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Every month now, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor or a guest. These are our opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Same-Sex Transformers Couples
Happy Pride month, everybody! My name is Tigerhawk7109. I’ve been on the forums for about two years now. And, this week, I’ll be bringing you a special Pride-themed list. Before we begin, though, let me set one major rule: canon pairings only. As much as I stan ships like AlphaRoad, they’re not official. Also, major spoiler warning for More Than Meets the Eye and Lost Light ahead. And please remember that the use of the term "same-sex" is in the generalized sense where sex is used to refer to gender quite often. Now, without further ado, let’s get into it!
5: Knock Out and Breakdown
Knock Out, the slick Decepticon medic, was far and away the breakout character of Transformers: Prime. He was suave, he was extremely vain, and he gave Autobots like Bumblebee and Arcee a real challenge on the roads. His partner-in-crime was Breakdown, a heavy bruiser who filled the role of Bulkhead’s archnemesis. From their interactions in the show, many fans suspected that the two might have been a couple. As fun as it might’ve been, there was no official confirmation- until IDW stepped in and put their own spin on things.
When Knock Out was introduced in Windblade: Volume 2 number 4, he retains everything from his Prime persona except the sadistic streak. He’s a high-ranking racer on Velocitron, but nothing’s really been said that’s new. However, when Moonracer and Windblade have their conversation at Maccadam’s, the Velocitronian alludes to Knock Out having a Conjunx Endura who ‘couldn’t break Mach 1 if his life depended on it.’ Breakdown, with his bulky build, certainly fits this description. In the Holiday Special, we finally get confirmation that the two are a couple.
Because they had less time for their relationship to develop than any of the others on this list, Knock Out and Breakdown are lower in the ranking- but that doesn’t mean that they’re any less precious.
4: Drift and Ratchet
Suffice to say, this is a relationship that not many saw coming. Drift and Ratchet are polar opposites- one is an ex-Decepticon trying to find his place in the world, and the other is a grouchy old medic who’s losing his touch. But, if you look closely, you can see how their relationship developed over the course of More Than Meets The Eye and Drift: Empire of Stone. When Drift is knocked down by a brick after taking the blame for Overlord, Ratchet is the only member of the ship’s crew who helps him up. In issue 28, when Atomizer hands Rodimus a list of those who supposedly didn’t vote for him, Ratchet reveals that it’s a fake- because his name isn’t on it. There are a number of reasons why this could be, but we’re led to believe it’s because of Drift. The turning point in their relationship comes when Ratchet attends Brainstorm’s trial. After the scientist gets away with a slap on the wrist, Ratchet finally snaps at Rodimus for letting Drift take the fall. He leaves the Lost Light in a shuttle, with a figurine of Drift made by Ten on his dashboard. By Lost Light, the two are officially a couple. Their relationship’s buildup was absolutely genius, and is one of many examples as to why James Roberts is a fricking genius.
3: Anode and Lug
Anode and Lug were the first major newbies introduced in Transformers: Lost Light, the sequel to More Than Meets the Eye. They are a couple when we first meet them, but we also meet them when they have a pretty major argument. Anode eventually realizes that the Lug she is seeing isn’t real- she’s a mere hallucination, brought upon after being saved by the Necrobot. Using a protoform and a spark, Anode is able to essentially bring Lug back to life. Now that’s dedication.
However, that’s not the only reason that Anode and Lug are special. The two are the first official transgender couple in Transformers, and have a whole page dedicated to Anode explaining why the two of them didn’t feel right as males. This quality, combined with the real and believable nature of their relationship, makes Anode and Lug a truly special couple.
2: Cyclonus and Tailgate
All I can say is this: James Roberts knows how to write a romance, because God damn. These two get off to an extremely rocky start. Poor Tailgate is looking for somebody to room with, and Cyclonus lets him into his quarters- only because there’s a sparkeater on the loose. When the minibot starts to annoy him, Cyclonus knocks Tailgate out cold. Gradually, the two grow closer, bonding over the fact that they are both from Cybertron’s ancient past. At the end of Season 1, Cyclonus uses his own spark energy to cure Tailgate’s cybercrosis. In Season 2, Getaway plays on Cyclonus’ reluctance to show his feelings, and manipulates Tailgate into almost getting killed. Cyclonus protects him, and is shredded by bullets. When Tailgate is presumed dead after Fangry locks him in a radioactive chamber, Cyclonus’ faith and desire to see him again causes Cyberutopia to manifest itself as the Afterspark. These two have so much development, and have so much love between them- except Cyclonus’ pride keeps him from saying the Big Three Words until Lost Light issue 16. Caught in the middle of this romance is Whirl, who slowly pushes the two into revealing their feelings for each other. That comedic plot point alone is just fantastic.
1: Chromedome and Rewind
You all saw this coming. Chromedome and Rewind have the single-most developed relationship in all of Transformers history. They don’t just top a list of same-sex couples- these two would top a list of all couples. From the very first issue, we see them fight and make up, like a real couple. The two are very obviously lovey-dovey with each other. However, it’s not until after Rewind sacrifices himself to get Overlord off the ship that he finally says ‘I love you.’ Heartbroken, Chromedome locks himself in his quarters and plays his husband’s final message, a composition of footage recorded by Rewind himself, over and over again. However, the two get a second chance when Megatron discovers a quantum duplicate Lost Light, with Rewind the only survivor. Seeing as he is the same, yet different, from Chromedome’s Rewind, the two get off to a less-than perfect start. Their love eventually grows back to what it once was- to the point where Chromedome almost kills himself to bring Dominus Ambus, Rewind’s old Conjunx, back from his lobotomized state as ‘The Pet.’ Instead of bringing Dominus back, Rewind severs Chromedome’s arm, keeping him alive at the cost of his former husband. There are no other words to describe just how deep their relationship runs.
