Sam Witwicky gets progressively crazier over the course of the Michael Bay films because he's constantly tossed around like a ragdoll in Gmod by giant robots and has brain damage, not to mention the language of the Primes floating around in his noggin. By the time Cemetery Wind tracked him down he was a mess, having smashed every appliance in his government-provided abode and drawn Cybertronian glyphs everywhere. Carly was long gone despite things looking to be getting better after Chicago and Sam spent his last days on Earth muttering under his breath about a "Deep Wang", penniless and paranoid.

 

If I were to organize the Cons into splinter factions would this work?

Megatron leads the bulk of the Decepticons which is divided between Earth and Cybertron

Scorponok leads the Nebulos faction of Head/Target/Powermasters (including Overlord unless we place him under Deathsaurus)

Thunderwing leads the Pretenders

Deathsaurus leads the Breast Force and the Dino Force and probably any JG1 Cons that don’t fit in with the other groups

Skystalker leads the Micromasters

Krok leads the Actionmasters (who are mercenaries)

Clench/Colossus leads the G2 Decepticons

 

In G1, Optimus saw the carnage before he moved on Autobot City and was physically sickened by it. Blaming himself for the slaughter, he decided at that point that he didn’t want to come out alive and that he’d stop Megatron “no matter the cost.”

 

Edit
sorry didn’t remember this was the head canon topic

 

That's why.

Him continuing to protect the human race doesn't mean he has to continue working with the government. After Cemetery Wind's crimes, he'd be a damned fool if he trusted the human government.

 

Autobot counterparts would be Optimus Prime, Fortress Maximus, Metalhawk, Star Saber, Countdown, Jackpot, and Pyro/Spark

 

Now that I've slept on it, it seems that it was only the American government that couldn't be trusted. Cuba seemed alright in TLK.

 

Everyone but Cuba is implied to be shady though. Cuba is given as the exception.

 

I love it. His mental state is also probably due to prolonged exposure to high levels of radiation. When Agent Simmons measured the radiation from Sam's direct contact with the Autobots (from probably less than 2 hours of exposure mind you), he declared that his device read 14 RADS (although it was not an accurate measurement, as the needle was going over the gauge). 14 Rads is defintely well under the lethal dose according to the USNRC, but his exposure to them was likely greater than that measurement and that's not even counting what kind of radiation exposure he received for having Bumblebee as his daily driver and for having an AllSpark shard in his bedroom closet for at least a year (or two, I'm guessing).

Given that the AllSpark shrunk down, we're not talking about a miniscule percentage of its total energy here. It was enough to burn a hole in the floor of his bedroom, bring the kitchen appliances to life, and his visions and hallucinations happened almost immediately after the incident in question. According to the MERCK manual for consumers (medical reference manual) Symptoms of late-delayed radiation damage can include progressively worsening dementia, memory loss, difficulty thinking, personality changes, and unsteadiness in walking. Sam also was the only human to have direct skin contact with the still-whole AllSpark cube, which gave off a massive burst of its energy when it struck the ground (while in his hands), bringing life to Dispensor and the XBOX of death.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

EDIT: I forgot about his exposure to the Matrix of Leadership in ROTF (and I'm probably forgetting some other item from DOTM).

 

Damn, now I actually kinda feel bad for the guy

 

Which is completely asinine.

 

I'm convinced that part of the plot was invented solely so they could do the Topspin volleyball bit

 

Cuba has a long history of zigging when the USA zags. There are believed to be numerous American fugitives in exile in Cuba and vice versa.

 

Or so that they could film in Cuba, which had just seen sanctions on it lifted around that time.

True, but that doesn't make the Cuban government any less corrupt and tyrannical.

 

The Rainmakers are artificial Outliers. Commonly considered to be Shockwave's greatest experiments, their elemental powers make them extremely deadly- when they can get on the battlefield, that is. Because of their powers, the Rainmakers consume more energon than the average bot, which makes them a sort of last-ditch contingency against any Autobot attacks.

Out of the three, Acid Storm is the most objectively dangerous. His skill in the air, knowledge of chemistry, and ability to create acid rain make him a dangerous opponent. If he wasn't content with his role as a special ops officer, Acid Storm could make some noise as a member of High Command. His team acts like siblings, with him in the role of the oldest.

Nova Storm is the middle child of her awkward family. She can heat the air around her to create plasma gauntlets, which aid in her role as the group's brawler. Off the battlefield, Nova is awkward and clumsy. She's also very protective of Ion Storm, the 'baby' of the family.

Ion Storm is the group's saboteur, using his speed and ability to wreak havoc behind the scenes. Whenever he pulls electrons out of the atmosphere, it can short out communication lines. And, if worse comes to worst, he can use all of his stored-up electrons to call up a massive lightning strike. However, he is the least heavily armored of the group.

I've always loved the Rainmakers, so this is how I imagined them. Hope to hear your feedback soon!

 

Welcome to TFW2005! Hope you enjoy it here.  

I like how you defined the abilities of Nova and Ion specifically with particle physics. As a hard sci-fi fan I love to see stuff like that.

Personally I don't like how most of the last decade of official TF fiction has simplified Shockwave to being "scientist who creates more interesting characters than himself" rather than focusing on his purely logical mind; I'd more likely use Starscream as the Decepticon scientist, who prefers to hide his knowledge in the subject because he thinks it makes him a "nerd." But your headcanon is for yourself of course and I won't tell you it's wrong.  

 

Of course! I have a lot more in mind for Shockwave, but that's coming later...   Also, love Starscream hating how smart he is. Embrace the nerd, Screamer! Embrace it!

 

About Starscream being a closet-scientist, I think another side to that would probably be that practicing science brings up memories of his time with Skyfire, making him want to avoid it even more, be it guilt over them being enemies now or wishing they were still partners.

I feel like reading a decent fanfiction about Starscream and Skyfire now...

 

Okay, apparently someone had the same idea that I've had for the longest time without being on TFW. Great minds think alike, I guess!

 

Speaking of the Rainmakers:

While all three can generate rain storms, each one can throw in an additional element to their weather. Acid Storm makes incredibly acidic rain (obviously), Ion Storm makes thunderstorms, and Nova Storm makes larger storms by generating heat.