DesalationReborn wrote:Again, I debate whether that ability was ever shown in the shows, or even would look good in live action-- the old movie did have him shrink as I remember. Why can't he use his shrinking to just look around a building like any of them? Why can't his never-mentioned "internal resources" work to multiple uses? And, besides, how do you think it would look to have a shrunken Soundwave standing next to Ravage?
One link I agree with:
http://www.botchthecrab.com/replies.asp?index=219
Actually, I wouldn't have a problem with how his alt mode would look next to Ravage. And, no, in the scene I mentioned, he remained at full size because he needed to plug into the Cybertronian computers. Secondly, to address the concerns in the link you posted. Mass conversion, according to canon, is hardqired into the basic genetic structure of only certain Cybertronians. It is linked directly to their transformations. As such, it can only be activated as they transform from one mode to another. Therefore, if Soundwave wanted to shrink down to a smaller size, he would need to transform into stereo mode, shrinking down as he did so, then transform back into robot mode without activating his mass conversion. Basically, the reverse of what he did in the animated movie on Cybertron. To quote
More than Meets the Eye #8 on the section on Mass Conversion, it says:
Mass convbersion is the more complex of the two methods, and it represents a significant genetic difference in those who posess it. In their standard size (for example, robot mode), the basic atomic components of Cybertronians who utilize mass conversion are at rest. However, when called upon to convert into a larger or smaller mode, the very subatomic particles that compose them restructure themselves even as the being's body changes its physical configuration. Much like a Cybertronian's physical form can change its shape and properties, so can the atomic building blocks of those who posess mass conversion abilities. These particles are hardwired to reconfigure themselves according to a predetermined schematic, splitting up or combining to alter their own mass and density to match the needs of the mode in question.— TransFormers: More than Meets the Eye #8 page 50)
Secondly, as to why these "internal resources" can't be used for multiple purposes, they
can, just
not at the same time. Internal resources refers to his internal
components. In the movie, the robots are litterally built out of the internal components of their alternate modes. Thus, if you were to open up Soundwave as a stereo, his internal components would look just like a stereo's innards. Remember when Mikaela lifted up Bumblebee's hood? It looked and functioned just like a normal engine. This, as a stereo, all his internal components are devoted to receiving, transmitting, or recording information or playing it back. None has to be sacrificed from that function for the sake of mobility. It also allows him to remain perfectly innocuous in any location, either indoors or outdoors because of the ubiquity of that mode. With such an alternate mode, he can fit in literally
anywhere.