The Energon Pub

Okay. We know that Michael Bay won't be directing any more TF movies after DOTM. So that means that if there are any more (which there will be) they will probably be reboots. So let's hear your vision for a reboot of the Transformers film franchise. I'll start with a mock-commercial blurb.

Supreme Commander Optimus Prime (Gary Chalk) and his crew of Autobots escape from the raging war between themselves and the Decepticons to harvest Energon fuel on Earth for a living weapon they call "Fortress Maximus." Unfortunately for them, the war has followed them there in the form of Megatron (David Kaye) and a small team of Decepticon warriors. At the center of it all are three human teenagers: Sam "Spike" Witwicki, Chip Chase, and Carly Hawke. Voice talents for the robots include Will Smith as Jazz, Josh Hutcherson as Bumblebee, and Russell Brand as Starscream. Fans of the classic cartoon "The Transformers" won't want to miss this faithful adaptation of its first season - nor will kids looking for a hilarious, visually mind-blowing adventure.

I realize there's already a topic kind of like this, but they're stuck debating the merit of Spider-Man 3.

What I'd do? Pretty much everything that most other filmmakers or producers in present-day Hollywood would be afraid to do:

Personally, I'd wait about four years after Bay's done and reboot with a story that focuses squarely on the Autobot/Decepticon war - it may be seen through the eyes of a teenager, but even so, said character is going to have to be the anchor of the human cast, because this would be a Transformers movie that's actually about, y'know, the Transformers.

I'd also take advantage of Hollywood's obsessive penchant for remakes by essentially mixing together various bits and pieces of "All Hail Megatron", the first Marvel and Dreamwave G1 arcs, the 3-part "More Than Meets The Eye" pilot, and some of the newer cartoons - and even a couple bits of some of Devil's Due's JOE/TF crossovers (minus the Joes and Cobra, of course) - with "The Seven Samurai" as the film's core: the Decepticons are already here, they rise up one day and terrorize, pillage and plunder the Earth entire, and all our military might, resources, technology and manpower amount to jack squat against them; and upon learning more about what they are and where they come from, the diminishing ranks of human resistance manage to send off a distress signal to Optimus Prime, who responds with a grand total of six Autobots backing him up as they attempt to fight off an entire legion of Decepticons. The whole thing climaxes with a standoff in a shattered and downpour-drenched Manhattan Island, complete with an energy-axe vs. energy-mace showdown between Optimus and Megatron (in which this CGI incarnation of Optimus would actually last more than a minute in combat against Megatron).

The characterizations would also be a little more complex - aside from the human characters not really wanting the Autobots' help but not having any other options, the relationship between Megatron and Starscream would be better explored, as well as what goes on inside Optimus' head...what happens when an intelligent being has spent most of their life in the middle of the inferno? The idea being that Optimus Prime, exceptional a leader though he is, has been fighting so long he's become a little disaffected by the war and has lost a little focus on what the big picture is. It's his arrival on Earth and the subsequent experiences that put him on "the road back" - his hero's-journey, such as it is, runs parallel to that of the human protagonist. This deeper development of characters would be necessary because here the robots would be getting the bulk of screen time - I don't expect or even want the movie to be Shakespeare, but I wouldn't want to be responsible for a movie that spends two hours shaving off the audience's brain cells, either.

I might retain Cullen and Welker in the voice cast, but I'd recast Cullen as Ironhide and lay some form of vocoder-type distortion over Welker's "SoundKlaw" voice, if for no other reason than to maintain some distance from the previous films while still nodding back to the franchise's history. Other than those two, though, completely new voice cast from Optimus and Megatron on down. As for what the TFs would look like, I'd probably lean closer to Figueroa's Ongoing designs, only with faces that are more distinct from one another - probably still as detailed, but distinguishable (even the actual Bayformer faces are mostly all different) - like those sketches Su posted on dA of Bumblebee, Ironhide, Prowl, Megatron and Starscream. (This all assumes that I would want to re-use characters who've already been used as the 'core' robot casts in the movies - I wouldn't want to, necessarily, but Hasbro would probably make some mandates about it.) The alt-modes would be updated too and made as distinct from Bay's Transformers as possible - Optimus would be a short-nosed cab, Bumblebee a compact - although one thing I would carry over from the Bay films is (mostly) no mass-shifting.

