The G1 Personality Trait Toteboard
Zobovor
exhibit a single basic personality trait, almost being more like
archetypes than true characters, and also how the same personality
types seem to pop up over and over. I was curious about just how many
personality types there were in G1, so I did some research and was
able to categorize nearly 300 different characters from G1 into 20
basic categories, as depicted on toy packaging on Hasbro toys released
in America from 1984-1990. My findings are below.
Some caveats before we begin: I painted some of the categories with
very broad strokes. A perpetually angry character isn't the exact
same thing as a perpetually depressed character, so I'm aware that
Tantrum and Dead End, for example, do not have the same personality.
However, they're the same *types* of character (an unhappy emotion as
his defining characteristic), and in theme they're more alike each
other than the other personality types. Second, there are many
characters who could fit into two or more categories (especially the
early G1 characters, many of whom have multi-faceted personalities),
but I tried to fit them into the category that matches their dominant
characteristics.
Third, you may disagree with me on how I've categorized some of these
guys, so I'm more than willing to reevaluate my decisions. (I'm
anticipating at least three characters that people will take issue
with. Please feel free to challenge my findings!) For what it's
worth, I did consult the G1 tech specs in many cases as the final
word, which also means a comics or cartoon portrayal might land these
guys in alternate categories (the Marvel Comics versions of Megatron
or Longtooth, for example, would definitely have ended up in the
"crazy" category). Along the same lines, starting around 1989, the
style of the tech specs changed and began to focus more on physical
abilities rather than personality types, so it was difficult to assign
some characters (for instance, Micromaster Airwave is described only
as a "black market barbarian" and I have no idea what that even
means).
Last, this list doesn't include multiple versions of characters who
also exist as Pretenders or Action Masters (Jazz, Starscream, etc.)
but does include separate entries for characters who got a new
personality to go along with his new identity (Goldbug, Rodimus Prime,
etc.) Likewise, the list doesn't cover characters who never got their
G1 own personality write-ups, which means I had to leave out the bulk
of the Micromasters, who only got tech specs describing each Patrol of
four or six members as a whole. The same goes for G2—I wanted to
include those characters, too, but many of their tech specs were
written really badly (there isn't a single thing in Powerdive's bio
that even hints at his personality, for example).
Okay, let's begin!
Type 1: Happy/Plucky/Cheerful. These are robots whose defining
characteristic is their good-natured, playful, fun-loving demeanor:
Bumblebee, Hoist, Swoop, Battletrap, and Carnivac.
Type 2: Angry/Grumpy/Depressed. All of these Transformers exhibit a
strong negative personality trait that dominates their outlook or
behavior:
Trailbreaker, Downshift, Dirge, Grapple, Snarl, Brawl, Broadside, Dead
End, Rampage, Tantrum, Pointblank, Beastbox, and Dreadwind.
Type 3: Vain/Egocentric/Self-Absorbed. Every one of these characters
is impressed with themselves, in love with themselves, or believes
themselves to be better than anyone else:
Sunstreaker, Buzzsaw, Starscream, Camshaft, Powerglide, Tracks,
Warpath, Slingshot, Reflector, Chase, Slugslinger, Sureshot, Fizzle,
and Iguanus.
Type 4: Strong/Heroic/Powerful. This is an Autobot-centric category
that's a catch-all for any character who is your basic all-around
hero:
Brawn, Optimus Prime, Jetfire, Omega Supreme, Roadbuster, Topspin, Hot
Spot, Metroplex, Rodimus Prime, Sky Lynx, Springer, Fortress Maximus,
Rollbar, Scattershot, Raindance, Scoop, Countdown, Ironworks,
Skyhammer, Rad, and Sprocket.
Type 5: Young/Exuberant/Immature. Each of these robots exhibits a
child-like quality, due to being irresponsible or immature or just
full of zeal:
Rumble, Air Raid, Divebomb, Hot Rod, Sandstorm, Wheelie, Brainstorm,
Fastlane, Grotusque, Joyride, Crossblades, Vroom, and Kick-Off.
Type 6: Obnoxious/Rude/Slovenly. All of these characters bother and
annoy their comrades, because of their personality or personal habits
or hygeine:
Slag, Apeface, Blot, Repugnus, Skullcruncher, Snapdragon, Wide Load,
Wingspan, Horri-Bull, Landfill, Override, Ruckus, Siren, Skalor,
Snarler, Squawktalk, Groundshaker, Hot House, and Rollout.
