Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Yep, here's your shot at complaining about the things that you don't like about TF. There's been tons of garbage in the TF genre over the years, so here's your chance to talk about it and propose how to fix it.

Here's mine:

- The shouting of attacks or "transform" whenever a TF transforms. I know it's traditional in Japan, but it starts to get really annoying after 2 episodes.

- Stockfootage transformations to drag out the episode. Really, a transformation mid action sequence is 100 times cooler.

- Storylines that involve kids as the only solution to the problems TF's are facing. Blerg, no kids.

- The Japanese like to turn the Decepticons into retards. I prefer them as a well organised army with some very powerful elites, competent leaders and maybe the odd psychopath here and there.

- The Autobots always win. Having the Autobots on the ropes for most of the time will give a far more interesting story. They should only barely win if they win at all.

- Plots that rely on humans being retards. Megatron's masterplan wasn't all that masterful.

- Micromaster wrestling. The less said about it, the better.

- Decepticon leaders wasting too much time with being dramatic. A serious coldblooded leader is going to have much more of a badass factor (think Darth Vader).

- Humans always wearing exactly the same clothes each episode or comic appearance. Although labcoats could be a exception. Spike and Sparkplug weren't always working in the cartoons now were they?

- Starscream coming up a with a poorly planned plot to overthrow Megatron. Dang, there's been many plots in fiction where guys get efficiently overthrown or killed. Starscream should have built up to a moment to grab power or to start his own faction.

- Cybertron appears to be devoid of population in the Cartoons. Solution: Upsize it to the comic size and fill it with highly populated citystates. This gives rise to plots that involve military campaigns, mulitple (neutral) factions, etc.

- Overly complicated timetravel stories, I'm looking at you Furman. Some stories leave fans guessing on what's what for many (read more then 20) years. Although it was pretty fun when it first got introduced.

- The lack of classic comic only characters in Dreamwave's books. Come on, emirate Xaaron and Impactor are two of the coolest TF's ever.

- The Cartoons always turned animal/dino/monster TF's into retards. What a waste of potentially good characters. Comic Grimlock is one of the coolest TF's around, whereas his cartoon counterpart is mostly remembered as his clownish season 3 appearance.

- Wheelie, he should have been killed by Galvatron or something.

- Violence, there's a WAR going on. Treat the series as such.
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5

- Crowbarring in new gimmicks/subgroups/characters. It was only cool when the Aerialbots and Stunticons showed up. Furman's current approach to this in the IDW comics is the best we could have ever hoped for.


Just my 2 cents.

Stormwolf wrote:Yep, here's your shot at complaining about the things that you don't like about TF. There's been tons of garbage in the TF genre over the years, so here's your chance to talk about it and propose how to fix it.

Here's mine:

- The shouting of attacks or "transform" whenever a TF transforms. I know it's traditional in Japan, but it starts to get really annoying after 2 episodes.

- Stockfootage transformations to drag out the episode. Really, a transformation mid action sequence is 100 times cooler.

- Storylines that involve kids as the only solution to the problems TF's are facing. Blerg, no kids.

- The Japanese like to turn the Decepticons into retards. I prefer them as a well organised army with some very powerful elites, competent leaders and maybe the odd psychopath here and there.

- The Autobots always win. Having the Autobots on the ropes for most of the time will give a far more interesting story. They should only barely win if they win at all.

- Plots that rely on humans being retards. Megatron's masterplan wasn't all that masterful.

- Micromaster wrestling. The less said about it, the better.

- Decepticon leaders wasting too much time with being dramatic. A serious coldblooded leader is going to have much more of a badass factor (think Darth Vader).

- Humans always wearing exactly the same clothes each episode or comic appearance. Although labcoats could be a exception. Spike and Sparkplug weren't always working in the cartoons now were they?

- Starscream coming up a with a poorly planned plot to overthrow Megatron. Dang, there's been many plots in fiction where guys get efficiently overthrown or killed. Starscream should have built up to a moment to grab power or to start his own faction.

- Cybertron appears to be devoid of population in the Cartoons. Solution: Upsize it to the comic size and fill it with highly populated citystates. This gives rise to plots that involve military campaigns, mulitple (neutral) factions, etc.

- Overly complicated timetravel stories, I'm looking at you Furman. Some stories leave fans guessing on what's what for many (read more then 20) years. Although it was pretty fun when it first got introduced.

