So they'd become a combination of the Swarm and Unicron.

The Oracle is probably kicking itself right now.

 

Why were Star Saber and Elita-One done so dirty in IDW1? Just knowing that one is a religious fanatic while the other was basically made a foil for Windblade doesn't make me want to touch those comics with a ten foot pole.

 

How were they “done dirty”? Just a different take on the characters, isn’t it? Better than re-hashing the same old thing, IMO.

 

I agree some characters can use fresh new takes, but that's something I would rather do A-listers and B-listers, particularly characters that have remained stagnant throughout the years - Armada Starscream really is the perfect example of how to reinvent a character in a compelling way. On the other hand, Elita-One and Star Saber didn't get to make as many appearances (well, outside of Japanese media, in the case of SS), so maybe their fans didn't particularly want those obscure characters to return as villains but to find what they loved about them. Also remember that there are takes that just won't sit well with everybody - just look at Bay Optimus.

 

Last I've seen no one really had an issue with IDW Elita, but more with the fact TAAO was cancelled before the rest of her story could be properly told.

And Star Saber has the same issues as Bayverse Prime, a potentially interesting new take that is ruined by not going anywhere and not being treated as a drastic change of the character that the story itself would address how he got to that point or how he would get away from it.
And there's also the fact he only appeared in like 5 issues with a page-time of less than 1 and then just died.

 

With Star Saber, I've come to understand that his was based on how his toy was handled in the UK fanfics.

After the Marvel US comics ended the UK continued on a bit, but then also stopped. In the UK there was a very dedicated fanbase of the UK comics that kept the flame alive and wrote their own TF stories. (Roberts was one of these and he wrote the excellent Eugenesis.) These UK fans knew that there were TF toys in Japan, but they didn't know anything about them. Only their names and what they looked like. Not the character Takara had created for them nor their depiction in the cartoon. Just the name and the look. And so they filled in the blanks, made them new characters.

And apparently in those UK fanfic they characterised Star Saber as a sort of bad guy. Roberts built on this for IDW1.

 

That's pretty interesting. All of a sudden, Star Saber being evil doesn't sound so random.

 

Has Hasbro or other producers ever uploaded full scripts from some of their series? I recall one blogger had uploaded a copy of TFTM's first draft, but I haven't found any working link.

(I would have made a thread for that on the Series forum, but I figured people have seen enough of my face as it is)

 

Is rescue bots the Heart and soul of the aligned series?

 

I think I stopped watching around the start of season 4, but I remember that it remained consistently good, unlike Prime. RID wasn't that much to write home about either. So I'd say definitely.

 

They have been a few places where scripts have been posted, like this one:

Sunbow and Marvel Productions Script/Storyboard Archive: MP 700 The Transformers, Part 1 1984 - 1985 (Sunbow Productions/Marvel Productions)

Sunbow and Marvel Productions Script/Storyboard Archive: MP 4034 The Transformers The Movie (Sunbow Productions/Marvel Productions)

Sunbow and Marvel Productions Script/Storyboard Archive: MP 700 The Transformers, Part 2 1986 - 1987 (Sunbow Productions/Marvel Productions)

A lot of the scripts are in "Sunbow format" (at least that's what Flint Dille called it in one of the featurettes in the Shout Factory releases of either G.I. Joe or Transformers) and they tend to be longer than scripts of some 90's animated shows that I've read.

 

Thanks! It would be interesting to compare them to scripts from more recent shows to see how much screenwriting has changed over time!

 

Narratively, what's the purpose of Hot Rod intervening in Optimus' and Megatron's battle? Like, why does that need to be there? It doesn't really inform his characterization (if it's supposed to tell us that he's reckless, we already know that and it kind of put the character in a bad spot for some of the audience.

 

Narratively, it gives Optimus an out for why he gets killed. He didn't want to hit Hot Rod. Megatron didn't kill him fair and square. The ultimate good guy lost because he'd rather risk his own life than risk accidentally shooting someone else.

Thematically, I do think they dropped the ball on this. I would've liked to have seen Rodimus have more guilt about his part in Prime's death. His character is often marked too much by his lack of confidence or doubt in his leadership abilities, but I feel he should've been more defined by his guilt.

 

I’m really surprised if any questions to this

It’s there to give the character A sense of guilt over his actions and a sense of responsibility

I mean it’s really no different than what they did with Spider-Man and uncle Ben or Batman and his parents…….

 

But that doesn't happen? As @Preach Starscream pointed out, Rodimus' doubts are about his leadership ability and living up to Optimus' legacy, not that his actions potentially got Optimus killed. He doesn't express guilt for that at all aside from saying "forgive me."

 

Well I’ve pointed out before there’s a disconnect between season three and the film. Most people forget that season three was being produced at the same time as the film was

So they were working very likely from the same script we see in the marvel comics adaptation in which we’re hot rod was not involved in the fight at all

But I would argue the guilt is there for duration of the film. I feel it was a prime motivation for the character as we saw him strive to improve and do better till the end of the film

 

Despite the rash decision, I think Hot Rod's actions are also intended to exemplify his bravery and willingness to take on Megatron himself in order to help a fellow Autobot.

 

Again, the draft scripts develop this aspect better (there is a brief moment with Kup and Arcee trying to comfort Hot Rod as well as other neat character moments), whereas in the movie, the lack of development combined with the rather stilted voice performance (yes, this shows I'm not a fan of the celebrity casting choices in the 86 movie, either because I either find them miscast or I found their performances lacking) really doesn't do Hot Rod any favors.