worst/best skills, talents and weapons

starlord · Post by **starlord** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 6:35 am

Which transformers had the worst skills, talents or weapons or the best ones?

slartibartfast · Post by **slartibartfast** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 9:40 am

Getaway. It's like a 'kick me' tatoo.

Catalyst Dragon · Post by **Catalyst Dragon** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:24 am

Mirage, Trailbreaker, and Hound's abilitys were used almost every episode in G1.

As for weapons... Prowls Acid Pellets were my favorite.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Wed Nov 12, 2008 4:01 pm

The Season 1 Autobots are basically superheroes - if they'd sat down and worked things out properly, Windcharger could kill most of the Decepticons without even trying that hard. Instead the Autobots kick around the Ark waiting for Megatron to steal something, and Windcharger is reduced to saving the entire faction from their own epic stupidity (only matched by the equal amount shown by the Decepticons... not a great episode, that one).

I did like Cliffjumper's glass gas gun in that UK comic, where against all logic it literally turned something into glass.

Most useless? I've always wondered what the big advantage of the Clones was. There's a minor element of surprise involved, but it's hardly a super-skill.

And don't get me started on Punch's Autobot mode again - why does he need one? Argh.

And the Targetmasters... It's just what you need in a battle, isn't it, your gun to suddenly pull to the left and shoot someone else against your instincts...

Special mention for Megatron's anti-matter eyes as well, simply because the first thing they'd do is blow his own face off...

The Reverend · Post by **The Reverend** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 8:44 pm

Yeah, I always liked the acid-pellet rifle as a kid too, although they were all interesting to read about. Dirge's fear-inducing engines never did much for me at the time, I used to think that was stupid - jet engines are loud as hell anyway, what was supposed to be special about that?

Catalyst Dragon · Post by **Catalyst Dragon** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 9:49 pm

Did he ever use them in the show?
Also did Thundercracker ever use his ability? cause I don't remember it if he did!

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:02 pm

I know they both used them, albeit briefly, in the Marvel comics... Can't remember in the show, though Thundercracker might have. By Season 2 the super-powered TFs were on the fall a little (I only really remember Smokescreen's exhausts getting much of a work-out from the new characters) in favour if big chaps like Omega and the Combiners, or the Triple-Changers. I can't remember Dirge doing much beyond being generic muscle, TBH.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Fri Nov 14, 2008 10:23 pm

I think the only time you see Thundercracker's power is when Megatron uses it in Heavy Metal War.

another tf fan · Post by **another tf fan** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 1:55 am

yeah, Heavy Metal War was the only mention of it.

I always thought Trailbreaker's force shield was a usefull power.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:12 am

You have to wonder what Prime was thinking half the time taking the likes of Ironhide and Tracks out on missions. Leave the Ark with Trailbreaker, Mirage, Windcharger and Smokescreen and there's not a lot you can't deal with...

BackTrax · Post by **BackTrax** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:46 am

Cliffjumper wrote:
And don't get me started on Punch's Autobot mode again - why does he need one? Argh.

And the Targetmasters... It's just what you need in a battle, isn't it, your gun to suddenly pull to the left and shoot someone else against your instincts...

I agree on the target master thing, that was pretty stupid. "Let me throw my gun and have it fight while I sit here and read the paper!" I think punch needed an autobot mode cause he was a spy so he had to look different for each team

I personally also felt the Minicons were all very pointless.

The Reverend · Post by **The Reverend** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:14 am

Catalyst Dragon wrote:Did he ever use them in the show?
Also did Thundercracker ever use his ability? cause I don't remember it if he did!

The engine effects? Thundercracker's was referenced occasionally, although i think it only got USED the one time Dalek refers to. Dirge, no. The G1 writers did at least attempt to show characters' individual abilities at least once in a while (Optimus' three-component split, Wheeljack's flight ability, Windcharger's magnetic field, Gears' infrared, etc), but they definitely didn't get around to everyone. Same w/ GI Joe in that timespan. I give em credit for working in what they could, but they had an awful lot of characters to juggle and some semblance of story to eke out in very limited timespans.

(oddly enough, as I wrote that I recalled that the old "M.A.S.K." cartoon probably did a better job than both its mentioned contemporaries in that department, since part of each episode was the computer calling up specific team members based on their abilities (although Bruce Sato seemed to always be in demand).)

The Reverend · Post by **The Reverend** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:20 am

BackTrax wrote:I agree on the target master thing, that was pretty stupid. "Let me throw my gun and have it fight while I sit here and read the paper!"

Heh, as a kid I didn't fully understand the targetmasters... since their gun modes were usable in their partners' vehicle AND robot modes, what was the point of them walking around otherwise, since they didn't fit in cockpits like the Headmasters? (Not to mention the one i owned (Haywire) had a long barrel sticking out of his rump in a rather undignified fashion...) I finally saw Rebirth over a decade later, which cleared up the concept for me... a little. Not a lot.

wyze2099 · Post by **wyze2099** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:53 pm

Speaking of ridiculous 'Master concepts ... I've never been able to understand the Headmasters.

