The Energon Pub

[TK415]

In Jan of 1985, Spiderman was in Transformers comic #3. There has been crossovers with GI Joe, My Little Ponies, Void Rivals and more. Last week you all talked crossovers with toys. What do you think of crossovers in fiction? Have you enjoyed them?

Which fictional crossovers haven't been done that you would like to see?
Or would you like to see more of a particular crossover that has been done?
Or do you prefer not to have crossovers?

Great show! Thanks guys!

[alexison]

We all agree that Titan Star Convoy shouldn’t have been the thirteenth Prime in the Age of the Primes toyline( ).. So who should have been? And in what size class would the toy have been designed?

[Sabrblade]

We all agree that Titan Star Convoy shouldn’t have been the thirteenth Prime in the Age of the Primes toyline( ).. So who should have been? And in what size class would the toy have been designed?

I'll throw my hat into the ring on this one, to give the podcasters some additional food for thought: The thirteenth Prime should have always been The Last Autobot, who appeared in the final two issues of the Marvel G1 comics. The Last Autobot's whole thing was being the very last of Primus's original creations before the rest of the Cybertronian race came about, and he even has a super special prophecy surrounding him which states he will appear in Cybertron's greatest moment of crisis. The very same kind of prophecy that surrounds the thirteenth Prime.

When I was at BotCon 2025 earlier this year, I got to talk directly with Aaron Archer about the Thirteen and the Binder of Revelation, and he revealed to me a whole LOT of behind-the-scenes info that he is now at liberty to disclose since he is no longer with Hasbro. In specific regards to the Thirteenth Prime, I talked to Aaron about the idea of making the 13th Prime be Optimus himself and how unpopular that decision ultimately was. He said that that actually wasn't originally supposed to be the case.

The original plan was to deliberately lean into the mystery and ambiguity of the 13th's identity and make him just some vague, legendary figure destined to appear when the time is right, according to an ancient prophecy that may or may never come true. Aaron also emphasized that the art they produced for the 13th was deliberately faceless and vague in shape. The decision to make Optimus Prime the reincarnation of this nameless, faceless figure came much later, and it was one of those things that just happened to come about when there's a bunch of cooks all working in the same kitchen.

I even brought up to him the idea of how the Last Autobot from Marvel G1 would have been a perfect fit for the 13th, and Aaron said that he simply didn't think of the Last Autobot at the time when he was working on the definitive roster of the Thirteen. His research at the time simply hadn't been thorough enough.

As for what size class I think the Last Autobot would work best as, the smaller Titan size that Star Optimus Prime ended up being would also work well for the Last Autobot, IMHO.

[demoman0121]

Hello. I just want to start by saying I really enjoy the podcast. I am getting ready to setup a collection room and I have heard a lot about light damage to toys. I was wondering if you could give any tips on lighting for the collection room, i.e: blocking sunlight and type of lighting to use? Thank you and keep up the great work.

[Perceptor1996]

Hallo Twincast Team,

Last year we got the video game "Transformers Galactic Trials" and it was a cheep budget game. You could honestly probably call it shovel wear, but it was still fun to play and did fulfill a wish of mine to see the TF franchise finally get a racing game. So let's pretend we were getting a higher budget version of the concept. what would you want to see added to it for characters and race tracks? I'm sure everyone would agree the Stunticons need to be in if this idea ever gets a second pass.

[alexison]

This question stems from a few comments I’ve heard CP make recently.. Do you think you’ll ever be able to say your Classics/Generations collection is “complete?” What are you currently waiting on to be released that will make you feel that way? Is your answer the Omnibots so you’ll never have to quit?

[Perceptor1996]

Hello Twincast Team

I've not been the biggest fan of the Energon Universe. Mostly Transformers has been the book that I have the most problems with, but what I really don't get is this attempt to integrate M.A.S.K into the universe. It feels like waste of space and time, I keep hearing people say "You have to have M.A.S.K. it's the bridge between Transformers and G.I.Joe" to which I say you don't need a bridge just have the characters meet up. So what I'm asking is if you had to add a third Hasbro owned IP into the Energon Universe what would it be?

I would add the Power Rangers myself, which I actually thought was going to happen when the Boom Studios MMPR book ended only for them to announce Power Rangers Prime a month later and learned that Hasbro also owned the VR Troopers from reading that comic.

[Perceptor1996]

Hello Twincast Team,

If Cybertron never went to war and all our bots and cons had to get normal everyday jobs what professions would they choose? Who's working in fast food?

[Seril]

Here's a question for you - there is a general assumption in the community that newer is better and in many cases that is true. There are plenty of instances though where an older figure is the superior one. Are there any older figures that anyone has not replaced with newer versions and if so what figures were they? Are there any older figures of a character that are your definitive version?

[Perceptor1996]

Hello Twincast Team,

One of my favorite toys I own is Power of the Primes Elita-One. I just found the big bulky voyager to be the prefect re-imagining of the character, but that said her jet mode as fun as it is, is only a part of the toy because she had to be retooled into Starscream. So I've always thought maybe it would fit her character more if she matched Optimus more and was something like a big off roading van. Which she did get as a alt mode in Earthspark and as much as I like that design and really like how her doors become a skirt in robot mode she looks more like skinny G1 Elita then the buff POTP version I wanted to see rock the look. So what I'm really asking after that long story is what would you all like to see for your prefect Elita-One updated design?

