Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better

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Every 2 weeks, Seibertron.com brings you a top 5 list related to all things Transformers, usually written by william-james88, but for this special list of which characters are better in the comics than the G1 show, it was best to call on a friend to these lists, fellow Seibertronian Optimutt (Rob Queen). These are opinions of one person, so what matters most is what you guys think of the topic or list, and we hope to see your own lists or comments on omissions and ranking. Let's have fun! All previous lists can be found here.

Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better

This is a list that looks at certain Transformers characters from the G1 era that appeared in cartoon form but were not done “right” until the talented writers of the TF comics (of both past and present) got them in their word processors. Many of these characters have reached almost a cult-ish following thanks to these comic representations.

I would like to give special thanks to Bob Budiansky, Simon Furman, Michael Higgins, Eric Holmes, Mike Costa, Shane McCarthy, Zander Cannon, Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, Flint Dille, John Barber, James Roberts, Mairghread Scott, Chris Metzen, and every other writer who has contributed to these comics for the fun ride. May we keep on rolling.

5. Thundercracker

In the cartoon, his thunder booms gave Starscream a headache. In the comic, he wrote a screenplay. In the cartoon, he was proud of Megatron using his weapon. In the comic, he had a pet dog. In the cartoon, he got put in his place by Starscream. In the comic, he got shot in the face by Skywarp. In the cartoon, he was turned into Cyclonus (or was it a Sweep? Or the Armada?). In the comic, he declared humans as unworthy of Decepticon attention and took an atomic bomb into orbit, saving the day. Ultimately, though, IDW turned this generic, one-step-above-a-Rainmaker into a quirky, earthling lover with aspirations that take him far outside the simple world of Autobot! Versus! Decepticon!

4. Skids

You must have blinked. That was why you don’t remember seeing him in the original G1 cartoon. With his whomping three minutes of screen time, Skids was essentially the overlooked Autobot car. Yup, that guy who, in issue 20, was totally interspecies relating to the Human named Charlene, was a total nobody in the cartoon. However, this spotlight issue of interspecies love was nothing compared to what the member of Autobot Diplomatic Corps and outlier is doing on the Lost Light, in the more recent comics. In fact, Skids has become so popular that he even got a fancy new toy that blows people away with its arsenal of “hidden” weaponry!

3. Scorponok

The concept of Binary Bonding was deeply explored with this mighty Decepticon. When he first appeared in the Headmasters limited series, he was a true villain, who enjoyed beating up Autobots so much that he trekked across a galaxy for the chance to crush his nemesis, Fortress Maximus. Once there, he agreed to Binary Bond with Zarak, an ambitious politician. In the later issues of the comic, however, he found himself on Earth, struggling with the duality of his being: the frailty of his Nebulon brain, and the invincible warrior of his Cybertronian self. During this time, he was able to set aside his reservations and create a truce with Optimus Prime so that he could die heroically in the battle against Unicron. If you were able to read his death scene without shedding an eye, you were made of sterner stuff than the eleven-year old I was. And his role in the cartoon? Big city. But at least Zarak made his cartoon version a bit more interesting than the bore that Chromedome was. Hence his spot in the list as opposed to the out-of-continuity Honorable Mention that poor ‘Domey gets (spoilers).

2. Shockwave

In the original cartoon (which he later reprised in TF: Animated, much to the delight of fans around the world), Corey Burton portrayed Shockwave as a cold, emotionless monster who got to rule Cybertron while Megatron was comatose on Earth. And boy was his voice awesome! What puts Shocks so high up on this list is the fact that as awesome as he was, the comics made him even better. Bob Budiansky must not have liked Megatron much, because following Shockwave’s first appearance in issue 4, the traditional Decepticon leader was relegated to second fiddle to the stone-cold tactician of a brute called Shockwave. Until Megatron blew himself up (to Cybertron, as was later revealed), the pair regularly came to blows for leadership, and boy was it satisfying to watch the two at each other’s throats. Since then, the comics have just kept making him more and more compelling, to the point of even having him be a Cybertronian Senator.

