So I got inspired to make this topic a few days ago while I was talking to a few of my friends at college. I had basically was chatting away about Transformers since they were shocked to discover there was a fifth movie in production. Eventually the discussion shifted from the movies to Beast Wars when one of my friends noted they hadn't kept up with Transformers since that series ended. This of course prompted me to talk about my urge to watch the series but when I tried to convince my brother, he refused to do so for one of the reason being "But Optimus in the show isn't the Optimus I like! I like Optimus Prime not Optimus Primal!"

Then much to my shock one of my friends spoke up and commented "I don't see why your brother dislikes Optimus Primal. He's basically Optimus Prime rebuilt in a new form by using his old parts."

My eyes widened in surprise, especially since my friend did claim he was quite the fan of Beast Wars. I assumed this misconception was created due to his fuzzy memory since he noted to me he did not remember the series all that well.

So what Transformers Misconceptions did you end up hearing from people you've encountered? I say people you've encountered since members in the past have already covered topics about misconceptions we've had when we're starting out in the fandom and thought a topic discussing misconceptions you hear when you have full knowledge of Transformers trivia would be pretty interesting.

 

I often hear people say that the franchise, especially G1, is male only and it really annoys me. Femmes have always existed in the franchise.

 

Yeah, it bothers me when people tout Windblade as the "first femalw Transformer".

My friend also thought Megatron was rebuilt into Starscream in the movies, and Galvatron was someone completely different. Granted, they do look similar so I can get the confusion.

 

"The old toys were better because they were made of metal"

They were never made of metal and back when they had a single piece or two of diecast it didn't make them better.

 

I have always figured this confusion was due to Gobots who usually had more diecast that any given transformer.

 

That "redecoes" and "repaints" are the same thing, and the general misuse of the term "repaint."

I'm sure there's others that bug me but that's one that's almost constantly made.

 

I haven't heard many, but back when I was a kid, I always thought that Inferno got rebuilt into Hot Spot

 

Will probably think of something more interesting once this thread's dead, but I remember someone feeding me a bunch of 'Revenge of the Fallen' spoilers that, Optimus' death aside, were actually IDW spoilers. Had only read some of Furman's stuff at the time so I didn't realize it was coming from Costa's stuff.
Bumblebee got enough toys without being made leader in ROTF so got off lucky I suppose  

 

I used to think Transformers Animated, Generation One, and the first live-action movie were supposed to be the same universe when I first watched. Needless to say, I was very confused, watching the movie, what happened to Bulkhead and Prowl, where Jazz and Ironhide had come from, and why Bumblebee was fat in the past.

I also thought Megatron had killed Ironhide instead of Jazz.

 

That collectors drive the brand.

 

That G2 started with TFTM.

That Transformers as a franchise originates in Japan, rather than just the original toy designs. I've even heard G1 called anime.

That Transformers was on death's door when the Bayverse movies came out and "saved it". While the movies certainly helped Tfs regain the spotlight, the brand was doing quite well before them - TFs has had multiple lines going at once since Armada.

 

That the Dinobots combined, or that ALL of the Transformers combined.

(Regarding any of the MP releases) "I had that exact toy as a kid!"

That's far from surprising. There's official material from Takara referring to it as "anime". This is, of course, because anything animated is "anime" in Japan. But if you're mostly only into Transformers, you're not likely to know that. Add that the G1 cartoon was animated primarily by a major Japanese animation studio in a style already influenced by anime and Japanese toy designs, and it becomes a very easy mistake to make.

 

Well...I hear a lot of Misconceptions from TFWIKI, actually.

 

I thought before Transformers was a purely American creation, just like Marvel or DC characters & was looking for that one single creator of the characters, like Disney or George Lucas creating Star Wars, & i was thinking before whoever this guy was was a freakin genius.

 

I once had an argument with a kid while playing Transformers: ROTDS who claimed that Transformers were based on a book... he then proceeded to say that the movies were the only thing to come out since the original series

 

Oh wow, that's a crazy misconception. I wonder where he got the thought Transformers was based on a book?

 

Well, they certainly have a major influence over it. The masterpiece line and TR/W are aimed towards collectors. And those two are the most popular lines right now.

 

That's a misconception I've seen people throw around elsewhere, that just because something is aimed at collectors, it's excluding everyone else.

Generations can be slavishly G1-focused and collector-targetted because kids don't need to know the history behind the characters, they just see cool toys. Collectors are still the minority demographic, but since appealing to them 90% of the time appeals to just anyone who likes Transformers, we get these homages.

Well, Transformers is. Every concept, idea and character of the original series was American-made, only the initial two years of toys were brought over from Japan. So you weren't too far off.

 

Transformers IS an American creation, based on existing toys from Japan. The characters, Autobots and Decepticons, the idea of living machines engaged in a perpetual civil war all come from Hasbro and Marvel. Before that all the toys that would become TFs were piloted mecha - that's why characters like Grimlock, of all `bots, have cockpits.

 

Silly Misconceptions!