Oh, and no ancient-Cybertronian-MacGuffins-that-just-happen-to-have-been-in-our-star-system-all-this-time-and-everybody-is-racing-to-find, no-chosen-one-teenage-boy-using-the-special-power-to-vanquish-evil, no humans-working-together-in-their-darkest-hour-to-somehow-conquer-the-technologically-super-advanced-invaders, and surely as the sun rises and sets no robot-stereotype-comic-relief or conveniently-lowbrow-robot-potty-humor - the fate of the Earth should hinge SOLELY on the Autobots and Decepticons, and ultimately on Optimus and Megatron.

Something to do with Area 51.

I'm going to be writing a Transformers fan-fic soon that deals with it.

Well, the Area 51 one sounds fun. And aren't all great nerdy franchise-based movies "fan fiction?"

After that huge post Jaw Crusher made, I think I'm going to go into more detail about my vision.

The visual style would be a mix of the bright colors of Speed Racer (an extremely underrated movie IMHO) and the... sensibilities of Avatar. The robots would be created in a similar way to the Na'vi, with actors' movements and facial expressions transferred into CGI bodies - in this case, Transformers. I would focus on making them as human as I could, because who would want a whole movie focused on ?

The plot would focus mostly on three things: the war, the Autobots' search for enough Energon, and their growing attachment to Earth. In addition to most of the cast of G1 S1 and 2, I would also include Arcee and Rodimus, and a new character named Spiral, a female Autobot rescue helicopter with a fangirl crush on Optimus Prime.

The Dude wrote:The visual style would be a mix of the bright colors of Speed Racer (an extremely underrated movie IMHO)

I'm not the only one who thinks that movie is underrated!!! I think the acting is a bit suckish, but when have I ever cared about any of that? I mean its a type of movie that I'd watch when I'm bored. But I think thats what a new TF movie needs. Bright CG, but an overall dark background.

How about using Darren Arofonskys The Fountain as a sort of template..and having 2 generations of Transformers, each starting in their own respective timeline.. searching for some ancient mystical Cybertronian object to save a dying Primus... with Unicrons heralds trying to stop them. We could introduce Optimus Primal, who starts in the future and crashes to prehistoric Earth looking for this object. A modern day Optimus Prime fighting a war on Cybertron while also searching...and Megatron could get his upgrade to Galvatron after destroying one of the heralds and being close to death. Im basically making this up on the spot but it would be a good film.

Megatron could get his upgrade to Galvatron

Or Galvatron another character all together. I'm fine with Galvatron existing as a separate entity. I hated Megatron becoming Galvatron....I'd rather not see it ever happen again. (last time it did was in the unicron trilogy, which he flipped back and forth between the two personas.) Megatron is such a cooler name. Galvatron just felt like a terrible knock off (right along with Rodimus Prime.) and I hated them both for it.

I'm frankly not sure why anyone would be a fan of the change. Lets take an awesome villain..make them look stupid and give them a dumber name.

Otherwise I don't have a problem with most of what was said other than just probably be too nerdcentric to ever fly as movie script. But we can dream.

I've entertained the idea of the Decepticons making first contact and having Megatron not being outright evil. He would be quite evil for sure, but he would deceive the humans into believing he is a benevolent extraterrestrial visitor. Whereas the Autobots, in an attempt to get an idea of whatever Megatron's up to, would lay low and remain in disguise. It's a much more cunning version of Megatron and not the G1 buffoon and the movieverse monster.

The human element would probably be new characters. I see on the Decepticon's side, the successor to the successor to the Dr. Arkeville and Issac Sumdac type of character who is a scientist kind of viewing them from a technological standpoint but being kind of warped by it. He wouldn't be campy like a mad scientist, but just entranced by these robots. Not sure who would be the Autobots' ally. Probably a coworker of this professor character who's ousted from wherever they work.

I'd love to include Mindwipe in there. I'm not familiar with him much beyond the ROTF toy bio, but I like the idea of all the Autobots being susceptible to his manipulation except Optimus. I'd have the "really big fight at the end" be set in a construction site where Optimus has to subdue the mind controlled Autobots without harming them, and I would have the constructions emerge to form Devastator. Optimus and the other Autobots would defeat him but the main Decepticons like Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave would get away in the end.

