Hi-Q wrote:I was thinking about this today.
Which Autobot would have made the best Decepticon, and Vice versa?
Here's four of my picks:
-Brawl: Dude just seems like he loves to fight, wheras most Autobots are fighting for peace.. He has the least sentimental attachment to humans. He strikes me as a robot that wouldn't cope well with peace.
-Grimlock: OK, While I realize he detests the decepticons, I always got the feeling that it was simply because he has a fiercely loyal personality, and a sense of responsibility. I can easily see his persona meshing had he been made a Decepticon.
-Hook: OK, this goes for the Constructicons as a whole, but IMO Hook embodies what they're about: Creating, not Destroying. He seems like he'd be content building monuments of stability and peace. Typcially when Constructicons are fighting, they do so after they have been provoked, or when they're under direct orders from Megatron.
Now, you can argue that Devastator is the embodiment of destruction, but I believe that isn't by choice. Devastator has a very small brain, and pretty much anybody can manipulate him. If he were an Autobot, again I could easily see him as a tool for building things, not destroying.
-Scorponok: The Decepticon version of Grimlock, IMO. A fierce Warrior without compassion for the enemy, but you get the feeling that he's simply doing it out of loyalty to the side he started out with. Unlike all the other Decepticon commanders, Scorponok isn't driven by ego or a lust for power. He simply wants to protect his own. In a lot of ways, he has more in common with the Autubots.
Disagree with almost all of these. Brawn (not Brawl) would never switch to the Decepticons. He likes to fight to some extent, but it's more a case of exercising his strength, which he's really proud of. He's exuberant, certainly, but he's not bloodthirsty. He's far too nice a guy to swap.
Grimlock has been explored in the Dreamwave comics. In War Within it was established that he got involved in the pit fighting because during peacetime, he needed an outlet for his rage. But again, while he certainly has a predilection towards power, he's essentially a good guy... as he said to Starscream, "Me not like Autobots all that much, but me like you and yours even less." In the G1 comics he even did switch sides briefly when Megatron convinced him of the futility of protecting the humans, but he soon realised his error and returned to the Autobots. I don't see him going back in a hurry.
Hook may be a creator rather than a destroyer, but he's still a pompous, evil-minded sonuvabeach. Of all the Constructicons, I'd actually peg Scrapper as the most likely to switch, but it'd still never happen.
Scorponok, I'll give you. Since merging with Zarak, he has developed more of a conscience, and in the Marvel comics, he did side with Prime at one point. It's possible (maybe not likely, but possible) that he could finally snap at the Decepticon's tyranny and try to fight it.
Bumbled wrote:Starscream to Autobots - because in Armada he really did like Optimus as he said "Optimus was a leader of integrity."
Armada Starscream, maybe. I'm not familiar enough with the storyline to comment for sure, but from what I've heard he's a pretty likely switcheroo.
KingEmperor wrote:Punch/Counterpunch. But that's way too obvious.
Obvious, but by far the most likely in my book. Punch is slipping further and further, and unless he actually starts to realise it and seeks help, he'll eventually go beyond all hope and Counterpunch will be in permanent control.
Zombie Starscream wrote:Thundercracker. He would be a possible good guy if it weren't for his fear of Megatron.
I always used to think so too, but nowadays I'm less sure. Certainly he's with the Decepticons mostly because of Megatron; Megatron convinced him to join at the beginning, now his fear of retribution and constant coersion fromthe likes of Skywarp keep him onside. But I don't think Thundercracker was ever a 'good guy'. As far as I can tell, he's far too easy a killer to side with the Autobots.
KoH4711 wrote:Blitzwing was almost there in G1(though they mysteriously gave his story to Octane at certain points, as I recall).
I don't remember that. Comics or 'toon?
KoH4711 wrote:-Whirl - Given the guy's backstory, he was about two fries away from not having a Value Meal anyway. It's not hard to believe he might jump the fence.
He seems nuts, but as far as I can tell, it seems to be either an act, or a simple stress-release valve. I think it's the latter, but he makes out it's the former. Again, I think he's a nice guy.
KoH4711 wrote:-Blades - He's a little too vicious for an Autobot. Under the right cirumstances, I could see him being manipulated to the Decepticon cause. (What is it about Autobot helicopters?)
Maybe. I have no idea what those circumstances might be, though. He's certainly bloodthirsty, and a bit too eager to rip his foes to shreds. But Hot Spot seems convinced that his spark's in the right place, and when it comes down to it, his wild antics get the job done, if not in the way his superiors would like. I'd say he's an outside chance. Not
likely, but possible.
KoH4711 wrote:-Hubcap - His personality screams Decepticon, and yet he's in the Autobot army. Given his nature, it's not impossible to believe he might betray his comrades if given the chance.
Again, I'll have to disagree. Hubcap isn't a bad guy, he's not just not particularly motivated. His facade tries to cover his laziness... I don't think he has any ulterior motives. Even if he
was bad enough to switch, Megatron would see through his chatter soon enough, and I reckon unless he pulled his act together and actually started
doing something, he'd be slagged before he knew it.
