Transformers Reactions Thread - No spoilers until July 4th

[NeoGoomba]

If they are really going to butcher one of the "original" characters when they kept the rest more or less intact, I'd rather they didn't even use Soundwave and opt for Shockwave, who would fit in nicely as some sort of heavy artilery piece for an alt.

However, they could go the Megatron route with him, let him keep a Cybertronian form with sonic-based weaponry, C&C equipment, and a few Blackout-style "ejectables", and one that doesn't involve mass-changing.

[Old Plympto]

That makes sense, I was thinking an E-2C myself. I think Jetfire needs to be the most needed aircraft in any sequels. The Autobots need the air support.

I have that notion as well. Since it's been established that the Autobots can't fly on their own power, they need large planes to drop them off at Decepticon flashpoints. They can't very well drive themselves all over the country (or the world) and stop at motels overnight to sleep on their way to battle.

I think Jetfire would be a great An-225. Imagine that big plane flying over dropzones and shitting Autobots out the back into combat.

And from orbit, monitoring worldwide communications and new Decepticon visitors should be Cosmos as one of our commsats or maybe the Hubble telescope, happily monitoring and looking at the stars without a care in the world.

[Cykeisme]

Does anyone have a source for Hasbro being retarded about Soundwave?

Yes, this is rather worrying. I'd like a source for this, too.


In the meantime, I suppose we can posit on the matter; I like the idea of Soundwave being a communications/electronic warfare-based vehicle of some kind, regardless of whether it's an air or ground vehicle.

Anyone have any more ideas aside from what's already been suggested? Some pictures would be nice too.. anyone have a picture of a beefy looking electronics warfare truck/APC?


Also, though Prime removed a small piece of the Allspark from Megatron's chest, whether it's "dead" or not, where's the rest of it?

Still in there?

[SylasGaunt]

I can't recall, but what was that aura all about with Blackout that showed up on the CCD of the camera used in the surprise attack? There was something on the comm. with the Hog crews about radar jamming, so I assume that every Decepticon, at least, had some form of ECM/ECCM to make targeting a bitch too, not that they could do any damage in the first place.

Shields. According to the Transformers movie guide which I flipped through today at the bookstore (would have bought it but no cash right now) several of the transformers have shield systems. Blackout's also able to scramble nearby electronic sytems using that pulse weapon of his and he's also got some kind of sonic cannon to (which I also remember it noting that he locks down his auditory systems before firing it to protect them from the occasional backwash the weapon produces.. which consequently renders him deaf to auditory input while they're locked, though he can still get comm signals and such.

Some of the other stuff I can remember off the top of my head:

Jazz has a dedicated forcefield generator for his spark chamber, though in car form he sometimes redirects it to get more speed. He's also capable IIRC of recieving and processing signals from up to 6000 sources at once.

Frenzy unlike the others has his AI network distributed throughout his body, allowing bits of him to operate independantly even if he's trashed.

All the car panels on Bumblebee's body are solar collectors that store a charge for his weapon.

Megatron's fingers are razored and he's so exceedingly strong for a transformer he's far more deadly using his hands than he is with his built in guns. He's also able to IIRC do something funky to increase his own gravity so he lands that muc harder on things like when he stomped Jazz.

Prime is covered in scads of weapons that never got used in the movie.

I'll have to pick the guide up to get more. I also seem to recall mention of Barricade having a forcefield to protect his hands.

[Admiral Valdemar]

I gathered it fused with the spark in Megatron and became useless slag. The shard leftover may be able to regenerate in time, or maybe not. Optimus seemed pretty confident it was beyond use for the time being.

While I can't find a link for the Hasbro whining, I can say there are plenty of vehicles Soundwave could be. Any C3I ground vehicle or military recon aircraft could be used, and it needn't be American. It would be nice seeing something like a Russian or European unit used instead, though that depends on where the Decepticon lands and finds a convenient and appropriately sized piece of hardware to mimic.

EDIT: Guide sounds interesting. Have to see where I can pick it up. The shields idea is acceptable enough with the way it's shown, that is, it seems to limit damage from KE and thermal attacks and not simply block it. Given it's not Spielberg totally impossible to breech WOTW tripod shields, plus they have EW suites to deal with detection anyway. I gathered Megs was a better melee fighter too, though I thought I saw him use his jets to land more forcefully on Jazz, rather than some funky weight change gimmick.

[SylasGaunt]

I may be describing it wrong since like I said I didn't pick up the guide and am going purely on memory. I do remember it being mentioned that megs is damn near invisible to anything but visual detection.

IIRC Blackout also has a shielding system as well but it only protects his chest and not the rest of him.

