TransFormers ‘84

Discussion in 'Transformers Comics Discussion' started by Grimlock528, Mar 31, 2019.

  1. justiceg

    justiceg Well-Known Member

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    Really liking this series. It’s certainly appealing to *me* just fine! :) 
     
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  2. Bass X0

    Bass X0 Captain Commando

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    At this point in the franchise, there should be no need for new generics given the hundreds of existing characters who are going neglected. A Transformers comic book where every face is recognisable to the long time fan is more entertaining than one with new generics. New characters are okay as long as they do something with them. I want to be rewarded as a hardcore fan by being able to see all the Easter eggs and nods, where a newcomer wouldn’t know an obscure cameo from a completely new generic.
     
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  3. jamarmiller

    jamarmiller S.K.A.R. LEADER

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    One hundred percent agree
     
  4. Bass X0

    Bass X0 Captain Commando

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    If they threw in the Diaclone color Constructicons, Brazilian Mini-Bots or even the Bat-Robo toys as meaningless cameos in a crowd scene that fulfil the same purpose as a generic, I’d appreciate that a whole lot more. Those generics aboard the Ark in #0 mean nothing to me. They are never seen again, have no relevance and don’t do anything in the scene they do appear in.

    For the record though, what I am calling a generic is a design that the artist created themselves to fill a crowd scene. I’m not saying everybody has to have a significant role, I just want every Transformer to have had an existing source such as a toy or previous appearance somewhere else. I don’t care that there are generic humans and aliens in stories.

    In one crowd scene for The Ultimate Guide, there was a green G1 Ironhide. That’s all he was, but he stood out to me as I recognised the design as being Ironhide in green. That too means more to me than a completely made-up design the artist created. Of course, some generics do go on to have larger roles than was initially intended. Squadron X was made up of Marvel generics, that’s welcome. But as I said, I don’t see the need for new artist creations. Yeah, I would deny the artist that small joy of making up their own design.

    705B2D73-8784-4135-972C-DA9E72546996.jpeg
     
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  5. the oaf

    the oaf Well-Known Member

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    No... I think it's a nice touch that the comic shows how only a handful of characters survived the Decepticon assault and subsequent crash in a good enough state to be reformatted... makes it more believable as to why there were only 18 Autobot survivors on earth at the beginning. You can apply that to the the Decepticon attackers too, I reckon.

    I wonder what they did with all the corpses?
     
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  6. Bass X0

    Bass X0 Captain Commando

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    But why couldn’t those who did not survive have been existing recognisable faces, even if they were so obscure that only hardcore fans such as ourselves would recognise?
     
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  7. Rojixus

    Rojixus Celebrating 40 Years of Transformers!

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    Where do you think they got all the materials to build Omega Supreme?
     
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  8. UKBrawn

    UKBrawn Intergalactic Tin Opener

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    I see both arguments for generics. I like seeing the faces I recognise too and it does add to the story.

    But I also think generics make the universe bigger, especially for "in the past" shots. Like during early scenes of the war where so many bots were destroyed and the populations so large, the chances of the bots we know all hanging out together and surviving each battle makes no sense. The Chances of them even knowing each other is remote enough until the war thins them out and they are left as the ones still online.
     
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  9. the oaf

    the oaf Well-Known Member

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    Like who? Remember, this is G1, and I think all the known characters from that era were used at one time or another in the comics.
     
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  10. Joey Slick

    Joey Slick Whirl is a Transformer.

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    At first thought it seems like the well is dry. But I went to TF Wiki for help and many have never appeared in Marvel or Marvel UK.

    You could use the three Omnibots, a large number of Micromasters (albeit enlarged like in IDW), many of the Pretenders (inner robots only), japanese versions like Stepper and Artfire, some of the Action Masters like Skyfall or Mainframe or Charger, Euro exclusives like Thunder Clash, etc.
     
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  11. jamarmiller

    jamarmiller S.K.A.R. LEADER

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    yep, and again the diaclone color guys !
     
