The Energon Pub

[Randomhero]

Seems like Windblade is the autobot Sideswipe encounters/will encounter in E23.

Quite excited, and eagerly awaiting the rest of the season. Still curious about how the events of the comic's last page (Magnus, Arcee & Bulkhead being on earth) plays out in the show.

They'll play out the same way IDWs Beast Hunters comic did with Prime. They won't.

[Sabrblade]

Seems like Windblade is the autobot Sideswipe encounters/will encounter in E23.

Quite excited, and eagerly awaiting the rest of the season. Still curious about how the events of the comic's last page (Magnus, Arcee & Bulkhead being on earth) plays out in the show.

They'll play out the same way IDWs Beast Hunters comic did with Prime. They won't.

Yeah, the comics may be related to the show, but they don't dictate the directions it will go in. It's the show that'll influence the comics rather than vice-versa.

[Sabrblade]

About the finale eps, what is it with Hasbro Studios TF cartoons seemingly going nowhere for the bulk of their first seasons, only to to hastily and awkwardly shift into something important at the last minute for their season 1 finales?

Okay, sure, we did get some warnings from Optimus in this season, but they were so infrequent and sporadic as to have felt thrown in as an afterthought. There could have been so much more build up going on had the show decided to not focus solely on character-focusing fillers that rarely gave any attention to something resembling an ongoing plot. Forcing Megatronus into the story so late in the game just feels like the makers were like "Oh crud, we spent so much of this season doing random stuff we forgot to work in a final boss for it all to lead up to! Quick, throw something together and toss it into the end! Don't worry, we'll make it fit in somehow!" This is Unicron's hasty debut in Prime all over again. At least Dr. Morocco was introduced ahead of time in Rescue Bots season 1, but that final two-parter likewise could have had some better build up done for it.

[Starsaber468]

SEASON FINALE ALREADY! I HAVEN'T EVEN FINISHED HALF WAY THROUGH THE EPISODES SOMEONE HELP ME CETCH UP

[PrymeStriker]

About the finale eps, what is it with Hasbro Studios TF cartoons seemingly going nowhere for the bulk of their first seasons, only to to hastily and awkwardly shift into something important at the last minute for their season 1 finales?

Okay, sure, we did get some warnings from Optimus in this season, but they were so infrequent and sporadic as to have felt thrown in as an afterthought. There could have been so much more build up going on had the show decided to not focus solely on character-focusing fillers that rarely gave any attention to something resembling an ongoing plot. Forcing Megatronus into the story so late in the game just feels like the makers were like "Oh crud, we spent so much of this season doing random stuff we forgot to work in a final boss for it all to lead up to! Quick, throw something together and toss it into the end! Don't worry, we'll make it fit in somehow!" This is Unicron's hasty debut in Prime all over again. At least Dr. Morocco was introduced ahead of time in Rescue Bots season 1, but that final two-parter likewise could have had some better build up done for it.

Give the Prime Unicron arc some credit, they built up his presence over four episodes, molded his lore and importance through the season a little bit better than this series, and had it segue directly into the second season and its story arc. This finale is apparently shoving its villain into all of two episodes and it looks like the problem will be resolved at the end of the season without a whole lot of repercussion. Of course, this is mere speculation, but if the finale is anything like the pilot, this is gonna be really cringe-worthy.

P.S: Ultra Magnus, Bulkhead, and Arcee are in the comics? Well then, I guess we have a few hints as to which Prime characters are returning next season.

[NuclearConvoy]

About the finale eps, what is it with Hasbro Studios TF cartoons seemingly going nowhere for the bulk of their first seasons, only to to hastily and awkwardly shift into something important at the last minute for their season 1 finales?

Okay, sure, we did get some warnings from Optimus in this season, but they were so infrequent and sporadic as to have felt thrown in as an afterthought. There could have been so much more build up going on had the show decided to not focus solely on character-focusing fillers that rarely gave any attention to something resembling an ongoing plot. Forcing Megatronus into the story so late in the game just feels like the makers were like "Oh crud, we spent so much of this season doing random stuff we forgot to work in a final boss for it all to lead up to! Quick, throw something together and toss it into the end! Don't worry, we'll make it fit in somehow!" This is Unicron's hasty debut in Prime all over again. At least Dr. Morocco was introduced ahead of time in Rescue Bots season 1, but that final two-parter likewise could have had some better build up done for it.

