A weird idea, but what if there was a show about a young Optimus Prime being a cop and Megatron could be like his best friend turned enemy just like the plot of Smallville except Optimus isn't Superman?
I think an adaptation of some of the IDW pre-war stories like the "Chaos Theory" flashbacks or "Shadowplay" in some kind of mini-series would be cool. Heck, get James Roberts on board and have him write some new stories to go along with it.
First reaction: You sure? They're pretty much tied in the Jesus allegory department. Second reaction: Now I'm picturing Transformers characters set into the Smallville title sequence/theme song. *shot of Orion Pax on screen* title shows up in big varsity block letters: IACON ♫Somebody saaaaaaaaaaave me.........♫ Seriously though, I think it could be cool if handled right. Though it would have to be more conceptually Smallville in the sense of being a "the early years" story and less functionally Smallville in that it turned into "a cast of mostly unlikable jerks stumbling their way through the kind of adolescence that makes you wonder if the writer actually grew up around other people or just assumes that everyone is always a selfish asshole out to get the protagonist. Except the wonderful and perfect girl next door (who in this case I guess would be Ariel) who is amazing and perfect in every way." I guess what I'm getting at is that I've actually been rewatching Smallville recently and I forgot how awful the high school stuff is, so that's coloring my ability (or inability) to apply the concept to The Transformers in an unbiased and non-bitter way.
Haha, I've been watching smallville to catch up on the CW verse. While Optimus doesn't need to be in high school(that's hilarious), the story could be about him being a junior cadet or clerk and him trying to get use to life in Cybertron.