Transformers: Prime/Headscratchers: Difference between revisions

*** At the end of Episode 4, when Megatron is chewing out Starscream for his errors, you can catch a glimpse of Soundwave standing off to the side when Megatron backhands Starscream across the bridge; which would mean he was aboard at the time. One thing I've noticed is that Soundwave doesn't really fight at all, at least against other Transformers.

**** The point of him not really fighting is Jossed as of episode 26. He curbstomps Airachnid.

*** The timing doesn't work, as the satellite was damaged ''during'' the attack. The most logical explanation was that he just never encountered them.

* First episode of the series. When riding with Bumblebee to the Autobot base, why is Raf sitting in the backseat?

*** Honestly, I think the lack of the Autobot Ark is more because this is a reboot of the franchise, and it's not necessary; [[Transformers Animated|Animated]] got by. Besides, given how closely this resembles the movie franchise in some respects, chances are the 'bots in Prime came to Earth the same way.

** [[Word of God|The producers have gone on record as saying that they'll keep the cast size relatively small to keep costs down.]] 

** There is a good chance the Ark was destroyed or heavily damaged and components were scavaged to make adjustments to the abandoned missile silo, probably to build the ground bridge too.

** As T.M.I. and Stronger, Faster, indicated, Team Prime can barely scrounge enough Energon for the 5. You think they'd be able to sustain a larger population? They'd need an Energon harvest operation on the same scale as the Decepticons and Team Prime seems largely out of contact with the rest of the Autobot population.

*** Fighter jets are ''way'' bigger than most folks think they are, plus the DNGS itself was only about the size of a large crate; I'm pretty sure it fight quite comfortably in the bomb/missile bay of Fowler's jet.

*** Speaking of which, does Starscream in this series transform into the tiniest fighter jet ever or what?

 

* Why did they change Wheeljack so much? Couldn't they just made him the Wrecker's Smart Guy/demolition expert who took a few too many bombs to the face? It would fit with him always talking about his bomb, and how he killed the Con of the week.

** [[Ruined FOREVER|There's a trope for that.]] But more seriously, because Ratchet is [[The Smart Guy]], and Wheeljack wouldn't work as well as another Smart Guy.

*** [[Merchandise-Driven|Because kids are more likely to buy his toy when it comes out if he's badass]].

** His introductory episode barely had time to show the real him interacting with the main characters, let alone the nuances of his personality. With those constraints they focused on showing him to be a bruiser like Bulkhead. Apparently [[Word of God]] states that, among the Wreckers, Wheeljack is a mechanic and there wasn't anything that contradicted ''or'' supported it in the episode. If that doesn't come up in any further appearances then it might be an [[Informed Ability]]. There might be a niche he can fit into as a mechanic while Ratchet is a scientist, but at this stage of the series he would be a redundant Ratchet ''and'' Bulkhead.

** In his return episode in Season Two it suggests that Wheeljack has some skills in bomb disposal, also in general he seemed to be a little more intelligent and a little less raw bruiser.

 

*** This is just one of the reasons I made the Raf is Sari 2.0 WMG.

*** In [http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Raf%27s_Notes Raf's Notes], he says that even ''he'' doesn't know why he understands Bumblebee, I could give a more detailed explanation, but the Hubworld website apparently removed the full version of the explanation, [[Keep Circulating the Tapes|but if you look hard enough on the internet, you can find the notes]], didn't exactly justify why they didn't put this in-show. What he said in the notes apparently was along the lines of this:

 

* Can Starscream transform his 'fingers' into talons and back? I've watched the ending of Speed Metal a few times and every time I feel that somehow Starscreams hand had changed. The talon suddenly looks a lot sharper and deformed not as round as the other fingers and you can hear some kind of sound like knives clanging against each other

* How come no one has noticed the insane amount of crashes and explosions in and around Jasper lately? I know that the Transformers are all about stealth, and most of the battles that have taken place near populated areas were at night, but some of the fights have taken place right behind buildings that were clearly in use! Shouldn't someone come out to check things out, or call 9-1-1? Sure, [[Status Quo Is God]] and all, but it would make the show more interesting if, like, one day at school the kids found out that there were rumors flying around about the Transformers.

** Fowler and his men prove that the US government is fully aware of the Transformers and allied with the Autobots. It's not ''too'' big of a stretch to assume that they can pull a bit of a cover-up of some battles. Especially those that involve MECH. Since most of the biggest collateral damage happens in fairly remote areas, it's more believable than the movies' absolutely idiotic excuse of cover-ups after an entire city is destroyed.

