Just how stupid is Blitzwing?

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Cliffjumper
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Just how stupid is Blitzwing?

Post by Cliffjumper »

Let's put all the other massive, massive flaws in "Triple Takeover" to one side for a moment, like the Autobots haring around a mysterious concrete maze so fast they lose control, or the way Megatron basically lets everyone else off on the condition they don't ever plan to chuck his badly injured arse off a space shuttle in 20 years' time. Let's concentrate for now on what a complete moron Blitzwing is. Okay, he's obviously a high-functioning moron, hence his bizarre run of luck at turning a wussrugby coach's advice into briefly successes. Let's put aside his shooting of the scoreboard and wibbling at points as a side-effect of this personality disorder too.

No, let's focus on his argument with the Constructions. With Astrotrain off making trains (anyone else find the scene of that one computerised train gamely trying to pull itself out of a pile of wrecked comrades has a strange pathos to it?), Scrapper claims the reason they followed Blitzwing's weird plan was for a share of joint leadership, despite the fact that this would probably mean there were more Decepticon leaders than Decepticons to be led (IIRC this was after they stopped just padding out all scenes with as many Reflector drones as they fancied). Blitzwing tells him to **** off, seemingly just to be a dick.

Constructicons then form Devastator. Yeh, really thought that through, didn't you champ?
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Terome
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Post by Terome »

This sounds awesome.
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Terome
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Post by Terome »

One trip to Youtube later and I can reaffirm my opinion that this is awesome. And a whole lot more surreal than most proudly odd Adult Swim-type shows these days too. How's that bit where Blitzwing keeps stuffing that tiny football coach into the giant locker, or when Prowl finally makes his move on Optimus at the end by clumsily offering to be sat on?

Bizarre from start to finish. Top marks!
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Shrapnel Clone
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Post by Shrapnel Clone »

I actually think that part of the episode is awesome. Blitzwing is all brawn, no brain. It makes him less human, which is good for a Transformer.

Zone defense... How the hell did he come up with the maze thing?
"I dunno about you, but whenever I get confused I always mutilate the person next to me."
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Prime's laser headlights are another classic bit. And the amazing pipe to the bottomless lake.
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Terome
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Post by Terome »

That little pipe caused a lot of trouble.

It was damn brutal in places, too. The flattening in the labyrinth and the indiscriminate shelling of the city were surprising, especially as they took place within minutes of hilariously ineffective violence like the 'absolute zero molecules' and the laser headlights.

And murder seems to be all that Ironhide can think about. I think he's drunk.

ADDITIONAL: And that bit where Blitzwing talks in the coach's voice looks like he's mocking the helpless man with a pitch-perfect ventriloquism act. Sheer brilliance.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Aye, Skids and co. really get ****ed up. It was nice of the Constructicons to go to the effort of basically rebuilding them in robot mode (with weaponry) for the throne... The whole thing seems to be a bunch of Decepticons doing their level best to prove that, cack-handed moron he may be, but Megatron's still the most qualified Decepticon leader. Maybe some sort of office sweepstake to see who could cock up in the most ludicrous fashion imaginable.

I also like the way Astrotrain goes to all the effort of a coup to become Decepticon leader, and then ****s off and does something he could have done anyway, showing no interest in leading the Decepticons whatsoever.

Still probably one of the ten best episodes, though...
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Terome
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Post by Terome »

I find the ones that kinda make sense difficult to sit through.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

The Starscream's Brigade/Revenge of Bruticus double-header is up there for mad bits too... There's:

- Starscream jamming personality components into WW2 wreckage and getting fully working Transformer commandos capable of taking just about anyone with a combined mode to boot (I especially love the vague justification that they're military vehicles for this reason; sadly they're military vehicles of totally different types)
- every other line contains the phrase "Jazz and Cliffjumper"
- Prime explains what's going on to Megatron and while the Decepticon's thinking about it Prime just shoots him
- The Decepticons exile Starscream and the Combaticons to an asteroid within flying distance of Cybertron.
- Bruticus throws Shockwave randomly in space, and he just happens to collide with Starscream.
- The Protectobots appearing out of nowhere in a shed in town when every other combiner team's had an elborate origin story (or 27 if we're talking about the Constructicons)
- The Combaticons are giving the combined Autobot/Decepticon troops an absolute pasting on Cybertron, until Prime yells "Cover me!". At which point Sideswipe and Prowl just shoot Blast Off down, and Onslaught, Swindle and Brawl run up to Megatron, allowing him to slowly shoot them in turn. Prime, meanwhile, does nothing.
- The Earth moves so close to the sun that everyone would be dead anyway, even if the planet didn't actually go in. The fatalities are ensured when Sideswipe stops and makes a wacky joke anyway.

