Combiner thoughts...

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Cliffjumper
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Combiner thoughts...

Post by Cliffjumper »

I was just thinking of some of the "but if Brawl's Devastator, we can't have Devastator as Devastator in the second film" dribble, and I was thinking - isn't some form of Bruticus both much more likely, and much more interesting? I mean, military Hardware > construction vehicles, moreso for Bay too. Plus also the realism of the film universe means Devastator wouldn't be bright green, and also would probably be pretty impressive, totally contradicting everything associated with every's favourite 1985 lime tranny made up of construction vehicles.

Whereas Bruticus would allow for individual robots that had vaguely threatening alt modes ("OH NO!!! DUMP-TRUCK!!!").

The other thing I'm thinking is how they're going to do a combiner without mass-shifting... It'd be tricky to do for five different vehicles without them being the same basic thing, I think - look at the massive, massive amount of cheating going on for basically every realistic combiner before Car Robots... So, if there are going to be combiners in a future installment, how do you reckon they're going to get around that?
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Halfshell
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Post by Halfshell »

They can negotiate mass-shifting by ignoring the whole "one per limb, one for the body" formula. One robot forms both legs or something. Or is an arm and the torso. Something Build King esque.

The Stunticons are about the only Scramble team that didn't cheat scandalously with the scale...

Or, given the amount of folding/unfolding inherent in the transformation mechanics seen in the first film, they may even be able to get away with that anyway.

It just involves having a group that are roughly the same size, be it in robot mode or vehicles.

Or just have a jet and a tank. That would sort of work for a combiner and keep them in scale... wait, this is me blindsiding myself into a Flywheels reference, isn't it? Oh noes.
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Post by RID Scourge »

Hmmm . . . I think I'd prefer Bruticus, too.

Maybe something along the lines of the constructicons not being able to combine (initially), but they either build a doomsday weapon in secret or design a combined mode for themselves. That would be a pretty fresh take.

I can see them being ingenuitive enough to make themselves into the first combiner. Maybe something along the lines of them not being so great at fighting, but they realize that a giant robot would totally wreck the autobots.
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Post by secretcode »

Either Bruticus or Menasor is fine with me. Or even better...

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Post by *BARRAGE* »

the combiners will probably never be in there... but i hope so...

but more on topic- i see the combiners "combining" as transformed objects (not as a vehicle with a hand, but altering into an arm/leg type structure completely... not as cool, but could be nifty)
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Post by Halfshell »

Originally posted by Xstarscreamx
but more on topic- i see the combiners "combining" as transformed objects (not as a vehicle with a hand, but altering into an arm/leg type structure completely... not as cool, but could be nifty)


That's much what I envisaged, too.
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Considering some of the nicely obscure character names that were reused for the first film I'm betting Mosntructor.
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Post by Clay »

I have no preference for which combiner makes it to film. Bruticus makes the most sense at first, but an emphasis on the Constructicons and their ability to, you know, build stuff would work if they can't combine automatically and invent the system during the course of the film.
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Post by *BARRAGE* »

i don't know that one should appear... cool as it would be to get another gestalt, the movie physics are much more on par with reality, and any combiner would out power and out gun any single TF- unless they pull a saturday morning cartoon and suddenly develop a weapon to destroy it... which we would all start screaming at the screen and lose it- don't lie...

and it's not like they can have that split screen and have all the single components start arguing with each other for control... although that would be a nice nod to the fans... who would then eviscerate Bay for such a campy choice...
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Post by Warcry »

Originally posted by Maju Garzett
PREDAKING! Have him fight the Dinobots!
Seriously? Stop and think for a minute about what either of those sub-groups would look like done over in the Movie style. I can't see it turning out at all well.

To be honest, I question the need for combiners at all in a universe where mass-shifting doesn't seem to exist. A Transformer with a really, really big alt-mode would make a lot more sense thematically. Blast Off, for example, would utterly dwarf any of the existing Movieverse characters. Hook would be a big boy, too.

Long Haul would be a titan. He's not a standard dump truck but rather a huge mining truck (sorta like this, although obviously not that specific model), if you look carefully at his G1 toy. A Movie guy with the same alt-mode could drive over most of the Autobots like they're not even there, and would stand twice as tall as Optimus in robot mode.

If we absolutely had to see a combiner, though, something Menasor-style would make the most sense. You'd be hard-pressed to find miltary vehicles both distinctive enough to want five of them in a team, and small enough for combining to actually benefit them. The same goes for construction vehicles, and anything animal-based would end up an utter mess. Cars, on the other hand, you could do.
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Post by Brimstone »

Originally posted by Xstarscreamx
the movie physics are much more on par with reality, and any combiner would out power and out gun any single TF
Except for the rumors that Bay said he wanted a big transformer for the next movie...somethinng like an aircraft carrier.

