The Energon Pub

I noticed an odd growing trend by transformers fans on this board. Whenever anything is asked about characters, or Tf history, etc. Answers based on the cartoon are commonly mocked or belittled. I know the cartoon was a bit lame and one dimensional at times, but as someone whose majority of his transformers knowledge comes from the cartoon (seen every episode, as opposed to the comics where i only read a few from each series) this bothers me. Even worse they often treat the cartoon, marvel, DW, and IDW as all being in the same reality. I tend to view them all as different alternate realities of G1 and one thing that holds true in one may not hold true in another.

I say to each his/her own.

I, too, have most of my info from the cartoon continuity, but I don't see a problem if someone else believes more in the comics.

I think it is good that there is a mixture of us on the site. That way I can always get to know something knew from the comic continuity once and awhile that I never imagined.

Predaprince wrote:I say to each his/her own.

I, too, have most of my info from the cartoon continuity, but I don't see a problem if someone else believes more in the comics.

I think it is good that there is a mixture of us on the site. That way I can always get to know something knew from the comic continuity once and awhile that I never imagined.

I don't mind them beleiving more in the comics, what i do mind is them putting down in a beluittling way those who got their info from the cartoon. A few recent posts (such as in the "who would be most likely to switch sides" post) seemed almost condescending.

FirstChAoS wrote:

Predaprince wrote:I say to each his/her own.

I, too, have most of my info from the cartoon continuity, but I don't see a problem if someone else believes more in the comics.

I think it is good that there is a mixture of us on the site. That way I can always get to know something knew from the comic continuity once and awhile that I never imagined.

I don't mind them beleiving more in the comics, what i do mind is them putting down in a beluittling way those who got their info from the cartoon. A few recent posts (such as in the "who would be most likely to switch sides" post) seemed almost condescending.

As far as that goes, I just ignore those people.

Most of my knowledge comes from the cartoon also, as I can not get the comics that often (in fact I only have a single issue of a TF comic, and that is a part of a series, the rest of wich I do not have)

Plus my memories of the cartoon are very hazy at times, because the last time I got to really see an episode of Transformers was in the mid '90s.

So I have to ask a ton of questions at times

Everything I know comes from the cartoons. I've never read any Transformers comics before... so... yeah... The cartoons are my main source of info!

While the comics certainly did have more depth and ambition, there are a few things I preferred the way they were animated. Hasn't Transformers continuity always been a mix&match thing for the fans ?

Creature SH wrote:While the comics certainly did have more depth and ambition, there are a few things I preferred the way they were animated. Hasn't Transformers continuity always been a mix&match thing for the fans ?

Yep. TF fans are spoilt for choice continuity-wise. In G1 alone, you have:
The US cartoon series
Japanese cartoon series
US Marvel comics
US/UK Marvel comics
Ladybird books (sorry, had to put it in there!)
Dreamwave rubbish-verse
IDW

...and probably more I can't be bothered to think about. So that's 7 continiuties alone before you even get to Beast Wars, Armada and beyond...

People will always have their favourites which they see as the "true" story of the Transformers. For me it's the Marvel UK comic. I'm not a huge fan of the cartoon, though it can be enjoyable to watch at times.

Just to turn this round though, what annoys me are the cartoon fans who think that anything the cartoon says/does is gospel and all the other continuities are lame (this isn't directed at the original poster by the way, just an observation!)

To my count, there are no fewer than 35 different and often-conflicting continuities from the past 23 years. It's the one major failing of this franchise, that after this much time, there's no effort to try and determine canonicity beyond having a constant stream of Optimus Primes and Megatrons hailing from Cybertron and ending up on Earth.

I mean, there are two or three slightly different versions of the '07 Movie story now (depends on whether you think the Park novels agree with the IDW treatments or not, and to what degree).

It's all part of the larger mythos, and since there isn't any official voice (a la Lucas for SW) as to an official Canon, folks have to make their choices based on what appeals to them, and not judge based on the same assumptions other fans make.

Cartoon is where I get all my info. Never bothered with the comics because I can read.

I'm just kidding, I'm actually blind.

I grew up being a Saturday morning cartoon zombie, but I was fortunate enough to get into the comics at that age, too. For me, there is no gospel continuity; each are seperate with their own strengths and weaknesses.

