The Energon Pub

We've had many iterations of Transformers in the forms of cartoons, comics, and beyond, and many more to come. Many characters were re-used (or at least their moniker was), each with new looks and personalities. But who had the best version of that character? I wanna read your opinions! Did G1 have the best Starscream for you? Animated w/ the best Grimlock? Who had the best iteration of your favorite characters?

You can organize this any way you'd like. Maybe you wish to list only one, maybe a handful of characters. Fire away.

A few of my favorites in no particular order:

Grimlock
Marvel G1 comics, though they were a bit inconsistent with how intelligent he actually was. The sheer number of appearances (and particularly time spent as Autobot leader) made for a substantial body of work, and several of my favorite individual comics feature him prominently.


Shockwave
Likewise, the G1 Marvel comics. Shockwave's very first appearance has him defeat the combined Autobot team. His very second appearance is the iconic "are all dead" cover. His very third appearance sees him hand Megatron his ass and win leadership of the Decepticons. This is just the beginning of his activities, and his appearances in Marvel UK made stories like Time Wars and The Legacy of Unicron that much better.


Starscream
This one's a bit of a tossup for me between Prime and Cybertron, and for much the same reason: when done right and presented as a competent fighter and capable of keeping his treacherous intentions to himself for a few episodes, Starscream becomes a very compelling character, and it becomes entirely possible to root for him to actually oust his boss and win the day. His Prime incarnation also added plenty of comic relief to a very dark series, and being voiced by Steve Blum never hurts. His Cybertron incarnation was a huge wild card added about halfway through the series, to the point he became a credible threat to freaking Primus himself.


Scorponok
Marvel G1 comics, by a pretty wide margin. His battle with Shockwave during the Decepticon Civil War and his final stand against Unicron mark two of my favorite moments in the entire series. It doesn't hurt he got to do more than say "Scorponok smash". Now if only HasTak would MAKE ME A BLOODY TOY ALREADY. Honestly, I'd settle for a reissue.


Soundwave
The G1 cartoon is still ingrained in my memory, though I really like his War For Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron incarnation as well. I will always associate Soundwave with the G1 cartoon voice, but in terms of fictional appearances and toys, I like his video game incarnation best.


Optimus Prime
Prime, hands down. From "Orion Pax, Part Three"
Optimus: Are you... certain I am worthy?
Jack: You have no idea.

Starscream in Armada is one my favorites.He started as a warrior that just wanted to prove he was best and in the course of the series he had grown a lot and learned more about himself.One of my personal favorites,I think this the best character development of Starscream.


I always though Animated Soundwave is really fascinating.Normally we dont get to know much about Soundwave reasons or thoughts(I havent seen Beast Hunters yet,so dont spoil me if something happens).In Animated he really never disliked the Autobots just the humans,he thought he was doing the right thing fighting them.Also he could have destroyed the Autobots but he preferred to convert them to his side instead.


I also like to see Animated,Optimus growing from rookie to Leader.

G1 cartoon Soundwave
G1 cartoon Galvatron (loved his insanity, and *loved* his voice)
Beast Wars Megatron (best TF villain EVER)
G1 cartoon Shockwave (loyal to the end, and creepy as hell )

Galvatron in G1 is awesome but he is also just as awesome in IDW's Spotlight on him. I mean just look at this image...


Sixshot in Transformers: Devastation (Man if they'd just release a masterpiece Sixshot...)

I got many more that I can post later.

Transformers uk Soundwave, I liked him as Decepticon leader.

The only Transformers TV shows I've seen fully are Beast Wars/Machines, Animated, and Prime. I saw a little bit of G1 and Armada, but stopped watching because I didn't really like them.

I'd say that Primal is my favorite "Optimus" character even if he's technically different than G1 Optimus (until he becomes a hippie in BM). I'm not sure which one I'd choose between Prime and Animated. I also liked Armada Optimus.

Prime Megatron is definitely my favorite. Animated is a bit stoic. BW Megatron while awesome is a bit too cartoonish.

I also like Prime Shockwave better than Animated. He focused more on the logic and science. It was interesting that they made TFA Shockwave a spy since Cybertron was flourishing under Autobot control.

I probably prefer Prime's Starscream to Animated since he was more competent, although abusing the Predacons was not cool. And also pretty stupid. Armada's Starscream wasn't treacherous at all.

Prime Optimus, yes I like how he doesn't use emotion, and who doesn't like a minigun and jetpack.

Prime Shockwave, just because of logic.