On the downside the Guide doesn't cover all the transformers, though it does give a lot of info on the ones that are in there. It's got absolutely nothing on Bonecrusher for example.

[SylasGaunt]

Ghetto Edit: Oh and Megs has both Laser Eyes and a different reactor system than the others stated to be possibly of alien origin.

[NeoGoomba]

Can't beat the evil overlord with laser eyes!

That is pretty cool that the guide goes into the features and specs of some of the Transformers. Did it have something similar to blueprints of the bots in it, or was it just exposition alongside pictures from the movie?

And I'm guessing Bonecrusher has Ray shields over his face, because it sure wasn't knife proof.

[SylasGaunt]

It's just CG images with the old textbox + line combo to point out features and side boxes with mroe text.

It doesn't cover everyone though, like I said, no Bonecrusher. It also doesn't have anything on Ironhide, Devastator, or Starscream unfortunately.

I'm actually kind of on the fence as to whether or not to get it.. depends on if I can find that gift certificate I got.

[SylasGaunt]

Ah lack of edit how I despise thee. I also recall it mentioning that Optimus has an energy weapon with a discharge equal to ~1300 kilos of TNT.

[Vympel]

I want a transforming Tu-160.

[NeoGoomba]

Speaking of weapon outputs, I always wondered what the KE on Megatron's Fusion Cannon Jr. was to have sent Prime flying back the way it did.

[Cykeisme]

Ah lack of edit how I despise thee. I also recall it mentioning that Optimus has an energy weapon with a discharge equal to ~1300 kilos of TNT.

Ooh, their hands-morph-into-guns weapons have single-digit kiloton yields, cool.

I'm guessing it's a lot of directed kinetic energy rather than thermal, then?

[Anguirus]

However, they could go the Megatron route with him, let him keep a Cybertronian form with sonic-based weaponry, C&C equipment, and a few Blackout-style "ejectables", and one that doesn't involve mass-changing.

Why didn't I think of that? That's quite elegant. They could make him look as "G1" as they want then, and not have to worry about matching any Earth form. It would still be a design challenge, but a much less difficult/expensive one.

[SylasGaunt]

Ooh, their hands-morph-into-guns weapons have single-digit kiloton yields, cool.

I'm guessing it's a lot of directed kinetic energy rather than thermal, then?

Uhm, that's 1300 kilos, or just over 1 ton of KE for Optimus' barrage cannon (if I remember the weapon name right).

Weapons I remember were a mixed bag. For instance Bumblebee's weapon, though energy based, is primarily a concussive attack. Jazz's customized battle shield on the other hand can produce extremes of heat and cold.

Some information in the guide is off though since it describes Ratchet as being unarmed aside from using his medical implements as weapons like the saws. Granted it could be fully accurate but if so I really want to know what that gun he was using in the final battle is supposed to fix.

[Bounty]

VGCats: Darkest Hour. It would be funnier if it wasn't so painfully accurate.

[Admiral Valdemar]

No Bonecrusher I could maybe understand, but no Starscream? I think I'll pass on that guide if it's not bothering to cover all the cast.

I'm sure someone will calculate how powerful those blasts were on average. Something that throws a big rig a block down the road would play merry hell with any armoured vehicle around. Let's not forget Blackout's directional and omnidirectional wave attacks flattening a whole base, C-17s included. If that fails, just toss a few tanks around (LOL, barrel rolling Abrams).

I want a transforming Tu-160.

That... would be quite awesome. They seriously need to do a larger unit, be it a strategic bomber, AEW aeroplane or CVN. Maybe not have gestalt forms, instead just have really massive single Transformers.

[DPDarkPrimus]

VGCats: Darkest Hour. It would be funnier if it wasn't so painfully accurate.

It's neither humorous nor accurate.

[VF5SS]

VGCats: Darkest Hour. It would be funnier if it wasn't so painfully accurate.

Hey VGcats is almost funny again.

[Admiral Valdemar]

It's been on and off over the last few months, so I'm giving them breathing space before reading again. I frankly never like comics that assume their review of something is correct and funny; too subjective.

In any case, the human actors worked. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Shia LeBeouf didn't grate my nerves and Capt. Lennox and his team flat out rocked. First thing I thought when the movie started (other than I need the soundtrack for that opening piece), was "Hey, there's Sucre from Prison Break".

[neoolong]

And Danny from Las Vegas. And Aaron Pierce from 24. And Dave from Titus. It was actually something of a surprise to see familiar actors in kind of smaller roles. Though Jush Duhamel had a pretty big part.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Knew Aaron was in there, too bad he didn't survive. The only other role he'd have been as would be, yet again, a Special Service agent (he was in The Core as well as 24; typecasting much?). Notice when Frenzy dispatches those SS agents on Air Force One that his display reads "NO DISC" as he turns back to a CD player with his eyes sticking out.