Let me get this straight: the Transformers apparently can't multitask very well despite having computers from brains, so they enlist the help of organic humanoids who (depending on the version of canon) either have robotic bodies grafted onto them, or they simply put on robot suits that allow them to transform ... into a Transformer's head. So whenever a TF is in robot form, the Headmasters are trapped in alt mode as their heads; either the Headmasters have to spend a lot of time in head mode, or their TF partners have to spend a lot of time in car mode. Maybe if the Headmasters were TF themselves instead of organics, I could maybe understand it ... but humans and Nebulans have to use the restroom sometime. Plus, in order to get anything accomplished, the two partners would have to agree on everything; arguing with one's own head would be hazardous on the battlefield.

It all just strikes me as a logistical nightmare, and the benefit is ... what? Unlockable stats?

About the only time it remotely made sense was when the Earth-based Machination group developed the process in the IDWverse, and that was so they could control Transformers outright (and Scorponok was guiding the development for his own ends). It resulted in a full-body overhaul for the humans involved, and transformable robo-bodies at least make more sense than mechanical suits that can be worn and somehow transform without breaking the wearer's spinal columns in several places.

The Pretenders were also pretty wacky, because for all the emphasis on using the shells to hide, it still resulted in 40-foot humans. For some reason it never seemed to occur to any of the writers that the same technology that lets Soundwave enlarge/shrink between modes could be useful making a Pretender shell human-sized. Just imagine the shock-and-awe involved in a six-foot human splitting in half and revealing a robot dinosaur that promptly enlarges into a 50-foot Grimlock. But the hardest part would be convincing Grimlock that squeezing himself into a human body would be worthwhile in the first place...

optimusskids · Post by **optimusskids** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:34 pm

Many of the characters are written as humans that happen to be robots and are given special abiities that would surely be a standard feature.

For example vision : They all seem to be equiped with 20:20 human vision and nothing else and anyone with radar or gasp infrared seem to considred particularly gifted

Look at Chameleon in the Marvel stories defeated by infra red technology or Hound's holograms which would surely suffer from a similar flaw.

How do they see when in vehicle mode surely some kind of sensor, possibly based on radar or infra red technology, which would be able to spot Mirage, see through Houn's Holograms etc.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:51 pm

Aye, most modern fighter jets seem to have more advanced detection systems that your average TF, and better protected against electrical attacks. Plus there's surely no reason why forcefields, teleport devices and invisibility mechanisms can't be copied across to everyone, unless you're really reaching for excuses (remember, combiners, the Headmasters, Targetmasters, Pretenders and Micromasters have all been reverse-engineered in one continuity or another). In the cartoon it's possible to infer most of the characters had their special skills built in as well.

The Reverend · Post by **The Reverend** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 7:54 pm

Wow, that allows all sorts of possibilities...

'Dammit, Duros! I told you to take some Imodium before we signed on for this one!'

Starfield · Post by **Starfield** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:30 pm

Cliffjumper wrote:The Season 1 Autobots are basically superheroes - if they'd sat down and worked things out properly, Windcharger could kill most of the Decepticons without even trying that hard.

On Windcharger's filecard we are told his special power uses "tremendous energy" and he "often burns himself out." That part wasn't used on the show much, but it serves to make his super power not all that super in that he could take out the whole Decepticon army. More of a special occasion thing.

Skywarp's ability is, of course, the best

. The weakness is that he is too stupid to use it effectively. It is interesting to think about why that one wasn't copied.

Starfield · Post by **Starfield** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:38 pm

optimusskids wrote:Many of the characters are written as humans that happen to be robots and are given special abiities that would surely be a standard feature.

For example vision : They all seem to be equiped with 20:20 human vision and nothing else and anyone with radar or gasp infrared seem to considred particularly gifted

I personally explain that by remembering that they are lifeforms, mechanical lifeforms sure, but still life forms, so their inherent abilities wouldn't be too far from biological lifeforms.

They aren't usually depicted as stereotypical sci-fi robots. They can't instantly calculate to 27 decimal places, they don't have total detailed memories of all past events they can call up at will. Their brains seem to behave like human brains for the most part because the are a life form, and not like a walking computer brain like Data from Star Trek (except possibly Shockwave).

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:50 pm

Thing is, some are equipped with this stuff, so you have to wonder why they aren't carried across to more... Especially basics like radar. My favourite one is still the lame justification of Reflector's alt mode by having Thundercracker (or was it Skywarp? Is there a difference?) look through his lense. Tee-hee.

The one that always bothered me was "Heavy Metal War". Megatron gets all those superpowers, and totally hands Prime his arse. Never mind the cheating or whatever, it's a pretty bullshit idea to play a seven million year civil war by the Queensbury Rules anyway. The thing is, why does Megatron give the power chips (or whatever) back? Why not just go after Prime when he's that jacked up and kill him, especially as in the cartoonverse it's shown on several occasions the Autobots are crap when he's not around?