The Energon Pub

Another post helped inspire this one. I have to wonder- aside from Prime and FOC would you as a Transformers fan be willing to support another Transformers toy line down the road, with or without a show, that redesigns and creates new versions of old characters that may or may not have already been perfected? See I find it difficult to imagine what's in store after Prime is over. Yes Transformers 4 is in development and will probably be released sometime after Prime ends but aside from that do you all think Hasbro is going to create ANOTHER series using the same old characters and story or do you think they'll come up with something different? I think one possible solution in this new age of "aligned continuity" or whatever they call it would be to not end Prime after all. I mean Prime is kind of supposed to be the current/new version of the Transformers story (seems G1 has been retired- as far as story is concerned) and the next logical step would be to continue the Prime storyline with or without the same characters. Where do you all think it's headed and would you as a fan support ANOTHER line of toys using the same characters we've gotten over and over again?

Continuing Animated would be the smoking gun for me. That's pure, untapped storyline, ripe for continuation.

But I feel Prime is a show that can just go ON and ON. I hope Prime lasts as long, if not LONGER than G1 EVER did.

I think you're on to something there. I think they will continue with Aligned/Prime for a good long while, likely with a new show and new toyline, sadly, for me at least, that means they'll be doing the same characters all over again (I don't see them continuing the series with new characters like they did for Beast Wars after G1, though it would be awesome if they did).

Hasbro is stuck in the idea of 'present day' Transformers (hence, the Autobots and Decepticons did not land on Earth millions of years ago etc. like they did in G1 and Unicron did not show up in 'the future' as he did in TFTM).

I think they are stuck on this concept of having the TF's interact with modern day humans, meaning no 'future' plots or far past 'fill in the gaps' continuities (other than the video games/books) which I can understand, since I guess it's more relatable for children, but in my opinion, transforming alien robots are cool enough to sell themselves without the human race getting in the way and without the annoying human sidekicks being forced into the plot.

I just want a TF show that has the mountains of characters that G1 had. Yes, it has a chance of giving smaller character development unless the series runs for decades, but it also opens doors for our beloved sub-factions to flourish once again. Protectobots, Predicons, Monsterbots, Minicons, Dinobots, Vehicons, etc. The groups that rarely get new toys, or even homages, because they're so obscure that only a TF series with too many characters has a place for them.

It's not that I wanna stick to G1 characters, but with the G1 formula of lots of characters/toys... that would be my ideal Transformer series.

As long as they're not Chinmasters like animated, noseless like Prime, or look like they eat babies like Bayformers.

orangeitis wrote:I just want a TF show that has the mountains of characters that G1 had. Yes, it has a chance of giving smaller character development unless the series runs for decades, but it also opens doors for our beloved sub-factions to flourish once again. Protectobots, Predicons, Monsterbots, Minicons, Dinobots, Vehicons, etc. The groups that rarely get new toys, or even homages, because they're so obscure that only a TF series with too many characters has a place for them.

It's not that I wanna stick to G1 characters, but with the G1 formula of lots of characters/toys... that would be my ideal Transformer series.

As long as they're not Chinmasters like animated, noseless like Prime, or look like they eat babies like Bayformers.

I'm with you there. More diversity wouldn't hurt at all, we haven't seen much of that lately. Even Beast Wars had a TON of characters and figures (though most weren't featured on the show). Prime feels more like a Movie line, with its limited number of characters and most 'new' non-show characters being repaints.

That all depends if these glorified 20 minute advertisements of the product delivers! Or should I rephrase that, if the product delivers on the advertisements.

Hasbro/Tomy should be very careful not to risk a potential "crash" in the market. Bad distribution, QC and too much repaints( not yet in Prime, not yet anyway............)

When they announced TF:P they said it would run for 10 years. Let's reopen this topic in 8...

I'm happy for TF:P to run and run. Constant reboots is slightly annoying.

xyl360 wrote:in my opinion, transforming alien robots are cool enough to sell themselves without the human race getting in the way and without the annoying human sidekicks being forced into the plot.

They have children (not adults) as sidekicks so that children can pretend to be part of the show cos maybe, just MAYBE they'll soon meet a Transformer and become that sidekick for realz.

Mykltron wrote:When they announced TF:P they said it would run for 10 years. Let's reopen this topic in 8...

