Alt.Toys.Transformers FAQ Part Two: Questions and Answers II Version 5.0 == Part Two Contents ================== X. Cartoon 1. What's the deal with Rumble and Frenzy? Which is which? 2. Can Autobots fly or not? 3. Why'd they call Jetfire "Skyfire" and draw him different? 4. How'd they do Soundwave's voice? 5. Where can I find episodes of the show on tape? 6. What was "Five Faces of Darkness" about? 7. People have mentioned "Call of the Primitives". What was that episode about? 8. What happened in "Dark Awakening" and "The Return of Optimus Prime"? 9. What was "Rebirth"? 10. Is there a list of the voice actors from the show? XI. Comics 1. Who published it, and when was it in production? 2. Who wrote the comic? 3. Who drew it? 4. The whole story arc with Unicron was different in the comic, so where did Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge come from in it? And where was Rodimus Prime? 5. What about issue 43, "The Big Broadcast of 2006"? 6. Wasn't Spiderman in one issue? Does that mean the TFs are in the normal Marvel Universe with the X-Men? 7. What about G.I. Joe? 8. I never got to read the G2 comics... what happened in them? 9. Where can I buy old TF comics? XII. TF:The Movie 1. What happened in it? 2. Why weren't more characters featured? 3. Where was Snarl? 4. Why did the Insecticons keep showing up and dying? 5. Why would Astrotrain need to "jettison some weight" in space? 6. Who became Cyclonus, and why were there two of him? 7. Why'd they kill everyone? 8. Who did the voices? 9. What was the universal greeting they used? 10. Didn't they swear in it? 11. What changes were made between the theatrical and video releases? 12. Is there an uncut copy of the movie, which even has material that was never seen in theaters? 13. Where can I get the movie on tape? 14. Where can I get the movie on laserdisc? 15. Where can I get the movie soundtrack? 16. What else is there to know about Stan Bush and Vince DiCola? XIII. TFs outside the United States 1. Where else have TFs appeared? 2. What were the Japan-only toys like? 3. What other toys were never released in the US? 4. What were the Japanese TF cartoons like? 5. Wow! How can I get copies of the anime? 6. What's Transformers: Hero? 7. What's different between the American and British comics? XIV. Miscellaneous Questions 1. What were those Cybertronian units of time? 2. Unicron vs. the Death Star: who would win? 3. How do you write out the transforming sound? 4. Which TFs died in the movie/comic/tv show? 5. What movie was it that had those TF cartoons in it? XV. Closing Comments and Information Fanzines and clubs A note on translations Behavior pointers: for people new to the net, or new to ATT for established ATT regulars XVI. Silly Random Questions XVII. Revision History and Plans for the Future XVIII. About the Author XIX. Terms and Abbreviations XX. Legalese and Special Thanks == X. Cartoon ========================= 1. What's the deal with Rumble and Frenzy? Which is which? For the answer to this, read "What is FIRRIB / FIBRIR?", question 1 in section II, "General Questions Relating to the Newsgroup." Also refer yourself to II, 5: "What not to ask..." 2. Can Autobots fly or not? In general, they can't. If you are willing to put the inconsistencies away as merely that, the basic rule is: Decepticons fly, Autobots don't. However, to go further into those inconsistencies: in the first few episodes of the show most of the Autobots WERE shown flying at one point or another. This also happened a few other times through the run of the show, like "Forever Is a Long Time Coming". Technically, (in the first few eps) it should only be Gears with his compressed air jets, Wheeljack with the solid fuel rockets in his arms, and Sideswipe with his rocket backpack that should be able to fly unaided. At one point in "More Than Meets The Eye", Prime even borrows that rocket backpack from Sideswipe to attempt to chase the Decepticon ship. After the first batch of TFs, there were of course exceptions. A lot of Autobots could CLEARLY fly, like the Aerialbots and Skyfire. It also seemed as if the Dinobots could all fly, making them another exception. 3. Why'd they call Jetfire "Skyfire" and draw him different? Bandai, the maker of the original Valkyrie toy, is a major competitor of Takara, the company which designed most of the Transformers. When the cartoon was being planned, due to the fact that it was to be shown in Japan as well, Takara did not want a Bandai design appearing in the Cartoon (for reasons involving both competition and legality). However, because Jetfire was such a popular toy, the decision to modify him for the small screen was made. The only time that Jetfire has been seen in animation is the initial TV commercial which advertised both him and Shockwave. A similar thought process was probably behind Marvel's decision to draw Skyfire yet name him Jetfire in the comic book. The anti-Bandai sentiment also explains the absence of a few other characters (like the Deluxe Insecticons) from the cartoon series. 4. How'd they do Soundwave's voice? Thanks to Kendrick for this one; the quoted statements are his. :) All of the voices on the show were altered to make them sound more robotic and less human. The process they used is called flanging, which means that a stereo recording was made of the voice actors, and then one channel of the sound was slightly delayed in a random fashion to produce, as Kendrick says, the "swooshing" sound in all their voices. For Soundwave in particular, the voice recording was also sent through an analog synthesizer to remove "all the tonality but none of the enunciation or cacophonous sounds." The removed tones were then replaced artificially by someone on the voice processing team to produce the cool-sounding voice we all know and love. There are various sound editing programs which feature "flanging" capabilities. If you're looking for this type of application, http://www.shareware.com is a good place to start. When performing Soundwave, Frank Welker "simply uses his deep growling bad guy voice". The same voice can be heard as Dr. Klaw on "Inspector Gadget". Sometimes the editing team on the TF show would mess up, and bits of Welker's unaltered voice ended up in the cartoon. One of these times was in "Roll For It". When Ravage brings Chip and some vital info to Soundwave, he says "Excellent, Ravage" in a Dr. Klaw voice. This also occurred in "Webworld", when Soundwave reports that Ratbat has found something on a nearby asteroid. In addition, in "Fight or Flee" Soundwave ended up speaking with Shrapnel's characteristic repetition of his last word. 5. Where can I find episodes of the show on tape? All of the "unnamed" episodes from season one were released on VHS. Also put on tape were the movie, "Five Faces of Darkness", "The Return of Optimus Prime", and a first season three pack which included the episode "War Dawn". In addition, the first few seasons of the Japanese cartoon were released on laserdisc. Unfortunately, these have all been discontinued. The tapes that are still in stock in various warehouses can sometimes be ordered at stores that specialize in movies. You may want to check video rental places for old TF tapes and ask if you can buy them, as they most likely aren't rented out very often (this is how I got my copy of the movie). Also, there are TransFans on the net that will make copies of their collections for a modest fee. 6. What was "Five Faces of Darkness" about? FFOD is one of the most maligned TF cartoon story arcs. It was a five- part story which immediately followed the movie, and attempted to tie up various loose ends such as where Galvatron went when Rodimus Prime threw him out of Unicron, and what the deal was with the Quintessons. The animation for FFOD was pretty crappy. There were a lot of editing mistakes, and it just in general looks bad. The basic story revolves around the TF origin (see VI, 3) and the Quints trying to take back Cybertron. A lot of elements from the movie turn up, such as the Junkions repairing fallen Autobots, shuttles separating and blowing up, the Quints putting people on trial, etc., etc.. 7. People have mentioned "Call of the Primitives". What was that episode about? This episode takes place after the movie. In it, Primacron, in the wake of Unicron's failure, sends out his other creation, Tornatron. Unicron was a creature of matter, but Tornatron is a creature of energy. He goes about sucking stars dry and such, trying to empty the universe for Primacron. Before Tornatron attacks, Primacron's "Assistant", calls all the primitive TFs (like the Dinobots and Predacons) away. The Assistant, which looks exactly like the Matrix of Leadership, sends the primitives to fight Tornatron. In the end, Grimlock gets into Primacron's lab and destroys the control device for Tornatron, saving the universe. The main reason that people would be talking about "Call of the Primitives" is that it has about the best TF animation ever other than the movie itself (excluding the Anime). It was produced by a different animation studio than the other eps (most of which were done by Toei) and it really shows in the artwork. All the TFs are highly stylized and look practically like traditional Anime mecha. Matt Bloomfield has created a CotP web page at: http://www.bucknell.edu/~bloomfld/vs_chamber.html 8. What happened in "Dark Awakening" and "The Return of Optimus Prime"? In "Dark Awakening" we have the familiar scene of the Autobots detonating three quarters of their shuttle to escape Decepticon pursuit. Our heroes soon find themselves drifting near a giant Autobot cemetery barge. Against their best superstition, they dock with it to make repairs. Once there, they are surprised to find Optimus Prime walking around. Eventually, it is revealed that he was revived and reprogrammed by the Quints in an attempt to capture the Matrix. In the end Prime's personality overcomes the Quint reprogramming and he sacrifices himself to save the other Autobots. Or does he? In "The Return of Optimus Prime", a two part episode, we open with some humans, a man and a woman, who are testing a new metal alloy by flying a ship constructed of it near to a star. They encounter a shuttle with Prime