** There has only been a handful of episodes actually set IN Jasper where a fight breaks out (Darkness Rising Part 1, Speed Metal, Crisscross) and even then the only thing in Crisscross that would really attract attention was Fowler and the military helicopters. Speed Metal was mostly in the outskirts with a short fight in a storage yard and Darkness Rising was a car chase that later ended in a drainage ditch.

 

** Vamping off Jack's act of mercy to Megatron: If Megatron saved Starscream instead of leaving him to die, ''after'' almost executing him, that would just emphasize how deeply in Megatron's debt Starscream is. Basically, he owns his ass. Viewed through that lens, Starscream's subsequent desertion just underscores his complete lack of redeeming qualities. (Megs at least has self-confidence and and drive going for him.)

** If you watch "Partners", you get an idea of why Megs chose to let Starscream back in. In a way it's a combination of both putting him in debt, and his importance as a decepticon. If you notice Starscream's attitude when he returns, he's clearly humbled by Megatron's show of mercy, and would have continued to stay a loyal subject had not Aracnid started to backstab and give the impression that she was now megatron's favorite. as for his importance, when Starscream goes missing at the end of that episode, Megatron's more outraged at, "the loss of my second in command" than the loss of a weapon, indicating that no matter what he might do, Starscream is still important in keeping the army in toe.

* [[Wild Mass Guessing|He keeps]] [[The Starscream|Starscream]] [[Batman Gambit|around to keep him]] [[Badass Decay|on edge.]]

 

* Why does the show keep going on Hiatus? Are there some issues going on in production? And before when there was an extended wait for an episode, if you went onto the transformers wiki, the date of the next episode would be there. There are another six episodes left in season one. I cam understand that they're having trouble, but I'd like to know why. 

** [[Animation Lead Time]]. The show is being aired while its being produced, and it takes quite a bit of time to make a show of this quality. The hiatus's are when the airing schedule catches up with production. At least, that's one possible explanation.

 

* Soundwave had at least TWO chances to get rid of the kids. But he never did. I don't hate them, I like little pests but... Why?

** There's a theory in WMG that Soundwave's been keeping the kids alive in the hopes that they eventually lead him and the decepticons to the autobot base. Since soundwave can only properly monitor, well, [[Captain Obvious|sound]], he might have let them go as he thought they might have another use later.

** However, from observing soundwave and his actions, [[Tropers/Eric W|I]] notice that he very rarely does much except his job and serve megatron's interests. Soundwave therefore could be characterized as having a very one tract mind. He's given a goal and he fulfills it and it alone. (him spying on Starscream excluded, but again, that's his service to megatron) The 2 times he sees the kids he's got a different job than killing them. The first time he already got the space bridge locked on, so he just makes a visual reminder and flies off. The second time his orders are to retrieve the harvester, and since Jack and Raf were in no position to resist him, he probably just took it and flew off as ordered. Either way, Soundwave's single minded devotion to one task led him to let our humans go. (Of course, the real reason is that so early in the series, killing off a human character in a place where according to [[Word of God]] [[Death Is Cheap|death]] [[Subverted Trope|is not]] [[Killed Off for Real|cheap]] would cut off any chance at further development of their many different characters.

*** Badassitude? Really? I always figured that headdrop was just apart of Soundwave's ''snap-shot'' camera-function or something like that. Though I guess you could be right, he does seem to really go out of his way not to harm them to badly when they meet. Which is really weird for just about ''any'' [[Transformers Animated|Soundwave]].

** Soundwave seems to have no ambitions for himself, no motivations beyond loyalty to Megatron and the Decepticons in general. If he wasn't ordered to kill defenseless humans he doesn't see a need to.

** Perhaps it's pragmaticism combined with a general lack of sadism inherent to most of the other Decepticons. Given his duties, he's calm, rational, and serious and doesn't see any point in evil for evil's intent. If he can do his job while minimizing collateral damage, perhaps he sees that as a job well done. Given his alt mode (a UAV spy drone), it may also be that he's had the most contact with humans and so has some sort of appreciation of them.

 

** Optimus mentions in the first episodes that the Great War spread across the galaxy, using many different planets as battlefields. Earth happened to be the site of an unusually large campaign, which explains why so many Cybertronian artifacts and energon deposits were left behind.

** Basically, Earth is a forgotten ammo depot from the Great War.

** [[The End of the World as We Know It|We don't.]]

** [[The Needs of the Many]] in the rest of the universe outweigh the needs of the few on Earth. Presumably they can try to evacuate as many earth-natives as they can, before they do what they must and try to blast it to kingdom come, but Unicron needs destroying a lot more than we need to keep existing.

