Skullcruncher never speaks? Isn't he the one who says "The female one, mighty Scorponok! She has the key!"?

Or is that somebody else?

 

That was probably meant to be Grax, but yeah it seems to be Skullcruncher saying it.

 

Hiya, folks! New guy here. Having spent the better part of a couple of months viewing the contents of the Japanese Collection DVD set, and having recently re-watched Rebirth, I thought I'd share my two cents on the subject at hand. Here's my thinking:
A) After Rebirth had aired, and after G.I. Joe: The Movie went straight-to-video without much fanfare, Sunbow was effectively done with both Transformers and G.I. Joe. Japanese TV producers weren't done with Transformers, as throughout the rest of the 1980's Toei produced successive shows in the form of Headmasters, Super-God Masterforce, and Victory.
B) Both franchises weren't entirely done on TV, just with new content. Each had a 'fifth season' made up entirely of select "best of" collections of episodes, plus their respective films broken down into five-part episodes. The only difference was Transformers and their use of the Tommy Kennedy character and the stop-motion Optimus Prime prop as part of introductory segments. G.I. Joe wouldn't have long for a lull in new TV material, as DIC gets the animation license and debuts their sequel to the Sunbow show in 1989; Transformers had an even longer wait, as until Beast Wars' debut in 1996, the only Transformers American TV presence between those two periods were the reruns aired during Generation 2's run as a toyline.
C) Throughout the 70's and 80's, American TV producers began bringing over more and more Japanese anime, though dubbed and with slight (sometimes HEAVY) tweaks to either the characters or plots, or both. Chief examples of course include Gatchaman, Voltron, Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs, and the greatest example of the heavier editing side of things, Robotech.

So, with those points in mind, I ask the most classic Marvel Comics question:

What if...Hasbro, after passing on the Transformers animation rights to a new group, brought over Super-God Masterforce, dubbed and with some names and backstories changed or lightly altered, to air as the actual fifth season of The Transformers cartoon in 1988?

Here's how I imagine such a thing would look, from the tweaks made, to a hypothetical voice cast bringing these characters to life, to even the toys sold to tie in with the show. Bear with me on this one:

1. Continuity: I would place the events of the series as having occurred several years after the events of "The Rebirth". During that time (possibly depicted in a miniseries from Marvel set outside the continuity of THEIR series--I mean, they did do a comic adaptation of the 1986 movie and an episode of the TV show in issue 43), Decepticon activity had largely been relegated to the outer reaches of the universe, causing Optimus Prime to set up the Autobot Universal Guard, a volunteer peacekeeping force. The Master Bracers--a key object in Masterforce--would be reworked as being an advanced technology developed by a combination of Cybertronian and Nebulan science and engineering. I'll elaborate on characters in the voice cast section.
2. Any characters that appeared in both the US and Japanese toylines would be referred to by their Western names. Additionally, the four Powermasters and six Headmasters would be reworked to work with the US line's mythos: instead of being lifeless Transtectors, they would be actual Transformers whose sparks (life-essences, whatever you would have called them before the spark term was invented) were rendered dormant due to specific circumstances. Thus, any human or Nebulan bonding with them via the Master Bracers is in effect helping them recover from their dormant state by keeping their bodies active.
3. Any toys of the characters exclusive to Japan would be imported by Hasbro under the US line's banner, BUT they would also be Sears-exclusive items (denoted in the cast section with an asterisk). Look at it this way--Transfomers never had store-exclusive items in their entire 1984-90 run, while G.I. Joe had plenty between Sears (the Cobra Missile Command Headquarters, CAT tank and SMS; the Dreadnok Ground and Air Assault sets) and Toys R' Us (the Special Mission Brazil set and the Night Force figures and vehicles). A purchase of any of the exclusive items would include a free bonus gift in the form of a comic book done in the style of Marvel's Transformers Universe handbook series, made up of character bios of the human cast and exclusive characters of the season.
4. The voice cast would be made up of pros who did the majority of anime dubbing during the period, with notable examples of their work found in the aforementioned Robotech, Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds, and the cyberpunk cult classic Akira. You might even recognize some of them from their turns in the 2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon series (which I'll ID). I suggest consulting IMDB or Behind The Voice Actors for each actor's respective filmography. My hypothetical cast for this post-Rebirth season of The Transformers consists of:

