The Energon Pub

Just wondering where certain alt forms came from. Repugnus comes to mind first. The terrorcons and monstercons also raise the question as to where the heck did these alt forms originate.

I've always had a fascination with Transformers stories that occur off Earth. They actually bring more of an alien aspect to the series. It would be neat, outside of fanfic, to find an explanation of the forms and the planet(s) they came from.

Some Transformers don't have scaned alt modes. Like the Dinobots for instance. They were built with the Dinosaur alt modes in mind so they didn't have to scan an alt form.

Other transformers like Repugnus from Cybertron (the series not the planet) probly scaned their alt forms from the planet they live on. All the Beastformers in Cybertron live on an organic Jungle Planet. Overhaul/Leo Breaker is the only one we know for sure is from off world as he was a jeep before the upgrade from the planet key.

Saber Prime wrote:Like the Dinobots for instance. They were built with the Dinosaur alt modes in mind so they didn't have to scan an alt form.

Only in one continuity (the cartoon). In at least two others they scanned flesh and blood critters.

In the G1 comics, the Monsterbots (Repugnus et al) and the Terrorcons were all created on Nebulos IIRC, so they may have been based on Nebulon fauna. However, Grotesque's profile, and Scorponok's appearance in the comics, suggest that some creature-modes are simply naturally occurring, and have nothing to do with real or imagined creatures.

In Energon, the Terrorcons were created by Alpha-Q based on her memories of her earth-like home planet's fauna.

Caelus wrote:

Saber Prime wrote:Like the Dinobots for instance. They were built with the Dinosaur alt modes in mind so they didn't have to scan an alt form.

Only in one continuity (the cartoon). In at least two others they scanned flesh and blood critters.

In the G1 comics, the Monsterbots (Repugnus et al) and the Terrorcons were all created on Nebulos IIRC, so they may have been based on Nebulon fauna. However, Grotesque's profile, and Scorponok's appearance in the comics, suggest that some creature-modes are simply naturally occurring, and have nothing to do with real or imagined creatures.

In Energon, the Terrorcons were created by Alpha-Q based on her memories of her earth-like home planet's fauna.

Um... Alpha Q is a dude.

Saber Prime wrote:

Caelus wrote:

Saber Prime wrote:Like the Dinobots for instance. They were built with the Dinosaur alt modes in mind so they didn't have to scan an alt form.

Only in one continuity (the cartoon). In at least two others they scanned flesh and blood critters.

In the G1 comics, the Monsterbots (Repugnus et al) and the Terrorcons were all created on Nebulos IIRC, so they may have been based on Nebulon fauna. However, Grotesque's profile, and Scorponok's appearance in the comics, suggest that some creature-modes are simply naturally occurring, and have nothing to do with real or imagined creatures.

In Energon, the Terrorcons were created by Alpha-Q based on her memories of her earth-like home planet's fauna.

Um... Alpha Q is a dude.

he is
i thout he was a mixtrure of diferent robots both "dudes" + "dudetts" (dude + ett)

Where will Cosmos' alt mode come from?

From what were Cyclonus and Scourge's alt mode based on?

I say, Roswell never happened. It was Cosmos coming to Earth looking for OP.

Anyway, anything designed by Unicron would have different alt modes. He's destroyed so many worlds, who knows how many alt modes he knows.

My question is where did Twintwist and Topspin come from?

Saber Prime wrote:

Caelus wrote:

Saber Prime wrote:Like the Dinobots for instance. They were built with the Dinosaur alt modes in mind so they didn't have to scan an alt form.

Only in one continuity (the cartoon). In at least two others they scanned flesh and blood critters.

In the G1 comics, the Monsterbots (Repugnus et al) and the Terrorcons were all created on Nebulos IIRC, so they may have been based on Nebulon fauna. However, Grotesque's profile, and Scorponok's appearance in the comics, suggest that some creature-modes are simply naturally occurring, and have nothing to do with real or imagined creatures.

In Energon, the Terrorcons were created by Alpha-Q based on her memories of her earth-like home planet's fauna.

Um... Alpha Q is a dude.

Alpha Q was originally supposed to be a young girl in a armor. All those different heads were supposed to represent the personalities of her (deceased) family members.

But Hasbro axed the idea.

If you ask me, I've always kinda wondered about Perceptor. I mean

"Autobots, transform and attack! Don't let the Decepticons into the city!"

"Hold on, Prime, I'm not in focus yet!"

I always wondered about roadbuster from the G1 toy line?

There's a "Moon" character in the Galleries. And he's really odd.

One form has the head of the other form in his ass. And vice versa.

ShadowKatt wrote:If you ask me, I've always kinda wondered about Perceptor. I mean

"Autobots, transform and attack! Don't let the Decepticons into the city!"

"Hold on, Prime, I'm not in focus yet!"

Sure, but once Perceptor *is* in focus, he's got enough punch to knock Devastator apart. Who can complain?

Personally, I always wondered about Reflector. Three robots that transform into... one hand-held camera?

And, we probably should mention Sky Lynx, too. I mean, what the...?

The Pretenders, I know in the show they could simplify their humanoid look, but realy, StrangleHold, DoubleHeader, and so on...

Jeysie wrote:

ShadowKatt wrote:If you ask me, I've always kinda wondered about Perceptor. I mean

"Autobots, transform and attack! Don't let the Decepticons into the city!"

"Hold on, Prime, I'm not in focus yet!"

Sure, but once Perceptor *is* in focus, he's got enough punch to knock Devastator apart. Who can complain?

Personally, I always wondered about Reflector. Three robots that transform into... one hand-held camera?

And, we probably should mention Sky Lynx, too. I mean, what the...?

