The Energon Pub

Optimus Prime has pretty much had the same characterization, colour scheme and general alt mode throughout the franchise. Likewise with staples like Bumblebee, Shockwave and Starscream.

But how about names which were given to completely different characters. Which would be the king of variation?

My vote goes to Jetfire. He starts as an atheist scientist and former Decepticon who turns into a white/red Macross type sci-fi jet. His return sees him as a patriotic space shuttle and then a pea green transport plane with an Australian accent. Then he's a Russian stooge with combination powers with his equally doofus twin. And finally, a grumpy, semi-senile rusting Blackbird who tells a lot of stories.

Optimus?

Truck(flat nose,(3) full nose,fire truck(2), Munkee, Bat,shoe, car, Lion,Elephant. So much changes

Jetfire's a pretty good candiate, but how about Soundwave? While not THAT many figures have bore his name(considering his popularity), he's gone from a tape player in G1, to a very neon car in G2, a missile truck in Machine Wars(Stalker repaint) then a crocodile/bat mutant(!!??) in Beast Wars, and futuristic stealth bomber in Cybertron.

Then he gets a few subline toys as an MP3 player(Music label wasn't it?) a tape deck with a diaper(Titanium), and a repaint of his Machine Wars repaint in Universe. Animated gave him an SUV'ish alt. with music refernces, while the live action films gave him both a Cybertronian satelite/jet and a car mode. In the Prime/Video game verses he's a Cybertronian truck then a stealth drone, as well as a cyberverse car. Now thanks to Masterpiece, he's a tape player again.

Knock Out.

From a construction vehicle micromaster, to a military vehicle, to a Headmaster (or reminiscent thereof), to a motorcycle, to a three-wheeled spyder, to a shiny red sports car.

Megatron?

Gun, many kinds of tanks, T-Rex, dragon, the RiD 6/10 changer thing, many kinds of jets, race car/batmobile, Nissan Fair Lady Z, helicopter, truck, Cybertronian whatever, etc. At least he pretty much stays as a leader.

I think Megatron still takes the cake.

From a Walther PP7
to a green Tank
To an Alligator
To a purple T-Rex
To a brown metallic Trex
To a mechanical dragon
To a head
To another dragon
To a jet plane
To yet another dragon with 5 other modes thrown in.
To another green Tank
To a weird Jet again
To a bat mobile
To a gun and a green tank again for the same line
To a cybertronian flying thing
To another cybertronian flying thing
To a helicopter
To a cybertronian tank
To another cybertronian flying thing
To a Nissan GT
To a tanker truck

...

Feel fee to add any I missed.

Perhaps we should exclude Optimuses and Megatrons on the basis that they're in every series and therefore have an OBSCENE number of different altmodes.

What about BumbleBee.
When from a cute beetle to a non-talking beeping sports car

This reminds me of the first time I saw Transformers Prime Wheeljack. I just thought that that wasn't Wheeljack. That's a completely different character. Another one that comes to mind is Energon Ironhide.

SentinelA wrote:What about BumbleBee.
When from a cute beetle to a non-talking beeping sports car

He's still a stapled kid-appeal character. That hasn't changed.

Omega-1 wrote:This reminds me of the first time I saw Transformers Prime Wheeljack. I just thought that that wasn't Wheeljack. That's a completely different character. Another one that comes to mind is Energon Ironhide.

Wheeljack's entire appearance is one big flashing G1 homage. Also, he's a mechanic. It has been mentioned on the show yet, but we can tell that he's a mechanic because he fixed the Jackhammer from when it crashed in "Triage." How is that not Wheeljack?

How about Armada 'Wheeljack'? Granted, he is and was always meant to be a Sideswipe homage and was never intented to have anything to do with Wheeljack, but he was given the name anyway...because it was there I suppose.

The characters certainly stand in stark contrast.

PrymeStriker wrote:Wheeljack's entire appearance is one big flashing G1 homage. Also, he's a mechanic. It has been mentioned on the show yet, but we can tell that he's a mechanic because he fixed the Jackhammer from when it crashed in "Triage." How is that not Wheeljack?

Wheeljack isn't a mechanic. He's a mad scientist. That's like calling Sheldon Cooper a rocket scientist. He would be insulted. Wheeljack is supposed to be a nerd. The Prime Wheeljack is more of a fighter, even if he fixes things on the side. And I'm talking purely his personality and not based on the way he looks.

Omega-1 wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:Wheeljack's entire appearance is one big flashing G1 homage. Also, he's a mechanic. It has been mentioned on the show yet, but we can tell that he's a mechanic because he fixed the Jackhammer from when it crashed in "Triage." How is that not Wheeljack?

Wheeljack isn't a mechanic. He's a mad scientist. That's like calling Sheldon Cooper a rocket scientist. Wheeljack is supposed to be a nerd. The Prime Wheeljack is more of a fighter, even if he fixes things on the side. And I'm talking purely his personality and not based on the way he looks.

I'm sure we all know Sheldon Cooper's position on engineers.

Omega-1 wrote:Wheeljack isn't a mechanic. He's a mad scientist. That's like calling Sheldon Cooper a rocket scientist. He would be insulted.

Are you kidding me? Yes, he was a mechanic. How the heck does he invent machines if he doesn't know anything about mechanics.

Prime Wheeljack is as much a mechanic as G1 Wheeljack. Calling him a scientist and leaving out his mechanical expertise is an insult to the original character.

PrymeStriker wrote:

Omega-1 wrote:Wheeljack isn't a mechanic. He's a mad scientist. That's like calling Sheldon Cooper a rocket scientist. He would be insulted.

Are you kidding me? Yes, he was a mechanic. How the heck does he invent machines if he doesn't know anything about mechanics.

