New transformers, aka WHAT DID THEY DO TO OPTIMUS?

[Rift120]

Okay watchign CN preview of the new Transformers series.. albiet it sin progress so this post will be a bit incomplete, and may require qualifiers.


I was already doubtful about hte new design...

although I will give a point for having cutscenes from original g1 cybertron scenes int he opeining scene... and using old school noises as well


and starscream is back to his nice little backstabbing self, albeit a bit more subtle than G1 Starscream (At least he doesn't announce his plans to destroy megatron to his face...)

but what the Hell did they do to OPtimus? Turning him into the cliche 'Kicked out and disgraced academy student/graduate'???

 

[Cosgrove]

Just finished watching it, and I must say that it exceeded all of my expectations, I really ended up liking it, despite the fact that until I saw it I hated the art of the show. You get used to it after a while.

Not to mention they did justice to my favorite Character, Starscream, who had been badly character raped in the last few series he's appeared in.

A Transformers series that I like, possibly second to G1 and Beast Wars, and made in America. I'm not suprised. IMO, Japan uses too many gimmicks and spent too much time on animation instead of making a good plot for the multiple transformers series they've made (I know of Armada (which is the only one of the 'Unicron trilogy' I liked at all), Energon, and Cybertron but there's probably many more they've done the same with).

 

[cilrais]

Wasn't Optimus like a crappy Janitorbot before the Autobot leader guys randomly gave him the matrix and he turned into pimp leader?

Maybe it's like that.

 

[Cosgrove]

Yup, Orion Pax, a pretty much 'civilian' dock worker, but it was Alpha Trion that rebuilt him. IIRC, the matrix came into his possession immediately after.

A nice throw back in the new series is that before taking on the Human vehicle disguise, Optimus Prime's robot form resembled Orion Pax and afterwards looks like pretty much G1 Prime's robot mode.

 

[Kayeich]

It depends on the universe. In the cartoon, G1, he was the aformentioned Orion Pax, who was a factory worker who got upgraded by Alpha Trion.

In the dreamwave comics, he was a filing clerk who got upgraded by the matrix. He had a really stupid name.

In the marvel comics...I don't recall, but he had combat skills without upgrade required. No recollection on his original name either.

 

[Cosgrove]

Ah, Well the G1 Cartoon was the only one I watched, as the marvel comics never appealed to me and I never really got the chance to read Dreamwave's comics.

 

[Kayeich]

The dreamwave comics, you didn't miss out on much. Well, unless you like Dinobot being an awesome engine of destruction. That was really the only cool thing there, from what I recall.

The marvel comics (the UK version) had a lot of fun storylines. The art is pretty mediocre, but I recall it passing the test of time a lot better than the G1 cartoon did in terms of storytelling.

 

[Cosgrove]

Ah, Dreamwave sounds interesting but didn't the company go bankrupt a couple years back? IIRC, IDW now has the rights to the series, and from the synopsis I've read, they've done some interesting things, but I'll wait on giving any judgements until I get the chance to read them.

And being that I live in the US, I've been unable to have a chance to read any of the U.K. Marvel's comics, and the ones from the U.S. Marvel aren't exactly that good.

As for the G1 cartoon, I stopped caring after the end of the Original series, before the start of things like the headmasters series and such. The stuff after the movie just wasn't as good as the earlier seasons though. I did like Beast Wars, but not its hugely inferior sequal Beast Machines.

 

[Kayeich]

Beast Wars was awesome. Beast Machines was...decent/passable.

The UK marvel comics, if I recall, were an extension to the US ones, they basically just fleshed characters out more and had some more epic stuff. There used to be a website that had all the marvel comics (UK and US) once upon a time, but I've long since lost the bookmark, assuming it's even still up. Ah well...

Dreamwave....hoo boy, what a story their bankruptcy was. They tended to start off Pat Lee art on some comic, and quickly some other schmuck got brought in, as well as new writer, so stories that started off neat, quickly often petered out. Some, never managed to find a replacement creative crew. There was a lot of bad business decisions made, at least in the sense of the company doing well. Pat Lee and his brother actually came out of the bankrupcy with brand spanking new expensive cars and condos, while everyone else who worked for the company ended up unpaid. You can imagine how everyone took that little 'success' story of the Lee brothers.

 

[Cosgrove]

Eh, its possible but I never really got into the Transformer's comics, though the fleshing out of the characters probably helped make make the comics more readable.

I've heard about the Evolutions: Hearts of Steel comics, and I've got to say it sounds interesting, I might pick it up along with some of IDW's Transformer's series if I remember to do so when I've got money to spare.

As for Dreamwave, wow that really sucks. I really pity the people who worked there.

I'm really hoping this new transformers series doesn't turn out badly, but I'm kind of wary because after researching, I've learned that the head writer, Marty Isenberg, was one of the writers for Beast Machines, and Beast Machines was rather horrible IMO.

 

[Kayeich]

Beast Machines is not a bad story in and of itself, I think. The main problem with it, is that it wasn't faithful to character portrayals from Beast Wars despite using characters from there. Rape of Silverbolt and Rattrap, two of my favorite characters, didn't endear me much to the series. The religious undertones of the story and the end effect on Cybertron was also kinda lame.

In spite of all that, I do think the action was pretty good, the art was excellent, and storytelling wasn't too bad. It's reeeeeeeaaaaallly far from being a favorite of mine, but still worth watching once, I think. Just once, mind you.

Evolutions: Hearts of Steel, I've only seen the first AU story, where they come out during the railroad building era. It was kind of neat seeing the transformers as locomotives and steam machines. It's a nice concept though, having a series of short AU stories.

 

[drakensis]

Having just seen the samples, I'd have to go with the aka section - Optimus Prime should not EVER have a visible mouth. It's in the rules, dammit!

 

[shinzero01]

Next thing you know Soundwave will have a visible mouth.

 

[Rift120]

NOt even sure if Soundwave will be IN the new aniamted transformers....

althoughI will say that having Black Arcahnia as one of MEgtron's minions is interesting... especially since she has a ORGANIC alternate mode.

More interestingly is that at least one of hte mroe traditional decepticons seems to view the idea of a Organic mode in disdain...

Now on the one hand that could just be mutual contempt between Archania and the other decepticon (I forget which it was fairly early int he special)...

On the other hand it might be interesting if it were a indication of soem sort of prejudice among the transformers against organic alternate modes....

Which in turn could make Blakc Archania one of hte more interesting charcters of hte new series if handled right...

of course considering how cliche the special appeared (Oh look the Human girl interacts with the allspark and gets the MYSTERIOUS 1-up cyber key.... three guess how she uses it at the end of the special....) I'm not holding my breath for it to actually happen. but the POTENTIAL is there...

 

[hiraishin]

Soundwave is gonna be in it and he'll be a Scion xB, and lazerbeak will be a guitar of all things. Blitzwing was interesting, but I had the distinct feeling that Man-E-Faces called Blitzwing wanting his shtick back after seeing him. What I can get over and laugh everytime I see it is Starscreams chin. "The Chin" could be a friggin runway. Transformers Animated is a good little place to see what's comming upwith the new cartoon.

 

[David Alan Abramczyk]

And, for all us Al-oholics out there, The Permed Prince of Parody himself is going to be a v/o on this....

 

[Maelgrim]

Recently managed to catch a few episodes of this and I'm pretty damn impressed. the G1 fotage at the start of the pilot was a very nice touch, specially since some of it was taken from Optimus' background episode.


Never really read the transformers comics, the only one I own was a transfromers GI-JOE crossover set just before world war 2.

It was the most awesome thing I'd ever seen....