Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

[Sabrblade]

Thats like saying this guy is just G1 Optimus Prime with Optimus Primal's head

Wouldn't be the first time.

[Kurona]

Oh come on WJ, seriously? It's extremely clear that it's modelled after and is meant to evoke the G1 version of the character in colour scheme, design elements and other such traits to cash in on nostalgia. I don't even have to make guesswork here when that is literally what they say in interviews and design process videos.
I'm not meaning that it's literally the G1 toy or cartoon design. I'm saying that it's designed after G1 Soundwave - or WfC/FoC Soundwave if you really want to push that angle - rather than the actual character they're supposed to be. None of this evokes the character we saw through TFP's run in the slightest and it's just annoying that it's pandering to G1 nostalgia once again even though we have an entire other toyline for that, which judging by the fact it gets a Titan every year probably has the most budget allocated to it. It'd just be really, really nice to for once see a fresh original idea in this franchise stay that way without everything having to revert back to how it was in a cynical 20-minute toy advertisement from 33 years ago.

And I'm sure someone's gonna point out that this does represent the character it's supposed to be because WfC/FoC even though that being in TFP's timeline has never made any bloody sense and would never have been a thing if Hasbro hadn't said it was and hastily shoved it in there. Ugh.

[Deadput]

But how do we even know that he's going to break his vow of silence to the point of him going back to speaking regularly, instead of simply remaining a bot of few words? It was only one brief little line that we heard in the trailer, not a swath of chatterbox dialogue. Everyone here who says he's gone back to speaking at length like every other character is jumping to conclusions without fully knowing all of the facts yet.

So why are they not saving it for the show like they did with Prime? He might not talk much but it's clear he will be talking more though and all for the sake of G1 pandering to people who really should move on.

I can't believe were only seeing Bludgeon maybe getting a spot on a show now it's crazy to think someone as popular as him has not been used that much.

Can we get more of stuff like him and Twinferno you know characters who have never actually been in a English speaking show?

Besides the only constents that make sense (Megs, Prime, Bee for kids) How about less Soundwaves, Shockwaves, Starscreams, Arcees, Ratchets, Bulkheads, Sideswipes and maybe more of characters like Bludgeon, Thunderwing, Mindwipe, Nightbeat, Getaway or Punch the most underused interesting idea for Transformers.

How about this guy he looks cool.



Seriously though why has there never been another double spy like Punch in like ever like not even IDW have used the guy?

[Sabrblade]

I can't believe were only seeing Bludgeon maybe getting a spot on a show now it's crazy to think someone as popular as him has not been used that much.

Can we get more of stuff like him and Twinferno you know characters who have never actually been in a English speaking show?

Uhh...



Yes, that counts as a show.

[Deadput]

This is G1 Soundwave



It looks nothing like this

Looks as much as G1 Soundwave as WFc or Animated which were based around the original guy.

So yeah still ain't anything original about it besides the head sculpt way to be nitpicky.

And wow-wee another truck or car that doesn't look like it could be a disguise but at least it ain't an outdated tape deck.

Can we have more Machine Wars Soundwaves or perhaps just a new more interesting color for him like how Rid Grimlock is green.

[Deadput]

I can't believe were only seeing Bludgeon maybe getting a spot on a show now it's crazy to think someone as popular as him has not been used that much.

Can we get more of stuff like him and Twinferno you know characters who have never actually been in a English speaking show?

Uhh...



Yes, that counts as a show.

Hahahahahahahaha

Sure if you want to be specific but that was a rather bad web series not on tv with one appearance from him in which he did what again?

It does remind me of Smolder though which was the one episode I enjoyed in fact how about we get something like him with something like Barricade to be characters who turn the rule of rescue vehicles being good guys into something ironic.

[Sabrblade]

Sure if you want to be specific but that was a rather bad web series

It still counts, nonetheless. Just cuz it was bad doesn't negate it. I mean, people don't pretend that no one ever appeared in Energon despite that show being awful. We're not that willfully blind.

with one appearance from him

Dude was in three episodes, which is more than some of other the Cons from that show got.

[Deadput]

It still counts, nonetheless. Just cuz it was bad doesn't negate it. I mean, people don't pretend that no one ever appeared in Energon despite that show being awful. We're not that willfully blind.

with one appearance from him

Dude was in three episodes, which is more than some of other the Cons from that show got.

I mean it counts but I doubt anyone would say it was a "tv" show like Energon or Animated or Prime (ugh) or Rid.

