Well Hasbro Australia must have been watching because they were kind enough to send Orion and I a surprise gift for our continuing support of the brand! Check out the video below:
Massive thanks to Hasbro Australia for their generosity! Our Bumblebee, signed by Keegan Michael-Key, will sit MISB in pride of place in The Transformatorium for many years to come!
I’ve actually been sitting on this review for months, but due to the non-disclosure agreement I signed at the Preview Screening, I have been unable to publish until now. But the embargo is officially lifted and off we go!
Transformers cartoons and comics get rebooted every few years, and now it seems the movie part of the franchise is following suit. After the stand alone 1986 movie we had what many people called the Bayverse, 5 live action movies over the course of a decade. Several years later we had the Bumblebee Moviefollowed by last years sequel Rise of The Beasts, a soft reboot of the Bayverse.
Now it appears we have yet another Transformers movieverse to explore. Whether it is a full reboot of the entire film franchise, or is going to run concurrent to the live action movies is at this time unknown, but it is the first time in 38 years a Transformers animated movie has hit the big screen – and so we have Transformers One.
Note: This is a movie review – so SPOILERS AHEAD!
Chronologically Transformers One is set before the great Cybertronian Civil War began, but after their war with the Quintessons. Cybertron is under the thrall of a cast system, with the Cogless (those without Transformation Cogs and thus no ability to transform) performing all the grunt work of society, everything from mining to waste reclamation. Those with Transformation Cogs live a more privileged life, however a life still constrained as Cybertron is no longer producing Liquid Energon, the lifeblood of the Transformers race, and the only Energon available is that mined from the depths of Cybertron by the aforementioned cogless miners.
We are quickly introduced to Orion Pax, the bot destined one day to become Optimus Prime. This is a version of Orion we have not seen before, even in the comics he was still very Optimus’esque with a strong sense of responsibility. This Orion is impetuous, adventurous and happy to break societies rules when it suits him. Though many fans have cried foul of the character not being voiced by Peter Cullen, it is easy to see why they went with the younger Chris Hemsworth, Cullens strong and older voice would not have suited such a youthful interpretation.
The only thing I am missing is Cyber-acne
After a chase between Orion and two security bots, where Orion so conveniently watches a holovid talking about the disappearance of The Matrix and its effect on Cybertron (and thus the main plot of the film), we are introduced to his best friend D-16, who will one day don his big bot pants and become the maniacal Megatron.
My eyes aren’t red, that means I’m not evil… yet.
Through the optics and treatment of Orion and D-16, we see how oppressed the mining-class are, though many of them don’t see it that way as they feel they are serving a useful function for their society. However unlike his comrades Orion is not content to merely mine for the greater good, he wants to find the Matrix and bring it to their societies leader, Sentinel Prime, who is a hero of D-16’s, second only in his optics to Megatronus who was one of the Original 13 Primes who disappeared at the end of the Quintesson War.
Through a series of misadventures Orion & D-16 end up on the surface of Cybertron, having picked up the unwilling Elita 1 and the very willing Bumblebee along the way, and off for the Matrix they search. Transformers movies always seem to resort to a ‘we have to find the….’ plotline. Whether it’s a Matrix, an Allspark, a Cyberforming Seed, a Spacebridge Pillar, a Transwarp Key or even the Staff or Merlin, the writers of Transformers movies sadly resort to the same old trope in order to move the plot along. Given what they have to work with – giant alien shapeshifting robots – you would think the script writers could come up with something a bit more creative than another round of ‘hunt the shiny’.
The characterization is at least somewhat more original than the plot, with new takes on decades old Transformers staples. As aforementioned, Orion is a far more youthful version of Optimus to what we are accustomed, Elita is pragmatic and in-charge rather than being simply Optimus’ love interest, D-16 is rough but willing to begrudgingly follow Orion along for the sake of friendship, and Bumblebee is almost manic in how much he blathers on, a nice change of pace from the Bumblebee who has to talk through a radio that has graced the big screen for the last 7 flicks.
