The Energon Pub

[sto_vo_kor_2000]

I actually liked season 3 for the most part. The core Autobot group of Rodimus, Kup, Arcee, Blurr, and Wheelie grew on me so much that they became my favorite group of Autobots. I also both hated/loved Galvatron for his super power strength and his obvious insanity. Another character (though more minor) that I really liked, was Octane. He was a Decepticon, but he did what he wanted and was friends with Sandstorm. He also had a run in with Starscream's ghost and teamed up with him for a bit. I also really like the episode where Grimlock got genius level smarts after being zapped by a super computer, and created the Technobots.

Sure some things about Season 3 could have been better. The writing was ALWAYS super cheesy. Those were just the times. They could have stopped killing Optimus 3-4 times. The zombie episode was enough, even if the fight part with Hot Rod was funny...the epic death of Optimus' sacrifice to save the rest of the Autobot fleet by acting as a decoy was wasted and became meaningless after Optimus returned again, just to die again later...

Season 4...well...let's just admit it. It shouldn't have existed at all. Season 4 should have started with episode 1 of the Japanese only Headmasters.

You’re making a few mistakes

Just start with grimlock was not zapped by a super computer
And Optimus did not come back and die three or four times

He came back in what you call the zombie episode, sacrificed himself and then came back for the return of Optimus prime and stayed alive he did not die again

[sto_vo_kor_2000]

Prime was only there in the rebirth because they had promised his return in the movie.

That's just it though, the end of the movie promises his return so it was before the backlash was really felt.

Oh boy, I mean no insult my friend but you really should look into the facts before you make the statements,
Both of these statements are extremely incorrect

First of all prime had already returned before the rebirth or did you forget the return of Optimus prime episodes?

Second they did the voice over because of the backlash not before the backlash is felt, you seem to be forgetting that The release date for the movie in the UK was nearly 4 months after it was released in the United States,

So the backlash was already well in play and the reason why they did the voiceover for the UK’s release of the film

[sto_vo_kor_2000]

Technically Re-G1 removed G2 from canon however (as well as a sizable chunk of the Superior UK TF series).

Technically you are incorrect, G2 is still Canon

Re-Gen1 is just another continuity splintering off the original G1 marvel, You could consider it an alternative universe

[ZeroWolf]

No insult taken the first bit was actually just me saying why prime was in rebirth, the movie was the first thing I thought of something I ran with it. I'm the type of person who responds without checking things out. Usually to my deferment but I always learn something new by doing it. Like I never knew about the voice over being a UK exclusive till it was mentioned in a reply to my post. I assumed it was added to the video release to do damage control (well it was damage control, just added to the theatrical UK release after the carnage hit)

[sto_vo_kor_2000]

No insult taken the first bit was actually just me saying why prime was in rebirth, the movie was the first thing I thought of something I ran with it. I'm the type of person who responds without checking things out. Usually to my deferment but I always learn something new by doing it. Like I never knew about the voice over being a UK exclusive till it was mentioned in a reply to my post. I assumed it was added to the video release to do damage control (well it was damage control, just added to the theatrical UK release after the carnage hit)

It’s always cool to learn new things

[AllNewSuperRobot]

So let's go to some real points of contention (1 of 2)

So what's the problem with IDW?

As I said, I was all onboard with IDWverse under Furman: -Ations, Stormbringer, the Spotlights et al and yet Aside from the standout LSoTW, ever since IDWverse has left me cold.

I'm not alone in my apprehension of IDWverse. Some are fans, some not. Sound off...

[ZeroWolf]

Haven't we covered this on all the other idw threads? Basically it delivered what some wanted, others didn't get what they wanted. The same thing happened in the marvel run (probably, it's unlikely that everyone loved it), it happened with dreamwave (I found them bland and trying to hard to be g1 redux...though their adaption of armada was fun and it was interesting seeing them trying hard to link up energon better (explaining why bots look different etc etc), would have been really good to see them try to connect cybertron but dw was run by thieves who just wanted to rip people off. People will argue about what direction the comics go in next and if someone else gets the license, then they'll be caught in the middle of warring fans as well

"One man's rubbish is another man's treasure" that's the best way to sum up the situation of fans and opponents of idw comics.

A friendly reminder though, opinions are not facts, there is no fact saying that idw is bad or not. Just opinions saying if we like it or not.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Haven't we covered this on all the other idw threads?

Irrelevant really. This about discussing a given subject within a defined space. If someone wanted to gauged opinion on a particular question, where would be the most expedient place to look? Scrolling through five or ten threads hoping to chance on some random lines or one point, specifically defined?

A friendly reminder though, opinions are not facts, there is no fact saying that idw is bad or not. Just opinions saying if we like it or not.