Give the Prime Unicron arc some credit, they built up his presence over four episodes, molded his lore and importance through the season a little bit better than this series, and had it segue directly into the second season and its story arc. This finale is apparently shoving its villain into all of two episodes and it looks like the problem will be resolved at the end of the season without a whole lot of repercussion. Of course, this is mere speculation, but if the finale is anything like the pilot, this is gonna be really cringe-worthy.

P.S: Ultra Magnus, Bulkhead, and Arcee are in the comics? Well then, I guess we have a few hints as to which Prime characters are returning next season.

Hope that Ultra Magnus gets a new design and isn't just a prime clone.

[Sabrblade]

Give the Prime Unicron arc some credit,

No, I won't. It came out of nowhere without warning, hastily switching from a plot surrounding the development of Synthetic Energon that was just getting underway before it was abruptly interrupted by some apocalyptic prophecy that everyone (except us viewers) was somehow already aware of as though an episode had been skipped in the meantime or something... whereas this show at least has had Optimus drop a few hints of something forthcoming every now and then. And yet, those hints were too far and few as to properly build up this season finale that much better.

they built up his presence over four episodes,

One episode, you mean. He got one episode of building up to his debut, while the other three had his presence exposed and expressed with no more lead-in (as they really couldn't build up to him anymore since he was already around by that point).

molded his lore and importance through the season a little bit better than this series,

What, by saying his name in passing in the rare instances of explaining the Dark Energon's reputation? That's even less than what this show's season has done since RID has at least let us know that something is coming, whereas Prime never even hinted at the idea of Unicron coming prior to episode 23.

and had it segue directly into the second season and its story arc.

That's irrelevant to the point I was making, which was in regards to the story contents that precede, not succeed, the finale.

P.S: Ultra Magnus, Bulkhead, and Arcee are in the comics? Well then, I guess we have a few hints as to which Prime characters are returning next season.

Hope that Ultra Magnus gets a new design and isn't just a prime clone.

[PrymeStriker]

Give the Prime Unicron arc some credit,

No, I won't. It came out of nowhere without warning, hastily switching from a plot surrounding the development of Synthetic Energon that was just getting underway before it was abruptly interrupted by some apocalyptic prophecy that everyone (except us viewers) was somehow already aware of as though an episode had been skipped in the meantime or something... whereas this show at least has had Optimus drop a few hints of something forthcoming every now and then. And yet, those hints were too far and few as to properly build up this season finale that much better.

they built up his presence over four episodes,

One episode, you mean. He got one episode of building up to his debut, while the other three had his presence exposed and expressed with no more lead-in (as they really couldn't build up to him anymore since he was already around by that point).

molded his lore and importance through the season a little bit better than this series,

What, by saying his name in passing in the rare instances of explaining the Dark Energon's reputation? That's even less than what this show's season has done since RID has at least let us know that something is coming, whereas Prime never even hinted at the idea of Unicron coming prior to episode 23.

Well, you don't have to spell out that an impending doom is coming for it to be "built up." Viewers made the connection between a crapton of relics gravitating to earth like a magnet and Dark Energon's constant use to Unicron's presence on Earth. The recurring theme of season one, and into the next seasons, is an underlying question of "why is everything here, on Earth?" "Why are Cybertron and Earth so closely bonded?" "What's so important about this planet?" In the end, we find that out without them having to constantly shove the question up our nose. That just gets annoying after a while. For example, Optimus literally showed up last episode to say "oh, by the way, something's coming and I don't know what it is, kkthxbai."

It's like a lot of the later Doctor Who arcs that they shoved down our throat to lead nowhere. "He will knock four times" every half hour, "silence will fall when the question is asked" every 10 minutes, etc. Earlier arcs, however, were subtle and lead into the finale leaning on the expectation that the viewer figured out the clues and plot points themselves. Sure, every so often they'd be like "what is Bad Wolf?" "What's Torchwood?" "How does a planet just disappear?" but most of the time, you had to look for the thread. Bad Wolf written in German on a "bomb" or spray painted on the TARDIS, creatures casually stating in conversation that they're here because their home world is "lost." For me, those are the stronger forms of moving your arc along.

