Wow, this thread is way metaphysical.

 

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THanks! Yeah - I'm old fashioned, just like in TF I like G1 (but Animated is slowly taking the 'throne'...) I prefer AD&D to today's D&D where everyone is "Unaligned"' or "Evil", no inbetweens. Alignments made a colorful world and you could pretty much fit everyone into some category or other.

Although I hate the series with a passion, Armada did show a possible reason why Screamer is the way he is - he just wants to be recognized and respected for his abilities by his leader, whom he idolises. Sadly the series never took him further from that point... Deprived of recognition, I could see him go down the road to the treacherous backstabber we know (and love). It's also the reason he'd never be a good leader - he could never be content if he ever achieved his goal, he had to get more, go further - things which'd lead to his downfall soon enough. He's cursed to be the eternal second-stringer.

 

True, so true. I think that's in his TFA bios of not being content in him being very good at what he does. The AD&D alignment system was quite sophisticated and really good compared to both pop and professional psychology personality systems now that I'm etching to be more in the later. Still, I'm "professional counseling" versus "psychology" as the later are the "[psychological] testers" of the mental health community (at least historically) while the former (me) are more the treaters/therapist typies. I say that to say "DON'T ASK ME LOTS ABOUT TESTING!!!" Of course if I was in there, I really could have some super awesome TFs all over my house!  But still, just think of "nuetral evil" compared to a "beaver" or "golden retriever" disposition...  ["Megatron, as the Leader of the Decepticons and Claimant on the title 'Emporer of the Universe,' represents an 'otter' character style which means..."]

...also, anyone got any good tips on how to keep the twins standing strong in Safeguard mode? I got them together here in the motel on the desk and they seem like they'll topple any minute! It's a really neat "powerlinx" mode as the half-half is vertical instead of horizontal (see Energon), but he seems really top heavy on those spindly thighs. Anyone got any ideas on how they handled this? I almost want to have him just sit so I don't here a "thump" later tonight!

 

Um...I have nickle and a bottlecap, will that be enough?

 

Not sure if somebody else has said this, but whatever.

I think that this is the point of Animated: that both sides are rather equal. The way I see it, this is the personality traits.

Autobots: Good actions, poor morals.
Decepticons: Questionable actions, admirable morals.

In a way, you need to have both negative and positive traits for every character. I see that every character has a twist to their personality and why they are like they are. Optimus has a damaged ego, and is almost strictly to the book. Megatron will stop at nothing to get what he needs, but does not seem to be the "ruthless killer" sorta mentality (like he says about himself: freedom fighter).

If you really wanna get down to why it might be like this, its probably so they can sell more toys. If you get attached to each character (since they all have redeemable qualities), you will probably want to buy their toy.

 

How do Decepticons have 'admirable' morals? xD

Still, I see your point, and that's a good way to put it in a sweet, short answer.

 

I'd just like to say to all you Bumblebee haters Nanosec knew he was aging and couldve stopped at any time.

One character whose motives has really intrigued me was Magnus. He repaetedly refuses to believe the decepticons have returned and its not until he has indisputable proof. He was willing to lie to his people and was fine with it, looks like we found something he CAN deal with

 

Oh, it's so! It's so!      

 

He also thinks that ordinary citizens are expendable.

 

UM is without a doubt a character whose depths we have yet to see. I'll put forth the notion that perhaps being in charge of a galaxy wide military industrial complex that reports to beaurocrats has caused him to become much like IDW's Sentinel Prime, and browbeaten and forced to follow the rules of the people instead of military protocol, turning him into a psuedopolitician. He knows his forces are minimal, probably after millions of years of deregulation, and after millenia of dealing almost exclusively with Autobot councils or whatever that he's become a morally altered character.

Knowing that words of not just a major Decepticon insurrection, but one led by Megatron who had found the Allspark would send the civilian government into chaos and caused widespread panic would not be tolerable. Covering it up would've been seen as the best political choice, rather then the best military or moral choice. Matters are compounded when the Decepticon uprising starts on the edge of Autobot territory, which would put UM in a very binding spot, a military leader with almost no military trying to keep order in a role that has been altered and compromised over centuries of social degredation.

His cannot be an easy burdon.

 

The admirable morals I was sorta talking about was the way they view their actions as justice, so maybe 'morals' was the wrong word. Like JazzIsBack used the word Motive, which is probably better for my point. When I was talking about admirable, I was referring to Megatron in the fact that he is only fighting because of Decepticon oppression from the Autobots, instead of just HAHAHAHAHAHA CONQUER CYBERTRON KILL PRIME!

 

Autobots = jerks? I don't quite think so. :C Maybe Sentinel, though. Not even the Decepticons are as jerkish. This is a kids show, so it's not like they're going to be hardcore jackasses. :/ Also, if they killed off the Autobots in the way you described, the show would end pretty darn early. ;/

-Optimus: ?
-Ratchet: is old and cranky. He's not a jerk or mean, he's just old, tired, and hurt.
-Prowl: Maybe a little jerkish, but it's part of his "loner-ninja" personality, imo.
-Bulkhead: ?
-Bumblebee: he has his jerk-like moments. Actually, he was hardcore mean in "Autoboot Camp", but beyond that, I can't think of anything else that could really define him as a jerk. Bee is just a bit immature, but that's why he's the kid-appeal character. But doesn't he also try to do something good in the end? Most jerks don't do that.

 

Completely agree. I mean yeah Prime, and BB can be dooshy but other then that they aren't jerks, like at all. Then again Sentinel is ALWAYS a doosh but still.

 

Bee can't be a huge jerk anyway! He'd lose his kid-appeal and become the fangirl magnet (Chicks dig jerks. No wonder G1 Screamer has so many fangirls).
And yet, the jerk/fangirl equation doesn't work so well with Sentinel. He just gets me so mad sometimes. @__@

 

I think it will be interesting to see Waspinators realization that Bumblebee was a dupe and that it was ultimatly Longarm Prime/Shockwave that was the cause of what happened. I think Waspinator should take out Shockwave.

 

Hehe. You know it. ^^

 

Actually, I agree with the opening post. I like Animated too... but there are weird lapses in the writing all over the place. Every episode has a few little WTF moments for me. The fact of the matter is that it's not actually that well-written... some of the core ideas are great but often the dialogue leaves a bit to be desired. I think one of the big reasons for the success of the show with the fandom is the way it doles out the nostalgic fan-service and references.  

And yeah... sure... we get it... these Autobots are flawed heroes. However, that doesn't account for some of those awkward moments, when the show is caught between "kids' show writing" and "smart writing for adult fans". That's a difficult line to walk, and sometimes they fall off.

Honestly, I don't like the Autobots of Animated very much. Prime is a dick... and worse still, he's a boring dick. You can accuse the G1 series for playing Prime as a 2-dimensional paragon, but at least his character had some warmth, and could inspire confidence and an old-fashioned sense of heroism. TFA Bumblebee's just annoying. Bulkhead is the same joke over and over, though at least he's likable. Prowl has his moments... I think Ratchet is the only one I consistently enjoy though.

Heh... reading this post, you'd think I hated the show. I actually enjoy what they've done quite a bit. But I find I often end up liking the -ideas- in an episode better than the execution.

zmog

 

TF Energon and Cybertron had just as much, if not more fan-references then Animated, and they're two of the lowest regarded shows. So I don't think that theory really holds true.

 

A good point, a very good point. Was just watching the series and saw this one and my impression was this: "Oh, this is where the good superhero finds the Achilles' heel of the villain." Certainly not a perfect strategy, but I don't think there was any SAFER way to take out Nanosec for both himself, the A-bots, and the populace...