As much as I like Peter Cullen, I'd probably make Optimus more energetic and youthful than Cullen's current Optimus voice. Gary Chalk would do nicely but I haven't really thought much about it. I'm a big movie score fan, and I'd love to hear Alan Silvestri's take on the franchise.

Just vague ideas. I'm not a big fan of fan fiction.

I guess in terms of which robots I'd use, I'd try to change up the rosters outside of Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee and possibly Starscream (since Hasbro would be likely to demand that THEY be in it) with robots who haven't had any screen time if any in recent years, while still capitalizing on some of the basic archetypes that Hasbro's been pushing with the newer shows (these actually repurposed from another idea I had for a new TF cartoon recently):

AUTOBOTS
Optimus
Bumblebee
Wheeljack (the wiseacre medic in place of Ratchet)
Roadbuster (the big brawny type in place of Movie Ironhide and Animated Bulkhead)
Smokescreen (the cool street machine in place of Movie Jazz and Animated Prowl)
And two more:
Mirage (the shadowy character who probably can't be trusted)
Hound (the lovable-grump military type)

DECEPTICONS
Megatron
Starscream
Astrotrain (the flying Megatron loyalist in place of Movie Blackout and Animated Lugnut)
Motormaster (the scary-badass-on-wheels in place of Movie Barricade and Animated Lockdown)
For that matter, the REST of the Stunticons, too (mostly to beef up the Decepticons ranks, as underlings of Motormaster and to pave the way for Menasor if necessary)
Ramjet (the slightly-addled engine of destruction in place of Movie Bonecrusher and Animated Blitzwing)
For that matter, the REST of the Coneheads, too (again to beef up the Decepticon ranks, all as underlings of Starscream - possibly with a lift from Animated in that they might be clones of him who each embody various aspects of his personality)
Kickback (the sneaky insect 'bot in place of Movie Scorponok and Animated Waspinator)
For that matter, the REST of the Insecticons, too (again to beef up the Decepticons ranks, but mostly wandering rogues in the same manner as the Animated Dinobots)
Runamuck (the mouth in place of Movie Frenzy and Animated Swindle)
For that matter, Runabout, too (you guessed it, to beef up the 'Con ranks...but also to whet Hasbro's appetite for crankin' out them repaints)

I suppose this might put Cullen and Welker out of the picture, although I'd probably be tempted to have Cullen voice Roadbuster as a cross between Eyeore and John Wayne.

I admit the number of Decepticons I have here seems insane, but then for me at least that's why it would be important to shift the primary focus back onto the robots - Megatron and Starscream aside, we would at least gather in the course of the story that the rest of the Stunticons hate Motormaster, Runamuck is more proactive and Runabout more laid back in the destruction they cause, and the Insecticons have the same contempt for the rest of the Decepticons that the Decepticons have for them - and the more these basic personality conflicts would make their way into the script, all the better. It would also be necessary to have this many Decepticons in view of the fact that, as I pointed out before, this essentially would be a Transformers version of "The Seven Samurai", where it WAS just seven guys against an entire band of cutthroats (this is also where having the final battle take place in a rainstorm comes in); and dividing the 'Cons up into subgroups - Stunticons, Coneheads, Battlechargers, Insections, etc. - would make them narratively easier to manage. And the big plus, whoever isn't seen to die in the first movie could always have the way paved for them to come back for more in a sequel. It also helps Hasbro pad the accompanying toy line out for an extra year or so by squeezing in new molds with the obligatory repaints of the 'main' TF characters.

Lastjustice wrote:

Megatron could get his upgrade to Galvatron

Or Galvatron another character all together. I'm fine with Galvatron existing as a separate entity. I hated Megatron becoming Galvatron....I'd rather not see it ever happen again. (last time it did was in the unicron trilogy, which he flipped back and forth between the two personas.) Megatron is such a cooler name. Galvatron just felt like a terrible knock off (right along with Rodimus Prime.) and I hated them both for it.

I'm frankly not sure why anyone would be a fan of the change. Lets take an awesome villain..make them look stupid and give them a dumber name.

Otherwise I don't have a problem with most of what was said other than just probably be too nerdcentric to ever fly as movie script. But we can dream.

Im 34, not sure how old you are, but i was 9 or 10 when the Target 2006 story ran in the UK and i must say i really bought into these future decepticons coming to 1986 with all their advanced weaponry, and into the whole Ultra Magnus, future Autobot leader thing...until they gave it to bloody Hot Rod. However its all personal taste, i dont like Rodimus.
Galvatron could be a herald, with no explanation of his past, leaving fans to speculate.

