Z3ROhour wrote:MemphisR56 wrote:It's difficult to tell really. I think they might be completely different things.
There's a list of known .1%ers. We don't see all of them use powers that could be a considered outlier powers. Some of them are just phenomenally strong, and capable of surviving much more grievous wounds.
We also know that not all outliers are .1%ers. e.g. Skids, Trailbreaker and Windcharger.
The Venn Diagram just overlaps, but there's no relationship to it.
It's worth noting that while .1% is a physical distinction made by having a green spark; the term and definition of 'outlier' is a cybertronian invention, or more specifically the functionists made it up. Strictly speaking, being an outlier means you have powers that are not related to your alt-mode. It's entirely an opinion piece. We later find out that the Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy was inherently wrong.
Known ones:
Black Shadow
Blockus
Datum
Dominus Ambus
Fortress Maximus
Grimlock
Heretech
Megatron
Minimus Ambus
Optimus Prime
Overlord
Ramp
Roller
Scorponok
Shockwave
Sixshot
Suture
Tarn
and potential ones:
Thank you.
Very well written btw.
Obviously, .1% have "more" of what makes a bot.
Outliers are, for lack of a better term, "normal" Cybertronians who for unknown reasons are gifted with a talent beyond the norm.
Mutants, in Marvel talk.
Cyber-Superior?
They do evolve.
Also, there were a conspicuous number of "specials", if not strait up outliers on board the original Ark.
I wonder if Prime planned out his crew specifically because of these power sets.
I still don't quite think you have it.
See the defining feature of the outliers isn't that they have powers, it's that their powers are different from their alt-mode.
Take for example Prowl. He has the power to observe thousands of objects or variables in motion and calculate their trajectory and end point in a very short time. He also transforms into a police vehicle. His powers lent themselves to their function, and so he is not an outlier, but has extra special abilities.
Blurr has the ability to move exceptionally fast, which makes him a great athelete. Not an outlier.
But then you have for example Mirage who can cloak himself, which doesn't match his high speed racing vehicle alt mode. Therefore he's defined by the functionists as an outlier because he lies outside their categories for what sort of lives you should lead based on your altmode.
I think pretty much most of the Cybertronian race has powers of some description. So it's not so much like marvel's
Homo Superior with mutants in the 616 universe.
EDIT:
Also Prime's original Team were members of Shockwave's institute, so they were all outliers. Might explain why so many of his most trusted warriors are outliers. They're all his oldest buddies.