- The lack of classic comic only characters in Dreamwave's books. Come on, emirate Xaaron and Impactor are two of the coolest TF's ever.

- The Cartoons always turned animal/dino/monster TF's into retards. What a waste of potentially good characters. Comic Grimlock is one of the coolest TF's around, whereas his cartoon counterpart is mostly remembered as his clownish season 3 appearance.

- Wheelie, he should have been killed by Galvatron or something.

- Violence, there's a WAR going on. Treat the series as such.
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5

- Crowbarring in new gimmicks/subgroups/characters. It was only cool when the Aerialbots and Stunticons showed up. Furman's current approach to this in the IDW comics is the best we could have ever hoped for.


Just my 2 cents.

G1 and BW r te best!

Ok so where the **** is Wheelie on your list? Those two were the most annoying characters in G1 besides Daniel! The Armada kids just flatout RETARDED!!

I never could really tolerate the constant dumbfoundedness of the Decepticons after the BW/BM era. They just got seriously stupid. Out of all of them, Megatron was the only one w/a brain, & that's in all the series to follow BM. I also could never stand the fact that they need command codes to transform (This isn't really about BW, those were actually good) It's the fact that thy actually had to say "Transform!" in order to actually do said act. It's like they were a giant robotic Poke'mon. I didn't like it.

My biggest beef with Transformers is the constant use of the same names for transformers in different universes.... and the discontinuation of some characters in the Unicron Universe.

Hmmm, let me see...

1.Always shouting "Transform" right before they transform. Like they have to tell their bodies to transform or something before they can do it.

2.Why are the female Transformers a lot of the time in stereotypical girly colors? I see pink and pastel colors, but rarely any darker colors for the ladies. Plus they make the female Tfs super curvy and round. Not every lady is super curvy and looks like a supermodel.

3. Why not show the Decepticons winning more often? They would be more threatening if Megatron didn't shout "Retreat!"
every time one of the Autobots frowned at him wrong. No wonder Screamer wants to run the Ds, Megs always retreats from an easy battle!

4.Why whenever we get humans as major characters in a TF show, they are an embarrasment to their species? Either they are super goofy like the ones in Armada, or make you cringe like some of them in G1?

5.Why HeadMasters? Surely their own skulls with brains inside could have done just as good if not better then somebody who is modified to replace it. I can understand the idea of TargetMasters. Having an intelligent and living weapon has its advantages.

6. The idea of Scourge, Cyclonus, and the Sweeps in G1. They are OOGLY. Plus they don't seem to remember who they were, and Megatron/Galvatron does.

7. The idea that Tfs can be "reformatted." It doesn't seem to bother them that their whole identity and appearance can be switched around or eliminated, just like that. I would have had at least some objections to it before I had it done to me.

Death

1. Kill
2. Kill you oppenants.
3. Kill the Decepticons (except for the renegade Decepticons ie; ME!)
4. Kill the human children if they pesist in being around. Send thenm out first, just to be fair. If they come back: SQUASH!
5. KILL!!!!

Time paradoxes and time travel in general. Plot holes make my brain hurt.

Making Swindle look stupid when he tried selling Metroplex's cog to Galvatron. Swindle wasn't stupid!

Watching Predaking get beat down by Sky-Lynx. Now that was crap.

Predacons, Protectobots, Strafe, Swoop, Combaticons, Dead End not being in enough episodes.

I agree that female autobots look sexy and don't look like real girls are. Transformers are started to look like cheesy anime cartoons.

ZeroZero wrote:Watching Predaking get beat down by Sky-Lynx. Now that was crap.

No, that was actually pretty dignified, especially when considering his conduct in Japanese Headmasters. I guess for the most part Predaking did pretty well, but in one of(if not the or second to)last episodes of the series, he gets defeated from a single shot by Pointblank. No kidding.

Ok, dislikes? The constant need to have a Prime/Megatron. Look, I know they sell figures, but come on, a little variety! I find the Optimus Prime character to be a bit boring, and they need to shake up his alt. a little bit. However, his alt. for the movie is just fine, cause it harkens back to G1.

And Megatron's look and alt. has changed a bit too much over the years. His alt. to a tank was a good idea, and varying tank designs are more interesting to me than trucks, but I just do wish that his head was more like his G1 self.

