The Energon Pub

[Quantum Surge]

Someone in the media being riled up over a show. Other breaking news: Water...wet...

[Bumblevivisector]

The initial outrage over HUB alum SheZow didn't amount to much or last that long, did it?



Of course, that show was neither a presence on toy shelves, nor part of a decades-long franchise.

Point is, been here, done that.

Methinks this might just be a plot to get Nightshade's toy pulled before most collectors can finish their Mandroid, so some scalpers connected to the Murdochs who already have several cases stockpiled can leak them out at an 800% markup and pay off Fox News' recent legal bills! Wake up and connect the dots, sheeple!

[william-james88]

Someone in the media being riled up over a show. Other breaking news: Water...wet...

But this time it's Transformers. First time some people over 60 ever hear about that show

[Bumblevivisector]

Someone in the media being riled up over a show. Other breaking news: Water...wet...

But this time it's Transformers. First time some people over 60 ever hear about that show

True Dat. I remember one pair of grandparents who came into my Toys'R'Us after the first Bay movie asking: "Is there one that turns from a car into like a person?" I somehow avoided laughing long enough to answer: "Well, we did have that guy, let's go check..."

Is Mortal Kombat the best example of a franchise targeted at kids that became iconic and enduring almost entirely due to free advertising from outrage-news-stories heralding its debut?

[Burn]

hmmm yes, another pointless outrage.

I so can't wait for the usual suspects to come along and jump on the Kelly bandwagon and prove how narrow minded they are.

In all seriousness, I don't give a flying **** about pronouns, at the end of the day, they don't hurt me, nor do they hurt those close to me that I care about. It's not my thing, but if people want to use them then that's fine by me.

[noctorro]

Personal opinion, I don't think sociopolitical and sexual preference stuff needs to be in a children's cartoon. And that a news outlet reports on this without being 40 years fan of the series is just fine by me.

Stick to Autobots fighting Decepticons while saving humans and other factions.

[william-james88]

Personal opinion, I don't think sociopolitical and sexual preference stuff needs to be in a children's cartoon. And that a news outlet reports on this without being 40 years fan of the series is just fine by me.

Stick to Autobots fighting Decepticons while saving humans and other factions.

There was no mention of sexual preference.

As for sociopolitics, that's been there in some way or another with the Transformers brand throughout the years.

[Sard]

Personal opinion, I don't think sociopolitical and sexual preference stuff needs to be in a children's cartoon. And that a news outlet reports on this without being 40 years fan of the series is just fine by me.

Stick to Autobots fighting Decepticons while saving humans and other factions.

Sociopolitical issues have been a standard of superhero and similar media for decades, and nothing in the clip there touches on sexual preferences. Both categories were being touched on by the franchise over twenty years ago, anyways.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Wow, they are really late to the show here. Probably the only reason it is on Fox News now is because that stupid Libsoftiktok found and shared a clip of the show.

Either way, they can **** right off with that. Nightshade is a good character and they identifying as them was never a problem until a hate page (Libsoftiktok is a hate page) found it. Otherwise, they are great, and this should not impact that.

No time or space for narrow minded assholes.

[KidTDragon]

Not to be pedantic (okay, maybe a little), but Megyn Kelly left Faux News in 2017 thinking she could have a career outside of the conservative loon bubble. As it turned out, spewing lies and hate for 13 years can have an affect on your future career prospects, and after a brief stint with NBC, SiriusXM decided for some reason that giving her an outlet to Exorcist-vomit right-wing nonsense again was a swell idea. That's likely where this particular diarrhea was squirted out, though I'm sure some tool at Fox will pick it up and run with it soon enough.

[o.supreme]

Until now. I've chosen to stay out of this thread because I'm just not fond of this show. I gave it a chance and its not for me. However Its not like I wish it not to exist. I dont worry about what I can't control.

However the news obviously was posted by a member of this site, so then conversation surrounding it has been given a greenlight. That's my interpretation at least.

Those that know me, know I am apolitical. I believe no human can govern competently, so I look to a close knit community of friends and those that share my faith for inspiration and encouragement, which has served me well.

AS for the obvious subject of Transgenderism that this show has decided to incorporate into itself. Well... it is what it is. Conservative Media (Like Liberal Media) will latch on to something, albeit a bit late to the party, it will make the rounds with all the talking heads, then be gone just as quickly as it came then move on to the next outrage.

AS for me personally, my kids are too old to care about this show, if not for me as a Transformers Fan, they wouldn't even know it exists. If however, we wound back the clocks a decade, and this was in their demo, They wouldn't watch it. It's not that I am so personally offended or outraged, it's just that I believe it is a very odd message to put in a show aimed at children.

