The Energon Pub

Does anyone else feel like Hot Rod was a tolerable character, but that Rodimus Prime is a blasphemy. I grew up with Gen One, so I hated when Hot Rod became prime from out of nowhere. Then he spent all his time whining about how he couldn't hack. I have always wondered whether I was alone in feeling this way...
I could tolerate a Hot Rod character even accept him as interesting character, but as a Prime no I cannot take stand it. And his truck mode sucks. His car mode was way cooler.

I must have too much time on my hands today... sorry

Actually, it's the other way around for me.

Torino_Prime wrote:Does anyone else feel like Hot Rod was a tolerable character, but that Rodimus Prime is a blasphemy. I grew up with Gen One, so I hated when Hot Rod became prime from out of nowhere. Then he spent all his time whining about how he couldn't hack. I have always wondered whether I was alone in feeling this way...
I could tolerate a Hot Rod character even accept him as interesting character, but as a Prime no I cannot take stand it. And his truck mode sucks. His car mode was way cooler.

I must have too much time on my hands today... sorry

I feel the same way, really. I dislike both characters, but Rodimus is just intolerable as a character and a replacement for Optimus Prime. I felt this way the moment I saw both characters in the theatre when I first saw the 86 movie, and the feelings have never once changed. Hot Rod's alt mode is alright, but the Flaming-Winnabago mode for Rodimus just straight-up sucks.

JetOptimus23 wrote:Actually, it's the other way around for me.

same here. Hot rod caused primes death being a brash, irrational nOOb. literally got prime killed in his first 20 minutes of screen time. if thats not the best con double agent ever, i dont know what is.

Rodimus prime on the other hand had greater burdens to deal with, and the fate of 2 worlds (and some moons) weighing on his shoulders.

First off thank you for the timely input.

Rodimus did not have more responsibility. Period. And if he did it was because he had mismanaged the war.
I had forgotten about Hot Rod's Noobish actions when I first wrote the post. That does make him even less tolerable.

Yes. Flaming Winnebago sucks. In mind I just try to forgot Rodimus ever happened.

I've never gotten the hate for Hot Rod/Rodimus. Prime didn't know Megatron was inching towards a gun. A gun that he would have killed Prime with for sure. What's Hot Rod supposed to do, let Megatron shoot Optimus Prime to death by surprise? What kind of Autobot would do that? Hot Rod did what any soldier should and would do when they see any soldier (let alone a Commanding Officer) about to get sneak attacked/sucker shot by an enemy. And that's scream "No you don't Megatron!" and tackle the ****.

And as far as the claims that Rodimus was emo? No he had actual problems. One minute he's a carefree, fun loving, life of the party with a cool girlfriend (Arcee), and Robot Han Solo (Springer) as his best friend. The next he inadvertently gets Optimus killed, gets separated from his best friend and girl, and then finds out that he's the Transformers Messiah. For the cherry on top of the **** sunday after he assumes command from someone who's been called "The most Legendary Autobot of all time" his best friend and his girlfriend hook up. On top of that he's constantly in the shadow of the greatest Autobot leader of all time and is no longer the old person he was. He's been forced to "grow up" too soon, and lost everything he ever cared about to fulfill some prophecy and take on responsibilities he never wanted.

See Rodimus comes off to me as haunted, tortured, and in the shadow of Optimus. He's bipolar as ****, and you can't watch Season 3 without picking that up. But there's one thing that I always admired about him. He was flawed as Hell (Optimus was literally perfect except for his compassion that could be used against him), but he never once gave up. He always picked himself up, dusted himself off and manned the **** up and did what had to be done. Even when he had reverted back to Hot Rod (twice I think) and was infinitely happier, he did what he had to in the end and became Rodimus Prime for the good of the Autobots. The only time he ever outright gave up was when he felt he was personally responsible for Cybertron's destruction in Headmasters (Japanese series, not Headmasters: Rebirth).