That's why I called this a discussion thread and not a 'rant' thread. A comment that blankly state: "It sucks" is meaningless. If someone can't articulate a point, like an adult, there is no real reason to provide your attention to their answer.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

Ok, I'll skip the obvious topic I was going to cover and move on to another controversial point.


So What's the problem with ANIMATED?

Contentious this one. I've certainly come across many within the Fandom that hated this purely due to it's stylised nature, yet did Animated actually do anything badly enough to garner hate?

[ZeroWolf]

Yeah it made prime a low ranked officer; -) I joke of course as I loved animated

[AllNewSuperRobot]

I think it took a bit longer to get into it's stride than most TF shows. Having human antagonists did create a bit of a disconnect too. That said, when the show went deeper into it's own lore IE Shockwave, Autobots being non-fliers etc then it really took off.

It's also a shame the proposed episode with Joe never materialised either.

[Rodimus Prime]

I loved Animated. I thought the story was good, the animation was back to kinda old school instead of what we had with Cybertron and Beast Wars, and I love the toys. The only BotCon I went to was 2011 and Animated was the theme. My only complaint about the Stunticon set we got is that they don't combine. I always hoped that a 3rd party company would make a kit that allowed them to combine and also turned into Motormaster's trailer in vehicle mode. It could have been repainted and used for Optimus, also allowing him to combine with Arcee, Jazz, Rodimus (or Sideswipe) and Lockdown.

As for hate, I think most people have a problem with the aesthetic of the series and how the Transformers look. It never bothered me.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

I always found this little tidbit fascinating in it's insight regarding Animated:

The lack of supervillains and human characters in general in season 3 is due to Hasbro requesting their removal
-Derrick Wyatt's panel at TFCon2009

[Burn]

Haven't we covered this on all the other idw threads?

Irrelevant really. This about discussing a given subject within a defined space. If someone wanted to gauged opinion on a particular question, where would be the most expedient place to look? Scrolling through five or ten threads hoping to chance on some random lines or one point, specifically defined?

Sounds easier than having to scroll through one thread for a particular discussion.

But what would I know about forums ...

[AllNewSuperRobot]

On Topic discussions now, please.

[Burn]

Oh no you didn't ...

seibertron-com-energon-pub-forum-rules-and-guidelines-t102927.php

We have four basic rules
1. No personal attacks/threats
2. No adult (18+) material
3. No discussion nor promotion of illegal activities
4. No pseudo-modding

[AllNewSuperRobot]

There is no "modding" here. It's a discussion thread, based on topics and as it went off-rails a bit early, trying to keep it that way. We're discussing Animated at the moment. That is all.

[Burn]

There is no "modding" here. It's a discussion thread, based on topics and as it went off-rails a bit early, trying to keep it that way. We're discussing Animated at the moment. That is all.

You just posted a directive to stay on topic. THAT is pseudo-modding.

And as for staying on-topic, how? It fluctuates on your whim it seems. I've seen a number of discussions that could easily take place in more topic specific threads.

But you know what the sad part is? I honestly had no problem with this thread, I simply made one comment and you gave me your snarky "on-topic" discussion which has resulted in this.

So guess what? I've said my piece, NOW we can return to the topic at hand (which apparently is Animated). If you wish to continue to oppose me over this, feel free to PM me.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

The Snarky comment was made before my polite request (hence the use of Gif and 'please') But, I digress.

Megatron was used in an interesting way in Animated IE for most of Season one he wasn't there at all, existing only as a tertiary character.

A lot of series fall fowl of having a given series revolve around "the popular ones". Funny thing is you make characters popular by using them. Every character is on an equal footing when they first debut. Note that the characters created specifically for Animated (Bulkhead, Lugnut et al) became popular enough from this series to gain inclusion in later media.

[Rodimus Prime]

A lot of series fall fowl of having a given series revolve around "the popular ones". Funny thing is you make characters popular by using them. Every character is on an equal footing when they first debut. Note that the characters created specifically for Animated (Bulkhead, Lugnut et al) became popular enough from this series to gain inclusion in later media.

I always thought Lockdown was the most interesting new character from Animated. I was hoping he would show up in Prime as well, but he wasn't used again until AoE. He was the most interesting character in that as well. I think he would make a great comic book character.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

I always thought Lockdown was the most interesting new character from Animated. I was hoping he would show up in Prime as well, but he wasn't used again until AoE. He was the most interesting character in that as well. I think he would make a great comic book character.

That's the funny thing, to me he fit so well into Animated I thought he was a pre-existing G1 character. Along the lines of Deaths Head or Hook, Line and Sinker. It's interesting that Blackarachnia and Waspinator have made the leap into other series sooner than Lockdown, as a bounty hunter should be easier to transfer into more series than Beast Bots. That's not to say they would have been done justice in Bayformers, of course. Lockdown was quite fortunate in that regard.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

So let's talk about a series I'm not fond of at all: The Unicron Trilogy.

