Hasbro Transformers 'Power of the Primes' Website Online, Opens January 23rd
Wednesday, January 18th, 2017 5:46PM CST
Category: ContestsPosted by: Va'al Views: 44,789
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There will be three stages, with the first (Contenders Selection) opening on the 23rd, then revealed on the 27th (Contenders Unveil), and then a final round opening on February 1st. Check out some screenshots below, and the poster for the campaign!
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Posted by Kurona on January 18th, 2017 @ 5:52pm CST
Posted by Tyrannacon on January 18th, 2017 @ 6:19pm CST
Posted by TulioDude on January 18th, 2017 @ 6:40pm CST
Posted by ScottyP on January 18th, 2017 @ 7:39pm CST
I'm going to be really surprised if this is comics related, mostly because of Hound, tbh.TulioDude wrote:Does this mean the end of Leader Starscream in comics?
Yeah because it's Beast Wars MegatronKurona wrote:Don't know why I didn't comment on this before, but does anyone find Megatron's helmet design... rather odd? Everyone else has their standard head designs, but Megatron doesn't exactly match any pre-existing G1 Megatron head design.
Posted by OptimalOptimus2 on January 18th, 2017 @ 8:03pm CST
TyrannosaurTJ wrote:*points to sig* Yeah. That's who I'm voting for. Megatron all the way. Everybody else (except maybe Shockwave) is nope.
What do you mean vote for Megatron? Aren't we supposed to vote for a new Prime?
Posted by Autobot N on January 18th, 2017 @ 8:04pm CST
Clarity of thought before rashness of action.TyrannosaurTJ wrote:*points to sig* Yeah. That's who I'm voting for.
Posted by Beyonder on January 18th, 2017 @ 8:30pm CST
Posted by Wolfman Jake on January 18th, 2017 @ 9:03pm CST
Posted by DestronMirage22 on January 18th, 2017 @ 9:05pm CST
Posted by Deadput on January 18th, 2017 @ 10:21pm CST
Beyonder wrote:Cybertron is in grave danger. This is our darkest hour. We need somebody absolutely dependable! I know! Let's vote for somebody UNKNOWN! And evil! Because that completely makes sense!
That's exactly the problem with having Decepticons on this list it's not the fact that their evil since we have had evil Primes before but it's the fact that an already evil character ascends to being a Prime while still evil and probably does not change his morals afterwards.
While we have had characters like Sentinel and Nova who sometimes becomes evil they at least started out good or not outright evil but became evil after they became a Prime not before.
The corruption of a Prime is an interesting concept when it's not overused like in IDW where Optimus is somehow the purest thing since new born babies but it doesn't make sense that an evil character would ever be chosen as a Prime whether that be by the (un-corrupted) matrix of leadership or by the people.
The only reason it would make sense is if the Decepticon was only parading himself as a self proclaimed Prime which ruins any point of this contest.
I'm voting for Hound because in all honestly he is the only one who can benefit in fiction as a Prime where the other choices either don't make sense or would ruin them such as Ultra Magnus who is interesting without being a Prime.
Posted by Deadput on January 18th, 2017 @ 10:23pm CST
DestronMirage22 wrote:I'm conflicted. I love Shockwave, he's my favorite Transformers character ever. But I know that somebody like him or any of the other Decepticons don't deserve to become the next Prime; they're evil. But, any new toy of any of the options would be great, particularly Shockwave or Saber. I don't know who I'll pick.
You do realize that if they get picked they will likely get a new or changed design to fit into a Prime the only one I don't think would change is Star Saber and Optimus Primal
Posted by Burn on January 18th, 2017 @ 10:38pm CST
Posted by RobRobRobRobRob on January 18th, 2017 @ 11:08pm CST
Posted by Mugshot on January 18th, 2017 @ 11:10pm CST
Posted by RodimusRex on January 18th, 2017 @ 11:30pm CST
Posted by DestronMirage22 on January 18th, 2017 @ 11:35pm CST
Deadput wrote:You do realize that if they get picked they will likely get a new or changed design to fit into a Prime the only one I don't think would change is Star Saber and Optimus Primal
I know. Just imagine: Shockwave....
