In the BW episode Dark Designs Waspinator took a blow to his head and starts to think he is the
Insecticon Shrapnel. What if this wasn’t a delusion brought on by a head injury? What if he was Shrapnel? Truth be told I’ve seen two fics that explore the idea but they’ve both been deleted. It can be that he was either rebuilt into Waspy after the war ended or that he died and was reborn as Waspinator. Predacons do believe the protoform factory “the Pit” that they’re born in is also where they return too upon death. So reincarnation if you will.

 

I can absolutely see this as a definite possibility

In fact I was once writing a fanfiction of my own that went kind of like…….Since many of the Autobots and then Maximals Not exactly believing in executions felt that having the Deceptacon’s personality programs overwritten buy a shell program was a better way of dealing with criminals from war time

The way I envisioned the story this was a way of eliminating threats from all the cons that did not seem like they would work twards peace

 

They could just do a full memory wipe of their "Datatrax" to give them a clean slate.

I'm also thinking Waspinator upon learning he was once Shrapnel would be excited at first than disturbed upon learning he or Shrapnel was a sadistic blood knight. I mean if he's creeped out by Tarantulas...

 

Yeah that would’ve been a pretty good angle if they used it

 

RID'15 Scorponok should totally get the Legacy treatment. Love how the claws become shoulder pads in robot mode, it's something I've always wanted to see a TF do as a kid.

 

I had always thought the Beast Wars bots had eye pupils, but I just looked back and saw that they did not. I am confused

 

Plus the fact in the Sunbow cartoon Megatron used the Robo-Smasher which might mean a lot of the Decepticons rank and file were brainwashed. That makes things complicated.

From TFwiki: "The Robosmasher was in operation for an unknown length of time in the Golden Age of Cybertron. Optimus Prime claimed that the device was used to "swell the ranks of the Decepticons", which implies that a significant portion of the Decepticon forces at one time may have been "recruited" through its use. The only specific Transformers it is known to have converted are some dude and the Constructicons, the latter of whom Megatron also gifted with a combined mode in the process. Omega Supreme tried to reprogram them back to their old selves, and he appeared to have succeeded at first. But they would end up betraying him, using their new Devastator mode to pin him against a wall so the Robosmasher could grip his head. Omega destroyed the machine before it could finish its work, but the experience left him cold and notoriously taciturn, desiring only revenge upon the Constructicons."

 

Perhaps you're thinking of the Beast Machines Maximals?

 

I remember remembering the eye pupils long before I saw Beast Machines. Also, did not the Beast Machines Maximals have human-like eyes?

 

Great ideas

 

It does well in highlighting the Decepticon’s evil. Brainwashing people into fighting for you against their loved ones is psychological warfare at its cruelest.

Even if it’s not literal mind control/brainwashing but more like cult indoctrination it’s still pretty bad and can be hard to break. The Decepticons are pretty much a cult of personality centered around Megatron which is why they felt apart without him in S3.

…actually if most of them are brainwashed to obey Megatron figuratively or literally but when Megatron is no longer around the Cons falling into disarray makes sense.

In BW Maximals and Predacons both have different programming installed into them at the Matrix and Pit protoform facilities. In a sense both factions are indoctrinated at birth to think a certain way. …what would they be like if they didn’t have their programming dictating their behavior? How much does programming influence that?

 

Yeah, human-like eyes with pupils in them.

 

the CGI at the time was not ready for it

The uncanny valley effect was strong with them

 

Random Transformers thought of the day:

Who is the winner of the Autobot vs. Decepticon (or, if you prefer, Maximal vs. Predacon) war?

I'll give you a hint:

 

This whole time... Hasbro has been pulling the strings. Playing both sides...

 

So what is the consensus on Astrotrain’s “jettison some weight” request given the fact there is no weight in space. Was that just a line of BS he gave the others to give Starscream an excuse to dump Megatron? He is the one crowning Starscream during his coronation.

…seriously how fed up was everyone with Megatron (or just wanted to be leader) not to point out that Astrotrain’s request makes no sense. Even the supposedly loyal and intelligent Soundwave didn’t say anything.

 

He meant mass. More mass requires more energy to accelerate, decelerate, or turn. The only thing gravity does is adds another force vector, but the basic principle is the same. So, technically he wasn’t BSing.

 

I really love the analogies you’re drawing here

I really wish someone would start to try to take some of these old concepts and ideas from the original cartoon and try to expand on them and perhaps tell a more mature story

 

I remember someone on this site coming on with an extremely, and seemingly scientifically accurate,Explanation for this particular issue

From what I recall it involves more about mass over weight issues

How scientifically accurate really was I can’t say but it certainly solves any of the problems I ever had over this particular issue

Looks like someone beat me to the idea here