Legion World Forums LEGION OUTPOST Mission Monitor Board Kid Prime's room!

KP, can I pick your brain a little? What was the Autobot that turned into a red van? The van came into two pieces, the bottom part with the wheels was the body and the upper part became this sort of sled looking vehicle. That was the only good Transformer I had when I was a kid, and I can't remember the name.

<<moving over with my laser pointer to a particular favorite of mine, a certain red van who was just mentioned>>

3. Ironhide



Ironhide is probably the oldest, toughest, onriest, and most loyal of the Autobots. Together with Jazz and Prowl, they make up kind of a Autobot deputy leader triumvirate, with Ironhide as a de facto head of security for the team. In moments of crisis, he has a tendency to step in for Prime if needed. Most of the other Autobots respect his age and experience, even if a few of the "hotshots" of the team find him to be fairly antiquated in design and methodology. Generally, detractors of Ironhide know better than to voice their antipathy, lest they be on the recieving end of a "nickel-knuckle sandwich." While not a softy by anyone's standards, Ironhide is actually one of the kindest of the Autobots, in a gruff sort of way.

Ironhide's primary asset in battle is his heavy armored hide, impervious to all but the very most destructive of Decepticon weaponry. He is also one of the strongest of the Autobots, though not particularly fast or agile. His primary weapon is his "water gun," which shoots out different chemical compounds ranging from liquid hydrogen guaranteed to put a freeze on things to gluey compounds meant to really stick it to the Decepticons. While not the most intelligent of Autobots by any standard, he is absolutely one of the most loyal to Optimus Prime, going so far as to act as a bodyguard for the Autobot leader.

Waitaminute -- you mean the leader of the Autobots (or whatever they were called) wasn't Optimus Prime? I thought it was...

Hey, KP thanks for the lowdown on Ironhide. I wish I'd been able to get more of them back in the day. I had a friend at the time that had scads of them, so at least I got to play with 'em.

PS: This may be a little obscure but did you ever hear a song by an old punk band called "I wanna be Omega Supreme?" The group was called AMQA (Apple Maggot Quarantine Area, they were from Washington state or some apple-producing place.) A friend had it on a old vinyl EP, which I have a truly crappy 15 year old dubbed cassette floating around somewhere.

I wanna be Omega Supreme
I wanna lead the Transformers Team
Optimus Prime will be my friend
Decepticon terror comin' to an end.

Words cannot do the song justice. This was back when punk was still more-or-less DIY, not to be confused with todays top 40 wannabees.

Hey! KP, you just tweaked my memories. I had Ironhide as a kid. As well as a few others. Maybe after you show them I'll remember who else I had.

I wonder what I did with my Transformers? They must be in a box at my mom's house somewhere. Hmmm....

Matlock... I DON'T remember the Omega Supreme song! I would really like to hear it!

And Drake... yeah, the leader of the Beast Wars transformers was Optimus Primal... not the same guy as Prime. :-( Also, the "Megatron" leading the "Predacons" was a completely different Megatron.

Me, I prefer my Predacons when they join together to make PredaKING... but more on that later. :-)

KP, I did a quick search on AMQA (which is apparently also the name of an old Palestinian city,) and it looks like you can get the e.p. it's on, "Cats Are Neat" on vinyl at a few places for about $15, although it's out of print. Don't get me wrong, this is not a masterpiece, just a little old-skool punk song. I don't know how you go about looking for mp3's if anyone had ever even bothered with such an obscure song. (Of course I don't recommend anyone downloading them mp3's, the MPAA's gonna get you.)

Here's another of my favorites... <<Moving laser pointer>>

4. Jazz



Function: Special Operations, Saboteur

If you are an Autobot and you need help translating jive, slang, honky, redneck, or any other human dialect, you call Jazz. If you have any question about any facet of human culture, from basketball to ballet to breakdancing, you call Jazz. And if you're Optimus Prime and you need a right-hand man on an unfamiliar alien world, you call Jazz. Jazz knows more about human customs and habits than any other Autobot... and not only that, but if the Decepticon war ended tomorrow, Jazz would be heading to NYC, LA, or Bourbon Street in pursuit of the latest sounds to groove to. Because that's just the kind of Autobot Jazz is. Groovy.

Jazz does not posess the strength or firepower of many of the Autobots. What he does have is an uncanny ability to get any task done Prime assigns to him, though his problem-solving can be quite unconventional, which makes him even more of an asset. Jazz is a capable lieutenant in the heat of battle, but where he really shines is behind-the-scenes operations where he can use his skill and panache to great result. Jazz's fighting style is flashy, and he uses his "sound and light show" (a completely disorienting series of sonics and pyrotechnics that wreaks havoc on Decepticon audio and visual sensors) to confuse and immobilize his opponents. Of course, it helps to have a physically stronger Autobot around to finish the job, and also to keep Jazz from getting distracted by any interesting human behavior he might observe.

I'm just here checking out KP's sofa before I crash on it...

<<checks on Stu, he's snoring on the couch, everything seems okay, turns out the light and heads for bed>>

Night, all.

Prowl! Do Prowl next!!

As requested!

5. Prowl



Function: Military Strategist

Prowl is always analyzing the situation he is in, whether it be the heat of battle or casual personal conversation. He has the capacity to run through countless thousands of permutations and probabilities in milliseconds, giving him a clearer understanding of whatever problem he faces than practically any Autobot. Prowl has the most sophisticated logic center of the Autobots, allowing him to correctly advise Prime as to the correct course of action in any battle situation. As such, he is never far from Prime's side in any major military operation.