Honourable mention: If there was one other couple I need to make mention of, it’s Tigatron and Airazor- specifically from the Japanese dub of Beast Wars. Airazor was male in Japan, which was all well and good for the most part. But when the obvious affection between the two blossomed into romance, they inadvertently became the first gay couple in Transformers history.
What do you guys think of this list? Got a couple you think should be on it? Sound off in the Energon Pub forums. For now, this is Tigerhawk7109, signing off.
While the issue came out last week, we were only able to review it now. Only Spoilers ahead.
I will start by saying that as with the previous issues, I did not find this to be all that good. It was not terrible, but there was very little in it that I found worthwhile to recommend to any Beast Wars or Transformers fan.
I had found this comic series' version of Dinobot's rebellion against the Predacons to be an unwelcome change from the original idea that he is a Predacon that chooses to team with the Maxmimals more out of hatred/rivalry against Megatron and slowly leans into their ideals. Instead, here, he really is just one note. Like to a T, as you can read in the panel below. If you are wondering if there is a lead up to that panel in this comic, not really. It's like it was written by a kid. "I like honour, but my colleagues who are known to be murderous phychos don't seem to have any, maybe you do. So can I join?". This is beyond amateurish. And a formal request no less, my good sir. Is Dinobot a warrior or a senior asking a father if he can take his daughter to prom?
That isn't my biggest problem with the art in this issue though, we get some really messed up scale. A big chunk of the issue is dedicated to a confrontation with a seemingly alien beast (so, are we not on Earth? We'll see) and it's size compared to the bots changes from panel to panel. It seems colossal when fighting Nyx but Dinobot looks even bigger than it in another panel. Yet, while Nyx is small, Dinobot doesn't tower over her like the beast did.
Look, if anyone out there likes this book then I am glad. It means this book found an audience. It just didn't find it with me so far. In the end, it's just average with very little to offer me.
From the lenses of Seibertron himself, we have an amazing new set of toy galleries to share with you! These Beast Wars toys are from the second year of the line, and consist of a roly-poly/potato bug, a mantis, a mosquito, a dragonfly, and an earwig! We are, of course, talking about Retrax, Manterror, Transquito, Jetstorm, and Powerpinch. While these galleries have been done for a few years, we're sharing them now, in the ongoing quest to get to 5,000 galleries! Take a look at the preview galleries below, and click on any picture to be taken to the full gallery.
Usually, the "Top Five" list are written by william-james88 but since his list are a monthly thing now, I'll just fill in from times to times. I don't have any planned schedule so consider my lists as "surprise bonuses"! My list will be my opinion, of course, but they will also use the opinions of other fellow Seibertronians. So let's get to it!
Top 5 Transformers toys that "everyone hate" but I truly and genuinely love.
Some Transformers toys are mostly considered "bad" or "horrible" by the community and are universally "hated" by "everyone." However, I, and some of you, actually LOVE these things.
Only a specific toy count. No groups nor generalisations. Who are those Ugly Ducklings?
#5) G1 Stalker
When it come to G1 toys, most are loved for having an important role in the cartoons or comics. Many have been brought back to life over and over in the Generations line. But it seems that even Hasbro "hate" or don't care about that poor brick with a bad early 1990's color scheme. Many consider Machine Wars Soundwave to be superior because he have more "serious" colors and he got the big name. So, does indiference could count as hate? Maybe. But Burn love that little oddball:
Burn wrote:Stalker.
Apparently a lot of people think he's a brick (they never seem to complain about MW Soundwave though ...) and pick on his colours but they're just wrong and clearly don't have one in their collection because if they did then they'd see how awesome he is.
Not even Seibertron care enough to have a gallery of him. Poor Stalker.
#4) Armada Sideswipe
Armada Sideswipe is a prime example in how gimmicks can just ruin a toy. He's so full of them that the bot is a brick with horrible proportions. Even his minicon is just a bike that sprouted legs! Add the fact that his vehicle mode is one of the most boring ever and you have the recipe for a disaster. Years ago The Plastic Addict made a VIDEO about the poor guy. Overcracker love the thing though:
Overcracker wrote:Armada Side Swipe. Yes, he's a terrible figure, sacrifices a lot for the gimmick. But somehow I still enjoy fiddling with him regardless.
I gotta admit, I too, love that horrible thing that is universally panned. I have a certain love for horrible gobelins.
Way back in the days and for years to come, people hated that guy for many reasons. He's just a deluxe. He turn into a tank instead of his traditional canon. His transformation is fiddly. He have odd colors. But a few like Gauntlet101010 love the guy.
Gauntlet101010 wrote:Henkei Galvatron. Everyone hates you but me. I know he's fiddly. I know he's hard to stand. I know he should have been a voyager and I'm glad we're getting Kingdom Galvatron too. But I still appreciate what we got in Henkei Galvy. I like the colours. I like the alt mode with his orange cannon poking out. I even like the transforation - it takes a while to get used to, but it can be fun.
I too, have a certain fondness of the guy. But I'll show the Classic version because I'm sure he's generally more hated than the "superior" Henkei version.
I really HATE that Jazz with passion. He's the embodiment, the avatar of Hasbro going cheap. At that time instead of increasing the price of the toys, Hasbro decided to cut corners instead. So that Jazz is extremely small, barely any paint apps, plus it's hollow and soft like a disposable yogurt cup. To add insult to injury, there was a huge "explosive" text pointing out that HE COME WITH HIS GUUUUUUUUN!!!.......The tiniest gun ever. Still, ShadowBlaze do love the damn thing.