I'm happy for TF:P to run and run. Constant reboots is slightly annoying.

xyl360 wrote:in my opinion, transforming alien robots are cool enough to sell themselves without the human race getting in the way and without the annoying human sidekicks being forced into the plot.

They have children (not adults) as sidekicks so that children can pretend to be part of the show cos maybe, just MAYBE they'll soon meet a Transformer and become that sidekick for realz.

That's on the nose. It ties into imagination. I don't think Hasbro's will give up that idea any time soon and let's be honest- Humans have been there since 1984 and are part of the TF universe, like it or not.

I predict a mass of continuous reboots featuring the same characters we've seen before, cycling forever onward until the end of time, or the world, or has/tak... whichever comes first.

Although I grew up obsessed with TFs in the '80's, playing with their toys and watching the show religiously, I wasn't into their comics. I didn't get into comics until the early '90's when I had already grown out of TFs, but I became obsessed with comics and have been ever since. So I've been used to their being one Marvel continuity (at least until the Ultimates line). So when I got back into TFs five years ago it was weird to me that their are multiple TF continuities due to multiple reboots. But for me and millions of other guys my age, the "real" TF continuity is still G1 and mostly the cartoon, like it or not.

I like TF Prime, though, but I'm sure it won't last more than a couple more years. Though I personally don't care for the constant reinventions of the franchise, I suppose it lends itself to its longevity. Its target audience is children, after all, and it makes sense that it has to reinvent itself every few years as kids grow out of TFs and the new audience needs a jumping on point. I do think the core cast of characters should always revolve around the classic characters; Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, BB, etc. A new character here and there is cool, but the Avengers has been around for 50 years and it always comes back to guys like Cap, IM, Thor, and Hulk, and that's the way it should be.

RhA wrote:

Mykltron wrote:When they announced TF:P they said it would run for 10 years. Let's reopen this topic in 8...

I'm happy for TF:P to run and run. Constant reboots is slightly annoying.

xyl360 wrote:in my opinion, transforming alien robots are cool enough to sell themselves without the human race getting in the way and without the annoying human sidekicks being forced into the plot.

They have children (not adults) as sidekicks so that children can pretend to be part of the show cos maybe, just MAYBE they'll soon meet a Transformer and become that sidekick for realz.

That's on the nose. It ties into imagination. I don't think Hasbro's will give up that idea any time soon and let's be honest- Humans have been there since 1984 and are part of the TF universe, like it or not.

When I was a kid in the 80's, I never imagined being a kid MEETING a Transformer and becoming its 'buddy' in real life. I imagined BEING a Transformer (ever wonder why they sell those 'battle masks' and TF blasters?).

Kids are the same way. They don't want to be a kid who meets the X-Men, they want to BE Wolverine. It's no different with Transformers, and I wish Hasbro would realize it.

We don't need stupid kiddie sidekicks in the X-Men or even GI-Joe. Kids don't say 'Let's pretend we're people who know the Transformers!', they say 'Let's pretend to be Optimus Prime and Megatron and have a battle!!!'.

Kids have very good imaginations. They don't need to see children on the screen to be able to relate to or enjoy the cartoons or the toys.

xyl360 wrote:

RhA wrote:

Mykltron wrote:When they announced TF:P they said it would run for 10 years. Let's reopen this topic in 8...

I'm happy for TF:P to run and run. Constant reboots is slightly annoying.

xyl360 wrote:in my opinion, transforming alien robots are cool enough to sell themselves without the human race getting in the way and without the annoying human sidekicks being forced into the plot.

They have children (not adults) as sidekicks so that children can pretend to be part of the show cos maybe, just MAYBE they'll soon meet a Transformer and become that sidekick for realz.

That's on the nose. It ties into imagination. I don't think Hasbro's will give up that idea any time soon and let's be honest- Humans have been there since 1984 and are part of the TF universe, like it or not.

When I was a kid in the 80's, I never imagined being a kid MEETING a Transformer and becoming its 'buddy' in real life. I imagined BEING a Transformer (ever wonder why they sell those 'battle masks' and TF blasters?).

Kids are the same way. They don't want to be a kid who meets the X-Men, they want to BE Wolverine. It's no different with Transformers, and I wish Hasbro would realize it.

We don't need stupid kiddie sidekicks in the X-Men or even GI-Joe. Kids don't say 'Let's pretend we're people who know the Transformers!', they say 'Let's pretend to be Optimus Prime and Megatron and have a battle!!!'.

