing in the world he'd want is something bad happening to them too
this whole situation with rubble made him very concerned. he can't stop thinking about how many more mistakes he'd made and how many more people might be hurt because he hadn't been good enough. his pain is eating him up, so hard that he just can't hide it any longer in the depths of his soul. he's in such despair, in such despondency. but his friends are really trying to help him going through this and isn't that wonderful? someone's finally taking care of my baby boy... oh, also i like the way his pain is expressed - through rage. yeah, prowler has some serious angry issues. suits him <3
and the best part - GREEN!!!
who'd have thought prowl would be the type to get someone to take care of!! especially a pet dinosaur. he's so gentle and affectionate with her, i'm gonna explode. it's really the best thing that happened to his character
very cute, right? well, that was enough. back to his dark side
he's the best officer out there. brilliant mind. great fighter. he's also a cop. and he's violent on the job. ouch. stalking suspects and beating the shit out of them... and threatening people with a gun... here they are, the notes of a rule-breaking jerk. if it works, it works. that's the main thing. does it really matter how?
a couple of my favorite jazzprowl interactions from comics:
on the ruins of praxus
prowl is lost in the pain of the past sharing a piece of his history opening up his soul to someone else perhaps for the first time in forever. jazz doesn't have time to respond, he actually doesn't really know what to say here. no words in the world would be enough to fully express his compassion at this moment and he knows perfectly well that there is no point in pitying his friend - prowl will either react negatively or won't react at all. so he immediately switches to another topic - work. the one thing that always saves prowl from collapse
oh, i want this story to be resuscitated at some point in the future of tf. it's able to reveal prowl (and bluestreak btw!!) so well, add depth to his pure hatred of the decepticons. come on, give this guy at least one truly emotional backstory, please!
jazz and the mantle of leadership
prowl is the only one with whom jazz is able to loosen his control a bit and show his emotions (not feelings. that shit stays inside him and no one will ever know the truth) and jazz is the only one with whom prowl tries to control his temper, behaves softly and carefully, supports in difficult situations. prowl genuinely tries to help jazz, he sees him as a living being, not as an elements of one of his plans
i like that this story focused on jazz as optimus' replacement. i see different characters in different situations as the autobots' sic, here in my opinion the most interesting option was selected. idw prowl is not good at leading people. he can manage them, give orders, strategy, tactics, that's what he's really good at, but inspiring a crowd and making them follow him is not his thing. not just because he's usually an asshole and half of the army wants to punch him in the face, no :D jazz is just much more suited for this. he's not just a popular bot, not just the soul of every company, he knows how to make others do what he wants, he knows when to be softer and when to be harder, how to put people in their place, he knows how to behave in public, he created an amazing image of himself and he always follows it to the bit. but all of these is only on the outside, deep inside he's insecure, he's afraid, lost and he doesn't want this responsibility, he doesn't see himself as a leader (no one but optimus prime has the right to be) and prowl tries to prove the opposite to him. they complement each other, cover their weaknesses and in tandem they work just perfect
sudden change of character
when a completely non-spontaneous, calculated, thoughtful character suddenly changes their usual behaviour and pulls some weird tricks and their partner who is not used to this kind of things gets totally confused and shocked by the situation >>>
jazz is tormented by guilt. he let prowl down. he didn't just let him die, he let him die for nothing. he failed his dear friend at the most important moment! the decepticons will win, autobots just lost one of their most important member, they are doomed, completely and irrevocably doom... wait a minute?? prowl just comes out of nowhere?? all so calm and relaxed?? "hey, jazz! i suddenly decided to chill and rest a little like you've been advising me for millions of years. oh, and pardon me, i guess i forgot to inform you that i'm not dead and you've been grieving for me for nothing! oops. also i managed to solve all our problems, so don't worry about it, buddy" and jazz doesn't know whether to cry or laugh. or to slap this guy properly. or to throw himself on prowl and squeeze the bastard in joyful embrace until he cracks!!
