The Energon Pub

Here's the thing, guys. Of these five, we've got three well known G1 dudes, a not-so-well known G1 dude, and Waspy.

In regards to Jazz, Grimlock, and Shockwave, these three are almost a given at being automatically inaugurated by Hasbro in a later Hall of Fame if none of them make it in this year. And, that's only because they are of the same kind of character as those who were automatically inaugurated both this year and last year: Figureheads. They are iconic characters, but only because they were conceived as such. They aren't really "characters" in a sense, but more like "archetypes".

Why is Jazz considered "cool"? Because he was the "cool guy". Why is he the "cool guy"? Because he was made to be that way. The same can be said for the other two. Why is Shockwave "awesome" or Grimlock "hardcore"? Just because. There's no depth or substance to this. They didn't work to earn these roles that they play. It's just who they are naturally.

However, one question remains... WHYYYYYY????!!!! Why is it that they have to be like this without any rhyme or reason? Why couldn't they have become who they are in some kind of developmental process? Why do they have to automatically fill in the roles of "cool guy," "cold thinker," and "savage warrior"? There is simply little-to-no essence put into *who* these guys are instead of merely *what* roles they play.

Now, yes, I will admit that later variations of these guys did have some better effort put into them, but it's the G1 portrayals that most look to as the primary iterations and, let's face it, these guys simply weren't as fantastic as they're made out to be. It's just another factor in the largely overrated state of the G1 franchise.

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And then there's Erector. The simple fact that he, of all bots, made it this far in this ordeal is just ridiculous. While I'm glad to see that Hasbro has been a good sport about this, the whole thing with Erector has simply gone too far. In all seriousness, why is he even here?

Erector is, by and large, a nobody. Now, that's not to say that he doesn't matter as a character, no, I'm not insulting the guy personally. But he is so obscure a character who has done absolutely nothing of his own merit to even warrant a single considering into the Hall of Fame. His placement here is completely hypocritical in that he is *not* famous.

Before this new bio of his was even created, he had made almost zero appearances in any fiction outside of his own toy bio. In fact, here's all we know about him from his own 1989 bio:

Programmed to build and preserve. Reluctant to destroy. Only fights when provoked. Often uses cunning and tactical manuvering to ensnare his enemies. A brave, respected warrior. Equipped with titanium belted, bullet-proof tires and alloyed exterior that's impervious to most armaments. Crane hook with hydraulic swing can pierce enemy armor with deadly accuracy. Converts to battle station armed with devastating photon cannon and anti-aircraft machine gun battery.

That's barely anything about him personally. Most of it is is either technical or vague. The bio produced for the Hall of Fame by Hasbro is just something that they completely pulled out of thin air.

And as for his only fictional appearance (Zone story page 3), he's not really doing anything in it.

The description says that he's helping in launching an attack on Trypticon and King Poseidon, but look at how he's drawn (BTW, he's identified here by his Japanese name "Cragun"). In the main image, the the direction he's flying in isn't facing either King Poseidon or Trypticon, so he wouldn't be able to attack either from his current position. He could possibly be trying to go for Trypticon, but Victory Saber is very much in his way from any direct attacks on the Saurian General.

In the smaller image below, as he and the other three Commanders are launching their attack, he's depicted from the very back of the group, making it more difficult for him to launch any straightforward attack without striking his teammates.

In short, he wasn't nominated because of his own merits (of which he has none to warrant such a nomination) but because of his name. The fact that his name just happens to be a synonym for "boner" is the only reason this guy got so many votes. This is just... sad.

I mean, have we really sunk so low? This is a Hall of "Fame" not "Infamy". Why do so many want a guy whose name is seen as nothing more than a lame penis joke to be honored as something he isn't? Is the fanbase really that shallow and lowbrow? It's disturbing to think so.

We are not all 12 years old (or younger) anymore. Something as meager as a coincidental connection to toilet humor isn't that funny at all. It's just sad.

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Which brings me to Waspinator. Unlike the first three, he was NOT originally the "butt monkey" of the series actually seemed like a capable soldier early on in his initial appearances. He pretty much came off as a typical Predacon soldier who was no different from the others, all specifics aside. But he then went on to become much more than that. He was not some flat stock character who went nowhere, but actually had a three-dimensional personality. As time went on, he grew in his character portrayal and gradually began to show that he wasn't really that evil; just that he had big dreams and figured he was on the winning side. Sure, it took a few dozen slaggings for him to figure out his mistake, but he did start to notice the trend overtime and began to lament at how fate always seemed to treat unfairly ("Why universe hate Waspinator? ").

It is Waspinator who I see as being the underdog this time because everybody loves Jazz/Grimlock/Shockwave and so many are going to go with Micromaster named after a private part, and because Dinobot won last year and not many are gonna want another Beastie to win this year.

And yet, this just is not fair. Waspy deserves this honor just as much as anyone like Shockwave or Grimlock, or Jazz (all of whom I predict will be automatically inaugurated by Hasbro if any of them don't make it in this year). It's Hasbro who doesn't see that and is stuck in the G1 era, picking out "figureheads" instead of "characters" (or, in the case of Erector, "Joe Shmoes").

I tell ya, this year's is probably going to be one of the most controversial Hall of Fame events of them all.