I finally bought my 1992 TF Japanese Takara "Battle stars/Return of convoy" super megatron toy today!!!
Victoryleo
convoy" super megatron toy today.
After almost 2 decades of wanting this toy,I finally bought it today.
Here's a few links to the toy in case anyone wants to see it in it's
full glory.
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/e/ec/SuperAndUltraMegatron.jpg/300px-S
uperAndUltraMegatron.jpg
http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/manwood/484/TF/Series/BattleStars1.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29897249@N00/2625852929/sizes/l/in/set-72157600516698996/
Yes I bought this toy at Toys R Us today for $39.99. Does anyone even
realize that the TF Animated megatron leader toy design was based off
the 1992 Takara TF Japanese art designs of Battle Stars/return of
Convoy Super Megatron??
Just look at the TF Animated leader sized megatron toy. the robot
modes are identical. yeah the jet modes aren't but there close enough.
that battle stars megatron jet mode looked kinda last minute anyways.
at the very least the TFA Megatron vechicle mode resembles a
helicopter.
Here's a comparision pic of TF Animated Megatron compared to Battle
stars megatron.
http://tformers.com/transformers-database/item.php?itemid=273
Thanks Hasbro for giving the transformer fans a old school transformer
toy/art update & making it into a super poseable toy.
Grebo
On Jul 12, 12:09 am, Victoryleo <Victoryl...@aol.com> wrote:
> I finally bought my 1992 TF Japanese Takara "Battle stars/Return of
> convoy" super megatron toy today.
>
> After almost 2 decades of wanting this toy,I finally bought it today.
> Here's a few links to the toy in case anyone wants to see it in it's
> full glory.
>
> http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/e/ec/Supe...
> uperAndUltraMegatron.jpg
>
> http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/manwood/484/TF/Series/BattleStars...
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/29897249@N00/2625852929/sizes/l/in/set-7...
>
> Yes I bought this toy at Toys R Us today for $39.99. Does anyone even
> realize that the TF Animated megatron leader toy design was based off
> the 1992 Takara TF Japanese art designs of Battle Stars/return of
> Convoy Super Megatron??
>
> Just look at the TF Animated leader sized megatron toy. the robot
> modes are identical. yeah the jet modes aren't but there close enough.
> that battle stars megatron jet mode looked kinda last minute anyways.
> at the very least the TFA Megatron vechicle mode resembles a
> helicopter.
>
> Here's a comparision pic of TF Animated Megatron compared to Battle
> stars megatron.http://tformers.com/transformers-database/item.php?itemid=273
Victoryleo
Cousin,you've got to be kidding me,right??
The head sculpt is 100% identical. minus the SM logo on front
helmet. The side burns are there,the inner robot face,the helmet
design.
The robot legs & waist are 100% identical on both Battle stars
megatron & TFA Megatron. even right down to the feet.
The stomach/abdomen design on both TFA & Battle stars megatron is spot
on accurate.
the color scheme for both TFA & battle stars megatron is spot on 100%
accurate.
fusion canon seems a bit different but a bit similar.
upper bot chest seems almost similar but different none-the less.
Both turn into a jet/helicopter. flying machine.
Grebo
On Jul 12, 12:49 am, Victoryleo <Victoryl...@aol.com> wrote:
> Grebo wrote: "I don't see much resemblance, bro"
>
> Cousin,you've got to be kidding me,right??
Nope.
> The head sculpt is 100% identical.
No it's not.
> minus the SM logo on front helmet.
Well then it's not "100% identical" is it? :-)
> The side burns are there,
2 circles in the sideburns vs 3 blocks in the sideburns.
> the inner robot face,
I don't see much resemblance there.
> the helmet design.
That IS similar.
> The robot legs & waist are 100% identical on both Battle stars
> megatron & TFA Megatron. even right down to the feet.
Not by a long shot.
> The stomach/abdomen design on both TFA & Battle stars megatron is spot
> on accurate.
No, they're not very similar at all.
> the color scheme for both TFA & battle stars megatron is spot on 100%
> accurate.
They both use original G1 Megatron's color scheme. This does not make
AniMegs a reference to SuperMegs.
> fusion canon seems a bit different but a bit similar.
They barely have any simiarities at all.
> upper bot chest seems almost similar but different none-the less.
They are both chests, but that's about all.
> Both turn into a jet/helicopter. flying machine.
Uhhhhhh...? AniMegs turns into a tandem-rotor helicopter; SuperMegs
turns into a thruster-propelled flying cannon with a monopod;
UltraMegs turns into a Gundam ZZ-like flying fortress with tank
treads. All three are radically different.
I will grant you that the helmets of AniMegs and S/U-Megs are indeed
similar, and that AniMegs' helmet may well be inspired by S/U-Megs'
helmet. However, in almost every other way... well, I think what we're
seeing here is that Animated Megatron and Super/Ultra Megatron are
both "homages" to (that is, redesigns of) G1 Megatron.
I must say, though, that a helicopter is an IDEAL altmode for
Megatron. I've always thought so.
Grebo!!!
Gustavo Wombat
> I finally bought my 1992 TF Japanese Takara "Battle stars/Return of
> convoy" super megatron toy today.
>
> After almost 2 decades of wanting this toy,I finally bought it today.
> Here's a few links to the toy in case anyone wants to see it in it's
> full glory.
>
> uperAndUltraMegatron.jpg
>
> http://www.fortunecity.com/lavendar/manwood/484/TF/Series/BattleStars...
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/29897249@N00/2625852929/sizes/l/in/set-7...
>
> realize that the TF Animated megatron leader toy design was based off
> the 1992 Takara TF Japanese art designs of Battle Stars/return of
> Convoy Super Megatron??
>
> Just look at the TF Animated leader sized megatron toy. the robot
> modes are identical. yeah the jet modes aren't but there close enough.
> that battle stars megatron jet mode looked kinda last minute anyways.
> at the very least the TFA Megatron vechicle mode resembles a
> helicopter.
>
> Here's a comparision pic of TF Animated Megatron compared to Battle
>
> Thanks Hasbro for giving the transformer fans a old school transformer
> toy/art update & making it into a super poseable toy.
Um. They're both Megatrony, but that's about it.
Gustavo.
SteveD
wrote:
>I must say, though, that a helicopter is an IDEAL altmode for
>Megatron. I've always thought so.
Howso? Megatron altmodes are usually of the genus 'overpowered/weapon'.
Gun, tank, T-rex, dragon, futuristic space cannon, military jet/spaceship,
missile trailer. Even his Machine Wars incarnation counts as 'fast and
deadly'. (I'm ignoring the Go-Bots continuity for my own sanity.)