i find it really curious how differently elita may experience and react to similar events in her life in different universes. and before we begin, let's close our eyes to the fact that different writers worked on these two images, that the show and the comics differ greatly in ideas, atmospheres, ratings, etc, etc :D
i think wfc elita and skybound elita are her possible best version and her worst version, and i'm talking about her as a person, not as a character. two extremes, two paths she can step on. in two very similar worlds she can either rise up or break down
in skybound we see how war can disfigure elita, weaken her spirit, torment her spark, almost destroy her personality. her entire being is built on saving cybertron and resisting decepticons and it did not affect her in a positive way. there is nothing left in her life but struggle, pain and an animal hatred for the enemy and anyone who dares to take a step away from her views. she is cruel, cynical, she praises the fire in arcee, noticing how fiercely she wants revenge for ultra magnus, how she lashes out at shockwave, threatening his life (while optimus talks arcee out of hurting another living being, even decepticon, reminding her of what it means to be an autobot), she cheers the violence from prime, enjoying his momentary return to his former self (while optimus is sickened by the realisation of what he's just done). she really is the worst version of herself. she's not a bad person, no. but she's broken. and it's leading her down a completely new, unfamiliar for us scenario. the ruthless world has inflicted the worst wounds on her and this time she had no strength left to remain herself
despite everything, she's still an autobot, of course, she's an autobot! there is no world where things would be different. but... it's just that the concept of this term have blurred for her over the years. hope, faith in the best in every person, forgiveness, choice not in favor of violence but of words, caring for everyone in need and so on and so forth - all of these is forgotten by her. now it's a weakness, not an advantage. perhaps, a long time ago she had joined the autobots inspired by prime's speeches, fully sharing his belief in a bright, fair future, but those days are gone. that elita is gone. now being an autobot for her is solely about fighting and destroying the decepticons from the face of cybertron. her and optimus still have similar goals, but critical different desires, opinions and approaches. they both want peace. they both want to give their people a new, free life. but if optimus is ready to wait, temporarily step off or even move on, ready to shift his focus on another planet, then elita will never be able to let go of cybertron, not for a single second, no matter what's going on around them. she's not ready to put aside centuries of suffering, she's not ready to forget all the sacrifices they've made in trying to stop the invaders, she can't forget all those fallen soldiers, ruined lives and lost years so easily. she's not ready to prioritise anyone else. the centre of her life is cybertron and the autobots. and nothing in the world can change that. she means no harm to earth, she means no harm to optimus, but she will do anything to protect her home
wfс elita lives similar life. she’s at the lowest point of her existence. a dying, blighted cybertron. a completely decimated autobot army. she, abandoned, alone, leads frustrated and frightened soldiers just like her. no hope for optimus' return, no faith in her people's victory, the fight for justice and a better world is over, now the only goal is to simply try to survive. it couldn't be worse. elita started losing faith in the autobot cause a long time ago, each day she understood less and less what they continued to fight for, she grew disappointed, lost her fervour, and now, in the most scary time, it would seem that anyone would gave up. but not her. this world was breaking her, was trying to break her, but she kept holding on, clinging to optimus' hope, continuing to follow him and his beliefs, never taking a step into the darkness
she never forgot what set her apart from her enemy and as much as she hated them all, she would never dare to hurt them the way they hurt her. she decided for herself once and for all - she will not stoop to their level, she won't let her fears corrupt the reasons she became an autobot in the first place. no matter how much pain she was in, no matter how desperately she wanted to end it all in any way, she never gave up snd continued to march proudly forward, protecting each and every one of them to the last drop of her blood, helping even the opponent's soldiers when needed. she fought for her planet and for all its people, for all those who called cybertron their home. megatron would pay the worst price for what he had done, but no one else would pay for his sins. she will not allow the hatred to spread further. she knows how to forgive. she doesn't forget, but she lets go of grudges. because she knows someone has to be first, someone has to set an example, that's always been the point of the autobots. and you know what? skybound elita would never do that. she wishes the decepticons nothing but harm, nothing but the trial of terror and fear that they, the autobots, have felt all these years because of them. if it were up to her, they, every last one of them, would burn with hell flame, as much longer as it's possible
it turns out that the same fight can lead to very diverse consequences... i'm amazed by that difference, honestly
oh, and the last - their main similarity, the thing that's happening in most of her stories. elita loses optimus. maybe it's their fate to be separated forever, huh?
wfc elita let optimus go. she realised that his departure was inevitable and important. perhaps, she thought it was a mistake, yes, she was unsure of his plan, she was afraid of losing him and she did try to talk him out of it, but she knew that he believed it was the right thing to do and if optimus believed, then so would she. she believed, but she chose her own path. without any regrets. she was saddened, hurt by their parting, optimus was one of the most important things to her and it would be hard to continue without him as a leader and soulmate, she needed him, they all needed him. but if fate was to take him away from her and their fight, so be it. it's her job to protect cybertron. and she can handle it. even if she has to act alone
for skybound elita optimus' departure, his willingly choice of earth, was the last straw. time after time she had withstood every blow dealt to her by fate but this? cybertron did not just lose optimus prime. optimus prime betrayed them. he made that decision on his own. he abandoned them, chose outsiders over his own people and his own home, denied them, lost, frightened, begging him for help, needing him more than anything else. it was truly the worst thing that had ever happened to her, the cruelest and most vile event of her entire life, and this pain was brought by the person most precious to her. she's in hell. the real hell. but she's not giving up. because elite-one never gives up. she wipes away her tears, gets up off her knees, picks up her gun and continues her fight. okay. if he's not going to do what he has to do, she will. she's cybertron's only hope, she truly is