Sure this is a show about fictional robots, so one could argue that they can literally be anything they want to be, but it is still an odd choice, considering (one would assume) these robots are not sexual in nature despite obviously having male and female personalities. That being said, I'm not going to tell anyone they cant watch it, or that they shouldn't let their kids watch. It seems to have an overall positive vibe and positive response from the fan community. However, everyone has to make the that decision for themselves. Personally, as I watched my young son grow up, and be enthralled by Rescue Bots in it's first couple of seasons, I really miss shows like that. Just My 2 cents.

[Cyber Bishop]

The whole planet and all the miserable sack of $hi7 people (which is everyone) on it need to be eliminated. Humanity needs a freaking reset.

[william-james88]

Wow, they are really late to the show here. Probably the only reason it is on Fox News now is because that stupid Libsoftiktok found and shared a clip of the show.

Either way, they can **** right off with that. Nightshade is a good character and they identifying as them was never a problem until a hate page (Libsoftiktok is a hate page) found it. Otherwise, they are great, and this should not impact that.

No time or space for narrow minded assholes.

Yes, this comes from Megyn Kelly seeing the libsoftictok video. But it wasn't on fox news, she just shared it with her base on twitter

[D-Maximal_Primal]

o. supreme, I think you are misinterpretting what the focus is.

This isn't transgenderism.

Nightshade was literally born, and chose to not identify as directly male or female. They have always been a them, they didn't "transition" or anything.

And if anything, an alien species should be most open to that, they have no reason to be binary.

All this is is Nightshade identifying as they, and everyone else respecting that. That is the base and all of it.

[Lore Keeper]

The whole planet and all the miserable sack of $hi7 people (which is everyone) on it need to be eliminated. Humanity needs a freaking reset.

Uh... that one right there, officer.

[Richeetf]

I come to this webpage multiple times a day. There are so many other transformer pages I can check but have been here for years at this point. This is now another political post that seems to incite comments from all political sides. When did this webpage become political? Just stick to showing us the exciting transformer news coming out free from bias or political propaganda shows. Transformers are here for entertainment and escapism and letting our imaginations soar.

[Ig89ninja]

The whole planet and all the miserable sack of $hi7 people (which is everyone) on it need to be eliminated. Humanity needs a freaking reset.

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[o.supreme]

o. supreme, I think you are misinterpretting what the focus is.

This isn't transgenderism.

Nightshade was literally born, and chose to not identify as directly male or female. They have always been a them, they didn't "transition" or anything.

And if anything, an alien species should be most open to that, they have no reason to be binary.

All this is is Nightshade identifying as they, and everyone else respecting that. That is the base and all of it.

What about the human child Nightshade interacts with in a later episode? While I agree that in a fictional world, fictional robots can be whatever they are ; in the real world things are different.

I never personally understood the strong desire to identify with any fictional character. Sure I have my favorites, but I was never looking for any individual in television or movies thanking "Yeah THAT's ME", but apparently it is common. (One of my daughters best friends literally cried at the end of Bad Batch S2 because they killed off the *first clone trooper with ADHD* (friends words noy my daughters), and she was going to write an angry letter to Dave Filoni - an almost 18YO girl.

One would have to be pretty oblivious to look at the interaction between Nightshade and blue hair girl and not see the obvious. I mean if you want to say that this show takes place in a fictional world, so people who have an subjective view of themselves, and expect others to do the same is valid because it is fiction, Sure. But unfortunately that's not how children process things.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

o. supreme, I think you are misinterpretting what the focus is.

This isn't transgenderism.

Nightshade was literally born, and chose to not identify as directly male or female. They have always been a them, they didn't "transition" or anything.

And if anything, an alien species should be most open to that, they have no reason to be binary.

All this is is Nightshade identifying as they, and everyone else respecting that. That is the base and all of it.

What about the human child Nightshade interacts with in a later episode? While I agree that in a fictional world, fictional robots can be whatever they are ; in the real world things are different.

I never personally understood the strong desire to identify with any fictional character. Sure I have my favorites, but I was never looking for any individual in television or movies thanking "Yeah THAT's ME", which apparently is common.

One would have to be pretty oblivious to look at the interaction between Nightshade and blue hair girl and not see the obvious. I mean if you want to say that this show takes place in a fictional world, so people who have an subjective view of themselves, and expect others to do the same is valid because it is fiction, Sure. But unfortunately that's not how children process things.

