Top Five Transformers Characters That the Comics Did Better

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.