Helicopters, to me, always seemed somewhat fragile because of their rotors
and need to cut down on weight. Not to mention being fairly slow for
aircraft.
Decepticon helicopters - combiner limbs, Spinister, Powerdive, Armada
Cyclonus and Movie Blackout. Blackout's probably the only one that
projects a sense of power. Helicopters are largely an Autobot altmode.
-SteveD
Grebo
The mighty SteveD <use...@vo.id.au> wrote:
> On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:05:13 -0700 (PDT), Grebo <grebog...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >I must say, though, that a helicopter is an IDEAL altmode for
> >Megatron. I've always thought so.
>
> Howso?
Aha. I was wondering if anyone was gonna "challenge" me on this. Thank
you for asking!
> Megatron altmodes are usually of the genus 'overpowered/weapon'.
A military helicopter is a weapon. It can also be overpowered; think
of the Russian HIND chopper.
> Gun, tank, T-rex, dragon, futuristic space cannon, military jet/spaceship,
> missile trailer. Even his Machine Wars incarnation counts as 'fast and
> deadly'. (I'm ignoring the Go-Bots continuity for my own sanity.)
The funny thing is, though, that while Optimus Prime has had a pretty
consistent and natural altmode all the time -- a trailer-truck (with
occasional flyers like a bat, a car, etc). On the other hand,
Megatron's altmodes have been all over the board. To wit:
Walther P-38
Tank (G2)
Another Tank (Combat Hero)
Blaster (Classics Megs)
F-22 Fighter Plane (Machine Wars)
Alligator (early Beast Wars)
Triple-Changer (robot-car-jet)
Six-Changer (later a Ten-Changer)
Spider-legged giant head (Megabolt Megatron)
Flying cannon (Super Megatron)
All-terrain flying fortress thing (Ultra Megatron)
Alien spaceship (2007 movie)
Yet another tank (Armada)
One more tank (Titanium)
Cybertronian tank (War Within)
Another tank (Ultimate Battle)
Spacecraft whose front end and rear end are hard to identify (Animated
Cybetron mode)
Tandem-rotor chopper (Animated Earth Mode)
etc etc etc...
Although Megatron has classicly been a pistol, his most frequently-
used altmode has, over the years, actually been a TANK. However,
neither a handgun nor a tank is a good altmode for the leader of the
Decepticons. Here's why:
Megatron, as a handgun, become SMALLER. That is, to the eye, perceived
as weaker. I know that's not the intent nor what the techspecs say,
but visually and instinctively such an altmode is not imposing.
Furthermore, as a handgun, he becomes dependent on someone else to
fire him (usually. Not always, but usually). In other words, in his
altmode he becomes dependent on/subservient to one of his
subordinates. That is very imposing at all.
If, in his handgun mode, Megatron had been able to "bodysnatch"
whoever was wielding him -- so that he inhabited their body so that
they spoke with his voice and everything -- THEN his altmode would
have been imposing. Even scary, especially if he could forcibly jump
into the hands of Autobots! Buuuut... he couldn't do that.
Moving on to the tank mode. It's simple: Tanks can't fly. Decepticons,
by and large, are notoriously able to fly. Sure, there are many that
can't, but flight is probably the single most unifying feature of
Decepticon Transformers. Hell, when they first show up in War Dawn (I
think?) that's how they're known -- a new breed of "flying robots". A
tank is powerful and impressive, yes, but it cannot FLY. For the
leader of the decepticons to be unable to fly is... well, it makes him
look handicapped compared to his subordinates. Annnnd, when you are a
giant robot with a cannon on your arm, a tank altmode offers no
advantages whatsoever. You don't get increased speed (a giant robot
running is pretty much assured of being as fast as a tank), you don't
get better terrain capabilities (legs are more all-terrain than treads
any day), you don't get better armor protection, you don't get better
firepower (especially not when your tank cannon is on your arm in
robot mode)... a tank altmode is pretty darn useless.
Note that I am excluding BW Megatron from all this, as he's a
different character. He gets to be a T-Rex or Dragon, etc, and that's
totally schweet. Anyway!
RiD Megs (aka Gigatron), with his six-changing (and later TEN-
changing) form was a pretty brilliant idea. Here's a decepticon leader
who's the most capable transformer of all -- he doesn't have a
transformation so much as he embodies the very IDEA of transformation.
Plus he could turn into a giant demon hand, which is just plain
badass. But I digress!
Most autobots turn into cars & trucks and stuff. It's their nature
that they're car-like -- AUTObots, after all -- and it allows them to
travel faster. For Decepticons, their typical altmodes allow them to
fly, so Megatron's should as well. So one would think that a fighter
plane or space cruiser altmode would be the best choice for Megs'
altmode... But no. The problem here is that in that case Megs' altmode
would make him, essentially, "just another Seeker". Optimus avoids
this problem by being a bigass truck while almost all his soldiers are
cars and SUVs and such -- Optimus still drives around, but he's
bigger, slower, and more imposing.
For Megatron to have the common trait of all Decepticons, he needs a
flying altmode. However, to stand out as the big, badass leader, he
needs a big, badass altmode -- one which sets him apart from his
common soldiers without compromising his essential "Decepticon-ness".
The perfect choice, then: a helicopter. Ideally a BIG one, such as one
with tandem rotors. Helicopters can be very badass -- military
choppers bristle with armament and are called "gunships". They can
fly, yes, but they're not as fast as jet planes... however, they can
hover in place. Jet's can't do that (except for a very few). A
hovering gunshop is almost like a thing of magic, definately ignoring
the rule of gravity, tracking you ruthlessly with the advantage that
only being up in the sky affords. A helicopter is like a huge, metal,
death-spewing dragonfly. Bugs are alien to us humans, among the most
hard-to-relate to, potentially creepy beings. Bugs are almost like
machines themselves, with their expressionless eye-lenses,
exoskeletons, and segmeted limbs. A helicopter conjures to mind a kind
of robot bug. One that is armored and packed with deadly weapons. I
can think of no better vehicle for seeking and destroying ground
targets... like Autobots.
> Helicopters, to me, always seemed somewhat fragile because of their rotors
> and need to cut down on weight.
Bah. These are transformers; the basic principles of physics and
modern-day materials limitations are not something they have to worry
about. Seriously. If we're gonna worry about modern materials
limitations applying to Transformers, G1 Seaspray's arms and feet
would be made of floppy rubber!
> Not to mention being fairly slow for aircraft.