WITH A TRAILER!!
Is your mind blown yet?
Posted by Cobotron on January 18th, 2017 @ 11:57pm CST
DestronMirage22 wrote: WITH A TRAILER!!
Wait ......... ..
Posted by Bumblevivisector on January 19th, 2017 @ 12:59am CST
Has actual Matrix-affinity in fiction, and needs a new toy!
Yes, Thunder-Mayhem was awesome, but feels more like they made Thundie's story arc into a toy.
Or have we gotten confirmation of the Sky Shadoverlord mold getting the third deco it needs?
Second choice is Primal, just for a repeat of the first HoF fan vote.
Posted by RodimusRex on January 19th, 2017 @ 1:11am CST
Bumblevivisector wrote:Second choice is Primal, just for a repeat of the first HoF fan vote.
Imagine a MONKEY with a TRAILER.
Posted by Munkky on January 19th, 2017 @ 3:44am CST
Posted by Kurona on January 19th, 2017 @ 5:31am CST
RodimusRex wrote:Bumblevivisector wrote:Second choice is Primal, just for a repeat of the first HoF fan vote.
Imagine a MONKEY with a TRAILER.
TRUKK AND MUNKKY
Posted by OptimalOptimus2 on January 19th, 2017 @ 7:47am CST
Posted by RAR on January 19th, 2017 @ 7:50am CST
Especially if Hasbro jump on board with the idea of the Evil Optimus Prime from The Last Knight and flip him to leader of the Decepticons - that would make for a really interesting story - especially as it would make for some interesting questions like which of their soldiers are loyal to them and which to the cause.
Who would stay and who would swap sides - so yeah I'm convinced that would make for an interesting story - if Hasbro has the guts to do it.
If not now - when ? which Megatron being seen as a viable Autobot in the comics and an Evil Optimus in the Movies now is the only time it would make sense to do it.
-----------
I would have like the option of Sentinel Prime though - but I guess that might be a bit predictable.
Some of the other options don't work linguistically Hound-Prime sounds silly.
I can see some minor story interest in Arcee as Prime it would make for some very amusing toys that Hasbro would have to make - and a sort of Feminine Rodimus Prime like Alt mode would be interesting to see.
Perhaps Megatron and Optimus can kill each other causing a reset but before that reset put Arcee in charge for a little bit.
Though the idea of Soundwave or Shockwave Prime is also a real chin stroker too.
----
How about this Starscream also become an Autobot and Shockwave doesn't see the logic in it so leads the Decepticons for a little while until Evil-Optimus shows up and slaps him down.
Then you'd have the brutal insanity of a crazy Optimus and the cool Logic of Shockwave as a counter.
Also you can find out which Autobots gravitate to Megatron and which ones don't trust him - it would be pretty interesting - and likely way more interesting that most possible alternatives.
Posted by Targetmaster Kup on January 19th, 2017 @ 9:37am CST
We've had Optimal Optimus, now it is time for Primal Prime!
Posted by LostHisLight on January 19th, 2017 @ 9:41am CST
Bask in the glory! #GiveTheSpaceGunATrailer
Posted by Starsaber468 on January 19th, 2017 @ 10:13am CST
STAR SABER 4 THE WIN!!!!!
Posted by Starsaber468 on January 19th, 2017 @ 10:15am CST
Nik Hero wrote:
We've had Optimal Optimus, now it is time for Primal Prime!
Cough cough theres already a character known as primal prime and that would be kinda confusing for some cough cough
Yeah because it's Beast Wars Megatron [/quote]Kurona wrote:Don't know why I didn't comment on this before, but does anyone find Megatron's helmet design... rather odd? Everyone else has their standard head designs, but Megatron doesn't exactly match any pre-existing G1 Megatron head design.
Just looked at beast megatron's head design and compared it..... its not beast wars megatron's head design at all. Also sorry if that was a "joke"
Posted by ScottyP on January 19th, 2017 @ 11:26am CST
I'm also serious about thinking it's BW Megatron, but that's only based on the head crest/forehead, not the overall look. Like a pre-BW, post-G1 cartoon era.