ShadowBlaze wrote:Honourable Mention: Fall of Cybertron Jazz. I wouldn't call him a favourite, but I always felt he was a decent figure, and I never understood the vitriol he received. I don't know if the blue head and fists were an intentional homage to the old comics, but I think they look fine, and I don't think it's a bad Cybertronian take on a character whose toys have almost always had Earth-inspired alt-modes.
Ironic that that Jazz that I hate is in the forefront of my own Jazz collection and I even recently bought the Reprolabels set to pimp him up. Look like my "hate" is turning into love!
#1) Age of Extinctions First Edition Optimus Prime
Prime VS Prime HATE it. Will HATE it. EVERYONE hate it. He pose badly. He's way too big. He got the mother of all backpacks. He's an unashamed ultimate shellformer.
I may be truly alone in this into loving the crap out of this guy. It's one of my favorite Movie Optimus ever! He is huge, He is SHINY. He look powerful in bot mode and truck mode. Plus he's fun and easy to transform. Also, the fact that he drive himself is hilarious! I really and genuinely love that thing. I have the Silver Knight edition and he'll always have a PRIME spot in my Prime collection. First picture is mine doing the "drive himself" pose and the rest of the pictures are for the regular version.
AoE 1st Edition Optimus Prime is the BEST Movie Optimus toy ever!
Many "hate" that toy for not being movie accurate. But many love that toy for the toy itself regardless of the character. But this guy get too much love to be on the list.
Even though I intended to make a "top 10", I think a "top 5" is the best way to showcase what is more significant. I hope you enjoyed that list and please share below your personal Ugly Duckling!
Every month now, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Best Skywarp Transformers Toys so Far
Sure sure, Skywarp has teleportation abilities, but we all know what really makes him stand out from the rest: his awesome deco. Purple is the thematic colour of the Decepticons (looking at the logo) and it highlighting a black jet is just gorgeous. So while it's not usually the case, deco will have a bigger impact on some choices in this list, especially since time and time again Hasbro finds ways to really mess up his deco (like the Classics deluxe and Combiner Wars leader).
This is the one that started it all with that beautiful deco. It just looks so good. The mold itself is one most fans are familiar with. You are either on board or you're not. And while I have always been lukewarm about it, that jet mode is awesome and looks great in those colours.
While not his usual all black self, this isn't Skywarp's usual G1 self. It was a completely new Seeker body and while it's during the era where Hasbro cheaped out on deco and plastic, making the other seekers who use this mode rather lackluster, it works pretty well for Skywarp. The purple highlights really pop against the grey, almost like they do in the game this toy is based on. And plus Skywarp held this body in the comics too, so you get a deluxe IDW Skywarp, two birds with one stone and all that. The mold overall is rather quaint but Skywarp makes it work best, especially thanks to the deco which plays a special role in concealing the head which is left out in the open in alt mode, which is one of my big gripes with this mold.
The MP mold rarely makes these top 5 seeker lists since it was already dated by the time it came out and the dumb exclusivity simply added costs to an already overpriced toy (plus, this is the only MP-11 seeker never to be released in the west). BUT the MP is a rare instance where they get the show deco right. The cartoon actually added some extra purple that was not on the original G1 toy, like the shoulders, and until 2020 this MP was the only toy to really get the right colour pattern for our dear old Skywarp. In contrast, there's the Combiner Wars leader Skywarp which just gets it wrong. It gives him a purple chest, completely ruining the illusion of his chest being a warped version of his alt mode's nosecone. Granted, robot mode chest on the MP mold was always wonk looking but at least the colour's right. And the MP jet mode is just amazing looking. It was always the better mode, same with the G1 toy, and the colours just rock.
Hasbro went all out on Armada Skywarp and I really want to highlight that. They gave him a new headsculpt, new cockpit laser cannons, new wing turbines and a new Mini-Con partner. And while Armada Strarscream's deco strayed very far from his G1 self, Skywarp was a beautiful blend of the G1 black and purple but applied to his new Armada look. I know there are big fans of that mold out there and this is the best rendition of the mold bar none.
1. Earthrise Skywarp
Everyone likes the Classics seeker mold but there was definite room for improvement (height for one) with Skywarp being most in need of a redo due to the odd bright prune colour choice by Hasbro (and odd paint quality by Takara). But Earthrise came through for us with a loyal deco to the G1 cartoon on an excellent mold. I know I was weary since Hasbro's deco choice for Siege Skywarp was God awful but seeing those perfect colours of Earthrise Skywarp in hand almost made me forgive the odd choice for a screaming headsculpt. Plus, unlike the MP, the cockpit chest is tapered in the right direction (down). This is my definitive Skywarp.
Honourable Mention: I just wanted to note the really nice job the now defunct Transformers Club did for their homage to Armada Skywarp using the Generations Armada deluxe Starscream mold.
Several of the original voice actors from the Transformers Beast Wars show will be coming together to talk with us and we need some questions. So far we have Garry Chalk, Lee Tockar, Alec Wilows, David Sobolov and Doug Parker. So if you have a question for the cast in general or a question for a specific cast member, let us know. We can't promise it will be used, it is a roundtable discussion that will flow at the pace the voice actors decide. The video will then be uploaded as a future news story for you all to see. The roundtable discussion will be supervised by me and moderated by Jon Bailey, so we will have not one, but two Optimus Primes in one sitting (even though this won't be about Optimus Prime).
