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AUTOBOTS, TRANSFORM AND...well, you know.
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PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
I always rationalized Magnus' matrix thing as putting it on a hook or shelf before putting it into the proper place.
EDIT: I'm guessing that this would be "Soundwave" being a cd player and all...
Soundwave was close to three seperate characters in the movie. Originally he was "Soundbyte" and turned into a boombox from a 3 foot tall robot. They eventually renamed this guy Frenzy since they didn't want Soundwave to be a shrimp.
There's speculation that Barricade was next going to be Soundwave, what with ejecting Frenzy out of his chest, but that's just speculation.
Finally, we have the big Helicoptor guy. Originally he was going to be Soundwave, but the writers decided not to do Soundwave in the first moving because they "want to do him right" so they changed the Helicoptors name to Incinerator... and then renamed once again to Blackout.
So basically Soundwave was almost in the movie, but never actually materialized. Other points of interest include Brawl being named Devastator (Apparently this was still the case for the Austrailan premeir, but Robert Orci said it'll be fixed for the American release), Arcee going to be in the movie but getting replaced by Ironhide due to fan reaction, and the Allspark being named the "Energon Cube."
Speaking of Megatron's voice, the only other actor to play Megatron is going to be Prime in the new cartoon series (which has NOTHING to do with the live action movies)
While it's true that David Kaye (Voice of Megatron in Beast Wars, Beast Machines, Armada, Energon and Cybertron) is going to play Prime in the next series (at least as far as I've heard), he and Welker are not the only two to voice Megatron.
Daniel Riordan did the voice in "Transformers: Robots in Disguise"
I did also read once that Kaye would have liked to have said while recording for Ranma 1/2 (he played Soun Tendo, Akane's father and Genma's friend) "Genma Saotome, BEAST MODE!"
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
That's right, I forgot about that.
That was golden. Prowl is a dick. A dick with good intent, perhaps one might argue, but a dick all the same.
His fists clenched and teeth gritting is just burned happily into my mind, after Grimlock not-so-subtley reminds Prowl who Prime named boss.
OP made the right call, too. Prowl was so focused on trying to make the truce work that, unlike Grimlock, he couldn't see that it wouldn't work without Scorponok.
Hah, might have? Dude, dig up some of the UK comics Furman was doing before he started writing the US book. He took that ball and RAN with it.
I hear Soundwave may have a prominent role in the sequel, however, so maybe that's why they made the switch?
So glad they changed the name from "Energon Cube." God, that would've been stupid. Well, contextually, anyway. Maybe if it was some eternal source of sustenance for the TFs instead of the very thing that gives them life...
...what the hell was wrong with the Creation Matrix, one might wonder.
The Welker/Weaving thing doesn't make much sense to me. I'd still need to hear Weaving, but for that ass-ugly face they gave Megatron, Welker's old G1 voice seems perfect.
Incidently, I never heard that Welker was ever officially cast for the movie, just that he tried out.
---
So, one thing I'm happiest about is that the movie isn't a "G1" movie like they insisted so much earlier on in production. Because as a G1 movie, I can't say I'd like this one bit. But as a TransFormers movie with a story/continuity that's all its own, I'm ok with it.
As for the looks of the characters, the robot modes seriously remind me of Beast Machines and the planned follow-up, TransTech.
I don't hate them, but I do think they deviate a little more from the normal TF aesthetic than I'd like in some cases. I'd rather Prime's faceplate didn't move back, for example. It's only just tolerable in some of the toons, like Primal in Beast Wars and Prime in Cybertron...
Some of them, it feels hard to tell what anything is; it's like, why give them a head in the first place? It's gotten easier on some since earlier pics were released, though. I remember early shots of Prime just looked like a mess that somehow resembled the normal Prime heads, but at the same time you couldn't quite tell what the hell was what.
My biggest gripe, though, is how it almost feels a little heavy-handed in who the bad guys are as opposed to the good-guys, like they're divided by looks. Megatron and Optimus being prime (no pun intended) examples. Prime looks like a cool robot; Megatron looks like he's going to eat your soul. And it's not like it's even a character thing, he could hold flowers and chocolates and say nice things, but his face still looks like it was made to eat your soul (or take up the slack for peoples' Q4 remarks around here).
Even with all that, I'm not exactly deterred. They're just some minor grievances. There are things I like, such as the seemingly built-in weapons. Took me a short spell to get used to, but after thinking about it, it's a nice change from the old days, where the designs saw the extra pieces laying around, or even newer stuff, where you have cars with guns on top. That's alright, I guess, but I like how they seem more integrated here for the likes of Bumblebee, Ironhide, and Optimus.
Pity we can't say the same for Jazz, tho.
Oh, and I think Brawl should've been Megatron. Megs has often been a tank, AND Brawl has the cannon on the arm, Megatron-style. Oh well, guess we just have to make do with the "Cybertronian space jet" that looks like... well, something.
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The look isn't why they switched. Welker can't do Megatron's voice well anymore. He sounds like a geriatric chain smoker. He did a fan recording at one of the conventions recently and it sounded awful. Not his fault, his vocal chords have just changed with age. Same thing with Al Pacino and his Scareface character.
And honestly, I like the choice of Hugo Weaving as Megatron. When I read that, it just seemed like a perfect fit for me. Welker is just a little too cartoonish-super-villiany for my tastes.
Thats too bad, although I think they are going to use Frank Welker for the videogame version of the transformers movie.
After the speech mannerisms used by David Kaye in beast wars, I think I could by Weaving for megatrons voice.
I am a freaking nerd.
There were a lot of good characters in Beast Wars, but Dinobot gets the best transformer death EVER. And even quotes hamlet while doing it.
