And thus the great cataloging of my collection continues.
Transformers Universe was… it was…. it was a bloody mess to be honest!
Starting out in 2003, it was intially a way to milk existing moulds. It took figures from G2, Beast Wars, Beast Machines and theUnicron Trilogyand released them as their original characters with new colour schemes, or else repainted them into different characters completely.
Then it moved on to new characters and toys, such as making Micromaster combiners out of classic teams, and limped along for several years, releasing a smattering of figures here and there, even pulling other toys under its umberella that really should be classified under different toylines such as figures from G1, Titanium, Robot Heroes and even Masterpiece.
Then in 2008 they revamped the line, with many new toys of existing G1 characters, picking up where the Classics line left off, making it quite popular until the line came to an end in 2010. Some of the figures were also released under the Takara banner Henkei! Henkei!
Toys and characters from almost every continuity, Micromasters, Targetmasters, Combiners, Autobots, Decepticons, Predacons, Maximals, Mini-Cons, Spychangers, repaints, retools – the line had everything while at the same time specializing in nothing, and making it damn hard to keep track of for collectors.
So check out what I deemed worthy to grab with my personal Transformers Universe collection below!
My Transformers Universe Collection
Universe Autobot Figures
*Item #UNA001: Transformers Universe 25th Anniversary Autobot Optimus Prime (MISB)
There are certain debates that run in fandoms, sometimes for decades.
Star Wars:Why didn’t Anakin’s rich princess girlfriend ever buy Anakin’s mother out of slavery for him, and why when he was a powerful Jedi did he wait so long to go back for her?
Star Trek:How was it Kirk could spend decades surviving every danger in the galaxy, even getting into a fight with God, yet was killed by a rickety bridge on some backwards planet?
Harry Potter:If Voldermort had no nose, how did he smell?
In the 1986 filmThe Transformers: The Movie, amongst numerous other animation errors, there was at one point two ofCyclonus. One seeming to be reformatted from Bombshell, the other from Skywarp. The second Cyclonus (sometimes called ‘Armada’) quickly disappeared.
So fans have been arguing for decades – Who became Cyclonus? Bombshell or Skywarp?
Well truth be told, there is no real answer. In the original script, just like how Scourge (reformatted from Thundercracker) had a slew of identical looking bots to him called The Sweeps, so the script called for there to be multiple bots that looked like Cyclonus.
This idea was dropped from the script, but not before the animation had been produced and included, which resulted in there being two of Cyclonus on screen.
So no, there is no official answer. It’s an animation error, plain and simple.
So perhaps the question should be. Which bot does it make more sense for to be turned into Cyclonus – Bombshell or Skywarp?
Some fans argue vehemently that it should be Bombshell as he was the closer one to screen during the reformatting. Bombshell was most prominent, so therefore it should be Bombshell. There have also been a few pieces of ancillary media, such as the Transformers Universe comic and a 2003 video game that state Bombshell became Cyclonus.
Cyclonus & Skywarp side by side
But at this risk of irritating these fans, and thus reigniting a geek-war which has never truly died, I argue that it should be Skywarp. In fact, I argue that Bombshell should not even be considered as it makes more sense for it to have been an Insecticon Clone. Let’s look at why.
Vehicle Symmetry
Thundercracker, the blue jet, was reformatted into Scourge, a blue Cybertronian flying craft. Therefore it makes sense for Skywarp, the black jet withpurple accents, to be reformatted into Cyclonus, a purple Cybertronian flying craft.
Toy placement
1985 Catalog
In the 1985 catalog there were 6 Decepticon jets, Starscream, Dirge, Ramjet, Thrust, Skywarp and Thundercracker. In the 1986 catalog, Skywarp and Thundercracker were replaced with Cyclonus and Scourge.
1986 Catalog
Loyalty
Skywarp & Megatron
Skywarp was never shown to betray Megatron, whereas the Insecticons were famous for it. Cyclonus is intensely loyal to Galvatron, showing none of the disloyalty the Insecticons did.