Oh I love Optimus too. I don't think any kid that grew up with Transformers didn't. I'm man enough to admit that when I was a little kid I cried with Optimus died. But I never once blamed Hot Rod. He did the right thing. What anyone should do. The fact that he failed doesn't matter, he tried his hardest. And that's all Optimus would ask and expect. Just give it your all.

Hot Rod/Rodimus always put his heart into everything and gave it his all. In a way, he never failed Optimus nor the Autobots. Because he lived up to Optimus' own expectations. By never giving in when his back was against the wall, by fighting to the end and taking it all. He had the touch. He had the power. When all Hell's breaking loose Rodimus was riding the eye of the storm. He had the heart. He had the motion. You know that when things got too tough, Roddy had the touch.

I agree with Loki, if any of you were in his position would you do things any differently? You see Megatron reaching for a gun without Optimus noticing what would you do, assume that Optimus saw too? Let him get shot? I think that if it were Ironhide, he would have done the same thing. Sure Megatron would have had a harder time getting a shot at Optimus, but my point is any Autobot would have done the same thing. And as for Rodimus? How would you feel if you knew that you were responsible for Optimus' death and then find out that you are his heir apparent? Not only did his death weigh heavily on him, he also ends up following in the footsteps of the greatest leader the Autobots have ever known, and has to live with all of that.

hot rod could have, oh i dont know, SHOT megatron, rather than gone all Leroy Jenkins. last I heard those things on his arm double as lazer guns

Name_Violation wrote:hot rod could have, oh i dont know, SHOT megatron, rather than gone all Leroy Jenkins. last I heard those things on his arm double as lazer guns

Your friend is about to get shot by a guy he got in a fist fight with. But your friend doesn't see the gun. You do. You have less than 3 seconds to react. How calm and focused are you? Or do you just jump in and react?

Besides. At least Hot Rod has chicken.

Loki God Of Mischief wrote:

Name_Violation wrote:hot rod could have, oh i dont know, SHOT megatron, rather than gone all Leroy Jenkins. last I heard those things on his arm double as lazer guns

Your friend is about to get shot by a guy he got in a fist fight with. But your friend doesn't see the gun. You do. You have less than 3 seconds to react. How calm and focused are you? Or do you just jump in and react?

you'd think i robot, with built in guys would think to use those. He could've shot the gun even

loki wrote:
Besides. At least Hot Rod has chicken.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv_zpT4kFc0[/youtube]
not if that guy has anything to say about it

Leroy Jenkins...LMAO.

Do you know the definition of "blasphemy?"

Beastformers. They are blasphemy.

Loki wrote:Your friend is about to get shot by a guy he got in a fist fight with. But your friend doesn't see the gun. You do. You have less than 3 seconds to react. How calm and focused are you? Or do you just jump in and react?

The point you're trying to make is very good, but it's not that simple. Prime was not only a friend, he was also commanding officer, mentor and all around good guy. So of course, any Autobot worth his spark would jump in and take a bullet for The Bot. So Hot Rod's mind, already bombarded with the circumstances of a devastating battle, could process this simply: "Megatron+hidden gun=dead Prime. What to do?" He had 4 options: 1, stand there and watch Prime get blasted, or 2, jump in front of the gun, taking the hit for Prime, for which I wouldn't have blamed him, live or die, or 3, shoot at Megatron as N_V pointed out, or 4, do what he did.

N_V wrote:hot rod could have, oh i dont know, SHOT megatron, rather than gone all Leroy Jenkins. last I heard those things on his arm double as lazer guns

A damn good and foolproof counter point. Only one thing can negate it. If he was out of ammo. But it being a laser gun, I doubt that was the case.

So, the bottom line is, Hot Rod acted as he was labeled earlier: a "turbo-revvin' young punk." He didn't choose the best option for the situation, and made a costly mistake. And had to live with it until TRoOP.

Which brings me to Rodimus Prime.