“I can talk, I can talk, I can talk talk talk talk…’
Eventually our four heroes find the place the Matrix was last seen and discover Alpha Trion, one of the Original 13 Primes and the only one who is still functional. Through him they learn that Sentinel Prime has been lying to the populace – he betrayed the Primes and killed them, causing the Matrix to be lost, and he is having the Energon mined in order to pay off the Quintessons who helped him rise to power. It is the betrayal of his hero Sentinel, along with seeing the remains of his fallen idol Megatronus, that propels D-16 down the path of darkness (anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering – Yoda was right!). Before Sentinels goons find them, Alpha Trion informs the heroes that all Transformers naturally have (are born with? created with?) Transformation Cogs and that Sentinel must have stolen those of the lower caste. Thus Trion in turn bestows upon the quartet the cogs of four of the fallen Primes.
Much like the IDW comics, until this point there had been a disappointing lack of transformation in this Transformers movie. With no altmodes all the lower caste look like Action Masters (similar looking non-transforming blocky robots) and with the exception of a race, we haven’t seen enough of other characters to really get a feel for the shape-changing species. With their new cogs, the four heroes sprout new armour, new weapons, new kibble and increase in size considerably. The payoff for waiting so long is worth it story wise, but it is a long time coming and for the younger viewers the wait is perhaps too long.
Eventually we finally get what everyone wants to see from a Transfomers movie, a big battle! On their way back to confront Sentinel they enlist the help of a group of renegade bots being lead by Starscream, Soundwave & Shockwave, and Orion sneaks back into Iacon to inspire the miners to join the fight. Between the two groups they manage to route Sentinels forces and by capturing Sentinel’s 2IC Arachnid expose his duplicity to the public. Despite having won D-16 is still determined to kill Sentinel, yet Orion leaps in the way of the shot to try and stop him, the shot taking Orion out. D-16, angry at Orion’s interference, announces ‘I’m done saving you’ and drops Orion to his death. D-16 murders Sentinel, takes Sentinels cog (it itself stolen from the corpse of Megatronus) and proclaims himself ‘Megatron’, his new cog beefing him up even further in the process.
‘For a change of pace Megatron is going to usurp me’
Though entertaining, there are a few things that don’t sit quite right at this pivotal moment of the movie. We know Orion is a hero at heart, but why leap in front of the shot meant for Sentinel instead of simply trying to tackle his friend? Why did D-16 not agonize longer about what he had done to Orion, given their close friendship? Why after taking victory and then upgrading did Megatron and his troops subsequently begin to trash the city for no discernible reason? The changeover to old-school Decepticon shenanigans seems too down pat, like the struggle for freedom and the friendship we had watched for the past hour now meant nothing.
Much like in other continuities such as in the War for Cybertron video game and the Prime cartoon, we see Orion, who having fallen all the way to Cybertron’s core, get turned by Primus into Optimus Prime via the power of the Matrix, and then return to fight Megatron. This is actually one of their best fights over the whole 40 year franchise, both utilizing their various weapons and altmodes as they battle for supremacy. After taking victory, Optimus banishes Megatron and his army from the city, before using the power of the Matrix to finally give his cogless former coworkers the ability to transform and the Energon to flow through Cybertron once again. Throw in a post-credit scene of Megatron in the wastes giving his troops the Decepticon brand and that’s a wrap folks.
There is a lot to love in this movie, especially for a dedicated Transformers fan. Many of the background Autobot characters, even before getting their cogs, are recognisable, such as Jazz, Ironhide, Arcee and Wheeljack. Likewise on the Decepticon side we see many recognisable Seekers, the animators even putting in smaller details such as Thrust’s wing turbines. There are small Easter Eggs scattered throughout, Megatron being D-16 (the original Megatron toy’s designation in Japan), Blurr’s name being on the leaders board during the Iacon 5000 race (it itself a reference to the Speedia 5000 race from the Legacy toyline) and many others which will bypass the casual viewer but delight those in the know. The animation is top notch – Cybertron itself looks fantastic, with vibrant cities, dank pits, panoramic landscapes and a world that itself can change its shape, the only confusing thing being the appearance of organic matter on the planets surface. The Quintessons have always been the main off-world enemies of the Transformers, and although not multi-faced do bear their telltale colour schemes and tentacles and their ship looks suitably imposing floating over the abandoned surface.