#Autobots
+Pretenders
An Autobot covert unit assigned to Earth by Optimus Prime as a contingency plan, should the Decepticons ever target the planet again. Each member of the team has taken on a human alter-ego to monitor the planet unnoticed by the populace at large, save for a certain number of people.
-Metalhawk*/'Matthew Hawke': Greg Snegoff
-Cloudburst [Phoenix]/'Burt McCloud': Steve Kramer [RID role: REV, Cerebros]
-Landmine [Lander]/'Mike Lander': Dan Woren [RID role: Crosswise]
-Waverider [Diver]/'Warren Ryder': Michael McConnohie (who ironically enough lent his voice to the original Transformers cartoon) [G1 role: Tracks, Cosmos. RID role: Hot Shot, Ironhide.]
+Headmasters
Three of the stasis-locked Transformers under Metalhawk's care, Metalhawk recruits three humans to binary-bond with them to help spur their recovery, utilizing a pair of Master Bracers in order to don cybernetic exo-suits that allow them to form the heads of the robots and essentially pilot them, while also subconsciously drawing upon their skills when needed. The three are assigned to handle rescue operations during battles with the Decepticons.
-Shootout* [Goshooter]/Shuta Go: Tony Oliver (Shootout)/Lara Cody (Shuta)
-Hosehead/Cabu* [Cab]: Larry Abraham
-Medivac*/Minerva: Wendee Lee (Medivac)/Rebecca Forsdadt (Minerva)
*Medivac's tech spec would have her primary function be a first responder, and she would be the younger sister of Nightbeat, who's mentioned to be off in a different corner of the galaxy with the rest of the Autobot Universal Guard.*
+Powermasters
Four of a group of eight stasis-locked Transformers scattered across the world, they are recovered by the Autobots, who recruit four humans to act as their pilots as their sparks begin a long journey from dormancy.
-Ginrai Prime/Jin Reiden: Paul St. Peter (robot)/Kerrigan Mahan (Jin Reiden)
*Powermaster Optimus Prime would be sold in a Sears-exclusive set with Godbomber (named in the U.S. as Apex Bomber) and with the dark gray of his U.S. figure replaced by silver.*
-Getaway/Remy Lightfoot: Michael Sorich (robot)/David Millbern (Remy)
-Joyride* [Ranger]/Hobart Wylie: Eddie Frierson
-Slapdash/Ludwig King: Richard Epcar (robot)/Frank Catalano (Ludwig) [RID role for Epcar: Armorhide]
*The human names for the last three Power/Godmasters are nods to those of their Japanese counterparts (Lightfoot, Road King) and the Nebulan partners of their US counterparts (Rev, Hotwire, and Lube).*
+Other Autobots
-Stronghold Maximus and Tactus* [Grand Maximus]: Greg Finley (large robot)/Dan Woren (small robot)
-Quickswitch [Sixknight]: Cam Clarke

#Decepticons
+Lord Straxus [Devil Z]: Bill Capizzi
*In my hypothetical scenario, a few of the writers working on the import of Masterforce look to Marvel's comic series and rework Devil Z as the disembodied spirit of the Decepticon warlord Straxus, who at one point in Marvel UK's comics tried to possess Megatron. (Just as Devil Z possesses Black Zarak.)
+Pretenders
-Bomb-Burst [Blood]: Tom Wyner [RID role: Grimlock]
-Skullgrin [Skull]: Mike Reynolds [RID role: Railspike]
-Submarauder [Gilmer]: Cam Clarke
+Headmasters
-Fangry/Brisco Wilder: Steve Kramer (robot)/Cam Clarke
-Horri-Bull/Reb Bullock: Richard Epcar
-Squeezeplay/Lao-ko Kyansha: Robert Axelrod (robot)/Emilie Brown (human) [RID role for Axelrod: Movor]
*The human names for the Headmasters are nods to their Japanese names (Wilder, Bullhorn and Cancer) and the names of the Nebulans their US figures came with (Brisko, Kreb, and Lokos).
+Powermasters
-Overlord*/Gigas Grax and Megara Zarak: Tony Clay (robot)/Paul St. Peter (Gigas) and Alexandra Kenworthy (Megara)
*In this hypothetical scenario, Gigas and Megara (Giga and Mega) are reworked as rogue Nebulans allied with the Decepticons like their relatives; Gigas is the younger brother of Grax (partner to the Headmaster Skullcruncher), while Megara is the niece of Lord Zarak (partner of Scorponok).
-Darkwing/Heinrich Draeger: Greg Snegoff
-Dreadwind/Burnard Draeger: Kerrigan Mahan
*Darkwing's human name is a nod to his Japanese counterpart's, Hydra. Dreadwind's shares the same starting two letters as his Japanese counterpart's, Buster.
+Seacons
-Snap Trap/Piranacon: Greg Finley
+Other Decepticons
-Blowback* [Browning]: Jan Rabson
-Scorponok Umbra* [Black Zarak]: Mike Reynolds
*In this hypothetical scenario, Scorponok Umbra is a Decepticon general rebuilt from the blueprints used to construct the original Scorponok.