Was the Dark Energon/Unicron arc perfect? No. But it had the right pacing and the right plot threads to connect to what the season finale was intended to reveal. Not that Unicron was the big mean bad guy of the season all along, that wasn't the priority. It revealed Earth's significance to Cybertronian lore and its long history with its sister planet, a question we were asking throughout the series, in the beginning of the series, and frankly, throughout a lot of the franchise as a whole.

and had it segue directly into the second season and its story arc.

That's irrelevant to the point I was making, which was in regards to the story contents that precede, not succeed, the finale.

I would think that the events that precede it are just as important as those that succeed it, especially depending on if you're hastily wrapping up your story at the last minute or intending on continuing it in the form of a direct segue to the next arc.

I gotta say, though, they don't appear too terribly altered from their original models. I mean, I knew that prior because I read the TFWiki article, but I would assume that if they appeared on the show, there'd be a bit more simplifying to match the change in animation style. That is, if they show up at all.

[Sabrblade]

Well, you don't have to spell out that an impending doom is coming for it to be "built up."

Except, if they want us to know that something is coming, they need to actually let us know that it's coming before it happens, preferably before the episode immediately before it comes.

This show has tried doing that with Optimus's warnings, but they were so far and few that there needs to be more to them.

Viewers made the connection between a crapton of relics gravitating to earth like a magnet

That was all in season 2, not season 1.

and Dark Energon's constant use

Constant? It was only used in the pilot and a couple of midseason episodes prior to the last four. Episodes 1-5 and 13-15. That's 8 out of 22 episodes, with a big gap of another 8 episodes in between the two groups, followed then by another gap of 7 episodes before the inale. It was literally only in the very beginning, very middle, and very end of the season that Dark Energon was plot-relevant, with all of the rest of the meat of the season devoted to anything but Dark Energon.

The recurring theme of season one, and into the next seasons, is an underlying question of "why is everything here, on Earth?" "Why are Cybertron and Earth so closely bonded?" "What's so important about this planet?" In the end, we find that out without them having to constantly shove the question up our nose.

I don't think we watched the same season 1, since the only questions being asked that the finale answered was "What is Dark Energon doing erupting from Earth when all previous stockpiles of it originated from outer space?"

That just gets annoying after a while. For example, Optimus literally showed up last episode to say "oh, by the way, something's coming and I don't know what it is, kkthxbai."

That's a genuine issue I raise in that, while we do get hints from Optimus like that in this show, we need a greater presence to them that what we've gotten so far.

I would think that the events that precede it are just as important as those that succeed it, especially depending on if you're hastily wrapping up your story at the last minute or intending on continuing it in the form of a direct segue to the next arc.

Well, I can't talk about the succeeding events right now because I don't know what's to come after the finale, so I'm only going by what's known to come before the finale and am critiquing just the preluding material by itself as is.

As far as Prime was concerned, the stuff we got after the first finale was certainly better than what we got before, but that isn't doing the "before" stuff any favors.

I gotta say, though, they don't appear too terribly altered from their original models. I mean, I knew that prior because I read the TFWiki article, but I would assume that if they appeared on the show, there'd be a bit more simplifying to match the change in animation style. That is, if they show up at all.

The artist just drew the Prime models straight up. While the comics and show are going to be set in basically the same continuity, the two aren't going to be so tightly knit as to make us expect something from the comics to affect the cartoon or vice-versa.

[PrymeStriker]

Viewers made the connection between a crapton of relics gravitating to earth like a magnet

That was all in season 2, not season 1.

I'm referring to Metal Attraction, TMI (Stronger, Faster as a result), Deus Ex Machina, and Scraplets, all of which dealt with something from Cybertron, mostly relics, ending up on Earth.

and Dark Energon's constant use

Constant? It was only used in the pilot and a couple of midseason episodes prior to the last four. Episodes 1-5 and 13-15. That's 8 out of 22 episodes, with a big gap of another 8 episodes in between the two groups, followed then by another gap of 7 episodes before the inale. It was literally only in the very beginning, very middle, and very end of the season that Dark Energon was plot-relevant, with all of the rest of the meat of the season devoted to anything but Dark Energon.

With the episodes I've mentioned above and their threads, it makes 13 out of 22 episodes relating to the revelation at the end of season one. It's a loose story arc, especially compared to the second and third seasons, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Tighter arcs are generally better and more coherent, and probably would have benefited the first season, but we weren't entitled to it. The first season was still enjoyable for the smaller arcs going on and the episodes individually. And when it comes down to it, I personally didn't think or feel like I was missing anything by "One Shall Fall." I understood the concepts that they were trying to connect Unicron to without knowing he was going to be a threat.