I am a freaking nerd.
Basically they didn't want to get people confused regarding a certain OTHER machine controlled Matrix. Whoa.
I always figured the Matrix and the Allspark were the same thing.. I mean they both contain like all the sparks ever so I just figured the allspark was what the matrix was before they put in a case.
I never asked for this!
Allspark is like the TF afterlife (possibly heaven?).
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
Also, in the movie-verse, the allspark's not the transformers afterlife but the device that gives life to machines, so yeah, more or less the creation matrix from previous TF fiction.
I still submit that the two are interchangeable. In Beast Wars it was a real thing and not an immaterial afterlife.
I never asked for this!
But still, I think a concept that predates The Matrix movies by so long, having to kowtow to the latter, is bullshit. But that's just me.
Then again, it's not the sole instance I ask what the hell they're basing decisions on. One thing I've heard is that Bay didn't pursue Volkswagon for Bumblebee was partially because he didn't want people getting him mixed up with Herbie the Love Bug (?!?).
And the reason to make Optimus a long-nose truck instead of cabover? To give him a greater sense of height, which basically amounts to a three-foot measurement increase.
So, yeah. Again, I say I'm glad that this isn't meant to be directly representative of any other timeline or form of TransFormers, and I can love/hate parts on its own merits with no affect on the rest of the franchise.
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I doubt that's the reason, even if they say it is. The reason there hasn't been an Alternator Bumblebee is because Volkswagen does not want their cars associated with what they call 'war toys' (which is a bit funny given the history of Volkswagen).
I'm thinking their history is exactly why they're shying away from that association.
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Well it's dumb. :x
http://www.seibertron.com/toys/fullsize.php?id=927&size=1&image=6
I know it's not as cool as a camaro, but come on it's bumblebee :P
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Yeah they don't want there to be any toys of Volkswagens with guns.
I never asked for this!
Like Mega Man Legends? Then check out my story, Legends of the Halcyon Era - An Adventure in the World of Mega Man Legends on TMMN and AO3!
The original 80's Transformers cartoon was 100% American. I can't even remember the last time I saw a list of animators with so many English names. :P The movie was animated by the Japanese but it was still an American production, in the same way that the Simpsons is considered American despite being animated in Korea.
The toys were 100% Japanese, but they weren't intended to be "Transformers." They were culled from random transforming robot toy lines that Takara had at the time, and it shows in how many of the toys have nothing in common. The dinobots where from a Power Rangers style line, which is why they all have cockpits. Megatron comes from a line of household objects that become tiny robots. Rachet and Ironhide don't even form robots; they're battle platforms with a face sticker where the command chair goes.
At some point they ran out of Japanese toys and started making their own. That's when they suddenly became bigger, brighter, and some would say less detailed.
Anyway, the American cartoon was dubbed into Japanese and was an even bigger hit over there. They had three anime series after we canceled ours, each one more insane and unwatchable then the last. In America they just added a 3D space cube between scenes and tried to fool kids into thinking the old series was a whole new series (Generation 2!). Kids were not fooled.
Then we had Beast Wars and Beast Machines. The Japanese once again took that concept and ran with it for a few more Japanese exclusive shows. Finally Hasbro asked themselves, "Why are we busting our asses making cartoons when we can just borrow theirs?" Car Robots (Robots in Disguise) became the first Transformers anime to hit our air-waves and we haven't had an original American release since.
Now you know.... and knowing is half that battle!
Yes, the Transformers said that too.
spoilered for teh hueg
The truck mode is nearly Alternators quality, minus the interior and funny gap in the sleeper cab.
huh, I need to clean my keyboard.
I'll take more detailed pics if people want.
I dropped damn near $100 on them today.
Got:
Optimus Prime (Leader Class)
Ratchet
Jazz
Blackout
Baracade
I really only need to find a Starscream now. But that guy is nowhere to be found here (same with Ironhide).
These really are a great batch of transformers. Best ones Ive seen in years.
Though Blackout is a pain in the ass to transform. Worse than Prime in my opinion.
Edit: Yeah, Blackout was an utter bitch. Cool design, but his shoulders and legs are a pain in the ass.
Classics are awesome, but that line's dead now. It would probably be hard to find all the good ones. And they're all good ones.
I wasn't expecting to love these movie figures as much as I do. They're easily the best Transformer line in years IMHO. If you're only going to buy one, buy Prime. He does the character justice. For the smaller guys Barricade, Bumblebee and Jazz stand out as awesome. I really love Scorponok, but he's not a transformer. Pretend he doesn't have a robot mode. I guarantee you that he won't transform ever in the movie.
I had a Armada figure of Prime, and I really liked it. I wish I could remember what I did with it; I had it a couple years ago before I moved rooms, and I think it got lost in the reorganization.
Edit: There was a Target special edition Classics 2-pack with deluxe Skywarp (color variation of voyager starscream) and ultra magnus (a white repaint of the classics voyager prime). I may make tracking that down my job tomorrow...
As for predating the matrix movies, you should know that isn't worth jack shit if they want to *trademark* it.
They often came from other lines not by Takara, too. Omega Supreme, Sky Lynx, Shockwave, the Deluxe Autobots and Insecticons, and of course the most notable, Jetfire.
Actually, they still worked with Takara and Takara still engineered/built them, just that Hasbro had far more influence then.
Generation 2 was a horrible, horrible waste.
True, though that's about to change with TransFormers: Animated. First American-made (give or take) cartoon of TransFormers in awhile. Hell, since G1/G2, if you consider that the Beast Era was Canadian.
RiD was a filler line that took the place of TransTech, while Hasbro and Takara collaborated to make a shared series. RiD was pretty spiff that way, but others... well...
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