In the first half of the show, Tony, Mike, Justin and Derek discuss the Netflix Original Animated Series, Voltron Legendary Defender, from DreamWorks Animation and World Events Productions.
Then, Mike and Derek take a lengthy break in a 'Fanholes Figure That!' segment to go over some of their most wanted Marvel Legends!
Finally, Mike and Derek wrap up the episode discussing the recently concluded revival of Samurai Jack! Check it out!
30. Bombshell (G1) First Appearance- The Transformers episode # 15- “A Plague of Insecticons” (1984)
Bombshell is my favorite Insecticon and I can remember really wanting
his original toy back when I was much younger. The closest I ever got
for awhile was a trading card of him that featured his toy’s box art,
which you can see above. In the early nineties, I traded an X-Men
action figure to a friend for his G1 Bombshell...but then
near-immediately traded back the next day because the Bombshell was so
rusty and loose that it was basically a marionette. Still, I have
always liked his character design and his distinct gimmick in fiction-
the mind-controlling cerebro-shells.
A couple of my cherished childhood Transformers books both revolved
around Bombshell using his cerebro-shells to wreak havoc on the
Autobots; the painted storybook “Insecticon Attack” and the
Choose-Your-Own-Adventure novel “Dinobots Strike Back” to be specific.
“Insecticon Attack” in particular featured some creepy visuals and
frightened me a bit as a child. Just look at Grapple’s cold, dead eyes!
THEY FOLLOW YOU EVERYWHERE!!!
Bombshell’s voice actor on the original Sunbow cartoon, Michael Bell,
always nailed it when it came to that character. For many of his other
characters, Bell would often vary in pitch and performance depending on
the episode. Sideswipe and Scrapper immediately come to mind in terms
of this, as sometimes his Sideswipe would sound like his Prowl and
sometimes his Scrapper would sound like Prowl...or even Bombshell
(seriously, listen to Scrapper in “The Core”, Bell is totally doing his
Bombshell voice there!) However, he always remained consistent with
Bombshell himself and the odd effects added to all the Insecticons'
voices were very memorable.
In retrospect, my appreciation for Bombshell seems almost like a
precursor to my attachment to the Beast Wars character Tarantulas, who
is in fact farther up this list. Bombshell and Tarantulas are both mad
scientist bug-guys with creepy voices who sometimes pursue their own
agendas in defiance of their leaders and deal in mind-altering “shells”,
whether they be the cerebro-shells or the “shell program” that converts
Maximals into Predacons. More than once I wondered if Bombshell could
have possibly become Tarantulas in the future...but it’s probably best
that they remain separate characters. Besides, Bombshell already has
enough identity problems with fans alternately thinking he was
transformed by Unicron into Cyclonus, a Sweep, or “Cyclonus’ armada” in
Transformers: The Movie.
Bombshell's most recent Legends Class figure is a pretty good updating
of his original toy, and I wouldn't say no to any other new,
more-complex versions of him. Even a version of his “Fall of Cybertron”
video game design, despite it being tailored as a bulky “bruiser”-type
character, would be cool.
29. Bruticus (G1) First Appearance- The Transformers episode # 62- “Starscream’s Brigade” (1986)
The Combaticons are altogether my favorite combiner team and Bruticus is
my favorite gestalt, so it's nice how that works out! They debuted in a
memorable episode of the original cartoon as a sort of “third faction”
led by Starscream as he attempted a coup against Megatron. The
Combaticons combine into Bruticus towards the end of the episode and
quickly prove their “new character cred” by completely flattening last
year’s model combiner- Devastator. Only a sneak attack by Menasor
defeats Bruticus in the end, and Starscream and the Combaticons are
exiled to deep space. In one of the few non-two-parter stories that
still maintained continuity from the last episode, “The Revenge of
Bruticus” immediately follows up on the group as they attempt to conquer
Cybertron and destroy Earth.