Cyclonus & Galvatron
DVD Releases
In several DVD releases of the movie, in special features it states that Skywarp becomes Cyclonus.
Japanese Continuity
Unlike with many western audiences, the Japanese take on the continuity has always been relatively free of debate. Indeed in the story Macrocosmic Seekers Cyclonus regresses and rediscovers the teleportation ability he once possessed as Skywarp. The bio for the latest Masterpiece Skywarp also states that he eventually becomes Cyclonus.
Replication
So many Insecticon Clones…
The Insecticons Clones have been shown to replicate. The Sweeps are also assumed to replicate, since no matter how many get destroyed (only 3 were initially created by Unicron in the movie) there always seems to be more. In the episode ‘Call of the Primitives’ one is heard to say ‘Sweeps 6 & 7 coming in for a strike’. Skywarp had a teleportation ability, not a cloning ability, so it makes no sense for him to have become a Sweep.
… and now so many SweepsSweeps & Insecticlones – you never run out of either.
InsectiClones, not InsectiCons.
The Insecticons were still in S3 of the cartoon
To muddy the waters even more, in my opinion, it makes much more sense for it to have been Insecticon Clones rather than the original trio. This is based on the Insecticons showing up further in the movie at later stages, as well as season 3 of the cartoon. Since Insecticon clones have never been shown to exist without in some way being connected to their projinators, it makes sense that it was Clones, not the Insecticons themselves that were reformatted. This again ties into the idea that this is why the Sweeps can replicate. From a sales standpoint, the Insecticons were still being sold in 1986, whereas Thundercracker and Skywarp had been discontinued, so it makes sense for the characters to have not been killed off before thier toys were.
Season 3, Episode 1Season 3, Episode 3Season 3, Episode 5
Now I am aware that there are counterarguments to much of what I have cited, such as S3 of the cartoon is infamous for its animation errors. Kickback was shown getting gravely injured by Kup, so it only makes sense for him to have been thrown out of Astrotrain etc. Skywarp was way off in the background, so he is the one that became ‘Armada’. I’m sure a dedicated fan with some spare time could pick holes in much of what I have said. Like mentioned earlier, remember – there is no real answer, the whole debate is based on an animation error in a 38 year old movie designed to sell toys!
But Cyclonus becoming Skywarp? That makes the most sense to me 😉
Cyclonus: “Wait, some of you still think I was created from that little bug guy?!”
Do you agree, or are you adamant that it was Bombshell that became Cyclonus? State your theory in the comments section below!
And so it begins, the great cataloging for my personal and ever expanding Transformers Collection!
And what better place to start than where the whole shebang kicked off – G1! Listed sequentially, and with accompanying photographs, here is the G1 Decepticon toys I have amassed over the last 35+ years.
Transformers Generation One Decepticon Collection
(Note: All figures in photographs listed from Top Left to Bottom Right)
Today at the New York Toyfair the world was treated to the teaser trailer for the new Transformers cartoon trilogy coming to Netflix later this year – War For Cybertron: Siege. Even though this has been touted as ‘Anime’ we are getting a CGI cartoon like the Power of the Prime’s trilogy rather than some stylized Japanese animation. Based mainly on the Siege Toyline, but also reminiscent of the opening sequence to the 2018 Bumblebee Movie, this cartoon has kept many of us in keen anticipation and is set in the final stages of their war on Cybertron. Watch below:
Video from Transformers Official Youtube Channel
So let’s have a quick rundown of what characters we saw in this short video, what they did and what implications it could have for the upcoming cartoons storyline.
AUTOBOTS
Optimus Prime: Voiced by Peter Cullen, we see Optimus doing his usual – saving other Autobots, battling Megatron, protecting the Allspark and so on. More interestingly, you get to see some of his warriors questioning his methods rather than talking about how great he is.