We will be taking questions written on our boards, as a reply to this post, as well as any questions found in the Facebook comments for this post.
Here are a some sample questions to get us going:
For the Whole Crew: What impact did Beast Wars have on your career? When looking back at your time on the show, what are you most fond of?
For Gary Chalk: Your voice for Optimus Primal is similar to your natural voice, with a bit more gravitas. Was there ever an attempt, either by your or as an ask from the production, to make it closer to the G1 incarnation of Optimus Prime?
For Lee Tockar: Was the idea for having Ravage sport a Russian-style accent yours or the studio's? And was it a nod to the fact that Ravage was a soldier in a totalitarian regime?
For David Sobolov: Is your Depthcharge voice the same voice you would have used if you were cast as Batman?
With there being buzz again for a new Transformers film, I thought of starting this ranking which will update through the years as more movies get added. This ranking consists of theatrically released Transformers films. Be sure to let us know your ranking too.
Ranking of the Transformers Films with Theatrical Releases
7. Transformers The last Knight
With the previous film steering things in the right direction by finally having the robots actually feel like characters and not just background noise, I was legitimately excited for this film. Megatron was coming back as well with the best design we had seen for him so far in the series and it looked like Optimus could finally be the prominent character in the film, especially based on the marketing. I mean, you look at this and Optimus is the last knight, right... RIGHT?!?!?!?!
Wrong!
The last knight is Mark Wahlberg. You wondering why? Well it's because he doesn't have sex a lot. They spend some minutes discussing that very thing. Oh and Optimus, the guy on the poster? Not in the film much. The last film ended with him setting off on an awesome revenge mission in space and this one opens with the film showing us that he wasn't really made for deep space flight. This film is a dud with the most uneven tone of the entire series. Like having some really raw and visceral medieval action intercut with Stanley Tucci being a clown as a drunk Merlin. Tone deaf, truly tone deaf. There's just so much wasted potential here. Evil Optimus? Lasts for just six minutes. Cool new Megatron? Not there much, plays second fiddle to Quintessa. Barricade returns? Taken out without Bee even needing to transform. Unicron is planet earth? Not gonna focus on that too much. Cog is called a headmaster? He never transforms into anything and is just a butler robot. The submarine is a Transformer? Never transforms. Bee can finally talk again? He does, after we were told that he still can't, and after his two second speech he goes back to the radio voice.
This doesn't feel like a Transformers movie in the least. It looks like one of the writers in the writer's room had an Arthurian legend descendants script in the works and the rest of the writers just added Transformers to it. This film is just a junk fest of scenes and random ideas put together, avoid it "no matter the cost".
6. Transformers Dark of the Moon
My issue with this film is that it is so damn boring. Like mind numbingly so. The Transformers hero characters are relegated to the background here, even in the fight scenes and they seem to have no agency. The Wreckers are there for 2 minutes of screen time and mostly in the background of those 2 minutes. This is not a joke. The montage scene of Sam looking for a random job lasts longer (it lasts for 4 minutes). And I absolutely hate how they have to write ridiculous reasons for Optimus not to join a battle (and thus save some money on CGI), like getting tied up with ropes. It just makes this huge blockbuster feel so cheap. Speaking of Optimus, any hint of that noble warrior is gone here and he's just a murderer. I get that he is beyond pissed off in Age of Extinction, which gives a reason for his overly rash behaviour, but we don't have that here. Just a murder machine who executes his mentor by shooting him in the head point blank. That particular scene does not make him look heroic in the least. And once again, Megatron plays second fiddle to another villain. Also, the studio insisting on Leonard Nimoy to say his famous Spock line in the context of villainy made me want to hurl. Although the "homage" to the Columbia shuttle tragedy is probably worse.
5. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
One thing that pisses me off to no end with these films is the total disregard for the robot characters. The live action films treat the robots as just random characters we don't need to know much about and the constructicons are a great example of this. We see them in the beginning, they aren't introduced nor so they talk among themselves to establish anything. And then later in the film, we see Devastator, who you'd think would be made up of those constructicons. But he isn't. Instead, he is made up of construction vehicles lying around a pyramid which suddenly merge together into devastator. And during that time, you have the constructicons from the beginning fighting the Autobots. It's like the writers and filmmakers are going out of their way to show how little any of this means to them. The writing is beyond poor in this film with one of the key plot points being that only a Prime can defeat the Fallen, the villain of this film which Megatron plays second fiddle to. And while Optimus does beat him after getting some parts from Jetfire, I don't see why it had to be a prime and not just any other bot who was jacked up on extra parts.
And I hate how terribly cheap the film looks with its obvious cost cutting methods. There's an important scene where Optimus is resurrected and it's entirely obscured by a tarp.
All that said, there are some good things in this film. For one, Megatron's looks are a step up here in robot mode. I like how the tank treads incorporate into his feet and the asymmetry of his arms adds a real creepy factor. This look is the one that has remained the most iconic for Megatron's Bayverse tenure even though he changed look in every film. Also, that forest battle scene is pretty incredible. Not just because it is well done, but it lasts long enough for it to become this small pocket in the history of Bay films where the robots are the main characters. Sure Sam runs around, but he serves his purpose as indicating to the audience just how different Autobot and Decepticon ideologies are. In that scene, Sam is there not as a main character but just as a means to share more info about the robots to the audience, no matter how basic that info is (Auobot good, Decepticon bad). It's an awesome 3 minute scene that you can watch again and again on youtube with no need for what comes before or after and none of the films previously mentioned have something this good.