Type 7: Weak/Cowardly/Insecure/Cautious. Every one of these
Transformers is either unsure of himself or is unwilling or unable to
perform as expected.
Laserbeak, Scavenger, Thrust, Breakdown, Silverbolt, Crosshairs,
Goldbug, Freeway, Nosecone, Strafe, Backstreet, Chainclaw, Cloudburst,
and Gunrunner.
Type 8: Clever/Intellectual/Emotionless. All of these robots are set
apart from the other Transformers because of their penchant for using
their mind as their greatest weapon or because of their lack of
emotion:
Prowl, Soundwave, Perceptor, Scrapper, Shockwave, Cyclonus, Rewind,
Skydive, Chromedome, Computron, Getaway, Bludgeon, Pincher, and
Mainframe.
Type 9: Dumb/Hapless/Inept/Absent-Minded. These characters belong
here because they don't have their mind on their jobs—they daydream,
don't listen, or are just plain stupid:
Inferno, Skids, Sludge, Bruticus, Fireflight, Groove, Swerve, Misfire,
Slugfest, Cindersaur, Hosehead, Nautilator, Sky High, Slapdash,
Windsweeper, and Skyhopper.
Type 10: Hateful/Cruel/Vindictive. This is a mostly (buit not
exclusively!) Decepticon-centric category featuring the meanest, most
sadistic Transformers of all. These guys are the worst of the worst:
Frenzy, Megatron, Astrotrain, Barrage, Blitzwing, Bombshell,
Galvatron, Motormaster, Octane, Scourge, Superion, Cutthroat,
Scorponok, Sixshot, Bugly, Roadgrabber, Snaptrap, Tenta-Kil, Flattop,
Octopunch, Roadblock, Scowl, Thunderwing, Wildfly, Gutcruncher, and
Krok.
Type 11 Arrogant/Sophisticated. I created this category before I knew
how many characters would be applicable. I suppose I could combine
this with another category, but what really sets these guys apart is
their snobbish, I'm-better-than-you attitude:
Hook, Ransack, Blast Off, and Highbrow.
12 Obediant/Soldierly/Content. These guys just want to do their job.
They're not the ultimate hero or villain, but they're not inadequate,
either:
Ironhide, Thundercracker, Kup, Ultra Magnus, Grand Slam, Landmine,
Splashdown, Waverider, Longtooth, Overload, Jackpot, Treadshot.
Type 13: Driven/Disobedient/Scheming. These guys aren't satisfied
with the status quo, and aren't afraid to break the rules to get what
they want:
Cliffjumper, Sideswipe, Venom, Drag Strip, Outback, Afterburner,
Sizzle, and Over-Run.
Type 14: Impatient/Unsatisfied. Robots from this category aren't
completely happy with their lot in life, and long for something
different in their enviroment or circumstances:
Windcharger, Huffer, Gears, Cosmos, Long Haul, Blurr, Cloudraker,
Lightspeed, Crankcase, Darkwing, Finback, Groundbreaker, Quickmix,
Bristleback, and Skyfall.
Type 15: Destructive/Warmongering/Feral. Everyone on this list made
it because they like to fight or break stuff, and many of them are
wild and animalistic. This is made up most of Decepticons, but there
are a few Autobots in here, too:
Bonecrusher, Twin Twist, Blades, Gnaw, Predaking, Ramhorn, Razorclaw,
Runabout, Trypticon, Abominus, Hun-Grrr, Overkill, Rippersnapper,
Sinnertwin, Dogfight, Fangry, Flamefeather, Guzzle, Overbite,
Piranacon, Quake, Skullgrin, Squeezeplay, Birdbrain, Monstructor,
Roughstuff, and Stranglehold.
Type 16: Compassionate/Peaceful/Sympathetic. Not every robot is cut
out to be a warrior. These select few are peace-loving and, not
surprisingly, are all Autobots:
Ratchet, Beachcomber, Defensor, First Aid, and Erector.
Type 17: Crazy/Disturbed/Strange/Quirky. Everybody has their
personality flaws, but when they become detrimental or self-defeating,
that's a problem. Everyone here has an unusually odd personality that
sets them apart from everybody else:
Bluestreak, Wheeljack, Devastator, Mixmaster, Ramjet, Shrapnel, Whirl,
Menasor, Runamuck, Tailgate, Vortex, Wildrider, Flywheels, Mindwipe,
Trigeerhappy, Weirdwolf, Bomb-Burst, Quickswitch, Doubleheader, and
Slog.