aboard, flying towards the star. The two humans rescue him, but he is already dead. They return Prime's body to Earth, where the woman's father wishes to melt him down due to a deep-grained hatred of all Transformers. However, at the last minute he decides to instead use Prime's body to do all the TFs in. When the humans' ship was near the star, it picked up the traces of a fungus of some sort which infects living things and causes them to hate everyone around them and want to kill and destroy. The father laces Prime's body with this, and then calls the Autobots to pick up their leader's body which he "salvaged". TF after TF becomes infected with the Hate Plague, which spreads to not just humans, but the entire galaxy. Sky Lynx manages to fetch a Quint and bring him back to Prime's body. The Quint agrees to revive Optimus to help stop the plague which threatens Quintessa as well. Prime coats himself with the new metal, thus becoming impervious to the plague. He is then able to get the Matrix from the infected Rodimus Prime, and uses it to stop the plague (apparently, there is more than one darkest hour). The art in "Return of Optimus Prime" is high-grade. It contains many of the animation flubs common to post-movie eps, and of course the frames- per-second isn't impressive, but the actual drawings were nicely done. Rob Jung has an article on Optimus' return on his web site: http://www.digiserve.com/eescape/tf/news/Return-of-Optimus.html 9. What was "Rebirth"? "Rebirth" was a three-part story, and the last three episodes of the American TF cartoon. It followed TRoOP and introduced Head and TargetMasters. Most ATTers were not very impressed, so don't be upset if you missed it. The animation is typical of post-movie cartoons (eg. not so hot), and several story elements were handled poorly. In fact, the later Japanese continuity ignored Rebirth completely. 10. Is there a list of voice actors for the show? The responsibility of maintaining the voice list has been passed on to Cris "Jinx" Haaser (crispy@owlnet.rice.edu). This frees up several screens of space in the FAQ, and makes things easier for me. :) It's available on her web page at: http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~crispy/textfiles/voices.txt Scatman Cruthers, the voice of Jazz, is deceased. Bill Ness at "billnes@pb.net" came across a biography of Scatman, and pulled out several sections about the Transformers cartoon and the impact that working on TF had on Scatman's life and career. The Scatman bio is now on Steve Stonebraker's TF web page: http://cc.owu.edu/~srstoneb/tf/ == XI. Comics ========================== 1. Who published it, and when was it in production? _The Transformers_ was first released as a four issue limited series from Marvel Comics. The first issue is dated September 1984, and the last time I checked, a good condition copy cost about $10-15. The limited series was published bi-monthly, and then at the end of issue 4 it was announced that the book was to become a monthly, continuing title. The first issue of the monthly book was dated June of 1985. _The Transformers_ remained a monthly title until its cancellation at #80 in July 1991. Contained within the seven year run of the TF comic there were several related books released. Marvel published a four issue TF / G.I. Joe crossover, a four issue Headmasters limited series (which then merged with the regular TF comic), a four issue "Transformers Universe" following the "Marvel Universe" format, and a three issue adaption of the movie. From independent publishers, there was a "How To Draw Transformers" book, as well as a short-lived TF in 3-D comic, which was rudely and with no warning canceled right at the beginning of a promising multi-issue story. November 1993 marked the beginning of Transformers: Generation 2. This comic, also by Marvel, ran for 12 issues and was then stopped. Preceding it was a short introduction / crossover in issues 138-142 of G.I. Joe. TF:G2 was not a limited series, although the writer intentionally planned the first story arc to last for 12 issues in the event that the book would not be continued, so that it could end with a sense of closure. Unfortunately, it was a good thing that such foresight was taken. Following is a list of all TF titles ever published, including the publishing company and number of issues printed: Transformers Marvel 1-80 Transformers: Generation 2 Marvel 1-12 Transformers: The Movie Marvel 1-3 Transformers Universe Marvel 1-4 Headmasters Marvel 1-4 Transformers vs. GI Joe Marvel 1-4 Transformers in 3-D Blackthorne 1-3 How to Draw Transformers Blackthorne 1-4 UK Transformers Marvel UK 1-332 UK Transformers Annual Marvel UK 1-7 UK Transformers: Generation 2 Fleetway 1-5 UK Transformers: G2 Annual Grandreams 1 Collected Comics Marvel UK 1-19+ Raksha and Martin McVay provided me with more information on some UK comics. For that, see XIII 7, the section on UK TF comics. There were also 11 "Transformers Digest" books printed in the US, each of which reprinted two issues of the comic and included several TF Universe entries. In addition, there were a few trade paperbacks (TPB) and one-shots released: TF vs. G.I.Joe, 1993, new cover by Wildman and Baskerville TF Universe, 1987, two page intro by Jim Salicrup TF:G2 Halloween Special Edition, 1993, reprints the Furman / Senior story "Ghosts" from TF:G2 #2 Transformers Universe Vol. 1, Marvel UK, US Universe 1-4 Transformers: The Movie, Marvel UK, US Movie 1-3 The Complete Works Volume 1, 1986, Marvel UK, two issues, UK annual style hardback, reprints US 1-8 Plague of the Insecticons, Marvel UK, reprint of story by that name from UK Annual 1 2. Who wrote the comic? After the first four issues which were penned by Ralph Macchio, all but about three TF comics were written by either Bob Budiansky or Simon Furman. Budiansky was on the book until issue 56, at which point Furman, who had been the writer of the British TF comic for a long time, took over. At this point the quality of stories took a major upturn. He stayed on the book until its cancellation, and wrote the entire run of G2 as well. After Furman showed us how good a TF comic could be, many people started to resent Budiansky's predominantly juvenile plots. Budiansky wrote a comic book about giant robots. Furman wrote an epic adventure rich with mythical archetypes, religious conflict, and tragic heroes. It should be clear which was better. 3. Who drew it? The TF comic did not have just one or two major artists, although it did change less than many other books. There were probably a dozen or so people that drew TF over it's 80 issue run, but the main names to notice are Jose Delbo, Andy Wildman, and Geoff Senior. Jose Delbo is of note because of the long period of time that he stayed on the book, working with both writers. Geoff Senior and Andy Wildman are the two main artists from the end of the comic's run. Both came over from the British book with Simon Furman, and both were incredible. Geoff's art was blocky and low in detail, but his shapes were well-defined and visually pleasing. He also had the remarkable ability to depict the mass and inertia of TF bodies in motion. Many of his fight sequences truly give the impression of giant robots throwing each other around. Andy Wildman drew extremely detailed illustrations and created appealing layouts for the book. He gave the TFs smooth and extremely human facial features (sometimes even teeth and eyeballs), which annoyed a lot of readers (these are robots, after all), but it also allowed the pictures to much better convey the emotions of the characters. The G2 book was drawn mainly by Derek Yaniger and Manny Galan. The artistic style of this series was MUCH different than the G1 books. Manny Galan's art to many seemed a poor imitation of Yaniger's dark, spooky TFs. In the last couple of issues, as a welcome change, we got Geoff Senior back. Unfortunately, the book was canceled soon after. 4. The whole story arc with Unicron was different in the comic, so where did Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge come from in it? And where was Rodimus Prime? As far as the US comic is concerned, Cyclonus and Scourge was just regular, everyday Decepticons who were introduced during the Headmasters limited series, which took place parallel to issues 30-36 of the Transformers comic. However, in Simon Furman's UK future, Cyclonus and Scourge were accidentally thrown back in time where they came to be under Scorponok's command. They later disappeared from US continuity due to their travel back to the future in the UK "Time Wars". Galvatron was brought to the comic book continuity from outside its timeline by the comic Unicron. In issue 67, Unicron sent three of his servants, Hook, Line, and Sinker, to an alternate dimension (which was SIMILAR to the cartoon reality, but not the same as it, and was also different from the normal UK future) where Galvatron had beaten the Autobots almost completely, and killed Rodimus Prime. Hook, Line, and Sinker appeared in that reality, took Galvatron, and brought him back to the comic book's normal reality. For those of you that asked, no, this Hook has nothing to do with the Constructicon of the same name. :) This all caused understandable confusion for Galvy when he met the comic's Megatron, who, although he had died several times, was still Megatron and not Galvatron. 5. What about issue 43, "The Big Broadcast of 2006"? This issue, as well as the two-part "Man of Iron" story from issues 33 and 34 take place out of the normal comic continuity. "Man of Iron" was a short storyline from the UK Transformers comic. "Big Broadcast" was simply an episode of the cartoon which was transferred to the comic for some reason, although in the UK version of this issue, it is stated to be no more than a story being told by Wreck-Gar during his captivity at the hands of the Quints. 