1. Grimlock

Anyone who has ever read anything by Simon Furman knows of the author’s love for this conflicted Autobot (is Furmansession a word? It is now!). The original cartoon established him early on as being stupid, with a certain arrogance that sets him apart from most other Autobots, but as time went on, the grammatically-challenged Dinobot Leader was relegated to comic relief. Sadly, it seemed that the comic version of him would follow suit, too, with his run as an ineffectual leader. Thankfully, Furman was able to channel every fan-child’s love of this T-Rex and dove headfirst into what Grimlock could be. Over the last thirty issues of the original Marvel series, we saw him go from restless PTSD sufferer, to rebel with a cause, to a bot who managed to replace guilt with a completely different kind of guilt, to Autobot savior. Quite simply, he became exactly what fans of the cartoon were hoping for with their Grimlock: a three-dimensional badass that could munch Trypticon’s head as easily as he could lead the Autobots to salvation following the inevitable destruction of Cybertron. And it is exactly because of this fan demand that Grimlock wins out.

Honorable mention: Chromedome

In the Japanese Headmasters cartoon, Chromedome was the de facto main character. He was hotheaded and impulsive, and ostensibly young. Basically, he was every Hot Rod, Cheetor, Side Burn, Hot Shot, Bumblebee (Animated), Sideswipe (Robots in Disguise), and Smokescreen (Prime) that there ever has been. Despite being a lame duck plucked for a Beijing feast, at least he was far less annoying than Kicker and Ironhide (remember them? Mean of me, wasn’t it?) Thankfully, James Roberts got his fingers in him and made him forget what a tool he was. And how was it possible to do so? Mnemosurgery! Sure, being able to inject psychological failsafes in Overlord’s mind is cool and all, but that is nothing compared to just what Chromedome represents within the story: an emotional ship sailing the turbulence that comes from absolute commitment to emotions. It takes quite a special ‘bot to say the Big Three Words, and there is no way the impetuous youth from the cartoon would even consider them, let alone vocalize them.

There are many other characters from the G1 cartoon that really got their moments of glory in the Marvel Transformers Comics rather than on the screen and you wouldn't believe how much of a real bad ass Ratchet and Blaster are until you read them. It just shows you how rich the Transformers fiction can be and what awesome potential all these characters have. There are some phenomenal stories out there with the characters you always wished to see more and if you are new to the comics or have any questions, don't be shy to visit our comic forum and ask the community.

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Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893707)
Posted by Hydrargyrus on July 1st, 2017 @ 9:59pm CDT

I've been trying to figure out how Grimlock was characterized in the Marvel comics. This explained it pretty well (never read 'em)

Also: "without shedding an eye"
...you okay?

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893741)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on July 2nd, 2017 @ 1:21am CDT

Wow this could be a long list. Since I grew up on the G1 Marvel comics, I consider them the superior continuity to all others, therefore every character on my list will come from there. I don't consider IDW's G1 the same. There is only one original.

My list:

5. Powermaster Optimus Prime - vastly superior to Super Ginrai. The only drawback is Furman didn't work in the Apex Armor somehow.

4. Fortress Maximus - the character development Spike and Max had by the G2 comics dwarfs Rebirth and even Headmasters.

3. Ratchet - he also had a great character arc in the comics especially when he was going up against Megatron on repeated occasions.

2. Grimlock - his comic version is my favorite character in the entire continuity.

1. Shockwave - compared to the computer on legs that was in the cartoon, comics Shockwave was the perfect Decepticon leader.

Honorable mention: Scorponok - by the end he even managed a hero's death against Unicron, but considering the cookie cutter beginning he had, he could only improve.

Honorable mention: Bumblebee - went from being a main character in the beginning to his resurrection as Goldbug to being a bad ass Pretender.

Honorable mention: Soundwave - pretty much the same personality as in the cartoon, except he was always in the right place at the right time. He is the only comics character to survive from beginning to end without getting killed or even going into stasis lock.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893776)
Posted by Kurona on July 2nd, 2017 @ 8:07am CDT

I'm gonna sound biased if I say all of them, aren't I?

