The comic is better than the cartoon... because...

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Halfshell
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The comic is better than the cartoon... because...

Post by Halfshell »

Please note – this is solely my own opinion, and for the larger part entirely tongue-in-cheek. Apart from the part about Ultimate Doom, I really hate that saga. So, without further ado…

HDD Enterprises Inc, proudly presents…
Brend’s 101 Reasons the (UK) Comic is better than the cartoon!!!

Sponsored by the "Tigatron Is A Schmuck" Campaign

1. Death’s Head. Heard of him, yes?
2. Skids got more appearances when in limbo than in the whole cartoon run
3. Art errors only last one panel
4. When errors do happen, it’s easier to say “blame Delbo/Budiansky” than to spend months theorising on why one character has three conflicting origins.
5. Unicron was a dark god, not a monkey’s science-project.
6. The Transformers were created by a god as instruments to guard against Unicron. NOT created as consumer goods by five-faced Weebles.
7. The Dinobots weren’t kept in a cupboard
8. The Dinobots weren’t used almost exclusively for comic relief
9. Ravage was allowed to talk
10. Grimlock became Autobot leader.
11. AND wore a crown!
12. Decepticons could work their way up the ranks to become leader
13. Ratbat died
14. Rumble and Frenzy retained the toy colour schemes
15. Arcee actually had a fairly logical explanation
16. Shockwave was a badass, not a paperweight
17. Megatron was shunted out of the spotlight as often as possible
18. The Matrix wasn’t just a magical bauble that somehow had mystic powers.
19. They still called the character “Jetfire”
20. Metroplex was actually the size of a city, and people noticed when he was out and about
21. When new characters were introduced, they generally had an explanation for their presence.
22. When new characters were introduced, they generally had an explanation for their Earthen alt. modes
23. Impactor
24. And the Wreckers
25. The origins of the Aerialbots and Stunticons didn’t directly contradict the existance of the Dinobots
26. For the most part, the Witwicky family were left out of the plot
27. We only ever met Daniel once
28. Wheelie appeared only once (I think…)
29. Transformers: The Movie is out of direct continuity
30. Characters can (and do) actually die hideously in regular storylines
31. Megatron admitted he was an idiot
32. The guff on top of Sherman Dam was fiction
33. You can read comics anywhere… without drawing attention to yourself
34. Galvatron was the same colour as his toy
35. The Protectobots weren’t kept locked in a secret base where the other Autobots wouldn’t have to talk to them
36. Carnivac
37. Bludgeon
38. Thunderwing
39. Nightbeat
40. Soundwave was allowed to talk normally
41. Wreck-Gar referenced Blockbusters
42. Darkwing
43. Dreadwind
44. The Big Broadcast of 2006 was fiction
45. Carnage in C-Minor never happened
46. Nor did Nightmare Planet
47. Five Faces of Darkness, ditto
48. Double Dealer was in it
49. We got glimpses of the future without having to kill off all the existing characters
50. Quick Switch was in it
51. Devcon wasn’t
52. Galvatron was (for the most part) an indestructable psychotic genius, not a jelly brain.
53. And so was the other Galvatron
54. The Insecticons are actually insect sized
55. Raul (from Make Tracks) was never in it
56. Nor was the bint from Auto-Bop
57. Rumble never turned into a tree… no wait, that was actually quite funny…
58. City of Steel never happened
59. Nor did Day of the Machines
60. We were never told “Nothing defeats the Devastator”
61. And very few things ever actually did!
62. We got Emirate Xaaron instead of Alpha Trion
63. There wasn’t a reset button hit after every damn story
64. There was a letters page…
65. … hosted by Grimlock…
66. … and then Dreadwind!
67. Spike was kept out of it until it became unavoidable
68. The Decepticons had a leader that actually showed emotion (Scorponok) rather than just being a machine waging war for war’s sake
69. The Autobots sometimes lost
70. And other times actually surrendered!
71. A Prime Problem never happened
72. Getaway was in it
73. And he never did…
74. The Battlechargers got characterisation... okay, they were characterised as Beavis and Butthead, but still... *
75. The Ultimate Doom never happened.
76. And as such we were never subjected to Dr Arkeville
77. Mixmaster was the leader of the Constructicons
78. Subgroups weren’t forced to go around in an exclusive clique all the time, and as such actually mingled…
79. Buzzsaw was in it. Properly.
80. Most of the Nebulons gradually got killed off
81. Rumble and Frenzy were actually shown to have different abilities
82. It lasted longer than the cartoon
83. They didn’t pretend that life on Cybertron stopped for four million years whilst waiting for the others to wake up
84. Ships actually got given names
85. The spacebridge wasn’t left unguarded for 90% of the time
86. Blurr dies
87. So does Cyclonus
88. Twice!!
89. Combat Colin
90. Richard Branson never appeared in the cartoon. No, wait… this was why it’s better isn’t it…
91. Some of the squishies in the comic were actually vaguely three dimensional characters. Okay, Blackrock possibly was.
92. You actually got the feeling the war encompassed more than just those stranded on Earth.
93. The Autobots actually took the effort to get the Ark airborne again
94. Rodimus occasionally managed to come across as a likable chap, rather than a self-pitying whinger. Note, I said “occasionally”
95. We got to see Galvatron team up with Megatron
96. We got to see Galvatron get half of his face blown off
97. By ROADBUSTER!!
98. Hoist never went Hollywood. Even if Skullgrin did…
99. Megatron never tried to conquer Earth by creating an immovable weapon on a remote part of the planet.
100. When bored of it, you can’t use the worst cartoon episodes as emergency toilet roll…
101. You can’t get the cartoon delivered free to your inbox from the tfdatabase.cjb.net Yahoo! mailing group. [/gratuitous plug to ensure inclusion on Cliffy’s site]

