The Energon Pub

[Uniprimus]

Having just joined the TF collector club (yay)I stumbled upon the "Razors Edge" story promoting their club Airazor toy. So I start reading and I'm like "WTF?" cuz apparently Airazor's name WAS "Star Saber". Why is this? Even if they were trying to make it like they had different names before they were on Earth and not connected to annimals, the name Airazor doesn't really have anything to do with birds.

Which brings me to another question. Did all the Maxies and Preds have different names before the Beast Battle on Earth? It doesn't really make sense. Plenty of G1 characters had animal esque names (Bumblebee, Laserbeak, etc.)

Which brings me to my NEXT and thankfully final question. If they all did have non animal esque names before the Beast Wars, how are the animal esque names in G1 (Bumblebee, Laserbeak, etc.) explained?

If there isn't really an official answer, what's your explanation for this pile of confusion?

Phew. I need a stiff drink.

[Savage]

I just figured all their names, even the non-animal-related, were different in Cybertronian than in English. Perhaps Bumblebee's Cybertronian name means "Swift and graceful, yet deadly." I kinda look at it like Native American names like "Running Bull" and such. I'm sure in the original tongue, "Running Bull" sounds much less out of place as a name.

[Uniprimus]

I get where yer comin from, but wouldn't they just say "Airazor" in their language just like Japanese people say the same things but just in a different language?

[Saber Prime]

I have a more confusing point to make. Airrazor and Tigatron really souldn't even have pre-Earth forms because they were first activated only after scaning beast modes on Earth.

The only characters who should have Pre-Earth modes are the original cast, Depth Charge, and Rampage/Protoform-X.

[Uniprimus]

They were probably hanged back to protoform state on Cybertron then loaded on the Axalon...

By the way, how were the characters referred to in the Botcon Dawn of Futures Past comic?

[Dragonoth]

Beat Wars names, like TF names in general, tend to be descriptive. A leopard called Spot, if intelligent, would probably have a more compicated name for itself. Most of the names we know for Transformers are only what we can identify them with in English (or other native language, like Japanse). Transformers presumably have different names for themselves.

On a more relevant note, they seem to change names when they gain different forms. Thus, a robot who has a vehicle mode on Cybertron seems to go by a different name as an animal on Earth. Either that, or we just give them different names in our language. Also, I think Airazor is a decent, if somewhat complicated, name for an aerial transformer. Maybe not for a bird in particular, unless she cuts the wind to ribbons as a hawk.

As for the animal names in G1, why not go for whatever is memorable and somewhat descriptive? After all, we have vehicles named "Jaguar" and "Ram".

[Saber Prime]

I just ignore the G1 names entirely when trying to make sence of them. I just don't understand why a jeep is called Hound.

Anyway, Airrazor doesn't give any animal characteristics so I don't know why her name would need to be any different.

Tigatron on the other hand is a dead give away that he's a Tiger.

So what are the other character's names? I was under the impression till now that they were never given offical pre-Earth names.

[Uniprimus]

Yes, but how would they now what the animal is/was called? Remember, this is several million years before they were named BY HUMANS, who weren't even fully evolved.

BTW, I am thinking of putting the whole Razors Edge story in Word and changing the Wing Saber to Airazor. Anyone know how to do this?

[Saber Prime]

Is anyone ever going to answer the question of what the other character's names are?

Come on, I been wondering who they were on Cybertron sence Beast Wars first aired.

[Uniprimus]

By the way, how were the characters referred to in the Botcon Dawn of Futures Past comic?

[sto_vo_kor_2000]

Well the name Laserbeak may not be so animal esque as you might think.

There are forms of life other then animal that have beaks and such life could have exsisted on other planets visited by TF's.

On the otherhand Bumblebee seems to be a name more related to a earth insect so I have nothing to say

[Saber Prime]

By the way, how were the characters referred to in the Botcon Dawn of Futures Past comic?

Some how I got an image of a talking owl flying into the topic saying "The world may never know" then biteing into a tootsie roll pop.

[Dragonoth]

Is anyone ever going to answer the question of what the other character's names are?

Come on, I been wondering who they were on Cybertron sence Beast Wars first aired.

Usually they never tell us in the series. Maybe this comic is different, but they never did in Beast Wars.

Just say it's something unpronounceable except to computers who can do binary, and name them Steve (or anything else).

[Saber Prime]

Is anyone ever going to answer the question of what the other character's names are?

Come on, I been wondering who they were on Cybertron sence Beast Wars first aired.

Usually they never tell us in the series. Maybe this comic is different, but they never did in Beast Wars.

Just say it's something unpronounceable except to computers who can do binary, and name them Steve (or anything else).

That's not exactly what I was asking.

The OP said Airrazor was called Star Saber or Wing Saber in the comic. (I can't remember which and I'm too lazy to look it up right now)

My question is basically what are their Cybertronian names accoriding to the comic because if Airrazor has a different name than the likes of Cheetor and Rhinox should have different names as well.

[Bombus distinguendus]

all i can say is who knows who cares...untill they say "hey so and so was called :insert name: when on cybetron" ill go ahead thinking that the name we use is or is close to what they are caled on cybertron...i mean you can only go so far w/ this topic since it is only a cartoon/comic/toy series...at some pont you just gotta let it go and go with it.