Eh, I don't care. Between IDW and Marvel, every character featured in the comics were done better than their counterparts in the cartoon. Fight me >:oP

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893777)
Posted by avarathriul on July 2nd, 2017 @ 8:38am CDT

This was a damn good list.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893779)
Posted by BATTLEMASTER IIC on July 2nd, 2017 @ 9:29am CDT

I really like IDW Whirl. He's like Cybertronian Deadpool.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893798)
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on July 2nd, 2017 @ 12:39pm CDT

I definitely agree with Shockwave, Grimlock, Scorponok, Blaster, Ratchet but this list seems to miss out Marvel UK which many of these still featured their US characterisations but somehow better in some ways (though Blaster lost his badassery and was a lil more like the cartoon for some reason) but you also got the '86 movie characters. For example Ultra Magnus and Galvatron were much better in the M-UK comics than in the cartoon particularly their battles against each other and Galvatron was almost always depicted as a hugely powerful menacing threat who didn't even need to lead an army. I'd also rate Ravage much better in the comics, he could talk and had an actual personality. Soundwave too had a bit more of a personality than in the US stories and cartoon (whom I never really cared for despite the cool voice). I always remember the Killing Joke end reference with him and Magnus at the end of Time Wars briefly contemplating peace between the bots and cons. Springer also had nice characterisation with him feeling a bit in the shadow of Impactor when it comes to leading the Wreckers and formed a small group of bots and a couple cons with the Survivors. Oh and mentioned Grimlock but really the Dinobots as a whole were better in M-UK than the cartoon. Swoop had some great stories with the Professor Morris/Centurion stuff and the fight with Divebomb of the Predacons.

Is often why I consider the original Marvel US run of 80 comics to feel incredibly 'incomplete'. If you have the 333 issue run of Marvel UK's TF comic you have all the US stories in there plus tons more classics.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893806)
Posted by william-james88 on July 2nd, 2017 @ 2:01pm CDT

avarathriul wrote:This was a damn good list.

Really glad you liked it!

Kurona wrote:I'm gonna sound biased if I say all of them, aren't I?

Eh, I don't care. Between IDW and Marvel, every character featured in the comics were done better than their counterparts in the cartoon. Fight me

Well its not necessarily better than the G1 cartoon but better than any cartoon or other media. So like Lockdown in the IDW comics is not better than either the movie or animated version. And IDW Tankor isnt better than the Beast Machines version. So its not everyone.

And in any case, this is the 5 that stand out most as being superior.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893811)
Posted by Quint on July 2nd, 2017 @ 2:32pm CDT

I'm both bemused and amused that Prowl isn't on this list, let alone not topping it. :BANG_HEAD:

I thoroughly enjoyed Furman's insidious snide, and then Roche's development in AHM was an absolute masterstroke.

Other than that, a good job with some interesting rationale.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893824)
Posted by Kurona on July 2nd, 2017 @ 3:41pm CDT

william-james88 wrote:
Kurona wrote:I'm gonna sound biased if I say all of them, aren't I?

Eh, I don't care. Between IDW and Marvel, every character featured in the comics were done better than their counterparts in the cartoon. Fight me

Well its not necessarily better than the G1 cartoon but better than any cartoon or other media. So like Lockdown in the IDW comics is not better than either the movie or animated version. And IDW Tankor isnt better than the Beast Machines version. So its not everyone.

And in any case, this is the 5 that stand out most as being superior.

Oh, I simply thought this was about the G1 cartoon and none other. If we're including later cartoons, then yeah; Lockdown was much better in Animated. I don't really know why IDW and AoE shared the problem of getting wrong the very simple concept of 'creepy amoral bounty hunter', but I guess that's what happens. Though I will disagree with you that AoE Lockdown > IDW Lockdown. IDW Lockdown doesn't do much of anything, but nothing is better than whatever the movies spit out.

Though this is why I said featured. If a character is part of the main cast in one medium and just a background character we see occasionally in another, then the former is of course going to win out -- this is why I'm certainly not going to say Dinobot is better in IDW than in BW. Just main characters like Shockwave, Rodimus, Megatron, Soundwave, Sunstreaker, Prowl, Elita-1, Starscream, Windblade... all that Jazz. ... and, yeah, Jazz too :lol:

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893826)
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on July 2nd, 2017 @ 3:44pm CDT

Kurona wrote:Oh, I simply thought this was about the G1 cartoon and none other. If we're including later cartoons, then yeah; Lockdown was much better in Animated. I don't really know why IDW and AoE shared the problem of getting wrong the very simple concept of 'creepy amoral bounty hunter', but I guess that's what happens. Though I will disagree with you that AoE Lockdown > IDW Lockdown. IDW Lockdown doesn't do much of anything, but nothing is better than whatever the movies spit out.