Also me forgetting him being in those other two episodes sure do show how much of an impact he left.

Which was none because he did not do jack squat besides fight Ironhide a little and run off into the void that forgotten ideas end up I bet he's having a good ole time with Punch.

[Sabrblade]

Also me forgetting him being in those other two episodes sure do show how much of an impact he left.

Or how "memorable" the show itself was.

[Deadput]

Also me forgetting him being in those other two episodes sure do show how much of an impact he left.

Or how "memorable" the show itself was.

Which is what I mean.

Why can't we have shows that we remember fondly anymore or video games or heck the comics are starting to go down hill (Lost Light is the biggest waste of time and how IDW have been treating Alex Milne is unacceptable)

I have not been emotionally invested in a Transformers show since Animated and Prime before the first episode came out and pulled a cheap take that with Clffjumper which really should of been Arcee the hypocritical whiner and Bulkhead the just there guy which that and the show being relic hunts, relic hunts, relic hunts,it's entire unused potential and the show's staff's complete refusal to do what Hasbro wanted with the aligned continuity which screwed it all up like for example their denial about the Nemesis being Trypticon despite the whole point of him in FOC was to connect the games with the show but no the show staff were a bunch of pricks who got into consent infighting like what the hell to do with the Decepticons and the show being unable to raise the stakes before resetting everything to ground zero by the show's end.

All that made me detest it and you know how some people get unrationally angry about the Bay movies That's how I feel every time Prime is brought up and it gets praised for like it's the Star Wars Clone Wars of Transformers and the best thing since G1 but then again G1 was nothing fantastic beyond a standard Saturday cartoon.

I feel like I'm only watching Transformers as an obligation due to my love for the franchise at least the parts I grew up with and how there is nothing else besides Star Wars from my childhood still around.

Sorry for ranting but I'm just going crazy with how the writers seem to be unable to do anything new without making the old fans of G1 demand blood and are forced to recycle and the show's quality has to suffer for it.

[william-james88]

Oh come on WJ, seriously? It's extremely clear that it's modelled after and is meant to evoke the G1 version of the character in colour scheme, design elements and other such traits to cash in on nostalgia. I don't even have to make guesswork here when that is literally what they say in interviews and design process videos.

I dont know why you are letting Hasbro tell you what to think. It was clear from where that started that the whole G1 thing was just a marketting stunt to get some fans back who were dissing the show. Its not different than when Peter Cullen says that the Optimus we see in the films is the same character as the g1 Optimus Prime he played. We can see past the BS on both occasions. And plus, it didnt work, all fans on facebook bitched about this new soundwave saying it was not g1 enough. So in tne end, regardless what is said on paper, its our opinions that win out. And the majority of G1 fans say this new Soundwave isnt G1 for ****. And my personal verdict is that only the colours are really remenescent of G1 Soundwave. If he was green we wouldnt be arguing, which I think is proof enough of how different the design for this new toy is.

I dont know why you or others are flustered with Prime Soundwave changing since Prime is over. Bumblebee changed design, so did Starscream and so did Optimus Prime, I fail to see why Soundwave cant be a new design as well. It doesnt take away from anything, its not like Hasbro went to everyone's house and replaced their Prime Soundwave toys with this one or went to change all appearance of Prime Soundwave in the Prime cartoon and inserted this new design instead.

I look past all fiction and go straight to the essense of it, the toys. And when you look at it that way, its just another take on a familiar character, different than all the others so far, in a new style for a new line. There's a G1 BB who look different from Prime BB who looks different from RID BB. A G1 optimus who look different from Prime Optimus who looks different from RID Optimus. And a G1 Starscream who look different from Prime Starscream who looks different from RID Starscream. And finally now we have an RID Soundwave who look different from Prime Soundwave who looks different from G1 Soundwave.

I really fail to see how Soundwave should fare any different than all the other iconic characters. New show, new body, new design, new toy. Yay!

[Sabrblade]

I dont know why you or others are flustered with Prime Soundwave changing since Prime is over. Bumblebee changed design, so did Starscream and so did Optimus Prime, I fail to see why Soundwave cant be a new design as well. It doesnt take away from anything, its not like Hasbro went to everyone's house and replaced their Prime Soundwave toys with this one or went to change all appearance of Prime Soundwave in the Prime cartoon and inserted this new design instead.