* - yes, not good. Uhm, swap that for another just after 41 - "And Bob's Full House"... yeah, that'll do...
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Re: The comic is better than the cartoon... because...

Post by Reflector »

Originally posted by Brendocon
27. We never met Daniel
Time Wars.
74. The Battlechargers were in it… okay, you win on that one…
Starscream's Ghost. I shouldn't be bragging, actually...
77. Mixmaster was the leader of the Constructicons
When?
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Re: Re: The comic is better than the cartoon... because...

Post by Halfshell »

Originally posted by Reflector
When?


Space Pirates.

Uhm... I'll amend...
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Never forget

Post by Kylaer »

Never forget that, alongside Grimlock being Autobot leader, Ratbat was Decepticon leader! And probably got more accomplished than Megatron, by the way.

Kylaer.
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Post by Sixswitch »

All valid points. But.... But.... I'm too lazy to read the comics. Yeah, that's it.

-Ss
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Re: Never forget

Post by Halfshell »

Originally posted by Kylaer
Never forget that, alongside Grimlock being Autobot leader, Ratbat was Decepticon leader!
Nooo. Ratbat was never THE leader of the Decepticons. He assumed command of a group of them after being sent to audit them. The fact that he was a rep from High Command was the only reason anybody followed him...
And probably got more accomplished than Megatron, by the way.


102.
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Re: Never forget

Post by Ozz »

Originally posted by Kylaer
Never forget that, alongside Grimlock being Autobot leader, Ratbat was Decepticon leader! And probably got more accomplished than Megatron, by the way.





Megatron in comic was still better than Megs in cartoon.

The same about Blaster, Shockwave, Dinobots, Jazz, Bumblebee, Soundwave...
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Post by Reflector »

Originally posted by Brendocon
Space Pirates.
Mmmf. Just about the only story I haven't read...
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Post by Shrapnel Clone »

Am I the only one that does not like Combat Colin?

