Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen News - Alice is a Pretender

Yeah I'm not too keen on the smell of Vaseline or the pretenders concept. Is this Terminator or Transformers??? I don't see how the concept makes any sense in the movie world??? I'll have to see it in action but as for right now.....I don't like it!

Man, I really don't understand why people don't get how *good* an idea this is. The movie-verse is one of the few TF worlds where the concept of "disguise" is used to its fullest, with the Decepticons having hidden amongst us for *years* in their vehicle forms (only RiD really made use of this long-term "integrated into our world" disguise concept before). The idea of upgrading to the next level and being able to transform themselves into humans so that they can move even *more* freely amongst us makes total sense in the movie universe. Decepticons could surreptitiously destroy organizations from within without having to reveal their presence, or gain information they need without risking exposure. It's potentially the most logical, cunning use of the Pretender concept *ever*.

It's too bad it goes against the original spirit of the Transformers. This is not "transforming into humans". Disguised as a human? Sure. But not transforming. That's why they have their own name - pretenders.

Whether or not it's a *good* idea as a concept isn't why it bothers people. It bothers people because to them, "Transformers" means robots who can turn into something. Bumblebee is a robot that can turn into a car. He doesn't have to wear a costume as a disguise - he turns into his own disguise. This just comes off as fan-fic hokum.

I let a lot of Transformers characters pass me by. And from what I've learned, that was for the better.

I miss the monster pretenders. I want Skullgrin, Bludgeon, and Thunderwing!

Alot of people are assuming that the human mode is the robot's alternate mode, but maybe the human shell is just a hologram of sorts, and the robot actually has a small alt mode that he/she can transform into in case something happens to the human "shell"

EXACTLY what I was thinking. And such was the same case with the original Pretenders. Pretender shell, robot inside, robot has alt mode.

As well as she doesn't transform Beast Wars style, I'm fine with it. Hologram best, skin is meh but better than BW transforming.

So you've missed out on a whole lot of Transformers that everybody else experienced and somehow everybody else is wrong for liking them. Transformers has always been more than just robots which transform into something. There's always been some kind of gimmick right back from the Jumpstarters and Battlechargers.

I strongly feel also that Alice is a Pretender. That's a sure way for the Decepticons to get close to Sam and get information out of him - what better to do that with than a robot disguised as an attractive human female? Rainn Wilson is playing a teacher, specifically one of Sam's professors.

I called this one a LONG time ago. Check my sig
I just wish I had put a date next to it.

Not gonna bother me at all. Don't really care if it bothers you.

Thank you Paxtin. Thank you.

I like it. One of my favorite things about Transformers is the branching out of the concept.

I don't believe I've ever said that anyone is wrong for liking them. I personally don't, and think the movie is going to be worse off for having them.

I expect they wanted a human female to work with the Decepticons and that they needed a good reason as to why she would work with them. Being one of them herself qualifies as a good reason I think.

I certainly don't think that the concept for the pretender came first and they tried to work out a good reason to have a pretender in the movie.

I imagine her toy would be a robot which transformed into a human female rather than the human form being a G1 style shell for the robot.

lets get headmasters in TF3 and a Quintison or how ever you spell it

Posting spoilers on the frontpage is how things have been done here since the inception of news posting here. It's been done for every cartoon series and the first movie. It's not going to change, nor should it. For long timers, a way to avoid spoilers has been provided. For new visitors, well, thems the breaks. Suck it up, move on.

I have to agree...

There is a difference between "this character appears in the movie and this is the basic details of who she is" and "Sam kills Megatron by stuffing the Allspark into the Decepticon's chest" in terms of spoilers.

If you don't want to know anything about the movie, it really is best to stay away or at least scan the front page for movie logos without really reading anything and avoiding anything that looks like it could be a spoiler.

Besides, fans are in the thick of things. By being a fan they are bombarded with information that regular people wouldn't normally see.

For those with signatures turned off.

are we sure this is legit?

Yes.

I'm calling BAY BS on this..for the all the things they can't do due to (realism) a pretender is far more of a reach then mass shifting or Dinobots.

a robot with a human skin is far more of a reach than a small cassette player growing to a giant robot or dinosaurs wandering around a city?

Wow. I can't believe I just read the entire thread. So why is it that a Transformer disguised as a human automatically means Terminator? That's ridiculous. I can't believe so many people posted there disgust because " Oh she's a Terminator". I recall Terminators being living human tissue over a metal skeleton, liquid metal, or both. Doesn't sound like a Pretender to me. Maybe she's just an android like Data? That's fine with me as well. She doesn't need an alt. mode either. I think it's very interesting and look forward to seeing how the concept is executed in the film.