Thanks to so much screen-time and their status as a threat to both the
Autobots and Decepticons, the Combaticons made an impression on many,
myself included. Bruticus himself, while not a deep character by any
means, was a menacing presence in those first two episodes featuring him
and lived up to his status as a gestalt super-warrior. Of course,
after the “new toy smell” had worn off, Bruticus and the Combaticons
fell in line with Megatron and became like any other standard Decepticon
sub-group. Bruticus really has some embarrassing follow-up appearances
on the cartoon, particularly the dreadful episode “B.O.T.”- where he’s
destroyed by a SINGLE SHOT from his Autobot opposite number Defensor.
Still, he had a memorably-rumbly voice- the late great Roger C. Carmel,
known to Star Trek fans as space con-man Harry Mudd.
I've always dug Bruticus’ design, although the Floro Dery character
model kind of fails at emphasizing its coolest design cues in animation
or in the Marvel comics. Bruticus always looks cooler when an artist
hews closer to the original toy’s sharper and more defined angles.
Having many of the individual Combaticons’ alt-mode weapons and
attributes prominently displayed on Bruticus’ body gave him a much more
menacing silhouette than the other Decepticon gestalts of the day to me.
In fact, Onslaught’s backpack cannons and Vortex’s rotor blades were
sometimes utilized by Bruticus as integrated weapons in the combined
form.
Bruticus is also a highlight of the G1-inspired Fall of Cybertron video
game. After playing levels as Vortex and Swindle, the Combaticons
combine into Bruticus and you’re given control of the most powerful
character in the game. You’re virtually unkillable as Bruticus, with
multiple layers of health and shield, and all of his singular attacks
are devastating to the smaller enemies in your path. It’s one of, if
not THE funnest level in the campaign, and it lasts for far too brief a
time. The Combaticons in general come off as pretty cool in that game,
and they’ve even got some play-time in the somewhat-inferior follow-up
game “Rise of the Dark Spark” as well.
The original Combaticons/Bruticus toy molds are known for their
longevity, being repainted, retooled, and re-released many times over
the years. I’ve owned at least two versions of the original Bruticus
mold, but I’m always tempted to pick him up again when he’s reissued,
having a lot of fondness for those toys. The most current Combiner Wars
Combaticons are pretty excellent remakes of the originals...although I
had to spring for the Japanese “Unite Warriors” version of them to get
the as-of-yet unreleased in the USA shuttle-mode Blast Off. There’s
tons of other official and third-party options for this overall concept
too. Basically, you’re never going to want for options when it comes to
Bruticus in toy form and I think that says a lot for his popularity.
One of the original Autobot Headmasters, Chromedome has had some really
disparate portrayals across the various G1 continuities. He was
present, but not very prominent in either the Marvel comics or the
Sunbow cartoon. He was, however, virtually the main character of the
Japanese Headmasters cartoon, and currently has a HUGE presence in the
fandom's collective eyes thanks to IDW’s comics. I’ve always liked
Chromedome’s basic character design, but what initially caught my
interest in regards to him was reading his Marvel Transformers Universe
profile. Chromedome’s given occupation as a computer programmer must
have come at just the right time for me. I think my family had only
recently gotten our first home computer and I was pretty enthralled with
it. Reading that Universe profile in the back of Marvel issue # 48
seemed to confirm for me that maybe this “computer” thing was catching
on! Never mind that I read the issue probably about five years after it
was actually published...
When I finally got to watch bootlegs of the Japanese Headmasters series
years after that, I was kind of disappointed by the fact that Chromedome
just seemed to be your standard young and brash dime-a-dozen anime
protagonist dude who won the day with BURNING SPIRIT and whathaveyou. It was the bizarre “Billy and Sparkle” English dub I watched too, so of
course...I couldn't take it all that seriously at the time. However,
nowadays I can fully appreciate that dub for being a work of comic
genius, and the voice actors’ harried and inept line readings put a
smile on my face every time I watch any given clip of it.