While I am far from the right person to respond to this, seeing as how I am a cis male individual, I just see that as validation for Nightshade.

Until that point, Nightshade did not have someone else who could share their opinions on their life choices. In many ways, that was Nightshade feeling validation for their choice, and finding a word, in this case "non-binary", that could finally describe them.

In addition, as the Terrans are Transformers born on earth, they are a sort of hybrid of Cybertronian and earth native, hence their scientific name of "Cybertronis Terran". So Nightshade would feel some degree of validation from what could be described as a species "cousin".

Again, i am not the person to truly interpret this, but it was validation for Nightshade, and it helped many people relate to them. Everyone, whether they intend to or not, has that once character that they feel a special connection with because they are so alike. It's a big deal for many people to relate to a fictional character, it helps pull them into a story more, and allows them to feel that fiction recognizes that someone with their personality/quirks/etc. is there and is part of those worlds.

I have friends both online and IRL that feel that way about Nightshade for that reason. Same way I have a couple friends who feel a connection with Jawbreaker for the hints of autism that are written into his character. Bumblebee and Blastwave for the vocally impaired. And there are many other examples. Characters who are well written that have something included into that character, not necessarily someone who is written around a "gimmick".

So for them, Nightshade is a cherished character, and not just because they are well written either. This one is not a gimmick, they are actually a well written character who just so happens to be non-binary. And i am happy for them to have that character, and at least for me, Nightshade is a good character in a good show with a good story line going.

[Dr. Caelus]

The whole planet and all the miserable sack of $hi7 people (which is everyone) on it need to be eliminated. Humanity needs a freaking reset.

I thought you had kids???

[Cyber Bishop]

The whole planet and all the miserable sack of $hi7 people (which is everyone) on it need to be eliminated. Humanity needs a freaking reset.

Uh... that one right there, officer.

Bring it "officer". I live right to the west of the cesspool called New Orleans.
Locked and loaded with ZERO fu<&'s to give.

I thought you had kids???

I do, they and myself are included. This world is a cesspool and needs to be purged.

[Cyber Bishop]

Double post.. d'oh

[Cyber Bishop]

I come to this webpage multiple times a day. There are so many other transformer pages I can check but have been here for years at this point. This is now another political post that seems to incite comments from all political sides. When did this webpage become political? Just stick to showing us the exciting transformer news coming out free from bias or political propaganda shows. Transformers are here for entertainment and escapism and letting our imaginations soar.

Politics should not be discussed period on social media.

[Dr. Caelus]

The whole planet and all the miserable sack of $hi7 people (which is everyone) on it need to be eliminated. Humanity needs a freaking reset.

Uh... that one right there, officer.

Bring it "officer". I live right to the west of the cesspool called New Orleans.
Locked and loaded with ZERO fu<&'s to give.

I thought you had kids???

I do, they and myself are included. This world is a cesspool and needs to be purged.

I had noticed your posts were getting weird a while back but I check in here so much less than I used to I didn't say anything. This is not a healthy attitude to have, and even if you're joking it's troubling that you think it's funny.

[Slashercon]

Major Rant incoming (Since We decided we had to make a news article that clearly talks about politics, don't be surprised that I talk about politics. )

You know, I generally watch/play/read media to ESCAPE the real-world/overly political side of things. I watched up to maybe episode 4 of Earthspark (a show which I wasn't entirely enjoying to be honest) before I said I'd take a break. Found out a while later that Nightshade fell into the political vat, and I decided the show wasn't worth my time. It doesn't matter how you try to spin it in the show about how it "makes sense", because it's the year 2023, and I know the real-world reason why it's being done. Of course adding identity- politics into a show which, let's be honest, the target demographic being children, I find to be underhanded. It's not just Transformers either; many cartoons, comics, games, movies, etc. of ESTABLISHED IPS have more or less been up-ended for "modern" audiences, and said IPs (and the fans that made them what they are) are the ones that suffer in quality and/or revenue. I sure most will see it as innocent and don't see the harm in a sentient robot referring to himself as "they" (even though grammatically it's disingenuous), but it more or less tells kids that this type of behavior is acceptable. I know a lot of parents who are just tired of having identity politics entrenched in their kids' entertainment (even education), and even adults who steer clear of media with it now.

In the end, all I'll say, is keep identity-politics out of entertainment.

Also, I would respectfully request that we refrain from bringing up topics like this again in the future, since I know people on both sides can be very "passionate" about their views, and civil discussions aren't always on the minds of most who wander on the forums.