[Uniprimus]

Is anyone ever going to answer the question of what the other character's names are?

Come on, I been wondering who they were on Cybertron sence Beast Wars first aired.

Usually they never tell us in the series. Maybe this comic is different, but they never did in Beast Wars.

Just say it's something unpronounceable except to computers who can do binary, and name them Steve (or anything else).

That's not exactly what I was asking.

The OP said Airrazor was called Star Saber or Wing Saber in the comic. (I can't remember which and I'm too lazy to look it up right now)

My question is basically what are their Cybertronian names accoriding to the comic because if Airrazor has a different name than the likes of Cheetor and Rhinox should have different names as well.

Yeah, I want to know that as well.

And Bombus...no.

[Durgey]

in the 1st episode of beast wars, when they're in the ships, Cheetor calls Ratrap "Rapture"... or was it Rapter?

[Saber Prime]

in the 1st episode of beast wars, when they're in the ships, Cheetor calls Ratrap "Rapture"... or was it Rapter?

He said "Rupture" and he wasn't talking to Rattrap. He was talking about the damage that was just done to the Axelon. None of the Beast Wars characters were ever called by their names till after they took Beast Forms and it's fairly obvious that they changed their names to match their new forms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCMOGPX8-I8

[Lorekeeper]

I'm game. Let's just go with the presumption that some TFs rename themselves when they get a new alt mode...

Optimus Primal = Optimus Prime (XXVII?)
Cheetor = Gambit
Rhinox = Rust (Iron Oxide?)
Rattrap = Rattletrap
Tigatron = Lonewolf

Megatron = Affirmanegatron
Waspinator = Disintegrator
Tarantulas = Mindbender
Dinobot = Fanbot
Black Arachnia = Widowmaker

That's all the characters I recall before I stopped watching the show. I like my answer for Rhinox the best.

[Liege Evilmus]

OK, acording to the TF Club(as far as I'm aware) The Maximals and Predicons had different names.

DinoBot was Dynamo

Megatron took that name when he first stole The Golden Disk.

In Episode one of Beast Wars, all the Maximals once adaptad with new forms took new names, hence they introduced themselves to each other even though they already knew eachother(?)

Was Primal, Prime before hand, I don't know.

I can see how in alot of cases like say Waspinator, this is a useful naming device, where as Scorponok could have just been using an honored Decepticon title due to some similarities.

Again, I don't know.

As for a figure like Airazor, giving her a new name just to keep with the quo, well that only confuses an already confusing thing.

That much I do know.

As for the G1 bots, I read a Marvel US/UK TF Crossover years ago. What was going on I realy can't remember, but there was one pannel that always stuck with me where Jazz was giving a kid a ride and the kid asked what his name was, Jazz said something like "Well, you could never pronounce my real name, so do like everyone else and just call me Jazz"

That always stuck with me, new planet, new forms, why not new names?

I always saw time on Cybretron as having an implied translation.

Thats my take on all this.

[Uniprimus]

So how were they reffered to in the Dawn of future' past comic?

What are your names for the characters before they name to Earth?

It still irks me why they would want to change their names. In the Gathering, Lio Convoy was still called Lio onvoy on Earth, as were many of the others who had animal esque names.

[Saber Prime]

So how were they reffered to in the Dawn of future' past comic?

What are your names for the characters before they name to Earth?

It still irks me why they would want to change their names. In the Gathering, Lio Convoy was still called Lio onvoy on Earth, as were many of the others who had animal esque names.

Lio Convoy was never on Earth. That series took place on... it started with a G. Was verry simular to Earth but not the same planet.

[Liege Evilmus]

Wasn't Giea(Gia) a future Earth?

I never saw the whole series so I may be way off.

But either way, when it comes to comics stuff, to many writers, to many artists, to many editors, to many fans...

The soup is spoiled, but still pretty good, take each blend for what it's worth.

[sto_vo_kor_2000]

So how were they reffered to in the Dawn of future' past comic?

What are your names for the characters before they name to Earth?

It still irks me why they would want to change their names. In the Gathering, Lio Convoy was still called Lio onvoy on Earth, as were many of the others who had animal esque names.

Lio Convoy was never on Earth. That series took place on... it started with a G. Was verry simular to Earth but not the same planet.

Lio Convoy was on earth in the Beast Wars comic "The Ascending" which was the continuation of Beast Wars: The Gathering.

Both Beast Wars comic book took place on earth at the same time as the regular Beast Wars but just out of tempral synk.

We are talking about the comics and not the toon arent we????

"Eradicator" refranced the "The Gathering" in his post.

[Dr. Caelus]

By all appearances Airazor, like Tigatron, Inferno, Black Arachnia, and the Fuzors, was amnesiac after being reactivated. In fact, it's worth noting that only Rampage, with his spectacular healing factor and supernatural durability, emerges from the stasis pod with his memories intact, reinforcing the idea that memory loss was due to damage to the pod, or Predacon shell programming, not to the protoforming process.

So, if she doesn't remember anything except, 'I am a Maximal' (which is more than some remember) and basic functions, what are the odds she'd pick the same name for her self again?

Edit: Also, in response to someone saying the animals weren't named yet, I must remind them that the Maximals and Predacons were from at least the year 2300 (Three centuries after the Great War). Therefore, if their computers had any info about terrestrial life at all, it presumably would have included their common names, as given by humans.