Megatron doesn't need to be especially fast. Look at Optimus; Prime is
slower than his soldiers (usually -- at least he SHOULD be) and he
doesn't need to be the fastest; he has specialists like Blurr or
Hotshot to handle the ultra-speedy department. The same goes for
Megatron; heck, his classic main soldier team are all F-15s; they're
ALL fast! Megatron doesn't need to be zippy, he needs to be able to
fly and to be THREATENING. That's why a chopper is so good.
> Decepticon helicopters - combiner limbs, Spinister, Powerdive, Armada
> Cyclonus and Movie Blackout. Blackout's probably the only one that
> projects a sense of power.
WORD. Blackout is an example of how terrifying a chopper-altmode
Transformer CAN be. If Blackout can do it, Megatron can do it. And
hey, don't forget Beast Machines' Obsidian -- now there was a chopper
TF you'd do well to respect, if not downright fear!
> Helicopters are largely an Autobot altmode.
Perhaps, but certainly not exclusively. Cars are traditionally an
Autobot altmode too, yet we've seen many Car Decepticons. Heck, movie
Barricade was badass! ("Are you eBay user 'ladiesman217'!?!")
In fact, in the 2007 movie, Bot/Con motifs were NOT based on land and
air; they were based on civilian altmodes for Autobots and Authority
Figure altmodes (military and police) for Decepticons.
Big, bad chopper altmode. Yes. Good for Megatron. Think about it. :-)
Grebo!!!
No One in Particular
"Grebo" <greb...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:98b88947-98d4-4eb9...@a70g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
> Woof woof!
>
>
> Although Megatron has classicly been a pistol, his most frequently-
> used altmode has, over the years, actually been a TANK. However,
> neither a handgun nor a tank is a good altmode for the leader of the
> Decepticons. Here's why:
Snip Snip!
> Grebo!!!
About the only real way a handgun mode for Megatron (or Shockwave either,
come to that) would make sense is if the gun mode was vastly more powerful
than the robot mode, as a dedicated weapon mode. Either that, or the
disguise thing.
And really, you could make the same argument for a tank mode, I suppose, for
the reasons you already went into: mobility and speed. But if the tank gun
was hideously more powerful than the robot mode weapon, then that might make
a decent reason for it.
I'm kind of picturing Devastator here. As an alternate mode, that doesn't
really make much sense. Why would you want to combine six of your most
valuable individual troopers into one big, slow moving target? Because
that mode is-hehehe-devestatingly more powerful than the individual modes of
the six component pieces. It just takes everything you throw at it and
keeps on coming. And when it gets ahold of you, it'll burn you down and
make a sculpture out of your chassis.
Kind of the same, but not really. I just don't have a better analogy.
Brian.
Gustavo Wombat
> Woof woof!
>
> The mighty SteveD <use...@vo.id.au> wrote:
>
> > On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:05:13 -0700 (PDT), Grebo <grebog...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
>
> > >I must say, though, that a helicopter is an IDEAL altmode for
> > >Megatron. I've always thought so.
>
> > Howso?
>
> consistent and natural altmode all the time -- a trailer-truck (with
> occasional flyers like a bat, a car, etc). On the other hand,
> Megatron's altmodes have been all over the board. To wit:
>
> Walther P-38
> Tank (G2)
> Another Tank (Combat Hero)
> Blaster (Classics Megs)
> F-22 Fighter Plane (Machine Wars)
> Alligator (early Beast Wars)
> Triple-Changer (robot-car-jet)
> Six-Changer (later a Ten-Changer)
> Spider-legged giant head (Megabolt Megatron)
> Flying cannon (Super Megatron)
> All-terrain flying fortress thing (Ultra Megatron)
> Alien spaceship (2007 movie)
> Yet another tank (Armada)
> One more tank (Titanium)
> Cybertronian tank (War Within)
> Another tank (Ultimate Battle)
> Spacecraft whose front end and rear end are hard to identify (Animated
> Cybetron mode)
> Tandem-rotor chopper (Animated Earth Mode)
> etc etc etc...
You're missing an important one: B-1 Bomber and Tank (G2 nearly
unreleased Megatron, a repaint of G2 Dreadwing)
I think this really is the best possible mode for Megatron, even if it
is currently occupied by Blitzwing...
> Although Megatron has classicly been a pistol, his most frequently-
> used altmode has, over the years, actually been a TANK. However,
> neither a handgun nor a tank is a good altmode for the leader of the
> Decepticons. Here's why:
[snip: no one likes guns]
> Moving on to the tank mode. It's simple: Tanks can't fly. Decepticons,
> by and large, are notoriously able to fly.
The tank/airplane triple changer mode would do the following:
* He's even more transformery than the average transformer
* tank mode gives superior fighting on ground
* plane mode gives superior fighting in air.
Decepticons transform into military vehicles, more often than not.
Give Megs the fiercest land and air modes simultaneously.
Gustavo!
SteveD
wrote:
>Woof woof!
>
>The mighty SteveD <use...@vo.id.au> wrote:
>> Helicopters, to me, always seemed somewhat fragile because of their rotors
>> and need to cut down on weight.
>
>Bah. These are transformers; the basic principles of physics and
>modern-day materials limitations are not something they have to worry
>about.
It's the image, more than anything. As with the G1 gun appearing to be
small and weak despite shooting ridiculously powerful blasts, a helicopter
appears to be vulnerable simply because it has rotors.
I liked the Cybertron-mode Megatron, even though (or perhaps because) it's
basically a helicopter without the rotors. Blatant use of flight tech that
hasn't been perfected on Earth yet gives it an extra sense of power,
technological superiority, and the unknown.
-SteveD
SteveD
<blcj...@shawneelink.net> wrote:
>About the only real way a handgun mode for Megatron (or Shockwave either,
>come to that) would make sense is if the gun mode was vastly more powerful
>than the robot mode, as a dedicated weapon mode. Either that, or the
>disguise thing.
I originally thought of it as not necessarily having more total power or
output, but *concentrating* the energy into a much smaller cross-section.
Even armor which could handle a blast from Megatron's cannon in robot mode
could probably be Swiss-cheesed by the gun mode. Kind of like a war hammer
- half sledgehammer, half pickaxe.
When TFTM showed gun-mode Megs punching completely through multiple
Autobots in the shuttle, it fit in well with what I'd imagined.
-SteveD
Grebo
Good point, I had indeed forgotten ATB Megatron, and the robot/tank/
bomber altmode IS an excellent choice for all the reasons you listed.
I must admit that I didn't like the idea of Megs and Starscream being
able to dock together -- I am especially uncomfortable with the idea
of Starscream shoving his nose up Megatron's ass for said docking. For
the toy, I thought that BWII's "Starscream and B.B." was a good take
on that toy; the LITTLE guy was the top dog of the pair, the brains
and speed, while the bigger guy was the little guy's goon, being
slowish, stupid, and tough tough tough.