When Beast Wars/Machines ended, came Car Robots. Back in the day I actually watched every episode subbed, as it aired in Japan. I loathe comic relief, so other than Gigatron, I didn't think highly of the show's antagonists. As it was only a stop-gap or "gaiden" TF series, I didn't have an overt problem with it. Even now (although I won't watch the RiD version) I have very little to say against it.

Then came Armada... I wanted to like this.
The game (on PS2 in 2004) I absolutely adore. I may even prefer it to High Moon's series and Devastation. If it had appropriate G1 skins and a completed final boss battle, it would be near perfect.
I like the concept of Minicons. Akin to the idea in the Beast Wars episode "Power Surge" IE with sufficient power, a Transformer becomes an army of one!

But the execution... The dialogue, re-used animations and worst of all, Humans unfortunately returned to the mythos. By the time the Galvatron=Megatron palette swap was introduced, it was losing me. By the time the awful CG was used, I was done.

So (in contrast to normal play) as this went on for a entire Trilogy, what was I missing?

[ZeroWolf]

The Japanese version of armada (micron legends?) Was superior to armada as the dubbed version was rushed (as in the Japanese version aired a little later) so a lot of animation errors were cleaned up. There was some neat things, the minicons were cool, especially the toys and armada starscream got a pretty good story arc a cut above what he had received till that point. We also got introduced to sideways, a Decepticon spy who revealed he was an envoy for Unicron all along. His toy could have been better mind, his gimmick was pretty cool as he had two minicons, which was his headmaster depending on which faction he was pretending to work for. The two minicons could also combine with each other to form a rider for his alt model and he had a third built in head for when he's being his true self.

[Rodimus Prime]

I just got some shivers remembering the time I got into Armada. Yes, I enjoyed that phase of Transformers in every aspect. Loved the toys and the comics, liked the show. I recently acquired the English subbed Micron Legends and will be watching it soon. And the PS2 game? I literally wore out a controller playing that game. I came up with so many different ways to play it, it was never ending. My girlfriend at the time was a huge gamer and even she was amazed how much replayability that game has. I rank it above both WfC and FoC, and it's definitely much better than Devastation!

The toys took me back to G1, as most of them were sturdy yet simple. I love the Micron concept, and I treated them like others treated Pokemon. Gotta catch 'em all!

I've always been a comic fan first, so I enjoyed the Armada comics a lot. I like Energon as well, too bad it never got finished. As for the Energon show, I didn't care. I watched it once and that's it. Same with Cybertron. I also saw both Super-Link and Galaxy Force, and even though I liked GF much better, I still never had the inclination to watch either of them again.

So as far as the Unicron Trilogy goes, I think it blew its wad with Armada/Micron Legends, and the rest is forgettable.

And since you mentioned them, I liked Robots in Disguise, but only watched it once. I did like the toys a lot, I think Super Fire Convoy is the 2nd best non-MP Optimus figure behind Leader class RoTF Prime. God Fire Convoy is great as well, but Magnus's brickness takes away from it being truly amazing.

And I think Beast Machines is the worst piece of garbage in the history of the franchise. It's as if James Roberts wrote it. The only thing I found interesting about it was Rhinox making a complete u-turn, and the reason he did it.

[AllNewSuperRobot]

I used to get at least one toy I liked the look of from most Transformers cartoons, even from the cartoons I wasn't really into. As a memento of sorts. This ended with The Unicron Trilogy and I haven't bought a single toy from any subsequent series.

G1 - I still have Galvatron and Ultra Magnus. Although I also bought the Seacons gift set not too long ago and I am quite fond of them.

BW - I bought all I could. More of the basic range from the first couple waves. The entire Transmetal line, except for Rhinox.. Who I wanted the most. Airhammer and Terragator from the Fuzors. TM2, I got Cybershark, Dinobot, Cheetor, Sonar, Ramulus, Tigerhawk and Megatron. I really wanted more of them, especially the basics, but they were quite scarce back then.

BM - Optimus Primal (first version), Deluxe Jetstorm, Ultra Jetstorm, Mirage, Scavenger and another one that I can't think of right now. The Vehicons were the only part of that line worth a damn.

Car Robots/RiD - Gigatron. A Ten Former. Nuff Said.

Unicron Trilogy - Ultra Magnus. He gave me a G1 vibe, he is massive and imposing.

Animated, Prime etc I didn't bother with. I'm really into aesthetic and if I don't like the visual design I won't buy the toy. Didn't like the more child-like Animated look, nor the Bayformers-like, no noses look of Prime.