My main inspiration came from a stopmotion called prime time 2. The characters were different iterations of optimus and it was the energon one specifically that made me think of this. Id check it out to get a better idea.

But I was thinking about a dude who wears a ears and a headcrest and turns into a truck so people see him as stronger than he is. I am settling on the name Mantek but if you wanted to this could really be anyone, its just Zeta and Sentinel while not as stoic as optimus were too respectable.

 

another round of how Autovolt would do these characters.

Elita-1 - definitely the female lover of Optimus Prime, should be based on Olivier Mira Armstrong as a strong willed, no-nonsense father to her men and women. Can be compassionate but is a bit more ruthless than Optimus and at times despite loving him, does find him to be soft at times.

Chromia - Maybe i dunno have her be coloured in chrome. I think the rough and tumble brawler she was shown to be in G1 is fine. Wasn't that big on the IDW version.

Moonracer - I love the idea of a carefree sharpshooter girl so keep that, just make her cuter really.

Firestar/Flareup/Novastar - Definitely make her a southern belle like Rogue. Can be a bit bitchy but not as much as her IDW counterpart but totally keep the Firestorm like hair/fire thing going on that's awesome.

Glyph - Cute nerd girl of course, though give her the TFA head design but of course with a G1 toy accurate faceplate.

Road Rage - split personality of nicest gal you'll met and bitchy angry road warrior psychopath. I love the idea of this difference in her attitude based on her alt. mode, do something with it.

Tracks - Basically the Male Rarity from MLP. The totally melodramatic drama queen fashion designer who despite everything is actually a legit nice well rounded character. So actually not far off from his G1 cartoon depiction.

Smokescreen - young and impulsive like Prime Smokescreen but is a bit of a gambling addict who lost control over his life, so a twisted version of the G1 Gambler, always having to put his life on the line.

Bluestreak - Swerve's best buddy and co-owner of Swerve's bar. I mean if Roberts idea for Bluestreak became Swerve.....make that into his character and actually do something other than just being another face in a mutiny.

Trailbreaker - FORCEFIELD WEILDING RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC FROM IDW EXCEPT HE LIVES LONGER.

Roadbuster - the somewhat insane thuggish yet somehow loveable merc with a heart of gold, I think of him as the Transformers answer to the Punisher.

Whirl - the totally insane, thuggish, outright sadistic yet tragic ex-watchmaker turned bomb-maker he is in MTMTE.

Skids - MTMTE version all the way.

Powerglide - the show off aerial daredevil he was in G1.

Windcharger - I always felt his angry magnetic powers would work better as a young kid appeal character honestly like around Bumblebee's age or so. He's easily flustered when his powers go array.

Pipes - Junk collector and of course boat fetishist.

Huffer - should be whiny, pesimistic and snarky like his G1 self or Rattrap but give him more to do than just carry Prime's trailer that one time, make him more like the PCC design, make him a welder and another engineer, like a rival to that Wheeljerkoff hehehehehe.

Brawn - Hated him in G1, would rather he became like Bill from King of the Hill, a lonely sadsack past his prime, no longer one of the strongest bots at his size.

Gears - Decepticon Gears of course, the only likeable Gears.

 

I like pretty much everything you've posted in this thread. The Shockwave idea is an old one, but it fits him so well, blending his various incarnations in a unique way. The Seeker trio's relationship is rather brilliant, illustrating their key character traits and tying them together in an elegant, tragic way. Starscream's relationship with Megatron is another excellent idea: the fact that Starscream feels that all the lines he crossed and people he betrayed amounted to nothing would be a hell of a motivator. As for Megatron himself, your description is rather poetic. Finally, having Reflector be an inversion of the three monkeys (see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil) is a damned brilliant idea, one that I'm ashamed that I didn't come up with myself.

 

I think they should make Reflector like TDKFDTL from Kids Next Door, where they always speak in unison and appear together as a trio.

 

Three Autobots of earth in my continuity:

Hound- grizzled war veteran in charge of the earthbound when they land. He's had 60 years on this backwater mudball without seeing any action and... it's kind of grown on him. Sure he was bored at first, took up scouting duty just for something to do, but while he scouting he fell in love with the scenery and still takes drives 'scouting' to this day, but now he's looking for new pictures to bring back to base. Some say he's gone soft but if the decepticons ever do arrive, he'll show them just how soft he is.