I think people are upset not because they changed Soundwave's look at all, but more that the new look is too drastic a change to his look. Soundwave's look in Prime was a unique design among most Soundwave designs, being sleek, nimble, and overall stealthy with an almost ninja-like quality to it. There's really no other Soundwave design quite like it. But his new design is, by stark contrast, a rather boxy, bruisin, hulking figure that is the polar opposite of Soundwave's Prime design, despite the two looks intending to be for the same character. Not helping thing further is how Soundwave even reappeared in a Season 2 episode not too long ago with the exact same design he had in Prime completely unchanged, making his sudden new look feel even more jarring since the likes of Bumblebee, Optimus, Starscream, etc. all started out by being in their new looks from the get-go. And further unlike Soundwave, all of those characters' new designs stayed true to the spirit of their previous looks and the kind of characters they each were before and are now. Whereas Soundwave's new hulking physique, one could argue, completely betrays the silent ninja-like veneer he had before (even in the Season 2 episode), as it instead evokes the sense of his being a macho brawler, which isn't what this Soundwave is supposed to call to mind.

[Va'al]

But RID is a sequel to Prime, and in RID we saw Soundwave look like this:

[william-james88]

But RID is a sequel to Prime, and in RID we saw Soundwave look like this:

Like i said, I am looking at this from a toyline perspective. New line, new look, new toy. Its my response to every argument regarding this character/toy. Do people want them to rerelease the older Prime toy? Plus, why cant soundwave get a new body too, like Starscream did? And regarldess of it being a sequel it doesnt harm the original for fans who liked it. Is that Darth Vader scene at the end of Rogue One any less cool because that guy was once a crying Hayden Christiansen?

And, continuity wise, Soundwave had to be unchanged in that episode since he cant change body in the phantom zone (or wahtever they called it). But looks like he got out and got a new body.

[Sabrblade]

But RID is a sequel to Prime, and in RID we saw Soundwave look like this:

Like i said, I am looking at this from a toyline perspective. New line, new look, new toy. Its my response to every argument regarding this character/toy. Do people want them to rerelease the older Prime toy? Plus, why cant soundwave get a new body too, like Starscream did?

No one is saying he shouldn't get a new look at all. The thing people take issue with Soundwave's new look is how drastically the new look clashes with his previous look that he still had not too long ago.

[Va'al]

But RID is a sequel to Prime, and in RID we saw Soundwave look like this:

Like i said, I am looking at this from a toyline perspective. New line, new look, new toy. Its my response to every argument regarding this character/toy. Do people want them to rerelease the older Prime toy? Plus, why cant soundwave get a new body too, like Starscream did?

No one is saying he shouldn't get a new look at all. The thing people take issue with Soundwave's new look is how drastically the new look clashes with his previous look that he still had not too long ago.

Ding ding ding.

An opinion which is perfectly allowed. It does not detract from the toy being good, if it is, and does not make the toy automatically bad, if it is. But it is a reasonable complaint people might - and do - have.

[Kurona]

Exactly. I would have very well welcomed this Soundwave taking on a new look that fits the character, but this is so far from how he used to look that it just doesn't work. It's a cool-looking toy in a vacuum, yes - though I have no idea why 'just look at it from a pure toy perspective' is relevant at all in a thread specifically about the fiction - but it doesn't evoke the character.

And regardless of how well G1 fans accept it, it is a design meant to evoke and remind people of the G1 character and toy rather than the TFP character and toy.


Still, I think I got a little too heated earlier, so I apologise.

[william-james88]

Still, I think I got a little too heated earlier, so I apologise.

No worries, and I apologise as well since I didnt realize this was the cartoon thread and not the toy thread so my opinion of judging it in a vacum of a seperate toyline doesnt really add anything to a conversation on fiction.

But now you guys got me thinking that toys and their fictional counterparts can be in seperate vacums and that now gives me a whole new dimension to possible lists.

Like Bumblebee and Soundwave, who have different interpratations depending on the media they are on.

You know who wouldnt be in a top 5 fictional takes on Optimus list? RID Optimus Prime.

[Sabrblade]

You know who wouldnt be in a top 5 fictional takes on Optimus list? RID Optimus Prime.

I dunno, I thought Fire Convoy was pretty cool.

[Kurona]

Still, I think I got a little too heated earlier, so I apologise.

No worries, and I apologise as well since I didnt realize this was the cartoon thread and not the toy thread so my opinion of judging it in a vacum of a seperate toyline doesnt really add anything to a conversation on fiction.

But now you guys got me thinking that toys and their fictional counterparts can be in seperate vacums and that now gives me a whole new dimension to possible lists.

Like Bumblebee and Soundwave, who have different interpratations depending on the media they are on.

