The Energon Pub

[Sabrblade]

https://twitter.com/RID_NightViper/status/761190491077615616

LOL, funny photoshop.

[Bradimus]

I don't like the face regardless of the character. I don't like Bumblebee's face either. Never have.

Otherwise, if the doors angled up instead of down that would work for me.

However the lack of paneling along the lower back and legs is disturbing, so I'm really hoping this is not a completed design. But it probably is.

[Kyleor]

Hot Rod's design looks like shi-I mean, a standard Bayverse design choice.

[Kurona]

I'm just looking at the picture again.

And is it just me, or is what's written there written in a very 12-year-old fan character-y way? Like, listing off generic personality traits very simply and literally making his backstory that he's connected to a major character? And just the format, too, like; it's just "Personality:" "Backstory:". I dunno, hard to explain; just looks funny to me. It's like a kid trying to describe their character in what they think is a cool way.

[o.supreme]

Other than Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream (and even that last one is questionable at times), none of the Bayverse bots have really matched their original series personalities. But one thing that will definitely get some fans hyped up is if they got Judd nelson to do the voice. It would probably be one days work, and just a few lines of dialogue, but somebody needs to make this happen, otherwise Hot Rod will be just another generic bot.

[william-james88]

I just noticed how he has wheels on his forearms and shoulders. That would make it a different transformation thatn bumblebee if they do something close to this model.

[Kurona]

Other than Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream (and even that last one is questionable at times), none of the Bayverse bots have really matched their original series personalities.

Optimus... doesn't match his original personality at all, though. In G1 he was all like "Protect the humans", "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings"; and here he's all "KILL THEM ALL" and "GIVE ME YOUR FACE". Very different portrayals.

[Nemesis Maximo]

Eh, it looks cool enough. I don't know that I'd say Hot Rod just going off of looks, but come on. Ironhide didn't look anything like his G1 self; Sideswipe didn't look anything like his G1 self; Hound didn't look anything like his G1 self; and yet, these are three of the least hated/most liked Transformers in the films.

Maybe, just maybe the trend will hold up?

[william-james88]

Other than Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream (and even that last one is questionable at times), none of the Bayverse bots have really matched their original series personalities.

Optimus... doesn't match his original personality at all, though. In G1 he was all like "Protect the humans", "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings"; and here he's all "KILL THEM ALL" and "GIVE ME YOUR FACE". Very different portrayals.

While I agree (and was going to comment), Peter Cullen has stated that he disagrees with fans regarding this and that they are instead one and the same.

[Kurona]

Other than Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream (and even that last one is questionable at times), none of the Bayverse bots have really matched their original series personalities.

Optimus... doesn't match his original personality at all, though. In G1 he was all like "Protect the humans", "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings"; and here he's all "KILL THEM ALL" and "GIVE ME YOUR FACE". Very different portrayals.

While I agree (and was going to comment), Peter Cullen has stated that he disagrees with fans regarding this and that they are instead one and the same.

Well... can't say I really agree with him.

[william-james88]

least hated/most liked

Yeah, that is the same statement said differently for these.

[paul053]

Another repaint of Bee for Hasbro's excuse.

[o.supreme]

And is it just me, or is what's written there written in a very 12-year-old fan character-y way? Like, listing off generic personality traits very simply and literally making his backstory that he's connected to a major character? And just the format, too, like; it's just "Personality:" "Backstory:". I dunno, hard to explain; just looks funny to me. It's like a kid trying to describe their character in what they think is a cool way.

If I recall, Bob Budiansky's original series character models had about the same amount of verbiage describing their personality in the beginning.

[o.supreme]

Other than Optimus, Megatron, and Starscream (and even that last one is questionable at times), none of the Bayverse bots have really matched their original series personalities.

Optimus... doesn't match his original personality at all, though. In G1 he was all like "Protect the humans", "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings"; and here he's all "KILL THEM ALL" and "GIVE ME YOUR FACE". Very different portrayals.

Go back to the first film, his personality was pretty much spot on. It was only in RotF when he started to become "Murdermus Prime". and he didn't start attacking humans until AoE, when they TREID TO KILL HIM. Not saying that Optimus should ever stoop to that level...but you can see form the first film what their intention was.

[MrBlack]

Well, good they finally brought Hot Rod into the fold. I just hope he's not like how he was in the original cartoon in terms of behavior being like a diet coke version of Kirk from Star Trek: TOS, but then again Optimus in Bayformers is darker than his original incarnation by leaps and bounds and feels like a different character sometimes. Of course, with Bay, I'm not expecting anything cerebral and just a lot of action and generalized fun. I'll hope though for that change of course. Like I hope for a Transformers movie set on Cybertron showing Megatron and Optimus leading into the war with no humans and less lens flare and possibly explosions. Heh.

Given how other characters have been used in the Bay films, it is entirely possible he will be absolutely nothing like G1 Hot Rod in terms of personality or temperament. The writers seem to just build the story around broad archetypes and then slap the name of a character on them that vaguely fits those archetypes, i.e., Hound was a military vehicle, Ratchet was a medic, etc.

To be fair, other TF fiction has gone that route too (Prime is a good example). It just seems like there is less attempt to transfer G1 personality traits over to the characters that share their names. It's fine if the movie writers want to use new characters who aren't just copies of 80's characters, but it does beg the question of why they even bother using those names in the first place.

Actually, it doesn't. They use them to sell toys.

[Moody magpie]

Oh Hot Rod, what have they done to you?

[MrBlack]

And is it just me, or is what's written there written in a very 12-year-old fan character-y way? Like, listing off generic personality traits very simply and literally making his backstory that he's connected to a major character? And just the format, too, like; it's just "Personality:" "Backstory:". I dunno, hard to explain; just looks funny to me. It's like a kid trying to describe their character in what they think is a cool way.

If I recall, Bob Budiansky's original series character models had about the same amount of verbiage describing their personality in the beginning.

In all fairness, Budiansky wrote at least a paragraph for each character. The description for Hot Rod doesn't even include complete sentences.

Also in all fairness, this is just a teaser, and wouldn't work as effectively with a wall of text accompanying it.

[Optimizzy]

hmmm. My thoughts? Boo.

[partholon]

i expect this character to be as faithfully adapted as all the rest.

[esclavo]

This, to me, very well validates my decision to not support the movie verse after the 3rd movie. They need to get rid of Bay and reboot the whole thing, IMHO!

[Nemesis Maximo]

This, to me, very well validates my decision to not support the movie verse after the 3rd movie. They need to get rid of Bay and reboot the whole thing, IMHO!

A tiny teaser for the robot mode design and absolutely nothing else validates a decision?

[friednoodles]

This is probably what he looks like

The Lamborghini Centenario

[friednoodles]

Only thing that really bothers me about Hot Rod's new design is the colors. Poor Drift picked a bad time to drop the blue, not so original anymore.




Emerje

Actually I think it's a Lamborghini Centenario. Compare the headlights and grille to this:



Possible Lambo emblem between the chest plates as well as Lambo engine covers on his back.

Looks like this color

[Munkky]

I wouldn't mind Hot Rod's black and red colour scheme if Drift didn't already have those colours. They should have just kept Drift blue. It also looks like they've re-used Lockdown's animation model with one or two tweaks. The face design is okay, it looks more in line with earlier Bayformer designs, rather than the weird metallic human faces of the more recent ones.

[Stuartmaximus]

Erm....why has Hot Rod nicked Lockdown's vehicle mode