What will the 2 of them do, if one gets killed or captured?

Transform into a slim digital Sony camera?

What about Computron and Strafe and the others alt modes? I mean really.

Maybe some have custom alt modes not copied from anything but created to match their personalities or intended purposes?

As for the Technobots, they (in the cartoon) were created by Grimlock when he had super-intelligence. He was smart enough to design new alt modes with futuristic technology.

Would they still have the ability to scan other alt. modes if created by another transformer? Like wheeljack did the dinobots, and grimlock did the technobots? (In the cartoon). And i was always curious how the created transformers got their sparks or life? Were they just programed robots? Or a part the whole? I guess it's how you want to incorporate different series or the comics.

Self-scanning of alt modes does not apply to the cartoon series. It's a new idea created for the new movie only. Individual bots don't have that ability in the cartoons. That ability was reserved for Teletraan-1.

Regarding the Spark for the created robots, i think this is a plot hole. The writers probably overlooked this detail, in their effort to create a reason for the existence of Dinobots in dino-alt forms.

Auto Bot wrote:Regarding the Spark for the created robots, i think this is a plot hole. The writers probably overlooked this detail, in their effort to create a reason for the existence of Dinobots in dino-alt forms.

Actually, in the cartoon's original continuity, it makes perfect sense. The implication from episodes like "The Killing Jar" and "Starscream's Brigade" is that Transformer personalities are simply programmed and stored in "personality modules".

Vector Sigma is a really powerful computer, so it is able to create fully-programmed personalities. Wheeljack is a programmer of much lesser skill in comparison, so the Dinobots only have crude, barely formed personalities. Grimlock, however, possessed extreme super-intelligence when he created the Technobots, thus enabling him to have enough skill to program Vector Sigma-tier personalities for them.

The plot point contradictions only arise when you start trying to retcon the later-established metaphysical concepts into the equation.

Auto Bot wrote:Self-scanning of alt modes does not apply to the cartoon series. It's a new idea created for the new movie only. Individual bots don't have that ability in the cartoons. That ability was reserved for Teletraan-1.

What about TFs Cybertron? Did'nt Thundercracker, Thunderblast, Jolt, Sixspeed and reverb scan there alt. modes?

Jeysie wrote:

Auto Bot wrote:Regarding the Spark for the created robots, i think this is a plot hole. The writers probably overlooked this detail, in their effort to create a reason for the existence of Dinobots in dino-alt forms.

Actually, in the cartoon's original continuity, it makes perfect sense. The implication from episodes like "The Killing Jar" and "Starscream's Brigade" is that Transformer personalities are simply programmed and stored in "personality modules".

Vector Sigma is a really powerful computer, so it is able to create fully-programmed personalities. Wheeljack is a programmer of much lesser skill in comparison, so the Dinobots only have crude, barely formed personalities. Grimlock, however, possessed extreme super-intelligence when he created the Technobots, thus enabling him to have enough skill to program Vector Sigma-tier personalities for them.

The plot point contradictions only arise when you start trying to retcon the later-established metaphysical concepts into the equation.

The contradiction still exists. The cartoon did say that something deep from the center of Cybertron is the thing that gives every Transformers its life force.

Dinobots never went to Cybertron for so many episodes after they were created. And nobody brought that something to earth to breath life into the Dinobots.

So technically, they have no "Transformers soul". They should be walking zombies. Capable of being destroyed and recreated over and over again.

Plot hole.

Why didn't the Autobots just simply create a hundred more new Autobots to tip the balance of the war?

Plot hole.

But that's ok. It's a cartoon.

Auto Bot wrote:The contradiction still exists. The cartoon did say that something deep from the center of Cybertron is the thing that gives every Transformers its life force.

He said "The megacomputer deep in the core of Cybertron which gave us all life!" I don't see a contradiction here... programming a personality into something so it becomes sentient would qualify to me as giving something "life" if I was a TF. Doesn't necessarily mean I'd have a life *force*, however. (And nowhere in that ep is it referred to as such.)

Auto Bot wrote:Why didn't the Autobots just simply create a hundred more new Autobots to tip the balance of the war?

After Megatron stole the key, they only managed to reactivate Vector Sigma that one extra time by "sacrificing" Alpha Trion to it. And Silverbolt ended up destroying the key once they got it away from Megatron. There apparently was no other way to reactivate Vector Sigma, because in "The Rebirth", Optimus had to sacrifice the empty Matrix to it to reactivate it.

So the only real choice (seeing as how they only have so many first-gen TFs and Matrixes) would be to create more half-formed personalities like the Dinobots... which Optimus probably decided wasn't worth it, considering how many problems the Dinobots tended to cause.

G1 has its fair share of plot holes, but this is one aspect where I don't really see a contradiction.

Auto Bot wrote:The contradiction still exists. The cartoon did say that something deep from the center of Cybertron is the thing that gives every Transformers its life force.

Dinobots never went to Cybertron for so many episodes after they were created. And nobody brought that something to earth to breath life into the Dinobots.

So technically, they have no "Transformers soul". They should be walking zombies. Capable of being destroyed and recreated over and over again.

Plot hole.

Why didn't the Autobots just simply create a hundred more new Autobots to tip the balance of the war?

Plot hole.

But that's ok. It's a cartoon.

Well the truth is that that the creation of Vector Sigma is in fact the real plot hole not the Dinobots having life.

This isnt a issue or what came first the "chicken or the egg".The Dinobot were created before the idea or vector sigma was introduced.So in effect the concept of Vector Sigma a mega computer that gives all TF's life is the real plot whole.

I notice something odd about Transmetal Cheetor.

Is his robot head hidden in the poopoo are of the cheetah alt mode?