Let me get this out of the way first, I also think that the flaming Winnebago sucks. Hot Rod's car mode was pretty cool, being futuristic and all, but I never pictured it translating into a Winnebago. I always thought his Super Link (Energon) alt. mode kicked ass. A truck without a trailer. If G1 had that, it would have still been a good connection to Optimus and a symbol of being a Prime, but at the same time without the trailer it would have shown that not only was the character different as far as personality traits went, but also he was not quite in the same league as Optimus. (But, who is?)

Now, Rodimus Prime's character. I do get most people's intense dislike, or even hatred, for Rodimus Prime. He got the burden of leadership as a "turbo-revvin' young punk" and season 3 seemed to be devoted to him developing and growing into a leader, all the while being branded as one and having to live up to it, because certain others "can't deal with that now." As a kid, of course having a conflicted and second-guessing leader for your favorite TV show is a bummer. And the attempted character development was probably too much for 99% of kids watching Transformers. But it was not pointless or without merits, and it definitely was not blasphemy. (Which still doesn't fit according to definition.) Most kids just didn't get why their beloved hero was taken away and replaced with someone like that. But he did have one thing going for him over Optimus: he never died.

Rodimus Prime wrote:A damn good and foolproof counter point. Only one thing can negate it. If he was out of ammo. But it being a laser gun, I doubt that was the case.

Don't they(Kup and Hot Rod) mention being almost out of ammo/Proton charges when facing the Sharkticons?

To be honest, though, I've never heard of a continuity with lasers that don't have a charge limit to their batteries(even Star Trek, those things they're stored in are rechargers).

As for tackling Megs vs shooting, I always figured it had to do with the Rod being afraid that he would miss and Megs wouldn't(and considering he was running at the time, probably a warranted thought).

Getting in a wrestling match with Megs seems foolhardy to me... the Autobots know of his physical power, and his hand to hand is no slouch.

I don't care that Robert Stack/ Unsolved... I mean Ultra Magnus was a whiny bitch... he was not the next Prime.... also note the Matrix had no effect on his chassis...

No... Hot Rod was the next Prime... hold up... I'm choking back on some puke.... It's senseless, but it's cartoon robots so I cant use logic...

Doesn't a Prime recieve the knowledge of the previous Primes? Of so then wouldn't they tell him to stop being so emo in front of the troops so they wouldn't question his authority and ability to lead them against a rapacious onslaught led by the psychotic reincarnation of the man who murdered his predecessor....

Just had a thought....
Shouldn't he have HATED Galvatron for murdering Optimus in his previous incarnation?

Another question... Why is Optimus always potrayed as suicidal?
In the cartoons he is always engaging in suicidal missions or agreeing to gladiator type events...even when they are not necessary...
One on One combat with Megs when he could have shot Megs...
Sam put the Matrix in my chest and I will die, the matrix will be destroyed, and none of my Autobots will be able to defeat Megatron after my death?
Three on one combat in the sequel... although he kind of deserved for murdering 2 cons in the opening credits....
A commanding officer knows his value and avoids getting killed unnecessarily... **** cartoon robots and their illogical ways....

CBF to explain anymore than I already have.

How about this... SHOOT THE @@#$%^& GUN! Hot Rod cuould have shot the gun away from meg's hands. Then Prime would have owned megatron and the end. but noooooo, Hot Rod had to do it! Dummy.

As a kid, I liked Hot Rod/Rodimus. But as I got older his attitude and appeal wore thin, what did it for me in the end though: I never had his toy and was always asking my mother and grandparents to get one, but they could never find one. Then one day I'm over at a friends house who had him and I learned that he didn't transform anything like in the cartoon... and from that point on I've never really cared for him.

Maybe it's a stupid reason to not like him, but it's not my only reason... I always look at Rodimus as having accomplished the least in his reign. That and what Optimus was Prime for 9 million years! Rodimus gets in what 2-3 years before he gives command over to Fortress?

