Thread 150929983

Was it right to give Megatron a flight mode? When Starscream and his seekers entire thing was that he could fly, his advantage and talent over Megatron... letting Megatron fly like a Jet kind of takes away from that when his demeanor lends its self more to being a gun, or a gun on wheels (tank). Starscream is supposed to be the speedster (fuck off Blurr).

>>150929983 (OP)
>When Starscream and his seekers entire thing was that he could fly, his advantage and talent over Megatron... letting Megatron fly like a Jet
megatron could fly without any alt-mode in G1, what set the decepticons as a whole apart from everyone else was flight
the seekers were just better at flight thanks to their alt modes, but even soundwave is shown gliding around like superman

>>150929983 (OP)
>letting Megatron fly like a Jet kind of takes away from that when his demeanor lends its self more to being a gun, or a gun on wheels (tank). Starscream is supposed to be the speedster (fuck off Blurr).
Okay, hear me out. A flying gun. Like an assault gun, but flying!
Just make it a super experimental vehicle on earth.

>>150929983 (OP)
I liked the idea that they did in one episode of G1 where he transformed into a giant gun that attached to Starscream's jet mode.

But really, making him a jet is better than, a gun. Any time he transformed, it was like he was an accessory to whoever was holding him instead of a leader. Hell, It felt like G1 Megatron was more like a minicon at times.

There's different kinds of jets. Megatron is a cruiser type, Starscream's whole thing is being very agile and maneuverable. Megatron is basically a flying gun.

Tank Megatron is his best alt-mode. Doesn't leave him dependent on others like as a gun, but restricts him to the ground to give Starscream some kind of edge on him.

>>150930031
You're thinking of a flying tank.

>>150930009
Didn't the Autobots also fly in the pilot too, G1 was weird with the flying, sometimes they did it like Superman
Still don't think that he could match the jets in topspeed though
>>150930031
>>150930096
So ROTF then

>>150929983 (OP)
>>150930009
I liked how in Animated they made a point of having the Decepticons being the ones able to fly and have flying alt modes. Megatron, Starscream, Blitzwing, Lugnut. Meanwhile Blackarachnia was an Autobot traitor, Soundwave was a human robot, and Lockdown was a factionless mercenary.

>>150930465
That was another bit that Animated took from the G1 cartoon, same with Autobots largely having blue eyes and Decepticons red(and some exceptions for those not directly on either side or altered), and avoiding the Primus origin in favor of vaguely keeping them mechanical(never fully confirmed, but it's what Wyatt envisioned)

I don't think it's mandatory that all Decepticons should fly. Brawl has become a pretty standard staple of Decepticon teams, and he can't fly.

>>150930516
one episode was rather explicit
the decepticons ruled from the air, but the autobots had them beat on the ground

so the decepticons build the stunticons to even out their speed disadvantage while the autobots end up with the aerialbots to give them more air power
powerglide was probably happy he didnt have to do all the work in the air afterwards

>>150930631
Imagine Soundwave's cassette player mode zooming at you at ten times the speed of sound. Like a Rod from God.

>>150930516
Animated honestly probably had the best writing out of the Transformers cartoons, right down to simple things like making sure the language fit Cybertronian terminology

You can't sell guns to kids anymore

>>150930516
I know. I like that they stuck to it as part of canon. Even Prowl who had a jetpack couldn't actually fly.

>>150930876
Fucking watch me!

>>150930631
biz idea: agent 47 briefcase model replaced by soundwave

>>150929983 (OP)
I don't mind. I just wish the top of his head wasn't sticking out.

Starscream was a geek.

>>150930091
Dragon. > Limousine > Tank > Jet > Gun > Generic Alien Ship > Elephant

Thematically the best vehicle mode for Megatron is an A-10 Warthog. The plane IS a gun, it's basically a flying gun. But it's too small, if it were Megatron's vehicle mode his robot mode would be shorter than Starscream, I think. And of course we can't have that.

Megatron's best form is a tank. However if he is to have a flight mode it should be a helicopter or copter variant like Animated's Dual-Copter. It lets him have flight without intruding on the jet cons.

>>150930653
I'm still shocked that Armada didn't have a Soundwave. Bro is the best possible guy for the Minicon gimmick, and instead we didn't get him till Cybertron.

>>150932281
>Megatron's best form is a tank.
I'm more of a fan of the aura of his RiD and Cybertron car modes.

