Anyone else tired of the Autobots being depicted as basically super heroes? Of course, I mean this as in them being basically invincible.

It all stems from the creators philosophy of: "We like it when the good guys are out numbered, but still win at the end of the day." (Not a direct quote, but still very close.) So the tiny Autobot resistance can completely smack around an entire army head on without any sign of struggle. Now, there are inconsistencies to this such as Convoy, most character intro episodes, Drakness Rising and other occasions, BUT for the majority of the time Vehicons and Insecticons are slaughtered without much resistance.

There will be scenes of 20-30 generic troops and you will only see about 5 lasers going off at once and of course they will be wildly inaccurate. (When they do hit, Primus flips a coin and either it would briefly knock down the Autobot or be harmlessly absorbed.) Realistically the Autobots would be mowed down without proper cover and strategy. Instead we get an admittedly sexy montage of close quarters melee kills.

These types of fight scenes would work better with more equal numbers as to not make the Autobots come off as super powered heroes fighting purse snatchers. I'm thinking like Beast Wars, but with an all around larger cast for both sides to better experiment with different fighting styles, personalities and chain of command.

If the whole army thing was kept for future incarnations I would like to see it be changed. Make the Autobots use guerrilla war fare tactics such as stealth and sabotage. Make the Autobots work towards a goal instead of reacting to whatever pops up on a map. During season 1 they just ground bridge to areas of activity and commit mass murder on generics with no real over all goal. No real definitive plan against the Decepticons, just pop in and shoot. Recently we had the relic hunt so that had more structure, but still it felt reactive.

I think it would be cool if the Autobots actively gathered Intel out in the field with scouts who would look for Decepticon outposts or mines. Infiltrate them to sabotage, overthrow strategic bases or assassinate generals. Have a larger cast so they can divide and conquer and slowly gain territory or set perimeters around human areas. Like if Prowl was in charge of a base with long range artillery that they captured from the Decepticons. He would have a small team trying to hold onto it for as long as possible while the other Autobots focused on cutting off energon supply from the main forces so Megatron would have to gamble how many troops he wanted to use for recapturing or destroying the base.

Any other thoughts? Anyone like how it is? Good guys should always be stronger regardless of numbers? Prime feels balanced to me as it is? Yes, I would like a different approach, but not like this? I agree?

 

I just think that its been a whole 2 seasons without a bot dying. Which we all know is unfair. A bot needs to die immediatly.

 

yeah... ratchet's the only autobot in this show i actually love, and that's because he's not SUPER COOL FIGHTER GUY WITH FIGHTING SKILLS AND DEEP ANGST.

 

He's a unique character thats for sure.

 

Why does a bot need to die? Transformers isn't all about death you know.

 

An Autobot needs to die in Primebecause it's really unfair to the Cons.

 

TC, what you described is similar to GI Joe Renegades (or not, but its closer to that than Prime). Check dat shit.

 

I agree that this, like humans still being unaware of Transformers, was an element easy to digest during introductory portions but that has become increasingly hard to bear as the series went goes on.

Luckily it looks like it will be one of the things they actually change in season three, with the Autobots being on the run.

 

well we did lose two Decepticons this season and it wasn't even Autobots that killed them lol

 

I know what you mean. The problem is the odds are too stacked. Literally hoards of baddies tossed at them weekly and tossed aside in seconds because the heroes have to dispatch them before the episode ends. So every Vehicon has the skull of a baby and armour of tissue paper because fending off competant cronies takes too much time away from the plot.

It's a wonder the war lasted as long as it did.

 

I agree completely. The Autobots act recklessly and never suffer the consequences. In a real life scenario, they would have all died long ago. I'm sorry, but there's just no way the vehicons can be that bad when it comes to fighting and killing. If they were, then why would Megatron keep them around?

The sides are completely unbalanced...

 

The way I see it, that's basically what they do. There are numerous examples:

- Bumblebee and Arcee sneaking aboard the warship to get the cure for the plague. Stealth was the premise of the mission.
- The Autobots hijacking the space bridge to send Jack and Arcee to Cybertron.
- Bulkhead blowing up the warship's engines in "Armada." If that isn't sabotage, I don't know what is.

