The Energon Pub

Back in 1984, the Transformers were actually nothing but a bunch of nameless, characterless Japanese toy robots with no fiction and backstories whatsoever.

Unlike the later G1 era of Transformers: The Movie until the current Bayverse movie series, where characters are specifically designed to have their visual designs to represent their personalities, these Geewuners already have their character designs in toy forms - while the Hasbro team look at them and think, "what should the character for this toy be like? is he a good or a bad guy? is he brave or a coward? what is his name?". It's actually kinda like working backwards.

Meanwhile, Hot Rod was already specifically designed to be the hot-shot action hero for the movie. Cyclonus and Scourge are clearly the bad guys with the horns and evil goatees. Things are going that way until now, but not in the very first beginning.

Before Transformers The Movie (the cartoon one), the characters' personalities are simply being written to match their 'already-done' visual design.
Since Transformers The Movie, their physical appearance are designed to match their personality and character, which is how it should be.

In this thread, we're going on a "what-if" route of the before-movie-era.

If you're working with Hasbro's TF brand back in G1 era, what are the things you'd change about the characters, and maybe things that'll happen to them in the storyline?

Though I'm sure a lot will simply say "G1 is already best the way it is!" which might actually be the case. The franchise is still going strong today, a sign that Hasbro do their homework right with these robots.

Before I start, I'll say that the name "Autobots" and "Decepticons" are awesome decisions on Hasbro's part, kudos to anyone who actually came up with those cool names. The color "Red" and "Purple" are also spot on to represent each factions.

But let have some fun, post yours ideas and talk about the others'!

I'll quote myself from the next post, just to make everything clear;

Sizzle wrote:Thanks for your kind reply, JetOptimus23. I think the basic idea of this thread is kinda like this:

It's 1984 (or a few years before that), and you're working at Hasbro. Your development team received a lot of imported transformable Japanese robot toys along with their character models, place them on your table, and your boss said: "Give these guys names, characters, personalities, and backstories. Put them into two factions, good and evil, and you decide which one is in which."

So yeah, basically I wonder how you would judge them by their looks alone if you know nothing about them beforehand, and what kind of backstory you will provide to this characters if you know nothing about them at all. I wonder what would our childhood imagination give into these guys...

My first post is what I would do if I were in charge for G1 canon back then. You guys can comment on mine or post yours

Hopefully you get the idea

THE THINGS I'D CHANGE:

OPTIMUS PRIME
Still the leader of the Autobots, but I'd prefer to assign the name "Ultra Magnus" to him, which I personally think sound better than "Optimus Prime".
As with one of Hasbro's most loathed decisions, I'd also kill this "Ultra Magnus" character for good in the end of G1, with him sacrificing himself for the good of universekind, and got killed in an epic, tear-jerking final scenes.
That should also tell those crying little boys that cartoons are mature media for adults, dammit!

SHOCKWAVE
As the leader of the Decepticons! I always thought Megatron looks kinda bland with his mostly-white color scheme, and while Optimus got an iconic face design, Megatron it simply a robot dude wearing a helmet, which I think doesn't work all that well for an 80's cartoon villain. I think Skeletor, Mumm-Ra and MonStar all beat Megatron in the terms of visual design, especially on the head and face area.
On the contrary, Shockwave got a unique one-eyed, emotionless evil face. He also already got that Decepticon purple as his base color, just as Optimus has his Autobot red paintjob. And while Megatron do got a unique and recognizable visual silhouette, I think it's just because of his huge-ass fusion cannon, while Shockwave has a much more streamlined overall design for a main villain.
He should also be named "Shockmaster" instead, since there is already a character named Soundwave. Two 'S-Something-Wave" character names doesn't scream diversity to me.
(PS. Don't get it wrong, I do actually love Megatron, though.)

SOUNDWAVE
Should be a good guy. His overall character design simply looks like a heroic robot to me, so he should be an Autobot. And that also means that the Decepticon insignia should be based on the above "Shockmaster" instead.
He should be a cool and cold good guy - but a good guy nonetheless - who's trying to learn and understand human emotions, but always fails everytime he tried.
He will finally understand "sadness" though, right before he died after heroically saving a human character in the final episodes.

STARSCREAM
Should be called "Skywarp" instead, and also be a good guy. Ever since I was young, I always thought Starscream got that heroic vibe on him. Add to the fact that he's colored in red and blue, which is one the most recognizable mainstream "Hero" color scheme since ever (Superman & Wonder Woman from DC, Spider-Man & Captain America from Marvel, and Optimus Prime, duh! Might be something about red & blue = USA flag = heroic, I guess?)

SKYWARP
Should got his name switched with "Starscream", as above. As with the "evil black repaints counterparts" trend, he'll be the evil clone of the heroic "Skywarp", only to be revealed in the final episodes that the heroic red-and-blue "Skywarp" is actually THE clone, just right after he finally killed this evil black Starscream, which is the original.