TulioDude wrote:Starscream in Armada is one my favorites.He started as a warrior that just wanted to prove he was best and in the course of the series he had grown a lot and learned more about himself.One of my personal favorites,I think this the best character development of Starscream.


I always though Animated Soundwave is really fascinating.Normally we dont get to know much about Soundwave reasons or thoughts(I havent seen Beast Hunters yet,so dont spoil me if something happens).In Animated he really never disliked the Autobots just the humans,he thought he was doing the right thing fighting them.Also he could have destroyed the Autobots but he preferred to convert them to his side instead.


I also like to see Animated,Optimus growing from rookie to Leader.

I seriously agree with on animated Soundwave.

I 'll start with the most popular characters:

Optimus Prime: visually, Prime & Movie. character wise, TFA, FOC & G1 cartoon.
Megatron: visually, Prime, ROTF, & TFA. character wise, TFA.
Soundwave: visually, G1 cartoon. character wise, Animated.
Ratchet: visually, Prime. character wise, Animated & Prime.
Ironhide: visually, movie. character wise, G1 cartoon.
Bumblebee: visually, WFC & FOC. character wise, WFC, FOC, & Pirme.
Jazz: Visually, Animated. character wise, ALL OF EM. (even movie Jazz XD)
Starscream: visually, Prime. Character wise, Cybertron, Animated, or PRime.
Arcee: visually, Animated. Character wise, tie between Animated and Prime.
Shockwave: visually, Prime. character wise, Prime.

Here's my list.

Optimus Prime/Primal: BW,Movie,IDW, Animated and Prime: I like each of these Otpimus for what they offer to the table in some way. I like the more relatible aspects of Primal and Animated Optimus but the wisdom and designs of both Movie and Prime Optimus has impressed me too. It may be cheating but at the same time I like there's something about them I like.

Megatron: BW,Movie,Animated,IDW and Prime: Like Optimus there's a lot I like about what each Megatron offers I'm leaning more towards BW Megs for having a more charming and interesting personatly but I do enjoy the more brutal nature of the movies and Prime as well as the design cues with certain aspects of Animated Megs too.

Arcee: Prime. She's by far my favourite version design and character wise because I like the fact about how she's given a chance to shine on screen for once. I love how her personalty it tough yet caring so I'm hoping future versions of her will take some cues from her.

Bumblebee: Movie,WFC and Prime: I guess since I've first heard of Bumblebee from the movies I'm actually more connected to him that way as well as Prime Bee but I do like how WFC Bee was handled.

Jazz: Animated: I love how he's both cool and smart and how he developes in the series. He's someone I like to hang out with.

Starscream: Armada, Movie and Prime: I've first heard of Screamer in Armada so I like how he's one of the most interesting character on the show and one of the most interesting versions of him to date,Prime Screamer too has an interesting personatly he has because like Armada Screamer has more things going on with him other then hate Megatron and want to take over. Movie Starscream though holds a special place for me because I'm one of the few people who likes his deisgn and voice.

Soundwave: DOTM and Prime: He has a creepy vibe in both series due to how he looks and sounds and that makes him pretty interesting in my book.

Grimlock: FOC and IDW: These are the versions of him I like best so far because I like how they take what's best of his original bio and G1 show versions and made them into something neat.

Shockwave: Animated,DOTM,FOC and Prime: Like Optimus and Megs I like certain aspects of him. His character in TFA,FOC and Prime interests me and both the DOTM and TFP versions make him look bulky and intimedating.

Bulkhead: Animated and Prime: Both versions has the same lovable but powerful personatly of the character that I grew to like a lot in both shows.

Ratchet: Animated and Prime: Like Bulk both Ratchets have a cranky but caring streak that makes him charming in a lot of ways.

Ironhide: Movies: For being a badft.

More to come.

Optimus: I like the way he looked in G1, but I also like the modern look of TFA Movies and Prime, along with the games WFC, FOC. As for character, well, I can't choose since it's basically the same, although the sterner and more vicious in the Movie-and-Aligned is more appealing to me.

Megatron: I love the Animated character model as well as Prime form. Character-wise I like him as a revolitionary standing up, but turning evil.

Soundwave: I like the G1 look, Animated look and Prime look. As a character he's awesome in G1 and Prime.

Wheeljack: Yeah, just G1 and Prime, both awesome. Character-wise I like him as a mad scientist in G1 and as a badass warrior in Prime, secretly wishing they'd combine the two in some series.

Shockwave: I always liked him, especially in G1 body and Animated body, movie-vers. wasn't bad either, but i love the Prime-look. As for character, you can't have a Shockwave without logic, so G1 and Prime are the tops, although I liked Prime-one a bit more.