Says you. I bloody love AoE Lockdown. One of my fave 'bad guys' in a long time. Looks cool, sounds cool, does cool things. Ok he kills some characters I like but that's what a bad guy does.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893828)
Posted by Kurona on July 2nd, 2017 @ 3:46pm CDT

Carnivius_Prime wrote:
Kurona wrote:Oh, I simply thought this was about the G1 cartoon and none other. If we're including later cartoons, then yeah; Lockdown was much better in Animated. I don't really know why IDW and AoE shared the problem of getting wrong the very simple concept of 'creepy amoral bounty hunter', but I guess that's what happens. Though I will disagree with you that AoE Lockdown > IDW Lockdown. IDW Lockdown doesn't do much of anything, but nothing is better than whatever the movies spit out.

Says you. I bloody love AoE Lockdown. One of my fave 'bad guys' in a long time. Looks cool, sounds cool, does cool things. Ok he kills some characters I like but that's what a bad guy does.

That's cool; all the power to you -- I just thought he looked boring, sounded generic and did a whole lot of nothing.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893829)
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on July 2nd, 2017 @ 3:47pm CDT

Kurona wrote:
That's cool; all the power to you -- I just thought he looked boring, sounded generic and did a whole lot of nothing.

yeah i knew i didn't like you.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893830)
Posted by Kurona on July 2nd, 2017 @ 3:51pm CDT

Carnivius_Prime wrote:
Kurona wrote:
That's cool; all the power to you -- I just thought he looked boring, sounded generic and did a whole lot of nothing.

yeah i knew i didn't like you.

No need, dude -- this is just a discussion about characters, no need to make it personal or take to disliking someone over an opinion about a movie or cartoon.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893831)
Posted by Carnivius_Prime on July 2nd, 2017 @ 3:54pm CDT

Kurona wrote:
Carnivius_Prime wrote:
Kurona wrote:
That's cool; all the power to you -- I just thought he looked boring, sounded generic and did a whole lot of nothing.

yeah i knew i didn't like you.

No need, dude -- this is just a discussion about characters, no need to make it personal or take to disliking someone over an opinion about a movie or cartoon.

actually forgot the emoji to show i wasn't too serious but yeah we got veeeery different tastes in transformers.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893844)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on July 2nd, 2017 @ 6:17pm CDT

I just thought he looked boring, sounded generic and did a whole lot of nothing.

Nothing?

-killed a supporting character viciously to show ruthlessness

-used the humans to do his dirty work against the Autobots

-murdered Ratchet by literally ripping out his soul

-captured Optimus Prime

-beat Optimus Prime in a fight until Bee and humans stepped in

-his voice was perfect for his character

-turned into the best vehicle mode rivaled only by Hot Rod in TLK

The last 2 are just my opinion but you can't argue with the rest as far as characteristics for an effective villain are concerned.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893938)
Posted by Burn on July 3rd, 2017 @ 12:52am CDT

Movie Lockdown also isn't comic related. :wink:

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893955)
Posted by Windsweeper on July 3rd, 2017 @ 4:23am CDT

Sorry but on the subject of AOE Lockdown, his voice was terrible.

On topic, while I agree with Thundercracker, as with many things, Barber has ruined him for me. I hate the dog and the screenplay bull.

Prowl is an inconsistent mess in IDW. I prefer Budiansky Prowl from early Marvel US. He's a capable commander and more importantly not a prick.

Dreamwave Sunstreaker should have been on the list.

As much as I love the Marvel UK comics, they weren't always perfect. Springer was a whiner and I hated Furman making Prowl a prick.

While not a huge fan of the G1 cartoon, they did do some characters better: Cyclonus, Tracks, Soundwave, Starscream, Hoist, Rumble and the Stunticons.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893967)
Posted by Kurona on July 3rd, 2017 @ 6:44am CDT

I suppose to put this back on a positive track, I've been reading Marvel UK recently (up to #124, right before the Action Force crossover) and I've gotta say Galvatron was done better imo. He was portrayed in the cartoon as absolutely bonkers with a lot of power behind that, but in Marvel UK they take that concept and friggin' run with it. I'll always love the cartoon version, but the comic version is downright scary in how easily he dispatches everyone and how erratic he is.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893968)
Posted by Burn on July 3rd, 2017 @ 6:54am CDT

Kurona wrote:I suppose to put this back on a positive track, I've been reading Marvel UK recently (up to #124, right before the Action Force crossover) and I've gotta say Galvatron was done better imo. He was portrayed in the cartoon as absolutely bonkers with a lot of power behind that, but in Marvel UK they take that concept and friggin' run with it. I'll always love the cartoon version, but the comic version is downright scary in how easily he dispatches everyone and how erratic he is.