Posted by o.supreme on January 19th, 2017 @ 12:10pm CST
Burn wrote:I'm going to vote for a "evil" character in the hopes of them winning and I can giggle relentlessly at the out pouring of whining from the fanboys.
First let me point out, that I am absolutely apolitical IRL, still, this statement would be just too easy to replace two words, and you have what's happening in the U.S. right now.
Posted by DedicatedGhostArt on January 19th, 2017 @ 12:15pm CST
Posted by Cobotron on January 19th, 2017 @ 12:21pm CST
Truth is Burn IS probably giggling at us Yanks right now.o.supreme wrote:Burn wrote:I'm going to vote for a "evil" character in the hopes of them winning and I can giggle relentlessly at the out pouring of whining from the fanboys.
First let me point out, that I am absolutely apolitical IRL, still, this statement would be just too easy to replace two words, and you have what's happening in the U.S. right now.
Some comedian once said, I don't pay that much attention to politics, so I always vote for the candidate that looks most like my Dad. To bad non of these candidates have a mustache. It would make deciding much easier for me.
Posted by o.supreme on January 19th, 2017 @ 12:34pm CST
Cobotron wrote:Some comedian once said, I don't pay that much attention to politics, so I always vote for the candidate that looks most like my Dad. To bad non of these candidates have a mustache. It would make deciding much easier for me.
good point. Also its a bit frustrating also when Hasbro doesn't take into account that some of these characters are depicted very differently depending on what medium they appear in (comics vs. animation) Sure some are pretty close in both formats, but some are completely the opposite (Shockwave, Star Saber etc...)
Posted by Cobotron on January 19th, 2017 @ 12:58pm CST
o.supreme wrote:Cobotron wrote:Some comedian once said, I don't pay that much attention to politics, so I always vote for the candidate that looks most like my Dad. To bad non of these candidates have a mustache. It would make deciding much easier for me.
good point. Also its a bit frustrating also when Hasbro doesn't take into account that some of these characters are depicted very differently depending on what medium they appear in (comics vs. animation) Sure some are pretty close in both formats, but some are completely the opposite (Shockwave, Star Saber etc...)
True, but I don't think (for the most part) Hasbro takes any other medium into account other than their own. Which is why they can do something so drastic like this.
Posted by DedicatedGhostArt on January 19th, 2017 @ 1:09pm CST
Cobotron wrote:o.supreme wrote:Cobotron wrote:Some comedian once said, I don't pay that much attention to politics, so I always vote for the candidate that looks most like my Dad. To bad non of these candidates have a mustache. It would make deciding much easier for me.
good point. Also its a bit frustrating also when Hasbro doesn't take into account that some of these characters are depicted very differently depending on what medium they appear in (comics vs. animation) Sure some are pretty close in both formats, but some are completely the opposite (Shockwave, Star Saber etc...)
True, but I don't think (for the most part) Hasbro takes any other medium into account other than their own. Which is why they can do something so drastic like this.
I still think Hound is the best/safest to vote for across all mediums. Wouldn't want IDW Star Saber to become a Prime or something.
Posted by Kurona on January 19th, 2017 @ 1:17pm CST
Posted by Cobotron on January 19th, 2017 @ 1:26pm CST
Exactly K. It's been going on like this since the beginning, and as far as I can see it will continue this way.Kurona wrote:Again, I don't exactly get why people think this is gonna have a direct effect on the winning character's counterpart in IDW... Soundwave didn't become a Headmaster, Fort Max didn't become a titan; so many other examples...
Posted by o.supreme on January 19th, 2017 @ 1:47pm CST
Cobotron wrote:Exactly K. It's been going on like this since the beginning, and as far as I can see it will continue this way.Kurona wrote:Again, I don't exactly get why people think this is gonna have a direct effect on the winning character's counterpart in IDW... Soundwave didn't become a Headmaster, Fort Max didn't become a titan; so many other examples...
Just to clarify. I know many fans are speculating about this, but I do acknowledge that this vote will likely have little effect on the current IDW comic. I'm just merely stating that peoples opinion on who to vote for will be based on the personality traits of the characters they like, or dislike. The reasons why we identify with certain characters is how they are portrayed throughout the various mediums. When those mediums conflict, then it makes deciding more difficult based on the unknown. Of course if one is simply voting in hopes of getting a new toys of said characters, then I guess it matters less.
