I think in that case it's more like what haven't you seen him doing. Combiner Wars only recently showed who's side he was really on.

 

Huffer, because fuck that bot.

 

I know its one thing to hate a character but to say they don't deserve a toy is a bit much.

All characters, even shitty ones deserve atleast one decent figure. Airachnid's design could have at least made for a interesting and unique toy. Had she been a voyager she would have been the 2nd or 3rd fembot figure to be over the size of a deluxe.

I'm still lamenting the figure we'll never have of her. as much as I despise 3rd party toys. If they did a voyager sized Airachnid and it looked good. i'd get it.

 

Why does he have to do something noteworthy? His role has a purpose. Not a huge purpose but it had to be filled by someone. And I'd prefer a character that has a toy than a generic. It didn't have to be Rattrap though, several characters could have fulfilled his role without it being out of place.

 

So are people condemning Airachnid for being a clumsy attempt at a Villain Sue, or for actually becoming one? Prime Soundwave and BM Megatron are better apt to fill the niche of a legitimate Villain Sue.

 

Soundwave wasn't a Villain Sue though. He's just that good.

 

He had plenty of character to begin with.

And I find that to be one of his biggest flaws as a writer.

Being "boring" has nothing to do with OCD and the need to impose you views on others.

 

Hmmmmm......

I'd have to say the Armada Humans, along with Kicker.

Unless you mean specific TF ROBOTS, i would have to go with TF Prime Starscream. (Or Cybertron SS)

 

He is by definition, or at the very least, an Invincible Villain. The Rule of Cool, or personal enchantment, doesn't exculpate the character.

 

Considering that he was basically a glorified mook to TFP Megatron and was defeated, that's not true...
And I think only Knockout had less fights than Soundwave, so he wasn't fighting that often.

 

An Invincible Villain can still be beaten, merely at a convenient moment contrived by the author or accomplished through unbelievable means (such as a Deus ex Machina).

 

By this definition every antagonist falls into the invincible villain category.

I'd rather say that TFP Soundwave was a walking plot device. He had absolutely no personality and never did anything aside of following Megatron.
Vehicon Plus, basically.

 

Weren't all the electronics in the voyagers confined to the weapons themselves? That wouldn't have interfered with Breakdown's engineering, methinks.

 

When there's a reasonable balance of power between antagonist and protagonist, there's no complication. When you have a villain that wins almost every encounter only to falter at a moment that strikes the audience as inconsistent with previous events and/or character traits, then you have an Invincible Villain, or worse, a Villain Sue. Only through the grace of the author was this character overcome, not through any organic development or ingenuity on the part of the protagonists.

What I don't understand is how Soundwave--a character that better resembles a Villain Sue--gets a pass while a simple Karma Houdini, Airachnid, is ruthlessly denigrated.

Just to set the record straight, I don't personally mind Invincible Villains and Villain Sues. My favorite character, BM Megatron, is a veritable Invincible Villain.

 

And that's wrong with applying it to TFP Soundwave.

Trick used for trapping him in the shadowzone was previously established in episode with Skyquake's zombie. That's not some deus ex machina created last minute.

More, it was possible basically only because of Soundwave being a one trick pony overconfident with his space bridge trick. He fooled himself this time.

There are some issues with this character, like everyone still buying into the same old space bridge trick instead of trying to gun him down (but then, TFP characters droping the idiot ball was sort of baseline), but otherwise he was just a competent fighter.

 

Speaking of characters I wish weren't included, Raf's very existence stretched credulity, even in a universe with sentient transforming robotic organisms.

 

I don't think the writers at the time fully realized that these 20 minute toy commercials would still have millions of fans 30 years later, hence the reason potentially awesome characters were under/never used.

Trailbreaker had a few shining moments in the G1 cartoon, he used his protective force fields to save his allies on several memorable occasions.

I agree with you, Skywarp's teleportation was an ability that gave him a huge tactical advantage, but as his stat card suggested it, he wasn't exactly aware of its potential, nor did he seem to care, he was a brutish soldier, like Thundercracker.

The sheer awesomeness of chunky G1 designs, and the underuse of a lot of these characters is why I think the cartoon could be reborn, similar to what it was, however infinitely better... and yes.. that rebirth would see Megatron as a tank.

Sunstreaker? Yeah, never cared for him.

 

g1-half the autobots
BM-nightscream
RID-spy changers
armada-sideswipe
energon-kicker(duh)
cybertron-bud
prime -miko

 

That's so true....if only they knew...maybe they might have put more effort in it.

 

Raf, and all the humans in Prime, were annoying.
Onto the whole Soundwave debacle, I prefer Prime Soundwave over any other Soundwave. I like the idea of a silent follower of Megatron. A little backstory would have been nice, oh well.