4. Transformers Age of Extinction
This film gets kudos for actually trying to fix major issues from the previous films. For one, the bots actually feel like characters with their own personality traits. Optimus is a full fledged character here, well at least as much as any of the human characters. Sure, it's the murder machine version of the character, but at least you know where he's coming from. All the Autobots get several lines of dialogue. I remember Protoman (a reviewer on youtube and a friend) reviewing the Drift figure and saying that the character probably wouldn't have more than two lines of dialogue in the film and this film proved him (and many others) wrong. Were they good lines? I'm not even going there, I am just happy these characters have lines. And speaking of the Autobots, they are colour coded this time around to make the action scenes easier to follow. And there are some pretty kick ass action scenes, be it Hound and Bumblebee's last stand, Optimus Against Galvatron, Optimus against Lockdown, the dinobot charge, flying around Chicago, Bee vs Stinger atop the robotic Pterasaur, lots of fun stuff. Plus the villains are good here. The bounty hunter Lockdown is rather threatening and I really liked Kelsey Grammer as an 80s type villain that is just obviously evil. We even get scenes of just the Transformers heroes talking and figuring things out with no human in sight. Crazy, I know!
3. Transformers (2007)
In comparison to the rest, there isn't much to say here other than I think it was a good first outing for a franchise branching out into a new era. Sure, the humans take centre stage for most of the film but it serves as an introduction to the brand and the new mythos of this interpretation. It does an ok job at what it's trying to do even though Bay's live action style was never something I was overly fond of, especially the idea that really cool stuff will be relegated to the background and that the Transformers are secondary characters with action told from a ground witness point of view. It was fine for a first film and that point of view even works well in that military desert scene vs Scorponok but I feel what worked for one film did not work for the entire franchise. And the CGI still holds up, which is quite an achievement and it shows just how cutting edge the film was when it first came out.
2. Transformers The Movie
This film is really special and I haven't cracked the code as to why it works so well for so many of us. I just know for a fact that it is extremely captivating to kids (Or those who watched it when they were kids). The drawings are gorgeous and the animation is good. It holds up very well and you can definitely tell that this is a movie rather than another episode of the show to the point where going back to the show will feel like a downgrade after seeing it. It also feels truly epic. You feel the stakes. I feel it does waver off a bit after Galvatron's initial attack with the remaining autobots, where three parties are split off into new worlds, but everything comes back together for a grand finale. The part of the writing that I find rather impressive is everything to do with Galvatron. It's not easy to bring about the idea of a different character also being a new version of an old character, and to do that without that becoming the main plot you are telling. Here, I feel they do it effortlessly. I love how Galvatron retains the memory of his previous self and is proud of his achievements, yet you see that this is a new persona at the same time. Just wonderful stuff all around.
1. Bumblebee
This may not be a revolutionary movie for most, but to me it proves that the Transformers franchise can truly inhabit the world of classic live action films without any mockery. The film itself is excellent for what it is, an Amblin film for today's generation of kids. It goes for the 80s aesthetic all the way by not only making it the setting, and giving the robots the more classic look and feel of that era, but also in giving us a film that feels a product of that era of film making and storytelling, like ET.
I love the world building etched into the dialogue. Like how Bee's sentencing by Blitzwing shows Megatron's ideals of "Peace through Tyranny". That first segment with Bee coming to Earth is just so beautifully done. That was originally how the film began in the script, when there was no Cybertron scene and while I think that Cybertron scene is all kinds of fun, I am really impressed at what Bee's arrival on Earth accomplishes in terms of storytelling and aesthetics for this new breed of live action Transformers films. They show us how Bumblebee scans and transforms and how that changes his own aesthetic through an action scene. Right after that it shows us just how bad the odds are against the autobots with the battle against Blitzwing. We see the advantage a flier has over a bot that can only transform into a car and and there are some nice shots contrasting their size, mirroring the larger war at hand. I love how Bumblebee goes to destroy his flight mechanism to ground him first. Plus how that fight finishes shows how the Autobots had to get crafty to survive and continue fighting.
We get some more awesome fight choreography at the end against Dropkick and Shatter, and the filmmaker even throws in a few moments of showing how a Transformers fight differs from other robots fighting, with using their transformation abilities as they fight. Plus you've got a great soundtrack and good human characters, and a solid performance from John Cena (who has BY FAR the best line in the film). I am just very happy this movie came out by the time I had kids (a boy and girl) since it's a great way to share this brand I love so much with them within the modern slew of entertainment. It's the Transformers film I can truly recommend to anyone and everyone.
This is the issue where Dinobot turns and I think it sucks. There, that's the review in a nutshell. Of course, I will dive more into it but that's all this issue will be about because for the most part, that's all that happens. I don't mind that this is all that happens, but if the idea of a longer format retelling of a familiar story is to get more from the characters, this issue really fails at that. The golden rule for visual mediums is to show and not tell. And here we get both show and tell, with Dinobot giving a ridiculously long speech that is essentially the same line over and over again said slightly different as he battles his way through his Predacon brethren. And it becomes pretty one note fast. Which is a major insult to Dinobot, a character that I always felt was the opposite of one note. What is awesome about Dinobot is that in the show, it always felt like the Maximals still had a Predacon amongst them. Here he is reduced to basically already being a maximal, a warrior with the heart of gold spouting some quotes of honour. One of the most layered characters in all of Transformers history now reduced to a trope, it's sad.