Aoe Hound taking traits from g1.

Mirage- back before the war, she lived the good life. A famous stunticon racer, she ran in the same circles (pun intended) with many famous functionist senators and generals. So how did she end up on an autobot outpost on earth? It turns out she was a spy; sending information from those senators and generals she was partying with back to the Autobots. The decepticons eventually found out and the autobots moved her somewhere she's unlikely to be discovered. Still, it's hard for them to trust someone whose best friends were their former oppressors.

Jazz- Was once Optimus' right hand man. Optimus inspired the troops, Ironhide trained them, Prowl ran the logistics, but Meister did what the autobots couldn't be seen doing. Assassinations, blackmail and more were committed by him or one of his badgeless. But something changed him after Tyger Pax. He resigned from his duty and asked to be reassigned somewhere quieter far from the war. Renamed Jazz after a style of earth music, it's hard to connect the laid back communications officer with who he once was but everyone deserves a second chance, right?

 

Jazz should always be the cool, laidback yet still highly competent one.

 

I would like to see a version of Wheeljack who's both a Wrecker and a scientist but I think you're blending way too many things that would make the character too much of a joke to be taken seriously as a Wrecker.

Anyway...

I'd like to see Galvatron, Scourge and Cyclonus together again except this time...

Scourge is an evil Optimus Prime clone like RID1 and transforms into dragon like Cybertron but he's still Unicron powered like G1.

Cyclonus would have the intelligence, origins, and vehicle mode of G1 but would now also have a robot mode loosely resemblingly Armada Cyclonus with his color scheme.

 

Great thread idea, OP!

I've always thought it'd be neat to have a version of Grimlock who visits planets famous for their extremely hostile wildlife, documents the fauna and, in case he finds a species strong and ferocious enough to pose a threat, challenges the fittest specimen to a duel in his beast mode. If the critter proves worthy or, Primus forbid, even manages to defeat Grimlock, he modifies his alt mode to match the animal, and continues on his quest in search for knowledge and the ultimate beast form. Think a robotic cross between Steve Irwin and Randy Savage. One moment he's sneaking around under a bush, observing animals as he whispers factoids into a dictophone built in his thumb, the next he's spitting mad fire and trash talking as he poses menacingly.

I also had this one idea for Shockwave to initially be an artificial intelligence created by Starscream that he plants into some human milliary intelligence so it can conquer Earth for him while both him and the other Cybertronians are absent, only for Shockwave to gain conscience Skynet style and want not just planet Earth, but the entire known universe for himself. He also may or may not be obsessed with wanting to know what it's like to be alive, or being an autonomous roboting being that wasn't created by anyone else.

Lastly, I don't know why but I always find the notion of Buzzsaw as a sadistic humanoid fembot torture master amusing.

 

Guess I’ll do a few more for now:

Crosswise - an Autobot bounty hunter working with Evac, he arrives on Earth hunting Thunderblast. The destruction of his ship and his incomplete mission to capture her keep him on the planet, but he is at times reluctant to follow the other Autobots due to his occupation and how little official commands ever affected him prior to this point. While his main focus is at first on returning to space and to his next job, he gradually begins to open up to the war effort and participate more often in Autobot activities on Earth.

Prowl - a sub-commander on Velocitron, he serves his idea of logic and justice absolutely, putting him at odds with many of his colleagues. Frequently showing a lack of sympathy or empathy, his nature was born from letting his emotions cloud his judgment during a battle that caused his mentor Checkpoint to be killed. Vowing to never allow this to occur again, his decisions on missions typically result in him seeking the simplest solution rather than the best one. This is how he wound up killing Sunstreaker, while he was under the control of Bombshell. His actions and continued poor judgment will ultimately cost him, as Bombshell’s activities continue and Prowl is forced to clean up his mess.

Sideswipe - primarily based on Armada Wheeljack, Sideswipe was Sunstreaker’s brother. He holds a deep hatred for Prowl for killing him and secretly defects to the Decepticons, acting as a mole inside the Velocitron-based Autobot forces. He leaks information to Bombshell after he says to Sideswipe that Sunstreaker had seen the light and was willingly working with him. His exacting of revenge on Prowl is not a matter of if, but of when.

Nightbeat - based on Armada Sideswipe, he works under Prowl and admired him greatly. Often defending him against critics, Nightbeat nonetheless is concerned about Prowl descending further into darkness and his actions having increasingly dire consequences for the Autobots as a result.