But yes! A triple-chaning tank/bomber megatron would indeed be good.
Still, I think that a helicopter has an air of alien menace that suits
Megatron quite well.
Grebo!
Onslaught Six
> Moving on to the tank mode. It's simple: Tanks can't fly.
And this is my stop.
A Decepticon need not a flying altmode to be able to fly. Case in
point: Soundwave. Soundwave flies around next to the other Decepticons
in his robot mode all the time. Megs always did this too, so it
'works.'
Of course, I still subscribe to the theory that Autobots Can Fly Too,
they just suck horribly at it.
Onslaught Six
> I must admit that I didn't like the idea of Megs and Starscream being
> able to dock together -- I am especially uncomfortable with the idea
> of Starscream shoving his nose up Megatron's ass for said docking. For
> the toy, I thought that BWII's "Starscream and B.B." was a good take
> on that toy; the LITTLE guy was the top dog of the pair, the brains
> and speed, while the bigger guy was the little guy's goon, being
> slowish, stupid, and tough tough tough.
BB's not stupid! He only says nothing but "Roger!" by choice! He's
actually quite intelligent! [/fanfic assumption]
Chad Rushing
>
> Of course, I still subscribe to the theory that Autobots Can Fly Too,
> they just suck horribly at it.
Maybe, they can technically only glide on air currents like Wonder
Woman.
Those scenes of the original Autobot crew on Earth all flying to the
dam or flying out to the oil rig in original G1 pilot still bug me to
no end. It kind of defeats the whole purpose of the Aerialbots.
- Chad
SteveD
wrote:
There are all kinds of fannish retcons which attempt to explain it. My own
favorite is that Autobots' flight systems aren't military grade [1], and
need (a) a lot more power-per-lifted-ton to achieve actual flight, and (b)
a really good excuse to use. In this case, they had freshly built bodies
running on four million years of collected geothermal power, the suspicion
that the Decepticons were about to gain an advantage which might snowball
into winning them the entire war, and were following Optimus. (And if
Optimus does it, it must be OK.) So the burning of massive amounts of
power was kind of justified.
The Aerialbots would have been some of the first Autobots tuned for
dogfighting and sustained flight on an energon budget in Earth's
atmosphere, I guess.
[1] Whereas the Decepticons are practically _built_ around their flight
systems, and have a lot more control and finesse. The Autobot inertialess
drives seem to be mainly used to soften transformation bumps, control
where they land in altmode, cushion hard landings on unforgiving surfaces,
and do a little bit of manouvering in space. It could be part of why they
can transform at speed and not trip over or smash into the pavement.
-SteveD
Onslaught Six
> [1] Whereas the Decepticons are practically _built_ around their flight
> systems, and have a lot more control and finesse. The Autobot inertialess
> drives seem to be mainly used to soften transformation bumps, control
> where they land in altmode, cushion hard landings on unforgiving surfaces,
> and do a little bit of manouvering in space. It could be part of why they
> can transform at speed and not trip over or smash into the pavement.
Actually, this works really well--perhaps, in most cases, Autobot
Flight isn't so much flying as it is jumping really high and staying
there for a bit.
Recall TFTM: Prime transforms and uses rocket boosters (which actually
appear to be his oil tanks on the side of his legs!) to fly up over a
bunch of the Decepticons and shoot them from the air all impressively.
Also, Prime had to use the assistance of Sideswipe's Rocket Pack to
break the atmosphere of Earth to catch the new Decepticon spacecruiser
in MTMTE. Is there any canon evidence of the Decepticons (sans
exceptions like Astrotrain) entering orbit with their regular flight
systems?
Grebo
your canon!!!
Greborgasmic
On Jul 16, 1:53 am, SteveD <use...@vo.id.au> wrote:
> On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:05:36 -0700 (PDT), Chad Rushing <notu...@aol.com>
Chad Rushing
>
> SteveD, you are a freegin' GENIUS. I love that idea. I want to live in
> your canon!!!
I am totally sold on SteveD's explanation of "flying" Autobots, too.
Is it not amazing how knowledgeable fans can somehow make the past
mistakes of writers actually make sense?
Now, I just need someone to explain to me why the evil neural imulses
in Megatron's brain looked like little robotic snakes ...
- Chad
Onslaught Six
> Now, I just need someone to explain to me why the evil neural imulses
> in Megatron's brain looked like little robotic snakes ...
Floro Dery says that he reused the internal designs of Megs for
Unicron. But Microbots is an S2 ep, so it's actually really likely
that they were drawn for Unicron 'first' and reused for the series.
Grebo
The zippy Chad Rushing <notu...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> > Now, I just need someone to explain to me why the evil neural imulses
> > in Megatron's brain looked like little robotic snakes ...
And the unstoppable Onslaught Six <Onslaught...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Floro Dery says that he reused the internal designs of Megs for
> Unicron. But Microbots is an S2 ep, so it's actually really likely
> that they were drawn for Unicron 'first' and reused for the series.
DUDE. Could this mean, possibly, that in the case of Cybertronians and
their ilk that "Evil" (and/or Decepticon-ism) is not a decision, not
an indoctrinated belief system, not hardwiring, not core encoding, not
even a shell program... but a cybernetic parasite?!?!?!
Think about it. In nature, Hairworms live inside grasshoppers. They
make the caterpillars commit suicide by leaping into water. The
parasites then swim away from their drowning hosts to continue their
life cycle.
Imagine!!! There are mechanical "hairworms" out there who take up
residence in Transformer brains, making them eeevil -- making said
"infected" TFs (aka Decepticons) want to spread (hence the Cons' urge
to conquest), thus propagating their (the cybernetic hairworms')
species!
Omigod. Dude. Whoah.
Greboverthinking Things
ShadowWing
"Chad Rushing" wrote
> Those scenes of the original Autobot crew on Earth all flying to the
> dam or flying out to the oil rig in original G1 pilot still bug me to
> no end. It kind of defeats the whole purpose of the Aerialbots.
Actually, flying robot mode Transformers period kind of bugged me, as what
would be the point of the Seekers except a different combat style. I thought
the comics had it right, with flight reserved for aerial vehicle/animal mode
or a select few (like Sideswipe with his backpack and Shockwave with his boot
jets) able to fly without one. I could even accept situations where the
transformation shell (aka "alt mode kibble") would give limited gliding
abilities due to its positioning in robot mode (or the Seeker's jets now being
feet--as in "jet boots" ala Shockwave or Iron Man). Flying doesn't seem so
special if everybody, even if it's everybody on one faction, can do it (War
Dawn not withstanding).