Prime Wheeljack is as much a mechanic as G1 Wheeljack. Calling him a scientist and leaving out his mechanical expertise is an insult to the original character.

A mechanic fixes mechanical things. An inventor creates new things. If you don't understand the difference, then I don't know how else to explain it to you. And that is not really the main difference between them. Prime Wheeljack is primarily a warrior and G1 Wheeljack is primarily a scientist.

My vote would be Wheel Jack too... in g1 he seems like one of those "out of your garage" mechanic/inventors.

Perceptor was the scientest.

The Prime Wheeljack definitely threw me for a loop.

I will also say the fact that moving foward in different shows that bumble bee won't be able to talk is kinda lame.

warzon3 wrote:Perceptor was the scientest.

Yes, Perceptor was the true Sheldon Cooper of the Autobots. He's like the theoretical physicist. But an inventor is also a scientist.

Omega-1 wrote:A mechanic fixes mechanical things.

A mechanic both builds and repairs machinery.

An inventor creates new things.

An inventor can execute a product that is an improvement upon another product.

You're limiting the expertise fields to what's common, not what defines the profession.

PrymeStriker wrote:

Omega-1 wrote:A mechanic fixes mechanical things.

A mechanic both builds and repairs machinery.

They build things that have already been invented. That's not inventing. A mechanic is not a scientist. Obviously, anybody could be an inventor by creating something new in their area of expertise but that doesn't make them an "inventor" by profession. G1 Wheeljack is known to be a "mad scientist" inventor, which implies that he's a scientist that invents things. If you can find me a reputable source that says that a mechanic is an inventor or a scientist then please let me know. Hoist is a mechanic. Ratchet is a doctor but a doctor for machines, which could also define him as a mechanic.

Omega-1 wrote:

PrymeStriker wrote:

Omega-1 wrote:A mechanic fixes mechanical things.

A mechanic both builds and repairs machinery.

They build things that have already been invented. That's not inventing. A mechanic is not a scientist. Obviously, anybody could be an inventor by creating something new in their area of expertise but that doesn't make them an "inventor" by profession. G1 Wheeljack is known to be a "mad scientist" inventor, which implies that he's a scientist that invents things. If you can find me a reputable source that says that a mechanic is an inventor or a scientist then please let me know. Hoist is a mechanic. Ratchet is a doctor but a doctor for machines, which could also define him as a mechanic.

When did I say that a mechanic was an inventor? I said Wheeljack was a mechanic and an inventor. An inventor and a scientist.

PrymeStriker wrote:When did I say that a mechanic was an inventor? I said Wheeljack was a mechanic and an inventor. An inventor and a scientist.

Wheeljack's G1 bio:

"Wheeljack is the mad scientist of the Autobots. Always inventing new weapons and gadgets. Most adept at driving while in car Mode. Likes to show off his stunts. Flying range of 800 miles using solid-fuel rockets in arms. Shoots magnetic inducer, shrapnel-needle, and gyro-inhibitor shells from his shoulder cannons. He is his own worst enemy. Often injured while experimenting with new weapons."

Nowhere do I see the word mechanic in there. I would accept that he is also an engineer, which is also not a mechanic. And even if he was a part time mechanic, his primary function was not a mechanic and the primary function of the Prime Wheeljack is also not a mechanic. His primary function in Prime is hunter/warrior and his primary function in G1 is scientist/engineer <= That was my original point about their characters being different.

You actually went to the toy bio to look for that information?

How about the cartoons and comics, where they actually build on his character development. You could also check TFWiki, which I doubt you did considering even they mention his mechanical expertise.

In "Divide and Conquer," Wheeljack had to put his mechanic skills to the test when Optimus was heavily damaged. Wheeljack even grumbles that his knowledge in the mechanical engineering field has hardly payed off in "The War Within #6" from Dreamwave.

I already said that Prime Wheeljack was as much a mechanic as G1 Wheeljack already. You just repeated me.

PrymeStriker wrote:You actually went to the toy bio to look for that information?

How about the cartoons and comics, where they actually build on his character development. You could also check TFWiki, which I doubt you did considering even they mention his mechanical expertise.

In "Divide and Conquer," Wheeljack had to put his mechanic skills to the test when Optimus was heavily damaged. Wheeljack even grumbles that his knowledge in the mechanical engineering field has hardly payed off in "The War Within #6" from Dreamwave.

I already said that Prime Wheeljack was as much a mechanic as G1 Wheeljack already. You just repeated me.

I think it boils down to this:

G1 Wheeljack:
- Is a mechanical engineer and inventor, and therefore is BY DEFINITION also a mechanic (as being a mechanic is a per-requisite to being both of the aforementioned things -- he both designs AND builds his own stuff)
- 'Mad scientist' is his primary function. He's awesome and we all love him despite (or ore probably because of) his shenanigans.

Prime Wheeljack:
- Is primarily a warrior/fighter, from what we've seen so far. It is also been shown that he's a mechanic of a high degree, being able to fix the Jackhammer multiple times with minimal resources despite quite a bit of damage. Beyond his repairs of himself and the Jackhammer, he's shown no scientist-y side. He's mostly Drift with some working knowledge of mechanics.

Therefore:
While Prime WJ does display some skill in the mechanic department, he's not by any means a scientist (at least now how he's shown in Prime).

But I didn't object to Prime Wheeljack and G1 Wheeljack being different. I was challenging them sharing no similarities and being completely different.

I just finished watching season 2 of Transformers Prime and I think Smokescreen is kind of different from his G1 character, too. Prime Smokescreen is more like G1 Hot Rod. Although, we don't really know that much about G1 Smokescreen.