Thankfully in modern times, James Roberts has given Chromedome a
starring role in the IDW comics, and spent a lot of time making him a
rich, complex character. Also, he's given him an occupation that's a
lot more specific and unique than just “computer programmer”. IDW
Chromedome is a “mnemosurgeon”- a specialist in memory retrieval and
alternation, with abilities that have proven to be both a blessing and a
curse for him. His relationship with Rewind, his “Conjunx Endura” (the
Transformer equivalent of a spouse), provided many of the most touching
moments in Roberts’ continuing run of stories.
I’ve never owned Chromedome’s original toy, but the recent “Titans
Return” deluxe figure is a pretty good modern version of it. His body
is based on the G1 figure, but I'm happy that Hasbro went with artist
Alex Milne's version of Chromedome's face, and not the original
toy/Japanese animation model with two optics instead of a visor. The
Titans Return toy IS a bit stout for my liking- Chromedome’s usually
portrayed as a bit lankier. I wouldn’t say no to another new toy
version of him that is based more on Milne’s more jazzed-up body design.
I’m sure Rewind prefers that look for “Domey” too.
27. Brawn (G1) First Appearance- Marvel Transformers US issue # 1 (1984)
Plan “B” stands for “BRAWN”.
The above series of panels from the first issue of Dreamwave’s
Transformers: Generation One ongoing series is the perfect encapsulation
of Brawn as a character. He’s a scrappy little tough guy who is much
stronger than he looks and routinely takes on far superior foes while
delivering some macho quips. In fact, the Fanholes once crowned Brawn
“King of the season 1 cartoon one-liners”. Whether he’s asking if
anyone is interested in a magazine subscription in a room full of
Decepticons or warning them to “prepare for a very large headache”,
Brawn always has some snappy wisecrack to drop just before clobbering
his enemies.
Brawn was usually everyone's buddy (except maybe Perceptor, and even
then Brawn warmed up to him eventually!) and a reliable teammate on the
battlefield. Unlike his fellow Mini-Bots Gears and Huffer, Brawn never
came off as whiny or annoying, or even as abrasive as Cliffjumper. I
was always happy to see him tagging along with any random assortment of
Autobots. Brawn just livened up the scene whenever he showed up on the
original cartoon, and that’s in no small part to the performance of his
voice actor, the talented and versatile Corey Burton.
Brawn's also done a “Fastball Special” with Optimus Prime TWICE, and he played both the pitcher and ball roles!
My primary enjoyment of Brawn is primarily derived from his appearance
on the cartoon, but he’s had some minor significance in the comics too,
being the focus of Simon Furman’s very first written Transformers work.
“The Enemy Within” (Marvel UK # 13-17) is a somewhat-bizarre early
tale, made more so by Brawn being drawn with his awkward toy-accurate
design for the entire arc, rather than his more streamlined and humanoid
Floro Dery character model. Still, it has its charm and it certainly
sells Brawn’s chief attribute- his overwhelming physical strength and
toughness, quite well.
Speaking of toughness, Brawn is the subject of one of the earliest
fandom-wide memes in Transformers. In Transformers: The Movie, Brawn
was seemingly killed by a shot from Megatron that struck him in the
shoulder. Any fan worth their salt would tell you that such a paltry
wound wouldn’t be enough to kill the mighty Brawn, and thus “Brawn
Lives!” became a popular rallying cry for that notion. It would even be
made manifest to a degree in official canon, as Brawn’s later death by
apparent atomization in the Generation 2-era comics would be
retconned-away years after in the Botcon Universe comics. In those
convention-exclusive stories, Brawn is shown to have been teleported
away by Unicron the instant before he was destroyed to participate in
the so-called “Universe War”. This would have led to an exclusive Brawn
figure retooled from Energon Strongarm at the following year’s
convention...but sadly those plans were canceled.
Thankfully, Brawn’s got several good options for toys at present. He’s a
popular choice for third-party companies to make their own versions of,
but Brawn’s most current official “Titans Return” Legends-class figure
is pretty damned perfect. It captures his cartoon self beautifully, and
his roof detaches to become an arm-mounted shield (you know, to protect
that pesky Achilles shoulder!) Brawn’s also been given a smaller
“Titan Master” toy- a miniature version of himself that can even ride
inside the larger Legends figure. Yes; Brawn can drive Brawn, and don’t
worry; HE’LL get the door!