“Are you guilty or innocent? Wait, thats the other animated movie’
The characterizations and voice acting are both worthy of note, displaying much of the various characters original traits, yet being fresh enough takes to keep things interesting. Perhaps it would have been good to see Welker & Cullen take on the voice acting once D-16 and Orion become Megatron and Optimus respectively, but given this film is likely to be the first of an animated trilogy, one can understand the studios wishing to stick to the younger actors who will be able to fulfill the roles for years to come. What fans will love is that the characters are actually recognizable as themselves; their general appearance, colour schemes, attitudes and altmodes all appropriate. After years of so many beloved characters being made unrecognizable in the live action movies (such as the Wheeljack controversy from ROTB) it was refreshing to see the writers and animators give proper weight to the source material. Speaking of source material, there is much Transformers lore to be found within the film, especially around their god Primus and the Original 13 Primes.
Of course, there are a few letdowns. The primary letdown is the lack of gravitas given to significant events within the film that should hold higher implications. How was Sentinel Prime able to kill the Original 13 Primes so easily in combat? Why would Optimus throw himself in front of a shot which would kill the despot, however after only one short battle permanently banish his best friend and his followers from Iacon to the wilds of Cybertron? Yeah, ok, Megs dropped him into a ravine, I’d be a bit salty about that too, but it would have been more in keeping with the character for him to offer Megatron another chance and for Megs to shun it, rather than so willingly banish so many bots, that had moments ago helped to liberate Iacon, from the city they just helped save. This and similar events make the characters seem more two-dimensional than is satisfactory, especially for a 3D film, though still miles ahead of the ‘murderbots’ of the Bayverse.
Minor quibbles aside this is a great movie, and it is fantastic to see Transformers return to its cinematic roots of animation. It is to be hoped that the movie does well enough at the box office to warrant a sequel. Is this movie for everyone? No. Your average adult viewer is not going to be overly entertained by this flick, however for younger viewers and Transformer fans they are in for a treat which will delight anyone remotely interested in the wonderful world of The Transformers.
Have you seen this movie and what did you think of it? Pop your thoughts in the comments section below!
Please note: Due to signing NDA’s, there are no reviews of Transformers One in this post. The following discusses the Sydney showing in general terms and fans reactions. NO SPOILERS are contained in this piece, nor in the YouTube video at the bottom of this page.
Along with the US, UK and Mexico, some lucky Australian fans were treated to a Special Fan Screening of Transformers One, a full two months before the movie is set for general release.
It would break the laws of the universe to have a Transformers movie that did not contain Bumblebee
The Australian showing was at the Hoyts Entertainment Quarter in Sydney, the same place where Hasbro and Paramount held the Rise of the Beasts Preview Screening in 2023.
It was a fun and festive atmosphere, especially with so many children in attendance. There were large Transformer One displays, statues of the main characters and even the latest Robosen figures were on show.
“I admire strong women. So what are you doing after the show?”
Attendee’s were given gift bags containing popcorn, water, an Orion Pax toy and a couple of posters. Also all attendee’s were naturally required to sign Non-Disclosure agreements, as well as having their phones cloaked, in order for no spoilers to be leaked that could ruin the viewing experience for others when the movie goes to general cinema release in September.
However we are allowed to share fans general impressions of the movie, and many of those in attendance were kind enough to share their feelings with bigangrytrev.com
Below are the reactions of fans who viewed the film at the Sydney event. Note that neither Paramount or Hasbro has tried to dictate the positivity or negativity of the following. There is no information contained in the following about the plot of the movie that was not already known by the general public from the public trailers and press releases. Note we have also included a link to peoples reactions on our YouTube channel at the bottom of this page.
