Transformers Q&A, Round 5 Answers Options

[NightViper]

1) G.B.Blackrock asked - Why do none of the "Generation Two" homages released in the past year or so (Universe Inferno, Legends Green Tank Megatron) have the distinctive Generation Two faction symbols? Especially in the case of Inferno, that's almost the only thing that made G2 Inferno distinct from G1 Inferno. (Noting the Universe Inferno was explicitly part of the "25th Anniversary" line that was especially supposed to honor the franchise's past)

In the original G2 series, the G2 characters had both types of Autobot/Decepticon shields on them. In the Universe 25th Anniversary
line, we felt that it was more important to use only the traditional Autobot and Decepticon shields that have more equity and a more iconic standing with all fans of the brand.

2) NightViper asked - How do the 7 Primes in Revenge of the Fallen relate to the original 13 Transformers? Are they a part of that number, leaving 6 as non-Primes? Or are they a separate group entirely?

The 13 are the Original Epic Warriors of Cybertron. They did not all have names that end in Prime, only seven of the 13 hold this title. Our future plans include telling to story of this epoch soon.

3) Mecheon asked - The deco artist comments on various exclusive items released during the original movie line, and the comments on the first wave of Universe toys, were well liked by the various fan communities, as well as giving an insight into the development process that goes towards making Transformers. Would it be possible to get some more of this developer commentary in the future?

Happy to hear that these types of insights are appreciated out there! As a whole, we go through all of these questions as a team, so when specific questions come up such as a specific item, we try to provide as much insight as possible. Keep on asking those questions and will continue to make sure that we give you the answers that you are looking for.

This post has been edited by NightViper: Oct 21 2009, 06:54 PM

[NightViper]

TFormers Q&A

Over the past 25 years the Transformers' list of characters and figures has evolved exponentially, with so many characters to chose from how does Hasbro chose which ones will be made into actual figures and what is the process Hasbro goes through with the current figures that are out to decide which ones will get repaint and which ones will not?

When creating the Star Wars / Transformers Crossovers line, why were the figures made out of the Star Wars characters, and not Cybertronian Robots with character pilots?

The Universe line is on hiatus for now, but Hasbro has said it wants to continue "reimagining our heritage figures." Could you describe how you determine which "heritage figures" to revisit? Who typically originates the ideas, and what process do they go through before winding up on shelves?

[Magnusblitz]

Answer to #1 was about what I expected. Very interesting answer to #2 though...

[LEADERS_MATRIX]

Nice some good answers for a change.

[Silent_Magnus]

Hmmm.. I wonder how Nexus's renaming fits into that retcon?

[Kil]

The 13 are the Original Epic Warriors of Cybertron. They did not all have names that end in Prime, only seven of the 13 hold this title. Our future plans include telling to story of this epoch soon.

Ugh. Way to contradict what has already been established about the 13 in Vector Prime: In the Beginning!

We are the 13, the first, the forgotten, each of us serving a function vital to the survival of the universe. Each of us designated a Prime and given a function to serve during the long march of infinity

This post has been edited by Kil: Oct 21 2009, 07:35 PM

[ZacWilliam1]

Yup it's a Retcon.

I suppose you could argue that VP's memory was just fuzzy in that quote. It's not like TFs havn't totally forgotten their own personal pasts over much shorter periods in a good number of stories before.

I wonder if they'll bother to come up with a good reason why Primus would only name 7 of 13 as Primes. I also wonder how strict they'll adhere to what is alrady known. I mean we already know the names of 6 of the original 13 who WERE Primes. That only leaves Hasbro room to make up one. I hope they check the wiki. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-arcee.gif)

[Master Fwiffo]

Vector Prime was obviously only talking about the 7. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-waspy.gif)

Interesting retcon, and great Q&A answers this time around. So while we still don't know the names and identies of all 13, we have most of the 7!

Fallen (Prime?)
Vector Prime
Logos Prime
Nexus (hehe) Prime

That leaves only 3 of the 7 unaccounted for!

Oh, you poor wiki guys, you're gonna have to rewrite all your articles! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-fire.gif)

Prima may or may not be one of the 7. So, if that's the case, is Optimus Prime a Descendent of one of the Primes, or one of the surviving 13?

[Master Fwiffo]

I wonder if they'll bother to come up with a good reason why Primus would only name 7 of 13 as Primes. I also wonder how strict they'll adhere to what is alrady known. I mean we already know the names of 6 of the original 13 who WERE Primes. That only leaves Hasbro room to make up one. I hope they check the wiki. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-arcee.gif)

Wait, who are the other 2? Prima may or may not be a Prime, but we is there another besides the ones I listed?

[Silent_Magnus]

Maybe this is why they were being careful about who they gave the title of Prime to?

