I've been brainstorming, and well, I just had to see what some people thought of this.


The fanfic would start off pretty similar to G1, with the first chapter being set on Cybertron. Plenty of flashbacks: a few gladiatorial battles, the Decepticons' uprising, deaths of Sentinel Prime and Omega Prime (Yeah, RID reference.) Optimus Prime has just received the Matrix, and is new to the concept of being a leader. That was the only way I could stop him from being G1's Mr. Perfect.

Megatron leaves Cybertron with a group of "elite warriors" (who are, for the most part, incompetent morons), and Prime follows him. They crash on Earth (well, the 'Cons crash on the Moon), scan new altmodes, and start the war again.


And here's the main cast.


Autobots:


Optimus Prime: The new leader of the Autobots, successor to Omega Prime. New to the concept of being a leader. Thankfully, he manages to keep his cool in battles. Looks like his Armada incarnation.

Ironhide: Prime's second-in-command and weapons specialist. Looks like his G1 incarnation. (He even has the liquid nitrogen gun.)

Bumblebee: Resident kid-appeal character, with an unusual talent for sneaking around undetected.

Wheeljack: The group's mad scientist, who regularly comes up with wacky inventions that may or may not save the day.

Smokescreen: The slightly darker character of the group. Was once a brilliant thief and an escape artist, but eventually realized that crime didn't pay, and joined the Autobots.

Nightbeat: Brilliant detective, who often comes across Decepticon plots.

Roadbuster: In a slightly different universe, Roadbuster might've been a Decepticon. Thankfully, he isn't.

Cybertronian Autobots:

Ultra Magnus: Leader of the underground Autobot resistance movement.

Red Alert: Ultra Magnus's second-in-command. Makes sure the resistance hasn't been infiltrated by Shockwave's spies.

Brawn: Basically his G1 counterpart.

Cliffjumper: Basically his G1 counterpart.

Powerglide: Mainly sent on scouting missions, but he can fight if needed.


Decepticons:

Megatron: Brilliant military strategist, who prefers to work behind the scenes and leave the fighting to his minions. If you do end up fighting him, though, you probably won't survive. Cybertronian jet/Cybertronian artillery cannon triplechanger.

Starscream: Second-in-command of the Decepticon army. Usually ends up leading the Decepticons on their missions. Dreams of the day he can overthrow Megatron as Decepticon leader.

Motormaster: Motormaster is basically a big bully. With a sword.

Darkwing: Don't talk to Darkwing about life! He figures that if everything is pointless, depressing and eventually leads to a life of endless suffering, then he might as well make sure that others are getting it worse than he is. Looks like G2 Dreadwing, in G1 Darkwing colours.

Octane: Chronic fuel-hoarder. Really enjoys watching his comrades suffer from lack of energon. The only reason Megatron keeps him around is because he has a knack for finding new fuel sources.

Runabout: Comic relief. Looks like his G1 counterpart.

Runamuck: Comic relief. Looks like his G1 counterpart.

Laserbeak: The best spy in the Decepticon ranks. Fiercely loyal to Megatron, and will spy on anyone for him, be they Autobot or Decepticon. Nothing escapes his attention. Has been known to perch on Megatron's shoulder.

Devastator: Megatron's pet weapon of mass destruction. Looks like Movie Brawlastator, but coloured black and red.

Swindle: Has been known to sell Decepticon weapons to countries in the Middle East. Megatron keeps him around because of the potential international conflicts that he can start.

Scalpel: Basically the Doctor from ROTF.

Cybertronian Decepticons:

Shockwave: Ruler of Cybertron in Megatron's absence. Though he appears to be fiercely loyal to Megatron, he actually believes that he would be a better leader than Megatron, and plans to overthrow him in the future.

Gnaw: Shockwave's bodyguard. He has a tendency to get horribly mangled or suffer some other kind of seemingly lethal injury, only to survive.

Thrust: Aerial daredevil. The only thing he cares about is if the other Decepticons are amazed by his manuevers.

Vortex: Shockwave's chief interrogator and sniper. Fun fact: He likes bossing Ransack around.

Ransack: Comic relief. He also hates being a lackey for Vortex. Looks like his Cybertron counterpart.

Sunstorm: Basically G1 Sunstreaker. Egotistical, and obsessed with his paintjob.