Type 18: Obsessed/Compulsive/Fascinated. For some robots, a hobby is
just a hobby. These guys, on the other hand, take their job or field
of interest to a whole new level, to the point where it's all they
think about:
Jazz, Hound, Blaster, Overdrive, Red Alert, Seaspray, Eject, Pipes,
Wreck-Gar, Needlenose, Sparkstalker, Icepick, and Skystalker.
Type 19: Sneaky/Untrustworthy/Stealthy. With some Transformers, it's
hard to tell where their loyalties lie. All of these robots made it
onto this list because they're trying to hide something, be it
themselves or their objectives:
Mirage, Ravage, Skywarp, Chop Shop, Kickback, Smokescreen, Hubcap,
Ratbat, Swindle, Doublecross, Punch/Counterpunch, Pounce, Catilla,
Doubledealer, Seawing, Spinister, Submarauder, Airwave, Greasepit, and
Banzai-Tron.
Type 20: Unflappable/Determined/Stubborn. At last we have the final
personality type, which is characterized by an unwavering, unending
passion that cannot be swayed:
Grimlock, Headstrong, Onslaught, Steeljaw, Streetwise, Hardhead,
Searchlight, Nightbeat, and Axer.
Comments:
I think it's interesting that the Strong/Heroic/Powerful personality
type seems to be the default for most of the large Autobot toys and/or
leader characters (Metroplex, Fortress Maximus, Countdown, etc.)
Clearly, Hasbro felt the need to market these characters as the
ultimate heroes, much in the same way that many of the large
Decepticon toys and/or leader characters fell into the Hateful/Cruel/
Vindictive category (Megatron, Galvatron, Scorponok, Roadblock, etc.)
Also, somebody was definitely doing their homework when they came up
with "Hoist Goes Hollywood," in which all the Autobots with an
egocentric streak (which, as we all know, is a prerequisite for any
movie actor) are assembled together to star in a feature film. Hoist,
oddly enough, is really the odd man out—he doesn't belong with the
rest of the group at all.
Comments?
Zob
Uriel Ventris
entries? I'm sure they're the same, though I think they changed when
Dreamwave wrote their own versions.
Starscream... wouldn't he come under "cowardly" as well? And Cyclonus
as Emotionless/Intellectual/Clever doesn't fit his comic, cartoon, or
even what I remember of his Universe entry. I seem to recall that his
Universe entry described him as a bit of a thug (which is how he acted
in the comics), while his cartoon version would be more Strong/Heroic/
Powerful. Or possibly Obedient/Soldierly/Content.
Streetwise will have to be moved to the Obsessed/Compulsive/
Fascinated, 'cause he had that thing where he'd track things until he
ran out of gas.
Onslaught Six
> 12 Obediant/Soldierly/Content. These guys just want to do their job.
> Thundercracker
> Type 19: Sneaky/Untrustworthy/Stealthy. With some Transformers, it's
> hard to tell where their loyalties lie.
> Skywarp
Did you switch these guys? Skywarp's defining traits are "Play[s]
pranks on others" and "Useless without Megatron's guidance," while
Thundy's are "Contemptuous of anything that cannot fly," and "Not
totally convinced of the Decepticons' cause." I mean, Skywarp 'kind'
of fits in the "sneaky" category due to his power and that prank
thing, but I've always put his precedence on "stupid" far above
"trickster." Thundy, on the other hand, is the lone rebel, the
dissenter in the ranks--although why he continues the fight, who knows.
Zobovor
wrote:
> Pretty full. Pretty big. You're going by tech specs or by Universe
> entries? I'm sure they're the same, though I think they changed when
> Dreamwave wrote their own versions.
Hasbro tech specs were my primary source, since the Transformers
Universe profiles sometimes went off on a wild tangent (Skullgrin's
profile, for example, specifically mentions his stint as a movie star,
which would almost move him into the same category as the "Hoist Goes
Hollywood" cast by default.)
> Starscream... wouldn't he come under "cowardly" as well? And Cyclonus
> as Emotionless/Intellectual/Clever doesn't fit his comic, cartoon, or
> even what I remember of his Universe entry.