How fantastic to see Transformers movies return to the world of animation, something we haven’t seen since the beloved 1986 film! I enjoyed this movie on so many levels, as did my wife and children. Look forward to bringing you all a full review in September!
Objectively, this is the best Transformers movie we’ve gotten to date. Hands down the best Megatron origin story. Finally, a Transformers movie that my wife genuinely enjoyed as much as I did. I’ll pay to see it again. And for me, that’s saying something.
Jason G
Far and away the best Transformers movie (not including the ’86 movie) released to date. Cant wait to see it again!
I want a CD of the movie score, Brian Tyler crushed it! The visuals were so good that there were a couple scenes where I got sweaty palms from the heights. I think this is the transformers movie that a lot of fans have been waiting for, it didn’t feel as long as it was.
Bobby P
The only thing that sucks about this movie is that I have to wait another 2 months until I can watch it again.
David Q
It’s an action filled blockbuster that honestly is the best Transformers film ever to grace the big screen! We all love the 86’ film, but without the lens of nostalgia, it’s far from perfect. Whereas this is a literal roller coaster ride of DEEP TF lore, likeable characters and extraordinarily layered and nuanced writing. It’s really really REALLY bloody good!
Transformers One is a movie I wasn’t expecting to like as much as I did, but it is quite easily the best written Transformer movie ever. The comedy parts were done well and I laughed out loud quite a bit. There were also a lot of “oh wow” moments but I can’t say more than that until the general release. I can’t wait to see it again!
Ben K
Great Movie, great Character development. An Origin story that portrays the franchise fantastically. Finally a modern film that does the franchise justice!.
I believe this is the best transformers movie yet as there is actual character development, the film has depth and makes you feel for the each of the main characters and the story is fresh and engages you from minute one.
A whirlwind of fun, nostalgia and action giving Transformers fans young and old a story to enjoy. A new take on the origin story fans have always wanted with some clever nods to all that came before while forging its own direction. It exceeded my expectations and was able to offer some of the best character development we have seen in a Transformers movie. I can’t wait to watch it again.
Transformers One was a fun, fresh, colourful new beginning to a new era of Transformers that I am looking forward to seeing more of.
Craig M
Transformers One is fantastic. No notes. It’s what I want a Transformers movie to be. It’s what all Transformers fans want it to be. Go see it.
Jonathon H
High quality family fun. Great story. Fresh take on the back story of optimus and Megatron. Look forward to more stories in this world they have built.
Nathan A
I really enjoyed movie, loved the action and had fun picking out the references among the characters. Got a bit teary eyed during the some scenes (surely a sign of a good movie). Definitely looking forward to seeing it again.
The best piece of transformers media in a very long time. Stands right alongside with the Energon Universe and the first season of Earthspark as a titan of modern iterations of the franchise.
Of course we can’t forget the kids who were in attendance, lets get their thoughts too!
As most members of the Transformers Fandom would be aware, this year is the 40th anniversary of the franchise.
As such, worldwide Hasbro held a special Transformers 40th Cinema Event worldwide!
This event consisted of firstly a sneak peak at Season 2 of the cartoon series Transformers Earthspark. This was then followed by a Table Read of the script of the very first episode of the Generation One cartoon, with many of the surviving voice actor cast. Lastly the subsequent 3 episodes of the G1 cartoon were shown.
Whilst it was cool to get a look at the upcoming S2 of Earthspark, a short two minute section of an episode showcasing Starscream and his Seekers fighting the Autobots, and was also cool to see the G1 Episodes up on the big screen, it was really the Table Read that was the highlight of the show.
As someone who knows (either proudly or sadly depending on your viewpoint) every episode of the old 80’s cartoon by heart, it was interesting to hear the likes of Pete Cullen and Frank Welker reading out their lines. Not only were the inflections different, but you could also hear (especially in Cullen) how their voices have aged over four decades.