It also makes no sense in the story. He's been with Megatron's crew for a while, he knows how deviant Tarantulus is and how bloodthirsty Terrorsaur is and he stayed around. But now I guess he has to join the Maximals for it to be like the show, so let's quickly make that happen now that they have crash landed. I realize now how smart the original show was to have him be rejected from the Predacons rather than leave of his own accord. Because or else, it just doesn't make as much sense. And I really thought he wouldn't "turn" so early, and we'd have time to see him interacting as a Predacon with the other Predacons but that's not the case.
There's a trick to knowing if the characters feel true to me, it's having them speak as the voice actor while I read it. It works for Rhinox, most of the Predacons (especially Megatron, yesss) and Rattrap. But not with Dinobot, nor Cheetor and not Optimus Primal. I said in the last review that we are seeing how his changes to his character have repercussions and how it could be interesting but now it's getting annoying. I don't mind him being more adventurous than before but here he sounds like an idiot and by no means a leader of any sort.
And the art hasn't changed, so if you didn't like it, nothing here will change your mind. I personally do not like it and I find the changes to Dinobot's look with the extra spikes really odd. Those spikes aren't even thematic to his beast mode, so what gives? There are a few other shortcomings in the storytelling. During the fight between Dinobot vs his 6 fellow Predacons, there is a lack of fluidity in action shots where a lot happens in the gutter (between the panels). So in one panel you'll see him facing the team at more than arm length away, and in the one right after you have Terrorsaur landing on Scorponok after being thrown. John Burcham is great at dynamic scenes, like the fights in last issue, but he feels shortchanged here. Instead of better fluidity in the fighting, we get a page dedicated to doors being shut. Yay.
I was ok with the series so far but this is the worst issue yet and I have yet to see a reason for this series to exist. But hey, that retail incentive cover by Josh Perez is pretty kick ass!
Every month now, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor, or a guest. That's the case this month where fellow Seibertronian Kurona wrote this list. These are our opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Worst IDW G1 Transformers Stories
For many years, the IDW Generation One comics have been a gift to its readership. Entertaining battles and interesting new spins on old characters are a standard of any good Transformers series; but the IDW comics stand out in particular for being aimed at an older audience than usual - hence we've been challenged with darker material, philosophical questions, political allegories and deep character studies the likes of which we have never had in the franchise before. Among all this sophistication, however, it's sometimes easy to forget that the company has unfortunately put out some very, very bad stories in its time. Let's count down what are arguably the 5 worst IDW Transformers stories!
5. Combiner Wars
As time has gone on, my opinion on this crossover has lightened up a bit as it does have quite a few good points. We have some fantastic action courtesy of a very unique style of combiner battles, we get to see Starscream's political machinations behind the scenes continue to wreak havoc on society, and this arc did provide the true beginning to the Colony Worlds story that makes the Windblade books and Till All Are One so good.
Neither did most the comic, Superion
However, these are not enough to save this crossover - only enough to put it at the top of the list rather than the bottom. This was a scary event from the outset as it put interference from Hasbro at an all-new high - while IDW did advertise some of Hasbro's Universe/Generations toys before, generally it was at a much lower rate compared to the usual amount of salesmanship Transformers fans are used to and they were allowed to continue their stories with only a couple new bodies or background characters to show for it. However, Combiner Wars saw fit to shove in as many toys as it could at an alarming rate, even to the expense of interesting concepts like the Prowl-controlled Devastator getting shelved for the sake of showing off the new £150 Titan-Class toy. An attempt at focus in the storyline seems evident but we can barely keep up as the titular gestalt scuffles rage not once, not twice, but three times over the course of but a few issues when the political and religious ramifications of Cybertron coming into contact with Caminus should be at the forefront. 'Combine' that with an unprecedented amount of scripting and art errors and it's easy to see why many fans at the time took to calling this the worst arc of the post-Death of Optimus Prime era.
- Kurona
4. Infestation
This is a bit odd because it technically isn't a Transformers story - well, it is, but the actual Transformers part is just one aspect of it. The actual story is based around, as far as I can tell, two of IDW's original franchises - CVO: Covert Vampire Operations and Zombies vs. Robots. A prelude of multiversal nonsense has zombies invade multiple universes in what was at the time billed as the biggest crossover event of IDW as a company, with zombies infesting various of their licensed universes - G.I. Joe, Ghosbusters, Star Trek and, of course, Transformers. This isn't the first time IDW Transformers has done a cross-continuity crossover, but it is notable for being the only one of the two that stayed canon and had effects on the universe going forward.
Kup and Cyclonus both sum up my feelings
And as one might have guessed, the two-issue segment of Infestation containing the Transformers is pretty bad! Transformers does not lend itself well to the threat of undead flesh. The whole point of zombies as a horror trope is that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try to stop it; it is slowly coming for you, it will get you, and everyone who falls in its path will be added to its ranks. It's very chilling, and while in recent years Zombies in horror movies have arguably not been used to their best potential - that's a top 5 worst list all on its own - it's still very possible to make them very scary with a human element. Not with a giant-robots-from-outer-space element. You can't possibly fear for the Autobots here as the best the zombies can do is weakly slap their metal before getting kicked away or obliterated by a photon blast, and even in the story Wheeljack uses their advanced technology to make sure they can't even get to the humans beyond a small portion of Las Vegas! But even beyond that faulty premise the story does not inspire confidence. Galvatron and Prowl are both wildly out of character, very weak "it's magic, we don't have to explain it" reasoning is used for the main villain to pose a threat to Cybertronians, and a potentially interesting look at Kup's mental health following Everything in its right place (a very good Transformers story I can recommend) is pulled out of nowhere by trying too hard to link the undead to what happened in his Spotlight and resulting in a rather pointless sacrifice to stop villains we don't care about from a universe we don't care about. Maybe CVO and Zombies vs. Robots are interesting franchises, I don't know; but it really had no business being here.