ShadowWing
"Onslaught Six" wrote
>BB's not stupid! He only says nothing but "Roger!" by choice! He's
>actually quite intelligent! [/fanfic assumption]
TFCog.net's Fan Dub Project(FDP) version of ep 3 seemed (to me) to
indicate that BB talks like a Pokémon (except he says Roger instead of his
name), and Starscream can understand what he's saying. That assessment depends
on how well they matched the Japanese version, of course. I'd have to check my
Ctenosaur fansub to even hazzard a guess, and even then he would have to have
the lines right as well.
Chad Rushing
>
> Imagine!!! There are mechanical "hairworms" out there who take up
> residence in Transformer brains, making them eeevil -- making said
> "infected" TFs (aka Decepticons) want to spread (hence the Cons' urge
> to conquest), thus propagating their (the cybernetic hairworms')
> species!
>
> Omigod. Dude. Whoah.
That reminds me of those things that went in people's ears and made
them subject to mind control in the second STAR TREK movie. I was
pretty young when that movie came out, and seeing those guys being
subjected to those brain parasites totally freaked me out.
- Chad
Onslaught Six
wrote:
> TFCog.net's Fan Dub Project(FDP) version of ep 3 seemed (to me) to
> indicate that BB talks like a Pokémon (except he says Roger instead of his
> name), and Starscream can understand what he's saying. That assessment depends
> on how well they matched the Japanese version, of course. I'd have to check my
> Ctenosaur fansub to even hazzard a guess, and even then he would have to have
> the lines right as well.
Really, it comes from a bigass fan RPG called RID2 we did several
years back, when Armada was just coming out. It had Gigastorm and the
Cyberbeasts for no reason. Eventually MaxB started talking regular to
Hellscream, and Hellscream shit a brick.
Grebo
Black Bomber?
Big Bruiser?
I wonder if there's a canon answer.
Greboptions
Chad Rushing
>
> I've always wondered what B.B.'s name stands for...
>
> Black Bomber?
> Big Bruiser?
>
> I wonder if there's a canon answer.
Is it possible that it could just be BB as in "BB gun?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BB_gun
- Chad
Onslaught Six
> Is it possible that it could just be BB as in "BB gun?"
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BB_gun
I doubt it, what sense does that make?
There's a retroactive reference, though--RM Starscream got a repaint
with some black bits, and his bio called it "Black Body," which all
but confirms my fanon use of a black Seeker named BB in G1.
Grebo
liked that story.
Ive never heard the term "fanon" before, but I get it and I dig it.
Blee!
Chad Rushing
>
> > Is it possible that it could just be BB as in "BB gun?"
> >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BB_gun
>
> I doubt it, what sense does that make?
Not a whole lot necessarily, but I thought I would throw it out there
as BB has a big gun on his back, and the term "BB" is associated with
ammunition. As soon as I first heard the character name, the BB gun I
had as a kid immediately came to mind.
- Chad
SteveD
<Onslau...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Is there any canon evidence of the Decepticons (sans
>exceptions like Astrotrain) entering orbit with their regular flight
>systems?
In S3 there was a lot of flying between planets without the use of
spaceships, and I seem to recall Starscream reaching Cybertron when it was
in Earth orbit.
-SteveD
SteveD
wrote:
>SteveD, you are a freegin' GENIUS. I love that idea. I want to live in
>your canon!!!
Heh. And I didn't even have to drag out the related bit which explains why
(a) Megatron could punch Prime over the edge of a ledge (to dangle
dramatically) when Prime was flying moments before, and (b) howcome
Transformers can be shot out of the air, crash spectacularly, and then be
back in the air shortly afterwards.
I will note that the previous explanations also cover the Dinobots'
tendency to fly around in robot mode. They know all about the Autobots'
preference for conserving fuel - they simply don't give a crap.
-SteveD
SteveD
wrote:
>Imagine!!! There are mechanical "hairworms" out there who take up
>residence in Transformer brains, making them eeevil -- making said
>"infected" TFs (aka Decepticons) want to spread (hence the Cons' urge
>to conquest), thus propagating their (the cybernetic hairworms')
>species!
>
>Omigod. Dude. Whoah.
That's actually pretty damn interesting. The only thing I can come up with
against it is that no-one's detected them yet or devised a cure. This
might be because they've only infected a handful of Decepticons - the
resultingly extremely pro-conquest ones.
What if one of the side-effects of the infection is a charisma boost?
Ooo - what if one of the side-effects is a intelligence or _power_ boost?
And what if someone learnt about this parasite and deliberately infected
themselves - maybe not even knowing about the related conquest-lust?
-SteveD
Onslaught Six
> Ive never heard the term "fanon" before, but I get it and I dig it.
You haven't? It's commonplace on the Wiki, definitely, but it's been
around for ages.
Grebo
Hey IDW! Get on it!!!!
Grebo
On Jul 18, 3:46 am, SteveD <use...@vo.id.au> wrote:
> On Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:58:06 -0700 (PDT), Grebo <grebog...@gmail.com>
No One in Particular
"SteveD" <use...@vo.id.au> wrote in message
news:7kol741da9faois82...@4ax.com...
That might work too. Something that makes the gun mode a real, viable
danger. Otherwise, a gun alternate would be more of a hindrance than
anything else.
On a side, but related, note, I think TF writers are always missing a bet by
having pre-Earth mode Megatron be a fantasy tank of some sort. I imagine
him as having a mobile cannon mode, like Galvatron or Straxus. That would
be a better analog to an earth handgun than a tank. We have tanks.
Megatron could have become a tank, if he wanted to. Teletraan 1 decided a
gun was a more suitable match.
Brian
Onslaught Six
wrote:
> On a side, but related, note, I think TF writers are always missing a bet by
> having pre-Earth mode Megatron be a fantasy tank of some sort. I imagine
> him as having a mobile cannon mode, like Galvatron or Straxus. That would
> be a better analog to an earth handgun than a tank. We have tanks.
> Megatron could have become a tank, if he wanted to. Teletraan 1 decided a
> gun was a more suitable match.
Ever see the Digital Doom On The Highway To Destruction flyer?
It totally shows Megatron in his gun emplacement mode, mounted on a
hill or something, like he's sniping the Autobots.
http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Digitaldoomonthehighwaytodestruction.jpg
Gustavo Wombat
Of course, it also shows Rodimus Prime coexisting with Optimus Prime
and Megatron, which he has never done in any major continuity (in
fact, I believe he has never done this anywhere other than this
image...)