They do have a primary goal - keep Megatron and the Decepticons from wrecking Earth and harming humanity. In that respect, they're a resistance movement. The relics are just a means to that end.

That's basically what Wheeljack does, as we saw in "Hurt" - he finds mines and blows them up.

I'm not saying your argument is invalid, but there are plenty of counter-arguments to be made.

 

Hmm, ok I will. I can't stop thinking about how Transformers would look like fighting with actual tactical roles. A flyer with a sniper rifle would add alot of depth to the battlefield. I also think territory wars would add alot more drive and purpose for both sides instead of the Autobots at base waiting for something to happen.

Humans being unaware is another thing that gets me. Cybertronians, massive metal warriors, fight in a neighborhood at night and no one wakes up? Satellite imaging can't find a massive warship near the edge of Earth's atmosphere? (If Nemesis could cloak it would be alright.) Massive property damage all over Jasper? Security cameras on the streets? Nemesis making numerous landings on Earth? I could go on.

It would make more sense if the humans did know, but were afraid and as a race possibly hostile so the Autobots would actually be desguised while being hunted.

 

The Nemesis IS cloaked. They've made that clear numerous times.

 

It can hide it's energy signature thing, but it can be invisible?

 

True. There are cases of Guerrilla tactics that I had forgotten about.

But they have no plan to accomplish that. They would react to Decepticon activity, but not try to systematically eliminate the opposing side thus ending the war. Now this one is tricky because it's hard to have a plan to offensively go after a flying war ship. Maybe they lure it to a captured mine so when they suck up the energon on the elevator thingy it would also be packed with explosives?

I thought he only did that to get to Hardshell. I would definitely be open to seeing a him in the show doing just that while radioing back to base to report progress. Doesn't have to be alot, just a few quick scenes across a few episodes to let us know whats going on like how Beast Wars showed Turantulas scheming.

There is a counter argument, it's just that I envisioned my version to be very different. Autobots being less reactive, Decepticons posing more of a threat during combat, being out numbered meant you were in deep shit, territory and combat roles.

 

I think it's safe to assume its invisible to radar.

 

Yes, but some of the satellites above Earth's orbit are capable of taking pictures like Google maps or imaging for the military. If the Nemesis get's in line of these it would be detected.

 

That's true, but as you said, the satellite would have to be pointed at exactly the right spot at exactly the right time, which may never happen. Besides, Soundwave can probably hack satellites and disrupt their signals to cover their tracks.

 

1) Vehicons are basically worthless tinker-toys, so they don't count. So, most of the time, Autobots have actual number advantage.

2) The real balance of power is usually determined by who has the macguffin of the day. Prime has the Star Sabre? Score Autobots. Megatron gets the Omega Keys? Score Decepticons. Rinse, Repeat.

Their virtual invincibility is annoying. Since killing Cliffjumper in the premier, no Autobots of value have died. (No, Seaspray doesn't count.) But it goes to the heart of what the show is.

TF: Prime is about making a product that can fill air space of Hasbro's toy commercial channel. As such, you can't do things that really rock it out of its status quo too much, because you're always assuming that the children watching it today and in two years as their repeated endlessly aren't watching them in order or aren't old enough to understand long-term plot development or character arcs.

So every story in TF: Prime is about having some huge, mega-double-super epic battle for the fate of everything ever, but by the end of the episode, everything has to be pretty much back to normal plus a cliffhanger to get us to watch more Hasbro commercials. Sure, they can add new characters occassionally, change up what bad guys are teamed up with who or solo, but the core concepts (the main autobots, the main setting, the main enemies) have to stay the same so that anyone can drop in and out at any time and not be lost.

Having the new Beast Hunters tag will give them a chance to make some actual changes for once, since it's nominally a separate brand. But be aware that any changes that happen to the core line-up and setting will happen immediately, such as how the Autobots will now organize without their old base, then fall right back into a new status quo. If anyone is going to die, it's likely to happen Episode 1 next season, or not at all.