[Perceptor1996]

Hello Twincast Team

It used to be common for a Transformers show to have tons of characters in the toyline that never make it to the screen. Of all of them what series would you have wanted these toy only characters to appear the most?

For me it has to be "Transformers Prime", because as much as I enjoyed that show at the time and again with my recent rewatch of it. I have always had a problem with how small that cast is. That Ironhide design is to cool to have not been animated. I know Hasbro didn't want Ironhide in the show because of his death in "Dark of the Moon", but they reused that design for Kup, Trailcutter and Huffer. We could have gotten at least one of them on screen.

[TK415]

Hi guys, great show as always.

What repaint are you surprised Hasbro has not done yet?

What repaint are you eagerly waiting for?

I know these questions are relatively common, and you guys might even talk about it almost every episode. But those conversations are usually part of a larger conversation. It’s usually about a specific toy rather than repaints in general.

I was really looking forward to beast wars silver bolt being repainted into wind razor. But I don’t think that’s going to happen now.

[Perceptor1996]

Hello Twincast Team,

I feel like the TF famdom in general would probably be more ok with Hasbro reusing older characters if instead of it being the same 20 something people in every series if they started rotating around older characters that have never really returned or ever actually got their shot.

After all many G1 characters either got just one episode or were just a background character. So if their was one character who was only ever in one TF show that you wanted to see come back who is it?

For me it's Blaster, I'm honestly shocked it has never happen given how he's just the Autobot counterpart to fan favorite Soundwave. This also may be influenced by when I was a kid playing the 2007 DS video game and thought the sports car robot mode for you custom character looked like Blaster. So I liked coloring it red and pretending it was Blaster.

[Perceptor1996]

Hello Twincast Team

Power Core Combiners is a line I never had any of the toys of as a kid and still don't have now as a collector, but I always found the line fascinating. So if you had to bring back a character from this line who would it be and how would you use them?

I have two ideas myself Bombshock in live action as a replacement for Onsluaght on the Combaticons given his use and death in "The Last Knight" Whose replacing Brawl for his death in 07 I was going to say Bombshock, but then I remember Onsluaght was also killed off in the movieverse too so I have no idea there. The other one is Double Clutch still as the torso of a combiner, but instead of smaller car drones it's four new characters that are just small vehicles like bikes and ATVs just to have a different looking combiner.

[kurthy]

Ok, easy one: over/under on the number of seeker repaints for the new SS86 seeker mold?
For reference, siege 13, earthrise 16, classics 31(!!!), MP-11 12. The original seeker mold had almost 50 decos and remolds.

[kurthy]

We still haven't seen nexus maximus, yet. What are you predictions for how this will be handled? A skeleton combiner? A non-5-man-band combiner? Clear plastic? Something like wildking? Would you reuse any toys?

[kurthy]

A potentially touchy subject, which creation methos do you prefer for Cybertronians? Primus as a creator god like the comics or the Quintessons making consumer bots that gained sentience like the cartoon? I know these can easily be merged together.

[Perceptor1996]

Hello Twincast Team

Do you feel Transformers fiction should focus more on how some bots have super powers?

It's just so weird how like half of the G1 characters are suppose to have these outlandish abilities they never use in the fiction. I feel the closest we have got to this being revisited was in Animated when they gave every character a special weapon that sometimes resulted in them having powers to go with it.

I think the weirdest case of powers is easily Windcharger and his Magneto powers that should just ruin any Decepticon. Yet he's only used his power like once in a IDW comic. Guess that's just what happens your a nothing character.

[ScottyP]

Ok, easy one: over/under on the number of seeker repaints for the new SS86 seeker mold?
For reference, siege 13, earthrise 16, classics 31(!!!), MP-11 12. The original seeker mold had almost 50 decos and remolds.

What's the line for the o/u?

[D-Maximal_Primal]

If you could take any transformers toy ever, and you could retool them so they transform the same but into an entirely different alt mode specific to that toy mold, which one would you do?

Examples so you understand the concept:

-re-shell Siege Impactor into Cybertron Defense Scattershot, but it's still Impactor
-Give an ER conehead a Cyclonus alt mode but with the transformation scheme of the seeker, IE Dirge as a character but Cyclonus type jet mode
-Instead of a gorilla, Optimus Primal turns into a Sasquatch
-make G1 Rodimus Prime a yellow school bus

[TK415]

Hi guys,

Happy New Year!

What reimagining or new alt mode of a character have you really enjoyed? For example:
Blaster into a truck
Soundwave into a drone, or truck, or stealth bomber, etc.
Megatron into a T Rex

Weird, I just saw D-Maximal Primal’s question. I have been meaning to ask my question for a week or so. They are similar, I guess his is hypothetical. While mine is just which different versions of alt modes have you enjoyed, fiction or toy.

[Perceptor1996]

Hello Twincast Team

It's becoming more and more common for Transformers to reuse more and more characters instead of making new ones. It's gotten to the point where we are basically getting the same characters in every show now. Out of all the characters that have been slapped onto this evergreen cast list who is the one that you look at the most and think "Why them?"

For me it's Wheeljack. I never feel like he ever really adds much the stories he's in and yet he's always here. He even used to show up all the time back when it was uncommon to see old characters. At least he does look cool.

[kurthy]

Do you have any toys where your opinion changed over time?
Any toys that you thought were great when you opened it up, but a couple years later you decided it was awful. Or conversely, any toys that you had a negative opinion only to appreciate later.
Not toys that your opinion changed between render and in hand.