- Kurona
3. 2019 IDW Reboot Series
You know what's worse than something bad? Something boring. And this series is the most boring piece of Transformers fiction I ever read. At any point that it picks up an inkling of momentum, it then shifts into an all talk issue leading to absolutely nowhere. I swear I never read a comic with so many panels of Transformers just talking while walking up or down some stairs.
Here's a shot from issue 7
Now one from issue 8
By 10 we at least get to see some actiOH My God STOP!
And this was supposed to be a bold new era of Transformers fiction. Give me a break!
- william-james88
2. All Hail Megatron
Ah, All Hail Megatron. Now we're getting to the big leagues. For those that have only started reading IDW in the past few years, a quick history lesson - when IDW first got the license to Transformers back in 2006, the infamous and well-loved among the fandom writer Simon Furman was given full reign to create whatever story he liked with nothing to hold him back. And it was, in fact, rather interesting and a Transformers story unlike what we had seen before. Full emphasis was put on 'robots in disguise' as Autobots and Decepticons alike made sure to hide themselves from humans at all cost. Darker, more complex morals for the Autobots were introduced with an Optimus jaded by the war and implied to not have the matrix. Megatron played the long game with an infiltration protocol that had the Decepticons pervade a world's politics and society before destroying it and taking over. Lesser-used characters like Hardhead and Doubledealer became big players alongside new concepts like Sunstreaker being a Headmaster. This was no Shakespeare, but it was a great breath of fresh air for the franchise.
Kup once again asks the important questions
So you can probably understand why the fans who loved this little era were not appreciative when All Hail Megatron came around. Suffering sales forced IDW to bring in a whole new direction and soft-reboot for the title as Shane McCarthy took over writing duties. So what was this fresh new direction? What wellspring of new ideas came from a writer new to the series? Well, the Decepticons abandon all subtlety and take over Earth. And suddenly have technology that in previous stories was stated to be extremely rare and lost to the ages. And then the Autobots come and defeat them. Oh, and Optimus has the matrix and there's an original character who is a samurai Decepticon turned Autobot in there somewhere. Disregarding the AHM: Coda series which attempted to patch this up - and in some parts was rather good - this plays out essentially like a bland, standard, by-the-books G1 episode or action movie with a superficial gritty overlay. Little characterisation is given or focused on beyond Ironhide's newfound want for punching everyone and everything, and I constantly ask why I don't stop reading this and put on the 1986 movie instead. At least that one had the bravery to actually kill off important characters to increase tension! Oh sure, it was purely to sell toys, but it's a heck of a lot better than this! At the end of the day, this is a story that tries to pretend it's mature and gritty but instead has no new ideas, nothing important to say, no risks to take, and comes off as a watered-down version of an 80s movie whose express intent was selling toys.
- Kurona
1. Revolution
It was a little difficult for me to put this ahead of things as cynical as All Hail Megatron, as you do feel a real passion here. One of the great things about all the creative teams on the modern IDW Transformers comics is that you can feel a true love for the franchise and the series they're writing for - this isn't just a day job for them, this is something they want to do and something they adore doing. And as an aspiring writer myself, I can kind of see how they thought this could be a fun idea - much as the concept has arguably been overdone after Marvel's movies proved it could be successful, an expanded shared universe does bring in a lot of positives. You're able to explore a lot more areas of your world and universe and focus on a lot of different things at once without getting in the way of each other all the time. Your franchise can bring in a lot of different readers looking for a lot of different things. You can have some great crossovers with some entertaining team-ups and history if you really work well at it!
No, Optimus, apparently no-one in this comic can
But it's hard to see how one could start up a shared universe worse. I'm not entirely sure how much I have to criticise this here - of the six franchises involved, four of them have no history and have either just started up a few months prior or are starting in this very book. It... the premise speaks for itself. This is probably not going to go very well. Between having to start up MASK, restart G.I. Joe and show what exactly is going on with the Transformers; Micronauts and Action Man barely get to show up at all in the crossover while ROM does show up... and acts completely out of character in the first issue by killing someone without trying to explain why (trying to explain being something he had consistently done in his own comic up until this point) to set up artificial drama and conflict in the second. As crossovers go, this is badly thought out. While the focus has to be on some group and you can't be perfect in your distribution; you should at least try and give equal focus to each party involved in the crossover and make sure to represent them correctly. Instead we got a trigger-happy moronic G.I. Joe randomly shooting at the Autobots in what is... probably the 1,673th time in this franchise humans don't understand there are good robots (despite their predecessors in the EDC making such a distinction and going about things far, far better in more interesting ways for the story), ROM being an idiot, a bulk of focus being given to MASK characters who at the end of the day don't really contribute anything to the story, and Action Man and the Micronauts only arriving at the last second to give too little joy too late. The final battle should be an awesome sight to behold - all these iconic characters people have grown up with over the years banding together for the very first time to fight a threat none of them can hope to face alone. But the actual action panels are a mess with too much happening to make out anything that's going on - not helped by the art which is decent at best, and distorts characters like Victorion and Arcee beyond recognition at worst - and even if they were good by the time you got to Issue #5 you're so exhausted from the terrible quality of the preceding issues and trying to make sense of what I can only generously call a plot that it's difficult to feel any investment or care.