6. Wasn't Spiderman in one issue? Does that mean the TFs are in the regular Marvel Universe with the X-Men? As was once said in response to a letter in Transmissions (the TF letter column): "Please, please don't mention issue 3." Yes, Spiderman was in issue three of the original limited series. However, he was ONLY in one issue and that was the only issue in which any Marvel Universe character appeared in the book (a few other MU folks got about one panel each in #4). There was also a mention of Dazzler in another part of the original 4-issue run, but after the series became ongoing and changed writers, Marvel Universe characters stayed out of the book. These appearances can be considered story flubs, and ones that you shouldn't pay much attention to. Spiderman also showed up in an issue of "Ren and Stimpy", but no one claims that they're part of the Marvel Universe. :) The TF comics also included the Marvel Universe's "Savage Land" in issues 7 and 8 or so, and Circuit Breaker appeared in issue 3 of the "Secret Wars II" miniseries / crossover. However, I would assume that these both go under the same "don't ask" category the Spiderman's cameo. 7. What about G.I. Joe? Yes, the TFs are in the same universe as G.I. Joe. There were two crossovers with G.I. Joe. One was the "Transformers vs. G.I. Joe" limited series which ran during TF issues 24-27. The other was a brief crossover which took place mainly in G.I. Joe in order to introduce the TF:G2 comic. Interestingly, "TF vs. GI Joe" is the only US comic story omitted from UK continuity. There, Bumblebee's death and reconstruction as Goldbug are accomplished by Death's Head and Wreck-Gar, respectively. However, after leaving out the original G.I. Joe crossover, the UK comic later created its own Action Force (Europe's name for the Joes) crossover entitled "Ancient Relics". On the cartoon side, TFs and G.I. Joe didn't seem to be in the same universe, because if they had, they'd certainly have encountered each other. However, in the post-movie ep "Only Human", an old and decrepit Cobra Commander turns Rodimus, Springer, Magnus, and Arcee into humans. No other G.I. Joe characters show up in the ep, however. 8. I never got to read the G2 comics... what happened in them? Basically, the G2 comic picked up where G1 #80 left off. I'm going to leave out a lot of events and give a broad outline of the main story. Unicron has just been destroyed and Cybertron has been lost. During the G.I.Joe lead-in, Megatron falls out of the sky on Earth and is rebuilt by Cobra into his tank form. Also early on in the story a new group of Decepticons (a second generation, get it?) shows up, wreaking havoc on various planets and expanding their empire. They are led by a 'con named Jhiaxus. Most of the new Decepticons seem like mindless minions, and they all have a similar "look" and color scheme. There is an inevitable first encounter between these new Decepticons and the Autobots, and Optimus Prime's forces suffer heavy losses. In an effort to understand who these new enemies are, Prime takes a trip into the Matrix to learn what to do from Primus. Instead of answers, he gets a history lesson. It starts with the birth of the first Transformer, and then shows him something he had never seen before: budding. The way the budding story goes is that in their early days, TFs reproduced through a process similar to cellular division. New Transformers sort of grew out of old ones in a rather painful process. Once Primus felt that the population of TFs was great enough, he produced a race-wide memory wipe and erased the knowledge of this process from all TF minds. At this point the Matrix took over as the only way of creating new Transformer life. However, Primus' plan had not worked entirely, and eventually a group of Transformers rediscovered budding, and used it extensively to swell their ranks. This is where the droves of blue and white G2 cons under Jhiaxus' command came from. Unfortunately, because it does not involve the Matrix (and hence Primus' life force), budding tends to create less "pure" Transformers, and after several generations of budding the G2s lost their most basic sense of morality. In addition, budding is always accompanied by an energy discharge. At first, this discharge appeared merely electrical, but in time it became evident that there was more to it than that. Later budding produced dark energies which floated off and amassed into a lifeforce called the Swarm. Because it had been created from the Primus-deprived G2 Transformers, the Swarm lacked purpose and sought the Transformers out, leaving a swath of destruction and death behind it. When the Swarm finally reached Earth, where the Autobots, the Decepticons, and the G2 'cons were in the middle of a full-scale war, Prime allowed himself to be devoured. When the containment vessel of the Creation Matrix was breached, the Matrix energy spewed out and filled the emptiness in the Swarm's soul. Having found purpose and happiness, the Swarm reconstructed Prime, returned him to Earth, and flew off into the proverbial sunset. The last issue of TF:G2 ended with a cliffhanger ending in which the Liege Maximo, a sort of ultimate evil force from the UK comics, made some menacing statements, said that Jhiaxus' forces had been under his command, and implied that the war was far from over. 9. Where can I buy old TF comics? Really the best thing to do is check the backstock at any comic book store you might run into. Most stores will probably have a few issues, and if you look at enough stores, you'll probably be able to put together a decent collection. The people at Dave's Comics, a large seller which frequently advertises their backstock in comic books today, contacted me to let me know of their website, http://www.davescomics.com. They have a lot of TF comics available, although only from certain periods of its run. == XII. The Movie ===================== 1. What happened in it? The basic plot of the movie goes as follows: It is the year 2005, and the Decepticons have fully conquered Cybertron. The Autobots have bases on Cybertron's two moons, as well as "Autobot City" on Earth (which is NOT Metroplex or Fortress Maximus, although after the movie Metroplex is revealed to be a small living component of Autobot City). The movie opens with a spectacular sequence in which Unicron, a living mechanical planet, eats the thriving world of Lithone, thus killing all but one of its inhabitants who escapes in a spaceship. To counter a coming Autobot offensive, the Decepticons attack Autobot City, and a huge battle occurs which ends with the defeat of both Optimus Prime and Megatron. Prime passes the Autobot Matrix of Leadership on to Ultra Magnus. Megatron is revived by Unicron and turned into Galvatron, and Unicron sends him to destroy the Matrix. Galvatron goes to Autobot city to kill Magnus and get the Matrix, but the Autobots escape and split up. The Dinobots, Kup, and Hot Rod crash on Quintessa. Kup and Hot Rod are captured and put on trial, but the Dinobots and their new found friend Wheelie rescue them. The Deceps follow Magnus and co. to the planet of Junk. Galvatron attacks and takes the matrix, and then the Autobots fight with the Junkions and Wreck-Gar. Soon Hot Rod and the Dinos show up, placate the Junkions, and everyone goes off to fight Unicron, who has spent his time eating Cybertron's two moons and the Autobots on them while everyone else was running around. The Autobots attack Unicron, who has finally gotten around to eating Cybertron, and after most of the main characters are swallowed Daniel rescues his dad, Spike, and the other Autobots who were eaten previously. Hot Rod gets the Matrix back from Galvatron, uses it, turns into Rodimus Prime, and destroys Unicron. 2. Why weren't more characters featured? The movie took about two years to make, being released on August 8, 1986, so when the movie was written, they only had the first set or two of TF characters to work with, which didn't include most of the gestalts like Superion and Menasor. So, Devastator was the only gestalt in existence when the movie was written, which explains Kup's fear of him when he first forms. :) 3. Where was Snarl? Snarl was mysteriously absent from all the Dinobot scenes in the movie. There is only one place where he shows up: for about one second during Galvatron's attack on Autobot city, you see Snarl with the other Dino's, but afterwards he's gone again. 4. Why did the Insecticons keep showing up and dying? As was shown in a few pre-movie episodes of the cartoon, the Insecticons had the ability to make almost unlimited clones of themselves. It is therefore likely that the Insecticons thrown out of the shuttle and turned into Sweeps were only clones, thus allowing Shrapnel to harass Daniel on Junkion later in the movie, and for the Insecticons to show up again in later cartoon eps (as well as SS's coronation). Also, when Kup and Hotrod run over the Insecticons on their way into Autobot City we must assume that their wounds weren't fatal -- we know at least the Shrapnel in that group was the Real McCoy because he was called by name while they were eating the door. There is also evidence to show that the clones didn't have the ability to speak in the first place, so the Kickback can also be assumed not a clone. 