Starscream's one of those guys whose personality is vast and diverse,
so you could make an argument for at least a few different
categories. There were some characters I kept moving back and forth
because I just couldn't decide where to land. Cyclonus, on the other
hand, is described as emotionless (in both the original and better-
written Targetmaster tech specs) so that's where I stuck him. If
we're talking about the guy from the cartoon, then yes, he's a soldier
just like Ultra Magnus.
> Streetwise will have to be moved to the Obsessed/Compulsive/
> Fascinated, 'cause he had that thing where he'd track things until he
> ran out of gas.
This is true, but that makes him more of a hunter, like Steeljaw,
rather than a culture junkie like Jazz or Wreck-Gar, which is really
the distinction I was trying to make.
Thanks for your input. I can't believe you're (apparently) the only
person who's read this so far!
Zob
Evil King Macrocranios
me thinking. Essentially what you've done is reduce Transformer
personalities into easy to understand types, like if they were Care
Bears. This is really great because it's similar to tech specs except
it analyzes a character's personality instead of physical
characteristics. I wonder if Budiansky used some kind of personality
matrix similar to this that worked for these kinds of character traits
in the same way that tech specs worked for speed, strength, firepower,
so on an so forth. We did get "courage" which would equate to your
measure of bravery as a personality trait and "intelligence" which
would equate to "smart", but I wonder if Budiansky used a way to chart
a robot's "happy" or "grumpy", too. I think what you've invented or
rediscovered here is evidence of psychological tech spec charts. (I'll
call them psychspecs or traitspecs or maybe even Zobspecs.)
I remember seeing Budiansky's original tech spec chart and one thing
that stood out was how he'd calculate tech spec totals for the
individual robots by adding up their individual stats to come up with
an unnamed quantity akin to overall robot greatness. "Overall robot
greatness" is something I'm making up because I can't figure out a
better way to say it. But if you look at the the last column of his
tech spec chart you see he adds up all the individual ratings:
http://tinyurl.com/g1speccht . I wonder what the corresponding total
of a personality/Zobspec chart would indicate if the individual
characteristics were "crazy", "destructive", "arrogant", etc? Maybe
specialized charts would have to exist quantifying positive and
negative behaviors separately and those would evaluate each robot's
light and dark side sides. It would be interesting to see Optimus
Prime's dark side mapped out in a tech spec fashion. He probably has a
"crazy" of 1 or something like that. I believe every robot has all of
these characteristics in them, it's just a matter of how much
manifests itself in their personality.
Actually this is all me going off on tangents. What I originally
wanted to ponder was the possibility that Budiansky used these sorts
of characteristics and repeated them across allegiances, size classes
and years like did with tech spec characteristics. For example, in
that first year there was an Autobot strong guy in every size class.
Brawn was the strong minicar, Ironhide the strong deluxe and Optimus
the strong big guy. "Fast" would also repeat, with Windcharger being
the fast minicar, Bluestreak the fast deluxe and say Jetfire the fast
big guy. Then with each year's new lineup those trends would repeat
themselves. I'm seeing from your breakdowns that "crazy" and
"paranoid" also echoed throughout the years and size classes. I wonder
if this was planned and there was an overall pattern or matrix
Budiansky was following. I wonder if in order to make it easier to
come up with multiple personalities he took traits like these, charted
them and used varying intensities of each trait to come up with
personality quirks. Oh there's so much to ponder but right now I have
no time.
Optim_1
Wow, what a long list. I am a big fan of the 1984-1988 tech specs.
They were well-written.
>
> Type 19: Sneaky/Untrustworthy/Stealthy. With some Transformers, it's
> hard to tell where their loyalties lie. All of these robots made it
> onto this list because they're trying to hide something, be it
> themselves or their objectives:
> Mirage, Ravage, Skywarp, Chop Shop, Kickback, Smokescreen, Hubcap,
> Ratbat, Swindle, Doublecross, Punch/Counterpunch, Pounce, Catilla,
> Doubledealer, Seawing, Spinister, Submarauder, Airwave, Greasepit, and
> Banzai-Tron.
>
Ravage and Skywarp does not fit in this category IMO. Ravage's tech
specs clearly states that the other Decepticons respect Ravage and
what he does. Ravage likes to work alone but that does not necessarily
mean he is ambivalent towards the Decepticons cause. As for Skywarp,
his tech specs clearly states that he relies on Megatron on what to
do. That does not sound like he is not loyal to the Decepticons.