He gave the Matrix (and command) back to Optimus in the finale of season 3, The Return of Optimus Prime. He was Rodimus in Headmasters, but both he and Prime departed to make way for Maximus and his boys, but he wasn't really relinquishing command, he never really had it after TRoOP.

Well the reason why he whined is because he thought he wasn't enough to fill optimus's shoes that he couldn't fulfill the job as commander. Optimus was a great leader and there for he felt a little small stepping into his shoes taking command of an entire army. I mean how would you feel if you had to step into optimus primes shoes after he died? I don't think I'd feel ready to take upon such a responsibility. XD

As for his modes, I personally liked when he became rodimus prime because it was like a mixture between his car mode and a futuristic truck. Hes definitely one of my favorites. Though no one can ever replace optimus, rodimus is still pretty cool as a leader. =3 Hes got that younger feel to it.

I agree with Loki. What everyone is forgetting is that it was a badly written show for the most part. Furman's excellent comics gave us the whole Primus mythology, the cartoon gave us the Primacron crap. There's very few episodes that are any good, why do people let nostalgia blind them and accept this mostly terrible show as canon?

But then this is the same fandom that condemn Actionmasters but adore the Robot heroes crap.

Windsweeper wrote:I agree with Loki. What everyone is forgetting is that it was a badly written show for the most part. Furman's excellent comics gave us the whole Primus mythology, the cartoon gave us the Primacron crap. There's very few episodes that are any good, why do people let nostalgia blind them and accept this mostly terrible show as canon?

But then this is the same fandom that condemn Actionmasters but adore the Robot heroes crap.

I didn't think it was all to bad though I do agree it wasn't to good at some points especially with a monkey creating unicron..I just don't think so. But someone told me recently that primacron was actually primus and unicron put together and that they were two sides to one whole but they split apart or something..and that primus seen only the life and goodness in the world while unicron seen only the bad and destruction. I'm not sure if its true or not but it sorta makes sense if you think about it. =o

There you have it! Decepticons prefer Rodimus!!!
Or am wrong to assume that "Decepticons forever!" Signature and a name like Ravenous Nightwind you are a Decepticon sympathizer?

Torino_Prime wrote:There you have it! Decepticons prefer Rodimus!!!
Or am wrong to assume that "Decepticons forever!" Signature and a name like Ravenous Nightwind you are a Decepticon sympathizer?

There is a reason behind why I chose that symbol. Me personally in real life..think of the majority of the community like the autobot side from animated where they rejected the technorganics because they were different and mutant. For me..I'm different then most people or so I have been told soooo..I have been outcasted by most even by those who are also outcasts. I feel the symbol suits me. Though truly a decepticon behind my "character design" just isn't true..its rather..a disguise for my real intentions. I would be a spy, but for neither side. Though..I'm not sure this is the proper place to discuss this.

Ravenous Nightwind wrote:

Torino_Prime wrote:There you have it! Decepticons prefer Rodimus!!!
Or am wrong to assume that "Decepticons forever!" Signature and a name like Ravenous Nightwind you are a Decepticon sympathizer?

There is a reason behind why I chose that symbol. Me personally in real life..think of the majority of the community like the autobot side from animated where they rejected the technorganics because they were different and mutant. For me..I'm different then most people or so I have been told soooo..I have been outcasted by most even by those who are also outcasts. I feel the symbol suits me. Though truly a decepticon behind my "character design" just isn't true..its rather..a disguise for my real intentions. I would be a spy, but for neither side. I'm so much more then I would seem. Though..I'm not sure this is the proper place to discuss this.

How I posted two of those I'll never know. XP

You miss my point Decepticon SPY!!!! If the Decepticons prefer Rodimus than he must be inferior to Optimus. You're stated allegiance (Decepticons forever, the allusions to your difficult social upbringing and the admission that you are a non Autobot affiliated SPY!!!) and previous statements clearly demonstrates that you as a Decepticon (SPY!!!) who prefers Rodimus which means.... Rodimus inferior... PRIME SUPERIOR!