I prefer Megatron as a tank because the Decepticons don't have a lot tanks, at least not as much as they do jets.
But Animated and Prime did the thing where Decepticons turn into flying vehicles as a norm, so jet/copter Megatron works in that context.

>>150932409
They do need more tanks. The Cons should be military vehicles in general, to drive home the fact that they were the warrior caste.

>>150932511
warpath was always notable as one of the only autobots to have an explicit military alt-mode
it might be due to brain damage, since he also yells out WAM, POW, KABOOM all the time

he also turned into a rather small tank, the M551 sheridan
a more modern version could turn into a comparably small military vehicle like the M3 bradley

>>150932348
aaron Archer, who was the Hasbro US guy who was leading the brand at the time admits he wasn't super familiar with Transformers lore at the time and didn't really consider the importance of certain characters to fans. This is why armada had things like Wheeljack being used for the Autobot traitor(because he thought "Wheeljack" sounded villainous) and why Scavenger is an Autobot despite being a Devastator homage.
There was a really cool Soundwave proposal for Transtech right before Armada too.

>>150930031
I got you, senpai.

>>150932559
You can always make him a defector like Jetfire. I've always liked the idea that the only true military vehicles on the Autobots are from defected Decepticons.

Deceptions being military while autobits being day to day vehicles makes some sense, but its bad for the young boys to see war as truly bad while playing war games.

A philosophical balance in attitudes as demonstrated by a balance in alt modes is better.

>>150932264
>>150932568
I'm a fan of the copter.

>>150932629
Now, ya see, Warpath never strikes me as a defector. He strikes me as one who was in Cybertron's defense force and into the Decepticons' cause until they got extreme, like stupid early on, like right where the war started.
>I WAS IN ON MEGATRON'S BLAMMIN', BUT THE MOMENT HE WENT KABLEWIN', AND REALISED THESE DECEPTICREEPS WHERE ONLY IN IT FOR BOOOOOOOM!

>>150932559
I like Warpath being an autobot, but it's interesting that they seemed to just switch upthe whole idea of the military vehicles being decepticons by the second year instead of just have Decepticon minibots. Unlike Skyfire, the Aerialbots,and stunticons, there's no reasoning for why the Autobots now have a tank or a few flying vehicles.

>>150932716
Yeah, "I was into the Decepticons until I realized their true intentions" feels like a good origin story for him.

Honestly, I've also always thought it'd be a good origin story for Prowl. Law and order type? Believes in order, hates lawlessness? Police car vehicle mode, vaguely military-adjacent? Sounds like somebody who would at least have been interested in the Cons at the start of their rise to power.

>>150932725
autobots all being civilian vehicles and decepticons being military vehicles was mostly unintentional at the start
they kind of grouped the G1 transformers into good and bad based on vibes at the start, and it just ended up that the baddies were where the tanks and jets ended up

the japanese toy team were actually a bit apalled that the constructicons ended up as villains, since they thought it was crazy that construction vehicles could ever be seen as evil
though both japan and the US agreed that a truck being the leader of a team of cars just felt natural

>>150932985
Nonetheless, it's turned into good fodder for storytelling, over and over. It's a happy accident that's paid great dividends for Transformers as a property.

>>150933011
they looked back on the lineup and thought it was a really cool idea, which is why the divide got stronger over time
but the unintentionality of it is why you have the occasional exception to it in G1 like warpath
someone looked at a guy with a gun on his chest and thought this was good guy material

>>150932924
Prowl's the kind of guy I think he would let that slip out during a night of drinking oil or at Maccadam's with Optimus and Ironhide.

>>150931257
Really? That's what sells it.

>>150933011
then you have the Bayverse where they can all weaponize in vehicle mode. Having their vehicle modes shift a bit to reveal James Bond like tech toy gimmicks was nothing new, of course, but in his usual subtle way Michael Bay took it more in a Mad Max direction.

>>150929983 (OP)
It better than being a giant pistol

are there any odd or unconventional vehicles or machines you'd like to see as transformers?

>>150934212
Say what you will about Bayformers, it could at least get pretty delightfully creative when Bay wasn't shoving his Bay-isms into it. I still love the fight against Brawl in the first one with Ironhide, Jazz, and Ratchet. It's like 90 seconds but it's a GREAT 90 seconds.

>>150929983 (OP)
In Animated, they added lore that autobots choose ground alt modes while decepticons chose flying ones. Dunno how canon that is but Megatron would say "Decepticons, transform and rise" as opposed to Prime's "transforn and roll out."