KoH4711 wrote:-Computron - I'm going to give myself a "stretch" character for each side, and here's the Autobot one. If left together for an extended period of time, driven by pure logic, Computron might conclude that the Decepticon course made the most logical sense.
That really
is a stretch in my book. The logic angle may, in a pinch, work for Computron, but not for the Technobots. With the possible exception of Afterburner, they're all far too loyal to the Autobots to allow their gestalt form to side with the Decepticons.
KoH4711 wrote:- It'll Never Happen Award: Mirage. One, Mirage has proven his loyalty in the face of questioning time and again. Beyond that, I'd always imagined the Decepticon movement got started because of class conflict(which appears to be the case in the Origin book), and Mirage is part of the elite in society on Cybertron. The 'Cons would probably just as soon kill him as look at him.
Good take. Agreed. Mirage used to be unsure of the Autobot cause, but although others in their ranks may have suspected him of not being entirely loyal, he was blatantly never going to betray them.
KoH4711 wrote:-Soundwave. This would probably only happen post movie, but he appears to have a little more appreciation for the culture of other worlds, and his loyalty is a little out of place on the Decepticon side. His loyalty to Megatron is a barrier, but as Galvatron slipped into madness, I could see him wanting the war to end. I could easily see Soundwave as an idealist who originally joined up because he thought the Autobots were in the wrong. At least, that's MY take on the character.
Disagree. Soundwave's no idealist, he's all about self. He's a dirty, scheming blackmailer, who's constantly taking steps to advance his position. I think he's with the Decepticons mostly because he sees them as the winning side. He's loyal to Megatron because it serves
his purposes to do so. I've always seen him in the same light as the Mirror Universe Spock in Star Trek - if it came down to it, he could probably easily lead the Decepticons, but that'd put him in the firing line for all those trying to usurp his position (Starscream, Shockwave etc). Where the increasing instability of Galvatron would leave him, I'm not sure. It might even be the jolt he needs to snap him into going for the reins, or maybe he'd even strike out on his own. But he's no Autobot under any circumstances. Even if he
tried to join, I think there'd be too much history for them to ever trust him anyway.
KoH4711 wrote:-Swindle. He's probably only on the 'Con side of things because it's easier to do things the way he wants to. But he's essentially a nastier version of Hubcap, but he's slick enough to at least adapt to the Autobot side.
Possible,
if he sees is at as the profitable thing to do. But I think he's with the Decepticons because they're going to be the ones pressing the conflict, and it's conflict he's after. As he's said before, there's no profit in peace.
KoH4711 wrote:-Dead End. I'm partial to this thanks to the way Dead End's player worked it out in TF Blogs. He's always had a morose sense about him, thinking death was inevitable. But what if, in seeing the human world, he found a cause worth dying for? Plus DE as the Autobot's answer to Marvin the Paranoid Android is awesome to think about.
Never really thought about this before. He's a possibility, I suppose,
if he actually found that spark of compassion that you suggest, which seems unlikely but not impossible. He could also see it as his way out from under the heel (or ankle
) of Motormaster, which wouldn't hurt him at all.
FirstChAoS wrote:SLINGSHOT: In the cartoon he hatedhumans and longed to be a seeker.
For about twenty minutes, but he soon realised how bad a plan
that was. He thought the Seekers were cool initially, but he didn't realise that didn't automatically make them a good thing. And it only applies to the 'toon. He's generally a good 'bot, who puts on a facade of arrogance to hide his insecurities.
FirstChAoS wrote:SUNSTREAKER: A vain and often violent autobot with a short temper and a dislike of humans.
Finally. I thought no-one was going to suggest him.
FirstChAoS wrote:REPUGNUS: According to dreamwaves More Than Meets the Eye character bio, he seems to be almost their.
Again, good choice. I don't think he's quite a Decepticon though. He's amoral, and willing to pull any number of dirty tricks, but like Grimlock, I think he likes that fact that being with the Autobots gives him validation for it. In peacetime, he'd probably be a criminal, but in war he has a focus for all his vitriol.
Bartrim wrote:I read in one of his bios that due to his deviousness (is that a word ) Smokescreen is the closest Autobot to becoming a Decepticon.
I don't know which bio that was, but I don't see it. He's a friendly and popular Autobot, and Prime trusts him implicitly. He even uses Smokescreen's camaraderie to find out about the problems that others wouldn't tell him about to his face. Sure, Smokescreen has a certain deviousness to him, but it's not malicious in the slightest.
My picks, that I can think of, would be:
Punch: As I said, he's a small step away from losing his Punch identity once and for all. If he doesn't seek help, and soon, he's doomed.
Sunstreaker: Ratchet's worried about sociopathic tendencies, and he has every right to be. Other Autobots have noted how he looks at them... "like he's thinking of about ten different ways to rip out their fuel pump". I'd like to think he's like some of the others in that the war gives him focus for his viciousness, but when it comes down to it, I have a feeling it's all about his ties to Sideswipe. If anything happened to him, I think all bets would be off.
Scorponok: He's been close in the Marvel comics, and I think it could come to a point where Zarak's influence could sway him to side with the Autobots.
) Smokescreen is the closest Autobot to becoming a Decepticon.
You get the idea....
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