26. Dead End (G1) First Appearance- The Transformers episode # 56- “The Key To Vector Sigma, Part 1” (1985)
What’s the point in telling you about Dead End? He’s my favorite
Stunticon, but that isn’t saying much- they’re all a bunch of crazies
and uncultured thugs. Dead End at least likes to keep himself looking
good, so he “leaves an attractive corpse”. I guess that’s a positive
attribute...to be the prettiest weed among the weeds. Dead End’s voice
actor on the original cartoon, Philip Clarke, did infuse him with a lot
of personality with his subtle and nuanced performance. And now he’s
dead.
I always did prefer Dead End’s Floro Dery head design with the visor and
mouthplate over the regular-faced toy design...because why would anyone
want to look at those perpetually-down-turned features? It’s a good
thing the recent “Combiner Wars” Dead End figure went with that design.
It’s almost like the designers CARED about Dead End’s feelings or
something, but that’s impossible. That toy’s a passable update of the
original Dead End, but once he had a toy in the “Alternators” line that
was just a repainted Sunstreaker. What a cruel joke...Sunstreaker can
actually back up his vanities. Dead End also received a couple of Movie
line homage toys...that both looked more like his fellow Stunticon
Wildrider. Typical.
It’s notable that the only significant time in canon that Dead End was
truly optimistic was BEFORE he actually became a Decepticon…
That’s from his brief cameo in IDW’s Megatron: Origin # 3 and look; that
homage-stealing putz Wildrider is already trying to take the wind out
of his sails. From the very beginning, all of Dead End’s dreams were
stomped on and now he is nothing more than the bleeding wreckage of
their shattered remains.
Would it be insensitive to say that I find Dead End’s attitude kind of
funny? That I can sometimes relate to mopey people with
obsessive-compulsive worries about their physical appearance and when I
liken myself to such a person, I feel better by comparison? It probably
is a little mean, but when you get right down to it...the sun is going
to burn out in a few billion years anyhow.
Just face it; we’re DOOMED.
25. Megatron (Animated) First Appearance- Transformers Animated episode # 1- “Transform and Roll Out, Part 1” (2007)
When you ask most Transformers fans who their favorite incarnation of
Megatron is, about 90% of them will likely say either “G1” or “Beast
Wars”. However, this is MY favorite version of Megatron, and it’s
because I think he merges the best attributes of both the G1 and Beast
Wars versions...and the whole is even greater than the sum of its parts.
Animated Megatron is dangerous, resourceful, articulate, cold yet
charismatic..and he managed to be all that while remaining nothing more
than a damaged, decapitated head for the first third of the series.
Animated Megatron is every bit the smooth talker that BW Megs was,
expertly manipulating the human scientist Issac Sumdac into doing his
bidding and eventually facilitating his restoration to full health.
Whereas most of BW Megatron’s handful of followers are only loyal to him
because of stupidity, brainwashing, or enslavement, Animated Megatron
inspires genuine fealty in an entire army of Decepticons who truly
believe him to be the foremost freedom fighter of their cause. And he
can easily sway those on the fence, like the Constructicons, to his side
by sheer force of personality and some canny charm.
Like his G1 self, Animated Megatron wields a powerful fusion cannon and
can dominate lesser combatants with his overwhelming physical strength.
UN-like G1 Megatron, this Megatron disposed of his treacherous
lieutenant Starscream after the FIRST instance of betrayal. Even though
Starscream managed to miraculously survive this, he remained at odds
with Megatron for the remainder of the series, with the two only working
together when forced by circumstance. When Starscream first returned,
resurrected by a life-giving AllSpark fragment, Megatron immediately
killed him again...and again...and again...in a murderous montage that
is one of the funniest scenes of the entire show.