Kids have very good imaginations. They don't need to see children on the screen to be able to relate to or enjoy the cartoons or the toys.

I think the difference in that example is that wolverine looks human. Kids know they can't be 20 foot tall metal aliens that turn into vehicles, so they want to be the next best thing.

That being said, if I were a kid I'd want to be Fowler.

crazyjeffy wrote:

xyl360 wrote:

RhA wrote:

Mykltron wrote:When they announced TF:P they said it would run for 10 years. Let's reopen this topic in 8...

I'm happy for TF:P to run and run. Constant reboots is slightly annoying.

xyl360 wrote:in my opinion, transforming alien robots are cool enough to sell themselves without the human race getting in the way and without the annoying human sidekicks being forced into the plot.

They have children (not adults) as sidekicks so that children can pretend to be part of the show cos maybe, just MAYBE they'll soon meet a Transformer and become that sidekick for realz.

That's on the nose. It ties into imagination. I don't think Hasbro's will give up that idea any time soon and let's be honest- Humans have been there since 1984 and are part of the TF universe, like it or not.

When I was a kid in the 80's, I never imagined being a kid MEETING a Transformer and becoming its 'buddy' in real life. I imagined BEING a Transformer (ever wonder why they sell those 'battle masks' and TF blasters?).

Kids are the same way. They don't want to be a kid who meets the X-Men, they want to BE Wolverine. It's no different with Transformers, and I wish Hasbro would realize it.

We don't need stupid kiddie sidekicks in the X-Men or even GI-Joe. Kids don't say 'Let's pretend we're people who know the Transformers!', they say 'Let's pretend to be Optimus Prime and Megatron and have a battle!!!'.

Kids have very good imaginations. They don't need to see children on the screen to be able to relate to or enjoy the cartoons or the toys.

I think the difference in that example is that wolverine looks human. Kids know they can't be 20 foot tall metal aliens that turn into vehicles, so they want to be the next best thing.

You may be correct, but every time I've seen a kid playing 'Transformers' (myself included when I was a youngster), they don't pretend to be people.

Think about it, has anyone you ever met in the fandom (assuming you know other TF fans) ever mentioned that they used to be Spike riding around inside Bumblebee? I haven't, and I never pretended to be either. I always imagined I was my fav TF at the time (whoever it happened to be that week ).

Kids have enough imagination to pretend to be a 20 foot tall robot, at least I did when I was a kid. It's the same as pretending to be a 6 foot tall soldier or a superhero who can fly.

xyl360 wrote:You may be correct, but every time I've seen a kid playing 'Transformers' (myself included when I was a youngster), they don't pretend to be people.

Think about it, has anyone you ever met in the fandom (assuming you know other TF fans) ever mentioned that they used to be Spike riding around inside Bumblebee? I haven't, and I never pretended to be either. I always imagined I was my fav TF at the time (whoever it happened to be that week ).

Kids have enough imagination to pretend to be a 20 foot tall robot, at least I did when I was a kid. It's the same as pretending to be a 6 foot tall soldier or a superhero who can fly.

Same here.

crazyjeffy wrote:I think the difference in that example is that wolverine looks human. Kids know they can't be 20 foot tall metal aliens that turn into vehicles, so they want to be the next best thing.

That being said, if I were a kid I'd want to be Fowler.

if thats the case kids cant be Wolverine either in his own way he is a metal alien who has knives shoot out his fists and can heal him self, so why cant kids be 20ft robots who transform?

im sure there not thinking about the impossible at that age there kids its fantasy its fun.

xyl360 wrote:

crazyjeffy wrote:

xyl360 wrote:

RhA wrote:

Mykltron wrote:When they announced TF:P they said it would run for 10 years. Let's reopen this topic in 8...

I'm happy for TF:P to run and run. Constant reboots is slightly annoying.

xyl360 wrote:in my opinion, transforming alien robots are cool enough to sell themselves without the human race getting in the way and without the annoying human sidekicks being forced into the plot.

They have children (not adults) as sidekicks so that children can pretend to be part of the show cos maybe, just MAYBE they'll soon meet a Transformer and become that sidekick for realz.

That's on the nose. It ties into imagination. I don't think Hasbro's will give up that idea any time soon and let's be honest- Humans have been there since 1984 and are part of the TF universe, like it or not.