THUNDERCRACKER
He keeps his name alright, but should be a factionless, cool & mysterious character who simply helps whichever side that will benefit him the most. He will finally join the good guys later on though, after an epic fight with the heroic red-and-blue "Skywarp", forming an uneasy "I'll help you, but I still don't like you" kind of rivalry relationship. There will be certain hints about him also being a clone, but with the death of the evil black "Starscream" above, which is the original, the truth will be lost forever and can never be known for sure, leaving a cliffhanger for fans to debate about for the next 25 years to come.

BUMBLEBEE & CLIFFJUMPER
With their nasty little horns, I'd assign them to be in the Decepticon ranks instead. They'll be the annoying, unreliable henchmen comic relief characters. Bumblebee should got his name changed, though.

DEVASTATOR
An Autobot combiner named "Buildor". With their construction vehicles altmodes, I think they should be a bunch of good guys instead. Meanwhile, their evil, destoyer counterpart is Bruticus, which actually should be called "Devastator".
One builds, while the other one devastates. I think it works for a good rivalry between the two.

I see that you're trying to make a good point, but it's getting a bit muddled? I don't know what you're talking about, because the characters already had backstory even before the cartoon with Tech Specs on the back of the package. The only toys i know of with no personality was the original Microman line. The one in Japan. now your points on characters.



Prime: How could anyone change the beloved leader of the Autobots! A role model for children every where? That's insane. i respect your opinion.


Shockwave: his personality is actually very bland. Like a calculator. BOOOOOOORING! Imagine him in every single episode. Don't get me wrong, he's awesome, but still, a calculator. BTW, sorry but Shockmaster just sounds lame. just sayin.


Soundwave will always be evil. His voice is the clincher. His voice is awesome and like an evil computer. Awesome.


Starscream a good guy? No. Just. No.


Are you judging them on their looks? Because there is more than that to these characters.

Skywarp is just. wow. That's pretty creative actually. Nice.

BB as a Decepticon i cant see. Cliffjumper MAYBE....

Anyways. Yeah...

Thanks for your kind reply, JetOptimus23. I think the basic idea of this thread is kinda like this:

It's 1984 (or a few years before that), and you're working at Hasbro. Your development team received a lot of imported transformable Japanese robot toys along with their character models, place them on your table, and your boss said: "Give these guys names, characters, personalities, and backstories. Put them into two factions, good and evil, and you decide which one is in which."

So yeah, basically I wonder how you would judge them by their looks alone if you know nothing about them beforehand, and what kind of backstory you will provide to this characters if you know nothing about them at all. I wonder what would our childhood imagination give into these guys...

My first post is what I would do if I were in charge for G1 canon back then. You guys can comment on mine or post yours

JetOptimus23 wrote:I don't know what you're talking about, because the characters already had backstory even before the cartoon with Tech Specs on the back of the package. The only toys i know of with no personality was the original Microman line. The one in Japan.

Right. And what if you're the one who actually wrote those backstories on the back of those packages? What are you going to write there, if it's up to you? What are you going to name them, if it's up to you?

Hopefully you get the idea

Personal I don't think I'd make that many changes to be honest. The fact that we are still talking about a cartoon show 20 something years after it last aired, is testament to Hasbro, who pretty much got the marketing spot on with that original G1 series (season 3 aside).

I guess If I had to make changes, then I would have really liked to have seen some of the more obscure characters such as Roadbuster, Whirl and the deluxe Insecticons animated as well, because they were never represented on screen in the original series.

Maybe they could even have had their very own 'introductory' episode. Where in that episode, Top Spin, Twin Twist, and Whirl, lead by Roadbuster as their commander, pursue Ransack, Venom, Barrage and Chop Shop across the galaxy to Earth. Once they arrive on Earth, they are very quickly reunited with their respective factions and are then integrated into that original continuity.

MightyMagnus78 wrote:Personal I don't think I'd make that many changes to be honest. The fact that we are still talking about a cartoon show 20 something years after it last aired, is testament to Hasbro, who pretty much got the marketing spot on with that original G1 series (season 3 aside).

I guess If I had to make changes, then I would have really liked to have seen some of the more obscure characters such as Roadbuster, Whirl and the deluxe Insecticons animated as well, because they were never represented on screen in the original series.

Maybe they could even have had their very own 'introductory' episode. Were in that episode, Top Spin, Twin Twist, and Whirl, lead by Roadbuster as their commander, pursue Ransack, Venom, Barrage and Chop Shop across the galaxy to Earth. Once they arrive on Earth, they are very quickly reunited with their respective factions and are then integrated into that original continuity.

Thank you! Couldn't have said it better!



Too bad Bandai made those. So Takara wouldn't use them in the show. But yeah, most everything else is perfect.