Prowl's greatest weakness comes from his dependence on his logic centers: if his logic circuits go down, he is left immobilized, unable to make any conscious decisions. Also, completely inexplicable behavior can sometimes confuse him. Prowl's strength, skill, and firepower are all satisfactory to make him an excellent front-line fighter, but where Prowl really shines is in planning, analysis, and in his role as top military advisor to Prime. Prowl remains one of Optimus Prime's most trusted Autobots. He is without a doubt one of the Autobots most dedicated to their twin goals on Earth: defeating the Decepticons, and safeguarding the Earth and all its inhabitants.

Thanks KP -- Prowl was always my fav. Partly cuz he's a cop car, partly cuz of those cool wings / doors, partly cuz his head looks like a Gundam design, partly cuz he's Prime's right-hand man. He's got it all goin' on!

I figured it was time to add another Decepticon, and who better than...

6. Starscream



Function: Decepticon Air Commander

Starscream wants to be Decepticon leader. Badly. Though he is the Decepticon second-in-command, he is probably the most devious of the Decepticons, and definitely the most disloyal to Megatron. Starscream probably spends most of his free time idly hatching scheme after scheme after scheme to depose Megatron and take his place as leader. A couple of times, it has looked as if Starscream might actually succeed in his ambitions, but ultimately, he fails. Frequently. Even more annoying to Starscream than his failed coup attempts is the fact that frankly, Megatron doesn't take him seriously at all. As a matter of fact, at times, Megatron almost seems to enjoy the intrigue. He definitely enjoys insulting Starscream, that's for sure. Megatron is fully aware of Starscream's ambitions, but rather than reducing the traitor to molecular dust, he allows Starscream to continue to spin his little treasonous webs. Perhaps it is because Megatron realizes that as long as he can keep Starscream around and in check, the example of how useless Starscream's endless coup attempts are will deter any more capable Decepticons from getting ideas.

Having said that, Starscream is a formidable and dangerous opponent. Otherwise, he never would have risen through the ranks to become the Decepticon second-in-command. Starscream prefers to rely on his superior speed and firepower in his jet mode during combat. He is very skilled at aerial manuevering and especially in providing traditional air support to ground combat operations. In robot mode, his null ray is his primary weapon, which has an immobilizing effect on machinery and circuitry. As a physical fighter... though he does have the basic physical strength any Decepticon warrior has, frankly, he's not too tough. Starscream is openly contemptous of the Autobots and their obsession with protecting the human flesh-creatures who inhabit the planet Earth. Starscream shows great bravado in situations where he knows he has the enemy overwhelmed, outgunned, and outnumbered. However, the second the tide of any battle turns against him, he's gone. The only thing that will keep Starscream in a losing situation is the fear of what Megatron will do to him back at headquarters after the retreat. Still, he is quite powerful as long as he is in the air, a match for most any Autobot and definitely not to be underestimated.

"Coronation? It's more like bad comedy."
-- Galvatron, about six seconds before blasting Starscream to ashes....

"MEGATRON? Is that YOU???"

"Here's a HINT."

KA-BLOOEY!

Are you STILL going on about those silly robots?

Oh, you're just ASKING for trouble now.

*tee hee!*

Any opinions on why the cartoon Shockwave was such a wussy sycophant, while the toy was another potential usurper of Megatron's power?

I think, as far as the comics-Shockwave goes, it had to do with Bob Budiansky (the writer) writing Shockwave like that for his 50-or-so issue run. I need to look at the original tech specs again to see which version of ol' Shock the actual toy lined up more with.

In the new Dreamwave comic series, they're playing him like the old Marvel Comics version, but they paid a little homage to the wussy syncophant version in the comic book by inserting a line about how he had been playing Megatron for years... I'll have to give the matter some more thought before I do Shockwave's enrty.

And what about Soundwave? From what I remember, he was arrogant and ambitious in the comic, but the cartoon had him as Megatron's loyal soldier -- he was all business and had that cool voice.

I think it's important to note that in the movie, when all the other Decepticons were running (on Earth) like scared little girls, when Megatron looked over at Soundwave and said "Don't leave me, Soundwave," Soundwave was the one who picked him up. And Rumble grabbed his gun. :-) That always made me smile.

I think in the cartoon, it was the two of them plus Shockwave who were the most loyal to Megatron.

Moving on with the original Decepticon jets...

7. Thundercracker



Function: Warrior

Of all the Decepticons, it is Thundercracker who harbors the most doubt about the course of conquest they are on. It's not so much that Thundercracker has an incredibly heightened sense of morality, mind you. It's just that he takes a lot less pleasure in wanton destruction and chaos than many of his comrades. This apathy towards the Decepticon cause causes Megatron to keep a close eye on the otherwise-capable Thundercracker, perhaps even more so than the traitorous Starscream. It wouldn't do to have Thundercracker spread his apathy through the Decepticon ranks, after all.

Thundercracker is a very capable Decepticon warrior in every way. He takes orders, he has superior speed, firepower, strength, and is even fairly courageous in his way. It's his lack of gusto that causes Megatron such irritation. Thundercracker does the very minimum of what he must to serve the Decepticon cause.

Well I odn't know anything about the Transformers, but I will read your posts above and get the scoop!