Do you ever wonder this?

We have no analagous physical activity in humans, though some other species do shed skin, have limbs and skeletal structures that shift, move, and reassemble.

Still, no animal we know of is capable of full transformation. So I wonder: do Transformers feel pain when they transform?

If not, what do they feel?

And has this ever been touched on, outside of transforming being painful when injured?

Ex

 

Transformers aren't animals, they're machines. They're designed to do what they do.

Transforming can be painful if they're injured though.

 

I'm pretty sure if it hurt they wouldn't be doing it.



though when prime rolled off that cliff in more than meets the eye p1-p2 it did sound like he was having a hard time transforming.

 

Let me turn the question around: why would it be painful?

 

Yea it hurts like hell whenever I try and do it.

 

Some of you are missing the point.

I never said they were animals. I'm well aware they're machines.

My question is, does the process hurt? I know it hurts when they're injured, as have been seen in more than a number of episodes across all the series.

But I'm curious how the process feels. I should've asked how you think it feels.

I suspect it doesn't really hurt, but it might be strange. After all, TFs can feel pain, pleasure, other sensations, etc.

I think it's an interesting concept to consider, and it's not one I think has ever been addressed, outside of injured TFs transforming.

Ex

 

My thoughts...I'm weird

It's like going into the fetal position, at first it'll feel great, but if you leave yourself in that position for too long, you'll feel restricted. When you come out of your "box" position, you'll generally stretch...you may also noticed most TFs in every series strike a pose or "stretch" after coming out of their alt-mode?

           

 

You keep your feet tucked behind your head for a while and you'd start to feel unomfortable, too. I'd imagine it's nothing more than slight discomfort.

 

Never mind if Transformers feel pain, think about the Nebulan partners when they transform to head/weapon/engine mode.

 

Interesting...I hadn't remembered the stretching, but I do now.

And I always get uncomfortable thinking too much about those Nebulans transforming...that can't be fun. And I'd imagine the Nebulan process (forgot the name) replaces a lot of organic tissue with tech to allow that transformation...*shudder.*

 

Not really hurt per se in the physical sense, but it seems to be physicaly demanding, as proved by the numerous times Sentinel had the Autobot recruits transforming back and forth over and over again in Autoboot camp.

 

Maybe they have an orgasm when they transform, instead of pain? Ever think of that?

 

^^^In that case, I'll be back after I try to transform myself into a cube and back. If it does lead to orgasm, I'll talk to you guys next week some time.

Ex

 

I thought TF Animated had an interesting take on transformation:

*Minor Spoiler?*





There's one flashback episode of TF:A ("Autoboot Camp?") where Bumblebee & Bulkhead are still in Autobot training academy, and Sentinel Minor (future Sentinel Prime) has their squad do transformations as an exercise punishment (like push-ups).


*End Spoiler (if you can call it that)*


If it's like exercise, then it'd feel good when you've been cramped in one position for long... like changing from vehicle to bot might be like getting up from your desk to go for a walk. I'd guess it feels good in moderation (like going for a good work-out or run), but painful when injured, low on energy, or too many reps? Just a thought.

 

Ah! Beat me to it. =]

 

Its something they've been designed to do, I imagine its just like flexing a muscle to them. It can wear them out if they do it repetitively, just like any other physical activity, but I don't think it hurts them under normal circumstances any more than it hurts us to walk.

They're machines, but machinery is vulnerable to wear and tear, especially under strenuous conditions or after damage, just as flesh and bone are. I imagine they're a lot more durable, but I don't think transformation for them would feel any different than standing up, sitting down, bending, or stretching for us.

As for the nebulons, it depends on the continuity, I imagine. In some instances, they were pretty much sitting in a powered mechanical frame, in some, its more like a suit of armor, and in others, its a full cybernetic integration. I imagine it would be most uncomfortable in the suit of armor instance, but you'd think during the design they'd choose a method that wouldn't be completely uncomfortable for the head.

 

I don't imagine it would hurt, no. After all, their body is not moving in a way that it's not "supposed" to move, so it shouldn't hurt for them to do so. The "flexing a muscle" analogy seems to be a good one - the G1 cartoon didn't really touch on it save for in "A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court", in which Warpath was unable to stay transformed due to a lack of energy, but in Japan, "The Headmasters" repeatedly made it clear that transformation was a tough thing that you actually had to learn and train to do, which involved a bit of mental and physical strain until the process was perfected. That feeds quite nicely into the Beast Era; in Beast Wars, transformation is governed by an internal computer, meaning that the Transformers don't actually have to worry about that mental and physical strain, and then, come Beast Machines, when they lose these computers, they have to re-learn the disciplines involved so they can transform again.

(As odd as that "learning to transform" thing seemed to American audiences when BM premiered, it had been the norm in Japanese fiction for over ten years at the time.)

 

If they aren't injured then I don't think it would hurt.

To transform the means they have parts that were meant to move that way so it would be like us bending our arm at the elbow or bending our leg at the knee. Transformers just have more parts with a greater range of motion.