A very big part of why Animated Megatron is so cool is his prolific
voice actor- Corey Burton, whom I’ve mentioned before in this list and
will mention again. A returning performer from the original cartoon, as
well as numerous other animated projects, Burton gets to show off his
unbelievable range once again in voicing Megatron, Ratchet, and
Shockwave in this series. He lends Megatron a palpable sense of icy
menace, as well as a weathered-but-lasting pride in his Decepticon
heritage and cause. The Decepticons of Animated even have their own
rallying cry to mirror the Autobots' "Transform and roll out!", a
variation that is entirely fitting on multiple levels and which Corey
Burton's Megatron always delivers with due gravitas- "Transform and RISE UP!!!"
This older, almost wearier-sounding Megatron has inspired many fans to
“hear” Corey Burton’s voice in their heads when reading the current
version of G1 Megatron in IDW’s comics. Just listen to this
interpretation of a scene from IDW’s More Than Meets The Eye comic by
talented fan Chris McFeely and hear how perfectly it fits-
Megatron’s had several toys in the Animated toyline, including two of
his original Cybertronian design. They’re okay, but if you can
instantly tell which end of his spaceship mode is supposed to be the
front, you’re a far better judge of alien vehicle modes than I.
Megatron’s also got a beautiful Leader-Class figure that captures his
Earthen form to a tee. It has Corey Burton-voiced sound clips that
activate when you press down on its head and various other cool sound
effects. Megatron’s mouth even moves when you press down on the head,
so you can do impressions of him talking while doing that...not that
I've ever done it...ahem ahurm ahah…
24. Darkwing and Dreadwind First Appearance- Marvel Transformers US # 42 (1988)
There are numerous duo-acts in the Transformers universe...two
characters connected either by toy gimmick, family bond, or some other
reason. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine one character without the other,
and that’s the case here with Darkwing and Dreadwind. They get to
share this spot on my list because these two guys ought to never be
separated.
Both of them have miserable attitudes, but Dreadwind usually turns that
unhappiness on himself, whereas Darkwing wants to share their misery
with others. It seems like the only kicks they get are spreading
sorrow...or wallowing in their own. In the Marvel UK comics, there is
even a short strip of them getting utterly sloshed together at
Maccadam’s Old Oil House as they lament being hunted by the metal-eating
Mecannibals. I happen to like the more cynical and depressing
characters in the Transformers universe (as mentioned in Dead End’s
entry) and this pair of buddies united in their total dedication to the
bleak side of existence have always provided some laughs for me.
I found it kind of offensive to my sensibilities when writer Mike Costa
cavalierly killed Dreadwind off during his run in IDW comics, and even
further- implied that Darkwing had abandoned his partner to die. Never
mind being unfaithful to their portrayals in previous continuities, this
didn’t even seem to jibe with Simon Furman’s earlier work in the IDW
universe. In the mini-series “Transformers: Stormbringer”, Darkwing is
in charge of a Decepticon unit on planet Nebulos that finds itself
facing down the monstrously-powerful Thunderwing. Before deciding to
take Thunderwing on, we get this little character moment for the duo
that nicely showcases their “bromance”.
No matter how it shakes out, Darkwing and Dreadwind are leaving
together. It would be almost touching if they weren’t leaving the rest
of their team to hang. Mike Costa also referred to Darkwing and
Dreadwind as “brothers” in his story, which I think is kind of a misread
of their relationship. I prefer to think of this duo as two dudes who
are only friends because of their shared “glass half-empty” philosophy
and that no one else would tolerate their company.
Darkwing and Dreadwind have fairly solid G1 Powermaster toys, and they
have received more modern figures in recent years...although the last
Darkwing was just a repaint and the last Dreadwind was a Botcon
exclusive that is ridiculously expensive on the aftermarket now. These
last toys were fairly out-of-scale with one another and couldn’t really
“interact” as their old figures did. Darkwing and Dreadwind are way
overdue for some new toys- ones that replicate the combined “superjet”
gimmick of their originals. The Generation 2 Dreadwing stealth bomber
figure was repurposed in the Marvel G2 comics as a new body for
Darkwing, and he even comes with a new partner jet- Smokescreen, to
combine with. Those figures are some of my personal favorite
Transformers toys ever, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want new versions
of the originals.