I'd change some Autobot names. No Bumble Bee. I mean was there bumble bees on Cybertron? Cliffjumper-maybe. There might have been cliffs on Cybertron. Just Autobots with names with no basis on Cybertron I'd use different names. Autobots with names like Beachcomber, Seaspray, Outback, etc.

It's weird seeing my Allspark and TFW2005 name on here with someone else's words

I don't know that I'd change anything about the character bios themselves. I think Marvel did one hell of a job setting everything up. I think it's a given that there are going to be characters with traits we don't necessarily like or wouldn't have chosen for ourselves. That's what makes fiction interesting. If everybody was awesome, then what do you care who wins the war, y'know?

Now, I'd definitely change a lot of the ways the cartoons and the comics handled said character bios inconsistently. I'd change the cartoon a TON.

G1Sizzle wrote:It's weird seeing my Allspark and TFW2005 name on here with someone else's words

Hey, it's nice to meet another G1 Sizzle fan like me! Never saw one since forever

Doouble post.

Triple post. Damn slow internet connection.

He, Skywarp and Ravage are the sole survivors of my original G1 collection Sparkabots forever!

Can't imagine Bumblebee as a Con? What about Bugbite or wasp?

It wasn't an accepted norm in 1984, but if I had my way, Tracks would come out of the closet.

Sizzle wrote:If you're working with Hasbro's TF brand back in G1 era, what are the things you'd change about the characters, and maybe things that'll happen to them in the storyline?

I'd try to work in neutral or third-faction Cybertronians. The members of this third group can sympathize with either faction, but not necessarily be official Autobots or Decepticons.

I'd take the choice used for the Gobots, and give some of those toys female identities, even if they're blocky bricks. Then Arcee would be one of those toys already available with the initial launch.

The only thing, so far, that I'd change about any G1 Transformer, is Megatron's voice. I hated G1 Megatron's voice. Transformers Animated's Megatron had a voice more suitable for a Megatron, in my opinion. It screamed dark and evil... where G1 Megatron's voice reminded me of an irritated teacher with laryngitis trying shout over a classroom noisy kids. It just sucked.

Orcania wrote:The only thing, so far, that I'd change about any G1 Transformer, is Megatron's voice. I hated G1 Megatron's voice. Transformers Animated's Megatron had a voice more suitable for a Megatron, in my opinion. It screamed dark and evil... where G1 Megatron's voice reminded me of an irritated teacher with laryngitis trying shout over a classroom noisy kids. It just sucked.

Yes! Almost no one agrees with me on this. I thought Animated Megatron had the most suitably evil voice and personality of all. Animated Megs is just so evil he doesn't know what to make of himself.

Maybe give Optimus Prime a "super mode"?

OptiMagnus10 wrote:Maybe give Optimus Prime a "super mode"?

Armada, Armada... I heard the Armada series was pretty well disliked by the fans. Personally, I liked it, for the most part, but Optimus Prime does not need a "super mode". He's too epic for that.

Orcania wrote:

OptiMagnus10 wrote:Maybe give Optimus Prime a "super mode"?

Armada, Armada... I heard the Armada series was pretty well disliked by the fans. Personally, I liked it, for the most part, but Optimus Prime does not need a "super mode". He's too epic for that.

I'd love it if Prime's trailer had a "Power Up" pack. His trailer could open up, and the attack/repair unit could attach a pair of rocket boosters as well as some other armor (battle blades and a second rifle). Roller would then be responsible for driving the trailer and either keeping it out of battle or positioning it to provide support fire.

Unfortunately, that would have required additional parts to work, and we are working with the original models and adapting them to the original cartoon.

Along that line, the original Diaclone version of Optimus had the Ultra Magnus trailer as a power up. So instead of using that as the new character Ultra Magnus, I would introduce the trailer later in the series for Prime to use to both transport fellow Autobots, particularly wounded ones out of battle, as well as a power up armor. This would allow Prime himself to battle against Decpticon gestalts, and would make him look more intimidating when speaking with Omega Supreme all those times he had to convince his old friend to help fight.

Also, though this goes without saying, I would have found a good way to introduce new Transformers as more toys became available rather than simply having most of them appear out of nowhere. We know who was on the Ark. I would either have Cosmos bring the new Bot reinforcements to Earth after finding out the Ark survived in a two or three part episode, or have the new Bots come out of hiding on Cybertron and use the space bridge to join up with Prime on Earth.

Finally (for now), no flying without jet packs or built in boosters. I can't stand Bots taking to the air like in the premier, and even some later episodes, as well Bots like Rodimus Prime suddenly able to fly on Earth and in space with no means of propulsion. The original Gundam could not fly on Earth, only boost itself. Sideswipe had a jet pack, but it took a lot of energy to use. I also would not have any Cons flying, not even Megatron, not without a way of showing how they can fly, like wings and thrusters. But Bots with "door wings" could have some flight capabilities so long as they have boosters of some sort somewhere on them, like Tracks (though I don't remember seeing him fly in Bot mode). There were too few times when this issue was handled correctly, most prominently in "Dinobot Island" where a number of Bots used jet packs (Bumblebee, for one that I remember) to get to the island.

