The Energon Pub

Don't let the ominous title fool you, this episode is still all about Botcon. In the final part of our trilogy of episodes surrounding the final Botcon as we know it, we catch back up with the now Chicago-bound sisterhood of the travelling bots as they reflect on their convention experience.

Episode #142 “Botcon 2016 Part 3: The Last One“ is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on iTunes and Stitcher Radio within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.

Did you think it was over? It ain't over until Dr. Va'al, Seibertron, and Starscream return to say it's over! More post-BotCon thoughts from this crew await, are you in for the long haul? The three randomly assorted hard candies discuss, in spite of the elements and the sore throats, the various BotCon souvenirs, from the Dawn of the Predacus box set to the single toys - Megatron, Unit-3, Tigatron, Airazor, the Reflector 3-pack - the highlights, the surprises, the disappointments.



They touch upon the various hauls, including comics and comics art as well as toys, and the differences between conventions, running by the gigantonormous dealer room (can you tell who's typing this section, by now?). Spending some good time on the artist alley population, from Hayato Sakamoto to Alex Milne, Sara Pitre-Durocher to Robby Musso, and more.



Other topics discussed, of course, were the various panels that included reveals for the coming part of the year, from the Hasbro Brand panel, with Scrounge (!) and Overlord (!!) in the pipes, to the TFCC roundtable, featuring MP Ratbat, GI Joe crossovers, and Counterpunch taking over (much to our own Counterpunch's joy).



They start speculating on the future of the Club, now that FunPub is DonePub, and it would actually be really interesting to hear what listeners think Hasbro should do with the concept - and with any possible incarnation of BotCon. Make sure to drop your suggestions in the comments!

Before the segment is over, though, they also make sure to note the highest points of the event: the people who attend, year after year or for the very first time, what really makes the whole experience what it is.

---

The show ends with a short editorial segment from yours truly. If this is the end of Botcon, let's remember it fondly, and find hope in the possibilities of the future.



If you made it all the way through that one, your prizes are waiting at the pay window. Which, hilariously, we had planned to setup at Botcon 2017. Oh well!

Don't forget, the show only gets better if you tell us how. Drop us a review on iTunes and be sure to tell us what you love, what you hate, and what you want to hear!

Not on the show to give your take? Probably not, so don't forget to keep the discussion going on the Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums by simply replying to this post!

Got a question for the Twincast? We take all of them, we just don't take them all seriously! Leave a question in the Ask the Twincast thread and, if it makes the cut, it may get read and answered on the show.

I know Ryan, Vaal, and Punchy from the pic. Who's the rest?

I need full explanation of the spotlight/thumbnail image on this one, having left early. I kind of got it from audio context, but not entirely!

Also, the eventual Warrior Bisk gallery seems like a great opportunity to bust out some 2007 Real Gear Robots, or at least one of the game controllers. Maybe a steamy pot is the equivalent of his gaming chair?

I was startled by the wrong-ness about Cybertron being the "only line" in its era. While I understand there was no Generations/RiD style split like there is today, there were plenty of supplementary Transformers lines going on! Universe 1.0 was ending but still feeding places like KB Toys and Market Six (particularly the Micromaster combiners), Alternators were around, Titanium started up around then, the Playskool bots were wrapping up but also still around, and Attacktix was the supplementary younger kids product related to Cybertron (but spanned other brands as well).

This was also before the Takara and Tomy merger, so Japan was brewing with toy lineups as well. Galaxy Force, of course, but Masterpiece was just beginning to be a thing of its own, Robot Masters were happening, and the G1 reissue train (both book style and "Collector's Edition"/e-Hobby) was still haulin' before Tomy put the brakes on it.

Anyway, someone was wrong on the internet, so I thought I'd come point that out

And Chuck, go look in the Botcon forums, where we slowly and painfully lurched the list of people in that photo out from D-Macks before I stepped in with a final nudge

ScottyP wrote:I was startled by the wrong-ness about Cybertron being the "only line" in its era. While I understand there was no Generations/RiD style split like there is today, there were plenty of supplementary Transformers lines going on! Universe 1.0 was ending but still feeding places like KB Toys and Market Six (particularly the Micromaster combiners), Alternators were around, Titanium started up around then, the Playskool bots were wrapping up but also still around, and Attacktix was the supplementary younger kids product related to Cybertron (but spanned other brands as well).

The comment I made was just a random thought in a lengthy 6 hour roadtrip. However, upon further research, I stand by my comment about Cybertron basically being the only line at the time (would have to relisten to what I said exactly, but I'm pretty certain I didn't say "era"). The Micromasters came out in 2004, Universe was more-or-less dead at that point, Gobots was dead, etc. It was basically the only Transformers product line that you could find at retail minus a few odds-and-ends at that time.

ScottyP wrote:This was also before the Takara and Tomy merger, so Japan was brewing with toy lineups as well. Galaxy Force, of course, but Masterpiece was just beginning to be a thing of its own, Robot Masters were happening, and the G1 reissue train (both book style and "Collector's Edition"/e-Hobby) was still haulin' before Tomy put the brakes on it.

Same with the Japanese side of things, though my comment was more-or-less intended for our market since I think I was referencing products on the shelves, which would exclude Japanese products. However, the G1 reissues were very sparse and was basically done by the time Cybertron rolled out. Robot Masters was already done minus one or two exclusives.

While the statement I made wasn't 100% correct, the meaning of it still stands. It's not like today's market where there are 3 ongoing regular product lines available at most retail stores here in the US. There are far more products being released on a regular basis than there were 11 years ago, not to mention the amount of product lines in Japan currently (but again, the comment wasn't intended to include the Japanese product lines originally).

Seibertron wrote:While the statement I made wasn't 100% correct, the meaning of it still stands. It's not like today's market where there are 3 ongoing regular product lines available at most retail stores here in the US. There are far more products being released on a regular basis than there were 11 years ago,

Yep, agreed. I just feel like Alternators and other lines shouldn't be discounted in kind like that, but no worries. Brand is more diverse with more product now and there's no denying that, but there certainly were still some options beyond the main UT lines while they were airing. Like you said too though, lots of things come out during long drives! Just figured I'd chime in a little since I got to be a listener for once

The guy in the photo was just the person who happened to be sitting in front of the camera as Brian and Pete rifled through photos (printed ones) to show to the audience. He was just... there. They didn't seem to mind or care all that much, but he found himself in the spotlight for most of the panel.

And he made the most of it.

Dr Va'al wrote:The guy in the photo was just the person who happened to be sitting in front of the camera as Brian and Pete rifled through photos (printed ones) to show to the audience. He was just... there. They didn't seem to mind or care all that much, but he found himself in the spotlight for most of the panel.

And he made the most of it.

He was an extremely good sport. I think I would have moved seats. Does anyone know who that guy is?

I picked his photo for "The Last One" because I thought his moment in the spotlight was appropriate for a multitude of reasons.

Excellent podcast. Alex' accent is very sexy.

I did want to point out that Scorpions have 8 legs and not 6 (it is why, like spiders, they are not in the insect family).


That is all