The current “Titans Return” line is heavily poaching from Darkwing and
Dreadwind’s original era of figures, so you’d think they would be on a
short-list for new versions. However, as of this writing- nothing yet. I guess that’s just Darkwing and Dreadwind’s luck.
23. Ironhide (Movie) First Appearance- Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday novel (2007)
Much like I wrote in my entry for Movie Starscream, this is a case where
the original G1 character never really struck a chord with me. I
actually always kind of found G1 Ironhide to be pretty obnoxious in the
Sunbow cartoon. Too overly-folksy, I guess...and I was always
questioning why Optimus Prime would sometimes listen to Ironhide’s
advice when more-qualified people like Prowl and Jazz were in the room.
However, Movie Ironhide is kind of a blend of several different G1
characters, and that mixture actually makes him more appealing to me.
Movie Ironhide obviously has G1 Ironhide’s name and usual role as
Optimus Prime’s close friend and battlefield second. His mentor/student
relationship with Sideswipe and his general “been there, done that”
attitude has echoes of G1 Kup, and he does turn into a pickup truck.
Finally, his love of guns and heavy artillery makes him a lot like G1
Roadbuster, who is farther up on this very list. I also dig Movie
Ironhide’s character design and black color scheme- he just looks
badass, and he has some of the best action beats in the live action
films.
Like with most Movie-verse characters, the tie-in fiction fleshes
Ironhide out much more than the actual films, as we see in the IDW
mini-series "Defiance". In the pre-war days, when Cybertron was split
among multiple tribes and factions, Ironhide was a “Thetacon”- a mortal
enemy of Sentinel Prime and his followers. Once Sentinel Prime proved
able to recharge the AllSpark and revitalize Cybertron, the Thetacons
formed an alliance with his faction, and Ironhide became their chief
representative. Ironhide became acquainted with Sentinel’s chief
science officer Optimus and was employed by the Cybertronian Defense
Force under Megatron. When Megatron forged the Defense Force into the
Decepticons and began the Great War, Ironhide decided that he had no
interest in conquest and joined the Autobots, now under Optimus’
leadership. It was Ironhide’s experience with soldiering and combat
that helped shaped Optimus’ group of scientists and civilians into a
force that could fight back against the Decepticons.
Ironhide’s Thetacon heritage added an extra layer to his eventual
betrayal and murder at the hands of the revived Sentinel Prime in the
third film. Sentinel had expressed a disdain for the Thetacon tribe
despite them allying with him in the past, and in the IDW comic
adaptation of Dark of the Moon, even coldly adds “I never did like your
kind” as he is dispensing with Ironhide. It was a sad end for the
character, but it was an effective moment in the film at least, and
evocative of G1 Ironhide’s death in Transformers: The Movie.
Like most of the Movie-verse main cast, Ironhide’s had tons of toys
across multiple size-classes. His original Voyager-Class figure is a
bit fidgety, but fairly decent and has been reused and retooled many
times. My favorite version of Movie Ironhide in toy form is the “Recon”
Voyager variant, which comes with an absolute arsenal of spare weapons,
including hunting knives and a massive crossbow. It was actually the
first figure to utilize the “C-joint” connectors that have since become
widespread across several Transformers toylines and allows for multiple
weapons to be attached or swapped among different figures. Ironhide’s
also got solid toys at smaller and larger price-points; although I’ve
never owned the Leader-Class figure, I hear good things. You certainly
have your options with Mr. TopKick here, up to and including the actual
gas-guzzling beast of a pickup truck he transforms into on-screen.
On a final note, Ironhide is infamous for having blown up the planet
Kaiba-5, as mentioned by Optimus Prime in the ‘07 Transformers film
tie-in video game. “That hunk of rock was going to blow up anyway,”
Ironhide assures us. What a rascal.