I'm 31, and hated both replacement leaders. I loved the 86 film back as a kid....loved to hate it that is. But there's several threads about my dislike of most new characters over the original ones. (for more of my 86 commentary just see here.... viewtopic.php?f=27&t=49426&start=0 )

I'm fine with Galvatron being a complete different guy(which he originally was supposed to be or they tried keep his origin a secret till the film came out.), I just dislike the idea of changing Megatron's name simply as a reason to upgrade him. He can be amped up without changing his name. Optimus Prime has undergone several power up modes without changing his name. I don't see why Megatron can't do the same.

36 and I liked the 86' movie. To be fair, I did'nt see the movie until a friend still happened to have it from the local video store (whoa the late fees) during the time the Beast Wars were airing. Loved the vehicle mode of Hotrod and Rodimus. Wasn't fond of the magical transformation or whiner-mus prime attitude of the series.

I would envision an opening that covers the leaving of Cybertron and crash on earth. Then modern day events that start to unfold where we learn Decepticons have been manipulating world powers, and Autobots start to come out of hiding or discovered trying to stop their actions. This would be how the human protagonist would learn of them.

I would want various makes and models of vehicles and ordinance, with choices reflecting what the characters we grew up with were. Old cars, classic cars, muscle cars, sports cars. How come we've never seen a rusty stationwagon. Perfect mode, no one would suspect. I would consider mixing up the Seekers plane types. Eventually have combiners, that would combine in a manner fitting their modes. Menasor from vehicles into a kneeling position for example. Have to have a helicopter.

I wasn't fond of the overly complicated almost insect-like designs of the bay-formers. It was different and still cool, yet seemed like to much. And, for a need for large robots, without mass shifting, I think they went too far. Between Blackout and Prime, there was plenty of time to waste them while they were transforming. I would simplify it a little, with more realistic size. I understand the issue with mass shifting, But, if realism is the issue, how do you explain away cell phones developing weapons and explosive ordinance, Marbles that transform then combine into a thin sheet of a creature to steal a fragment. I would like the robots to resemble the G1 design a little more.

I like the idea of Heralds like Galvatron. I like the idea of having Fort Max. I would like to see a discovering of transformers in stasis from prehistory, dinobots and insecticons. The main story would have to focus on a small contingent of characters, but if it took off, there could always be "origins" movies. Most of all, I want to see Prime drive up pulling a tanker trailer, transform and grab his trailer in mid transformation, releasing it into a large Decepticon, and blasting it at the point of impact.

Bring in the Dinobots! If the Decepticons can have animal-based altmodes like a scorpion and a panther, why can't the Dinobots?

Have them trashed the Autobots at first, with Grimlock easily defeated Ironhide and then fight to a standstill with Optimus. And then they will join the Autobots for the final battle.

Sizzle wrote:Bring in the Dinobots! If the Decepticons can have animal-based altmodes like a scorpion and a panther, why can't the Dinobots?

Eh, Movie Scorponok was more a scorpion than Movie Ravage was a panther, but I digress.

I suppose one could always use the sort of 'theme-park escapee' bit that Animated did - and, according to the books, Alice in ROTF - to justify the Dinobots' alt-modes. Although personally, I would probably give the Dinobots techno-organic modes that would enable them to actually physically resemble real dinosaurs, skin and all, akin to how IDW started them out in "Spotlight: Shockwave". The same I'd probably do with the Insecticons too, only have them be large insects like Movie Scorponok (written off by the humans early on as apparent mutations caused by the giant alien robots, before the beasties reveal their true nature).

As it were, I wouldn't bring in the Dinobots until the sequel, and even then they would NOT be friends with the Autobots; they might become tolerant of them (at least more so than they would the Decepticons) and fight alongside them, but in the end they still won't join them because they don't necessarily believe in what the Autobots are fighting for, especially these little bipedal fleshbags crawling all over this miserable rock.