Thunderblast - being given a bounty for stealing an experimental rocket launcher on Velocitron, she escapes to Earth to seek protection under Starscream, with Crosswise pursuing her. While her original intent was to wait her hunters out and quietly leave the Earth-based Decepticons with any goods she could swipe, Crosswise’s persistence forces her to extend her stay on the planet. Regardless, she still sees this as an opportunity to swindle a few prizes from any Cybertronians she can successfully flirt with. Her main priority even through this is herself alone.

Bombshell - an Insecticon working with Kickback and Shrapnel on Velocitron. He possesses a device to allow him to temporarily control others, and is using this to assist Bonecrusher in a project by effectively abducting various bots on the planet. He was attempting to do just this with Sunstreaker before being found by Prowl. While he escaped, Sunstreaker was made to stay and was executed by Prowl for what he concluded was collusion with a Decepticon.

Bonecrusher - once a member of the Constructicons who formed the sole Combiner (up to this point) in the war, his group disbanded after Scrapper was killed and Scavenger defected to the Autobots. Long Haul found himself on Earth, Mixmaster and Hook work under Thrust on the Decepticon-held moon of Gigantion, and Bonecrusher wound up here, yearning for the days of greatness he had as part of Devastator. And so he hatches a plan to return to these heights. Enlisting the help of Decepticon scientist Wideload and the Insecticons, he has Bombshell take control over various bots and bring them to be experimented on in hopes of forming a new combiner. This effort is not easy, but after much time they will succeed. With Bonecrusher and Wideload managing to program Steamhammer, Sledge, and Duststorm to merge with them, a new combiner will be born: Constructicon Maximus.

 

I would like to see Thunderblast again but as a more serious character instead of just being a joke. She can still have a crush on Megatron but tone it down so she doesn't have literal hearts in her eyes every time she looks at him.

I'd also like to see her fight against Elita-One. Optimus Prime's love interest vs. Megatron's love interest just sounds like a good idea but she does have to be a more serious character so she can actually come off as a threat in that fight.

 

Haha, I also had a similar idea for stump ol' Brawn. Add a hint ot Spotlight Kup where he's an old fashioned but who refuses to upgrade himself like those lazy young whippersnappers and you could have an intiguing washed out veteran type character how can't deal with being left behind and constantly gets into drunk fights. I have to wonder though, if Brawn's Bill, would Blurr be Boomhover?

Just rememberd a few more old ideas of mine:

Loosely based on Bayformers Optimus, I think it'd be fun to have an Autobot leader, be it OP or someone else, to be a self-serving, manipulative conniver with Falstaffian and Tartuffian characteristics as well as sadistic tendencies who just pretends to be a noble, virtuous hero who wants to ensure the freedom of all sentient beings. Extra points if he's seemingly all about equal rights and elevating the oppressed and the disenfranchised all the while only wanting to exploit them, and loves to guilt trip his opposing fellow autobots by claiming they just want to perpetuate inequality and lack empathy (even though he himself is a vitriolic narcissist who gleefully enjoys hurting and humiliating others).

I also enjoy ambivalent characters that have seemingly contradicting character traits or are forced to do things opposite to their personality and come in terms with it. I've always had this idea for Arcee (not sure why her in particular) where she finds all life sacred and is horrified by the concept of death, but continues to fight 'cons either because she thinks it's the right thing to do or out of personal vendetta that proves stronger than her principles. The catch would be that she refuses to use long range weapons, since she doesn't want to trivialize death my reducing it to pressing a button, and wants to physically feel it every time she has to kill someone both as a reminder that taking a life is no trifles and a form of self-flagellation. Her main conflict would be wanting to reach her goal while also not wanting to grow numb about the atrocities she has to do and lose her "humanity". I guess it's kinda cliché, but I think it has the potential for a good character in the hands of a good writer.

As far as Unicron goes, I think it'd be interesting to have him as a regular, normal sized Cybertronian who is a sort of charismatic occultist who soon gains a huge following regardless of 'bots, 'cons and NAILS alike. Authorities would be confused rather to regard him as a serious threat or as a useful, debaucherous diversion for the plebs so they don't think for themselves, but he'd surely have his own, probably not very wholesome, agenda. I like to imagine him as a mix of Aleister Crowley and either Charles Manson or Frank Zappa, depending whether I want him to be a barely redeemable asshole or an eccentric anti-authoritarian with issues.