I dislike that....thing that Megatron figure transforms into in the movie. It really doesn't look like anything to me, and is quite possibly the worst alt. mode ever. This is of course based on pics I've seen, as I haven't seen it in person yet.

"Things That You Don't Like About TransFormers"


...the fans.


No, seriously, some of the plots. They're just stroke inducing levels of stupid.

...and the fans. (some of them)

Even though I know they have been listed already.

Things I despise:

1.) Wheelie
2.) All humans besides those in G1, BW, and Kicker
3.) The generic commercialization of TF into "Pokemon" genre
4.) BW Quickstrike

Things I don't like but can somewhat tolerate:

1.) Daniel
2.) Season 3 cartoon Grimlock
3.) All those BM plotholes

Transformers Armada was every embarissing to the franchise!

#1 Not having enough money to buy them.

Probably me not being able to see the Tfs in their proper format this year: The Theater!

Wheelie! i just want to throttle him!
character stupidity, cause soem of things that they have them do, they'd never actually do!

1. It's a war treat it that way.

A war should never look like a one sided event where the good guys ALLWAYS win. Sure the Autobots should be the winners of the War but not every battle. Let the Decepticons win some battles that way it actully looks like a struggle between 2 waring factions insted of a bunch of gient alien robot children playing cops and robbers.

Troops on both sides should be lost durring fights. How stupid is it to watch a fight sceen where no one ever actully hits anybody?

Human: Why has the war between Autobots and Decepticons been going on so long?

Optimus Prime: Because we're all horrible aims, no one can shoot anyone.

2. The war is between Cybertronians, from Cybertron! Why does every series start off on Earth and then show Cybertron later on twards the end of the series. It should be exactly the oppiste, if they're going to come to Earth at all it shouldn't be till at least the second season.

3. Humans really gotta stop saying "I wanna help you" when they know they can't and aren't going to do anything but get in the way. Really now what's an 80 lbs flesh bag going to do to help a 216 ton robot? Absolutly nothing, and that's exactly what they do, nothing.

G1 Was OK with this because they actully gave humans exsosuits they could pilot that allowed them to fight along side the Transformers.

What did the Armada kids have? Orange jump suits that allowed them to do absolutly nothing.

4. Plot lines, really really horrible plot lines. Can someone please pay attention to the diolog and action and make them actully match.

Optimus Prime: Side Swipe I need your jet pack.

Side Swipe: No you don't we all just saw you fly here.

Optimus Prime: But Autobots can't fly.

Side Swipe: Oh right... HE'S A DECEPTICON ATTACK!

Every episode of Transformers allso seems to completly ignore everything that happened in past episodes. Like the Constructicons and their 3 origins, Sideways and his 2 origins, Mini-cons and their 2 origins, Starscream and Skyfire's friendship that's just completly ignored for the rest of the series, ect.

On Batman they actully make a point to show the friendship between Bruce Wayne and Harvey Dent in every episode. They don't just mention it in the first episode Harvey is turned into Two-Face then completly ignore it. Hell even Armada as much as I hate that series managed to keep the Hot Shot and Wheeljack friendship going past that first episode. G1 just completly ignored Starscream and Skyfire.

Whatever the reason for this is, weather it be bad dubs or just multiple wrighters working on multiple scripts just fix it. You really need to make sure the finished series actully flows well insted of making me ask "What the hell? Where did that come from and what happen to this?"

5. Keep the cast small please. Only use as many main characters as you can give screen time too. It's a war but you don't and shouldn't have to focus on the entire army. Just focus on a small unit. Yes have backround characters but don't even bother naming them because the audience won't care about them anyway.

Along the same lines, stop making toys of characters that don't exsist. Hell for all I care you can use those misc. toys of non-show characters to fill up the backround as long as they're actully in there. Why would I wanna buy toys of characters who don't exsist? (Except that some times I like the mold) Just don't bother giveing them names or descriptions because all I'm going to see is "Nameless backround character number 6"

Just to make a point, how many people can actully name every single character who appeared in G1 without looking them up? You'll probly name all the main cast but forget about backround characters that had little to no screen time.

Think like Star Trek here. They show a single ship with several people on board but only 7 main cast members. Of course they do some times mention names. An episode of TNG mentioned an Ensign Janeway. (Janeway who'd later be Captain of Voyager)

6. The whole multiverse thing. I really hate that RID, Armada, Energon, and Cybertron really have no conection what so ever to G1. G1 came first, all the shows should just follow in the same time line not start all over again in a new universe.