He's what he should have been. An unstoppable force, and they proved that. He couldn't be stopped with force, the only way to stop him was through deception.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1893969)
Posted by Kurona on July 3rd, 2017 @ 7:00am CDT

Burn wrote:
Kurona wrote:I suppose to put this back on a positive track, I've been reading Marvel UK recently (up to #124, right before the Action Force crossover) and I've gotta say Galvatron was done better imo. He was portrayed in the cartoon as absolutely bonkers with a lot of power behind that, but in Marvel UK they take that concept and friggin' run with it. I'll always love the cartoon version, but the comic version is downright scary in how easily he dispatches everyone and how erratic he is.

He's what he should have been. An unstoppable force, and they proved that. He couldn't be stopped with force, the only way to stop him was through deception.

Even so, it was fun to watch Magnus and Rodimus try ;)^

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894004)
Posted by Evil Eye on July 3rd, 2017 @ 12:09pm CDT

No mention of Armada Megatron? In the cartoon/anime, he was a fairly generic villain (though he did become pretty cool when he became Galvatron). In the comic he's an unconquerable badass who fights and KILLS G1 Galvatron with his bare hands!

Speaking of which, G1 Galvatron. Sure he was badass in the movie but in the cartoon he was laughable. Compare that to the comics where he's a straight-up murder machine (which makes Armada Megs' victory over him even more impressive!).

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894073)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on July 3rd, 2017 @ 5:45pm CDT

Black Hat wrote:In the comic he's an unconquerable badass who fights and KILLS G1 Galvatron with his bare hands

He stabbed him through the spark with the Dark Saber IIRC. But otherwise yeah he belongs on the list.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894114)
Posted by Kurona on July 3rd, 2017 @ 8:05pm CDT

Black Hat wrote:No mention of Armada Megatron? In the cartoon/anime, he was a fairly generic villain (though he did become pretty cool when he became Galvatron). In the comic he's an unconquerable badass who fights and KILLS G1 Galvatron with his bare hands!

Speaking of which, G1 Galvatron. Sure he was badass in the movie but in the cartoon he was laughable. Compare that to the comics where he's a straight-up murder machine (which makes Armada Megs' victory over him even more impressive!).

If we're going to the Unicron Trilogy, then I have to mention Energon Ironhide. One of the most annoying characters in the cartoon - and that is not a statement to be taken lightly - turned into probably the best character of the entire Unicron Trilogy bar Cartoon Armada Starscream. For once Dreamwave put out a conflicted, complex character with a past that while not fully explored was still shockingly mature for the comic. And he got some decent character resolution and pathos. I don't know what I was expecting when I read Dreamwave, but coming out loving Energon Ironhide was probably one of the last things I thought would happen.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894162)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on July 3rd, 2017 @ 10:33pm CDT

OK since we are on Armada, the Mini-cons should be included as well, especially Leader-1. He actually had a character arc like the main characters. In the cartoon he (as well as the others) just made clicking noises like a gadget instead of talking like living beings.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894221)
Posted by Kurona on July 4th, 2017 @ 6:18am CDT

Almost completely forgot about that; the Dreamwave Armada comic actually put effort into the Mini-Cons' personalities; even if they were basic. Destruction team certainly deserves a mention.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894225)
Posted by Burn on July 4th, 2017 @ 6:42am CDT

So I think it's safe to say at this point, the list is entirely worthless because as Kurona pointed out way back ... the comics did everyone better. :-P

Even Wheelie.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894232)
Posted by william-james88 on July 4th, 2017 @ 7:01am CDT

Burn wrote:So I think it's safe to say at this point, the list is entirely worthless because as Kurona pointed out way back ... the comics did everyone better.

Even Wheelie.

Not really, because this list now shows which have a greater contrast compared to other comic interpretations. You can say everyone is better, but which charcters really stand out as being so much better? Like doesnt Skids have so much more to offer in the comics than Wheelie does when you compare them to their comic counterparts?

And are you really saying that the best interpretation of any TF character is the one only found in the comics?
Because I disagree. As everyone agreed, Lockdown isnt better in the comics and I would say that neither is Tankor or Rattrap. And I preffer Prime Starscream to any comic version of the character I read. I think I even preffer cartoon G1 Bumblebee, Prowl and Prime over their comic interpretations. And Prime Soundwave over any of his comic interpretations.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894238)
Posted by Kurona on July 4th, 2017 @ 8:06am CDT

william-james88 wrote:
Burn wrote:So I think it's safe to say at this point, the list is entirely worthless because as Kurona pointed out way back ... the comics did everyone better.

