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Transtech

2007-06-04T03:47:33Z

70.55.210.40: Undo revision 70147 by Special:Contributions/4.68.248.4 (User talk:4.68.248.4)

'''Transtech''' was originally planned as the follow-up to the [[Beast Machines]] toy-line and cartoon.

== Fiction ==

Story-wise, not much is known. It likely would have picked up on [[technorganic]] [[Cybertron]] following the events of Beast Machines. A Mainframe CGI animated series to support the line was likely in the discussion stage at some point.

== Toyline ==

[[Image: TransScream.gif|thumb|Right|150px|Nightscream would have been spared a lot of hate had he looked like this in BM.]]

The characters transformed into Cybertronic vehicles that in many cases had animal-like features/deco. Cheetor was a Cybertronic race-car with a cheetah-like paint job, for instance, and Prime (confusingly invoking [[Optimus Primal]]) was a truck whose front end looked like an ape's face. Designs were done by [[Draxhall Jump]] and had somewhat less traditional robot modes (Cheetor had large hoop "wheels" for shoulders and feet, for instance) and didn't always resemble older versions of the character very closely. The overall aesthetic being somewhere in between Beast Machines odder moments and the new 2007 movie designs. Many of these designs were first shown at [[Botcon 2002]] (apperently without Hasbro permission as they were pulled down from the booth halfway through the show) and then subsequently available online.

[[Image: TransCharge.gif|thumb|150px|left|Depth Charge replaces "Banditto Spider" as coolest unmade TF ever.]]

The line would have included characters carried over from Beast Machines:

*[[Blackarachnia]]
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]
*[[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]]
*[[Silverbolt (Fuzor)|Silverbolt]]

returning Beast Wars character:

*[[Depth Charge]]

returning Generation 1 characters:

*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]

and at least one new character

*[[Immorticon]]

Design sketches for a [[Megatron]] and a [[Scavenger]] of uncertain identity also exist.

The toyline got to the early hard-copy protoype stage, and some prototypes, including Cheetor, Starscream, and Prime, have surfaced. None of them apparently reached a stage of production where real useable molds were created, and so future release is extremely unlikely.

== Cancellation ==

The reasons for Transtech's cancellation remain unknown for certain, though over the years a number of possible reasons have been speculated, among them: negative fan reaciton to Beast Machines, conflict with Mainframe, difference with Takara, or simply a desire to go in a new dirction. The most likely explanation is not a singular culprit, but a number of corresponding culprits, perhaps culminating in the closing of Hasbro's Cincinnati offices and departures of staff, followed by the subsequent relocation to Hasbro's central offices in Rhode Island.

The cancelation of Transtech lead to the Japanese "Car Robots" cartoon and toyline being imported as a stopgap measure while Hasbro and Takara began to work together to jointly create and launch the Armada line.

[[Category: Toys]]
[[Category: Unreleased toys]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

Dark Glass

2007-06-04T03:46:57Z

70.55.210.40: Undo revision 70149 by Special:Contributions/4.68.248.4 (User talk:4.68.248.4)

'''Dark Glass''' was an unproduced episode planned for [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'']]' third season, written by [[Christy Marx]].

==Episode outline==
On [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/17d53fa556c3ac7c?dmode=source&hl=en February 17, 1999], [[Larry DiTillio]] gave the following plot summary:

:''"[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] salvages a computer bank from the [[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]] and in its circuits he and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] find the core consciousness of the old [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]. (You will recall Dinobot downloaded this in a previous episode.) Rattrap gets obsessed with the idea that he can restore the old Dinobot by getting it into the [[Dinobot II (BW)|new Dinobot]]'s systems. Rhinox tells him this will probably not work, as core consciousness without a spark is only an illusion of the person to whom it belonged. And if it didn't work, it just might give the new Dinobot all the old Dinobot's datatrax on the Maximals which could give the Preds an advantage. [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus]] thus forbids the attempt. But Rattrap defies this order, sneaks out and at much risk to himself, does manage to get the core consciousness in place. For a moment the old Dinobot does seem to emerge but, as Rhinox warned, he is only a shadow of his former self and must do everything he can to keep the new Dinobot from regaining control of his body, a weird mental struggle which would have been fun to animate. The old Dinobot knows he is doomed to lose this struggle and tries to 'sacrifice' himself again by infilitrating the Preds and taking out [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] before he can complete his master plan to destroy the [[Autobot]]s. It doesn't work and the New Dinobot regains control of his body only to be blasted by Megatron. Rattrap comes to accept that his old pal is truly dead and realizes he cannot bring him back. However he honors his friend's memory."''

