Skybound Spoilers ahead//
Okay so my thoughts may be a bit disorganized because it is 4 AM but I was thinking and doing research on two small essays I’m writing comparing transformers characters to tragic characters of ancient greece (and rome) and I realized a blatant parallel in Skybound
So I’ve long believed that Starscream’s arc in Skybound is reflective of a cycle of power and hubris that parallels Megatron, however until now I only thought it was subtextual—however, in the FCBD spexial we see Megatron’s fate.
He is shot by Starscream—who takes out his right optic— out of the ark and into space, thereby ascertaining Starscream’s position as leader during the first 7 issues of Transformers. This happens after Optimus cuts off his right arm.
During these 7 issues, we see Starscream twice again in a similar position, both within the comic panel and within his in-universe position.
During this confrontation, Starscream, where she was previously on the left, is now on the right, where Megatron was, as she confronts Cliffjumper and Carly. Attempting to squish another human—Carly—he is knocked over the edge of the Ark to fall onto the ground. This is both the same metatextual and physical positions as Megatron was in, and we once again see this with her and Soundwave’s confrontation.
Soundwave is now on the left, as the righteous usurper, while Starscream is on the right, grasping at the remnants of leadership and power, to no avail. Her right wing is blown off by Soundwave, once again paralleling Megatron, and his left optic is ripped off by Laserbeak. She is then thrown off the edge of the cliff, left to die just as Megatron had been.
HOWEVER: also in the annual we see that Megatron is not dead, and is vowing vengeance against Starscream (who had supposedly died already by the time this was published—yet alludes to a future confrontation).
This leads me to conclude that my previous hypothesis, that Starscream is in fact not dead, is quite likely.
However, it is notable that where Megatron’s right optic was taken out initially, it is Starscream’s left optic that is taken out. I posit that this is meant to parallel a previous non-canon story set during the G1 continuity, Redemption Center.
During Redemption Center, it is Starscream’s left optic that is damaged, and as a result of that plus subsequent injuries, she loses her memory and is found by the Autobots, where Optimus and her bond. At the end of the story, he is a changed mech, who realizes that perhaps by following Optimus’ example, not Megatron’s, she can lead the Decepticons properly. Since we’ve already seen Starscream emulating Megatron in the current Transformers, as well as these other parallels, I strongly believe we have not seen the end of Starscream, and we might be about to see Daniel Warren Johnson’s take on a redemption arc for Starscream.
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Very important question. Does Ravage make biscuits when he's happy? It's for science
um.... no
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