A robot with (possibly) a holographic disguise of a human is more of a reach than mass-shifting (something ILM admitted the Transformers in the film do since their isn't enough mass in any of the vehicles to create the robots we see, Frenzy's head did along with a morph, and the Cube did quite obviously) or large robotic dinosaurs (as oppose to, say, large robotic scorpions)?

I love it when people complain about realism in a movie about giant alien robots that can disguise themselves as vehicles (or indeed, anything else).

Yeah but transformers are made of metal and the things they transform into are metal. It's more believable. Pretending to be organic and realistically pull it off is a stretch. You'd have to have an even greater imagination than before to let this illusion slide on the big screen.

While it's true that it takes an imagination to enjoy the Transformers (especial live action movie magic ones) as I stated above, pretending to be an organic is even more of a stretch.

Meh. I look at this as merely an upgrade to the same tech that they use for holograph car drivers and aircraft pilots.

and yet we all accepted Beast Wars...

No, we all didn't. You may have.

I sense the words "true fan" hanging on the tip of your tongue.

Ooooookay.... that's a little... messed up. Isn't this Alice character supposedly trying to come between Sam and Mikaela, along with Sam's roommate?

While I appreciate your concern for my tongue, no. A fan is a fan. I just was stating that there are people who aren't fans of everything.

How is that a stretch at all for robots in disguise? These aren't production machines made by humans from steel, they're an ever-changing & evolving race of sentient, cybernetic lifeforms who take on disguises when interacting on other worlds. There have already been TFs using human suits for disguise with Pretenders especially in the Japan material, Beast Wars brought animals, Beast Machines (a series I love, for the record) brought different meshes of organic & mechanical, not to mention the first Plantformer as far as organic TFs are concerned. Transformers has many times played on the line that the Autobots and Decepticons mistake Earth vehicles for the dominant species on the planet and in mistake end up taking on vehicular disguises. This was especially true of G1 in toon and comic form, and Animated used this notion as well. Comical as it plays out, it has a solid logic to it. However, once it became clear that humans were top of the food chain in the world would it not be obvious of a niche in disguise yet to be filled? Would they not begin to inflitrate the planet by disguising themselves as humans? I'm not saying all of them, but agents specialized for such missions, like this proposed 'Alice', do make sense. It's the next logical step that was never truly implemented well.

Well, doesn't that make a lot of sense? Evil Decepticon in disguise tries to isolate and keep close to the human being who's seeing mysterious Cybetronian visions that are sure to be pivotal to the plot?

Will be interesting to see how many reviewers reference the Terminator when talking about the character.

IMO, 'aliens/robots/humanoids as humans' has been done to death. Tho I must admit having her 'human shell' be a hologram over her robot self would be logical, and just slightly more interesting than 'alien/robot/humanoid in a human suit'. Barely, since its not likely she'll get any characterization beyond 'Decepticons are evil'.

--Moony

No offense here, but just because it's been done that way for a long time doesn't nessecarily make it right. Cartoon spoilers don't really matter since it's just one episode. And all the complaining about spoilers from the first movie is what prompted the creation of the "no movie news" thing in the first place.

I really don't understand the hard-assed inflexibility displayed here either. Is it really that hard to excercise some caution and simply refrain from titling an article "Alice is a Pretender!", for example? That was a pretty big spoiler.

You may not want to change just to appease some complainers, but how about considering it just because it'd be the right thing to do?

I hate to break it to you, but there is no "right" thing to do when bringing unauthorized info from an unnamed source. Things are done the way they are because it creates more views, more discussion, and more general traffic. Headlines make the story, and simply putting "Spoiler" in the title isn't "sexy" and isn't going to draw nearly as many people into a discussion, it isn't going to draw as many sites linking to the story and isn't going to generate as much new traffic. And generating as much traffic and as much discussion as possible (even if people don't like the story or how we presented it) is just the way the game is played.

I just wish people would have believed me when I said the same thing back on 10-13.

I have to agree with Joe Moore on this. I don't mind spoilers, but if I did, I'd do one of two things: (1) switch to non-movie news, or (2) avoid some TF sites in general.

Nanananah! BS!

IGN's posture:

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Transformers 2 Spoiler Alert:

A major SPOILER about one of the new characters in the forthcoming sequel...

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Is this so complicated? You GIVE THE NEWS but you WARN ANYWAY! That's all, you have the spoiler but you are warned about it FIRST. If you want the spoiler you just ignore the alert and keep on reading.....

It's very very easy: normal news; normal news; Alert->spoiler news, pim pam pum!