My own semi-random thought:

Given that you included Omega Prime as a Prime, wouldn't be interesting if he was (as his name implies) the last Prime? Give someone else a shot at leadership? At the very least, it might be interesting if Optimus tried to refuse the official title (and should you later introduce a Nemesis Prime, it makes taking such a name extra spiteful).

So if you insist on an Optimus Prime, you could have that be his official title, him dislike being called by it, and insisting on using his pre-Prime name. Now, whether you re-use Orion Pax (not my taste) or come up with something new or a fun past re-use. For example, given Optimus' alt mode of semi-tractor and trailer, I fancy him being a quartermaster perhaps. After all, if they are going to promote a librarian or make it some quasi-mystical selection, it doesn't have to entirely make sense.

In fact, this could be a very good way of explaining a motley crew of Autobots as Prime's personal unit, if Prime was a quartermaster. Running supplies to all the other units, he could have eventually developed a hand-picked group of specialists and ties to all the other Autobots. In turn, that would make him 'perfect' for the next Prime. And to my eventual point, he could insist he was still just "Convoy", for a fun nod to the Japanese stories.

As for the rest:

Optimus: Didn't much care for his Armada look... how similar is he?

Ironhide: Given how you describe him, I could so see him as part of a quartermaster unit, helping Prime get supplies to troops in the field.

Bumblebee: Bright yellow ninja?

Wheeljack: Cool. Bonus points if you have him double as a medic and everyone is scared to come to him for fear of how he'll repair them.

Smokescreen: I like. If Bumblebee is so good at sneaking, you could make them a team. What makes it easier to sneak around? A big yellow decoy. Who suspects the bright yellow car? No one, especially when they think they are chasing the real, obvious thief! All about misdirection.

Nightbeat: Sounds fine. Again, another possible plot point? What if he was after Smokescreen originally, and either recruited Smokescreen to the Autobots or was completely against it due to their shared past?

Roadbuster: Again, sounds fine. Quite similar to real life, depending on exactly how you're envisioning him.

[indent]1) a la Dinobot, he more or less is a Decepticon but out of necessity, he's an Autobot.

2) Teach the kids that some actions aren't right or wrong, but when and how they happen make them right or wrong. Violence to take what you want isn't good, but sometimes necessary to protect yourself and others.

3) Its a serious problem he has, and they are never certain he won't defect deciding that enough of Decepticon ideals work better than Autobot for him. Not as strange as it sounds even for a "good guy": might makes right so once he's on top he'll make sure it really is 'making right'.

Cybertronian Autobots: No ideas here. XD

Decepticons: Ditto, except for two.

Octane: I think you're missing out by not expanding upon his G1 cartoon portrayal. He originally seemed like any other 'con, but eventually you get to see him as more of an "honest" Decepticon. He's out for himself, but if its too much bother (through good law enforcement or danger), he'll more or less behave.

Swindle: Still keeping your ideas, but I'd have him or often sell battlefield scrap for fuel (perhaps being his official job). After all, some humans will gladly sell to the 'cons, and didn't you ever wonder if the Decepticons burn more fuel raiding than they gain?

It sounds kind of exhausting, to be honest, because you have so many main characters. Whose point of view will it be from? Will they all be interacting extensively with everyone on your list? What genera will it be?
Generally it's more manageable to narrow it down quite a bit to one character's point of view and have them deal with a core group. But then again, I just write character stories, and if you're doing more of a war story it might be better to have a broader overview of the action if avoiding philosophical topics.
Narrowing it to one or two main characters also avoids the needs for a lot of painful exposition, like everyone gathering around for a roll call so the reader knows all the names of the characters. There's just no way to write those kinds of scenes that don't make them awful.

I assumed that most weren't main characters. Look at TFA: a large amount of the characters get face time, but the real main characters are who? Really its Sari, and Bumblebee. It really comes down to presentation, and making sure that he doesn't try and dump all of this on the reader at once, or all of the time.

Seven core Autobots is a lot, but quite doable. I assume most episodes will revolve around Bumblebee and friend. Friend can probably be variable. We might see most or even all seven Autobots each episode, but they don't have to have big roles. Not unlike TFA, the Elite Guard can just sort of cameo until Season 2, or at least late Season 1. A good highlight ep for each regular Autobot and small screen time later should still do it.

Yes, I know I am using TV terminology for a written fic. XD