[CaptHawkeye]

VGCats: Darkest Hour. It would be funnier if it wasn't so painfully accurate.

Hey VGcats is almost funny again.

Meh, I stopped listening to VGcats movie reviews when Scott did his Revenge of the Sithcomic.

Dooku: Killed faster than you can say plot holes!

Oh right Scott, it's totally impossible that Anakin simply got better after years of war. But let's not get off topic here.

[Vympel]

I saw it again today after work - noticed a lot of things I didn't see the first time. The detail really is amazing.

- Megatron tossing some sort of spear and killing an unknown Autobot in the Cybertron hologram/ flash-back

- Bonecrusher's eye falling out of his socket when Optimum grabs him by the throat near the car window.

- Ratchet's buzzsaw cutting Devastator/Brawl.

- Jazz's magnet claw thing.

- Blackout's death was not as cheap as I originally thought it was. He was hit by multiple F-22s, together with Special Forces guys.

- The Nokia Transformer had a cute little RPG-7 that you could see!!!

- Megatron's flail (didn't see it before)

I also paid much more attention to Barricade in the seen where Optimus kills Bonecrusher - it seems pretty clear that Optimus was also going to kill Barricade in that scene as apparently related in the novelization, but they must've either cut it for time or left him as a plot thread for the next movie, like Scorponok and Starscream.

Optimus was gone for some time, so it's possible that Barricade bought it off screen.

[Admiral Valdemar]

I saw it again today after work - noticed a lot of things I didn't see the first time. The detail really is amazing.

- Megatron tossing some sort of spear and killing an unknown Autobot in the Cybertron hologram/ flash-back

Yeah, seemed like some primal rage he was going through there. Anyone else think The Matrix when seeing Cybertron?

- Bonecrusher's eye falling out of his socket when Optimum grabs him by the throat near the car window.

- Ratchet's buzzsaw cutting Devastator/Brawl.

I checked the concept artwork on that too, it's a nice double blade one that folds out. First time I saw it, I thought he'd simply punched Devastator's hard points off.

- Jazz's magnet claw thing.

Missed that still.

- Blackout's death was not as cheap as I originally thought it was. He was hit by multiple F-22s, together with Special Forces guys.

I also reckon Starscream had something to do with it too. We don't see for sure, but I find it hard to believe, even with prolonged fire from the reverse engineered sabot/HEAT rounds, F-22As and Autobots, that he went down easy. After all, Blackout was Megs' right-hand man, so it makes sense that Starscream would do him in as well as Megs when he had the chance. The guy is a sly, backstabbing coward, so it's well within his MO to take pot shots and later have the "Who? Me?" excuse if he failed. His missiles were felt by Megs, whereas everything else was bouncing off him, including Prime's backpack cannon that spun him round.

I also don't think any Decepticon really died there. Barricade was beaten senseless and presumed dead, yet turns up without a scratch on him in the highway chase scene. I bet if you gave them enough time, Devastator and Blackout would have regenerated, depending on access to materials, and got away. No doubt Sector 7 put them in containment as soon as they were done mopping up.

- The Nokia Transformer had a cute little RPG-7 that you could see!!!

They need to make a model of that. I thought "Aww, how adorable!" when I first saw it. Even if it was firing a chaingun and chibified RPG-7 at anything that moved.

Nokia way of the samurai, heh.

- Megatron's flail (didn't see it before)

He uses that several times, first when he announces himself and escapes, then later on in more obvious instances. Barricade also has one which I thought was simply Frenzy being jettisoned. It's what whacks Bumblebee flying in their fight.

I also paid much more attention to Barricade in the seen where Optimus kills Bonecrusher - it seems pretty clear that Optimus was also going to kill Barricade in that scene as apparently related in the novelization, but they must've either cut it for time or left him as a plot thread for the next movie, like Scorponok and Starscream.

Hoping the latter, because that leaves three great baddies left at large. I wonder if Frenzy can come back. He's supposed to have a distributed neural network, so he can repair himself and operate still even if decapitated (which, it has to be said, happens an awful lot to him).

Optimus was gone for some time, so it's possible that Barricade bought it off screen.

That would just be cheap to me. Barricade would have been a fun fight for Jazz or Ratchet though. Too bad Bonecrusher's great entrance from the trailer is just about all he gets before dying. They could've had him doing some more damage to Ironhide or something before being dispatched fairly easily by Prime.