Ever since day one of the Transformers franchise, NOBODY ever liked the human characters. Almost all of the time, they're like insects in the attic; you expect them to be there but they're always a nuisance. Even when they're integral to the plot and manage to take down a TF or two it's always under contrived circumstances that only need common sense to succeed in. We constantly see humans say "let us fight!" when they can never engage head-on with any TFs.

Well, what if they were given the means to? We've seen it first in TF Prime, where MECH creates Nemesis Prime, again in Rescue Bots where Dr. Morocco creates his Morbots, and again in TF Animated with Masterson's Headmaster. I'm of course talking about man-made robots joining the battle.

Can the interest in human characters be saved by giving them mechs to pilot, or is the core issue beyond the simple fact that humans can't fight in TF? What kind of man-made mecha would be suitable for the TF franchise, and how would that effect relations between TFs and humans?

 

I'd love to see that as a story element. It'd give the humans a good way to defend themselves and even fight back, whether it's against "all" Cybertronians or just against Decepticons.

Headmasters, Mechs, whichever. I think if given the right resources, they could fight.

 

A: Some people like human characters.
B: Human characters can be good for the plot.
C: Human soldiers trained in anti-cybertronian combat would be cool as either allies or enemies or both.
D: Human mechs is not a bad idea either but would work best if, like MECH, it evolved due to the interaction with Cybertronians.

 

This!

 

Yeah this would easily make the most sense. I seriously doubt humanoid mecha in human law enforcement or war would exist unless it was necessary. A humanoid form isn't really required to aim and fire missiles, and quadrupeds are more efficient at navigating rough terrain. Would it be better that these mechs didn't transform to preserve what makes TFs special?

Also, there's still the issue of human-cybertronian interactions. What would TFs think of these machines so similar to them? Would piloted mecha be a bridge or a wall between humans and TFs?

 

Human piloted mechs to combat an invading alien threat



I like where this is going

 

Or maybe a little thing called GUNDAM?

 

I would love a movie version of Headmasters or Chojin Masterforce

 

I'd love to see a Transformers X Gundam crossover now.

 

Ehh, Gundam wouldn't work very well with TF. Each mobile suit is as big as a combiner. Mechs around the size of Patlabor or Armored core would work a lot better.

 

Hi, G1 Jetfire!

 

The real thing with humans in Transformers in my mind is less if they should be in mechs or not (which IMO would be cool to watch) but if they are useful to the plot and don't forever do things that put their Transformer allies in danger to protect them.

For example - Generation 1's Spike, the original human, along with his friends, all tended to contribute in their own ways. Spike would sometimes go off on missions or join the Autobots and prove helpful in saving the day. Sparkplug provided invaluable ground support.

More recently, Sari, while she had her idiot moments, generally was a very tolerable human sidekick, moreso once she upgraded in season 3. The other Animated humans like Captain Fanzone and Professor Sumdac were also good additions.

Give me intelligently written humans who have a reason to be there and I'll happily call humans "saved".



For those who want to check out a piloted mecha in Transformers, late in Transformers Cybertron Cody gets access to a retrofitted Scrapmetal drone, which he uses to help out a couple of times. It's the only example coming to my mind, and not exactly brilliantly done - but worth a look all the same.

 

Might I point out that most of the characters you mention end up as hostages at least once?

And yeah, we need less teen spirit and more people that won't instantly become liabilities in TF. Let's face it, a LOT of the problems the autobots have faced are almost always a direct result of the humans (most often non-adult humans) being irresponsible, goofing off, and generally being worthless. (Miko constantly walking directly into crossfire in TFP, Sari using her key on everything in TFA, any given Unicron Trilogy kid showing off the robots in disguise or need help with homework, etc.) With characters like Fanzone and Dr. Sumdac, we have reasons for them to want to be part of the action without it being contrived and they have goals that coincide with that of the transformers.

The reason I think piloted mecha can solve this is because they give characters more interesting things to do than worry about school or getting a date. It gives them responsibilities and obligations that are a lot easier for both them and the writers to recognize, like combat training, maintenance, and weapon testing. Often times I feel writers are trying too hard to impress the fictional characters with the wow factor, but the existence of man-made mecha would diminish this and help them focus on making some good characters for once.

 

Sure, why not, worked in Masterforce.

 

Well, that's as old as... what 1986 and Spike's Exosuit? or as new Coby is TFCybertron?

 

Sari isn't a human she is an autobot with a human alt so you can't really use her. Miko was awful till she got the apex suit and then she was great. (Did she get to keep it?)

Transformers piloted by humans. Wasn't that the plot to dia-clone? I could see some good stories if a human piloted a transformer that didn't get along with them! Could be fun.

 

There was a whole Transformers series about this already.

 

Not just Transformers, guys, any kind of mech in general. Imagine, say, a Patlabor fighting a TF, or an armored core.

 

So then Devil's Due GI Joe vs. Transformers vol. 2 and 3?

 

I think Prime handled it pretty well with MECH, AT FIRST. up until they swept MECH, Silas, Nemesis Prime, and Breakdown out of the plot almost entirely in "Human Factor"

btw, some stupid easily hacked orbital laser satellite < elaborate network of spies, soldiers, and scientists working within the US fucking Military