On the other hand, "Revenge" is pure VHS rental nostalgia, and it's rather nice to see Prowl and Sideswipe get to do something...
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Post by Shrapnel Clone »

I find the cloning bit from RoB a bit odd. The Insecticons have cloned before (Plague of Insecticons), but didn't need no stinkin' cloning tubes back then.

I appriciate the episode for it's above-average dialogue though.
"I dunno about you, but whenever I get confused I always mutilate the person next to me."
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Yeh, at least with that one you get some cool bits as trade-off - the fight scenes are pretty well animated (Prime's random two-gun posturing is ace), the Combaticons are actually pretty nicely defined as characters (and have cool voices, which doesn't hurt - they're so much more interesting than Bruticus), the random choice of Sideswipe and Prowl getting to go along and help is nice (like the way Bluestreak inexplicably gets a meaty role in "Trans-Europe Express"). Even Shockwave's tolerable in that one, though the episode does serve to show that the only reason his guardianship of Cybertron generally goes okay is because nobody really tries to take it off him most of the time...
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Post by inflatable dalek »

I do prefer the more barking season 2 episodes to most of the functional but dull stuff in the first season (which is basically everything except the multi-part stories and Heavy Metal War). It's a shame Astrotrain and Blitzwing's joint leadership ended so soon though as their plans were probably the most logical and sensible the cartoon ever did.

Anyone else remember the releases of the videos that all had movie poster based cover art regardless of what was on the tape? It used to be hugely confusing in the video shop.
REVIISITATION: THE HOLE TRUTH
STARSCREAM GOES TO PIECES IN MY LOOK AT INFILTRATION #6!
PLUS: BUY THE BOOKS!
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Summerhayes
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Post by Summerhayes »

After reading this, I dug up my season 2 DVDs and gave Triple Takeover a watch. It was. . . odd. In a good way. Properly mad.
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Notabot
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Post by Notabot »

I too had to watch it out of morbid curiosity. My brain bled.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

MOAR POINTS 4 BLITZWING!!!
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Summerhayes
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Post by Summerhayes »

also; a road maze? When your enemies can fly? And are robots?
And when I saw the throne of bodies, I thought that was epic until I realised they were just unconscious or . . . something. Did it even mention they were missing before they weren't missing?
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Post by Jaynz »

While the 'magic restructure' bit annoyed me about Starscream's Brigade, I think it still holds up overall. (The constant "Jazz and Cliffjumper" in dialog was odd, considering that both toys were now out of the line at this point.) You do have some good characterization in here, Starscream actually shines for the most part and manages to be an honest-to-God threat for once.

For me, it's just a pity that the artwork wasn't quite up to some of the story in places (the combiner fight at the end). Devastator forming was particularly bad, and the details on Bruticus are just missing for that entire fight. Then, the final ick, Menasor consists of Motormaster getting new shoes and gloves.

The 'I'm this close to Cybertron' in 'Revenge of Bruticus' is supposed to be deliberate. Some episodes ignore the fact that Cybertron is in orbit around OUR sun at this point (something completely forgotten by the movie and later), while other episodes (such as this one) actually make a point to remember it.
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Vin Ghostal
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Post by Vin Ghostal »

I actually love Triple Takeover. Sure, it's stupid, but it's the G1 cartoon: stupid is the order of the day. Make a list of the better individual episodes and you'll probably get these:

Divide & Conquer
Heavy Metal War
Traitor
Auto Berserk
Prime Target
The Killing Jar
Dark Awakening
Webworld
Fight or Flee
The Dweller in the Depths
Call of the Primitives

So it turns in at around #12? Not bad for such a ridiculous venture.
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Post by Halfshell »

Vin Ghostal wrote:Call of the Primitives
It looks pretty.

That is the only positive thing I can say about that episode.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

I just find it so weird the way they siphon off all the 'primitives' and then wipe them out in less time that it took to do the rolecall in the first place... On the other hand, there's another hilarious microcosm of Predaking's epic fail vibe: looks awesome, says something awesome, is promptly defeated in three seconds flat.

It's just such a shame that the purdy animation is wasted on a diabolical Glutfest, while "Dark Awakening" looks like Hanna Barbera.
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