Elita-1: The only Transformer from the video that did not have a toy in the Siege line or the upcoming Earthrise (her figure coming out in POTP). Her line said to Optimus ‘This is not the life I imaged for us’ brings up the question: is she referring to her and Optimus indicating a relationship between the two, or referring to the Transformer race in general.
Ultra Magnus: Instead being his usual ‘Yes Prime’ self, we see him questioning Prime’s methods, and even going in secret to see the Decepticon command. This potentially could be the most interesting we have ever seen him portrayed on screen.
Bumblebee: Another bot that is usually at Prime’s beck and call, we see him telling Prime his attitude to the war will get him killed. Thankfully it seems he is based on his G1 self which will get a toy in the Earthrise line, rather being based on the Bumblebee Movie.
Chromia: Seen fighting Barricade, one wonders with the inclusion of her and Elita, does this mean we will finally get a break from Windblade and Arcee being the two main female Autobots in any given story?
Cog: Seen dying of an injury, but his parts being used by Sideswipe in Weaponizer fashion. Oddly later in the trailer we see a bot that has Cog’s body type but is coloured like Six-Gun running after Elita. A trick of the lighting or the first animation error?
Wheeljack: Like Bumblebee, he has a figure coming up in the Earthrise toyline, so will he transform in the cartoon?
Megatron:Not voiced by Frank Welker, but sounds good all the same. Sporting some battle damage and some big Overlord-style lips. Like Optimus he is doing his usual – inspiring his army and trying to kick Prime’s butt.
Soundwave: Seen standing off to the side of the Decepticon command table. Does this mean he wont be as big a character as usual? Or without Welker’s voice that he may remain silent?
Shockwave: Also seen at the command table.
Refracktor/s: Two Refracktor’s are seen firing over a barricade. The powers that be have obviously gone for the choice of having them all identical like the G1 cartoon, rather than Spectro, Viewfinder and Spyglass getting their own colour schemes and weaponry.
Barricade: I guess this solidifies Barricade’s inclusion to the G1 universe. Seen sitting at the command table as well as putting the smack down on Chromia.
Skytread: Seen getting punched in the face by Optimus.
Jetfire: In a few scenes with Megatron and most definitely sporting the Decepticon symbol. Looks like we will get the inevitable ‘Jetfire swaps sides’ storyline at some point.
Impactor: Like Jetfire we see his Decepticon incarnation. Will he, like Jetfire undoubtedly will, join the side of the Autobots at some stage in the series?
SEEKERS: From some shots it looks like there is going to be a lot of them, perhaps all of them. Here are the ones that were definitely spotted:
Starscream: In both battle scenes and at the command table. Given all the other story implications, we might actually be spared the ‘Starscream betrays Megatron’ story that has been played to death in the past.
Skywarp: Battle scenes and at the command table.
Thundercracker: In a few battle scenes
Redwing and Acid Storm: Seen standing guard as Ultra Magnus approaches the Decepticon base.
So, seems like there may be some interesting story arcs and some interesting takes on characters. One can just hope that this cartoon is better than the last CGI transformers cartoons we received.
What do you think of this trailer? Pop it in the comments section below!
Over the past 5 live-action Transformer movies we’ve come to expect certain things. From the humans: wacky, half-psychotic characters and overly-sexualized stereotypes. From the robots: zero characterization and dialogue, overly-complex bodies and fight scenes one has no hope of following. Throw in a few convoluted plots and some smutty humour and badda-bing badda-boom, another TF movie pumped out by Hollywood.
However Transformers 6 – Bumblebee, seems to be something different. Something GOOD!
What a delightful breath of fresh air this movie is! It contains none of the issues listed above, and replaces them with relatable characters, great dialogue and a lot of heart!
The Plot (yes, there is one this time!)
The Bumblebee movie is actually a prequel to the last 5 movies, set in 1987. Bumblebee comes to Earth, after a 10 minute opening scene which will have every G1 fan looking for the tissues for their eye ducts (and possibly elsewhere) due to the amount of fan service contained within. The first 10 minutes is based on Cybertron and showcases G1 characters actually looking like G1 characters, still in their Cybertronian modes having a huge battle! They are all there – Soundwave, Shockwave & The Seekersall blasting away at the likes of Wheeljack, Arcee, Brawn, Ratchet and so on. Seeing the battle will be lost, Optimus Prime orders the Autobots to evacuate Cybertron and sends B-127 to prepare a base for them on the aforementioned Earth.