>>150934934
In Animated, the Cons were also the instigators of a revolt, basically a revolution, so Megatron saying "Transform and Rise Up" has a fun double meaning.

>>150934912
>I still love the fight against Brawl in the first one with Ironhide, Jazz, and Ratchet
a bit of pretty cool visual storytelling
brawl is something like twice the size of any of the autobots and he throws jazz like a ragdoll, so he is just that much stronger than any of them

but right after he throws jazz, he gets triple teamed by all the other autobots in a coordinated attack and he ends up back on the ground in seconds
the autobots easily make up for size with pack tactics

>>150935354
Also some fun armament choices. Ratchet, the medic/surgeon, has a buzzsaw. And he performs a battlefield "amputation" on Brawl's arm.

>>150935367
I REALLY wish we saw more Transformers series that had sapient organic species. If I could conjure up my dream Transformers show it would basically be a space opera, where the main planet was Earth but substantial action also took place across the galaxy and we got to meet a lot of alien species as part of galactic society, most of whom would be totally oblivious to the Cybertronian Civil War until it crashed into their realities unexpectedly. Because I would also really lean in to the Autobot/Decepticon conflict as being one of subterfuge and stealth. They're "robots in disguise," for God's sake, their presence on any given planet should be a hidden one a lot of the time.

>>150935367
>Reptizar
>destroyed planet

>>150934682
I think the Autozam AZ-1 would be a really fun alt mode for a small carbot.
Admittedly it's also because I think the franchise needs a little bit of its Japanese DNA back.

>>150934682
>>150935555
Also Megatron should be a self propelled artillery gun. It splits the difference between being a gun and a tank, the engineering for the toys would be simpler, and it evokes his eventual space cannon thing he turns into as Galvatron.

>>150932264
It's ironic 2 autobots wear that altmode like it's nothing.

>>150935583
It's a lot more than two. Here's all the A-10 characters. Some Autobots, some Decepticons, and one Thor.
Some characters use the same toy as another character.
This isn't all the A-10 toys, as some characters have multiple A-10 bodies, either as recolors or brand new designs.

One other option for Megatron's vehicle mode that would still allow him to fly is an AC-130 Spooky gunship. This plane is ALSO dominated by its guns, including one big fuckoff minigun that basically spits fire. It's nice and big, too, so if you want to keep Megatron a big Decepticon it'll fit the bill.

Honestly, if anything it might have the opposite problem to the A-10: it might be TOO big. If this was Megs' vehicle mode his alt mode might be the size of Devastator. The AC-130's a decent-sized plane.

>>150935732
Top to bottom, left to right:
Powerglide - G1 Autobot
Bad Boy - Renegade GoBot in Decepticon body
Tailwind - G1 Decepticon
Windrim - JP G1 Autobot
Hot house - G1 Autobot
Sky Shadow - Energon Autobot
Terradive - Energon Autobot
Skyfall - Timelines/Cybertron Autobot
Skydive - G1 (2008 Universe toyline) Autobot
Fireflight - G1 (2008 Universe toyline) Autobot
Skydive - Movieverse Autobot
Fireflight - Movieverse Autobot
Wing Saber - Cybertron Autobot
Wingblade - Movieverse Autobot
Steel Wind - G1 (Classics toyline) Autobot Mini-Con
Skyglide - JP G1 (Henkei toyline) Autobot Mini-Con
Skyhammer - Armada (2008 Universe toyline) Decepticon Mini-Con
Sky Shadow - Armada (2008 Universe toyline) Autobot Mini-Con
Storm Cloud - G1 (2008 Universe toyline) Decepticon
Thor - Marvel Crossovers transforming mech suit piloted by actual Thor
Powerglide - Movieverse Autobot
Viper - G1 (Combiner Wars toyline) Decepticon/Cobra
Powerglide - JP RID2015 Autobot
Dogfight - JP RID2015 Autobot

>>150935732
>>150935808

>>150935754
He'd be about double the size maybe.

>>150935898
Huh, so he'd have several heads of height on Starscream. That might be fun.

>>150935858
we can improve the A-10s design

>>150935910
Four Transformers have turned into Rattlers: Thundercracker, Skywarp, and a generic Conehead in the Devil's Due comics, and Powerglide as a convention-exclusive crossover toy (of a GI Joe toy, so he doesn't transform)

>>150934499
DWJ made the pistol kino.
>>150930096
>You're thinking of a flying tank
Pretty much. Basically, instead of a cockpit, he has a big gun.