5. Why would Astrotrain need to "jettison some weight" in space? While it's true that there is no "weight" in space, there is mass. The more mass on board, the more fuel is required to accelerate and decelerate. It is possible that Astrotrain didn't have enough fuel to (a) accelerate enough to get to Cybertron within a reasonable amount of time, or (b) decelerate enough once they get to Cybertron to actually stop and land there. Once the extra scrap metal was thrown overboard, however, there was little enough mass remaining for him to get home quickly and land. 6. Who became Cyclonus, and why were there two of him? Most people would like to think that Skywarp became Cyclonus, as he was a very cool but underused character and it would seem only fitting for Unicron to turn him into a major leaguer. Unfortunately, due to the fact that this scene is shown without color, and the fact that there were at least temporarily TWO Cycloni, it's very hard to tell for sure which jet became what. With a little care, however, it can be ascertained with a fair amount of certainty that it was indeed Thundercracker who became Scourge, which means Skywarp must be one of the two Cycloni. Here's a little more detail: When the Deceps are discussing how to lighten their burden, the wounded 'cons are clearly shown to consist of exactly six members: Skywarp, Thundercracker, Megatron, and the three Insecticons (or clones thereof). These six characters are then thrown overboard. Thundercracker is changed into Scourge, and Shrapnel and Kickback become two Sweeps. Bombshell and Skywarp are both turned into robots that look like Cyclonus. Bombshell is in the foreground when this occurs, and Unicron announces them as "Cyclonus, the warrior, and his armada," with no clear indication of which is Cyclonus. It would make sense for Cyc to be the one in the foreground, but to a TransFan who wants it to be Skywarp and not Bombshell, it seems reasonable to say that it could indeed have been Cyclonus in the back. Unicron's statement about the "armada" has prompted some TransFans to treat the second Cyclonus as a character of the name Armada who then wasn't shown again in the movie, and is sometimes presumed dead. Apparently, during part five of FFOD, there are two, and even three Cycloni shown simultaneously with no explanation. I would tend to dismiss this as FFOD silliness, but others out there might not. Reports of other appearances of the Armada, or even confirmation of this one, would be appreciated. My theory is that there might have been an early intention to place a legion of twins under Cyclonus' command, just as Scourge had the Sweeps. After all, if exactly two Sweeps can multiply to countless drones in the time of a flight to Earth, why couldn't a single ship of the "armada" turn into at least a few of itself? :) Also, in a continuity flub typical of TF animation, during Starscream's coronation Thundercracker and Skywarp (who had been dead not 10 minutes earlier) can be seen among the Decepticons jumping out of the way when Galvatron flies in, as well as at least one Insecticon. 7. Why'd they kill everyone? The movie was intended to introduce a new batch of characters, which it did, and to make "room" for them it's understandable that they might need to take other people out of the way. Also, the deaths of so many major characters added to the drama of the movie. Someone also suggested that the deaths of many original Autobots was intended to make the Deceps seem more evil than could be shown on a daily "kid" cartoon. 8. Who did the voices? The starring roles include: Eric Idle -- Wreck-Gar Frank Welker -- Megatron John Moschitta (the Micro Machine guy) -- Blurr Judd Nelson -- Hot Rod / Rodimus Prime Leonard Nimoy -- Galvatron Lionel Stander -- Kup Neil Ross -- Springer Orson Welles -- Unicron Peter Cullen -- Optimus Prime Robert Stack -- Ultra Magnus Susan Blu -- Arcee Victor Caroli -- narrator (as always) As many people know, Orson Welles passed away before work on the movie was completed. In fact, his death was a mere two days after voice recording began. However, in this time he had recorded most of his lines, leaving only a few areas near the end of the movie unfinished. If you listen carefully, you will hear two distinct voices for Unicron. The previous FAQ writer decided to settle this once and for all and sampled some clips with an audio digitizer and sped them up. The other voice was none other than Leonard Nimoy. 9. What was the universal greeting they used? Spelling on this varies, but following the lead of the comic adaption: "bah weep graaagnah wheep, ni ni bong". 10. Didn't they swear in it? There were two cases of swearing in the theatrical release, and one of those was stricken from the video version. In the scene in which Bumblebee and Spike are sucked into Unicron, in the theater version Spike said "Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?" This was edited for video to just "What are we gonna do now?" with a silent space just long enough for "shit" to fit in. The other scene was on Junkion, where Magnus tries to open the Matrix to save the Autobots from the Decepticon attack. In both versions, he says "Open! Damnit, open!" 11. What changes were made between the theatrical and video releases? Aside from the wide-screen to pan-and-scan format change that almost all movies suffer, the only difference is the omission of "oh shit". There have been claims of several other edits as well, but the main sample of posters on ATT has not supported them. One of the ideas that pops up more frequently is an alternate version of Prime's death. At one time there were two or three people on the newsgroup claiming that when Prime died in the theater, his body turned to dust and blew away, but that this was changed for video where the scene ends with Daniel crying on Prime's hand. However, most people distinctly remember the scene ending with a fade-out of Daniel and the hand in the theater as well (it's much more dramatic, IMHO). It's possible that memories of Starscream crumbling at his death are getting mixed up with Prime's death scene. The other main edit-claim relates to Magnus' death at the hands of the Sweeps on Junkion. Some people seem to remember Magnus being quartered (the Sweeps attach tractor beams to his limbs and fly off in different directions, tearing him apart). This IS the way it happens in the comic book version of the movie and even the original script. In the video version he simply gets perforated by several laser blasts. If you watch closely you can see that the four Sweeps who attack him each shoot a continuous, straight beam before the angle switches to Magnus getting shot, at which point the lasers become short and rapid. Hmmm. Fishy, but as with Prime's death, most memories of this scene in the theater match the video version. It's a good guess that the producers changed their minds on the manner of Magnus' death at the last minute, after the continuous beams were drawn. Other supposed edits include changing the order of some scenes and removing other footage altogether (anything from one-second shots of things to entire short scenes). All in all, it has been claimed that some 20 minutes of footage are missing from the video version, but I stress again that most readers of ATT disagree, and it is still the "official" position of the group and this FAQ that "oh shit" was the only change. For the most part, making a post that there was more than one edit for the video release will not earn you any respect on ATT. This doesn't mean that if you really _do_ remember something being changed, that we wouldn't want to know, but think long and hard about how sure you are before making a post about it, and be prepared to offer some hard evidence. Basically, every time someone claims that a scene has been altered, it is followed up by 10 to 15 posts from other readers saying "No, you're remembering it wrong," in tones ranging from polite to flame. To put it simply: if there were edits besides "oh shit", you probably wouldn't be the only one to remember it. In fact, at least one person will have already remembered it, told us, and we would have all said "ohhh yeah!" and changed the FAQ to indicate our epiphany. Clearly, this has not happened. 12. Is there an uncut copy of the movie, which even has material that was never seen in theaters? As with all movies, there was footage prepared and filmed for TF:TM that never made it through the final cut before the initial theatrical release. Some of these clips are shown in the Japanese preview / trailer for the movie, which can be found on a few different tapes. One of them, called "Transformers: Hero", was available at BotCon '95. At BotCon '96 there was another tape for sale with BW eps 1 and 2, the American and Japanese movie trailers, and the movie itself. The missing footage on the tapes, some of it rather impressive, includes more fighting scenes and extended transformations for Autobot City and Unicron. There are also alternate versions of some scenes that were in the movie, implying that these were early animation tests, and were not necessarily EVER intended to be in the actual film. Nowhere on these tapes does Optimus crumble to dust. It is conceivable that such footage does exist, was cut before the film's release, and for some reason is not among the other cut scenes, but it seems extremely unlikely. During early 1996 the newsgroup went through another round of debate on movie edits when Adam McCormick made a series of posts describing the events by which he had an original film reel of the movie imported from Japan to a film rental place (he had to then return it) which was completely uncut, and contained a significant number of previously unseen scenes. However, he failed to provide a scrap of evidence to support his claims. The FAQ maintains a position of skepticism. Although I have no reason to mistrust Adam, we haven't heard anything from him since. :) 13. Where can I get the movie on tape? As with the soundtrack, there are several so-so ways to try finding the movie, and one sure fire bet. One reasonably reliable way to find it is to look in long-established video rental places in your town, and see if they have it. Newer rental places probably won't have copies, but stores that were around when it came out on tape almost certainly do, unless they've already sold it to some other TransFan. :) There's a good chance that they don't rent it out very often and you could buy it cheap. Also, some people have been able to order it from Blockbuster Video. Look for it under the "Animation" section or even the "Children's" section. The success of the Blockbuster method varies with no clear pattern, though, so don't count on it. If you're not too concerned about getting the original FHE release of the film, check out http://www.videoflicks.com . Just this past year, a Canadian company called Malofilm re-released TF:TM and a bunch of other TF episodes. This new version *does* include the previously-edited "Oh Shit" line. It has fairly good video quality, even though its sound is recorded in Mono. The "official" answer most ATTers will give to this question is "go to videoflicks.com," so the store has definitely been proven trustworthy. :) 14. Where can I get the movie on laserdisc? Try catalogue number MCA026561011. Until recently, however, the answer was "only as an import from Japan, catalogue number HCL-7001". The TF laserdisc is not currently in release, so it will be difficult to find. The LD was put out by HillCrane and made and distributed by SOHBI KIKAKU Corporation. The digital tracks have the English dialogue version, and the analog tracks have the Japanese dialogue version. "Oh shit" is not in the english dialogue, although it may be on the Japanese track. Suggested retail is 6000 yen ($60-75). The laserdisc is CLV. It is NOT letterboxed. Differences from the VHS / film version are: opening credits are presented differently and with a Star Wars-like scrolling intro, movie's trailer included on the disc, character names written in Japanese kana at the bottom of the screen with their first appearance. If you're interested, FFoD and TRoOP are also on laserdisc, numbers MCA027353011 and MCA026786011 respectively. 