In the same token, I can agree that the way they built it up in "One Shall Fall," they suggest that the Autobots (and Decepticons) knew something was coming all along. They certainly didn't act like it, and a result, that episode felt rushed as far as character anticipation was concerned. The problem, however, sort of lies on that one episode for jumping right into a plot the characters supposedly knew about. In that case, I compare it to the pilot of this series. The first episode was rushed to holy hell. All of our main characters ended up on Earth rather quickly and were bunched together in a blink of an eye, and before you could stop for breath, an impending doom was set upon Crown City. While the second episode had better pacing as a relief, the deux ex machina resolve didn't leave much to be satisfied with. With the Prime season finale, the lead-in episode rushed us right into the plot like with RID's part 1, but the rest of the finale's pacing was fine, and in contrast, the resolve wasn't contrived and had time to be thought out and achieved.

This was due to there being more episodes to explain and move the story along. The pilot wasn't made for two episodes. The story should have spanned across three, but they shoved it into two. I only fear the same thing for RID's finale. While Prime's build up was loose, the finale paced itself. I doubt RID is going to pace its own finale even with all the hint dropping, especially not in 44 minutes.

As far as Prime was concerned, the stuff we got after the first finale was certainly better than what we got before, but that isn't doing the "before" stuff any favors.

Well, as far as tighter arcs are concerned, that is.

The artist just drew the Prime models straight up. While the comics and show are going to be set in basically the same continuity, the two aren't going to be so tightly knit as to make us expect something from the comics to affect the cartoon or vice-versa.

Well, I do hope we see them and Ratchet next season, as it would be a nice reunion. Though, I wonder what Smokescreen and Wheeljack are up to?

[Sabrblade]

And when it comes down to it, I personally didn't think or feel like I was missing anything by "One Shall Fall." I understood the concepts that they were trying to connect Unicron to without knowing he was going to be a threat.

Thing is, though, you're Transformers-savvy. You're familiar with and used to the kinds of stuff that was going on at the time that that episode came about, whereas a new viewer with less experience than yourself would be more likely to be confused about what was going on when that episode started, since the previous two episodes had just begun a new plot thread about Synthetic Energon, only for this one to come along and begin en medias res with a completely different plot about some prophecy that's already underway and had everyone at the Autobot base (humans included) fully aware of its happening, with no proper segue of any kind to lead into it going in.

[psj333]

Does anyone here have a screenshot of a future episode of what Nightstrike`s official alt-mode will be like in the series?

[Sabrblade]

Does anyone here have a screenshot of a future episode of what Nightstrike`s official alt-mode will be like in the series?

No.

[psj333]

That`s fine, Sabrablade. But anytime, if you find any of them, please post them up for everyone to see. I am quite anxious to see what Nightstrike`s official alt-mode will be like.

[Sabrblade]

That`s fine, Sabrablade. But anytime, if you find any of them, please post them up for everyone to see. I am quite anxious to see what Nightstrike`s official alt-mode will be like.

Or, you could just wait for the rest of the show to air, like the rest of us are doing.

[Madeus Prime]

That`s fine, Sabrablade. But anytime, if you find any of them, please post them up for everyone to see. I am quite anxious to see what Nightstrike`s official alt-mode will be like.

As Sabrblade stated above, you're going to just have to wait and see like all of us. Despite the fact you think we know everything, what we say about this stuff, it's purely theoretical and conjecture as to what we see in front of us. And there's always the chance that we never will know some of the things you've asked us, and if you want real answers, ask the writers and designers at Hasbro about this stuff. And obviously, if a vehicle mode pic turned up for any Decepticon character, it'll be posted here, there is no need to ask.

[psj333]

Madeus Prime, we know that we are all waiting for future episodes to be posted online on dailymotion.com. But since Nightstrike hssn`t transformed yet in the series, I am quite curious to know what vehicle mode does Nightstrike have, no matter what. That`s what I`m most concerned about. Either we wait for the episodes, or we`ll find out at Botcon 2015.