22. Ratbat (G1) First Appearance- Scramble City: Mobilization (1986)
Ratbat is usually one of Soundwave’s “Mini-Cassettes” or “Recordicons”
or whatever you want to call them. You know; the tape guys that launch
out of Soundwave when he hits the button on his shoulder. He was
significant for being the first new cassette character after the initial
batch in the first year of Transformers. While US audiences were first
introduced to him in Transformers: The Movie, Ratbat actually first
appeared on-screen in the Japanese exclusive animated special “Scramble
City.” In most animated stuff, Ratbat was pretty much the same as
Soundwave’s other flying minions, Laserbeak and Buzzsaw...except they’re
birds and he’s a bat. Those guys were treated as robot animals for the
most part, with zero opportunity for characterization or development.
They went “squawk squawk” or “squeak squeak” and that was the end of it.
However, in the Marvel comics, all those “animals” were fully-realized
characters with actual dialogue and the like. And as any knowledgeable
Transformers fan will tell you...one of the most bizarre things about
the original Marvel comic was that Ratbat was the main Decepticon leader
for a not-inconsiderable stint of time. He even did a pretty good job,
coming close to completely wiping out the Autobots when they were
gathered on the moon to watch Grimlock and Blaster battle for leadership
in Marvel US # 41, one of my personal favorite issues of all time. And
one time he toppled the towering Autobot commander Fortress Maximus
over. Ratbat really likes punching above his weight class!
Ratbat also once uhhh...opened a car wash...but it was OF DOOM! The
carwash scheme was to brainwash humans into stealing fuel for the
Decepticons, and it was kind of foretelling of Ratbat’s future
leadership style. After taking command, Ratbat had his Decepticons open
and staff “Club Con”- an island vacation resort for humans which was
just a front to distract the Autobots from a search in the nearby waters
to locate some ancient- ehhhhhh, y’know...it doesn’t matter. CLUB FREAKIN’ CON.
Ratbat was basically an accountant or high-level business executive
trying to run an army, and despite his successes, he was pretty bad with
people. You just know that under Ratbat, the Decepticons probably had
to deal with relentless memos, efficiency evaluations, and meetings that
involved spreadsheets, pie charts and line graphs. Ratbat promoted the
treacherous Starscream to second-in-command, and Starscream promptly
betrayed him and stole the Underbase, a storehouse of vast cosmic power,
out from under him. An alliance with rival Decepticon leader Scorponok
ended with Scorponok shooting Ratbat in the back and killing him, after
Ratbat was dumb enough to screech his own power-hungry ambitions aloud.
Still, I and many fans retain a sort of fascination with Ratbat’s time
being the leader of the Decepticons. Writer Bob Budiansky has said that
he went in that direction to confound expectations and shake things up,
and the idea must have been effective to some extent, considering
people still talk about it to this day. Indeed, later G1 fiction
usually makes a point of giving Ratbat a humanoid robot mode and a
position of authority at some point in the past before becoming his more
familiar cassette-self. In the Dreamwave comics, he was leader of his
own faction- the “Ultracons” in the past, complete with their very own
Ratbat-like faction symbol. And in the IDW comics, Ratbat was one of
the corrupt members of the Cybertronian Senate that inspired Megatron to
rebel and begin the Great War. The concept of “the honorable Senator
Ratbat” always amused the hell out of me.
“VOTE RATBAT! A name you can...clearly not trust.”
Ratbat's got a surprising history of having good toys. Well, his
original G1 toy is a little fragile, but quite unique among its
Mini-Cassette brethren. He's got two great toy versions of his
pre-cassette humanoid bodies, repainted and retooled from existing molds
but still managing to be excellent representations of his past
Dreamwave and IDW-selves. His Masterpiece toy faithfully captures and
updates his original design with much-improved engineering. And of
course, all of these toys are extremely fuel-efficient...just the way
Ratbat likes it.
21. Sunstreaker (G1) First Appearance- Marvel Transformers US # 1 (1984)
The above image, from the children’s storybook “The Decepticons’ Secret
Weapon”, is the main picture on Sunstreaker’s TFWiki page, and
rightfully so. It perfectly sums up Sunstreaker’s main character
conceit, which is...conceit. Sunstreaker is better-looking,
faster, and can fight better than you and he wants you to know it.