==Details of rejection==
Claster, the series distributor, rejected the episode reportedly (through Jon Hartman) because the story did not have enough action [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/4d506e88c7db00b1?dmode=source]). It has been widely rumored that the episode was rejected for being "too dark". While this may be true, it is also entirely unsubstantiated. The episode got at least a complete first draft script [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/262d0cde3eb0838e?dmode=source], but was rejected long before any animation or voice recordings would have been done.

==Story significance==
Fans have extrapolated that this episode would have explained Dinobot's re-emerged personality in the show's final episode, "[[Nemesis, Part 2]]."

In that episode, [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]], whose [[spark]] powered the TransMetal II clone of Dinobot, was killed, and his spark extinguished. At the same time, Dinobot II seemed to suddenly remember the last moments of the original Dinobot, and his behavior changed drastically -- speaking of honor, he defied [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and essentially switched sides. (Before dying again.)

These events are difficult to explain, perhaps especially so without "Dark Glass". The Dinobot II body was a clone of the original Dinobot, but did not (as far as we know) possess his core conciousness, memories, engrams, etc.. Rather, Dinobot II seems to have been a [[shell program]] written by Megatron running on top of a fragment of Rampage's spark. In this case, it is unclear why, in the absence of Rampage's spark, Dinobot II would suddenly act more like Dinobot I. However, if the events of "Dark Glass" are taken to have occured off-camera, it becomes easier to understand -- two shell programs and a spark all fighting for dominance over a single body. With the spark gone, the Dinobot I shell may have had an opportunity to take over.

On the other hand, even with "Dark Glass" the picture is incomplete. Dinobot saw visions of the original Dinobot's last moments, his battle with the Predacons in the rift valley at the end of "[[Code of Hero]]". These memories could not have been part of the download Dinobot made into the Axalon's computer earlier in the season. For them to surface within him, they must have either been added to the [[datatrax]] he was programmed with (by either Megatron or Rattrap), or they must have come from Dinobot's own spark, if that spark somehow left the [[Allspark (dimension)|Allspark]] and inhabited the cloned body when Rampage's spark departed. All three of these possibilities have their share of implausibility, so it is up to each fan to pick an interpretation that they like to include in their [[personal canon]].

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]
[[Category: Things that don't exist]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

Dinobot II

2007-06-04T03:46:33Z

70.55.210.40: Undo revision 70148 by Special:Contributions/4.68.248.4 (User talk:4.68.248.4)

{{disambig3|Dinobot}}

:''Dinobot 2 is a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] from the [[Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Dinobot2-postcard.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Braiiiiiiins... honor... braaaaaaaaaaaains...]]

A shambling, slavering Frankenstein monster of [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron's]] creation, '''Dinobot 2''' is an attempt to recreate the [[Maximal]] [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] without all that cumbersome honor. Powerful, vicious, and most importantly, loyal, Dinobot 2 is a living weapon to be aimed and released in the Maximals' direction.

==Fiction==
===Animated continuity===
====Beast Wars====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Scott McNeil]] (English), [[Keiji Fujiwara]] (Japanese)

Created by combining a [[protoform]], cloned cells from the original Dinobot, a part of [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage's]] [[spark]], and the energy from the [[Transmetal Driver]] Dinobot 2 became a fierce warrior for Megatron. Gifted with powerful abilities (instant healing and most of Dinobot's warrior skills) Dinobot 2 was used for hunting [[Maximal]]s like [[Depth Charge]] and [[Blackarachnia]]. Because he had a piece of Rampage's spark, a fact that sometimes confused Depth Charge's sensors, Dinobot 2 was able to squeeze it and keep the powerful transmetal in line.

His most important moments came at the very end of the Beast Wars. After Rampage was destroyed by Depth Charge, something happened to Dinobot 2. Somehow the memories of the original Dinobot flooded into his frame, and more importantly, Dinobot's code of honor came along with them. Unable to shake off these memories and what they signified, Dinobot 2 betrayed Megatron, and refused to assist in the destruction of a village of protohumans using the [[Nemesis]]. More importantly, he sent information about an [[Autobot]] shuttle to the Maximals aboard the [[Ark]]. The Maximals were able to use the shuttle to stop Megatron from destroying the Ark and ruining the future. Refusing to leave the Nemesis as it crashed, Dinobot 2 died a hero just as the original did.