Oh, and day of the machines has one good part: where the Autobots wreck those machines. Prowl's acid pellets rock!
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Post by Halfshell »

Originally posted by Kickback
Am I the only one that does not like Combat Colin?


Okay... Robo-Capers. Or Rocket Racoon.
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Post by StoneCold Skywarp »

Humph the cat....what?

Combat Colin it is then...
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Re: The comic is better than the cartoon... because...

Post by Nevermore »

Originally posted by Brendocon

25. The origins of the Aerialbots and Stunticons didn’t directly contradict the existance of the Dinobots


Correct. Instead, the existance of the Technobots and the Terrorcons from the "Headmasters" mini directly contradicts the Aerialbots' and Stunticons' origins. :D

30. Characters can (and do) actually die hideously in regular storylines


And occasionally resurrect...

35. The Protectobots weren’t kept locked in a secret base where the other Autobots wouldn’t have to talk to them


No, they showed up to witness Prime get blown into pieces over a video game, then participated in Prime's funeral, then returned to hunt Blaster as ordered by Grimlock, caught him and finally let him go after he offered to sacrifice his life for some annoying kids, and then they disappeared for more than 40 issues and returned only in time for Hot Spot to blow himself up...

40. Soundwave was allowed to talk normally


Actually, I like the way cartoon Soundwave talked...

55. Raul (from Make Tracks) was never in it
56. Nor was the bint from Auto-Bop


I always prefer "Auto-Bop" over that terrible "Car Wash of Doom" comic which had, in essence, the same stupid story but was missing the Blaster/Soundwave fight...

67. Spike was kept out of it until it became unavoidable


Unfortunately, Carly was missing, too...

68. The Decepticons had a leader that actually showed emotion (Scorponok) rather than just being a machine waging war for war’s sake


Do I really have to remind you what an idiot Scorponok/Lored Zarak was before Furman took over the US comics?

85. The spacebridge wasn’t left unguarded for 90% of the time


No, the Decepticons actually bothered to send Autobot reinforcements to earth on their own...

98. Hoist never went Hollywood. Even if Skullgrin did…


No comment. :D


In short: The cartoon had some nice episodes ("The Master Builders", "The Immobilizer"", "Prime Target", any episode written by David Wise) that were, if nothing else, at least pure fun and didn't leave their viewers with that terrible "pain in the a**" feeling that was so characteristic of most of the Budiansky run.
The Furman stories, both UK and US, were, of course, a different pair of shoes.

Which doesn't mean I like **** like "City of Steel", "Autobots Spike", "The Autobots Run", all season 2 episodes written by Donald F. Glut, or "Carnage in C-Minor" either...

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Re: The comic is better than the cartoon... because...

Post by Luda-Chris »

Originally posted by Brendocon

86. Blurr dies
87. So does Cyclonus
88. Twice!!
[/size]


Top 3 reasons I dislike the comic over the cartoon
Cyclonus & Blurr......
Gods among Machines
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Re: Re: The comic is better than the cartoon... because...

Post by Halfshell »

Originally posted by Nevermore
Correct. Instead, the existance of the Technobots and the Terrorcons from the "Headmasters" mini directly contradicts the Aerialbots' and Stunticons' origins. :D
How?

Never heard of parallel evolution? Can't cope with the notion that in the four million years the Matrix was gone from Cybertron, the Transformers came up with combiner tech?

Think how quickly after being awoken it was before the Matrix gave the info the Buster. How do you know the Matrix didn't tap the information FROM the existance of the Predacons, Technobots and Terrorcons?