That would be...well...holy crap! It'd be huge. Nothing would compare. Not even Bruticus (with a shuttle, tank, and Blackout sized helicopter) would compare. He'd still be tiny compared to Broadside/Tidal Wave/Omega Supreme or whatever name they went with.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

I'd prefer Tidal Wave
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would be a much better concept... Combiners will loose a lot of visuals if they have to fudge things (have each member having a distinct third "part" configuration, for example), and it'd be difficult to work... If they did go with, say, Menasor, he wouldn't be much bigger than Starscream, so what'd be the point?

A big bastard, though, could work. An aircraft carrier is probably the right size to be impressively big, without having the massive interaction problems something stupidly big (like Unicron) would have - you'd probably still be able to just make out the likes of Prime or Starscream against a full-body shot, for example, kinda like Unicron was (incorrectly) portrayed relative to Galvatron in TF:TM.
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Re: Combiner thoughts...

Post by Glitcher »

Originally posted by Cliffjumper
I was just thinking of some of the "but if Brawl's Devastator, we can't have Devastator as Devastator in the second film" dribble, and I was thinking - isn't some form of Bruticus both much more likely, and much more interesting?
But if one of the Combaticons is named "Brawl" in the movie, Transfandom would practically crumble in confusion.

Anyway, to avoid conflicts with both the Combaticons and Constructicons, I think the second movie could model itself on The Key to Vector Sigma. Aerialbots VS. Stunticons! :D
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Clay
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Post by Clay »

Originally posted by Cliffjumper
I'd prefer Tidal Wave
SPOILER! (select to read)
(yep, I've picked one, and I'm hoping it'll turn out to be right so i can claim to be a prophet/have AWESOME INSIDE SOURCES)
would be a much better concept... Combiners will loose a lot of visuals if they have to fudge things (have each member having a distinct third "part" configuration, for example), and it'd be difficult to work... If they did go with, say, Menasor, he wouldn't be much bigger than Starscream, so what'd be the point?


Moreover, there's the whole mess of a team actually combining. Can't help but think they'd be shot while in the middle of the process, and besides, what could a giant robot do that five or six smaller ones can't? Smash stuff? It'd just be a bigger target with the added deficiency of weak points where the individuals link together.

Something intrinsically bigger, like an aircraft carrier, would still be an easy target, but wouldn't have a warm-up time or six different Achilles' heels.
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Post by inflatable dalek »

How about more of a Armada Perceptor style combiner? three or four Frenzy size guys who join up to form a normal size Transformer when they need to give someone a good kicking.
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Post by Halfshell »

Or Reflector...

Seriously - Flywheels is the place to be. One robot that splits into two vehicle modes for practicality purposes.
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Post by inflatable dalek »

Originally posted by Halfshell
Or Reflector...

Seriously - Flywheels is the place to be. One robot that splits into two vehicle modes for practicality purposes.
Are we going to have two years of you rationalising ways of getting Flywheels into the sequel?
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Post by Halfshell »

You were ever in doubt?

Seriously, though, it makes far more sense to have one robot who can split in two, than five robots who just form a bigger one.
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Post by *BARRAGE* »

Originally posted by Clay
Moreover, there's the whole mess of a team actually combining. Can't help but think they'd be shot while in the middle of the process, and besides, what could a giant robot do that five or six smaller ones can't? Smash stuff? It'd just be a bigger target with the added deficiency of weak points where the individuals link together.

Something intrinsically bigger, like an aircraft carrier, would still be an easy target, but wouldn't have a warm-up time or six different Achilles' heels.


good point...

i still think that such a massive TF in the movie setting is a kind of bad idea- cool to envision, but bad when you consider the logic: how'd he sneak up on the US/Autobots, how would the Autobots even fight such a thing- and win without saturday morning logistics, how'd he get to earth in the first place without being noticed, etc...

i don't know- like i said- cool to envision, but not sure how well it would work...
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Originally posted by Xstarscreamx
i still think that such a massive TF in the movie setting is a kind of bad idea- cool to envision, but bad when you consider the logic: how'd he sneak up on the US/Autobots, how would the Autobots even fight such a thing- and win without saturday morning logistics, how'd he get to earth in the first place without being noticed, etc...


Why would something the size of an aircraft carrier have to sneak up on anything? Mind, even if it did, I kinda think turning into an aircraft carrier wouldn't hurt. 'Sfunny, Transformers are sort of Robots with Disguises. Heh, Robots in Disguise, wonder why they never used that as a tagline or something. Good phrase. I'm coining that.

As for fighting it, they could always shoot at it... Devastator was bigger than most of the Autobots (I'm guessing taller than Prime, even if we never really saw), and they shot at him. Besides which, all sorts could come into play, just as it does whenever a large robot battles smaller TFs in existing media... Sometimes it isn't just Saturday morning logistics - there's to reason to suggest Tidal Wave wouldn't be as lumberous as, say, Devastator.
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