Lastly, I think the more similar Runamuck and Runabout are to the titular characters of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, the better.

 

I had a similar idea. I imagined a united cyberton under the Builder Faction that essentially fight Unicron's heralds from several shapeshifting alien races including corrupted cybertronians. It's like heaven vs hell or the Imperium of man vs Chaos
The cybertronian Imperium's Emperor would have been bayformer prime without the Optimus, especially in the last two movies were he fights for his own kind and isn't afraid of human rules. He would cooperate with humans but would punish the whole planet with the Matrix's scorn if they turned on then like in Age of Extinction.

I also thought about primus as a normal cybertronian leader in an undisclosed point in time fighting on earth kind of like what happened to Mata Nui in Bionicle.

And of course there was the idea I already mentioned where Zeta Prime dies and his second in command is left in charge. He is left in charge of the matrix but cannot open it like Ultra Magnus but he thinks he is entitled to it's emmense power. His obsession with becoming a prime leads him to wear prime like armor along with a mouthplate, a crest and pointy antennas.

As he terrorizes the Autobot troops with abuse, they lose again and again to the Decepticons due to the lack of cohesion and distrust. Young cadets Orion Pax and Ironhide secretly plot a mutiny against him with the rest of the crew to restore order to the Autobots and turn the tides of the war. Orion Pax gets into a David and Goliath death match with a scared crew trying to stay out of their way. Apparently Mantek kept the matrix in a chamber and Orion gets a hold of it and emerges as Optimus Prime and royally kicks his ass and ends his reign of terror and unshers a ray of hope for freedom, the right of all sentient beings.

Mantek, injured and humiliated gets captured wandering the wastlands by decepticons and is taken before Megatron.
He explains that he will tell Megatron the Autobot's secrets on one condition.

His scientists make him a Prime. Mantek wishes to get revenge in the Autobots and Optimus as his new nemesis, his Nemesis Prime.

 

I like both variations. The first one is cool because he's still rasonably pragmatic, as what leader wouldn't place the survival of its own people over others? He is a strong ally willing to cooperate, but doesn't take shit or turn the other cheek of other threaten to turn on his race.

The second one is really cool too, it's where I had envisioned Budiansky taking his tyrannical Grimlock before he just gave up due to Hasbro constantly nagging him, and the whole conflict between him and Blaster was just resolved with "lulz, lets work together against the Decepticons like we should've all this time".

 

Yeah, I mean in such a story, earth would be so small in comparison to them, they wouldn't fear humans and wouldn't disguise themselves. If they're scared, tough luck, plenty of other alien races go through it all the time you'll be fine. I think he would be a benevolent character but would still be biased towards humans and probably not take them as seriously as he should, particularly world leaders, not impressed by nuclear weapons. Especially when Unicron is so much worse. But I think this would be his justification as he'd be protecting them as you would a child, he knows what's best when they don't understand the gravity of possibly having the next stage in their evolution as a planet eater's foot soldiers.


I like the second one because it gives a story of how Orion and Ironhide met, since they are old friends as well as give a fresh variation on the Nemesis Prime origin.

 

Starscream - A noble heart tied to a cause he no longer believes and bound to a master he has come to despise. His code of honor will not allow him to abandon Megatron nor disobey a direct order, but he's prone to malicious compliance and will follow an order to the letter, but no more.

Ultra Magnus - Once known as Optiumus Pax he was brother of Orion Pax, hero of the Quintesson incursion, and intended next bearer of the Matrix of Leadership, when nearly killed shortly before activating it he allowed his brother to assume his identity to give hope to a desperate people. With the recent development of the M.A.G.N.U.S. armor that servers as both life support and power armor he now serves as his brother's right hand and confidant.

Optimus Prime - In actuality Orion Prime, a simple librarian before circumstances required him ascend to leadership. While he presents a strong front, the secret of his true nature has left him with great self doubt.

 

Mistress of Flame - Rather than have her be a massive nothing of a character, I thought it'd be interesting to have her be a rather insidious antagonist. Someone who looks down upon Autobots and Decepticons alike, or any of the Cybes that took part in the war. Ungrateful for the many sacrifices the Autobots made so Cybertron could be free / unconquered, believes Autobots should be exiled, doesn't even regard the Decepticons as the same species as her.