Other members of the original cast were there too, but of course sadly not all have survived, necessitating some characters vocals being performed by other voice actors. The voice actor that picked up Starscream and Wheeljack did an impressive rendition of Starscream, however made Wheeljack sound like he should be trying to order food at a Kosher Deli before having an afternoon nap. The highlight however was Gregg Berger reading Spike Witwicky – he sounded nothing like Spike but rather a 4 year old about to tell on another student in kindergarten for taking his favorite toy. Every time he did Spike the audience erupted in laughter and delight!
Myself personally booked tickets the moment the showing was announced at Event cinemas and went along with a large group of friends and our sons, including superfans Dallas, Trent and Brendan.
Fun for the kids…… and the kids at heart!
However two weeks after we had booked and paid for our tickets, I was contacted by Hasbro and Double Jump Communications to let me know of a special VIP Showing in Sydney that same night. Whilst I would have loved to attend, there was no way I was bailing on my friends so sadly had to miss out. However lots of other friends attended, including David Quinn and Lisamaree. They have kindly provided some photos and a few words about their experiences.
Recount by Lisamaree:
I was lucky enough to attend the VIP 40th Anniversary Transformers cinematic screening event at Event Cinemas in George Street, in the heart of the Sydney CBD.
One of the big differences with this event from previous VIP events I’ve been to was the diversity and sheer number of fans. Sure, the regular mega fans were there, but so were a lot of fans who didn’t know about any of the Australian Transformers clubs or online forums. Some were collectors and others just love Transformers cartoons or characters. It was a great mix of geekdom ready to celebrate 40 years of transforming robots. Yeah!
At 6pm the fans were invited into an area where glorious cardboard cut-outs (or giant standees as a lot of the “younger generation” were calling them) greeted us. G1 box-art of Megatron, Soundwave, Bumblebee and Ravage were super-sized and lining the entry for everyone to enjoy and take photos with.
Inside the foyer there was a giant backdrop of the classic G1 box art from the original toys to take photos in front of, a demonstration of the Robosen Optimus, Megatron and Grimlock self-transforming robots, a glass display of new and upcoming toys and an array of Transformer One cut-out characters to grab a photo op with.
For those who posted on social media with the right tags, the event organisers gave a limited number of Transformers One posters as prizes.
We were encouraged to post our photos from the event on social media, which I always do for these kinds of events in the hope of encouraging other fans to get involved and join in.
As we were ushered into the V-Max cinema everyone received a goodie bag that contained a G1 40th anniversary poster, a legend class Legacy United figure (either Tasmania Kid or Dinobot Sludge) and a discount voucher for Amazon.
The cinema greeted us with a movie sized still of the G1 backing box art on the big screen. It was impressive to see the classic 80’sartwork larger than life. The chairs were well spaced very comfy recliners. Masterpiece Ironhide, who had joined me as my figure of choice for the night, made himself quite at home on my chair as I took in the atmosphere of all the fans filling the cinema in excitement.
The event organiser started the session off with a transformers trivia competition. They were all easy trivia until the question “Name the four moons of Cybertron” was asked. Can you answer that without googling it? No one in our cinema could and there were some absolute Transformers masterminds in the room.
We were given a preview of the Transformers One trailer before getting into the viewing of the first 4 episodes of the Transformers G1 cartoon. The first episode voices were re-recorded with as manyof the original cast as possible and a couple of more recent voice actors standing in for those we’ve lost. Watching Peter Cullen and Frank Welker side by side reprising the first episode was nostalgic, funny, amazing and so very 80’s. As the episode progressed the voice actors were shown performing their lines side by side with the animation, which, was very pixelated and didn’t translate well onto the big screen… but that didn’t stop anyone enjoying the show. Notable shout out to Frank Todaro who did an amazing and incredibly expressive job filling in as Starscream.
At the end of the first episode we got to see a bloopers reel of Frank making Peter laugh, Greg Berger trying to make everyone laugh and some of the antics that had taken place while the voice actors had recorded the session together around a table.
There was a collective disappointment that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th episodes shown hadn’t been given the same re-recorded voice actor treatment but it was a novelty to see the tv episodes in a cinema format.
After the episodes finished the event organisers came back to the front of the cinema and told us there was one last prize for the best social media post.
