The Energon Pub

I was thinking about something today while paying around the The Fallen's figure...He has an old-school Cybertronian alt-mode (as in, not an earth-based alt-mode) but he has a cockpit designed for a human-sized pilot...

What?


Nearly all of the Cybertronian vehicles from other lines and continuities (such as War Within, for example) have doors and seats and looks as though they are meant to be driven by a smaller person...

So who exactly is supposed to pretend to drive them??

I mean it makes sense that Optimus Prime as an Earth Truck has seats and a windhield and doors because he's in DISGUISE and earth vehicles have those things because HUMANS drive them...But why would his cybertronian alt-mode have them?? As far as I know, the only inhabitants of Cybertron are TRANSFORMERS...

It doesn't really make much sense...

smaller transformers that need a ride.

Frenzy riding in barricade from the first movie for example.

from other lines...micromasters i suppose...

If you buy the Quintesson origins... the consumer!

FortMacs wrote:smaller transformers that need a ride.

Frenzy riding in barricade from the first movie for example.

from other lines...micromasters i suppose...

Frenzy didn't "drive" Barricade...And Barricade was an earth vehicle anyway...

I find it hard to believe that every transformer on cybertron was intended for a Micromaster to drive...Considering that Micromasters have their oen vehicle modes anyway...

And I know that there are several instances in the cartoon where all sense of scale gets tossed right our the window but you can't ignore the fact that about 95% of transformers turn into vehicles that need no driver...So I just think it's strange that even thought they are alien-style vehicles on a planet made up entirely of others just like them, they appear as though they are designed to be operated by smaller human-sized beings of some sort...Since the main basis for the ability of transformation is DISGUISE, I don't see how that's much of a disguise...

I fully expect a group of Hasbro employees to bust into your house and drag you, kicking and screaming, into the night. When you return, after days...if not weeks...of brutal torture and electroshock therapy, you will no longer notice such things and just go along with it.

Did the War Within incarnations have cockpits? I'd honestly just chalk it up to ANOTHER G1 inconsistency. Otherwise, you'll probably have a psychotic episode.

Minicons.

At least, that's how I'm gonna think of it.
Maybe it's just an outdated evolutionary trait, like Human appendices.

Random wrote:I fully expect a group of Hasbro employees to bust into your house and drag you, kicking and screaming, into the night. When you return, after days...if not weeks...of brutal torture and electroshock therapy, you will no longer notice such things and just go along with it.

LOL!

Random wrote:Did the War Within incarnations have cockpits? I'd honestly just chalk it up to ANOTHER G1 inconsistency. Otherwise, you'll probably have a psychotic episode.

Look at Optimus Prime's alt-mode from WW:



and Prowl:

Lorekeeper wrote:If you buy the Quintesson origins... the consumer!

This is the most source driven answer. but to be fun and speculate....

idea one
In Transformers the are many different planets with many different humanoid beings. Teletran one sent out a satalite to search for alt modes im sure the are many autobot/decepticon probes and satalites searching their respective universes and timelines.

idea two
The vehicle that looks like it has a pilot/driver looks less likely to turn into a robot than the vehicle that looks like a drone with no pilot/driver. Before transformers could transform there had to be some sort of vehicles on cybertron. A transformer could shrink their robot mode to pilot a vehicle

Name_Violation wrote:

.

idea three
Several transformers are know to do bounty hunting or fuel transport jobs that would require interactions with smaller mechanoids/humanoids.

idea four
Primus knowing that the transformers would need to interact with other beings hardwired it into their "dna".

Lorekeeper wrote:If you buy the Quintesson origins... the consumer!

The first I thought too.....

Who is to say that the Cybertronian alt-modes aren't based on alien vehicles from all over the universe?

The "Deadly Games" issue seems to imply that Cybertronians have had contact with other species for a very long time.

typh0id wrote:

Random wrote:I fully expect a group of Hasbro employees to bust into your house and drag you, kicking and screaming, into the night. When you return, after days...if not weeks...of brutal torture and electroshock therapy, you will no longer notice such things and just go along with it.

LOL!

Random wrote:Did the War Within incarnations have cockpits? I'd honestly just chalk it up to ANOTHER G1 inconsistency. Otherwise, you'll probably have a psychotic episode.

Look at Optimus Prime's alt-mode from WW:



and Prowl:

Well, Random beat me to the Hasbro comment although I was under the impression they contracted out to Ninjas. Either way, I'd rent a Motel room for a week. Your home isn't safe.
And while you disproved the G1 Inconsistency with the WW pics, don't write off the psychotic episode just yet either. It happens to the best of us.
As for the "Consumer Goods" theory folks have posed, that doesn't account for the fact that the designs seem to allow for only humanoid type consumers. What kind of marketing is that?? And if the Transformer race truly evolved over millions of years, even if the first few generations did have "drivers" or "pilots" that need is long past and current generations should not have that extra feature.
Personally, I think you just stepped into the realm of Hasbro/Takaras imponderables. You let Pandora out of her box and some Corporate exec. is plotting your "dissappearance" even as we speak. The rest of us could be screwed just for brainstorming with you...

the execs are at my door as i type help they're going to kidna

I call first dibs on his collection!

I'm pretty sure there was someone following me to and from work today...

It's been a consistent error since the 1984 animated series. If you study the episodes where the bots transform into Cybertronian vehicle modes, they always have cockpits and passenger compartments, probably to justify the visible windows that are apparent on such bots as seekers, where the cockpits are on their chests. I still remember it because it was such a glaring mistake.

Logically, one would assume that the passengers are mini-cons...except they weren't even a concept back then.

Name_Violation wrote:

Lol! Awesome... I forgot about that....explains so much dosen't it....

This post made my head hurt

OMG they're here to kidn

typh0id wrote:I'm pretty sure there was someone following me to and from work today...

Look on the bright side. They can't call it paranoia when they REALLY ARE out to get you.

...I'm not helping am I?

Oh and about that "First Dibs" thing... you know it was just 'cause I'm looking out for ya. I mean, it would suck if some "vultures" just swooped in and...and...your not buying one bit of this are you? *cough* Um, ok, I'm just gonna over here and see what First Gen is working on...good luck with that whole ninja thing...

it has ben decreed

they have "cockpits" so we have an orientation of what to look at, and so we can tell how they're facing. (and so we dont accidenally stare at robo crotch, they only want us to do that deliberately )

How do you respond to something like that? I'm beyond the capacity for all rational thought.


I'm going to go play with my Beast Wars toys...they dont HAVE 'cockpits'.

T-Macksimus wrote: I'm going to go play with my Beast Wars toys...they dont HAVE 'cockpits'.

And what about the 2006 Botcon ones that actually HAVE "cockpits"

Didicos wrote:

T-Macksimus wrote: I'm going to go play with my Beast Wars toys...they dont HAVE 'cockpits'.

And what about the 2006 Botcon ones that actually HAVE "cockpits"

I know what you're trying to do and I'm not falling for it!

*sticks finger in ears* "I'm NOT LISTENING...LA,LA,LA,LA..."

Name_Violation wrote:it has ben decreed

(and so we dont accidenally stare at robo crotch,

I guess that's as good an explanation as any...


wahaha! "Robo crotch"

T-Macksimus wrote:

Didicos wrote:

T-Macksimus wrote: I'm going to go play with my Beast Wars toys...they dont HAVE 'cockpits'.

And what about the 2006 Botcon ones that actually HAVE "cockpits"

I know what you're trying to do and I'm not falling for it!

*sticks finger in ears* "I'm NOT LISTENING...LA,LA,LA,LA..."