Parallel Worlds and Common Themes
It's a while since I've written anything here on Live Journal - in large part that's because I've been busy settling into my new home and job, and been caught in a long-term writer's block as a result. Work's settling down a bit now, the first wave of DIY on my house is more or less in hand, and I'm finally starting to play with writing again! I'm pretty sure no one's interested in how many Ikea trips it takes to furnish a house, or just how long it takes to install badly-written linux software on a university computer, but one of the non-work, non-house things I've been thinking about recently is the variety of commonalities and differences that exist between aspects of the multi-dimensional Transformers universe.
Like many folks my sort of age, I grew up knowing a bit about what's now called Transformers' 'Generation 1'. Even back in the late 1990s when a fellow student persuaded me that the series was worth revisiting (mostly, in his opinion, to watch 'Me Grimlock!' in action), the 1980s cartoon was pretty much the be-all and end-all of the Transformers universe as far as we were concerned. It wasn't until after the recent movies, when I came to look at G1 again, that I realised how much I didn't know about 'Transformers'.
I'm not overly naive. I'm well aware that the main driver behind most of the TF stories, and behind the occasional reboot of the entire franchise, was to sell toys. I understand the need to target the whims and interests of each generation, and to update some of the more antiquated vehicle designs. Even so, it's in my nature to analyse, research and try to understand things that catch my interest, and looking at some of the many and varied incarnations of the Transformers universe gives some interesting clues about just what makes Transformers tick.
Since Christmas I've not only rewatched the two movies and the 1980s cartoons, but also read most of the US and UK comic books from that period and tracked down what I can get my hands on of the cartoon series 'Robots in Disguise' (2000-2001), 'Transformers: Armada' (2002-2003) and 'Transformers Animated' (2007-2009). I've not been able to get hold of 'Beast Wars' (1996-1999) but I've watched some of the sequel 'Beast Machines' (1999-2000). Leaving aside the Beast series since I've not really seen enough of them to judge, it's interest to consider the elements that different reimaginings of Transformers have in common and the ways in which they differ.
The most obvious commonality between all the incarnations of Transformers is the existence of two feuding factions - Autobots and Decepticons (or sometimes Maximals and Predacons). Of course, there's something fascinating about battle scenarios to the small boys that make up Transformers' target audience, and there's no doubt that conflict drives interesting plots. It's worth noting though that these aren't ever two different alien races - the adversaries our heroes face aren't 'other', as you might get in say 'Star Trek' or other classic children's series like 'Thundercats' or 'Battle of the Planets'. The fundamental tragedy of every TF series is that we're watching a civil war - brother can be fighting brother (indeed Megatron and Optimus are sometimes portrayed this way). In other circumstances each enemy might have been a friend, and some characters might even straddle the faction lines, uncertain of their destiny. Exploring this conflict is a recurring feature of fan fiction, with authors writing Cybertronian families as divided by the war, and certain characters (particularly Thundercracker and Sunstreaker) as lying close to faction boundaries. While fanfic can, perhaps, overstress the emotional fallout of the civil war, there is pretty strong evidence for it on screen too. 'TF:Armada' in particular plays pretty hard on the theme, with Wheeljack and Starscream both shown struggling to find the right path. 'TF Animated' has Scrapper and Mixmaster floating across faction boundaries and characters like Swindle and Blackarachnia largely ignoring them. Even back in G1, Hoist and Grapple are shown cooperating with the Constructicons, while the newly-sparked Aerialbots are understandably confused about their loyalties. Arguably the intimacy this form of conflict lends to every battle, and the complexity of the relationships it yields is one of the driving factors that makes Transformers so compelling to watch.
While the conflict plays a large role in forging the characters (particularly the Autobots, but the Decepticons too in most incarnations) into a tight-knit group, their isolation is arguably an equally important factor. In most versions of Transformers, the Cybertronians we see form a small outpost, separated from Cybertron by time, distance or both. Just as in, say, Star Trek: Voyager or Stargate Atlantis, that isolation serves to forge a bond of shared hardship between members of the group, and encourage the growth of inter-character relationships of one kind or another. Whether two characters are good friends or get on one another's last nerves, they have no opportunity to escape one another. It also keeps the core group reasonably small (G1-aside!), preventing the number of characters needing back stories and plotlines from multiplying, and encouraging character development for those present. The resulting closeness is another thing that often features large in Transformers fan fiction, with the isolated groups described as a 'family', although its effects are arguably more subtle when seen on screen.
