The Energon Pub

There's one thing that puzzles me about the Generation 1 Coneheads. Were they included in the animation to provide comic relief? They seem to have that distinctive cone-head, which was missing in the toys originally. The cartoon has got something about each of these characters that raises a few laughs. Can someone explain?

I'd guess that it was to differentiate them from the original three seekers.

Sledge wrote:I'd guess that it was to differentiate them from the original three seekers.

That is exactly why they did it.


And because it's effin' funny!

Pyrostrata wrote:

Sledge wrote:I'd guess that it was to differentiate them from the original three seekers.

That is exactly why they did it.


And because it's effin' funny!

well said. LOL!

I never found the coneheads funny. Those three scared me.

Tekka wrote:I never found the coneheads funny. Those three scared me.

You poor dear! Scaring so easily!


The whole "Conehead" thing was started by hilariously mistransforming the G1 Seekers...when I was 14, my friends and I found that hugely anusing to do to our Seekers! This was recognized by the animators and ran with for the whole nine yards! When I first saw the "Conehead Seekers" in animation for the first time, I about fell out of the chair laughing! It's just frikkin FUNNY!

I like Dirge. I used to keep thrust under my pillow.

Sunstar wrote:I used to keep thrust under my pillow.

Ouch!

I like the coneheads (Ramjet= my favorite), and I just assume its a new way to keep some similarity in characters, and yet make them different enough from what came before. After all, would three more repaints of Starscream actually sold well?

Oh yeah they did. (With some wing remolding, and new weapons)

I mean, this is what I notice. To begin with, the conehead toys are only slightly modified versions of the original seekers, as can be seen with the position of the wings.

Starscream was the attention hog in the animation. The others were mere cover for him, and Megatron. Skywarp and Thundercracker rarely had their moments in the sun (storm).

The coneheads, though, have got remarkable personalities that stand out. Thrust is a braggart, a show-off, who likes to poke fun at everything and everyone around ("Astrotrain can't even lead rats to a garbage can"), and use his VTOL capabalities and engine noise for show. But in times of battle, he's a coward, and not too diplomatic.

Dirge is one who likes to create fear on his victims, either with spook talk or window-shattering sonic booms (works only on humans) or those creepy engines (seems to be built like a spacecraft) we read about in the comics. But when he can't control the scene, he himself gets scared, and often gets blown up, eaten or crashed.

Ramjet is possibly a de facto leader of these coneheads, to keep those two in check, and he's an out-and-out soldier, but seems unusally dumb. His solution to all problems is a smash- he'll smash his nosecone into anything and everything that moves, often with devastating effect- but ends up creating new enemies and damaging himself badly.

All of that makes up for comic relief, when we don't see Starscream's fighting skills and treachery toward Megatron, and Thundercracker's occasional treachery toward Starscream, and Skywarp occasionally bungling up.

I just watched episode 40 "The Golden Lagoon" on Youtube. There's plenty of conehead in that episode plus some classic and hilarious Starscream / Megatron banter (especially when Megatron asks Starscream to jump into the golden lagoon first and Starscream does while holding his nose.

"Do'nt you wanna be just like thrust"

Actually, I found them somewhat creepy as well.

Dreamwave defined Ramjet's character in one page.

War and Peace, Issue 2 opening:

"Bring it on you slaggin' cowards!!" as he charges the Ark being shot to bits. Hilarious and character defining in one pic.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ojuGy-Rfvk0

If you skip to around 8:30 this scene is the one that defined the coneheads for me. It is one of the episodes I remember vividly from my childhood, where the Decepticons were actually scary which hadn't really been the case since the pilot.

This scene sets the three of them up as rather nasty characters to be feared and has been my cause in later life to remember them as really cool characters.

DOES ANYONE KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND GEN DIRGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arjun_M wrote:There's one thing that puzzles me about the Generation 1 Coneheads. Were they included in the animation to provide comic relief? They seem to have that distinctive cone-head, which was missing in the toys originally. The cartoon has got something about each of these characters that raises a few laughs. Can someone explain?

Anyone who owns a 1984 or 1985 seeker toy,can easily create to conehead thing.

Floro Dery redesigned them to differentiate them from the 3 knuckle heads.

They should have been in the show more. They where the best Decepticon's.

Maybe the coneheads are the complete opposites of the 3 original seekers

Tekka wrote:http://youtube.com/watch?v=ojuGy-Rfvk0

If you skip to around 8:30 this scene is the one that defined the coneheads for me. It is one of the episodes I remember vividly from my childhood, where the Decepticons were actually scary which hadn't really been the case since the pilot.

This scene sets the three of them up as rather nasty characters to be feared and has been my cause in later life to remember them as really cool characters.

"Let us teach them a lesson in sorrow!"

Yeah, tell me no one died in that scene and I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

The coneheads, at least compared to Skywarp and Thundercracker, had more personality and quirks.