[ZacWilliam1]

I wonder if they'll bother to come up with a good reason why Primus would only name 7 of 13 as Primes. I also wonder how strict they'll adhere to what is alrady known. I mean we already know the names of 6 of the original 13 who WERE Primes. That only leaves Hasbro room to make up one. I hope they check the wiki. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-arcee.gif)

Wait, who are the other 2? Prima may or may not be a Prime, but we is there another besides the ones I listed?

Well, I was counting Prima, since he's the first TF and it's close enough for school imo, and the Fallen was a named Prime too remember as part of the dynasty of Primes. So that makes 6 named. Wonder if Hasbro has an idea for #7?

[G.B.Blackrock]

Answer to #1 was about what I expected.

Yeah, me too. I don't actually buy it, myself (I don't believe that they actually thought it through that well at the time), but it's what I expected them to say.

This post has been edited by G.B.Blackrock: Oct 21 2009, 08:18 PM

[Mouth04]

When is a Prime not a Prime?


<<


>>

When it's Hot Rod...

[Master Fwiffo]

Welp, this caused me to play a little game of ID!

As you might know, Nizzi designed heads for all 12 of the other 13. Only 6 of them made it to the film. Maybe. Well, I tried to ID the ones that showed up with screencaps:

(IMG:http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/6105/rotfthetwelveheads.jpg)
(IMG:http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/2343/vlcsnap9070969.png)
(IMG:http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/4674/vlcsnap9072158.png)
(IMG:http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/9733/vlcsnap10780087.png)

One just won't show his face, and 5 is iffy - and honestly, 4 is a bit, too.

But now that we've done that, lets try and compare them to the 3 other Primes we know (assuming Prima is not one of them for the moment):

Nexus (HEHE) Prime:
http://www.tfu.info/2009/Decepticon/TFCCNe...exusmaximus.htm

Logos Prime:
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Image:GalaxyForcetoy-Soundblaster.jpg

Vector Prime:
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Vector_Prime

Hrmm, tough sale. I think 3 might be able to pass for Logos, while 2 could conceivably be a stretched out Nexus (hehe!). Maybe 4 for Vector?

Ok, that's enough nerdery for now.

[NightViper]

It comes down to "what is a Prime"? Can you be one without using the title in your name? Take Prima for instance. He's not "Prima Prime", yet he's believed to be one. So could there be others like him?

In other words, if all 13 ARE Primes, yet only 7 of them "hold the title" by having "names that end in Prime", there's not necessarily any contradiction to the previous stories.

[Lukeblast]

I don't think Prima is a Prime, simply because {A} It technically is not "Prime", and I'm sure Hasbro will use that wiggle room, and {B} To follow the standard Prime naming convention, the name would actually have to be "Prima Prime", and that sounds dumb.

I like the answer to Tformers' first question. Read the question, read the answer, think about Universe Overload, then laugh yourself silly.

This post has been edited by Lukeblast: Oct 21 2009, 09:50 PM

[Silent_Magnus]

I don't think Prima is a Prime, simply because [A] It technically is not "Prime", and I'm sure Hasbro will use that wiggle room, and [B] To follow the standard Prime naming convention, the name would actually have to be "Prima Prime", and that sounds dumb.

I like the answer to Tformers' first question. Read the question, read the answer, think about Universe Overload, then laugh yourself silly.

Seems like being the first matrix bearer would make you a Prime.

edit: I hope their "future plans" are not too far into the future.

This post has been edited by Silent_Magnus: Oct 21 2009, 09:34 PM

[Sphagnum Moss]

I guess the fact that there are 6 members of the 13 who aren't Primes opens the way for some of the other "really old guy" characters to being members of the 13 without having to have lost or changed their name at some point. Maccadm? The Last Autobot? If Furman gets his way Liege Maximo will definitely be in there.

[Lukeblast]

I don't think Prima is a Prime, simply because [A] It technically is not "Prime", and I'm sure Hasbro will use that wiggle room, and {B} To follow the standard Prime naming convention, the name would actually have to be "Prima Prime", and that sounds dumb.

I like the answer to Tformers' first question. Read the question, read the answer, think about Universe Overload, then laugh yourself silly.

Seems like being the first matrix bearer would make you a Prime.

I'm just saying that the naming convention for Primes allows Hasbro to exclude him, and that "Prima Prime", which is what the name would technically have to be, is silly.

But I also like Nightviper's idea that "Prime" is (effectively) both a designation and a state of being, which is not something considered by my first post. The idea that one can be a Prime without being named Prime, while no less a retcon, does remove the contradiction with previous statements. It also still allows for Prima, Maccadam, and even The Fallen to be Primes without ever having the title attached to them.

This post has been edited by Lukeblast: Oct 21 2009, 09:51 PM

[General Tekno]

Here's a question - is the Liege Maximo canon as one of the Thirteen?

And given how much we know about his background now, is it possible that he's the same being as The Fallen? They both seem VERY similar in goals, plus we know in at least one continuity The Fallen spawned the Decepticons.

Given what we now know, I'm gonna speculate Ramjet was another of the Thirteen. And possibly Alpha Trion. And Maccadam being one seems more likely.