SteveD
<Gustav...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>On Jul 20, 12:52 am, Onslaught Six <Onslaught...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Digitaldoomonthehighwaytodestruction.jpg
>
>Of course, it also shows Rodimus Prime coexisting with Optimus Prime
>and Megatron, which he has never done in any major continuity (in
>fact, I believe he has never done this anywhere other than this
>image...)
The Return of Optimus Prime? Binaltech (as "The Protector")? Headmasters
(A Dream Is Born, Double Prime)?
-SteveD
Chad Rushing
>
> Ever see the Digital Doom On The Highway To Destruction flyer?
>
> It totally shows Megatron in his gun emplacement mode, mounted on a
> hill or something, like he's sniping the Autobots.
>
ARGH. Why is it that visiting that web site in general causes my
Firefox browser to crash every single time?
- Chad
ShadowWing
"SteveD" wrote
> >>> http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Digitaldoomonthehighwaytodestruction.jpg
>>
>>Of course, it also shows Rodimus Prime coexisting with Optimus Prime
>>and Megatron, which he has never done in any major continuity (in
>>fact, I believe he has never done this anywhere other than this
>>image...)
>
> The Return of Optimus Prime? Binaltech (as "The Protector")? Headmasters
> (A Dream Is Born, Double Prime)?
But did he interact with Megatron in any of those? Or Ratchet, for that
matter?
No One in Particular
"Onslaught Six" <Onslau...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2492b119-1328-4d91...@2g2000hsn.googlegroups.com...
Ever see the Digital Doom On The Highway To Destruction flyer?
It totally shows Megatron in his gun emplacement mode, mounted on a
hill or something, like he's sniping the Autobots.
http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Digitaldoomonthehighwaytodestruction.jpg
Man, I haven't thought about that in *years*. Now that's a blast from the
past. =)
Brian. Still has some of those in a closet somewhere...
Grebo
The mighty sharp Brian <blcjk...@shawneelink.net> wrote:
> That might work too. Something that makes the gun mode a real,
> viable danger. Otherwise, a gun alternate would be more of a
> hindrance than anything else.
Indeed. As I've said before, if gun-mode Megatron could CONTROL
whoever wielded him, even Autobots -- including going so far as
speaking through their mouth -- well now THAT would have been cool as
heck.
And, in actuality, G1 Megatron's original techspecs DO say that he's
devastatingly more powerful in gun mode... they just phrase it so
poorly that I didn't figure it out until 20+ years later. I quote G1
Meg's bio:
"Can link up interdimensionally to a black hole and draw antimatter
from it for use as a weapon."
See, I think that the author (Budiansky?) of this bio actually meant
for "as a weapon" to be parsed as "in weapon mode." To wit:
"Can link up interdimensionally to a black hole and draw antimatter
from it for use in weapon mode."
I'm convinced that this is what the bio actually means. It's just
written in a tragically vague and misleading way.
Movin' on.
> On a side, but related, note, I think TF writers are always missing a bet by
> having pre-Earth mode Megatron be a fantasy tank of some sort. I imagine
> him as having a mobile cannon mode, like Galvatron or Straxus. That would
> be a better analog to an earth handgun than a tank. We have tanks.
> Megatron could have become a tank, if he wanted to. Teletraan 1 decided a
> gun was a more suitable match.
THANK YOU for saying this. I have always felt the same way. When The
War Within depicted pre-G1 Megs as a tank, I was like "Whuuuuuuuuh???"
Sure, it's fearsome, but it makes no sense -- as you point out -- for
Teletraan-1 to rebuild him as a gun. Naturally, it would have rebuilt
him as an Earth tank. It's hard to imagine Teletraan-1 choosing a form
which (A) is mostly immobile, unlike a tank, (B) plain old ISN'T a
tank, and (C) requires the addition of size-changing technology.
Surely that's a pretty radical alteration of Meg's core design.
(I thought it was especially odd for TWW to have pre-G1 Megs be a
tank, considering that there was another character in TWW who actually
WAS a size-changing pistol!)
By the same token it seems odd that, given Soundwave's "streetlamp"
altmode in the first episode of the G1 cartoon, he wasn't rebuilt by
Teletraan-1 into an Earth streetlamp. Or traffic signal, or whatever.
Instead Teletraan-1 made Soundwave, too, mostly immobile, a wholly
different kind of device, and added size-changing technology.
Indeed, the very idea that Teletraan-1 would redesign Megs and
Soundwave so radically that it added the ability to alter their size
and mass is... well... I mean dude, those are EXTREME technologies!! I
have never fully bought this.
The only rationale I can think of is that although the malfunctioning
Teletraan-1 found itself "compelled" to repair and rebuild all the TFs
aboard, it still knew WHO it was dealing with. Given that it had to
repair and rebuild the Decepticons, it deliberately chose the least
formidable new altmodes it could for Megs and Soundwave, the two most
powerful Decepticons aboard. Clearly, there were certain parameters it
could not circumvent (otherwise the Ark would have given Megs and
Soundwave dildo altmodes or something) but still... perhaps the
addition of size-changing tech was a way to disempower and genuinely
"belittle" the two Decepticon badasses?
Grebo!
Grebo
Don't forget the britsh stories (I think they might have been "choose
your own adventure" type books?) that depicted Rodimus Prime as Hot
Rod's super-hero alter ego!! In those tales, Hot Rod would have to
slip away from the group to secretly change into Rodimus Prime, then
pop out and save the day, then dash off again to secretly change back
into Hot Rod and then return to the group asking something like "Did I
miss anything?" Just like Superman, man.
I'm actually sort of fond of this idea.
Grebo
On Jul 20, 7:38 am, SteveD <use...@vo.id.au> wrote:
> On Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:42:33 -0700 (PDT), Gustavo Wombat
>
> <GustavoWom...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >On Jul 20, 12:52 am, Onslaught Six <Onslaught...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Image:Digitaldoomonthehighwaytodes...
No One in Particular
"Grebo" <greb...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:18457474-13cb-49d3...@34g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
> Arfy arf arf!
You're welcome. :)
You don't even really have to go that far. Say Teletrann doesn't remember
who they are. So it activated it's repair function. The scanner scans, and
Teletrann notes what this robot transforms into. It then just goes and
finds a suitable match. It don't even really need to know factions,
identities, etc. Although, if it was indeed the only way it could think of
to aid the Autobots, that also works.
In my opinion, the tanks look good, but show a lack of any real imaginiation
on the writers' part.
Soundwave...pet theory of mine: what he transforms into might have changed,
a LOT. I wonder if he didn't change alternate modes every few cycles,
because you'd think eventually the Autobots would have noticed that
sometimes there was a 'streetlamp' on the left side of the road there, RIGHT
OUTSIDE IACON, and sometimes it was gone. Either that, or Megatron had more
than one supporter who looked like Soundwave, and they rotated out that
position whenever one of them needed a break for whatever reason.