Arriving on Earth, B-127 is almost immediately attacked by the US Army (their involvement one thing that has not changed) and then near killed by Blitzwing, the only character in the movie bearing no resemblance to his G1 incarnation (besides having a jet mode). B-127 loses his voice, loses his memory, and manages to scan a Volkswagen Beetle before going dormant.
We now get introduced to the heroine of the story – Charlie. Just turned 18. But unlike Sam Witwicky she doesn’t seem like a nutjob. And unlike every female character before her, she seems to dress in a way that doesn’t border on the pornographic. In fact, Charlie turns out to be a very endearing character that the viewer comes to care about. This was a very smart move on the part of the new writers and directors, going with a female-teen instead of a male and keeping sexuality completely out of it. It stops them retracing old ground from the TF1 and good on them. In fact all the humans are fairly likeable and all seem to serve a purpose to the plot, rather than being thrown in for the sake of it.
You know what? It IS as sweet as this pic suggests!
At the same time this is happening, the only two completely new robot characters in the movie – the Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick make an appearance. In fact starting off by torturing Cliffjumper on one of Saturn’s moons looking for B-127. They soon find their way to Earth, adopt car alt-modes, (and later secondary flight alt-modes) and search for the missing Autobot in order to find Optimus. They trick the human army into letting them use their equipment and the race is on!
Bad guys with dialogue – what a twist!
From there it could be said to be the usual. Charlie reactivates B-127, freaks out, he freaks out, they bond, they have some loveable adventures, they get found by the military, he saves her, she saves him, he saves her again, they get found by the Cons, have a huge fight and then save the day. It’s kinda predictable but is an enjoyable ride and very entertaining to watch.
Continuity Errors
Being a prequel, this movie should match up with the previous 5 and set the stage for TF1. It doesn’t. There are multiple continuity errors brought up in this, such as Bumblebee only arriving in 1987 when yet in The Last Knight he was shown to be present during WWII. Optimus arrives on Earth that same year rather than in 2007. The Transformers know English rather than learning it from the world wide web. There are many more but you get the drift. To be honest, this really should have been a reboot rather than a prequel, as this is far better than anything that has come before and I’d rather have the new ideas than the old.
G1 Goodness!
What?! Arcee isn’t a motorcycle that goes around on one wheel and has a face like a smashed in colander?!
For your G1 fans, this is the movie you always wanted. Bumblebee is a VW Bug. Optimus is a short-nosed truck with a big silver trailer. The Seekers on Cybertron are Tetrajets. Everyone looks like everyone hoped they would all the way back in 2007. There are plenty of Easter Eggs, it brought joy to my heart to see my son whoop with joy when Bee started playing ‘You’ve got the Touch’ when encouraging Charlie to dive. It’s… it’s just beautiful!
A PG Rating
Another smart move made by the makers of this film is making it PG rated. A lot of the adult Transformer fans have become pretty jaded from the last four films in particular, so this enabled the producers to open this flick up to a younger audience untarnished by Michael Bay scrotum jokes. And it’s worked. My son turned 6 three days before TF6 was released, so it was perfect to take him and his friends to. And they loved it! Some kids that age might find a few things scary, but most will enjoy it. No blood from the 2 humans that get killed, minimal swearing, zero sexuality. It was a smart way to go.
So worth watching?
Yes. YES. A thousand times yes! This is the movie we hoped for many years ago! So much heart and character and humour and joy! Great for kids, amazing for G1 fans; the only ones disappointed will be those in love with the Bayverse and those folk are hard to find these days. Take the whole family out to see this, you will not be sorry!
Got something to add? Pop it in the comments section below!
