I like the "created-by-Quintessons-and-originally-slaves" part of the cartoon origin. I'm less keen on the "Autobots and Decepticons being fundamentally different at the level of programming" part, if only because it takes away from the characters' moral agency if they're only peaceful or warlike because they were programmed to be so. That being said, I can see why it makes a good underdog story (as far as the Autobots are concerned).

 

Well, fair point. But I think there is a lot of room to explore that. Partially, as I see it, the transformers inevitably have technology within them, but their "sparks" are not really programming, but essentially models of organic minds which give them individual consciousness. Hence, there is a lot of room for them to explore personal philosophies and not be entirely diametrically opposed to one another all the time.

I liked a lot of what IDW did in so far as exploring the personalities of the individual characters. Some of it just went a little too into excursions which, I think, make the whole expansion of the stories sometimes too silly. I like giving Megatron a personality and motivation where he is less pure evil, and is more a shade of gray. But to me, Optimus Prime should be an unambiguously heroic character. If Megatron's evil is only attributable to a slight difference in points of view, there is a lot to be explored in why there is inevitable conflict even at those margins.

I could go further, but I'll say that if I do, I'm getting into fanfic, which I gladly expound upon in the appropriate place for it.

 

I think an interesting take on the Quint origin for Transformers would to make it a relatively recent event that involved most of the older characters over throwing the Quintessons.

How I’d do it:

One dock worker bot, Orion Pax, is being especially abused by a Quintesson manager and his two friends, Ariel and Dion, are unable to take watching it and try to rebel.

the three are quickly defeated, left barely functioning, and thrown into the scrap heap where they are found and repaired by an ancient techno organic creature named Alpha Trion and given the ability to transform from robots to their alternate modes of their own free will instead of just when their owner commands them to.

With the new bodies come new names:

Orion becomes Scourge, Ariel becomes Black Arachnia, and Dion becomes Megatron.

The trio take the name “Decepticons” because of their ability to deceive the alien tyrants and slowly grow their numbers to include the likes of Kup, Strika, Obsidian, Chromia, Rhinox, and Wreck-Gar, a being made of the spare parts Alpha Trion gets from reformatting everyone.

Eventually the Decepticons overthrow the tyrants, leading to a glorious but brief peace.

Megatron believes that all organic species would see to conquer and enslave the newly freed Cybertronian race. Scourge meanwhile believes that Cybertronians and organics can and should coexist as friends and allies.

In a cruel repetition of history, Scourge is once again being assaulted by a bigger and stronger foe, this time his former friend Megatron, and two bots nearly pay the ultimate price for standing up to protect him. the wounded Scourge manages to damage Megatron and escape with Bulkhead and Cheetor, the two dying bots.

by the time Scourge arrives at Alpha Trion’s lair, Cheetor and Bulkhead are too far gone for science to save, but arcane magic, however, knows no such limits.

Using his own spark as fuel, Alpha Trion repairs and upgrades the three to create:

Ultra Magnus from Bulkhead.

Optimus Prime From Scourge.

and Alpha Trizer From Cheetor, who is named not for being Alpha Trion’s successor but rather for being the first triple changer.

Megatron and his decepticons have the public on their side as they launch their assault while Optimus and those who disagree with the cons methods or morals are driven underground and become the Autobots, a small but powerful rebellion that believes in the right to live for all sentient races.

 

100% agreed.

 

Seems weird we'd have to say that about an iconic, pop-culture character? I'd say once you find yourself writing Prime saying "how many times have we done this, Megatron?," or have some other character talk back to Optimus and "put him in his place" for being too idealistic, it's time to bail out and reboot the series.

 

I really dislike the latter, if only because it always depresses me. This is a fictional story about alien robots who can turn into cars, jets, and hilariously outdated 80s technology; an idealistic leader is allowed to be right!

 

An anthology series would be awesome. Jumping from time to time.
On episode set before the war, with a young Orion Pax, another set during a Decepticon invasion of Earth, with Rodimus leading the defencive, and so on and so on.

My favorite episode - the Dinobots find themselves on a planet filled with massive beasts, and have to mow through hundreds of them in order to reach their shuttle.

 

My current big series idea is like @Scrapmaker suggested, Autobots as the scattered resistance to the Decepticon empire. Starts on earth, but then heads out to space for cosmic adventure.

I reinvented 3 of the colonies from Cybertron as megastructures in the empire. Velocitron is a ringworld, Gigantatron is a Dyson Swarm, and Combatatron is a battleship which uses a star as a stellar engine.

Similarly, Junkion isn't a planet but a field of debris caused by a natural hub of transwarp gates like Sakaar in Thor Ragnorok. The Junkions are scavengers and hold the Golden Disk (From the Voyager) as some kind of relic.

