There's already a thread on worst Autobot leaders in the general section but I want to raise an issue for UM. Not that he was actually a bad leader, it's just it really sucked to be him after what I heard Flint Dille commented in the 2006 DVD remaster of the 1986 Movie.
About Dille's comments, I'll get to it after this back ground.In Diaclone, the toy was a step ahead from the original Battle Convoy. A power suit upgrade + a full transfomable scout car and a "flying" chest armor/jet.
Not really sure what Hasbro was planning for him but I found an alternative battle scene in Transformers Generations (1st edition)albeit a very small one on what appeared to be G1-Megatron fighting a Diaclone colored UM.I found a bigger picture of the scene in "Pia"
It seems that prior to the 1986 Movie (even early ads of the Movie showed UM in these colors)Hasbro
might have been planning for Op to become UM. Speculation on my part people. You can see in the scene the core robot actually transforming into him.
This scene never appeared again in the toy box battle scene. In fact, only the Takara box/package battle scene showed both the white core robot and the UM armor separately in the scene (the background of the scene seems to be Earth with Metroplex in full robot mode in the right and Dinosaurer in dino mode on the left)
So back to UM and Flint Dille's comments. Maybe old news for you guys but then again, whoever listens to the commentary track of the DVDS anyway?
In the scene of transition, Optimus was turning over the Matrix to UM. Then comes a scene where we see (I thought it was an error in animation) where UM actually puts the Matrix into his chest twice or readjusts its fit. Well Dille commented that the "error" was more or less intentional or the scene's animation didn't convey the omen of things to come. The Matrix was never meant for UM
Sucks to be UM no? All this time, the story was supposed to build up into Hotrod's taking over the reigns of command.
So all this "I can't deal with this " lines really was a put down on the current transitional holder of the Matrix..........which translated into the toy not having one.
In the UK stories, UM really did give a lot of hurt to the 'cons, especially Galvatron in that time travel plotline of Furman but in DW War Wihin, UM was a wuss. Jeez....poor guy. IDw, well that's a really different animal.
Maybe the saving grace for UMis this MP figure............a very well constructed Mp over the atrocious MP-09.
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