The presence of a human child in that family (sometimes, as in Armada, more than one), is an obvious point of contact for the audience, and also serves the same role as the Companion in 'Doctor Who' or characters like Xander in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', or even many of the ubiquitous OCs in fan fiction - providing an opportunity for other characters to explain plot points and background history to a willing and uninformed audience. Interestingly, the Bay-verse movies are relatively unusual in showing a nuclear family with two parents - in other incarnations, parents are less of a positive influence. Dr Sumdac (Animated) is hiding dark secrets, and both he and Dr Onishi (RiD) spend large periods of time as absent captives and unwillingly provide vital information to the Decepticons. As far back as the G1 comic books, Sparkplug Witwicky becomes increasingly hostile towards the Autobots as time goes by, opposing his sons' involvement with them. On a practical level, it would be pretty hard to get the kids deeply immersed in the ongoing conflict with two parents keeping an eye on them. On another, the lack of adult role models for both the characters and the children watching at home encourages those children to look to the Autobots themselves for role models, pulling them deeper into the relationships and interactions between alien robots than might otherwise be the case.
The strongest of those role models throughout the Transformers universes is Optimus Prime. He's occasionally temporarily replaced - by Rodimus or sometimes Grimlock in G1, by Hot Shot for a while in Armada - but the presence of a strong, charismatic leader is a definite running theme. Given the lack of parental characters, he serves as a father figure for the human children as well as guiding his own (often errant) crew through the war. The composition of that crew varies within certain bounds - where he appears Ratchet is always a brusque medic (G1, Animated, Movie), Prowl is reserved but intelligent (G1, RiD, Animated), Jazz is 'cool' and a skilled fighter (G1, Animated, Movie) - with even the most commonly recurring characters not considered vital to the Autobot cause. Only Optimus remains as a constant, whether as a young leader still finding his place (Animated) or with the weight of eons on his shoulders (Movie-verse, for example), he draws both humans and Autobots to him, balancing compassion with strength and a willingness to take responsibility for his own actions.
As much as Megatron/Galvatron is often present to balance Optimus in power, and even in charisma, it's Prime's unflinching acceptance of the costs and consequences of his actions that sets him apart. In TF:Animated that comes to the fore in his history with Blackarachnia and Sentinel (and is contrasted by Bumblebee's excuses for what happened to Wasp). In G1, Prime leads every battle and is willing to endure single combat to free his men from the shackles of never-ending warfare. In RiD, Prime takes a deep personal interest in young Koji, recognising his team's responsibility for what happened to the boy's father. In every incarnation, and perhaps the movies in particular, his sincere regret for bringing the Cybertronian war to Earth and willingness to take the consequences personally makes him a flawed leader, but one to be admired. It's also at least partly to blame for his multi-versal Lazarus complex (he's revived from death in G1, Armada, the Movieverse, and even briefly in Animated!) - he exemplifies noble self-sacrifice, lending his death and subsequent resurrection a deep emotional resonance with the audience (far more so than, say that of Starscream, who runs Optimus pretty close on the Lazarus count!).
The motives for the war, its weapons and battlegrounds, vary. The enemy is sometimes the powerful Megatron, insane Galvatron, scheming Starscream or even an occasional deranged human. Autobot and Decepticon team members come and go, each with their own habits and histories. Certain transformers can't even transform! Despite that, the tragedy and complexity of civil war, its coming to Earth, the children dragged into the conflict and the strong leadership of Optimus Prime seem to be the key factors in creating a recognisable Transformers series. Each of those elements speak to the audience, drawing them into the far from perfect Transformers universe, yielding opportunities for compelling storylines and characters they can both admire and relate to.