Even Wheelie.

Not really, because this list now shows which have a greater contrast compared to other comic interpretations. You can say everyone is better, but which charcters really stand out as being so much better? Like doesnt Skids have so much more to offer in the comics than Wheelie does when you compare them to their comic counterparts?

And are you really saying that the best interpretation of any TF character is the one only found in the comics?
Because I disagree. As everyone agreed, Lockdown isnt better in the comics and I would say that neither is Tankor or Rattrap. And I preffer Prime Starscream to any comic version of the character I read. I think I even preffer cartoon G1 Bumblebee, Prowl and Prime over their comic interpretations. And Prime Soundwave over any of his comic interpretations.

G1 Cartoon Prowl? I can certainly see why you'd like Prime or Bumblebee more, but... cartoon Prowl's greatest achievement is that he existed. He didn't do anything. All the power to you but I find myself very confused.

While I can't speak for Marvel as I haven't seen him in that yet - if he is in it at all - IDW Wheelie is a pretty good character I find. His Spotlight alone made up for every single one of his lines in the cartoon and made me actually like his rhyming gimmick. How do you do that? How do you make me like that? It's genius.

Aaaand personally speaking, while their TFP incarnations are amazing and certainly in the top 3, the IDW incarnations of Starscream and Soundwave just knock them out of the park for me. TAAO has made Starscream one of the best characters in the entire franchise while ex-RiD/OP giving Soundwave a peaceseeking approach makes him much more interesting and relatable as a character than ever before. Hell, Issue 22 Soundwaves alone makes him fantastic.

... just gonna say it here, I prefer IDW Tankor to BM Tankor too.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894304)
Posted by Burn on July 4th, 2017 @ 3:49pm CDT

william-james88 wrote:And are you really saying that the best interpretation of any TF character is the one only found in the comics?

99.9% of them, yes.

Throw all the names you want at me, but trying to win this argument is pointless, because it's not an argument. You have your opinion, I have mine.

The only reason I haven't submitted my own top 5 is because I simply cannot narrow them down. When you grow up reading Marvel UK, it's ingrained in you how well done every character was.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894312)
Posted by Kurona on July 4th, 2017 @ 4:28pm CDT

I suppose if I were to pick a character whose cartoon incarnation I preferred - and not cheating with someone who was never featured in the comics - I have to say my favourite version of Shockwave is from Animated. IDW and Marvel are wonderful, but there's something about TFA Shockwave I love so much more. He's so perfectly creepy and threatening and that voice is on point.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894315)
Posted by Soundwave902 on July 4th, 2017 @ 4:34pm CDT

Here's another one: Devastator. All he did in the cartoon was smash stuff. In IDW, his personality actually reflects his components.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894329)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on July 4th, 2017 @ 5:54pm CDT

Kurona wrote:I suppose if I were to pick a character whose cartoon incarnation I preferred - and not cheating with someone who was never featured in the comics - I have to say my favourite version of Shockwave is from Animated. IDW and Marvel are wonderful, but there's something about TFA Shockwave I love so much more. He's so perfectly creepy and threatening and that voice is on point.

I gotta disagree on this. I agree with your assessment of the TFA character but it's not enough to make him better than the Marvel version. As I said before in my opinion that version is the closest to what a Decepticon is.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894335)
Posted by Kurona on July 4th, 2017 @ 6:25pm CDT

Rodimus Prime wrote:
Kurona wrote:I suppose if I were to pick a character whose cartoon incarnation I preferred - and not cheating with someone who was never featured in the comics - I have to say my favourite version of Shockwave is from Animated. IDW and Marvel are wonderful, but there's something about TFA Shockwave I love so much more. He's so perfectly creepy and threatening and that voice is on point.
I gotta disagree on this. I agree with your assessment of the TFA character but it's not enough to make him better than the Marvel version. As I said before in my opinion that version is the closest to what a Decepticon is.