In a way, we're lucky. Not too many series out there whose fans can boast that they got two or three (god knows how many the UK and US series split into, I lost count) epic, distinct sagas, not to mention the recent DW and IDW stuff!

I was with the cartoon from the get-go, and I was able to get ahold of the comic probably midway in season 2. It's weird that even though I was 7 or 8 at the time I was able to tell the two continuities apart.

And no matter what Furman says, I say Beast Wars is NOT the future of G1, and the IDW BW stories are not part of the BW cartoon continuity (oh boy, MORE potential seperate continuities). IMO Beast Wars is based off the mythology of G1, and is not in the same continuity.

Magnus' Mate wrote:

Creature SH wrote:While the comics certainly did have more depth and ambition, there are a few things I preferred the way they were animated. Hasn't Transformers continuity always been a mix&match thing for the fans ?

Yep. TF fans are spoilt for choice continuity-wise. In G1 alone, you have:
The US cartoon series
Japanese cartoon series
US Marvel comics
US/UK Marvel comics
Ladybird books (sorry, had to put it in there!)
Dreamwave rubbish-verse
IDW

...and probably more I can't be bothered to think about. So that's 7 continiuties alone before you even get to Beast Wars, Armada and beyond...

People will always have their favourites which they see as the "true" story of the Transformers. For me it's the Marvel UK comic. I'm not a huge fan of the cartoon, though it can be enjoyable to watch at times.

Just to turn this round though, what annoys me are the cartoon fans who think that anything the cartoon says/does is gospel and all the other continuities are lame (this isn't directed at the original poster by the way, just an observation!)

Its ok to have a choice. I follow the the US cartoon series and Japanese cartoon series because I like them both.

Hairball178 wrote:And no matter what Furman says, I say Beast Wars is NOT the future of G1, and the IDW BW stories are not part of the BW cartoon continuity (oh boy, MORE potential seperate continuities). IMO Beast Wars is based off the mythology of G1, and is not in the same continuity.

I definately agree with this

"Ladybird books (sorry, had to put it in there!)"

Hey I still find those enjoyable and far superior to the G1 cartoon.

"Dreamwave rubbish-verse?"

Far more interesting than IDW (let's totally ruin Thunderwing and give us a supposedly epic but in reality empty Stormbringer)

Funny how people get annoyed when you disrespect the g1 cartoon which had a few great episodes but was mostly disappointing, yet noone defends the excellent Dreamwave stuff which noone seemed to criticise until they got cancelled due to bad management not the excellent stories.

I mean I know I prefer badass DW Sunstreaker to whiney IDW Sunstreaker.

Sorry if I seem like I'm starting something, it's just I feel the same way about Dreamwave as many others feel about the cartoon.

On topic, as much as I loved the Dreamwave stuff, the Marvel G1/G2 comics will always be canon to me.

The G1 Cartoon gave us our first basis in Transformers. And IMO shouldn't be discounted. However I personally felt the Marvel TF run was also great at least untill issue 25 after that it became a little wonky and indeed portrayed the TFS in a slightly different light and was indeed a separate continuality from the Cartoons. As well as DW IDW all great continualities. I think the main problems with the cartoon was that it displayed the Decepticons as bumbling idiots whom couldn't win a battle to save their lives. The comics were at least more realistics and the Decepticons actually won a fair number of times not to mention it gave the Transformers a greater depth of character. But reguardless of what continuality you want to follow they all share the same primary ideas and Megatron and Prime are to be both feared and respected by their enemies and are considered to be two of the most powerfull Transformers in existence. It is my personal belief that TF fans tend to hold the comics as closer to the true story of the Transformers over the cartoon for the reasons stated portraying the Transformers in a darker but more realistic view showing us that not only do the Decpticons have dissention among their ranks but the Autobots do as well even if it is to a lesser extent, while still retaining the base roots of the Transformers that were introduced to us in the origional G1 cartoon. So far IDW has done brilliant work with the Transformers and their origins it makes much since to portray the Decepticons infiltration strategdy and have them destabilize the world global structure from the inside than to arrive on a planet and simply wipe them out. At least in my opinion.