I've probably missed out a lot here, and I know there are a lot of aspects of the Transformers universe I'm still unfamiliar with. I've never seen Energon, Universe, the Takara versions or Transformers Prime, for example. Different people, watching TF, will undoubtedly notice different things or rate other aspects as more important. Or possibly not even think about this at all! As I watch and read more of the different incarnations of Transformers though, I'll continue to think this through - what makes Transformers into Transformers? What keeps so many of us coming back for more? And what can exploring the different ways this scenario has unfolded in text or on screen teach me about capturing the heart and soul of a story in my own writing?
Like many folks my sort of age, I grew up knowing a bit about what's now called Transformers' 'Generation 1'. Even back in the late 1990s when a fellow student persuaded me that the series was worth revisiting (mostly, in his opinion, to watch 'Me Grimlock!' in action), the 1980s cartoon was pretty much the be-all and end-all of the Transformers universe as far as we were concerned. It wasn't until after the recent movies, when I came to look at G1 again, that I realised how much I didn't know about 'Transformers'.
I'm not overly naive. I'm well aware that the main driver behind most of the TF stories, and behind the occasional reboot of the entire franchise, was to sell toys. I understand the need to target the whims and interests of each generation, and to update some of the more antiquated vehicle designs. Even so, it's in my nature to analyse, research and try to understand things that catch my interest, and looking at some of the many and varied incarnations of the Transformers universe gives some interesting clues about just what makes Transformers tick.
Since Christmas I've not only rewatched the two movies and the 1980s cartoons, but also read most of the US and UK comic books from that period and tracked down what I can get my hands on of the cartoon series 'Robots in Disguise' (2000-2001), 'Transformers: Armada' (2002-2003) and 'Transformers Animated' (2007-2009). I've not been able to get hold of 'Beast Wars' (1996-1999) but I've watched some of the sequel 'Beast Machines' (1999-2000). Leaving aside the Beast series since I've not really seen enough of them to judge, it's interest to consider the elements that different reimaginings of Transformers have in common and the ways in which they differ.
The most obvious commonality between all the incarnations of Transformers is the existence of two feuding factions - Autobots and Decepticons (or sometimes Maximals and Predacons). Of course, there's something fascinating about battle scenarios to the small boys that make up Transformers' target audience, and there's no doubt that conflict drives interesting plots. It's worth noting though that these aren't ever two different alien races - the adversaries our heroes face aren't 'other', as you might get in say 'Star Trek' or other classic children's series like 'Thundercats' or 'Battle of the Planets'. The fundamental tragedy of every TF series is that we're watching a civil war - brother can be fighting brother (indeed Megatron and Optimus are sometimes portrayed this way). In other circumstances each enemy might have been a friend, and some characters might even straddle the faction lines, uncertain of their destiny. Exploring this conflict is a recurring feature of fan fiction, with authors writing Cybertronian families as divided by the war, and certain characters (particularly Thundercracker and Sunstreaker) as lying close to faction boundaries. While fanfic can, perhaps, overstress the emotional fallout of the civil war, there is pretty strong evidence for it on screen too. 'TF:Armada' in particular plays pretty hard on the theme, with Wheeljack and Starscream both shown struggling to find the right path. 'TF Animated' has Scrapper and Mixmaster floating across faction boundaries and characters like Swindle and Blackarachnia largely ignoring them. Even back in G1, Hoist and Grapple are shown cooperating with the Constructicons, while the newly-sparked Aerialbots are understandably confused about their loyalties. Arguably the intimacy this form of conflict lends to every battle, and the complexity of the relationships it yields is one of the driving factors that makes Transformers so compelling to watch.
While the conflict plays a large role in forging the characters (particularly the Autobots, but the Decepticons too in most incarnations) into a tight-knit group, their isolation is arguably an equally important factor. In most versions of Transformers, the Cybertronians we see form a small outpost, separated from Cybertron by time, distance or both. Just as in, say, Star Trek: Voyager or Stargate Atlantis, that isolation serves to forge a bond of shared hardship between members of the group, and encourage the growth of inter-character relationships of one kind or another. Whether two characters are good friends or get on one another's last nerves, they have no opportunity to escape one another. It also keeps the core group reasonably small (G1-aside!), preventing the number of characters needing back stories and plotlines from multiplying, and encouraging character development for those present. The resulting closeness is another thing that often features large in Transformers fan fiction, with the isolated groups described as a 'family', although its effects are arguably more subtle when seen on screen.
