GuyIncognito wrote:Sabrblade wrote: He wasn't "looting ships for their booty", he was raiding resources
That's exactly what pirates did. They raided other ships for their resources. Contrary to popular movies, pirates weren't seeking fortune; they were mostly seeking food and resources.
A Samurai, on the other hand, is a high-ranking military class that served nobility.
If Bludgeon was sailing around space in a ship raiding other ships for resources, he was acting like a pirate, not a samurai.
Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
I cannot concur. At that point in time, Bludgeon was commander of the Decepticon army (assuming the position after Unicron's defeat), and his actions were strategic in nature. At that rate, Bludgeon's status would preclude him from fitting the given, romantic definition of a samurai, since no one outranks him (perhaps Shogun would be more appropriate?)
Of course, while privateers sailed in service of a nation during war (note that the designation of privateer vs. pirate is somewhat fluid),
some pirates became powerful enough to rival nations themselves.
To my mind, Bludgeon doesn't fit either of those archetypes, though. As I recall, the Autobots routed the Decepticon army and scattered it after Bludgeon broke their truce, but no other truce was made - the Decepticons, almost fully under Bludgeon's command, were still formally at war with the Autobots, and began attacking, pillaging, and terrorizing third parties as part of their ongoing war with the Autobots, and overall dedication to conquest (I don't recall Bludgeon getting through a single page without using some derivation of the word "conquer" at least twice). For what it matters, I don't recall him raiding for currency or necessities, I only remember him raiding ships and planets for technology, weapons, and sheer bloody-minded tyrannical sadism.
So, in my opinion, not samurai, not pirate.
But... given his adherence to a brutal warrior ethos, and leadership of a formally-recognized (but nomadic) large military force stealing military resources and terrorizing the locals, I see some parallels to the
Mongols.
Side Note - Many have already been mentioned, but I've had some thoughts about molds that might be used for Botcon:
Armada Demolisher (Eye Patch)
Armada Sea Minicon Team (Boats)
Energon Sharkticon (Boat)
Energon Slugslinger (Eye Patch)
Energon Mirage/Dreadwing (Boat)
Cybertron Shortround (Boat)
Cybertron Thunderblast (Boat)
Cybertron Dirtboss (Eye Patch)Animated/Movie Lockdown (Hook Hand)
Movie Terradive/Space Case (Tridents)
The suggestion that the pirates all need to be animals is interesting, and I'd like to see a mock up of
ThunderclashThundertron in Cannonball's colors, though I wonder if this could end up being a case of pirate vs. pirate - Cannonball's crew vs.
Thunderclash'sThundertron's crew - instead of our usual Autobot vs. Decepticon?
)
Then again, Gul or Baru would be better choices.