15. Where can I get the movie soundtrack? It's not extremely hard to find. It was released by Scotti Bros. Records, and isn't still in production, but _is_ still available. You can have some music stores order it on tape or CD, although a lot of major distributors don't carry it. If you have trouble finding it anyway, or want to save the trouble of looking, you can get it over the net for as good a price as you'll find anywhere else from CD Connection. Telnet to "cdconnection.com" or try their WWW page, which is at (big surprise): http://www.cdconnection.com It costs about 10-12 US dollars on CD. The soundtrack has several good songs on it, including the two Stan Bush tunes "The Touch" and "Dare". The (excellent) score is by Vince DiCola. Canadian releases of the soundtrack have a slightly different label. Spectre General is actually a Canadian band called KickAxe. Apparently they had some sort of legal problems in the US and assumed the name Spectre General for work done in the States. The soundtrack label in Canada lists the band's true name rather than their American alias. 16. What else is there to know about Stan Bush and Vince DiCola? Stan Bush came out with several other albums, most recently being the 1992 effort called "Every Beat of My Heart". He can be contacted through his friend John Vel Squez at "fzone@aol.com" or "fzone@west.net." Vince DiCola has scored several other movies, including "Rocky 4" (Sly vs. Russia). He has also released at least one album of his own, a collection of piano tunes. Thanks to Christopher Rodkey, I have some biographical info on him to spread around the net as well... Vince DiCola grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and went to Lancaster Catholic High School. He has returned to central Pennsylvania several times to hold concerts at his old school and work with other schools in the area. According to an article in the _Lancaster Sunday News_ from a little while back, DiCola is still living off of the royalties to the movies he has done. He now resides somewhere in California. Both Stan and Vince were involved with BotCon '97, and each performed during a live concert at the event. Those who attended generally give the concert a *big* thumbs up, to say the least. The BotCon '97 limited- edition CD "Til All Are One" contains new music from Stan Bush(including a song written for the convention) and the previously unreleased TF:TM score, by Vince DiCola. The two-CD set is no longer available from 3H Enterprises (it sold out as of 2/27/98), and it's not likely that many TransFans will part with theirs easily. However, from what information has been released about BotCon '98, there is a *new* CD exclusive in the making for this year's con. == XIII. TFs Outside the United States 1. Where else have TFs appeared? Transformer toys were available throughout much of the world during the 80's. The areas in which there was a specifically marketed TF line (rather than importing toys from elsewhere) were the US, Japan, Europe, and Brazil. I have basically no information on the Brazilian line, except for a rumor that it only existed for one year. Anyone know about this? :) In Europe, there were a few 'extra' subgroups that were released during the G1 period, and after the American G1 ended, Europe continued to get new TFs for a few years. Many of the G2 Transformers were actually released in Europe several years before coming out in the US as G2. Japan has, by far, the largest portion of exclusive TFs. After the end of the American G1, Japan continued to make new animated TV shows, and the toys to go with them. The groups of Japanese TFs that Americans would be most unfamiliar with are those from the Victory and Return of Convoy lines. Victory was the third Japan-only TF cartoon, and Return of Convoy was accompanied by a comic-ish section called Battlestars that ran for about a year in the Japanese "TV Magazine". Most of these characters will be completely new to Americans, and most of the characters from previous Japanese cartoons will be familiar. 2. What were the Japan-only toys like? You'll probably get more complete information on this subject by reading Robert Jung's toy list (see III, 2.), but I will attempt to make a brief summary of the non-US release toy groups. Be sure to read XIII, 4, the section about TF Anime, or a lot of this won't make much sense to you. :) While G1 TFs were still being made in the US, the Japanese line followed their Masterforce cartoon and contained different versions of several US HeadMasters. They had different colors and personalities than the ones Americans are used to. In Japan, PowerMasters were referred to as GodMasters. There were also recolored versions of Fort Max and Scorponok named Grand Maximus and Black Zarak. To accompany TF:Victory, there were several groups of Japan-only toys. The main groups here were BrainMasters, MultiForce, BreastForce (keep your mind out of the gutter; these toys have chest components which transform into weapons and animals), and DinoForce. These are all gestalt teams. At this time, the US was knee-deep in Pretenders and Micro and Action Masters, many of which were never released in Japan. Afterwards, probably alongside TF:Zone, droves of Micro Masters were released, almost all as Cybertrons. Included among the Micros were several Micro gestalts which were never seen elsewhere (many of the micro gestalt names start with 'six', since they were made of six pieces; hence, SixTrain, SixBuilder...). Lastly, Battlestars: The Return of Convoy had a few toys released with it. The major name and leader from that group was Star Convoy, who hooked up with Grandus and Sky Garry to form a pretty impressive battle convoy. Some specific Japanese TFs you might see people talking about are: the Trainbots (a Cybertron gestalt), the Destron BreastForce, and Overlord (a Destron double GodMaster from the Masterforce series). 3. What other toys were never released in the US? In Europe, after the demise of the American G1 line, new types of ActionMasters were released, including AM Elites, which went against the AM grain and actually transformed. Many of the classic TFs were also re-released at this time. Later on, two missile-launching groups called TurboMasters and Predators came out, followed by some recolored Japanese TFs. Once G2 came out, Europe continued to get all the American toys plus a few of their own exclusives. 4. What were the Japanese TF cartoons like? Most of my information on this subject comes from "Track Attack" (Pema Galang, at "pema.t.galang-1.@tc.umn.edu"), who was kind enough to send me nice long emails about it. :) Extreme thanks go to her for her help in this area. Also, please read the info on translations in section XV. There were actually several Japanese TF cartoons. The first series consisted simply of dubbed versions of the American cartoons, called "Transformers: Super Robot Life Form". In Japan, the Autobots are called Cybertrons and the Deceps are called Destrons. Contrary to what has been said in this FAQ and elsewhere in the past, the factions were NOT from different planets. In fact, in order to prevent confusion over this matter, they call the TFs' home planet Seibertron, so it doesn't sound as if the bots were from it, and the cons from a planet "Destron". Between the last pre-movie eps and TF:TM (called "Matrix Forever") there is a video called "Scramble City". For copyright reasons, this was actually broadcast in Japan before the US series was, but plotwise it goes here, before the movie. It was basically one long battle, featuring several of the gestalt teams, as well as a few other characters. Scramble City exists in two forms: first a cartoon format, and second a stop-motion version using the actual toys with mostly the same plot. The stop motion clips were later hacked up to make TF commercials for the toys. The cartoon version starts with a recap of MTMTE and then, using both new and old footage, goes through the battle. It ends with a cliffhanger of sorts, but was never followed up upon. The post-movie episodes came afterwards under the title TF:2010, ending with TRoOP. "Rebirth" was ignored. Following TRoOP came "HeadMasters", which included a few of the movie characters, but focused mainly on the Head and TargetMaster TFs and their origins. Several big TFs die in this series (including Op and Ultra Magnus), and Seibertron is destroyed. As the story goes, the HeadMasters and TargetMasters left Seibertron long ago to find a new world because of the war. They settled on a place called MasterStar, where they developed the *Master technologies. The next series was called "Masterforce" and centered mainly on the "Junior HeadMasters" and PowerMasters (known as GodMasters in Japan). This series also included the Seacons, Pretenders, and a giant Destron GodMaster named Overlord who most American TF fans will have never heard of. The main characters were the Junior HeadMasters -- Cybertron HeadMasters with children for heads. They were Go-Shooter, Cab, and Minerva (Siren, Hosehead, and Nightbeat to Americans). The Destrons also had a Junior HeadMaster group. PowerMaster Optimus Prime was also in this series, but he was called Super Ginrai, and had an extra second trailer called Godbomber (which was not included in the American toy) that transformed into a second exoskeleton and gave him wings. The name of the next series is "Victory". The Cybertrons are led by a BrainMaster (kind of like a PowerMaster) named