Skywarp is sneaky in that he likes to pull pranks but he is not sneaky
when it comes to serving the Decepticon cause, or at least, Megatron.
Thundercracker should be in this category. Both Mirage and
Thundercracker are clearly stated in their tech specs as not totally
believing in their respective faction ideals and could potentially
defect to the other side..
Zobovor
> > Type 19: Sneaky/Untrustworthy/Stealthy.
> Ravage and Skywarp does not fit in this category IMO.
I don't mean to say that the characters exhibit every trait for which
the category is named—but all of them exhibit at least one of those
traits. Ravage is a stealthy character because he skulks in the
shadows, so that's why he qualifies. Skywarp is a sneaky character
who plays pranks on the others, so he belongs in the same category for
a different reason. The key here is that everyone's hiding something—
Ravage hides himself in the shadows; Skywarp hides the fact that he's
playing practical jokes.
> Thundercracker should be in this category. Both Mirage and
> Thundercracker are clearly stated in their tech specs as not totally
> believing in their respective faction ideals and could potentially
> defect to the other side.
The difference is that Thundercracker doesn't try to hide his doubts
about the cause. The other Decepticons all know that he's unsure
about his purpose so they have to constantly persuade him to fight.
Mirage has the same kinds of doubts, but the Autobots don't trust him
as a result.
Thanks a lot for your feedback about this. I don't necessarily agree
with every point you've raised, but I do appreciate your opinion all
the same.
Zob
Zobovor
<snip>
Update:
Just for fun, I plugged the Transformers characters of my own creation
(most of them background characters from G1 to which I assumed names
and personalities) into this list to see how diverse they were, and
whether or not they all fit in the existing categories. (Most of them
are on my web site—I always include tech specs when I unveil projects
based on background characters—but a handful of them are for
characters who don't have projects yet, so you may not be able to find
all of them online yet.) There was one possible exception that I sort
of had to kind of shoehorn (Rustbucket is ancient and petulant, so he
acts immature because he's old, not because he's young), but aside
from that all of them fit nicely into an existing archetype. Of the
84 character profiles that I've written, here's how they broke down:
Type 1: Happy/Plucky/Cheerful
Bumper (Autobot), Heatwave (Decepticon)
Type 2: Angry/Grumpy/Depressed
Feedback (Decepticon), Steamer (Constructicon), Shriek (Anibot)
Type 3: Vain/Egocentric/Self-Absorbed
Aftershock (Decepticon), Crankshaft (Autobot), Deceptus (Decepticon),
Herald (Decepticon), Limelight (Decepticon), Strikezone (Decepticon),
Traffic Stop (Autobot)
Type 4: Strong/Heroic/Powerful
Quickdraw (Autobot), Septimus Prime (Autobot)
Type 5: Young/Exuberant/Immature
Bobcat (Decepticon), Freeloader (Autobot), Rustbucket (Decepticon)
Type 6: Obnoxious/Rude/Slovenly:
Battlefield (Autobot), Shockmaster (Decepticon), Speedbump (Autobot),
Turbine (Decepticon), Wiretap (Autobot)
Type 7: Weak/Cowardly/Insecure/Cautious
Craven (Decepticon), Goldwing (Decepticon), Harbinger (Decepticon),
Pardo (Anibot)
Type 8: Clever/Intellectual/Emotionless
Anthrax (Decepticon), Blue Moon (Decepticon), Nosedive (Decepticon),
Twilight (Decepticon)
Type 9: Dumb/Hapless/Inept/Absent-Minded
Asphalt (Autobot), Blow-Out (Autobot), Brain Drain (Decepticon), Clump
(Anibot), Jetlag (Decepticon), Junker (Decepticon), Starcraft
(Decepticon)
Type 10: Hateful/Cruel/Vindictive
Gravedigger (Decepticon), Plague (Decepticon), Topflight (Decepticon)
11 Arrogant/Sophisticated:
Faultline (Decepticon), Thump (Anibot)
12 Obediant/Soldierly/Content:
Bandwidth (Decepticon), Crossroads (Autobot), Double Feature
(Autobot), Freakshow (Decepticon), Steelcuff (Decepticon)