** You're partially right. The autobots plan to put Unicron back into stasis because they cannot really kill him.

 

* Plus... if the Earth is the Unicron... why the organic life forms are weak to Dark energon? Aren't we supposed to be like... his little organic kids???

** "Earth formed around Unicron" was explained in detail in OSR, pt. 1. Unicron's body may be the delicious chewy center, but the rest of the planet is made of good ol' normal solar system stuff. The effect of the possession of the planet by Unicron's consciousness is another matter ...

** [[Armor-Piercing Question|Are we resistant to lava?]] Just because a planet has something in or on it, doesn't make inhabitants resistant to it. Remember, it isn't like Dark Energon radiation is remotely easy to come across on the surface of the planet.

* So is Unicron "dead" (a stretch of the term, I know) now and thus never appearing again, or returning later on?

** The impression I got was that he was just sent back into hibernation and isn't ''dead'' dead. Wouldn't be surprised if someone doesn't try to wake him up again/tap into his power/ do something with him later on, though (last I checked, the Fallen worked for Unicron).

** Would they really completely use up such a prominent, threatening character within the first season? I have my honest doubts. It seems Optimus just put him back to sleep anyhow. That doesn't mean he can't just wake up again, though.

** Wasn't it claimed at one point that Season 2 would be about preventing Unicron from waking up and destroying Earth. In hindsight, that claim seems to have been just a diversion from the real Season 2 plot regarding Orion Pax. I'm thinking that as Season 2 goes along we'll see subtle hints of Unicron coming back while the Autobots try to restore Optimus.

*** I'm guessing there was just confusion and people saw the preview for the season finale and thought it was the preview for season 2.

 

** Technically, part of it is tradition, and part of it is skepticism. Remember that at the beginning of Starscream's reign, the vehicons were skeptical that Scream could be any more effective compared to Lord Megatron. Consider: Megatron lead the decepticons to destroy cybertron. True it was destroyed, but they were successful in their fights. If they had a leader that powerful, why would they put trust in a lieutenant who was still demanding, but not always as competent as well.

** Also consider Arachnid's mini-revolt. Notice that despite Knock-out's brief objection, nobody raises an objection until Soundwave steps in. Perhaps Megatron's power isn't as great as you might assume.

 

* Why is the show so different from the [[Transformers: War for Cybertron|game?]] the visuals, the history, it seems more like the bayformers than the game?

*** Actually, WFC, Exodus, and Prime are all based on the same 354 page production bible, which details the history and lore of the universe. As stated before, it's more like the parallel between the G1 cartoon and the Marvel comics, in that they essentially take place within the same universe, but portray events in their own way. Furthermore, while they do take place within the same continuity, the creative teams have a good amount of leeway in crafting their stories, able to craft the best stories they can even if it means a few contradictions here and there between other entries within the same continuity.

*** What happens in one clearly didn't happen in all three, which is what sharing a continuity means. Taking place in the same universe but telling the story a different way is a ''contradiction in terms.'' And what we have isn't a few differences, but three ''wholly'' incompatible, ''wildly'' different versions that don't have much in common past the existence of Dark Energon and some events of the early days of the war (maybe ''those'' commonalities are because of that production bible.) - not even character designs like the G1 show and comics.

 

* In Orion Pax Part 1, Megatron says that he had Soundwave wipe all encriminating data from their computers. But when Orion Pax lookes up Optimus Prime, he gets an image. Why did the name Optimus come back with anything? Ratchet was supposed to have been the Autobot leader since the begining of the war. Why leave anything that even looks or sounds like Optimus? Especially if it directly contradics you.

*** Also, Megatron knew the deception wouldn't last long, so the faked records only had to last until Orion decrypted the Autobot files. If Starscream hadn't shown up and piqued Orion's curiosity, [[Fridge Horror|it probably would have worked]].

* As awesome as ''Orion Pax Part 3'' was, one thing does bother me a little. When Megatron saw, from across the Space Bridge cavern that Jack was restoring Orion's memories as Optimus Prime, didn't he FIRE THE ENORMOUS CANNON ON HIS ARM at Jack, but instead chose to charge across the cavern at them, giving Jack the time he needed to bring Optimus back? It just doesn't make sense for Megatron to forget he has the cannon at a moment like that.