Then they said the winner was … “aus – geek – mum”. My jaw dropped as I belatedly processed… ausgeekmum… that was me! I raised Ironhide in the air and yelled “woohoo” as the organiser came up and game me my prize. The prize included Rise of the Beasts Airazor, Rise of the Beasts legend class Arcee and a Rise of the Beasts Bumblebee mask.
At first I looked at it and thought “oh no – not ANOTHER Airazor!” but then another collector pointed out to me it was autographed. In fact, all the items were autographed. Arcee was autographed by the actress who voiced her in Rise of the Beasts – Liza Kolby. I was told Airazor was autographed by Michelle Yeoh, however I have yet to confirm this as the signature doesn’t look like her normal signature. Bumblebee was autographed too, but I gave him away to another collector I know really well as the mask wasn’t something I would have displayed in my collection and I believe in sharing the good luck around.
As everyone moved out of the cinema fans were congregated near a number of the large cut-out figures. People were focussed on a group of the cut-outs on one side of the walkway when I noticedRavage standing on his own behind everyone. I walked up to him and said “well, since no one is taking you, you can come home with me!” I grabbed him with glee and said “I’m taking him”.
Someone asked if I wanted to swap with Bumblebee and I politely said no while in my mind thinking there was no comparison between the autobot scout and the supremely superior Ravage. I made the trip home via the train with Ravage taking up his own 3-seater seat, much to the delight of most of the people in the carriage who couldn’t believe what they were seeing. He will now take up pride of place as the Prime Shrine attack kitty for the rest of his days.
Overall it was a fun night. Lots of laughs, nostalgia and fun was had with a small swag of goodies to top it all off.
Photo’s by David Quinn:
From Big Angry Trev thanks to Hasbro and Double Jump for putting on these fantastic events! I’m sure we speak for all fans when we say we look forward to more in the future!
Living in the bush I don’t get to see other Transformer fans very often. I don’t get to pop over to a mate’s house to see his latest acquisitions. I don’t attend meets, I don’t go to pop culture conventions, hell I don’t even get to visit toy stores. So when it comes to talking to others about a shared hobby I have to rely almost solely on the internet.
But the way a large segment of the fandom has been going in the last few years, I find myself thinking more often than not why I bother.
The default expression of an online Transformers fan
I don’t know when this all started. Maybe it was the live action Transformer movies. Most people seemed to like, or at least tolerate, the first movie in 2007. Those raising very vocal hatred for it being largely groups of GeeWunners who wanted it to look like the 1984 cartoon.
But then Revenge of the Fallen came out and a massive amount of the fandom started bitching, and it seems they have never stopped. It’s been years since a Transformers movie directed by MichaelBay (The Last Knight) has been released, and you still can’t surf a Transformers site without there being negative comments and memes threaded throughout screaming about how people hated them and it ‘raped their childhood’. Now in 2024, it’s the same arguments and complaints about the new Transformers One trailer: “Why isn’t this part of the G1 cartoon universe?! It’s a kick in the teeth to all the fans who carried the franchise for 40 years – Habro owes us!” Fans treating it as a personal insult that an animated movie designed to sell children’s toys isn’t aimed soley at middle-aged men – the sense of entitlement is staggering.
‘I was created not for entertainment, but to piss off fans. Didn’t you know that?’
And it seems this negativity of the fandom has spread from the movies to encompass any and everything Transformers. Be it comics, cartoons, toys – whatever. If it’s toys it’s all nitpicking about release times, non screen accurate figures and online retailers. If it’s the cartoons then it’s that the cartoon isn’t specifically aimed at demographic X – and if it IS aimed at demographic X then demographic Y kicks up a fuss.