I really would like to see a TF movie done like this:

Transformers are fighting on Cybertron, the Autobots are rushing to destroy Megatron who has set his base in a building. They reash him, and Oprimus fights him. Optimus wins and orders Megatron to leave. We ater find out that Megatron killed their father and Optimus was the only person who could carry the responsibility of Prime. He takes the role and banishes all Decepticons from Cybertron. They leave in search of a new world to call home. They hear stories that The Fallen was burried somewhere on a planet called Earth, so they travel there in search of him. Earth's magnetic field scrambles their ship's systems and they crash into a volcano that erupts a few hundred years after. Then a few hundred years after that, the volcano became inactive and humans built a base around it. The Decepticon ship had been hidden behind colcanic rocks, before some miners dug into it. Of course there had to be a human character, so the main one is working for the organization built around the volcano, they make weapons, but they have been using the Decepticon ship the whole time.

No one knows about it, but eventually the main character does, and acidentally activates Megatron. Megatron lets out a blast that he thinks killed him, bt it actually gave him the "sight" he can read Cybertronian, and understand what the Decepticons are saying. Optimus recieves a message by Megatron on Cybertron and comes to earth in search for him. The Autobots come to earth, team up with the human, they discover secrets about past civilizations and corrupt experiments have a connection to the US government, and that there are a group of people who are actually Cybertronian/human hybrids and the US government plans of engaging in a nuclear war with another country. (Doesnt matter which one.) So, the Autobots destroy the Decepticons, but still face the threat of a nuclear war, leaving room for the sequel, where the Decepticons team up with the opposing country to destroy America, because they are the country that kept him prisonor. And they still seach for The Fallen.

Jaw Crusher wrote:I guess in terms of which robots I'd use, I'd try to change up the rosters outside of Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee and possibly Starscream (since Hasbro would be likely to demand that THEY be in it) with robots who haven't had any screen time if any in recent years, while still capitalizing on some of the basic archetypes that Hasbro's been pushing with the newer shows (these actually repurposed from another idea I had for a new TF cartoon recently):

AUTOBOTS
Optimus
Bumblebee
Wheeljack (the wiseacre medic in place of Ratchet)
Roadbuster (the big brawny type in place of Movie Ironhide and Animated Bulkhead)
Smokescreen (the cool street machine in place of Movie Jazz and Animated Prowl)
And two more:
Mirage (the shadowy character who probably can't be trusted)
Hound (the lovable-grump military type)

DECEPTICONS
Megatron
Starscream
Astrotrain (the flying Megatron loyalist in place of Movie Blackout and Animated Lugnut)
Motormaster (the scary-badass-on-wheels in place of Movie Barricade and Animated Lockdown)
For that matter, the REST of the Stunticons, too (mostly to beef up the Decepticons ranks, as underlings of Motormaster and to pave the way for Menasor if necessary)
Ramjet (the slightly-addled engine of destruction in place of Movie Bonecrusher and Animated Blitzwing)
For that matter, the REST of the Coneheads, too (again to beef up the Decepticon ranks, all as underlings of Starscream - possibly with a lift from Animated in that they might be clones of him who each embody various aspects of his personality)
Kickback (the sneaky insect 'bot in place of Movie Scorponok and Animated Waspinator)
For that matter, the REST of the Insecticons, too (again to beef up the Decepticons ranks, but mostly wandering rogues in the same manner as the Animated Dinobots)
Runamuck (the mouth in place of Movie Frenzy and Animated Swindle)
For that matter, Runabout, too (you guessed it, to beef up the 'Con ranks...but also to whet Hasbro's appetite for crankin' out them repaints)

I suppose this might put Cullen and Welker out of the picture, although I'd probably be tempted to have Cullen voice Roadbuster as a cross between Eyeore and John Wayne.

I admit the number of Decepticons I have here seems insane, but then for me at least that's why it would be important to shift the primary focus back onto the robots - Megatron and Starscream aside, we would at least gather in the course of the story that the rest of the Stunticons hate Motormaster, Runamuck is more proactive and Runabout more laid back in the destruction they cause, and the Insecticons have the same contempt for the rest of the Decepticons that the Decepticons have for them - and the more these basic personality conflicts would make their way into the script, all the better. It would also be necessary to have this many Decepticons in view of the fact that, as I pointed out before, this essentially would be a Transformers version of "The Seven Samurai", where it WAS just seven guys against an entire band of cutthroats (this is also where having the final battle take place in a rainstorm comes in); and dividing the 'Cons up into subgroups - Stunticons, Coneheads, Battlechargers, Insections, etc. - would make them narratively easier to manage. And the big plus, whoever isn't seen to die in the first movie could always have the way paved for them to come back for more in a sequel. It also helps Hasbro pad the accompanying toy line out for an extra year or so by squeezing in new molds with the obligatory repaints of the 'main' TF characters.

