I don't remember if I ever posted this here, but another thread here reminded me of it. I wrote this a few years ago. Kinda my own take on how I'd tackle the TF origin using the Quintessons. Hate away!!! ------------------------------- So here's my take on how I'd adapt the Quintesson origin if it were used in a live action film. Please no Quintesson/Primus origin arguments... but those who want to know, yes I followed the toon more than the comics, but regardless I feel the Quintesson origin is more suited for live action. Anyway...here's my take, it's a little different and I expect some of you to hate it. First off...I would have the Quintessons be plant based life forms, highly advanced of course. I've always thought of them as some sort of plant-like race. I guess it's the green tentacles. I was also a pretty big Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors fan. That might have something to do with it as well. They would not look too much like they did in the cartoon. A five-faced floating head with green arms and a hover beam was a bit of a stretch, even for Transformers, if you ask me. As plants, they would be rooted in the ground of their planet. I'd make them a bit larger as well. Their main feature would be their central body or stalk with five large lumps or buds at the top, housing five separate "brains" or nervous system organs. These five buds also contained their sensory organs as well. While they don’t have “eyes” in the traditional sense, they saw by means of sonar, radar and x-ray. They also could communicate with each other through telekinesis. At the center, in the middle of these five buds would be an opening that would serve as a mouth, like on a Venus fly trap. They would also have several tentacles that would surround the entire creature. They would get energy from sunlight and water and minerals in the ground as well as be carnivorous. Using their tentacles, they would grab small animals that get too close and toss them into their "mouth" or they could wait for a flying creature to land in it. Now this means that they also have some sort of muscular structure to them since they can move their tentacles (arms). They also have the ability to up-root themselves and move to another location if need be. They would not be very fast at all. They would more or less drag themselves to a different location. Being the advanced species they were, they were intrigued and curious about life and the world around them. Over time, they gained vast knowledge about their world, each other and the animals that also inhabited their world, by exploring and even performing medical examinations and tests on captured animals. In the event that there were visitors from other planets, they would typically be captured and examined, or flat out just eaten for food. Any ships or vehicles would also be gathered and studied. So what would appear to be a seemingly harmless species of plant life, was in reality a highly intelligent and threatening race of plantlike organisms. Eventually, the Quintessons gained the intelligence to start building simple machines for “agricultural” purposes. These were made from raw materials found on their planet as well and bits and pieces collected from landed spacecraft and such. Metals similar to those of iron, nickel, silver and gold, as well as silicon were highly abundant on their planet. These simple machines, which started as various digging machines and such, slowly became more complex. Over time, they also began to enter the world of robotics. They built all different types of robots to help them ease and sustain their own lives. These robots were often based on the creatures of their world as well visitors from others, which in some cases produced more humanoid looking robots. Aside from agriculture, they began to create these robots for defensive purposes. After learning about the different visitors to their planet, the Quintessons concluded that some of these outside species might be a potential threat. They felt it best they have a sort of offensive in place in the even an outside threat ever arrived. A military line of robots was created for this very purpose. For some time, the Quintessons flourished on their planet with ease. Their machines and robots made it very easy for them to live. Robots would perform automated tasks which involved the plowing the earth and gathering and routing of water supplies during dry seasons, while the military robots were constantly being tested and improved upon. As with many intelligent life forms, the Quintessons became too smart for their own good. Driven by the pursuit of knowledge and the push for new technology, their robots were granted basic forms of sentience. Slowly, these robots became much more intelligent and “alive” than at first intended. Becoming aware of their own existence, these robots started becoming unhappy with the idea of being the Quintessons’ personal slaves. A revolt eventually occurred. The agricultural robots, with their now vast knowledge of the Quintessons’ fragility and life supporting requirements, teemed with the military line of robots to launch an offensive against their creators. They began by slowly poisoning water and food supplies so as to weaken the Quintessons. The military robots would later easily be able to combat the Quintessons. In their weakened states, the Quintessons were nearly exterminated by their own creations. In a last ditch effort, the remaining Quintessons managed to construct a craft and they fled their world in search of a new one. The planet now belonged to the robots. With the planet in their control, they began using the metal-rich materials within the planet to build more robots, as well as construct entire cities for them to live in. This planet would later become known as “Cybertron.” And we know how the story goes from here…both robot lines live in peace and harmony for centuries. Military line becomes greedy and wants conquest..etc. The biggest change I’d make here is have the military line develop transformation first so as to get their name, Decepticons, for their ability to trick the other robots into thinking they are common machines and vehicles. The Decepticons name the agricultural line the Autobots because they were mainly the slaves before by performing those mindless automated tasks for the Quintessons. In order to survive, the Autobots also forced themselves to develop and learn the art of transformation. Their war rages to this day… Damn..I wrote a hell of a lot more than I had intended. Yes, it’s a slight departure from G1 Quintessons, but like I said before, I think a floating head with vines is stupid. Any takers? This is probably along the lines of how I’d work the Quintessons into a live action film. Heck, this would make a pretty decent film on it’s own. All this stuff would need to be kinda summed up in a flashback or something though.
something about the quints as plants doesn't jive right with me. but it kinda makes sense since the cybertron you're setting up was originally organic. but still, it's hard for me to get on board since the techorganic image of a quint is ingrained in my mind... i do dig the rest of it though. you can even make the quints benevolent and without ill intentions toward the robots. it's just a matter that the bots became sentient and didn't want to sustain their masters anymore. that'd be an interesting twist. like the robots use covert, terror, and immoral tactics to take out their more intelligent creators. the idea that the planet was originally organic and was later turned metallic hints at the beast machines mythology, and that's pretty awesome too. i also like the origins for the names autobot and decepticon-- it puts a unique twist on things and makes sense. all in all, not too shabby! you should def write to bay