When it’s about the comics people seem to get the most vocal of all (at least in years where a new movie hasn’t been released). Pre the reboot at IDW it was all about the writers having an agenda and virtue signalling and what have you. Now it’s about crossovers. The amount of hatred on the internet about the My Little Ponycrossover coming up has been frankly disgusting. Anyone who isn’t hating on the idea getting accused of being a homosexual or engaging in bestiality. Grown men – grown men – talking about how they despise My Little Pony. Why any grown man without a daughter has watched enough episodes to form such a strong opinion on a cartoon aimed at little girls is beyond me – but they must have watched it because they all seem to be experts on it and hate it. Even one of the artists that did one of the front covers for the upcoming crossover comics has received enough abuse to comment about it publicly. People abusing someone for doing their job and daring to draw a fictional horse on the same page as a fictional robot – way to make the fandom look good fellas.
‘You are destroying my franchise and deserve to die…. apparently’
Now bear in mind I don’t have a problem with people who have a genuine complaint. If you’ve bought a figure that snapped the moment you tried to transform it, despite you being gentle and following the instructions precisely, then damn right you are valid in being pissed off about it. Complain away and you will find a sympathetic ear in me. You got ripped off by an ebay seller and your TR Trypticon turns out to be a pack of beach towels – yell to high heaven! Preach brother! And if you didn’t like a comic or cartoon or movie or toy, then I’ll happily read your opinion if you keep it civil, logical, factual and state your opinion once.
Like Insecticons, angry posts like to clone themselves over and over and over
But it’s the constant bitching I can’t hack anymore. The people who didn’t like a movie and then years later are still writing post after post about how they hated it. People talking about how much a toy or movie sucks before they have even been released yet, like their opinion on something they have yet to personally experience makes it fact. People acting like so-called experts when they know little more than someone who has just entered a toyshop for the first time.
And the bitching about nothing! Sexuality in Transformers? Seriously? That is what brings people to boiling point? People lost their shit when the first wrist-rest mouse padswere released, like the manufactures had made booby pads based on their mothers instead of fictional shape-shifting alien robots. People scream abuse at each other over whether it is valid for Transformers to feel romantic affection for each other since they don’t breed. Is such a thing really worth calling a stranger a ‘f**king c**t’ over?
‘Why does our love cause you such hate?’
So it’s sad to say I’m feeling pretty done right now. I’m sick of clicking on a link or a FB post or a thread on a fansite to find out about some of the latest Transformer news and being confronted with a wall of vitriolic shit. I’m sick of saying I like something and having a dozen people call me an idiot or a faggot or worse for daring to have an opinion different to theirs. Sick of clicking to see if a toy is available only to see the people that got their toys and the people that didn’t, who ordered from the same online retailer, tearing each other a new one.
I know this kind of behaviour is not solely related to the Transformers fandom, it certainly happened in the Ghostbusters fandom with Frozen Empire. Some days it seems it’s the whole internet in general. Maybe I’m too old for the digital world. Whenever I converse online I try to think about, if I said this to a bloke in the pub, would it earn me a punch in the face? Because that was the reality I grew up with, with no internet and texting being easily accessible until I was in my 20’s. When you said something to someone you were saying it to their face. But now we have people who have done nearly all of their socialization their whole lives online, and have grown up in a world where you can say whatever hateful shit you like to someone because chances are that person is on the other side of the planet and you will never have to face consequences for your actions. Yes, the internet is getting too angry for even Big Angry Trev.
‘Can’t we all just peace out?’
Now people who live in GlassGas houses shouldn’t throw Cyberstones, and there are undoubtedly people out there that I have gotten into heated online arguments with over the years over very silly issues. So I am guilty too. But I pride myself that each year I get into less online fights, get into less pointless arguments and get better at cyber-walking away. I’m not perfect but I’m getting better. And maybe that it a goal we could all aim for – to improve our skill of walking away from the keyboard or smartphone when the blood begins to boil, and go play with our Technobots for a while.
So when I go home tonight, I won’t be surfing the big Transformer sites. I’m going to try my best to practice what I’m preaching and be a chilled out fan. I’m going to open up a bunch of new figures I just got and play with them with my son, as a reminder to myself that this hobby should be positive, should be fun, and in the end is about plastic toy robots.
Hey! If you are a positive person who loves talking about all the things they LIKE about Transformers? Why not restore my faith and write something happy in the comments below!