Type 13: Driven/Disobedient/Scheming
Fender Bender (Autobot), Warzone (Autobot)
Type 14: Impatient/Unsatisfied
Deadbolt (Decepticon), Elegy (Decepticon), Orbit (Decepticon), Phantom
(Decepticon), Seafoam (Decepticon)
Type 15: Destructive/Warmongering/Feral
Cherry Bomb (Autobot), Groundquake (Decepticon), Grudgematch
(Decepticon), Hailstorm (Decepticon), Sweep (Dinobot), Toughstuff
(Decepticon), Wasteland (Decepticon)
Type 16: Compassionate/Peaceful/Sympathetic
Headcase (Autobot), Starlight (Decepticon)
Type 17: Crazy/Disturbed/Strange/Quirky
Hindsight (Autobot), Symphony (Decepticon), Wavelength (Decepticon),
White Noise (Decepticon)
Type 18: Obsessed/Compulsive/Fascinated
Darkstrike (Decepticon), Ladybug (Autobot), Rundown (Decepticon),
Scrounge (Constructicon), Tire-Iron (Autobot)
Type 19: Sneaky/Untrustworthy/Stealthy
Blitzkrieg (Decepticon), Midnight (Decepticon), Oil Hook (Decepticon),
Powerhouse (Decepticon), Scrapyard (Autobot), Simba (Anibot),
Slaughterhouse (Decepticon)
Type 20: Unflappable/Determined/Stubborn
Commando Raid (Decepticon), Dragon Beast (Anibot), Hauler (Autobot),
Overcast (Decepticon), Rubblemaker (Decepticon)
If you're curious, you can find profiles for most of the above
characters here:
http://members.aol.com/zobovor/kitbashes.html
Comments:
When I come up with fan characters, I try really hard to stray away
from the stereotype of making my characters smarter, braver, stronger,
etc. than anyone else. Usually, I like to assign them one really
good, strong character flaw, rationalizing in the back of my mind that
these flaws were the reason all these background robots weren't
selected for the crews of the Ark or the Nemesis, which were
supposedly filled with Prime's best and brightest troops and
Megatron's most deadly warriors. The fact that I've only come up with
two Autobots who fall into the Strong/Heroic/Powerful archetype
exemplifies my tendency to stray from supercharacters (and one of them
was shown to be a previous Autobot leader as seen in "Five Faces of
Darkness," so he almost HAS to fall into that category by default).
You can sure tell what my favorite personality types are, though.
Lots of robots who are Vain/Egocentric/Self-Absorbed and plenty more
who are Sneaky/Untrustworthy/Stealthy, perhaps because those are two
facets of my personality that come out frequently in my writing.
(Oddly enough, most of my favorite official characters seem to fall
into the Clever/Intellectual/Emotionless category, perhaps because I
value intelligence as a character trait in real life, and I generally
can't stand idiots. It grates on me to watch episodes that feature
the Dinobots heavily. Sludge like Dinobot Island. Me like too,
Sludge. Like! Like! Like whole bunch! Oh, just kill me now.)
Zob
Gustavo Wombat
> Type 3: Vain/Egocentric/Self-Absorbed. Every one of these characters
> is impressed with themselves, in love with themselves, or believes
> themselves to be better than anyone else:
>
> Sunstreaker, Buzzsaw, Starscream, Camshaft, Powerglide, Tracks,
> Warpath, Slingshot, Reflector, Chase, Slugslinger, Sureshot, Fizzle,
> and Iguanus.
Starscream's main attribute isn't his vanity, it's his backstabbiness.
> Type 13: Driven/Disobedient/Scheming. These guys aren't satisfied
> with the status quo, and aren't afraid to break the rules to get what
> they want:
>
> Cliffjumper, Sideswipe, Venom, Drag Strip, Outback, Afterburner,
> Sizzle, and Over-Run.
Does backstabby fit into here? I don't think so... but it is close.
> Type 19: Sneaky/Untrustworthy/Stealthy. With some Transformers, it's
> hard to tell where their loyalties lie. All of these robots made it
> onto this list because they're trying to hide something, be it
> themselves or their objectives:
> Mirage, Ravage, Skywarp, Chop Shop, Kickback, Smokescreen, Hubcap,
> Ratbat, Swindle, Doublecross, Punch/Counterpunch, Pounce, Catilla,
> Doubledealer, Seawing, Spinister, Submarauder, Airwave, Greasepit, and
> Banzai-Tron.