+Other Characters
-Professor Go: Michael Sorich
-Donq: Theodore Lehmann
-Doubledealer/Clyde D'Angelo: Cam Clarke (Autobot mode/Decepticon bird mode)/Tony Oliver (Clyde)
*Doubledealer's human name is a nod to his Japanese name of Clouder/Doubleclouder and his US counterpart's shorter name Dealer.

So that's how I envision a continuation of the show post-Rebirth. What do you think?

 

Interesting ideas, thank for posting.  

 

Thanks. Might've tuned into this back in the day?

 

Do we really care? I mean, Rebirth was the worst. The headmaster concept was the dumbest thing G1 ever did. Optimus seemed like a shadow of his former self to me. Hot Rod's entire character arc got flushed. They introduced characters like CounterPunch for a two second scene just to say they promoted the toy. Rebirth was just the worst.

 

Yes many really do care

Really?
Aren’t they are dozens of different popular Japanese robot shows the better that employ the same basic concept of humans piloting the robots?

which may have been addressed if there were more episodes

You can’t blame the rebirth of that, that took place in season three.

again if there had been more episodes that wouldn’t of been an issue

Everyone has their opinions[/QUOTE]

 

And that's Debbie Downer's two cents. Goodnight everybody!

 

Who cares what Optimus seemed like, The Rebirth was full of cool characters that weren't brought back to life because of the complaints of kids who weren't watching the show anymore anyway.

 

I wish we lived in world where there was an eternal debate over whether Cowboy Sixshot or Ninja Sixshot was better.

 

The breakout characters would have been Brainstorm, Hardhead, Mindwipe, Apeface, Sixshot and Punch.
Man Mindwipe alone was so much fun, the very idea of a robot Dracula type thinking he had psychic powers and denouncing science was hilarious as a kid.

 

 
That would give us some variety from the eternal who was turned into Cyclonus debate.

 

I know right  
I would love for IDW to give Punch some cool tragic arc based on that profile from Dreamwave or Funpub or whatever.
Brainstorm was really cool too.
I still get an Asterix (Asterix the Gaul) vibe from him as this young spunky guy. But I think it was mostly due to his voice actor having a similar timbre as the dutch guy voicing Asterix in the toons.
And we should have gotten a lot more from Sixshot.
I thought both of the clone teams were pretty cool too.
The Autobot clones seemed like these really eager guys and the Decepticons seemed like ordinary Decepticon goons, but deadly efficient.
Pounce and Wingspan were like Marvel Buzzsaw and a Ravage who doesn't have to work comic relief on occasion.
Pity the Targetmasters didn't get more glory, but Triggerhappy already looked really cool.

 

I wish. I really like Sixshot.

 

The story of the fandom!

But yeah, I would have loved to have seen a more extensive Season 4. Even the characters that appear briefly, like Punch-Counterpunch and Sixshot, are quite memorable and more memorable than 90% of the 1984 cast. So yeah, I definitely have liked to have seen more of those guys in a show that wasn't Headmasters. If Season 4 had been longer, and it also featured the Quints in some way, it probably would have been the best season there was.

 

Uncle Sixshot was better.

 

Didn't someone who used to work for Sunbow confirm from materials found in the office that the plans for Season 4 included Starscream returning (As they did make it a point to revive him towards the end of Season 3.) and recruiting Decepticons sick of Galvatron's shenanigans resulting in a third faction?

 

What I’ve heard, and please take it with a grain of salt, was that set plans were not intended as a season four but as the first season of the headmasters spinoff series

I really don’t know if the information is trustworthy but it does seem like a possibility since at least send me the rebirth kind of felt like a pilot

 

While I'm personally not a fan I would like to imagine they would toss in the Micro Masters at some point and then go from there. Nowadays I could see this becoming something interesting if they ever decided to revisit the concept sometime in the future but as of right now I'm satisfied with the conclusion...cause it concluded lol

 

“It concluded”?

In what universe does a cliff hanger type ending equals a conclusion?