Seeing something more like the X-Men movie franchise would be refreshing: find a way to cycle the cast as time goes on so fresh faces come in, but the cast doesn't grow too large to handle like G1 did.

I don't think X-men is a good example of keeping a small cast.

Historically speaking, no modern stories are new. They haven't been for a really long time... and it doesn't matter at all.

 

We can safely say that all stories are at there core, a rehash of the same old conditions. There are not that many unique ideas in the world. Boy meets girl, girl meets boy...yadda, yadda. Sure, there is new technolory and subtle sub-plots but the song remains the same. Take the buddy-cop genre for example. Done to death, right? And yet if Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker make another Rush Hour movie, I will probably watch it.

 

Because in the final analysis, it's not the story that matters. IT'S HOW YOU TELL IT! Transformers is a classic story of friendship, leadership, bravery, etc. Sometimes it's about one aspect singled out, sometimes they go broad scope. They will tell it from different perspectives and points of view, each time giving us another piece of the puzzle. And I will give you a hint, the Puzzle is not them... it's US. But if you get too caught up in the trees, then you can't see the forest.

 

And I believe Transformers stories are the most clean and classic of them all. I mean; what is Dracula, Rocky, James Bond etc but the story of a... transformation? It's the CHANGE that matters. We are expecting one thing and BAM! It's something else. It's a story of a world less boring than the one we see right now with our own eyes.

 

But really, their dilemma is how to wrap up a story without a clear winner and a loser. If they resolve the situation, then it's over and done. If they don't then the fanbase if left without an ending. Closing out one storyline and moving to another seems like not just the best out, but the only out. How many times did we see Cobra Commander's jet explode while he parachuted to safety in order to threaten us another day? Wouldn't it have been just a little better for Snake Eyes to snipe him out of the sky and bring in a new leader in another dimension?

 

All that being said, I too long for some continuity. And I believe they are working slowly towards that with all the Trans-Dimensional warp business. I would imagine some day this will all be mapped out and the connections made clear.

There are exactly three stories you can tell:

 

Character vs. Character.

Character vs. Himself.

Character vs. Environment.

 

That's it. All three stories have been told countless times. You've heard them all. And you can't possibly tell a story that isn't one (or a combination) of these three. So it doesn't matter if they call the guy in charge Optimus Prime or Optimus Primal or Primetime Optimo or John the Robo-Vag. It'll still be a story that's already been told to you. A "rehash".

 

But that's not what matters. What matters is character interaction, setting, tone...the details of the drama, not the names of the characters.

 

Look at the differences between G1 Optimus Prime and Animated Optimus Prime. They're not the same character at all. Sure, the name is the same and visual cues are unmistakable, but I could write out dialog between Optimus and Bumblebee and - even if they're talking about the same thing - if I've been true to the characterizations of the G1 and Animated cartoons, you'll know just from the dialog which characters I've written about because the details of their interaction have changed.

 

Agent Zero's post about Batman is a perfect example of this phenomenon.

 

If the Animated creative team had called the "Optimus Prime" character "Blaze Blaster" but otherwise had written him exactly the same, he wouldn't be any more original, and if they'd written "Blaze Blaster" to be a perfect, stoic leader, he'd be even less original than he is now.

 

 

And linking everything together into one continuity wouldn't make anything more or less original, either.

 

 

So, in short, "No, I do not think we are a bunch of suckers."

I think anyone who stuck with A/E/C all the way through to the end expecting something besides a giant turd for their trouble = sucker

 

JMO

I think anyone who stuck with A/E/C all the way through to the end expecting something besides a giant turd for their trouble = sucker

 

JMO

Possibly. I wouldn't know, since I walked way from the A/E/C cartoon as soon as the 90 minute Armada debut was over.

batman always seemed like a single continuity... the only deveations are in animation style and the batmobile... the rest seems pretty timeless.

 

maybe if it were called "optimus prime" instead of transformers i wouldn't care so much.

batman always seemed like a single continuity... the only deveations are in animation style and the batmobile... the rest seems pretty timeless.

 

maybe if it were called "optimus prime" instead of transformers i wouldn't care so much.

I think you've hit upon something there. The property name is "Transformers," which means that it could be about anyone at all, and as long as they were transforming robots, it would still qualify.

 

But practically speaking, as long as Transformers is owned by a toy company, that will remain the focus of the franchise. Good guys and bad guys who are easily marketable. And let's face it, everyone knows who Optimus Prime is. It's just easier.

Heh, well, Beast wars did feature a Megatron and an Optimus Prime-ish guy.. but even they were nothing like they were in G1 .. just sayin.

 

I'd like to see some new characters come into their own.. but I think it's partly due to the fans batching about "how nothing is like G1 - yada yada" .. I mean, how else could you explain all these characters being repainted in G1 Decos. Who's essencially interested in something like that? Well, I'd assume us.. because kids will watch anything, buy anything.. even if it's nothing at all like we remembered. I mean, I don't need to see a Movie Starscream with a retooled head and paint job to make it Starscream for me.. thats just an example of course.. maybe totally unrelated.

 

I have to say though, what animated is turning out to be is geniuely interesting. Sari, the obnoxious little kid stereotype is actually becoming a valid character! An interesting human (?) character in a Transformers series!? Brilliant I say! Although there is an Optimus Prime in the series, he's not a faceless "I only do good things because good things are good" style hero.. G1 prime did not have a single weakness, other than he was too prefect to be believeable. I love Megatron too.. he's not as cool and suave as Beastwars, but he's got a simular additude.. so.. it's not all bad. I think steering away from japan was the best thing thats happened to transformers since Beast Wars.. and I hope animated is so successful they keep at it.. because Japan obiviously can't write a good story without going DBZ/Pokemon on TFs.

batman always seemed like a single continuity... the only deveations are in animation style and the batmobile... the rest seems pretty timeless.

 

maybe if it were called "optimus prime" instead of transformers i wouldn't care so much.

The Batman mythos is undeniably made up of many, many individual continuities.

 

From the Crisis events (which actively destroy and rewrite continuity) to the different movie and cartoon adaptations that stand independent of each other, to the Elseworlds tales that are designed to, again, stand independent of everything else...

batman always seemed like a single continuity... the only deveations are in animation style and the batmobile... the rest seems pretty timeless.

 

maybe if it were called "optimus prime" instead of transformers i wouldn't care so much.

The Batman mythos is undeniably made up of many, many individual continuities.

 

From the Crisis events (which actively destroy and rewrite continuity) to the different movie and cartoon adaptations that stand independent of each other, to the Elseworlds tales that are designed to, again, stand independent of everything else...

Exactly. Both Batman and Transformers (and ever other franchise) are very similar in that they contain a core story that's retold and reinterpreted in various independent continuities.

 

So if we're suckers for following Transformers because each retelling has the same basic plot, then so are Batman fans, and Superman fans, and My Little Pony fans, etc....