Or at the verry least if they are going to place a story in an alternate universe they could do a crossover episode where the characters get I don't know sucked through a warm hole or something that drops them in the G1 Universe. (And this would be cool because then G1 Namesakes could interact with their G1 counterparts.)

I could just see it now.

G1 Ironhide: This kid supose to be me?

Energon Ironhide: I don't know, this whole multiverse thing is confusing.

Or maybe it'd be better for people of different names but simular likenesses to meet like G1 Wheeljack and Energon Downshift.

Saber Prime wrote:1. It's a war treat it that way.

It's also a kids TV show.

Saber Prime wrote:2. The war is between Cybertronians, from Cybertron! Why does every series start off on Earth and then show Cybertron later on twards the end of the series. It should be exactly the oppiste, if they're going to come to Earth at all it shouldn't be till at least the second season.

Mm, like G1? Yeah, I like that idea.

Saber Prime wrote:3. Humans really gotta stop saying "I wanna help you" when they know they can't and aren't going to do anything but get in the way. Really now what's an 80 lbs flesh bag going to do to help a 216 ton robot? Absolutly nothing, and that's exactly what they do, nothing.

Yes. Yes. And more Yes.

Saber Prime wrote:4. Plot lines, really really horrible plot lines. Can someone please pay attention to the diolog and action and make them actully match.

Optimus Prime: Side Swipe I need your jet pack.

Side Swipe: No you don't we all just saw you fly here.

Optimus Prime: But Autobots can't fly.

Side Swipe: Oh right... HE'S A DECEPTICON ATTACK!

Well, aside from those being the pilot episodes in which it wasn't established that only Decepticons could fly.. Could be said that Prime was just too energon depleted?

Saber Prime wrote:5. Keep the cast small please. Only use as many main characters as you can give screen time too. It's a war but you don't and shouldn't have to focus on the entire army. Just focus on a small unit. Yes have backround characters but don't even bother naming them because the audience won't care about them anyway.

Along the same lines, stop making toys of characters that don't exsist. Hell for all I care you can use those misc. toys of non-show characters to fill up the backround as long as they're actully in there. Why would I wanna buy toys of characters who don't exsist? (Except that some times I like the mold) Just don't bother giveing them names or descriptions because all I'm going to see is "Nameless backround character number 6"

Just to make a point, how many people can actully name every single character who appeared in G1 without looking them up? You'll probly name all the main cast but forget about backround characters that had little to no screen time.

I quite like the extra characters. But yeah, I like em more when I see em on screen in the background. It expands the animated universe in that, when we see a character in the background who we know of by their toy, we can appreciate there's probably loads of sides to the war that we ARENT seeing where other characters are involved, like the new IDW Beast Wars comics.

Saber Prime wrote:Think like Star Trek here. They show a single ship with several people on board but only 7 main cast members. Of course they do some times mention names. An episode of TNG mentioned an Ensign Janeway. (Janeway who'd later be Captain of Voyager)

Haha, I saw that clip and I loved it, was an amazing reference to her (even though she came later. Its brilliant!)

Saber Prime wrote:6. The whole multiverse thing. I really hate that RID, Armada, Energon, and Cybertron really have no conection what so ever to G1. G1 came first, all the shows should just follow in the same time line not start all over again in a new universe.

Or at the verry least if they are going to place a story in an alternate universe they could do a crossover episode where the characters get I don't know sucked through a warm hole or something that drops them in the G1 Universe. (And this would be cool because then G1 Namesakes could interact with their G1 counterparts.)

See, it's not fair on kids today that they will be expected to look back at a cartoon series from 20 years ago to understand whats going on now. Things need to be rebooted to keep up with the new generation of kids. And lets face it, G1 had some massive plot holes, if I were in charge I'd love to start over and get things RIGHT.

Meverix wrote:It's also a kids TV show.

So? They're allready showing violence anyway at least make it realistic violance.

Meverix wrote:See, it's not fair on kids today that they will be expected to look back at a cartoon series from 20 years ago to understand whats going on now. Things need to be rebooted to keep up with the new generation of kids. And lets face it, G1 had some massive plot holes, if I were in charge I'd love to start over and get things RIGHT.