Basically, the war ends and through games of politics, she becomes a head figure on Cybertron, who shows disdain towards the people who protected and made Cybertron what it is, views them as beneath her and beneath the 'enlightened' who blindly follow her and her ideology. Many of the younger Cybertronians who were able to be born in a post-war world, who didn't really have to struggle to survive, or fight for their lives, also tend to look down on Optimus and the Autobots while claiming they were 'just as bad'. She'd have shades of classic Jhiaxus, but far more emotionally driven rather than driven by logic. She's not super powerful, she's just someone who's incredibly driven by her toxic ideology, good with her words, knows how to manipulate people.

And also fix the Liege Maximo.

 

Megatron is Gustavo Fring from Breaking Bad and Starscream is Walter White. Optimus Prime is Aragon from Lord of the Rings.

 

Prowl- He'll be one of the original main cast(it has been TOO long since he appeared in cartoons(Animated Prowl doesn't counts)). They could make him like the IDW version, just a little more morally upright. His IDW version was too dark.

Ironhide- He too has not appear in cartoons for a very long time (his most recent incarnation was in Bayverse). He should be like the tough and old bot, something like Animated Ratchet and the original G1 Ironhide. Also, he is Prime's good friend.

Megatron- Instead of the cliche mwahahaha villain, Megatron should be something more interesting, like the IDW one. His origin would be similar to the IDW too, and he would be a cunning and mysterious character, more of Animated Megatron than G1 Megatron.

Orion Pax- I rather him as a police officer than a clerk. A clerk sounds really boring.

Bumblebee- I am fine with the Bee now.

Starscream- Make him like the Aligned version, but make him more of an opportunist than a scheming backstabber. Also, if possible, he should have some good in him. He could be a once loyal servant, but after becoming Megatron's second-in-command, he realised that Megatron was not fit to be leader and sought to overthrow him.

Soundwave- Silent, but deadly. Something like aligned Soundwave. However, I liked the idea of Soundwave being a good person actually, and maybe in the end, teamed up with Prime.

Wreckers- PLEASE MAKE A WRECKERS SERIES ABOUT THE ORIGINAL WRECKERS PLEASE HASBRO!!!

Dinobots- Ruthless and awesome.

Thundercracker- The IDW version was close to perfect. Just don't give him a dog. It's weird.

Arcee- Less badass, more awesome. Stick to Prime's Arcee.

Swerve- MTMTE's version was the best thing ever!

Whirl- The Transformers version of Deadpool.

Hot Rod- MTMTE's version, but less irritating.

Wheeljack- A weapons engineer and ex-Wrecker.

Shockwave- Cold, logical and scary. Make him like the aligned one, just a little more backstabbing. Have him betray Megatron.

Windblade- A cityspeaker and a morally right person.

Smokescreen- A charming and persuasive con-man who ended up working for Prowl as an agent. Something like James Bond.

Quintessons- aliens who invaded cybertron. As a last ditch plan so to be able to successfully conquer Cybertron, they erased memories of themselves to everyone on Cybertron.

Ultra Magnus- MTMTE's version, just without that Minimus Ambus thing. I rather him as a individual, not an armor protecting a white Prime(that sounds ridiculous to me) or a tiny dude with a (what the heck???) mustache.

Brainstorm- Mtmte's one again.

Perceptor- While I loved the idea of Percy being a sniper, I think the idea of Percy being a scientist and a sniper should be balanced.

Inferno- Make him a really strong and powerful dude who ended up working as a fireman.

Red Alert + Trailbreaker/Trailcutter/Trailblazer/whatever name he calls himself + Overlord- I know this is annoying, but MTMTE's version.

 

I'm sure you mean RODIMUS Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet. Rodimus is more likely to have a way with the femme-bots than Optimus.

 

I think I'd switch up the IDW dynamic between Optimus and Megatron, and by extension the Autobots and Decepticons, with Optimus being the one leading a revolution against a corrupt caste system and Megatron being the one upholding it. Prime, initially Orion Pax, would be a dockworker who founds what's initially a Cybertronian civil right's movement to end the caste system. Megatron would be a general in the Cybertronian military who leads a coup against the current government, led by Sentinel Prime, when some reforms to change the system are being considered. Megatron's attempts to violently stamp out the anti-caste movement would eventually turn into open civil war and rebellion.