[Sabrblade]

Madeus Prime, we know that we are all waiting for future episodes to be posted online on dailymotion.com. But since Nightstrike hssn`t transformed yet in the series, I am quite curious to know what vehicle mode does Nightstrike have, no matter what. That`s what I`m most concerned about. Either we wait for the episodes, or we`ll find out at Botcon 2015.

We definitely won't find out at BotCon since Hasbro Studios isn't going to have a panel there.

[NuclearConvoy]

Madeus Prime, we know that we are all waiting for future episodes to be posted online on dailymotion.com. But since Nightstrike hssn`t transformed yet in the series, I am quite curious to know what vehicle mode does Nightstrike have, no matter what. That`s what I`m most concerned about. Either we wait for the episodes, or we`ll find out at Botcon 2015.

We definitely won't find out at BotCon since Hasbro Studios isn't going to have a panel there.

Really, no TV show presence at BotCon?

[Sabrblade]

Madeus Prime, we know that we are all waiting for future episodes to be posted online on dailymotion.com. But since Nightstrike hssn`t transformed yet in the series, I am quite curious to know what vehicle mode does Nightstrike have, no matter what. That`s what I`m most concerned about. Either we wait for the episodes, or we`ll find out at Botcon 2015.

We definitely won't find out at BotCon since Hasbro Studios isn't going to have a panel there.

Really, no TV show presence at BotCon?

Not according to the schedule.

Some G1 voice actors and Animated's Derrick J. Wyatt will have panels, though.

[psj333]

Does that mean that Hasbro will never show up for Botcon 2015? Will they ever show up on this year's Comic-Con?

[Flashwave]

Before we get shut down, I'm gonna b honest, I never got Unicron out of Scavenger Hunt 1.0 and was quite happy with Prime's original comment about Earth having been a burial depot long before Humanity came along (Silurians? ) We had the Dark Energon to tue to Unicron, and while I dont feel it pointed to Unicron arriving the way he dis, in hindsight hat alone mde perfect sense.

and for the Prophecy, My impression was that this was something they had HEARD of, but no one had expected to be actually true. Prime was more aware of events going on becauee the Matrix was in his ear. He others, it was like our Mayan End of the World thing two years back, excet this time it was true. From that perspective, I think it not being brought up was fine, because none of the cast were particularly superstitious. If anyone, maybe some offhand comment by Prime to Ratchet about stars and futures, but thats all I think it needed.

Does that mean that Hasbro will never show up for Botcon 2015? Will they ever show up on this year's Comic-Con?

You better believe Hasbro will be there, they just don't talk TV. Remeber, Hasbro is in Providnce, RI. Hasbro STUDIOS is in California or somelace. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Point is, its not all one single entit in one location.

[PrymeStriker]

and for the Prophecy, My impression was that this was something they had HEARD of, but no one had expected to be actually true. Prime was more aware of events going on becauee the Matrix was in his ear. He others, it was like our Mayan End of the World thing two years back, excet this time it was true. From that perspective, I think it not being brought up was fine, because none of the cast were particularly superstitious. If anyone, maybe some offhand comment by Prime to Ratchet about stars and futures, but thats all I think it needed.

That's actually a good point. Don't why I didn't remember that, but that's pretty much what happened. The "prophecy" was something they'd heard of but didn't believe would come true. I do agree that an offhand comment would've worked in the finale's favor, but in the end, everything was fine.

[Sabrblade]

The prophecy's sudden relevance is what came out of nowhere. That the Autobots already knew about it since before the show began was fine. It's that they (and the humans) were already discussing it in regards to current events without it receiving any proper introduction to story.

It was as though everyone in the base was like "...So anyway, let's talk some more about this prophecy that we've already been discussing and-- Oh, hi there, viewers. Didn't see you come in, there. Sorry that we already got the plot started without ya, but feel free to stick around. *turns back to the others* So as we were saying, guys, this prophecy sure is important, isn't it...?"


When Beast Wars tried the whole Covenant prophecy thing in its final episodes, it felt less jarring there since the events being described by that show's prophecy were events that we, the audience, would have already seen happen in the previous episode, making that prophecy tie directly in with what that show had done up to that point.

This show, however, went from a cliffhanger ending with Knock Out hinting that he's going to be recreating his own batch of Synthetic Energon, directly into the middle of a completely unrelated story that had already gotten underway before the episode had even begun.

[Sabrblade]

Which episode aired this morning? Was it the correct one with the Malodor/Micronus plots or the one about Clampdown?