So many things wrong with what you just said here.

First, Kids don't have to even realize "Oh this is Optimus from 20 years ago" They just think "Oh another universe cool" while the people who were actully around back then will look at it and go "cool cameo appearances by original TFs"

As much as I even hate to make this refrence I'm going to anyway. The kids today who watch *gasp* Power Rangers *ugh I said it* get to see cameos made by the original Power Rangers all the time and don't even realize it.

Recently Power Rangers Dino Force reintroduce Tommy Oliver as the Black Ranger (And before this he was Green, then white, and finally red before they decided he was too old to be playing a teenager.) In makes me wonder why they even did this because the kids watching the show have no f-ing clue who Tommy is. The only people who would even care about him don't even watch the series anymore. (Or at least I don't anyway.)

The only reason I even know about this is I was flipping through TV channels and saw him after not seeing him at all sence Power Rangers and didn't realize it was still him as Tommy.

But anyway, this is yet another thing where they ignore everything that happen in the past because Zordon was the source of all the Ranger's powers and he died at the end of Power Rangers in Space. That's when I stoped watching the series and thought it should have ended there. It Started with Zordon, it should end with him.

Anyway the point is if that crappy show can reintroduce a character no one even cares about anymore why can't Transformers reintroduce G1 cast members?

Things DON'T need to be rebooted to keep up with a new generation of kids. They can keep up with the times by introducing things like I-pods and CD players that weren't around back then sure but that's all they need to do.

And while I DO agree with that last sentence it doesn't even apply. The newer shows have just as many if not MORE plot holes than G1. BW was the only series that DIDN'T have any major plot holes and they followed G1. They screwed up alot of G1 Continuaty (but that was all screwed up to begine with) but they didn't screw up any of their own stuff.

I'd think the same storyline would get old after twenty-plus years. Plus, I don't think CD players and I-pods would save it.

I'm assuming you started with G1 like most of us here. You believe G1 to be the real universe for TFs. Fair enough. Just think of all the other universes as one giant Marvel Comics 'What if...?' issue.

What if Primus was actually the entire world of Cybertron?

What if there are tiny Transformers called Mini-Cons that increase regular TFs' powers?

What if Red Alert was the medic instead of Ratchet?


I don't care if the extra toys are in the background of the current show or not. It's another figure for me to buy and set up. Don't like it? Don't buy it.

As for TFs dying in the war, remember the censors. They may let a character die because it's good for the story and it's only one guy. They aren't going to let bots just drop left and right because it's a war. It's a kid's show.

If there is one thing I don't like, than it's names.
Why not the Japanese names?
Roadbuster is so more better than Ironhide (Energon) for example.
What about Mudflap? Was Hasbro running out of good names

What I really hate: That Hasbro didn't made a War Within-style cartoon yet. The characters in both IDW and DW are so good, that they could be easily planted for CGI models, or, even better, hand-drawn cartoons. Could be expensive, but that would be a heaven for all fans.

hear, hear! a war within cartoon series would rock!

tf dutchie wrote:If there is one thing I don't like, than it's names.
Why not the Japanese names?
Roadbuster is so more better than Ironhide (Energon) for example.
What about Mudflap? Was Hasbro running out of good names

You're kidding, right? "I'm Roadbuster...I..bust roads...stop laughing!"

Let's not forget such winners as "Inch-Up" "Jackshot" "Landbullet" "Guard Shell" "Back Gild" and..."Liger Jack"? Were they watching Napoleon Dynamite?

1)Well dammit I want them to make another G1 cartoon series thats aimed more for the PG and up audience so they can actually show that its more of War based storyline then a kids storyline!


2) I really am gettin tired of the "kids getting on the bandwagon of the Autobots side"! They should in both the comics and the cartoons just get rid of them! I hope IDW has the Decepticons kill them off later on in Devstation! Other then that they r really doing it the way its supposed to be done(IDW)!

3)I hope one day they will CROSSOVER one of the universes like Armada meets G1. I'd love that! But I doubt that will ever happen! But I hope that the new series Transformers: Heroes learn from the mistakes from the past like story plot holes(G1), bad dialogue(Armada series), animation mistakes(G1)although not a big issue these days, simple story plots(RID, Armada series), and no more TRANSFORM! before every transformation!. I hope it will be American based then Japnese based! Because it hasn't worked in the past!