You know who wouldnt be in a top 5 fictional takes on Optimus list? RID Optimus Prime.

Certainly; a "Top 5 Optimus Primes" list would likely be very different to a "Top 5 Optimus Prime Toys" list. A lot of us agree that Cybertron/Galaxy Force Optimus Prime was one of the best toys of Optimus, right? But I doubt the fictional character it represents would be anywhere near a Top 5 list. I think it'd be interesting to look at cases where both the character and the toy are considered excellent; I can already think of Animated Lockdown, MTMTE Ultra Magnus and indeed TFP Soundwave for that category.

[william-james88]

I can already think of Animated Lockdown, MTMTE Ultra Magnus and indeed TFP Soundwave for that category.

yeah, those are all excellent. What will be toughest is to write a good title for these. I have lots to do now, so I woulnt be able to tackle this in a while.

I would say that RID Drift would be a good addition as well and so will TR Windblade. And MP Grimlock

I think the total opposite would be TFP Megatron. My favourite take on the character but a toy I am not a fan of (until he was turned into a shark haha).

And nice joke Sabr!

[D-Maximal_Primal]

But RID is a sequel to Prime, and in RID we saw Soundwave look like this:

Like i said, I am looking at this from a toyline perspective. New line, new look, new toy. Its my response to every argument regarding this character/toy. Do people want them to rerelease the older Prime toy? Plus, why cant soundwave get a new body too, like Starscream did?

No one is saying he shouldn't get a new look at all. The thing people take issue with Soundwave's new look is how drastically the new look clashes with his previous look that he still had not too long ago.

Ding ding ding.

An opinion which is perfectly allowed. It does not detract from the toy being good, if it is, and does not make the toy automatically bad, if it is. But it is a reasonable complaint people might - and do - have.

I second the ding ding ding. Yes new toy, but the change is jarring, doesn't fit the spirit of this version of the character, and I feel will be some sort of slapdash thing with a transition between looks that ends up being a bit jarring. No hate for the toy, which is an alright toy, but the change is a bit too drastic, like changing G1 Bumblebee from a nice little scout into a little fat brawler that loves to fight and isn't built for his scouting anymore

[PrymeStriker]

Coming from the bug-eyed creature over here that still considers Transformers: Prime, after all these years of controversy and debate, to be the best Transformers cartoon so far......I don't, really have a problem with Soundwave's new model?

[Deadput]

But RID is a sequel to Prime, and in RID we saw Soundwave look like this:

Like i said, I am looking at this from a toyline perspective. New line, new look, new toy. Its my response to every argument regarding this character/toy. Do people want them to rerelease the older Prime toy? Plus, why cant soundwave get a new body too, like Starscream did? And regarldess of it being a sequel it doesnt harm the original for fans who liked it. Is that Darth Vader scene at the end of Rogue One any less cool because that guy was once a crying Hayden Christiansen?

And, continuity wise, Soundwave had to be unchanged in that episode since he cant change body in the phantom zone (or wahtever they called it). But looks like he got out and got a new body.

They don't have to make a new toy of him you know.

If they can't have him be a major character without reverting them into G1 and losing all the originality they had before then they could just use someone else.

[william-james88]

But RID is a sequel to Prime, and in RID we saw Soundwave look like this:

Like i said, I am looking at this from a toyline perspective. New line, new look, new toy. Its my response to every argument regarding this character/toy. Do people want them to rerelease the older Prime toy? Plus, why cant soundwave get a new body too, like Starscream did? And regarldess of it being a sequel it doesnt harm the original for fans who liked it. Is that Darth Vader scene at the end of Rogue One any less cool because that guy was once a crying Hayden Christiansen?

And, continuity wise, Soundwave had to be unchanged in that episode since he cant change body in the phantom zone (or wahtever they called it). But looks like he got out and got a new body.

They don't have to make a new toy of him you know.

If they can't have him be a major character without reverting them into G1 and losing all the originality they had before then they could just use someone else.

Thats a very legit point. And yeah, that does tie into what Kurona was saying, about g1. It could have been a new non G1 character, like Steeljaw for that season. But they went the g1 route with Soundwave and 2 other g1 combiners and cyclonus. So I can se how that could peeve people off who liked the show's originality.

I personally love the idea of seeing the same characters in different styles being reinvented so I dont mind as much. But yeah, it could have been someone else. Still "G1" but less known without changing the soundwave we loved.

It could have been skyshadow, or the rest of the monsterbots that would have been cool.