I really did try to like Revolution. I really did. And you know what? I like the shared universe! The miniseries Revolutionaries alone has proven its merits, some of the books (especially Micronauts) are pretty damn good, we've got what looks to be a decent, small-scale crossover between Transformers and ROM coming up, and despite the fears many fans had; the Optimus Prime ongoing has had minimal effect on its stories by the shared universe while the other two ongoings (Till All Are One and Lost Light) go on as if it never happened. The shared universe is working out fantastically, and if any readers left because of Revolution - something I can't be surprised by and something I really can't blame you for - I absolutely urge you to pick up these ongoings you loved again, because they're still great and Revolution has not hurt them in the slightest.
But as a comic? As a story? As a crossover? As something I can pick up to read and try and enjoy and have fun and hopefully get invested in some new characters and comics? Revolution is an objective failure in almost every area, and I am sorry to say that it is the worst story in the IDW G1 continuity that at the time of writing has ever been put out.
- Kurona
Dishonourable mentions:
Dark Cybertron is yet another unfortunate example that shows IDW sadly, for whatever reason, can't make a good crossover. It wasn't awful and I would certainly recommend it to you over anything on this list, but it was a very long very boring story that, contrary to a lot of modern IDW's strengths, required you to know a lot of backstory and seemed to exist for the pure purpose of tying up loose threads from when Furman left the series. Still, it does provide some good lines, some good team-ups (Whirl and Arcee, Rodimus and Optimus), and managed three incredible twists at the end - two of which it seemed like Hasbro would never let IDW do - that paved the way for amazing stories and have not been undone since.
New Avengers/Transformers, on the other hand, is so stupendously bad it almost got a spot on this list. I decided against it as Infestation is one multi-continuity crossover enough for the list and unlike that one, this has the good grace to be non-canon to both franchises involved. But it is still a mess. Some cool ideas like Iron Man getting a bigger suit to be on-par with the Decepticons and a neat homage to Marvel Transformers #3 aside there are almost no good points to be found here; the art isn't particularly outstanding, character motivations seem to come and go (ESPECIALLY with Dr. Doom), the plot is standard and boring and almost nothing interesting comes of the team-ups. But hey, I got to mention Dr. Doom and Iron Man in a Transformers list, so I'll give it that.
Also, while the Heart of Darkness limited series is related to the Infestation event that is already on the main list, I wanted to make special mention of it here for adding terrible art to an already completely uninspired story.
Every month now, Seibertron.com brings you a Top 5 list related to all things Transformers written by me, your fellow editor. These are my opinions (just like movie or game reviews hosted by sites are still just the opinion of one person) so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and I hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.
Top 5 Best Arcee Transformers Toys
2020 was the year of Arcee since we had a toy of this character in every line. We got one in Masterpiece, Studio Series, Cyberverse and Generations. So clearly, we now have enough toys to get a decent Top 5 list going on. Here we go!
5. Cyberverse Deluxe Arcee
Arcee was a super fun character on the show, especially thanks to voice actress, Jaime Lamchick, and the toy conveys her lax and gunslinging personality well. Greatly posable, real dynamic, and hey, she comes with an actually useful Maccadam part (hammer!), and unlike other Arcees out in 2020, this one has a manageable and actually accurate backpack.
-notsoalex
4. MP-51 Masterpicee Arcee
The vehicle is absolutely PERFECT. All the details are there. Despite the arms hanging a bit low, the car roll flawlessly. The interior is perfectly detailed, down to even a painted dashboard! Transformation is long and hard, but surprisingly not frustrating. Also, everything felt SOLID in hand with nothing seeming fragile or about to break. |We end up with a pretty nice fembot with a backpack that is not too bad in person, considering that the car mode have NO sacrifices. Obviously, Arcee is back heavy and it limit some poses. The chest and high collar is an odd design choice but it's not too bad, she's still worth every single cent that I paid. Could this Arcee be better? Maybe yes, but some choices had to be made. Here, it's the vehicle mode that got priority so the robot is a bit compromised with her backpack. Regardless, I highly recommend this official MP.
- Kanrabat
For the Prime line, certain characters were released twice in totally different molds at the begining. There was the First Edition (FE) version that was supposed to come out first in some sort of exclusive capacity followed by a Robots in Disguise (RID) mold that was meant for a more general release. For most bots, there is a clear winner between the two versions, but not Arcee. It turns out both her FE and RID molds are excellent and you can't go wrong with either of them to represent Prime Arcee in your collection. The RID version is a bit more accurate with her wings but the FE version has that nice complex transformation that adds some unique alt mode integration in the robot mode for the chest area. And both just look great!
-william-james88
We often get sleeker versions of earth based cars (like Cybertron Hotshot) that don't capitalize on the potential of designing vehicles from other worlds. This one totally fits the bill though. Unlike so many other alt modes, it bravely crosses the line between being a futuristic design to a full blown cybertronian one. It is a great homage to G1 Arcee which is followed through in robot mode and I like the added massive spoilers in the back. That detail gives it enough variation from the traditional Arcee model. Too bad it has exposed hands in vehicle mode though. Props go for it having that signature Arcee backpack without going the easy route and making this a shellformer.
-william-james88
While we have had several Arcees since this release, two more in the Generations line, this still feels like the best one. As a fan of Transformers toys, vehicle integration goes a long way and of all the Arcees with this G1 vehicle mode, this is the one that tries the hardest. While the backpack is unavoidable, the integration of the hips and chest means there is less to attempt to compact together in the back and you are instead left with what G1 Arcee would look like on the show if her backpack didn't magically shrink. The deco given by Takara just pushes it over the edge for G1 accurate goodness. It's a great toy all around and still the definitive Arcee to this date.
-william-james88
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