I guess an argument could be made that Hasbro isn't even considering the original Victory Anime Star Saber; which I think is a slap in the face btw... To use a characters name and likeness, then completely change them, but that's a whole other topic for another time. But then lets use Shockwave...
Traditionally across several animated series Shockwave has been usually portrayed as Loyal to Megatron, calculating, and logical.
In pretty much all comics (Marvel, DW, & IDW) Shockwave is a scientist, brilliant, and usually opposes Megatron, with his own ambittions (and happens to be dead currently in IDW but all that aside...) ... If I were a huge fan of Shockwave, I'd want to know before hand which one Hasbro would promote?
Posted by Deadput on January 19th, 2017 @ 1:59pm CST
This fan vote is going to change the character forever going forward unless most people are really dissatisfied with the results and boycott it.
So I really don't want most of these characters being a Prime
Houndimus Prime is the best name anyways as opposed to say Ultra Prime, Star Prime, Arcee Prime (lol) or Megatron Prime (there is already a Megatronus Prime aka The Fallen).
Posted by Kurona on January 19th, 2017 @ 2:07pm CST
o.supreme wrote:Just to clarify. I know many fans are speculating about this, but I do acknowledge that this vote will likely have little effect on the current IDW comic. I'm just merely stating that peoples opinion on who to vote for will be based on the personality traits of the characters they like, or dislike. The reasons why we identify with certain characters is how they are portrayed throughout the various mediums. When those mediums conflict, then it makes deciding more difficult based on the unknown. Of course if one is simply voting in hopes of getting a new toys of said characters, then I guess it matters less.
I guess an argument could be made that Hasbro isn't even considering the original Victory Anime Star Saber; which I think is a slap in the face btw... To use a characters name and likeness, then completely change them, but that's a whole other topic for another time. But then lets use Shockwave...
Traditionally across several animated series Shockwave has been usually portrayed as Loyal to Megatron, calculating, and logical.
In pretty much all comics (Marvel, DW, & IDW) Shockwave is a scientist, brilliant, and usually opposes Megatron, with his own ambittions (and happens to be dead currently in IDW but all that aside...) ... If I were a huge fan of Shockwave, I'd want to know before hand which one Hasbro would promote?
I know, I was just replying to other people in the thread saying as such. What you're saying though is something I completely agree with.
If I had to take a guess, I'd say that it'd be similar to Aligned versions of characters since that's the route Hasbro seems to be going these days - generalised versions of the characters taking in traits from all versions of themselves; though most prominently their appearance and personality in whichever continuity and series they were most prominent and remembered in (in most cases, and especially in the case of this poll; original G1) with one-off major deviances from their general character archetypes for the most part excluded (for example, the Star Saber being considered here most likely has little to nothing in common with his IDW counterpart and is instead probably more like the usual heroic save-the-day character from Victory and Earth Wars).
This can really make things puzzling when one character has two different versions which are equally - or almost equally if not that - well-remembered or prominent. We can make a very good educated guess on what Hound, Ultra Magnus, Deathsaurus etc. will be like... but it's hard to discern which version of Shockwave we'll have, as you said. The loyalist from the cartoon and the logical schemer from most every comic are both what most people would see as the definitive personality of Shockwave. In that case I'd probably look to the Aligned version of the character for an idea of what he'd be like.
Posted by DedicatedGhostArt on January 19th, 2017 @ 2:29pm CST
Posted by DeadCaL on January 19th, 2017 @ 3:00pm CST
Posted by Wolfman Jake on January 19th, 2017 @ 3:01pm CST
SillySpringer wrote:Obviously I have no idea whether or not it'd effect IDW. It does seem likely however since it's a Prime we're talking about, and not just a new gimmick for a character or a more G1 version of a character that's different in IDW. Turning a pre-existing character into a Prime; in my opinion, WILL have an effect in the comics, especially since it's a fan vote, and the other fan votes we've had recently are Windblade and Victorion, and those are both very prominent IDW characters now. They normally are not doing fan votes just for a toy, but rather for a whole new character in Transformers fiction to affect future stories.