I would split this category up. There are spies whose loyalty is never
questioned and beyond reproach (Ravage), untrustworthy backstabby
robots (Starscream), and untrustworthy potential traitor robots
(Mirage, Thundercracker)
That's a huge range of behavior and motivation that shouldn't really
be lumped together.
Oh, and Smokescreen, who spies on his comrades for Optimus, but it's
good spying because he's an Autobot.
Gustavo!
TigerMegatron
Personality trait & not much else. Is most likely due to the extremly
large cast of robots that appeared in each episode & each season.
The reason I love season 3 Rodimus Prime so much. Is because the
writters really did a great job of giving rodimus a 3-D persona. The
writters really fleshed out the character & made the viewers relate to
him better.
I. R. Caughn
tech specs-- is motto worth more than the bio? Do features that appear
earlier in the paragraph get more consideration.
'Cause, like Mr. Six, it did seem to me that Skywarp and
Thundercracker should be switched, but it's hard to say if that's just
my cartoon-centric biases talking. Thundercracker was the first guy I
thought of when I read "Hard to know where his loyalties lie"-- but
then, technically, the actual bio only says he sometimes unsure of the
'Con cause (he could be internally reluctant without putting forth a
sneaky or devious persona) and that's the last sentence. Similarly,
Skywarp's bit about needing supervision (which was translated to
loyalty for the purposes of the show... in addition to dimwittery) is
later in the bio, whereas "Strike when the enemy isn't looking" and
the description of his inherently "sneaky" ability come first. So
yeah, did you rank the different "sub-traits" on a first-come-first-
serve basis (or at least pay more attention to mottos?).
Otherwise, everything looks to be in order. Well, you *could* try to
put Micromaster Patrols and Squads in there, treating them as
homogenous units... or wait, no! Do it individually by using each
members' motto! Now *that* is a worthy challenge... !
J
Zobovor
> Just out of curiosity, how did you weigh different components of the
> tech specs-- is motto worth more than the bio? Do features that appear
> earlier in the paragraph get more consideration?
I would say yes, character traits that are presented first tend to
outweight supplemental traits that are included later. To me, at
least, the toy packaging biography seems to be structured to give you
a capsule of the robot's personality and then go into more detail.
For example, we know that Sunstreaker is calm and capable, and
ruthless in combat, and doesn't like working with others, and has a
rivalry with the other Autobot sports cars, and he's especially
competetive with Sideswipe. The driving characteristic, though, and
the primary focus of his personality make-up, is the first (improper)
sentence from his tech specs—"the complete egotist." That sums him up
right there. Everything else is just window dressing.
And no, I wouldn't say the motto is ever worth more than the
biography, but if the motto is supposed to represent a short and pithy
and (hopefully) accurate representation of that character's view of
the Universe, then I definitely took them into account. If the mottos
were the only thing I looked at, though, I would have split the
characters up a lot differently ("Cries and screams are music to my
ears!" sounds like a Hateful/Cruel/Vindictive personal credo if ever
I've heard one!).
> Well, you *could* try to put Micromaster Patrols and Squads in
> there, treating them as homogenous units... or wait, no! Do it
> individually by using each members' motto! Now *that* is a
> worthy challenge... !
I might just take you up on that!
Zob
I. R. Caughn
>
> If the mottos
> were the only thing I looked at, though, I would have split the
> characters up a lot differently ("Cries and screams are music to my
> ears!" sounds like a Hateful/Cruel/Vindictive personal credo if ever
> I've heard one!).
Yeah, a lot of the time it does seem like the motto is punnier or more
of a kneejerk riff off of a characters alt-mode, like Soundwave's
("OMG-- he's a boombox, but screaming is like music to him-- that's,
like, *perfect* irony... <puff> <puff>") or Vortex's ("'Cause, like,
people usually fly around in helicopters, right... but- hooboy- you
don't wanna dare to fly this one, 'cause he's an eeeevil rowbawt,
suxxors!!!!! <puff> <puff> <cough>"), oftentimes not really jibing all
that well with the bio (be he loyal manservant of scheming usurper.
Soundwave's almost never been characterized as a bloodthirsty
sadist... and the Vortex one *kinda* fits, but would work for
literally *every* airbourne 'Con). Makes me almost wonder if the
motto's were sometimes just tacked on by another writer...
J (... one who was, evidently, something of a pothead)