When I was a kid in the 80's, I never imagined being a kid MEETING a Transformer and becoming its 'buddy' in real life. I imagined BEING a Transformer (ever wonder why they sell those 'battle masks' and TF blasters?).

Kids are the same way. They don't want to be a kid who meets the X-Men, they want to BE Wolverine. It's no different with Transformers, and I wish Hasbro would realize it.

We don't need stupid kiddie sidekicks in the X-Men or even GI-Joe. Kids don't say 'Let's pretend we're people who know the Transformers!', they say 'Let's pretend to be Optimus Prime and Megatron and have a battle!!!'.

Kids have very good imaginations. They don't need to see children on the screen to be able to relate to or enjoy the cartoons or the toys.

I think the difference in that example is that wolverine looks human. Kids know they can't be 20 foot tall metal aliens that turn into vehicles, so they want to be the next best thing.

You may be correct, but every time I've seen a kid playing 'Transformers' (myself included when I was a youngster), they don't pretend to be people.

Think about it, has anyone you ever met in the fandom (assuming you know other TF fans) ever mentioned that they used to be Spike riding around inside Bumblebee? I haven't, and I never pretended to be either. I always imagined I was my fav TF at the time (whoever it happened to be that week ).

Kids have enough imagination to pretend to be a 20 foot tall robot, at least I did when I was a kid. It's the same as pretending to be a 6 foot tall soldier or a superhero who can fly.

I even invented my own Transformer. He had a humanoid robot mode, a two headed dragon mode and another mode that I've forgotten. The best part was that I could actually 'be' that robot as the arms became the dragon's necks. There were a lot more complex rearranging of other parts that happened in my head of course.

Mykltron wrote:

xyl360 wrote:

crazyjeffy wrote:

xyl360 wrote:

RhA wrote:

Mykltron wrote:When they announced TF:P they said it would run for 10 years. Let's reopen this topic in 8...

I'm happy for TF:P to run and run. Constant reboots is slightly annoying.

xyl360 wrote:in my opinion, transforming alien robots are cool enough to sell themselves without the human race getting in the way and without the annoying human sidekicks being forced into the plot.

They have children (not adults) as sidekicks so that children can pretend to be part of the show cos maybe, just MAYBE they'll soon meet a Transformer and become that sidekick for realz.

That's on the nose. It ties into imagination. I don't think Hasbro's will give up that idea any time soon and let's be honest- Humans have been there since 1984 and are part of the TF universe, like it or not.

When I was a kid in the 80's, I never imagined being a kid MEETING a Transformer and becoming its 'buddy' in real life. I imagined BEING a Transformer (ever wonder why they sell those 'battle masks' and TF blasters?).

Kids are the same way. They don't want to be a kid who meets the X-Men, they want to BE Wolverine. It's no different with Transformers, and I wish Hasbro would realize it.

We don't need stupid kiddie sidekicks in the X-Men or even GI-Joe. Kids don't say 'Let's pretend we're people who know the Transformers!', they say 'Let's pretend to be Optimus Prime and Megatron and have a battle!!!'.

Kids have very good imaginations. They don't need to see children on the screen to be able to relate to or enjoy the cartoons or the toys.

I think the difference in that example is that wolverine looks human. Kids know they can't be 20 foot tall metal aliens that turn into vehicles, so they want to be the next best thing.

You may be correct, but every time I've seen a kid playing 'Transformers' (myself included when I was a youngster), they don't pretend to be people.

Think about it, has anyone you ever met in the fandom (assuming you know other TF fans) ever mentioned that they used to be Spike riding around inside Bumblebee? I haven't, and I never pretended to be either. I always imagined I was my fav TF at the time (whoever it happened to be that week ).

Kids have enough imagination to pretend to be a 20 foot tall robot, at least I did when I was a kid. It's the same as pretending to be a 6 foot tall soldier or a superhero who can fly.

I even invented my own Transformer. He had a humanoid robot mode, a two headed dragon mode and another mode that I've forgotten. The best part was that I could actually 'be' that robot as the arms became the dragon's necks. There were a lot more complex rearranging of other parts that happened in my head of course.

I used to imagine myself as a Transformer Next Generation: starship Enterprise and the crew were holograms to add to the disguise. (I never really thought about what I would have done with the real crew, which brings disturbing thoughts to mind upon retrospect)

And I agree with most other posts in this long chain of replies. Fiction is appealing to people because they can imagine themselves as the protagonist/antagonist/whoever floats their boat. That is also why Mary Sue(Read:Twilight)stories are very popular to certain groups.
Why Hasbro doesn't get this I don't know.