Make the dinobots an elite-ist subfaction like they were in the comics, with a Furman-ist smart Grimlock (heck, his bio states his intelligence is 7/10, not the 1/10 like he was in the cartoon).

Not in 1984, but I'd continue the american cartoon with season 4. Introduce powermasters, pretenders, etc with the villains that are more known in Japan and Europe: Overlord, Stalker, Skyquake, the predators... Maybe introduce a pacifist and a more evil faction...

Well personally, back to the show, I would make Combiners appear rarely but when they do they are next to invincible. And the biggest TransFormers out there, sorry, I'm pretty heavily Combiner biased..>_>

With Galvatron...I'd either have him never exist or literally be an upgraded Megatron, that is to say keeping Welker's Megatron style voice(instead of his weird-ish new one) and his sanity, Galvatron just annoys me in the cartoon, especially how in "The Ultimate Weapon" he backs away from Rodimus when in The Five Faces of Darkness he showed that his cannon can destroy planets!...It just seemed really ridiculous to me...

I would also change Megatron vs Optimus' battle, to end with both of their signature weapons(well sort of, the flail and axe is what I mean) and for it to be even and longer with the scenery being destroyed from how powerful they are, ultimately Optimus would win but die from his wounds with Megatron dead after being tossed off the ledge.

I'd also have Rodimus not really...exist...I liked Hot Rod better, he made a good rookie character(from what we saw) but Rodimus was...depressing and gloomy and overall uninteresting. his attempt at an Optimus-esque alt-mode was also pretty lame in my opinion, the car fit him just fine.

Orcania wrote:

OptiMagnus10 wrote:Maybe give Optimus Prime a "super mode"?

Armada, Armada... I heard the Armada series was pretty well disliked by the fans. Personally, I liked it, for the most part, but Optimus Prime does not need a "super mode". He's too epic for that.

I don't think he "needs" it, but I think it would've been neat. I mean, his brother got a pretty cool one, so why can't Optimus?

One thign i should have done was introduced more evil decepticons, heck it was more bandai insectron shapes takara could have loaned from bandai and we would have had more insecticons also it is one unused revolver microman and a triple changer that was never used they would been nice decepticon. more seeker colour variants have a black evil optimus/ultra magnus in it from the begining. make the leadership for decepticons more unstable as in the marvel comics.

also a better explaination in the cartoon and comics for stuff as the pretenders, micromasters and so on.

Orcania wrote:The only thing, so far, that I'd change about any G1 Transformer, is Megatron's voice. I hated G1 Megatron's voice. Transformers Animated's Megatron had a voice more suitable for a Megatron, in my opinion. It screamed dark and evil... where G1 Megatron's voice reminded me of an irritated teacher with laryngitis trying shout over a classroom noisy kids. It just sucked.

Heh heh... When do we attack Meggie??

"We attack the base... at SUNRISE..." *flashy eyes*

Whoa, that's original...

Gripen1974 wrote:also a better explaination in the cartoon and comics for stuff as the pretenders, micromasters and so on.

Oh hell yeah, the comics intros in particular were so laaaaame! Mainly cos Bob was gettin fed up with introducing so many characters. That started after the Headmasters, when he put a lot of work into Galen, only to have to kill him off cos Hasbro had to have Fort Max's head called Spike... Not Buster... poor old Buster...

Anyway, I digress! Original Sizzle (btw, were the Sparkabots named by Snoop Dogg? I Guzzle your Fizzle, Sizzle...) - nice idea about Shockwave, he was always the superior 'bot to me, and the right height to! He even compares to ROTF Megatron height-wise!

Jetfire as Autobot leader!! Called Skylord or something, I dunno... again, the height, and keeping his original toy face, iconic leader and able to fend off the pesky seekers, like a red lorry of the skies! The only Autobot apart from Powerglide who could fly...

I agree that there should have been more parity between Autos and Deceps, however many toy lines did have fewer villains than heroes... He-Man, for example, Go-Bots, MASK (there were only 3 VENOM boys to start with!)

More combining Autobots too, why did the Deceps end up with a 7 to 3 gestalt advantage?! Quite clearly, the Dinobots should've combined... they'd have been immense! Dinolord! Megasword! Names aren't a strong point... Even if Grimlock hated the idea in the UK letter's page...

I like the idea of a red Bumblebee being a Decep... maybe throw Gears and Brawn across as well as the more rugged lil vehicles to trouble the Autobots.

I gotta start a new message, this one's playing silly buggers...