>>150935898
>>150935906
Or he'll just sizeshift.

>>150932511

>The Cons
>the warrior caste
was it ever explained why some of them became scientists in g1?

>>150929983 (OP)
yes

>>150936943
It’s more like the scientists became Decepticons

>>150929983 (OP)
I always found it funny how you could see his head stick out of his alt mode body.

>>150929983 (OP)
I kinda wish they made it closer to WFC/FOC style in terms of vehicle mode.
But I guess they truly didn't give a single shit about it.

>>150929983 (OP)
I like him as a tank in keeping with his G2 alt mode being a tank

>>150930952
There were the two symmetrical docking jets but I think they were from Sentinels team and some sort of new experiment? And Motormaster and his team were in extended universe Botcon stuff but I think there was an explanation for that too. Toxitron was basically just bizarro superman.

>>150938332
Growing up with Beast Wars/Machines and not knowing about G1 until it was introduced was crazy. Megatron for me was

>An alligator because of the toys
>An airplane because of the machine wars toys
>A purple trex
>A shiny metal purple trex
>A shiny metal trex with dragon wings from that shitty n64 game
>BUT ACTUALLY MEGATRON IS A GUN AND A GIANT ROBOT
>Megatron touches Megatrons spark falls into lava and becomes a dragon
>Fucking what the fuck even was beast machines now he hates being a a badass dragon so he wears squiggly suit and becomes a giant head and a fully organic werewolf dragon
>Not BW anymore but RId kept him as a Predacon with like a dozen alt molts like a hand and elephant
>Never once knew he was a tank and has been a tank almost ever since because guns are bad

Animated's gunship is the best, still retains the armoured weapons platform vibe without the speed implication from jet modes

What if Megatron but he is reverse Optimus. The Semi-Truck is a drone unit while Megatron transform into a towed Howitzer?

>>150938875
You'd be better off making him an SPG.

>>150938875
There is literally a tank Optimus called Reverse Convoy in Japan

But he's secretly Megatron or something

>>150938991
This is just budget onslaught

>>150938991
Actually, I feel like its more of a Combaticon kind of vehicle.
In the end, Megatron should be either a Gunship or a flying Cybertronian Howitzer.

Since we are talking about the Cons, I can't believe Transformers never had a crossover with Ace Combat.
Imagine a 'con after pic related.

>>150939497
Isn't that just Animated Starscream?

>>150939497
Terradive too.

>>150938709
And RiD Megatron isn't even a Megatron at all but another guy named Gigatron that has no design ties to G1 Megatron at all. They just needed to fill a year thanks to cancelling Beast Machine's sequel and used the Japanese series from the previous year as a stop-gap.
Still kinda bums me out since Gigatron is sucha. cool name

>>150930127
The Autobots flew in the pilot except for when it was useful to, and then they never flew again

>>150932562
A lot of those also fell on dubbing/rights issues, most of the characters had more fitting names (Wheeljack was Rampage for example) but changed in English for whatever reasons. And yeah, no Soundwave until Cybertron and the Shockwave we got was basically in name only

>>150934682
I want to see one of those giant excavation saws transform. I remember there was a Minicon that turned into one but those don't count

>>150940279
>Megatron
>Gigatron
>Supertron
>Ultratron
>Hypertron
>Niggatron
>Overtron
If hasbro wasnt bunch of cheapskates we couldve had some of those
Instead we got megs gigatron and niggatron in one

>>150929983 (OP)
Starscream isnt a speedster,hes a sped at most
Starscream is a commander of the seekers/undefined science officer and him commanding the seekers is a participation trophy to shoot megatron in the back only on tuesdays,seekers are bunch of weirdos come to think of it
Thundercr*cker is a fencesitter,skywarp is an idiot,starscream is gay,coneheads are retarded and novastorm thinks hes jesus or is a nuclear reactor mid meltdown
Theres also one thats french and wears blackface nacelle I think

>>150932235
>Limousine
When ?