I see no contradiction.
And occasionally resurrect...
This is relevant how?
No, they showed up to witness Prime get blown into pieces over a video game, then participated in Prime's funeral, then returned to hunt Blaster as ordered by Grimlock, caught him and finally let him go after he offered to sacrifice his life for some annoying kids, and then they disappeared for more than 40 issues and returned only in time for Hot Spot to blow himself up...
Yeah, but at least they weren't kept locked up...
I always prefer "Auto-Bop" over that terrible "Car Wash of Doom" comic which had, in essence, the same stupid story but was missing the Blaster/Soundwave fight...
Who dissed the episode? I dissed the dumb human!!
Unfortunately, Carly was missing, too...
Seek therapy... ;) Or get out more.
Do I really have to remind you what an idiot Scorponok/Lored Zarak was before Furman took over the US comics?
Furman still saved the character, G!
By Luda-Chris
Top 3 reasons I dislike the comic over the cartoon
Awh, dude. I actually thought of you when I wrote that. Feel honoured... I would have put them higher ;)
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Post by Quick Switch »

50. Quick Switch was in it
Well, that's a positive.

Weren't characters 'phased out' with no explanation, echoing the TV series? I believe Rob Jung mentions the Seacons (for example) were introduced with great to do, yet vanished within six issues. Ditto Ratbat and his cronies.
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Post by Auntie Slag »

Hey! you forgot to mention Jessie, Buster's Girlfriend.

She rocked! what a chick. Stuck by Buster even through the harshest moments, looked good working out (yeah, even when I was seven I could appreciate that), she didn't take no sh** from no-one, and she could ride a bike. Always by Buster no matter how crazy he got.

Now Carly on the other hand, damn, wasn't she just a pain in the arse? you could see where that relationship was going straight away. I tell you, that girl was a slut waiting to happen. I don't need to point out the glaring omission of the mother in TF:TM. Spike's travelling the universe, and where's Carly? probably whoring it up in a strip joint somewhere, Soprano's style.

That girl needs a bitchslap.

You can imagine the amount of late night's Buster must have had, Spike coming to his house at three in the morning complaining about Carly until the sun comes up. Buster's gotta sit there at the kitchen table and take it all while his no good space jockey brother spills his heart out time and again. But Buster, he's ok, he's got it sorted, because Jessie's right there, probably making the late night/early morning coffee for them with toasted hot cross buns with melted butter an' everything, coz she's that kind of woman.

Jessie rocks, Carly's a Jerry Springer guest.
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Post by Halfshell »

Originally posted by Quick Switch
Weren't characters 'phased out' with no explanation, echoing the TV series? I believe Rob Jung mentions the Seacons (for example) were introduced with great to do, yet vanished within six issues. Ditto Ratbat and his cronies.


Ratbat was killed. And the Seacons turned up in Earthforce.

And I do believe this list was entitled "reasons the comic was better than the cartoon"

If I'd wanted to point out flaws the comic has, the list would feature Jose Delbo's name fifty times. Methinks you've missed the point. You can't counter the argument by saying "oh well, it sometimes did this, which is the same as the cartoon did. but just not as often.

Ye gads... I'm turning into Cliffy...
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Post by RID Scourge »

The Seacons are killed by underbase Starscream.

http://comics.tfarchive.com/issue50_page22.shtml
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Post by Quick Switch »

If I'd wanted to point out flaws the comic has, the list would feature Jose Delbo's name fifty times. Methinks you've missed the point. You can't counter the argument by saying "oh well, it sometimes did this, which is the same as the cartoon did. but just not as often.

Ye gads... I'm turning into Cliffy...
A thousand pardons!

No, I haven't missed the point. I just had some errant thoughts that appeared when I responded to the topic. Methinks you were being too sarcastic!

Who said I was countering the argument? I just made the point, "hey, didn't the comic phase out characters echoing the TV series?"

I'm not stupid enough to think anyone wowed by comic is going to convert anytime soon. It's about as fruitless as getting Computron to stop his rampant attacks on G1 with every animation title under the sun. :)
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Re: Re: The comic is better than the cartoon... because...

Post by Ozz »

Originally posted by Nevermore


Do I really have to remind you what an idiot Scorponok/Lored Zarak was before Furman took over the US comics?





What do you mean?
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