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  12. G.B. Blackrock

    G.B. Blackrock Autobot Ally

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    I think this is just a matter of differing tastes. For every fan who feels as you do, I foresee a fan that gets upset that Roller Force got killed off and is now unavailable to do anything else, ever. It's just not possible to please everyone.
     
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  13. Coffee

    Coffee (╭☞ꗞᨓꗞ)╭☞

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    The generic argument bugs me because having them in the background just so hardcore fans can recognize them is so limiting. We've seen so many micromasters and what have you in these comics that even just picking obscure guys to fill a crowd limits what can be potentially used with them. Once someone like Jazz or Stepper appears in a background scene set in Iacon, that's it, Stepper is in Iacon. You can't decide to include him in a space adventure without creating that hole in continuity. Essentially, having the artist come up with their own designs (which also gets a thumbs up from me because it objectively imbues more creativity into the panel) avoids problems like Bluster or Elita in Megatron's Origin, Spinister in RID, etc. Even if it's a minor error, it's still an error that the author/editor decides to handwave. This is something that is far worth criticizing over not getting to see cameos.

    Granted, I don't think the issue people have with the background generics is the fact that they don't get to flex their nerd ego by recognizing them, I think its more to do with the fact that most background generics are just obviously created to be in the background. They look more like the artist's interpretation of what a Transformer should look like, rather than the designs actually being included. As such, it kind of stands out. There isn't enough blockiness or bulk to a lot of the background generics, and I think it shows when contrasting with folks like Bumblebee or Ratchet. The same kind of goes for OCs or characters from different facets of the brand. Flamewar and Shadow Striker, for example, stand out waaaayyy too much compared to Tracer, Hyperdrive, or Blackjack. There is a lack of consistent style at times, and I think that's what makes some of these background generic designs so jarring for some people. The Rohan design for that one generic that shows up frequently is an example of the type of generic I wouldn't want to see.

    I still prefer that artists have the opportunity to fill the background with their own creative designs, but I do think more can be done. Maybe if an artist did some more research on diaclone or microman design aesthetics the background generics would blend more seamlessly.
     
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  14. Haywired

    Haywired Hakunamatatacon

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    I'd rather have generics in comics instead of the forced cameos. They're a way for the artist to get more creative and they can result in interesting new characters. Straxus used to be an expendable OC generic. Impactor too.
     
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  15. G.B. Blackrock

    G.B. Blackrock Autobot Ally

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    Back in the day, fully-detailed non-toy characters like Straxus and Impactor were very much the exception. Most generics were... well, generic. Very bland and quickly-thrown together. (I'm not forgetting, of course, that even Straxus shifted details between his pair of US appearances)

    That said, I imagine most TF artists today would do things a bit differently, unless specifically trying to mimic the old Marvel comics.
     
  16. Haywired

    Haywired Hakunamatatacon

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    Marvel generics could be truly terrible, but I think modern TF artists have better grasp of coming with new robot designs.
     
  17. Prime Noble

    Prime Noble Well-Known Member

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    Hubcap, Swerve and Bumper never appeared in the Marvel comic and the one panel where Sixshot appeared, he looked generic anyway.

    I like seeing known characters like Acid Storm apoear in the background. Though I grew up on the Marvel UK comic and it was my head canon, I wished they'd used the generic Seekers from the cartoon to bulk up the Decepticon forces so seeing another Seeker like Acid Storm in the G1 comic universe pleases me greatly.

    That said, I wish Netflix and the Bumblebee movie killed generics or less prominent characters than Cliffjumper, Skywarp, Ultra Magnus and Impactor because otherwise, both of those could have tied in with various incarnations of G1.
     
  18. Grimlock528

    Grimlock528 Well-Known Member

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    Six shot appears in Marvel?
     
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  19. Rojixus

    Rojixus Celebrating 40 Years of Transformers!

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    His jet mode gets a brief cameo in The Headmasters miniseries.
     
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  20. Nova Maximus

    Nova Maximus Well-Known Member

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    Oh, well that's a shame. I've been thinking about reading the US/UK run and was sort of hoping to see him in it.