Star Sabre. The other BrainMasters are named Blacker, Laster, and Braver, and combine into RoadCaesar. The Destrons have a team called BreastForce, composed of a new type of binary bonded TFs with chest components that can transform into weapons or animals. The leader of these is Deathsaurus, a double BreastForce'er (the term "BreastMaster" was never actually used, although if you use it people will still understand). The other six members of BreastForce (LeoZack, Gaihawk, Hellbat, Killbison, Jargua, and Drillhorn) can combine to form LioCaesar. The Destrons also have DinoForce: its members have Dinosaur counterparts and combine to form DinoKing (they're known as the Monster Pretenders / Monstructor in the US). On the other side of the battlefield, the Cybertrons' Multiforce has six members, and any two can combine to form a different robot. Altogether they merge to form LandCross. Also in Victory, the Masterforce TFs appear occasionally, and OP is reincarnated as a golden robot named Victory Leo that transforms into a lion. He can combine with Star Sabre to form Victory Sabre. The last Japanese TF animation is called "Zone". It was intended to be the first episode of a series, but this was never carried out and Zone ended up as a one-shot OVA (original video animation, an animated feature released directly to video). Mainly concerned with MicroMasters (all of whom were portrayed as Cybertrons, even the ones we know as 'cons) and Destron gestalts (all of whom are carrying swords and wearing capes(?)), this show also includes some of the Victory cast. The story sort of centers on a matrix-like thingy that the Destrons are after. It's main villain is named Violenjiger, who looks a bit like a three- faced Quint. In some footage cut from Zone, these faces even seperate, transform into insectoids, and merge into a gestalt. Woo woo! Following this is a series of color spreads in "TV Magazine" titled "BattleStars: The Return of Convoy". This story features Optimus Prime and Megatron coming back from the dead one more time (Convoy is the Japanese name for OP). These spreads were eight pages long and ran for 12 months. They were not manga as-such (Japanese comics are called manga, and are drawn in a style very similar to anime). As far as story goes, the MicroMaster bases SkyGarry and Grandus locate Prime's body and reconstruct him as Star Convoy, with the ability to combine with them in the form of a giant base or a large three part vehicle. The villain is a giant space creature named Dark Nova. Although he acts a little like Unicron did, and previous info I had received prompted me to say he was a new form of Uni, Dark Nova IS NOT Unicron, and actually looks nothing like him anyway. Dark Nova apparently has relocated Galvatron, who has been missing since HeadMasters, and turned him into Super Megatron. Star Convoy, SkyGarry, and Grandus (the BattleStars) are too much for Super Megatron, but he is rebuilt into Ultra Megatron, who is also beaten. Then Dark Nova actually combines himself with Megs and becomes known as Star Giant. He attacks, but is defeated again. All the Japanese series were done in traditional Anime style, which means they're very cool and exciting to watch. There are no officially released copies of these cartoons in the US, although there are a lot of people that have copies of them. All the Japanese cartoons were dubbed into English in Hong Kong (and at least some of them were put into Cantonese as well). When the project began 15 episodes of Headmasters were excellently dubbed and slated to air in the US. Unfortunately, all 15 were destroyed in a large fire. A second attempt was made to dub them and carried through all Japanese eps, but the end product was nowhere near as good, and never saw US broadcast, although they were shown over much of Asia. Although the quality of the dubbing is rather poor -- the dialogue translation leaves much to be desired and the voices chosen are sometimes pretty bad -- for me at least, that only served to make them more amusing. Not everyone is so easily entertained as me, though. :) Singapore shares its video format with the UK, but that format, PAL, is incompatible with American VHS. This means that dubbed copies are more common with British fans (and Singaporeans, like good ol' Pema). A more sophisticated translation project for TF:Victory is being undertaken by Jaremy Pyle (pyle9971@nova.gmi.edu). He is not doing the translations himself, but has a friend who does it in his spare time. Feel free to contact Jaremy about this project if you are interested. 5. Wow! How can I get copies of the anime? This is where I list the people from the newsgroup who have told me that they are willing to sell Japanese eps to other fans. :) The inclusion of a name in this list should not be construed as a personal endorsement from me. I can vouch for some of the names, but not all, so I'll stay objective. Aaron Russel has Japanese Headmasters episodes for sale, dubbed directly from the original laserdisc set (*nice* quality). Information is available on his WWW page: http://home1.gte.net/aaronrus/index3.htm Jaremy Pyle (pyle9971@nova.gmi.edu) has the complete Victory series in Japanese. Jean Vanlente (planet@neosoft.com) has about 30 assorted dubbed episodes from the three series. 6. What's Transformers: Hero? TF:Hero is a video that was released in 1988 in Japan. It includes an overview of the first 5 seasons of Japanese TF cartoons (two years of Super Robot Life Form, one year of 2010, and two of Headmasters) as well as little snippets from Sramble City and Masterforce. There are clips from the cartoons with narration explaining the action, and even "commercial breaks" filled with ads for TF toys. The video also contains the Japanese movie trailer, with footage never officially seen in the US that wasn't included in the actual movie. (Read the various questions about cut movie footage in section XII.) 7. What's different between the American and British comics? The British TF comic followed a different (and much more interesting) continuity than its American counterpart. The UK book was weekly rather than monthly, and lasted for another year or so after the American book was canceled, making it up to issue 332. Each issue contained about half a US comic's worth of TF story, and a usually non-TF backup strip. It reprinted all the US stories, but when not doing so the Brits were treated to original stories written by Simon Furman. As a direct consequence of their writer, the UK stories were full of action, intrigue, mythos, and extensive character development. They also featured artwork from greats like Geoff Senior with filled color, rather than the then-traditional dot coloring that Marvel US used. The UK TF Annuals were hardback books with both comic and text stories, and other features as well. The first Annual was also released in a paperback version in 1986. The UK "Collected Comics" reprinted the best stories from earlier issues. There were 19 of these plus a number of reprint specials which were like CC, but were not numbered and most were missing the stage-setting intro page that CC had. CC 1 and 2 were a reprint of US 1-4. The British continuity took most of the movie as cannon and from that grew several future and time travel epics. Anyone familiar with Furman's run on the US TF book will realize the great potential for this type of story when flowing from Furman's pen. Getting a hold of UK TF comics is pretty difficult, as most TF fans are American, and the UK comics are so good that no one really wants to give them up. If you're interested in getting some, post a message to ATTM and you may get replies from people willing to sell, although the cost could be high. The head of The Survivors, Liane Elliot (electra@masterpiece.com), has written up a guide to the UK comics with a list of all issues, and summaries of many storylines. A list of British TF comics can be found with the American comic list, in XI, 1. == XIV. Miscellaneous Questions ======= 1. What were those Cybertronian units of time? Issues 17 and 18 of the comic book focused on events on Cybertron, mainly with Blaster's efforts to free a neutral scientist named Spanner from Decepticon captivity. In number 17, two units of Cybertronian time were introduced, and occasionally popped up in dialogue in later issues. Also, in issue 60 Thunderwing mentions another unit of time. The conversions are as follows: 1 Breem = 8.3 Earth minutes 1 Vorn = 83 Earth years 1 Orn = 1 Cybertronian lunar day = ??? in Earth time More recently, the BW TFs have been using some Cybertron time units. The *approximate* conversions as supplied by Larry DiTillio are: Cycle = minute Megacycle = hour Klik = second Nano-klik = 10th of a second 2. Unicron vs. the Death Star: who would win? Hitler. Seriously, though, this is a perfect example of a question that has been beaten into the ground. Someone asked this sometime during the '94 school year and the discussion went on and on as more new people jumped in expressing their opinions, which were, invariably, opinions that others had already expressed. It degraded into the kind of discussion you might see in a religious debate area where one person says "no, don't you see? it's this way!" and the next person says "no, you're wrong! it's THIS way!" and then someone else agrees with the first person, and then the second, etc., etc.. The problem is that this is a fairly common first question for people to post because they think (rightfully so) that it's an interesting question to muse over for a little bit. Unfortunately, we've been put through this all about four times now and it's worn awfully thin. IOW, most of the ATT regulars will be extremely annoyed with you if you post this question, or even something similar (Unicron vs. Galactus, Unicron vs. the Zentradi war fleet, Unicron vs. M.Bison). To actually answer the question... The side that favored Unicron gave rationale such as his superior speed and mobility, the ability to transform, and the toughness of his hide (if an exploding moon didn't scratch him, what good will the Planet Destroyer beam from the DS do?). They also noted that since the Matrix was the only thing that could destroy him, the DS sort of loses by definition. The Death Star side said that the DS actually had superior mobility because of its hyperdrive, and that the Planet Destroyer could basically blow up anything in the universe, even planets with tough metal hides. The size question came up over and over again, comparing Uni's size in the comic to Cybertron in the comic, Uni in the movie to Cybertron in the cartoon, Uni's head to Uni's body to Cybertron in "The Ultimate Doom", and every other comparison that can possibly be imagined, in the hopes of figuring out which one was bigger. In the end there was no consensus, just a bunch of people yelling at each other. 