That is an excellent point, Silly. We really don't know what will come of this new Prime going forward, but dismissing the potential for an appearance in the ongoing IDW comics is something we can't logically do based recent history with other fan votes and results in toys and accompanying media.
I'm super surprised, by the way, that Bumblebee isn't on this list. It feels like Hasbro has been grooming him for being the next Prime for YEARS now. Yes, I know he's currently dead right now in the IDW comics, but that's not something irreversible in the realm of comic book sci-fi and fantasy.
Speaking of strange omissions and even stranger inclusions, does anyone think this "list" we have so far is a red herring? It might just be for example purposes and not a real representation of what Hasbro is planning to do. Not to delve into conspiracy theories, but during the last few fan votes that resulted in new characters, some people have suspected that Hasbro cooked the voting in such a way that they would make their pre-determined choice win. Thoughts?
Posted by o.supreme on January 19th, 2017 @ 3:14pm CST
Wolfman Jake wrote:I'm super surprised, by the way, that Bumblebee isn't on this list. It feels like Hasbro has been grooming him for being the next Prime for YEARS now. Yes, I know he's currently dead right now in the IDW comics, but that's not something irreversible in the realm of comic book sci-fi and fantasy.
Speaking of strange omissions and even stranger inclusions, does anyone think this "list" we have so far is a red herring? It might just be for example purposes and not a real representation of what Hasbro is planning to do. Not to delve into conspiracy theories, but during the last few fan votes that resulted in new characters, some people have suspected that Hasbro cooked the voting in such a way that they would make their pre-determined choice win. Thoughts?
To be sure some of the selections seem random, even half-baked. Why Deathsaurus is described as "Unknown Evil" is anybody's guess. The "fan voting" that resulted in the creation of Windblade and Victiorion I cannot attest to because I did not participate, but I can say for a certainty, they did not come out the way I would have voted (though if choices were limited I would rather not participate than elect for something I really did not care for). To say Hasbro "rigged" the election might be going a bit far, but influenced, perhaps, HEAVILY influenced, I would not be surprised.
With last years fan vote for the next Titan, I think was pretty simple. I don't know what the % was in the end, but I don't think Hasbro would have put any of those three out there, if they didn't have a feasible design already in place. Same goes for this vote I would imagine.
Now while it is highly theorized that Omega Supreme & Scorponok will be the Titan Class figures for 2018 & 2019 (in no particular order...) a better question may be at some future convention to ask to see if Hasbro had any rough designs for the votes that resulted in Windblade & Victorion, had the outcome been different...
Posted by DedicatedGhostArt on January 19th, 2017 @ 3:25pm CST
Wolfman Jake wrote:
I'm super surprised, by the way, that Bumblebee isn't on this list. It feels like Hasbro has been grooming him for being the next Prime for YEARS now. Yes, I know he's currently dead right now in the IDW comics, but that's not something irreversible in the realm of comic book sci-fi and fantasy.
Speaking of strange omissions and even stranger inclusions, does anyone think this "list" we have so far is a red herring? It might just be for example purposes and not a real representation of what Hasbro is planning to do. Not to delve into conspiracy theories, but during the last few fan votes that resulted in new characters, some people have suspected that Hasbro cooked the voting in such a way that they would make their pre-determined choice win. Thoughts?
From this image, you can see the first round is the contenders selection. Then after that they unveil what characters win, and then the last vote is between the winning characters.
I remember before they said it was going to be a choice between three character categories. Order, Chaos, and I think Peace or something. I can imagine they'll also have a vehicle mode vote in the first round as well. So if we put this new description of the vote and the old description together, either they have already rigged the thing mostly, or I think we have many more choices than they are showing us. This means Bee could be on the list. Who knows though? I assume these characters already shown are just the main ones they wanted to tease, and not all. That's just my thoughts though.