Oh I'm not saying that it's better than the Marvel version; not sure how they'd rank, just that TFA's my favourite

I'll also say I liked TFP Arcee a lot more than IDW Arcee. Though then again I consider IDW Arcee a black spot upon that entire continuity while I find TFP Arcee likeable. Which is enough, really.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894336)
Posted by Kurona on July 4th, 2017 @ 6:27pm CDT

Soundwave902 wrote:Here's another one: Devastator. All he did in the cartoon was smash stuff. In IDW, his personality actually reflects his components.

Ooh, good point! I don't think about this one much because the Constructicons themselves aren't particularly focused on or given attention to and the character piece of Devastator is more an extention of Prowl and later Scoop, but... yeah, this is a pretty good point. Devastator - and later Combiners like Menasor and Bruticus - were done better in IDW due to putting thought and effort into what the forced merging of 5 or 6 minds would result in. We unfortunately don't get to see a lot of that in Superion, Predaking and Defensor, though...

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894376)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on July 4th, 2017 @ 10:04pm CDT

Kurona wrote:
Rodimus Prime wrote:
Kurona wrote:I suppose if I were to pick a character whose cartoon incarnation I preferred - and not cheating with someone who was never featured in the comics - I have to say my favourite version of Shockwave is from Animated. IDW and Marvel are wonderful, but there's something about TFA Shockwave I love so much more. He's so perfectly creepy and threatening and that voice is on point.
I gotta disagree on this. I agree with your assessment of the TFA character but it's not enough to make him better than the Marvel version. As I said before in my opinion that version is the closest to what a Decepticon is.

Oh I'm not saying that it's better than the Marvel version; not sure how they'd rank, just that TFA's my favourite

Ah yes I see now. I misread your previous post. My bad :oops:

Marvel Shockwave owns all! :twisted:

I liked TFP Arcee a lot more than IDW Arcee. Though then again I consider IDW Arcee a black spot upon that entire continuity while I find TFP Arcee likeable. Which is enough, really.

IDW Arcee did leave an impression on me due to the complete 180 her character had from the G1 goody-2-shoes. So I guess TFP Arcee is the middle ground between the two. :lol:

And I just thought of another one: Marvel Ratbat.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894436)
Posted by Kurona on July 5th, 2017 @ 6:13am CDT

Star Saber :saint:

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894491)
Posted by Rodimus Prime on July 5th, 2017 @ 12:48pm CDT

Kurona wrote:Star Saber

What comic was he in?

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894492)
Posted by Kurona on July 5th, 2017 @ 1:11pm CDT

Rodimus Prime wrote:
Kurona wrote:Star Saber
What comic was he in?

The finale of 'season 1' of MTMTE, just before Dark Cybertron. He was infamously changed from his pure good guy roots into a religious extremist villain in that arc, making that incarnation hated quite a bit by a fair few parts of the fandom.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894696)
Posted by Kurona on July 6th, 2017 @ 7:59am CDT

Oh, I should say I kinda disagree with Skids on this list. Not MTMTE Skids because he's excellent and I think he might be one of my favourites; but the Marvel character is... hm.

There's quite a bit I did enjoy about him. His relationship with Charlene was fun, it was nice to see an Autobot retreat from the war even if it was a bit heavy-handed; and his discovery of a lot of Earth's culture was very fun. But then the moral of that story ended up being "don't follow your dreams, you're stuck with your 9-to-5"? And I mean, yeah, there is something to be said about investing too much in your dreams and not realising the reality around you; but that doesn't mean the other extreme is any better; if anything it's far worse. When I was reading the last few pages of it a month or two back I remember just staring at it. Bit pessimistic.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894821)
Posted by Burn on July 6th, 2017 @ 4:05pm CDT

Yes but then Skids ended up stuck in limbo and by the time he re-emerged he was suffering trauma from it. You can't just concentrate on his one story and ignore the later story which really helped further his character.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1894825)
Posted by Kurona on July 6th, 2017 @ 4:23pm CDT

Burn wrote:Yes but then Skids ended up stuck in limbo and by the time he re-emerged he was suffering trauma from it. You can't just concentrate on his one story and ignore the later story which really helped further his character.

Oh, he had later stories? I haven't got past 124 yet; I figured that since I'm very close to the Headmasters they wouldn't bother with the 1985 toys.

Re: Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better (1895043)
Posted by Soundwave902 on July 7th, 2017 @ 7:20pm CDT

This might be subjective, but Spike Witwicky. In the cartoon, he's pretty much a kid that the Autobots let hang around for no reason. In IDW, he cares about his planet and wants to help it, no matter who stands in his way

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