There are a few examples of them getting it, the first being Beast Wars, and to a smaller degree of understanding TF:Animated. They had Sari, but the fact that there is only one kid as opposed to a small herd makes it alright.

Also, another thing: Since when did Hasbro and their writers think it a good idea to make the original kid-friendly Bumblebee a combat-hardened, mute, machine mass-murderer?
I wouldn't want to imagine myself as his sidekick or imagine myself as him.

Flakmaster wrote:Also, another thing: Since when did Hasbro and their writers think it a good idea to make the original kid-friendly Bumblebee a combat-hardened, mute, machine mass-murderer?
I wouldn't want to imagine myself as his sidekick or imagine myself as him.

I would assume because that's the perception of what kids want. With the younger audience being interested in things they have no right being interested in (such as CoD and other games that should be too mature for them), that's what manufacturers see.

In other words, bad parenting is making everything worse for everyone.

RAcast wrote:

Flakmaster wrote:Also, another thing: Since when did Hasbro and their writers think it a good idea to make the original kid-friendly Bumblebee a combat-hardened, mute, machine mass-murderer?
I wouldn't want to imagine myself as his sidekick or imagine myself as him.

I would assume because that's the perception of what kids want. With the younger audience being interested in things they have no right being interested in (such as CoD and other games that should be too mature for them), that's what manufacturers see.

In other words, bad parenting is making everything worse for everyone.

I agree 100%. As a teacher, I see first hand the impact that bad parenting or the lack of impacting altogether has on children. They are exposed to far too much.

RAcast wrote:

Flakmaster wrote:Also, another thing: Since when did Hasbro and their writers think it a good idea to make the original kid-friendly Bumblebee a combat-hardened, mute, machine mass-murderer?
I wouldn't want to imagine myself as his sidekick or imagine myself as him.

I would assume because that's the perception of what kids want. With the younger audience being interested in things they have no right being interested in (such as CoD and other games that should be too mature for them), that's what manufacturers see.

In other words, bad parenting is making everything worse for everyone.

It's not that they have no "right" to or shouldn't be be interested in stuff like that. They're video games, and those video games happen to be fun for those kids. I doubt that the content that is too mature for the kids are why the kids play the games(for instance, men at war killing each other), they probably care more about the pleasing game mechanics, which probably would yield the same results if they instead played as multicolored dancing scorpions crapping paint at their targets. As long as it's fun to play, kids probably aren't interested in what they're not supposed to be, especially if you as a parent explain to them why. Teach them.

If whatever mature content that they're not paying attention to still damages them somehow, for some spiritual reason or whatever is another topic though. Or is it? I don't think I had a point. This is one of the 'just woke up' rants I have. Still half asleep.

I'm gonna get some caffeine and re-read these posts...

orangeitis wrote:

RAcast wrote:

Flakmaster wrote:Also, another thing: Since when did Hasbro and their writers think it a good idea to make the original kid-friendly Bumblebee a combat-hardened, mute, machine mass-murderer?
I wouldn't want to imagine myself as his sidekick or imagine myself as him.

I would assume because that's the perception of what kids want. With the younger audience being interested in things they have no right being interested in (such as CoD and other games that should be too mature for them), that's what manufacturers see.

In other words, bad parenting is making everything worse for everyone.

It's not that they have no "right" to or shouldn't be be interested in stuff like that. They're video games, and those video games happen to be fun for those kids. I doubt that the content that is too mature for the kids are why the kids play the games(for instance, men at war killing each other), they probably care more about the pleasing game mechanics, which probably would yield the same results if they instead played as multicolored dancing scorpions crapping paint at their targets. As long as it's fun to play, kids probably aren't interested in what they're not supposed to be, especially if you as a parent explain to them why. Teach them.

If whatever mature content that they're not paying attention to still damages them somehow, for some spiritual reason or whatever is another topic though. Or is it? I don't think I had a point. This is one of the 'just woke up' rants I have. Still half asleep.

I'm gonna get some caffeine and re-read these posts...

No worries, and yeah that's the other side to the debate, which I acknowledge as having merit. But for me, letting kids interact with that sort of content regularly is simply not going to end well. While it's absolutely true that some of it will be totally over their head, there's a point at which it will STOP being over their head.