There's one visible problem with the character pick: The Con's outnumber The 'Bots on way to big advantage.

Red 50 wrote:

Jaw Crusher wrote:I guess in terms of which robots I'd use, I'd try to change up the rosters outside of Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee and possibly Starscream (since Hasbro would be likely to demand that THEY be in it) with robots who haven't had any screen time if any in recent years, while still capitalizing on some of the basic archetypes that Hasbro's been pushing with the newer shows (these actually repurposed from another idea I had for a new TF cartoon recently):

AUTOBOTS
Optimus
Bumblebee
Wheeljack (the wiseacre medic in place of Ratchet)
Roadbuster (the big brawny type in place of Movie Ironhide and Animated Bulkhead)
Smokescreen (the cool street machine in place of Movie Jazz and Animated Prowl)
And two more:
Mirage (the shadowy character who probably can't be trusted)
Hound (the lovable-grump military type)

DECEPTICONS
Megatron
Starscream
Astrotrain (the flying Megatron loyalist in place of Movie Blackout and Animated Lugnut)
Motormaster (the scary-badass-on-wheels in place of Movie Barricade and Animated Lockdown)
For that matter, the REST of the Stunticons, too (mostly to beef up the Decepticons ranks, as underlings of Motormaster and to pave the way for Menasor if necessary)
Ramjet (the slightly-addled engine of destruction in place of Movie Bonecrusher and Animated Blitzwing)
For that matter, the REST of the Coneheads, too (again to beef up the Decepticon ranks, all as underlings of Starscream - possibly with a lift from Animated in that they might be clones of him who each embody various aspects of his personality)
Kickback (the sneaky insect 'bot in place of Movie Scorponok and Animated Waspinator)
For that matter, the REST of the Insecticons, too (again to beef up the Decepticons ranks, but mostly wandering rogues in the same manner as the Animated Dinobots)
Runamuck (the mouth in place of Movie Frenzy and Animated Swindle)
For that matter, Runabout, too (you guessed it, to beef up the 'Con ranks...but also to whet Hasbro's appetite for crankin' out them repaints)

I suppose this might put Cullen and Welker out of the picture, although I'd probably be tempted to have Cullen voice Roadbuster as a cross between Eyeore and John Wayne.

I admit the number of Decepticons I have here seems insane, but then for me at least that's why it would be important to shift the primary focus back onto the robots - Megatron and Starscream aside, we would at least gather in the course of the story that the rest of the Stunticons hate Motormaster, Runamuck is more proactive and Runabout more laid back in the destruction they cause, and the Insecticons have the same contempt for the rest of the Decepticons that the Decepticons have for them - and the more these basic personality conflicts would make their way into the script, all the better. It would also be necessary to have this many Decepticons in view of the fact that, as I pointed out before, this essentially would be a Transformers version of "The Seven Samurai", where it WAS just seven guys against an entire band of cutthroats (this is also where having the final battle take place in a rainstorm comes in); and dividing the 'Cons up into subgroups - Stunticons, Coneheads, Battlechargers, Insections, etc. - would make them narratively easier to manage. And the big plus, whoever isn't seen to die in the first movie could always have the way paved for them to come back for more in a sequel. It also helps Hasbro pad the accompanying toy line out for an extra year or so by squeezing in new molds with the obligatory repaints of the 'main' TF characters.

There's one visible problem with the character pick: The Con's outnumber The 'Bots on way to big advantage.

That's part of the point. Just like in "The Seven Samurai", the Autobots know they're in for a battle they have almost no hope of winning directly, so they're going to have to use their brains and start figuring out ways to whittle down the Decepticon ranks as the story goes on, like setting traps, etc.. This is also the reason why I primarily stuck to land-bound Decepticons like the Stunticons and Battlechargers - the final battle would come down to the Decepticon's aerial advantage, and to pare even that down we'd lose a few Autobots. This may also be why I went with more militaristically-oriented Autobots like Hound and Roadbuster, and those with distinct diversionary and stealth capabilities like Smokescreen and Mirage.