snavej wrote:ZeroWolf wrote:
As far as decepticons go though, I would say that some joined because they wanted to fight, especially when you look at characterisation of them, only a few believed in the ideals that they were originally fighting for
Some parts of the series I liked, others not: shades of grey! Decepticons can see shades of grey too. Don't underestimate them. They say that they're only interested in fighting but they're clever enough to survive Autobot tricks and traps, so they must have considerable brainpower. QED.
I am going to interject here this may get a bit long winded.
Shades of grey and characterisation of Decepticons AND Autobots:
As far as I have read and viewed (adding G1 cartoons into my frame of thinking) Especially in the realms of the Cartoons – it struck me as a propaganda story where they say who you should like who you should hate because one is good one is evil end of story - then goes to show how the bad guys are terrible, dysfunctional and are barely tolerating each other and how the good guys are nearly weak, powerless and overall swell, great to work for guys.
The comics and Cartoons show that the Autobots are just as wanting to fight the cons as the cons are wanting to fight the Autobots - maybe even more on an aggressive level than the Decepticons were. Heck, the Autobots went as far as including chips in the Decepticon's heads to detonate as soon as a con steps out of line” - with no trial. If that is not barbaric or evil, I don't know what is. Some cons were still stuck in their ways, Starscream did attempt to manipulate things in his favour, and he's no saint, But ultimately he did drop the badge, he did attempt to do things more or less right, if he was straddling some hefty shades of grey. There were still Autobots who were more than willing to fight and kill Decepticons because Decepticons exist. Some of the Decepticons may have felt the same way, but they had far more self control than lets say Arcee did.
Only a few Autobots also believed in the ideals they joined for. They are not perfectly good, and the Decepticons are not perfectly evil. Both sides lost track of what they were fighting for and ended up continuing the fight because they hated the other side.
Decepticons are not dysfunctional. They are a group that have chosen to live by the survival of the fittest ideal. The strongest leads, the rest fall into form behind. Their way of promotion may more or less be designed because Megatron was a gladiator, and that is a great way of ensuring the best are in power.
Starscream being second to Megatron indicated that he was strong. Maybe his strength was more mental power. I think he was extremely clever and cunning to manipulate others and Megatron – making them believe that he was weaker or stupid. But if he was stupid, he'd never have lasted at the rank he was at. The cartoons really dumb him down, but he's not as stupid as they like to portray – not for his position.
The Decepticons, had they been as dysfunctional as portrayed, they would not have lasted long into the war.
Many shades of grey all around, most straddle fairly dark shades of it on both sides.
TL:DR: I will not believe that the Autobots are the good guys simply because they are as aggressive if not more about wiping out (into extinction) the Decepticons, and many are unwilling to stop fighting them - even in peacetime.
thank you for that post. I think I was thinking too simplistic with what I said and thinking again you are 100% correct, though one nitpick, arcee may of not been a great pick as someone could make a case for her having great reasons for lack of self control in the past!
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