Ironically, about the first time I was ever properly introduced to
Sunstreaker was in Marvel US # 10, as seen below.
Yeah, Sunstreaker was killed...or at least grievously maimed by
Shockwave in Marvel US # 5, and he remained completely off the table in
the Marvel comics all the way until Marvel US # 41...in which he was
damaged AGAIN and put back into stasis. Then he was restored by the
miracle power source Nucleon in Marvel US # 74, survived the massive
battle with Unicron in # 75, and was killed AGAIN in issue # 80. At
least the ancient “Last Autobot” resurrected him almost immediately
after that last one, but man...Sunstreaker had NO luck in the Marvel
comics. He featured a little more across the pond in the UK comics, but
he’s mostly known for having sat a HUGE chunk of Marvel in general out.
Sunstreaker had some better luck in the original cartoon, starring in
several episodes and being voiced by the previously-lauded-on-this-list
Corey Burton, who really played up his vanity. You’d often hear
Sunstreaker complain about something scratching his bodywork or
scorching his “selenium shin-guards.” He and his brother Sideswipe even
invented an aerial martial art called “jet judo” with which to take on
Decepticon fliers.
Appropriately, my eye was usually drawn to Sunstreaker due to his
appearance. He was always “that yellow Autobot who wasn’t Bumblebee” on
the cartoon to me and he had a fairly-unique head design that stood out
among the other Autobots. I also did own that aforementioned
children’s storybook, where Sunstreaker is captured by Devastator,
forcing the Autobots to mount a rescue that involved wheeling a giant
“Trojan Devastator” statue to the Decepticons’ door in order to
infiltrate their base. His scarce appearances in the Marvel comic
probably also somehow added to Sunstreaker’s “mystique” to me.
Sunstreaker’s since had a good career in subsequent Transformers comics,
although writers still do seem to like putting him through the wringer. Simon Furman even made him a Headmaster in the earlier IDW comics,
physically and mentally bonded to Hunter O’Nion- one of the main human
characters at the time. While this situation didn’t last for very long
and was truncated by forces beyond Furman’s control, it was still an
intriguing concept and could have had legs far beyond the time it did
last. The egotistical, disdainful, borderline-sociopath Sunstreaker
forced to share literal head-space with a human teenager? The story
possibilities and opportunities for character development were
limitless! However, follow-up writer Shane McCarthy decided it wasn’t
“GEEWUN” enough, and instead had Sunstreaker betray the Autobots and he
and Hunter both be horribly tortured and killed. Cuz yeah…that sure was
a step-up from Furman’s ideas…
I think the prematurely-aborted Dreamwave comics written by James
McDonough and Adam Patyk had the best take on Sunstreaker. They really
focused in on the “sociopath” part of Sunstreaker’s original character
bio, and portrayed him as cold and guarded. There was a serious sense
of tension in the room with their Sunstreaker present that I enjoyed,
even as fleeting as his appearance was. Dreamwave insiders also claimed
that McDonough and Patyk were writing Sunstreaker from the position
that he was gay. I’m...fairly certain that “narcissistic sociopath”
isn’t the most positive portrayal of a gay character one could manage...
Sunstreaker’s had a lot of toys, and his striking visual design ensured
that most all of them looked pretty neat. I bought his “Alternators”
release and thought it had a really good head sculpt. And his 2008
Universe Deluxe-Class toy is one of my favorite figures in that size
class ever. That mold has some fantastic engineering and was made with
Sideswipe in mind too, featuring a different transformation for each
brother’s respective figure. Just be gentle transforming Sunstreaker,
because if you scratch his paint...there will be hell to pay.
A Brand New Fanholes Podcast Spin-Off Show! Comic Books Mutha@#$%! Do You Read 'Em?!? Tony, Derek and Justin discuss some Musical Comic Books! Up on deck are the NightCat Special, Shadowman #19 and Kiss Psycho Circus #1! Check it out!