>>150940450
It's not really a dubbing thing, the UT characters were often designed without any real set names(with exceptions being ones that were clear homages, but even then you had the sideswipe homage not being named Sideswipe in either country), Japan chose to use certain names and America different ones. Japanese names could be just as random and arbitrary, like the minicon called Sureshock being Arcee simply because she's also a fembot apparently.
This became awkward with superlink actually having proper homages to characters who already had the name in Micron Legend(Arcee vs Ariel, who was clearly intended to be Arcee, for example)

>>150934682
I want Onslaught to transform into a M1128

>>150934682
I want more diversity in cars
We have vw bugs,where are the mini coopers ?
More varied muscle cars and classic jdm cars,more utility vehicles like tow trucks etc,farm equipment,forklifts and finally old stuff
Biplanes p38 lightning,messerschmits a blimp and new varied bikes and atvs
And every possible race/rally car so stunticons have a match
I want to see dragstrip and mirage have some more classic f1 buds,make few group c le mans bots too
89-92 g1 in europe had a lot of cool shit especially with minicons,whole themed teams like hot rod patrol and laser rods
And now we have jackshit or just remakes
I want a new full big daddy figurine,with flames and shit

>>150935390
Go watch season 3 of g1 or read void rivals
Void rivals are gonna have quintesson war crossover starting in december
Its a sci fi spy drama in space cold war germany rn

>>150935950
I hope we see powerglide in skybound as a rattler,it would be a sin not to do that
Maybe destro crossed his circuits and now he has the tic

>>150940666
He did it once already satan
In some 2008-2010 line

>>150940544
copyright law is a dangerous game of use it or love it. . Hasbro at one point almost bought all the Masters of the Universe names because Mattel wasn't using them and that would've kept them from rebooting easy.

>>150932264
>>150932568
I just realized something devastating
How do they not notice the vehicles the Transformers transform themselves into being significantly heavier? These things need to be paper light in order to fly

>>150940863
Transformers shed and regenerate a fixed amount of baryonic matters when transforming.
>Source
Made it the fuck up. But they are super robotic lifeforms, so all its fair.

>>150940863
I doubt cybertronians weight that much more than 15tons.

>>150940863
Cybertronians are by nature built to change into things of particular mass
We have big boys like megs and prime small fellas like cliffjumper and bumbleshit,medium guys like sunstreaker and jazz,then you have starscreams and skywarp and finally guys like tidalwave
They need to find an alt mode that fits into the mass and maybe dimensions/shape they are
Then shifting of tiny panels happens so they can take shape
But then you remember that shit like broadside exists and you realise that either triple changers are blasphemy against laws of physics or its a show based around unconnected toy brands that expanded into a series
Me ?
I dont think about,subspace pocket dimensions

You know, I don't really care about sizeshifting, since realism -or the illusion of realism - is not indicative of a story's quality (as proven by Bayformers). But I can see a way around it.
Take Starscream for example : Instead of turning him into a dorito, have his alt form split in two : one halve is starscream in a diminutive jet configuration, the second is a gadget or a drone (could be a cassette like Buzzsaw?).
Now for Broadside, you could say that his boat mode is his main body, while the plane mode is a RC body that he is controlling from his aircraft carrier mode.

>>150934682
They done a dumpster truck or a Cadillac yet?

>>150942490
>dumpster truck
several
>or a Cadillac yet?
yes, but not the type of Cadillac you're thinking of

>>150943545
>>150940476
>Sparkdrinker is the colossal, multipurpose axe wielded by Metroplex, leader of the planet Gigantion. In its normal state, the axe head can be spun like a saw blade to cut through objects such as giant I-beams. The axe head is also capable of acting as a fan when spun, creating a strong gust of wind capable of blowing smaller robots back. Finally, when the weapon is powered up with Metroplex's Cyber Key, the head separates into two non-rotating axe blades for extra damage. In this form, it can be swung or hurled like a boomerang.
>Sparkdrinker forms the excavation equipment of Metroplex's vehicle mode.

>>150940666
Anyone remember that time when the US mil was making Starcraft style siege tanks? Stabilized to fire in "howitzer" mode. I can't remember all the details, it was shitcanned like 20 years ago. I think the accuracy was horribly wanting and the stabilizer mode was too finicky. More mechanical bits you add to it, the more that can go wrong, especially in as arduous an environment as an active warzone.

>>150941729
>bumbleshit
ecks dee

>>150940666
>gun doesnt jam after 2 shots
>"THATS NOT ONE OF OURS, THATS A DECEPTICON"
the M1304 would be a more plausible choice

>>150944839
>>"THATS NOT ONE OF OURS, THATS A DECEPTICON"
That's actually clever if there was subtle giveaways like these used more often, like with Laserbreak being a malfunctioming photocopier in dotm

>>150945234
You have to wonder why they didn't have a scene with someone trying to photocopy their butt on Laserbeak. That seems right up Bay's level of sophistication. 50/50 odds that he'd either make it a super hot woman or some obese chud.