Posted by Kurona on January 19th, 2017 @ 4:12pm CST
Wolfman Jake wrote:SillySpringer wrote:Obviously I have no idea whether or not it'd effect IDW. It does seem likely however since it's a Prime we're talking about, and not just a new gimmick for a character or a more G1 version of a character that's different in IDW. Turning a pre-existing character into a Prime; in my opinion, WILL have an effect in the comics, especially since it's a fan vote, and the other fan votes we've had recently are Windblade and Victorion, and those are both very prominent IDW characters now. They normally are not doing fan votes just for a toy, but rather for a whole new character in Transformers fiction to affect future stories.
That is an excellent point, Silly. We really don't know what will come of this new Prime going forward, but dismissing the potential for an appearance in the ongoing IDW comics is something we can't logically do based recent history with other fan votes and results in toys and accompanying media.
I understand what's being said here, but the big difference is that Windblade and Victorion were completely new characters - this vote's a different situation, in that we're being asked to give a new status to a pre-existing character. I believe that whoever wins will be given more prominence in IDW, but that's about it - maybe even a one-issue thing like a spotlight. Especially given that we have precedence of IDW not lining up with Hasbro's plans for fan-built choices particularly; the characters and backstories of Windblade and Victorion were entirely up to the IDW writers rather than having to conform to anything Hasbro had said about these characters. This is especially evident if you look at other media like Robots in Disguise and Machinima's Combiner Wars.
I'm not acting as if the toyline or the vote will have no effect on the comics - at this point, that would be unrealistic. What I'm saying is that it will very, very likely not have as huge an effect as actually making a pre-existing character (or, uh, Primal) a Prime. Especially given the precedence of IDW doing pretty much whatever they want when Hasbro asks them to advertise the new toys.
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on January 19th, 2017 @ 9:34pm CST
They should have put Smokescreen on the list. That way, we could theoretically have voted for the Smokescreen Prime that Prime set up but never gave us. Yes, G1 v. Prime design very different, but characters can look very different once upgraded to a Prime
Posted by D-Maximal_Primal on January 19th, 2017 @ 9:43pm CST
Hound and Shockwave from "G1" seasons 1 and 2
Megatron the "Big Bad" in many stories
Ultra Magnus as the male "movie era" representative
Arcee as the "female/movie female" representative
Optimus Primal as "Beast Wars" along with Megatron if that is BW Megs
Star Saber and Deathsaurus as the "Japanese G1" characters
Thunderwing as the "Marvel G1/Rarely heard of guy" representative
In a way, this could be a stab at seeing what fans want too, compared between the various eras of the 80's through 90's and the different countries and comics showing them off
Posted by Sabrblade on January 19th, 2017 @ 11:57pm CST
Posted by Wolfman Jake on January 20th, 2017 @ 2:22am CST
Sabrblade wrote:There really isn't anything specifically "BW Megs" about that Megatron head. The face itself is distinctly G1 Megatron's face as it has come to be popularly depicted. And the colors are certainly G1 Megatron's. None of Ol' Grapeface's iconic features (especially the one thing that earned him the "Grapeface" nickname) are to be found in that design, as the forehead crest itself (the sole element that there is to go by in the BW Megs supposition) is vaguely designed and not really reminiscent of any of those that BW Megs has worn.
You know what I think may have happened? I think Hasbro has already tipped their hand on this whole thing. This head design for Megatron on the poster may be their idea for his new look should he become a Prime and undergo some basic reformatting for the role, a la Orion Pax and Hot Rod. IDW has been doing a great job with exploring "Autobot Megatron." It's been a popular enough idea that Hasbro saw fit to supply Combiner Wars Leader Megatron with both faction stickers so fans could make a Lost Light Autobot Megatron with the figure if they so chose. With Megatron's developing conscience, newfound sense of regret and shame, and overall empathy for others growing in IDW, while Optimus Prime is currently "annexing the Earth for its own protection," "Megatron Prime" would be an easy and logical next step to explore in the ongoing Transformers series. Yeah, there would be a lot of fan outrage if Optimus Prime turns total heel, but I could see something working out such that Optimus steps down (again), focusing on protecting the Earth, his surrogate new home world, while Megatron focuses on rebuilding Cybertron.
Posted by Sarahthecutevixen on January 20th, 2017 @ 8:38pm CST