3. How do you write out the transforming sound? When this question came up, our resident technobabble god, Kendrick, had his own special take on it: "The Transform sound begins as an 8 hz pulse repeated five times for .7 seconds each repeat whose pitch can be represented by the absolute value of a declining sine wave, with each zero-to-zero arc of the wave representing one of five cycles of the repetition. The actual value of the sine wave can be modified by factor N which is multiplied into the X value but divided into the Y value, which means that although the actual pitch is largely indefinite, in analog terms when the transform pitch is higher the length of each pulse is shorter, and conversely when the pitch is lower the length of each pulse is longer." More traditional attempts were as follows: Rob Jung: "chee-chee-cha-cha-choh" Kirt Israel: "CHHH-CHH-Chh-chhu-chu" Iggy Drougge: "chreechroochroochroo" Nick Morency: "Oh oh ah ah ee!" 4. Which TFs died in the movie/comic/tv show? A fairly comprehensive "Transformers Book of the Dead" was written by Liane Elliot, listing TF deaths in several different continuities, complete with the circumstances of each death, and can be found on Iggy Drougge's homepage at: http://www.canit.se/~optimus/tf/dead.txt However, for you impatient types, here's a brief list of the movie deaths in approximate order, sans causes. Keep in mind that the Insecticons might have just been clones, and some people don't consider the 'cons reformed by Unicron to be "dead": Brawn, Prowl, Ratchet, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Windcharger, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bombshell, Shrapnel, Kickback, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Starscream. 5. What movie was it that had those TF cartoons in it? "The Professional" is a movie about a hit man that takes in a little girl whose family has been killed by mobsters. At several times throughout the movie, the girl is shown watching TV, and she is always watching Transformers cartoons. The first clip is from MTMTE Part 3. Megatron says "Now it's my turn!", followed by Starscream pleading: "Megatron! Megatron! Please don't shoot!". The second clip, from "War of the Dinobots" has Prime say "Don't you recognize me?" and Grimlock reply "Me Grimlock know you!" The third and final scene is also from MTMTE 3. Hound says "But I mean a big one!" and Prowl asks "What did you have in mind?" == XV. Closing Comments and Information A note on FAQular Grammar: As the ATT FAQ was initially written by Steve Stonebraker and only revised and edited by Tengu, there are a few sections here or there that leave some ambiguity as to who is saying what. Basically, the majority of the text in the document can be attributed to Steve, while some of it was penned by Tengu. If there are any questions regarding this issue specifically, and they tear at your mind and soul to such an extent that you just can't deal, feel free to drop me a line. (Hee hee... "me" ;) A note on translations: When changing names from Japanese to English there are two major problems. The first is that some English letters sound the same in Japanese, such as 'l' and 'r', and 'u' and 'a'. This can lead to translations of names like "Thunderclucker". To remedy this it is necessary to look at the word you've ended up with, and decide if it makes sense. Thunderclucker, unfortunately, makes nearly as much sense as Thundercracker. But in most cases, the choice is obvious. As an example which Doug Dlin (apcog@hotmail.com) brought to my attention, the name "Raster" is better translated as "Laster", because the name then suggests a character of great endurance. Second, there has to be a choice made between exact transliteration of spelling versus pronunciation. For example, the word "caesar" is in a few names of Masterforce and Victory characters. Caesar is the true translation of the word, but in Japanese the word can be pronounced as in English, or as "kaiser". (Kaiser is a german word for "king" which came from the latin name Caesar. Its meaning in Japan is not "king", but represents power or strength.) People generally spell the names whichever way they prefer, because both are "correct". I have decided to try to favor spelling over pronunciation, simply because I'm writing them and that is the way the names are "written". The fact that they can be said differently isn't my problem, but one of our language (like the words through, though, and tough, all of which give a different sound to the "ough"). The least confusing thing would be for me to mention both every time, but that seems like a waste of space to me, and that is why I've chosen one. Anyone who notices me being inconsistent on this matter should mention it to me. Lastly, concerning planet names... In Japanese, the suffix "-sei" means literally "-star" but is also used to indicate a planet's name. For example, in TF:Victory the Cybertron's live on "V-sei", which means "Planet V". Hence, "Masutaa-sei" actually means "Planet Master". However, since "MasterStar" sounds cool, isn't technically incorrect, and is a bit of an established word in the TransFan community, I have opted to call it that. Behavior of newbies and regulars on ATT (also see section I, 11.): Although a good number of people on alt.toys.transformers treat each other with respect, there have been at times criticisms made by both regulars and by newbies about the behavior of the "other side". In an effort to smooth things over and hopefully make the situation more comfortable, I feel it may be helpful to offer a little advice. In addition to this, *please* read "How to win friends and influence ATT", a list of behavior pointers modified for ATT by Jameel al Khafiz (spectre@dhp.com). He posts it regularly. For people new to the net, or new to ATT (also see section I, 11.): It's almost always a good idea to lurk on a newsgroup for a while before starting to make posts. The time that you spend lurking could be months, or only days. Many people simply lurk forever, and never make any posts at all. On all newsgroups, it is important to get an idea of what sort of things the group talks about, the manner in which they communicate with each other, and what they consider worthwhile, before making a potentially "rude" posting. Do not quote large sections of text, especially if you are only going to make one or two lines of commentary at the bottom. DO NOT WRITE IN ALL CAPS OR MAKE BAD ENGLISH, OR SPELL BADLY, OR IGNORE PUNCTION IT MAKES YOU'RE POST HARD TO READAND MAKES YOU LOOK STUPID. If you don't want to bother with hitting the shift key, all little letters are much easier to read than all big ones. That, and when you write in all caps it's considered "shouting", which isn't very polite. If you have something to say that you think some of us might like to see, don't feel reluctant to make a post about it. If we don't care, we just won't read it. On the other hand, don't waste bandwidth by making multiple pointless posts. Just because you don't see a post you made appear on the list right away doesn't mean that it didn't work. Don't resend it or you'll just annoy other readers when they have to wade through 5 copies of the same thing. Read the FAQ. :) If people don't like what you have to say, and say so, it doesn't mean that they don't like you. They aren't necessarily trying to be mean to you, even if it feels like they are. It's a good idea to separate your opinion from your ego as much as possible. Above all, be considerate of others. Don't annoy them, don't waste space, and don't be afraid to speak up if you have something to say. For established ATT regulars (also see section I, 11.): Every once in a while a relatively new ATT reader will mention the cold welcome they received when first starting to post. When this happens, he is often followed up by a few others saying that they experienced the same thing. It's a sad thought that a group of people who have gathered together to talk about something they love can exclude and intimidate others with the same love. When somebody says something you think is stupid, don't followup by calling them stupid. It's more likely that they're just uninformed, and it's our duty as regulars to help them out. Be courteous; don't belittle or mock new posters or even other regulars. While its true that many have established friendships and, to some extent, even cliques on ATT, it's a terrible mistake to only listen to the people we know, or to quickly dismiss what new posters tell us. Rather than ignoring or flaming an uninformed newbie, send them an email to try to fill them in. Have them find a copy of the FAQ. Give them a chance to show you that they have something to contribute. Above all, be considerate of others. Listen to what newbies have to say, help them out, treat them with respect, and make them feel welcome to be a part of our community. Inexperienced participants of ATT may indeed be "newbies," but they're still *TransFans*. :) == XVI. Silly Random Questions ======== == XVII. Revision History and Plans for the Future >From Steve Stonebraker: When I first got on the net, there was already a TF FAQ. It was relatively short, and only partially informative, and had things in it that were better left to other documents (like how to use ftp). It had been some time since it was updated. Copies of this FAQ may still be floating around. After someone started a message thread in late 1994 entitled "TF FAQ sucks!", I thought it might be time for someone to actually take the initiative and write up a new one. I didn't keep good track