If Soundwave changed transforms on a semi- or regular basis, he'd be nearly
*impossible* to catch, because you'd never know what piece of scrap was
spying on you this cycle, and what has just been laying there for 10,000
vorns since that building was bombed. This could also lead to some humerous
paranoia scenarios, whith Autobots blasting random scrap, "because it was
looking at me!!!"
Brian.
Grebo
The breezy Brian <blcjk...@shawneelink.net> wrote:
> This could also lead to some humerous paranoia
> scenarios, whith Autobots blasting random scrap,
> "because it was looking at me!!!"
GUFFAW!!!!!
I love this.
Grebo
No One in Particular
Onslaught Six
wrote:
> Soundwave...pet theory of mine: what he transforms into might have changed,
> a LOT. I wonder if he didn't change alternate modes every few cycles,
> because you'd think eventually the Autobots would have noticed that
> sometimes there was a 'streetlamp' on the left side of the road there, RIGHT
> OUTSIDE IACON, and sometimes it was gone. Either that, or Megatron had more
> than one supporter who looked like Soundwave, and they rotated out that
> position whenever one of them needed a break for whatever reason.
I agree with this, but I think it's more like Movie Blackout's
situation--there 'was' a streetlamp there, until Soundwave busted it
down and stood there instead.
> If Soundwave changed transforms on a semi- or regular basis, he'd be nearly
> *impossible* to catch, because you'd never know what piece of scrap was
> spying on you this cycle, and what has just been laying there for 10,000
> vorns since that building was bombed. This could also lead to some humerous
> paranoia scenarios, whith Autobots blasting random scrap, "because it was
> looking at me!!!"
There's that bit in Transport To Oblivion where Cliffjumper shoots a
rock that kinda looks like a Seeker.
Chad Rushing
>
> By the same token it seems odd that, given Soundwave's "streetlamp"
> altmode in the first episode of the G1 cartoon, he wasn't rebuilt by
> Teletraan-1 into an Earth streetlamp. Or traffic signal, or whatever.
> Instead Teletraan-1 made Soundwave, too, mostly immobile, a wholly
> different kind of device, and added size-changing technology.
I never had the impression that G1 Soundwave's Cybertronian mode was
street lamp-like. I also thought he was some kind of technological
device (some sort of communications terminal?) that was found near
roadways. An real life example that comes to mind is the mobile phone
network base stations that are scattered throughout metropolitan
areas, extremely sophisticated computer setups that are largely
ignored by passing drivers. (I used to work in the wireless telephony/
data industry.)
If Soundwave was some sort of communications terminal on Cybertron
(possibly with Laserbeak and company disguised as interchangeable
components), then making him into a portable cassette player on Earth
would not be too much of a stretch. After all, he was the
Communications Officer for the Decepticons, so his alt mode would
probably be something related to communciations.
- Chad
Grebo
The sharp Chad Rushing <notu...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> If Soundwave was some sort of communications terminal on Cybertron
> (possibly with Laserbeak and company disguised as interchangeable
> components), then making him into a portable cassette player on Earth
> would not be too much of a stretch. After all, he was the
> Communications Officer for the Decepticons, so his alt mode would
> probably be something related to communciations.
Well then, wouldn't Teletraan-1's most logical choice have been to
remake Soundwave with an Earth communications tower altmode? Instead,
the Ark made him portable -- and, again, most bizzarrely -- added
freakin' size-changing science. Ye gods!
Grebo
Onslaught Six
> Well then, wouldn't Teletraan-1's most logical choice have been to
> remake Soundwave with an Earth communications tower altmode? Instead,
> the Ark made him portable -- and, again, most bizzarrely -- added
> freakin' size-changing science. Ye gods!
Do we really know that Teletraan 'added' the mass shifting technology?
I always assumed the Decepticons had it to begin with, and just didn't
use it with their current altmodes.
The ease of which Transformers seem to change their altmode really
makes it moot--after all, Teletraan just up and reformatted 'everyone'
when it wasn't even at full capacity.
Grebo
The mighty Onslaught Six <Onslaught...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Do we really know that Teletraan 'added' the mass shifting technology?
> I always assumed the Decepticons had it to begin with, and just didn't
> use it with their current altmodes.
Um. I don't want to be rude, but... that strikes me as a silly
assumption. However, I am a reasonable guy and I want to maintain an
open mind, so I'd love to be shown evidence supporting this
assumption.
> The ease of which Transformers seem to change their altmode really
> makes it moot--after all, Teletraan just up and reformatted 'everyone'
> when it wasn't even at full capacity.
It seems to me that the ease or difficulty of adopting a new altmode
is wildly inconsistent. In the '07 movie, it's so easy that it
actually bothers me. In the G1 cartoon, TFs have to be taken offline
and go through some kind of procedure performed by someone (or
something) else in order to get a new altmode.
A pet peeve: the term "reformat" has come to mean "get a new altmode"
in the transfan world. But in Beast Machines, the idea of Reformatting
wasn't just getting a new altmode, it was a profound alteration of the
very nature of the transformer.
(Not: Even though I personally disagree with BM's take on the
radicality of this change -- after all, Rhinix DID eat in BW --
Reformatting is nonetheless stated in the show as being a radical
reconception of what it is to BE a transformer.)
However, since BM has in some ways faded into the background of the TF
mythos, and there is no better (much less at-all-convenient) term for
"getting a new altmode," I do understand the reasons behind and the
utility of the reassignment of the term.
Grebopen-ended
ShadowWing
"Grebo" wrote
>
> Don't forget the britsh stories (I think they might have been "choose
> your own adventure" type books?) that depicted Rodimus Prime as Hot
> Rod's super-hero alter ego!! In those tales, Hot Rod would have to
> slip away from the group to secretly change into Rodimus Prime, then
> pop out and save the day, then dash off again to secretly change back
> into Hot Rod and then return to the group asking something like "Did I
> miss anything?" Just like Superman, man.
I remember in the Blackthorn 3-D comics Hot Rod tells Ultra Magnus not to
worry because if something happened "Rodimus will pop up and save the day". I
wonder if there was a connection?
Onslaught Six
> Um. I don't want to be rude, but... that strikes me as a silly
> assumption. However, I am a reasonable guy and I want to maintain an
> open mind, so I'd love to be shown evidence supporting this
> assumption.