 

You know, even though 'Rebels vs Empire' is a fairly simple story concept, it's one that fits remarkably well with Transformers. I'm honestly surprised that it hasn't been done nearly as often as you'd expect. Really, it's just G1 (Marvel and Sunbow) and Beast Machines, but even then the Decepticons merely held dominion over Cybertron, not over any other planets. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing that approach done in the future, though.

 

Beast Wars and Animated did something similar, but, oddly enough, they had the "rebels" as the bad guys, while the good guys (okay, the morally ambiguous guys) rule Cybertron.

 

I would completely reinvent the premise. Decepticons are not evil but victims of Autobot propaganda. Both sides want a Cybertron that is more egalitarian and democratic but Decepticons believe you have to start from scratch and the Autobots want to fix the existing government.

Soundwave worked in media, uncovering political corruption. His work leads others to get hurt and his guilt over that is the catalyst for becoming a Decepticon and Megatron’s second.

Starscream is basically a super soldier that abandoned the Autobot led-army and took his loyal Seekers with him. He’s actually charismatic and believes in structure and hierarchy.

Lastly, Megs enjoyed being a soldier and hates being a leader because of the responsibilities and difficult decisions it carries. But he doesnt think anyone else can hold the faction together.

 

Interestingly, this would actually be a logical progression of some of the more modern tales. It also kind of sounds like Shattered Glass, just with the added twist that the lies Megatron made up in the "Orion Pax" arc in Prime are true (e.g., that they are made to look evil while actually being good.) What would Shockwave be like? How would you handle the names of guys like "Ravage" or "Onslaught", whose names sound like they unquestionably belong to villains?

Thanks! 

I like this, too. It's not something we've really ever seen.

 

This is how I'd start it out:

The classic, ages-old G1 version of Transformers...is the legend. The fable. The version that everyone across the celestial expanse knows by this point in time. All the imagery that comes with it is how the rest of the universe has imagined this conflict going on for ages on end. And it's the version that the people of Earth are exposed to when a dying alien refugee shows up here, having been driven from its homeworld when the Transformers' war touched down there in a vain attempt at escape. So when it comes out that there's Decepticon activity on Earth, it's clear to the authorities that it's only a matter of time before the Autobots show up, and all we can do is hope that they can make direct contact with Optimus Prime in the hope of working together to solve this problem. And thus, when a diplomatic envoy and their military escort meet up with the Autobots at a a pre-determined rendezvous on the rocky plains of the Colorado Plateau, everybody's expecting to see the stalwart, stoic, chiseled-framed red-white-and-blue Peter Cullen-voiced archetype that we all know rolling up in big-rig mode.

Instead, they get this guy...

..who comes weaving to a halt in front of the envoy, detaches from his trailer, transforms and immediately stumbles his ^$$ sprawled out on the ground in front of them, belching profusely as his drones disembark from the trailer and just go wandering about aimlessly smacking into rocks and each other.

At which point somebody in the envoy can be heard mumbling, "Well, we're screwed..."

 

I want Starscream to be reinvented. I’m tired of the cowardly characterization he’s usually given.
His original comic book bio has him as highly intelligent and he’s rather vain about his appearance. I just want some depth to him. Rarely do I like characters that are evil for the sake of evil. I guess that’s why I liked Armada Starscream, he was more in a grey area than just a scheming lieutenant.

 

There is a good YouTube video by Lindsey Ellis on the nature of Starscream as a character, especially his relationship with Megatron. In the original cartoons, their behavior was more or less set up for six year-olds. Starscream throws tantrums, puffs himself up, gets bullied by Megatron, but there are no real changes or consequences.

I definitely agree. The OT cartoon may have been for six year-olds, but TFs has been rebooted and re-invented so many times, attempting to be a little more sophisticated, I think the concept of the Seekers rarely get their due. I always thought of the Seekers as more like the Imperial officers in StarWars: arrogant, condescending, but also extremely dangerous and effective. I guess in my head canon, the Seekers were the natural militaristic aspect of the Decepticons. Megatron was different, as he was more "warrior" than soldier, more philosophical in his long-term plans. I always wanted Starscream to be truly dangerous, rather than just an ineffective foil.

 

Yes to all of this!

 

Platinum Energon Optimus is cool, though.  

 

Sideswipe and Red Alert as brothers with nigh identical bot modes, mainly separated by Sideswipe’s autobrand and crossed swords and Red Alert’s Fire Chief logo, who can combine into super robot Sunstreaker who combines Red Alert’s paranoia and Sideswipe’s blood lust into a hyper prepared bad ass... who’s cripplingly vain and cares more about his paint job than winning.

 

  I like it!