of revision dates at first, but I plan to keep all the old versions from here on out. Hence, there are no dates for the first few revisions. >From Tengu: Steve's work on the FAQ more than stands on its own, and I'd be a fool not to admit that the document is entirely his child. I tried to keep the "flow" of the document intact as I worked on the 5.0 update, and hopefully I've been successful. There were quite a few bits of the FAQ that needed to be updated, and still other points which had not yet been added as of the last revision. All in all, though- version 5.0 of the ATT FAQ is a "functional" document, in that all information included in it was checked for accuracy as of its first posting. I'd like to thank Steve publicly for his advice on this update, and I ask anyone with insights or possible revisions to drop me a line. v1.0 - everything new v2.0 - more complete MUSH info - quote list info - info on RoboMACs, a TF-compatible rpg system - now have complete and correct info on Japanese TF cartoon - added more voice actor info - list of gestalt components and list of tapes - discussion of comic writing/art staff - explanation of Soundwave's voice in the cartoon - editing, grammar correction, etc. v2.1 - transforming sound spelling - misc. little changes v2.2 - email address changes for a few people - tiny revisions to voice list and Japanese cartoon section - two or three new WWW pages listed v3.0 - completed 2/6/96 - explanation of the switches on Jumpstarter's heads - additional TF Movie laserdisc info - email address corrections, WWW page additions, etc. - rearranged order of some sections - added an "About the Author" section for my own ego - "can I post binaries here?" answered - TF:The Dream added to MUSH list - voice list responsibility transferred to Cris Haaser - brief list of TF deaths in the movie - list of starring voice roles in the movie - figured out what the heck budding is! - got info on foreign toys - added a list of what not to post about (!) v3.1 - completed 2/18/96 - a few random corrections and updates - got the last Find Your Fate title - added more toy list and UK comic information v4.0 - completed 8/11/96 - a good number of minor corrections and additions - books sent to separate file - addition of non-US section - news from BotCon '96 - tf battlecards - increased number of columns to reduce number of lines - rearranged, split, and combined some questions and sections - Skyfire toy debunked - Unicron toy described - finally gave BW some respect :) - more complete WWW page list - added the "closing comments" section - expanded movie edits / cuts to several more specific questions - detailed info on "who is Cyclonus?" v4.1 - completed 9/1/96 - updated some MUSH info - realized a Fanzine list already existed - removed a reference to Kendrick (gasp!) - extra Battlestars and Zone info - BotCon '97 announcement - more web sites, fewer typos v4.2 - completed 1/24/97 - rearranged and expanded indexes (read "FAQ Structure") - Beast Wars earns a full section, woo woo! - new BotCon and TransCon info - info about a.t.t.marketplace - brief posting guidelines for ATT and ATTM - mention of TransFan code - extra info on Valkyrie / Jetfire connection - confirmation of alternate soundtrack cover in Canada - movie LD still available??? - discussion of Cyberton's size - MUSH list removed in lieu of better WWW version v5.0 - completed 3/23/98 - lots of outdated information in-dated :) - checked\updated almost every URL, e-mail address and various 'Net sundry - FAQ Parts Three and Four (Indexes) removed in favor of CTLP - "Special Thanks" truncated in the interests of document size - "ATT Strife" section added - Information on the Brawn Argument(TM) added - Additional info added to the BW Section (Transmetals, Fuzors, etc.) - updated info on where to purchase the TF:TM on video - new info regarding Stan Bush and Vince DiCola - BotCon '98 info added - Question about the blue Bluestreak added == XVIII. About the Author ============ >From Steve: As mentioned at the top of this document, my name is Steve Stonebraker. At the time of this version's completion, I am 20 years old, and halfwayy through my junior year as an astronomy and physics major at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio. My birthday is the first of April. I have a WWW page (cc.owu.edu/~srstoneb). Soon, I hope to have a *fully* HTML- ized version of the FAQ there. (My tests with v3.1 were very promising.) Aside from Transformers and physics, I also like computers, video games, dinosaurs, Helen Hunt, comic books, and snow. I am single and looking. ;) I listen to a wide variety of music, ranging from Vivaldi to the Lords of Acid, but the Indigo Girls are my favorite. The one book I would recommend to anyone on Earth is _Ishmael_ by Daniel Quinn. Basically, it explains the mistakes that our civilization is making, and why we are making them. Reading it will open your eyes, and could change your life. I'm not kidding. I can sometimes be found under the name Astos (the dark elf from the original Final Fantasy, and an old D&D character of mine) on Foothills or Resort, two EW-Too based Talkers at "toybox.infomagic.com 2010" and "resort.org 2323" respectively. About Tengu: Tengu is the admitted puppet of Steve Stonebraker, set to the task of updating the FAQ based on large amounts of cash and pictures he thought were destroyed long ago. == XIX. Terms and Abbreviations ======== This is an incomplete list of terms you may see in this FAQ, on ATT, or elsewhere on the net. FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions, or the list thereof AFAIK - As Far As I Know a.t.t., ATT - alt.toys.transformers ATTF - alt.toys.transformers.fanfic ATTM - alt.toys.transformers.marketplace binary - a file such as an image or sound clip UU or MIME encoded to be sent as a text file through email or usenet bot - Autobot BW(s) - Beast Wars, Beast Warrior(s) BWADL - Beast Wars Anti-Defamation League con - Decepticon decep - Decepticon G1 - The original, pre=G2 Transformers G2 - Generation 2, or Transformers: Generation 2 gestalt - a robot made up of a combination of several smaller robots IMO, IMHO - In My Opinion, In My Humble Opinion kitbash - to modify a toy by painting, rebuilding, adding to it, etc. TF(s) - Transformer(s) TM - Transmetal, Targetmaster (identified by context) TRU - Toys 'R Us TFTM, TF:TM - Transformers: The Movie HasKen - the Hasbro / Kenner conglomerate which now makes TFs IMHO - In My Humble Opinion. Max, Maxie - Maximal Megs, Meggy - Megatron, Decepticon leader. MTMTE - "More Than Meets The Eye", the first three-episode story Op, OP - Optimus Prime, Autobot leader. OTOH - On The Other Hand. NG - Newsgroup Pred - Predacon Quints - Quintessons, aliens introduced in the TF movie who played a large part in the plot of post-movie eps regulars - ATT's frequent and more well-known posters retcon - "retroactive continuity", when a character or story has a blank area of its past filled in, or an old area replaced, to make the present story make more sense seekers - the 6 'con jets with the same design (like Starscream and Thrust) spam - to post long, pointless messages, or to send a message to many newsgroups where it doesn't apply, or the pointless message itself tech specs - the little cards from TF boxes which showed the abilities and stats of the TF TFU - "Transformers Universe," the character-bio comic released by Marvel TransFan - a Transformers Fan (whoa...) TRoOP - "The Return of Optimus Prime", a 2 part post-movie story troll - a usenet post intentionally designed to illicit a harsh response for amusement, or the author of such a post (ex: "Transformers suck!! You are all fags!!!") TTWND - Thread That Would Not Die (tm), topics like "Unicron vs Death Star" TUD - "The Ultimate Doom", a three part pre-movie cartoon story Shackwave - the Radio Shack Shockwave ripoff, it was grey and called something like "Astro Man" *Masters, *M - AM=ActionMaster, HM=HeadMaster, TM=TargetMaster, PM=PowerMaster, MM=MicroMaster **, __, // - plain text characters used to emulate font formats by placing them on either side of a word or phrase, the meanings are bold, underline, and italic, respectively == XX. Legalese and Special Thanks ==== >From Steve: Initial thanks go to the previous FAQ author, Tim Browne (aka "Max Sterling"). Tim *is* still on the net after all, at least as of Nov-96. Although this FAQ is my own work, parts of his FAQ (questions, answers, ideas) have been included in this one, and without some sort of previous reference I'm sure my job would have been a lot harder. >From Tengu: Again, I'd like to thank Steve for trusting me with the updating of the FAQ while he's on hiatus. He's been of enormous help to me in my work on the FAQ, and I can only wish him a speedy return to the helm. Also, my thanks go to those ATTers who sent me questions and comments for FAQ revisions; nearly every suggestion you made had a direct impact on changes in v5.0. Cheers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Thanks of course go to all of the participants of ATT, the individuals referenced in this document, and the individuals who maintain the resources/sites/documents referenced in this document. :P It is the community spirit of online TransFans that allows this document to exist; it is the combined effort of those fans that enables it to thrive. The Transformers, Autobots, Decepticons, Beast Wars, and most of the other names and things are probably all registered trademarks of either Hasbro, Kenner, Marvel, Takara, or someone. This FAQ is simply a reference for Transformers fans and is not intended to infringe upon any legal rights to the names or ideas referenced. This FAQ, however, is Steve's property. Anyone may distribute it to anyplace they like or put it anywhere they like, in print or in electronic form, provided that I retain all credit of authorship, that the contents are not altered (except by my permission), and that no fee is charged except to make up cost of duplication. The FAQ is not to be used as a tool to further global domination, and may not be distributed to robotic extraterrestrials bent on conquering the universe. Alt.Toys.Transformers FAQ, Copyright 1998, Steve Stonebraker/Tengu.