The presence of a human child in that family (sometimes, as in Armada, more than one), is an obvious point of contact for the audience, and also serves the same role as the Companion in 'Doctor Who' or characters like Xander in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', or even many of the ubiquitous OCs in fan fiction - providing an opportunity for other characters to explain plot points and background history to a willing and uninformed audience. Interestingly, the Bay-verse movies are relatively unusual in showing a nuclear family with two parents - in other incarnations, parents are less of a positive influence. Dr Sumdac (Animated) is hiding dark secrets, and both he and Dr Onishi (RiD) spend large periods of time as absent captives and unwillingly provide vital information to the Decepticons. As far back as the G1 comic books, Sparkplug Witwicky becomes increasingly hostile towards the Autobots as time goes by, opposing his sons' involvement with them. On a practical level, it would be pretty hard to get the kids deeply immersed in the ongoing conflict with two parents keeping an eye on them. On another, the lack of adult role models for both the characters and the children watching at home encourages those children to look to the Autobots themselves for role models, pulling them deeper into the relationships and interactions between alien robots than might otherwise be the case.
The strongest of those role models throughout the Transformers universes is Optimus Prime. He's occasionally temporarily replaced - by Rodimus or sometimes Grimlock in G1, by Hot Shot for a while in Armada - but the presence of a strong, charismatic leader is a definite running theme. Given the lack of parental characters, he serves as a father figure for the human children as well as guiding his own (often errant) crew through the war. The composition of that crew varies within certain bounds - where he appears Ratchet is always a brusque medic (G1, Animated, Movie), Prowl is reserved but intelligent (G1, RiD, Animated), Jazz is 'cool' and a skilled fighter (G1, Animated, Movie) - with even the most commonly recurring characters not considered vital to the Autobot cause. Only Optimus remains as a constant, whether as a young leader still finding his place (Animated) or with the weight of eons on his shoulders (Movie-verse, for example), he draws both humans and Autobots to him, balancing compassion with strength and a willingness to take responsibility for his own actions.
As much as Megatron/Galvatron is often present to balance Optimus in power, and even in charisma, it's Prime's unflinching acceptance of the costs and consequences of his actions that sets him apart. In TF:Animated that comes to the fore in his history with Blackarachnia and Sentinel (and is contrasted by Bumblebee's excuses for what happened to Wasp). In G1, Prime leads every battle and is willing to endure single combat to free his men from the shackles of never-ending warfare. In RiD, Prime takes a deep personal interest in young Koji, recognising his team's responsibility for what happened to the boy's father. In every incarnation, and perhaps the movies in particular, his sincere regret for bringing the Cybertronian war to Earth and willingness to take the consequences personally makes him a flawed leader, but one to be admired. It's also at least partly to blame for his multi-versal Lazarus complex (he's revived from death in G1, Armada, the Movieverse, and even briefly in Animated!) - he exemplifies noble self-sacrifice, lending his death and subsequent resurrection a deep emotional resonance with the audience (far more so than, say that of Starscream, who runs Optimus pretty close on the Lazarus count!).
The motives for the war, its weapons and battlegrounds, vary. The enemy is sometimes the powerful Megatron, insane Galvatron, scheming Starscream or even an occasional deranged human. Autobot and Decepticon team members come and go, each with their own habits and histories. Certain transformers can't even transform! Despite that, the tragedy and complexity of civil war, its coming to Earth, the children dragged into the conflict and the strong leadership of Optimus Prime seem to be the key factors in creating a recognisable Transformers series. Each of those elements speak to the audience, drawing them into the far from perfect Transformers universe, yielding opportunities for compelling storylines and characters they can both admire and relate to.
I've probably missed out a lot here, and I know there are a lot of aspects of the Transformers universe I'm still unfamiliar with. I've never seen Energon, Universe, the Takara versions or Transformers Prime, for example. Different people, watching TF, will undoubtedly notice different things or rate other aspects as more important. Or possibly not even think about this at all! As I watch and read more of the different incarnations of Transformers though, I'll continue to think this through - what makes Transformers into Transformers? What keeps so many of us coming back for more? And what can exploring the different ways this scenario has unfolded in text or on screen teach me about capturing the heart and soul of a story in my own writing?