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If you're complaining about Michael Bay's Optimus Prime... | |
Posted July 18, 2006 - 11:38:42
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 So, several days ago an image of the "Truck" mode of Optimus Prime (from the currently in-production live action movie directed by Michael Bay) surfaced online. They were yanked from most of the major websites soon after, but as you can see - some of us haven't been contacted my Paramount's legal team yet. So, Bay made Prime a black long nosed truck with red flames.
...and would-be fanboys errupted in anger. Complaining "He's supposed to be a red stub nosed truck!"
And here's where I tell you guys to shut the f*** up. I'm telling you that if you're complaining about Michael Bay's Optimus Prime, besides lacking any perspective, you're also not a true fanboy. Why? A true fanboy would remember the late G2 Laser Optimus Prime. What's that? You don't remember that? Well, let me refresh your memory - here's his truck mode. Now, tell me what you see. What's that, you see a long nosed black truck with red fade (which is pretty similar to the flames in the image) on the nose? Hmmm. Oh wait, that means Bay actually based this off of not only a legitimate incarnation of Prime, but probably one of the best toys to come out of the 1990s. Now, I hold no illusions that the robot mode will look like Laser Optimus Prime's (look for yourself), but honestly - I can hold out on a little hope.
Megatron will likely be a tank (since Bay wants no disappearing parts), which is fine. Since G2 Megatron has usually been a tank. So, Prime will be one of his G2 toy incarnations roughly (not to mention that he was a long nosed truck during the more recent Transformers Armada as well - you know, where the Laser Optimus Prime toy was rereleased as Scourge?), just as Megatron will (who was also a tank during Armada).
So, you so-called fanboys - go back to worrying about the script, and the characterization (or Bumblebee becoming a Camaro or whatever instead of a VW Beatle), and stop bitching about Optimus not looking like his first incarnation. He's had about 20 bazillion, and if you didn't know that, you aren't a big enough fanboy to have the right to complain.
God damn, this is exactly why I got the hell out of Fandom. It's full of whiny little nitpicky jerks who don't even know what they should be actually nitpicking...
- Traegorn
Hear Hear!
For me, I always found the ones who griped about the 'kiddy elements' such as Daniel or Wheelie or the kids in Armada to be the ones who deserved a slap.
"What's that? Kiddy elements in a toy-line and a cartoon made for children... you don't say..."
Well, we got spoiled by the later Beast Wars/Beast Machines stuff, which managed to be good for both young viewers and older viewers - but yeah. Transformers is made primarily for children - and if they choose not to cater to me (the older fan) I respect that, and I understand.
Like, I hated the "Robots In Disguise" cartoon - although I loved the toys... those are the last Transformers toys I ever bought - but I didn't bitch. I just said "Oh, it looks like they're going for the kids" and turned it off not worrying about it.
Now, the movie looks like it's aimed at older fans, and while I hate Michael Bay... I hate Bob Skir too, but I loved Beast Machines. So... it may, in fact, be an awesome movie. I mean, stuff is going to blow up and there willl be giant robots - if anyone expects any more from Transformers, they just aren't being realistic. So, I'll probably love this movie...
...the plot can't be any dumber than an episode of G1. 
I've not bought a Transformers toy since the 80s. I was only really watching the cartoon and reading the comics for nostalgia value. I remember when I was 16 having a big hate-on for Beast Machines simply because of the contradictions to the original series, then I realised that the story was more important than continuity.
But Michael Bay directing Transformers, it worries me, but I hope it'll be a good film. Although I know the fanboys will be bitching like little bitch things.
Well, actually BM doesn't really contradict the US cartoon (both the US and UK comics occur in a different continuity from the G1 cartoon) - and it added quite a bit of depth.
I loved G1 references spliced into Beast Machines.
I just dug out a bunhc of RID and BM toys I had stored away for the last three years... I forgot how much fun they were to mess around with.
I grew up more on the English comics (and the US comics reprinted withing) than I did with the original G1 Cartoon. The UK drawn strips were possibly Transformers best for the first 200 so issues.
See, the UK comics are a wholey different continuity than even the US comics (although the UK comics do incorporate the US comics... it doesn't go both ways). So, yeah - Beast Machines does not take place in that universe.
Maybe it's just because I watch a lot of Anime, but I've never had the problem with multiple universes that so many American fans seem to...
Well, when Simon Furman progressed from writing the UK to writing the US comic, he encorporated the Primus as God origin into the comics, of course, in doing so, the UK continuity went kinda weird from then on.
Let's look at it this way: At least Uwe Boll's not directing it. So yes, this movie does have a decent chance to survive in the theatres next summer.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't *you* the one getting bent out of shape about this? People can have their opinions about it, and you and I both know that geeks gripe about stuff INCESSANTLY, whether it matters or not. So because someone complains about nostalgia they're all of a sudden "not a true fan"? I for one haven't seen anything Transformers since the original, except for Beast Wars, but I still consider myself a nostalgic fan, and so what if I'd prefer to see Prime look the way he originally did? If you're going to be this critical about people having opinions about stuff, then maybe you *should* "get the hell out of fandom". "Shut the F*ck up", my ass!
Well, my issues comes down to getting annoyed with people who have been screaming "They're destroying Transformers!" and claiming that Prime never looked like that - when he has. They claim to be purists without understanding the full text of what they're defending.
It's like me complaining about a picture of flowers, claiming to be a botany expert, saying "Tulips aren't supposed to be yellow!" just because I had only seen red tulips. I just get tired... of stupid.
This is all Penny Arcade's fault...
Ah, I getcha. I definitely don't think having it one way or another would "ruin" it. It's especially stupid if they're trying to be all high and mighty about it but are completely wrong, like you had pointed out. The worst thing that can happen with the transformers movie is that it'll be like X3, which had to be taken as a completely seperate entity to enjoy.
Well, I'm hoping for an X-Men 1 situation.
Of course, the original series is actually terrible when you look at characterization and plot. We all remember the show with rose colored glasses, but as I've rewatched the old series as an adult... oh god, it really is terrible. So, I actually don't think there are many ways to screw it up -
- because the hate plague episode of the old series will always be worse.
All Bay needs to do is have giant robots, stuff blowing up, and Prime needs to be cool and Megatron evil. That's it.
(And it looks like I might have been wrong, and Megatron will be a giant jet and not a tank - and he HAS been a jet in Toy form, so it's not uncalled for)
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