** And it would have let Orion know he ''had'' weapons.

* Why do they keep the kids around by this point? I'm not the kind of fan who thinks no humans should ever walk across the screen, but do the Autobots by this point really think the Decepticons would care about the kids who saw a Vehicon or two once months ago? Isn't it clear by now the 'cons have bigger fish to fry and that the danger the kids are in from being around ''giant robot warfare'' is also a factor (see One Shall Fall)? It's not like the other series that went farther to justify the kids' presence; no [[Transformers Film Series|Allspark map in a pair of glasses]], no [[Transformers Cybertron|MacGuffin-related sound that only they can hear]], no [[Transformers Animated|magic key]]. There haven't been any humans who were constantly with the Autobots despite being ''completely'' superfluous since Spike and Sparkplug.

** If you were assigned to protect someone, and then you become [[Nakama|incredibly close friends]] with that person, would you show them the door just because you decided they no longer needed guarding?

** Besides, after what happened with the Scraplets, Predatory and Vector Sigma, perhaps they see there's some kind of hidden strategic value to their presence in making the little things fall into place.

** The kids, especially Jack and Raf, have proven their value to the Autobot's cause by this point. Raf aids Ratchet in adapting Autobot and human technology, Jack impressed Prime so much that he'd trust the boy with the single most important item he possesses, and even Miko has shown some useful resourcefulness. Besides, having a group of humans willing to go into areas that giant transforming alien robots can't (as well as government spooks) without drawing unwanted attention would be vital in covert warfare.

** It was briefly brought up in Darkness Rising, that having an emotional connection to the planet gives them added incentive to protect it. They figured that if the 'Cons are going to keep at it they might as well lay down their roots and treat the Earth as actually their home.

*** But she's not [[The Scrappy|Miko.]] That alone should raise her pedigree.

*** Not to mention that even this article's WMG page has one WMG with calling Sierra a Pretender or Silas' daughter ([[Rule of Funny|Though the latter could easily have been a joke]]).

 

* Okay, Megatron is pretty much DEFINED by his incredible pride and hubris; not even a GOD (Unicron) could subsume said-pride. And yet when he defeated Airrachnid's Insecticon, he PROUDLY wore his past as a Gladiator like a badge of honor. [[Satisfied Street Rat]] or not, a Lord and Conquerer like Megatron would surely realize that acknowledging himself as a Gladiator is basically acknowledging that he is a ''slave'', something that NONE of the Megatrons across the multiverses ever did willingly. Does anybody else consider this a contradiction to his proud nature?

** Megatron is obsessed with personal strength- he was perfectly willing to abandon a useful asset like Breakdown because the latter was captured by [[Puny Humans]]. I think it's more likely that Megatron ''boasts'' about being a former gladiator, since he went from being a slave to leader of the Decepticons.

** Megatron also makes a point to say he was a gladiator of Kaon, which most are fully aware of as being the Decepticon capital these days. Even if it acknowledges he was a slave, it also brings to mind the image that even as such, he made Kaon his. Almost its own little badge of power in taking the very place you were once a slave in as the center of your own reign.

* At the end of Orion Pax part 3, the Autobots are fully assembled, relatively uninjured, and fighting Megatron. Why oh why did they call to retreat rather than fight Megatron? They cannot possibly have better odds. Granted, Prime was somewhat out of it given he just got his memories back, but even he knew enough that he had to fight Megatron, and should've been intelligent enough to realize this was the best shot they would have to take out Megatron... ever.

** For that matter, why didn't they just throw him through the ''still open'' space bridge onto derelict Cybertron and then destroy the space bridge, thus marooning him there? Sure, he could have flown back to Earth eventually (he already did it once in Darkness Rising), but that would have still bought the Autobots a ''lot'' of much-needed recovery time.

** They had accomplished their mission, changing plans on something so delicate might end badly for them. Bailing out and running was reasonable.

 

** A better question might be {{spoiler|Is BULKHEAD still alive?}}

* In Toxicity, why didn't Bulkhead just bring the Tox-En back to base and dispose of it properly there? Keeping it on his person in hopes of tossing it into the volcano just risked him losing it to the Insecticons and gave him a near-lethal dose of the stuff. If he had enough time to drop that grenade and make a get away before the bugs got to the site, he'd have enough time to get seal it up in the canister and take it back to base through the groundbridge instead.

** Why not groundbridge back to base, then groundbridge to the rim of the volcano? It would've limited the amount of time he was exposed, and kept the Insecticons from getting their hands on it?

** Heck, why not just ''put the lid back on the container?''

 

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[[Category:Headscratchers]]

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[[Category:Headscratchers (animation)]]