Grimlock: G1 design was good; Animated was, well, cartoonish, but nice; FOC is f***ing awesome. Character-wise he's basically the same in G1 and Animated, only more serious in G1, but in FOC I like him being more inteligent than the average.

Optimus: Movies
Megatron: Prime and movies
Soundwave: G1
Starscream: Animated
Shockwave: Animated

All this is based on character traits. I basically think everyone looks best in the movies, besides maybe Shockwave and Starscream, both I liked in Animated. But visually, the new TF4 Optimus Prime is my favorite design... ever.

My favorite character of all time is Grimlock from the Marvel comics, especially Furman's issues. With ReGeneration, however, Rodimus is coming in close 2nd. My favorite cartoon character is Arcee from Transformers Prime. She edges out G1 Rodimus, but not by much.

G1 Optimus (Sunbow) did not need any power armor upgrades to kick Megatron's butt across the galaxy.

The rest mentioned just borrows/fine tunes every aspect of the original.

Soundwave G1 'nuff said.

Shockwave G1 anime and some aspects of the Marvel comics.

Just about every character in G1 given the Furman treatment. (Especially the Marvel and DW stuff)

Okay I'll bite.

Jazz: Animated - Phil LaMarr, Ninja, nunchaku, Headphones built into his head design, stays fairly close to the G1 counterpart in terms of personality, and a Sweeeeeeet car mode. Easily one of my favorite iterations of the character.

Soundwave: G1 - He's just so iconic. He was the first G1 character I instantly began to admire. I give Animated an honorable mention for being something original and unique like everyone else already mentioned, but overall nostalgia won this one for me. All I need is the Masterpiece figure and I will be one happy fan

Shockwave: Animated - Shockwave was just such a badass in Animated. He still got to be voiced by Corey Burton AND managed to practically snake his way up Autobot Command while disguised as a totally different character. Really cool in my opinion.

Chromedome & Brainstorm: IDW - I'm just do these two together since it's for the same reason. I never read the original G1 comics so I didn't know much about these two to start off with. Then I saw their (brief) appearance in the G1 cartoon and liked brainstorm's design from the get go but never did dwell into the Headmasters series. Finally, IDW rolls these two back into existence and I fell in love with their designs. After looking over some TFWiki pages, I feel IDW gives these two a bit more justice.

Blitzwing: Animated - If you couldn't already tell, I'm quite the Animated fan and it sure did an awesome job handling my favorite Decepticon triple-changer. Blitzwing in Animated, to me, was something very very unique, as well as whimsical. I loved the multiple personality gimmick and his design.

Okay I'll bite.

Jazz: Animated - Phil LaMarr, Ninja, nunchaku, Headphones built into his head design, stays fairly close to the G1 counterpart in terms of personality, and a Sweeeeeeet car mode. Easily one of my favorite iterations of the character.

Soundwave: G1 - He's just so iconic. He was the first G1 character I instantly began to admire. I give Animated an honorable mention for being something original and unique like everyone else already mentioned, but overall nostalgia won this one for me. All I need is the Masterpiece figure and I will be one happy fan

Shockwave: Animated - Shockwave was just such a badass in Animated. He still got to be voiced by Corey Burton AND managed to practically snake his way up Autobot Command while disguised as a totally different character. Really cool in my opinion.

Chromedome & Brainstorm: IDW - I'm just do these two together since it's for the same reason. I never read the original G1 comics so I didn't know much about these two to start off with. Then I saw their (brief) appearance in the G1 cartoon and liked brainstorm's design from the get go but never did dwell into the Headmasters series. Finally, IDW rolls these two back into existence and I fell in love with their designs. After looking over some TFWiki pages, I feel IDW gives these two a bit more justice.

Blitzwing: Animated - If you couldn't already tell, I'm quite the Animated fan and it sure did an awesome job handling my favorite Decepticon triple-changer. Blitzwing in Animated, to me, was something very very unique, as well as whimsical. I loved the multiple personality gimmick and his design.

Prowl - Nick Roche version, Animated, Dreamwave, Budiansky

Scorponok - Marvel

Thunderwing - Marvel. Stormbringer was an insult to the Matrix bearer.

Jazz - FOC

Soundwave - G1/WFC

Megatron - G1/Animated

Swerve - MTMTE

Repugnus - Dreamwave MTMTE profile

Rodimus Prime - the Movie/Regeneration

Sunstreaker - Dreamwave/Universe