Soldiers.

Even as a kid, I was struck while watching MTMTE, by Huffer's line: "But we're not fighters like they are, Prime!"

At the age of ten, that line conveyed to me that they were not superheroes. The Autobots were victims with war forced upon them.

Huffer showed fear, Mirage deserted. These were not superheroes.

BTW, how is Marvel TF a mess? It's more down to earth than the G1 cartoon. I will agree that we could have done without the contradicting UK/US storylines near the end but the comics were still well written and intelligent. No slaggin' Kremzeeks or Primacon here!

IDW could just as easily be called a mess.

 

Still, even in that context, I get the impression that he doesn't necessarily see Transformers as "superheroes", but rather the movies to be "his superhero movies" in the sense that they are high-concept special effects action fantasies, in the vein of the emerging "comic book" blockbuster genre.

I don't think Bay really gave much thought to the notion of the robots themselves being "superheroes", conceptually speaking. Considering he reportedly didn't even want the robots to speak at all initially, shows how he does not really view the TF's as characters so much as plot devices and foils for the human cast.

However, if this is not the case, it does cast some interesting aspersions on Bay's personal vision of "superhero" conduct. Wanton face-stealing, anyone?  

zmog