And parents the way they too often are anymore, just glaze over it saying "ohh, they won't get it, it won't matter" when it does. :\ So kids are exposed to mature content without their parents bothering to explain it, and without some sense of responsibility, the kids just think something to the tune of "Well it's okay to do this and that because my parents didn't say there's anything wrong with it."

I know when I was growing up, if there was something that was worth calling attention to, they did so. I mean, at the time I'm sure I was slightly annoyed because I was getting another "lecture" even though I hadn't even done anything to (obviously) deserve it; but now I'm very thankful for it. I know I'm lucky to have had the parents I did.

RAcast wrote:

orangeitis wrote:

RAcast wrote:

Flakmaster wrote:Also, another thing: Since when did Hasbro and their writers think it a good idea to make the original kid-friendly Bumblebee a combat-hardened, mute, machine mass-murderer?
I wouldn't want to imagine myself as his sidekick or imagine myself as him.

I would assume because that's the perception of what kids want. With the younger audience being interested in things they have no right being interested in (such as CoD and other games that should be too mature for them), that's what manufacturers see.

In other words, bad parenting is making everything worse for everyone.

It's not that they have no "right" to or shouldn't be be interested in stuff like that. They're video games, and those video games happen to be fun for those kids. I doubt that the content that is too mature for the kids are why the kids play the games(for instance, men at war killing each other), they probably care more about the pleasing game mechanics, which probably would yield the same results if they instead played as multicolored dancing scorpions crapping paint at their targets. As long as it's fun to play, kids probably aren't interested in what they're not supposed to be, especially if you as a parent explain to them why. Teach them.

If whatever mature content that they're not paying attention to still damages them somehow, for some spiritual reason or whatever is another topic though. Or is it? I don't think I had a point. This is one of the 'just woke up' rants I have. Still half asleep.

I'm gonna get some caffeine and re-read these posts...

No worries, and yeah that's the other side to the debate, which I acknowledge as having merit. But for me, letting kids interact with that sort of content regularly is simply not going to end well. While it's absolutely true that some of it will be totally over their head, there's a point at which it will STOP being over their head.

And parents the way they too often are anymore, just glaze over it saying "ohh, they won't get it, it won't matter" when it does. :\ So kids are exposed to mature content without their parents bothering to explain it, and without some sense of responsibility, the kids just think something to the tune of "Well it's okay to do this and that because my parents didn't say there's anything wrong with it."

I know when I was growing up, if there was something that was worth calling attention to, they did so. I mean, at the time I'm sure I was slightly annoyed because I was getting another "lecture" even though I hadn't even done anything to (obviously) deserve it; but now I'm very thankful for it. I know I'm lucky to have had the parents I did.

Now that I'm awake... I'm not sure there are that many things we disagree with. I agree that there are kids out there that do stupid things because of mature content. I also agree that most of it is a result of bad parenting. I also agree that those new Bumblebees' characterization is just what Hasbro/Bay thinks kids these days like.

I guess I just didn't agree with your wording in my first post. But I know what you mean now that my cognitive reasoning is back on track.

orangeitis wrote:I guess I just didn't agree with your wording in my first post. But I know what you mean now that my cognitive reasoning is back on track.

No worries, no worries. Nothing bad about a little constructive criticism; it forces one to refine what is said to make sure it comes across clearly.

Dean ML wrote:

RAcast wrote:

Flakmaster wrote:Also, another thing: Since when did Hasbro and their writers think it a good idea to make the original kid-friendly Bumblebee a combat-hardened, mute, machine mass-murderer?
I wouldn't want to imagine myself as his sidekick or imagine myself as him.

I would assume because that's the perception of what kids want. With the younger audience being interested in things they have no right being interested in (such as CoD and other games that should be too mature for them), that's what manufacturers see.

In other words, bad parenting is making everything worse for everyone.

I agree 100%. As a teacher, I see first hand the impact that bad parenting or the lack of impacting altogether has on children. They are exposed to far too much.

So what would you say is right for children? Surely, neither of you would ever do something that could be labeled 'bad parenting' in someone else's eyes.

Mykltron wrote:They have children (not adults) as sidekicks so that children can pretend to be part of the show cos maybe, just MAYBE they'll soon meet a Transformer and become that sidekick for realz.

We have three hermit crabs at home and they are called Jack, Raf, and Miko.

By the way, my son's name is Raphael. So he giggles every time when Prime or Ratchet said this name.