It strikes 'me' as a silly assumption that Teletraan just magically
invents mass shifting technology to facilitate some new altmodes. ;)
Think of it like this--Teletraan clearly has existing technology to
scan for new lifeforms (or vehicle modes--some fictions say Teletraan
was damaged and couldn't recognize organic lifeforms, or something)
and to reformat Transformers into new bodies and altmodes. Therefore
it's reasonable that the TFs already 'had' the existing technology to
use mass shifting, if a situation called for it. Teletraan just chose
Tiny Object altmodes for Megs and Soundwave, and applied it.
Now, of course, why Teletraan would make such an arbitrary decision,
that's anybody's guess.
> It seems to me that the ease or difficulty of adopting a new altmode
> is wildly inconsistent. In the '07 movie, it's so easy that it
> actually bothers me. In the G1 cartoon, TFs have to be taken offline
> and go through some kind of procedure performed by someone (or
> something) else in order to get a new altmode.
>
> A pet peeve: the term "reformat" has come to mean "get a new altmode"
> in the transfan world. But in Beast Machines, the idea of Reformatting
> wasn't just getting a new altmode, it was a profound alteration of the
> very nature of the transformer.
>
> (Not: Even though I personally disagree with BM's take on the
> radicality of this change -- after all, Rhinix DID eat in BW --
> Reformatting is nonetheless stated in the show as being a radical
> reconception of what it is to BE a transformer.)
>
> However, since BM has in some ways faded into the background of the TF
> mythos, and there is no better (much less at-all-convenient) term for
> "getting a new altmode," I do understand the reasons behind and the
> utility of the reassignment of the term.
I personally only use the term Reformat to mean Get A Mostly New Body.
I mostly just use it when referring to Unicron reformatting the
Decepticons in TFTM, actually.
SteveD
wrote:
>Arf arf!
>
>Don't forget the britsh stories (I think they might have been "choose
>your own adventure" type books?) that depicted Rodimus Prime as Hot
>Rod's super-hero alter ego!! In those tales, Hot Rod would have to
>slip away from the group to secretly change into Rodimus Prime, then
>pop out and save the day, then dash off again to secretly change back
>into Hot Rod and then return to the group asking something like "Did I
>miss anything?" Just like Superman, man.
>
>I'm actually sort of fond of this idea.
It might have worked better if Rodimus didn't look, I dunno, EXACTLY LIKE
HOT ROD. And have almost the same name.
Unless that was the whole point, of course. But I can't help imagining a
version of Clark Kent who called himself SuperClark and dressed in a
Superman outfit plus glasses.
"No one will ever suspect!"
-SteveD
SteveD
wrote:
>Woofers!
>
>The mighty Onslaught Six <Onslaught...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Do we really know that Teletraan 'added' the mass shifting technology?
>> I always assumed the Decepticons had it to begin with, and just didn't
>> use it with their current altmodes.
>
>Um. I don't want to be rude, but... that strikes me as a silly
>assumption. However, I am a reasonable guy and I want to maintain an
>open mind, so I'd love to be shown evidence supporting this
>assumption.
How about this variation?
Teletraan-1's repair capacities were reduced as it was itself damaged.
Megatron and Soundwave (and possibly others) had one or more of the
following on Cybertron:
- multiple modes, especially useful for spy missions or being able to pop
up unexpectedly in places. The additional modes might have been ones
unsuited to them that they could only stay in temporarily;
- size-changing tech, either to shrink down for stealth missions or to
change the size of various internal components (weaponry systems etc)
during transformation;
- internal records of previous altmodes they'd adopted at one point or
another, which Teletraan-1 determined to be the most complete out of all
the altmode-records it could reliably discern and work with in its
crippled state;
- internal altmode choice-patterns/datatrax, which Teletraan-1 could only
scan the most basic level of during the pilot episode, and which
corresponded to "inconspicuous, audio/data device" and "weapon" in the
case of Soundwave and Megatron. Normally, a fully operational
altmode-choosing device would be able to read many more levels of detail
in the descriptions, and a bot who wasn't in stasis lock could probably
manipulate the readout if they wanted a change.
I'd also note that the skyspy in MTMTE only seemed to visit a city and
possibly an airforce base (there are three presumably-military jets
visible). Whether or not this was due to damage, lack of fuel, or other
reasons, the resulting modes for the MTMTE Transformers are either
urban/racing or that one jet. Perhaps the repair process simply slapped on
the closest altmode match from its scans-so-far database. Skywarp lucked
out - he may have gotten whatever the skyspy picked at random [1]. On the
other hand, perhaps it was deliberately aiming at things which looked
roughly the right size and substance. The gun and microcassette recorder
could have been in the scanned jet or one of the scanned city vehicles
(most likely the former, given that the base seemed to have been scanned
before the city).
Either way, there's no reason why a tank would have necessarily placed
itself in the skyspy's path before Teletraan-1 had to pick a mode for
Megatron. I will note, however, that Megatron didn't seem to have a lot of
external damage in MTMTE, and his reconfiguration and rebooting looked to
have happened almost entirely internally in the one second after Skywarp
dragged him into the repair beam. Unless, of course, Megatron was simply
so badass that he got up and started giving orders while his insides were
still rearranging themselves... which wouldn't be out of character.
[1] Still, there is a fade-cut while Skywarp's being rebuilt, which
_might_ indicate that he got resurrected as a Rock Lord or something,
freaked, told Teletraan-1 to only scan metal things, and then put himself
back under the repair beam for a second go-around.
-SteveD
--
Though not entirely accurate, as it did profess that Ratbat transformed
into a ham and egg sandwich. - Chris McFeely
ShadowWing
"SteveD" wrote
>>Don't forget the britsh stories (I think they might have been "choose
>>your own adventure" type books?) that depicted Rodimus Prime as Hot
>>Rod's super-hero alter ego!!
>
> HOT ROD. And have almost the same name.
Didn't seem to be a problem for He-Man/Prince Adam back in the day.
Grebo
Ha!!! Yeah really. So true.
Chad Rushing
>
> > It might have worked better if Rodimus didn't look, I dunno, EXACTLY LIKE
> > HOT ROD. And have almost the same name.
>
> Didn't seem to be a problem for He-Man/Prince Adam back in the day.
I thought of the exact same thing when I read about Hot Rod sneaking
off to become Rodimus. Fortunately, they had the sense to remedy that
Prince Adam issue when the new show came out a few years ago.
- Chad
SteveD
Ah, the old "everyone else is freakin' blind!" trick.
ShadowWing
"SteveD" wrote
>>
>> Didn't seem to be a problem for He-Man/Prince Adam back in the day.
>
> Ah, the old "everyone else is freakin' blind!" trick.
I just assumed there's some kind of magic spell that hides his secret
identity from everyone except for the three in the loop. It's the only way
that makes sense.