:''('''Note''': The resurgence of the original Dinobot's memories in Dinobot 2 make more sense in the context of the unproduced episode of Beast Wars, "[[Dark Glass]]". In this episode Rattrap would have discovered and downloaded the memories into Dinobot 2, but the episode never made it past a first draft.)''

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
====Summer Special====

Dinobot 2 attacked [[Rattrap]], tearing him out of the crawler vehicle he was testing. Rattrap's attempts to reason with the remnants of his old friend failed, and the twisted clone prepared to toss him off a cliff. But before he could finish off the Maximal, [[Bonecrusher (BW)|Bonecrusher]] rammed him, sending both the clone and the crawler tumbling off the cliff.

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
*'''Dinobot''' (Deluxe Transmetal 2, 1999)
: ''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-48'''

: Dinobot transforms into a skeletal/mechanical velociraptor. The tail is made of soft plastic that moves from side to side when a lever at the base is turned. It can also be detached and used as a hand weapon.

: Along with [[Prowl (Transmetal 2)|Prowl]], Dinobot was part of [[Hasbro]]'s early experiments in refreshing a line with same-character [[redeco]]es. The first few waves of product with Dinobot featured him in a bone-tan and purple coloration. Several waves in, however, he was re-shipped in bright white with blue, his packaging making no mention of this new color scheme.

: This mold was also used to make the ''[[Beast Machines]]'' [[Dinobot (BM)|Dinobot]] [[Rapticon]].

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1999/Predacon/Dinobot/dinobot.htm Dinobot 2 at TFU.info]

[[Category: Evil clones]]
[[Category: Predacons]]
[[Category: Transmetals 2]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

Hironobu Kageyama

2007-06-03T23:54:52Z

70.55.210.40:

'''Hironobu Kageyama''' (born 2/18/61) is a Japanese rock star. He is very popular in the world of cartoon theme songs, having performed some of the most memorable of all time. Among many others, he has done "Cha-La Head Cha-La" and "We Gotta Power" for ''Dragonball Z'', "Stardust Memory" for ''Super Cavalry Southern Cross'', "Sonic Drive" for ''Sonic X'', the Japanese-language version of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" for ''Rocky IV'' and "Power Up Turtle" for the Japanese version of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''. He is also the current leader (and main lyrics composer) for the Japanese anime supergroup JAM Project (which also includes Ichiro Mizuki, who sung the Zone theme, and Hiroshi Kitadani, who sung the Superlink theme).

==The Headmasters==

*The Headmasters (Transformers Headmasters Opening Theme)

*Kimi ha Transformers (Transformers Headmasters　Ending Theme)

*Destron song of praise (Transformers Headmasters Insert Song)

==Beast Wars Metals==

*Spirit Evolution (Beast Wars Metals Super Life-form Transformer Opening Theme)

*Millennium Soldiers (Beast Wars Metals Super Life-form Transformer Opening Theme)

*Ba・Bi・Bu・Be Beast Wars (Beast Wars Metals Super Life-form Transformer Ending Theme)

*HALLELUYAH (Beast Wars Metals Super Life-form Transformer Ending Theme)

==External links==

*[http://www.airblanca.com/noticias/index.html Air Blanca (Kageyama's personal website)]

[[category:Beast Wars|Kageyama, Hironobu]]
[[category:Generation 1|Kageyama, Hironobu]]
[[category:Musicians|Kageyama, Hironobu]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

Blackout (Movie)

2007-06-03T20:59:02Z

70.55.210.40:

{{disambig3|Blackout}}

:''Blackout is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Movie (franchise)|Movie]] [[continuity family]].''

{{spoiler}}

[[Image:MovieBlackout_promorender.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Hike the ball already!]]

The massive '''Blackout''' has been described as the hound of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]. In better days he was always to be found looming powerful and silent behind his leader's right shoulder. When given a target he hunts it down with fierce determination. Blackout is not happy with the progress [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] is making towards finding the missing Decepticon leader. He suspects (quite rightly) that Starscream would prefer Megatron to stay lost. Blackout is openly mutinous and will challenge Starscream's leadership at any opportunity, not for his own sake, but to better serve his ultimate goal of finding his lost master. Blackout has a sneaky side and uses his symbiotic companion [[Scorponok (Movie)|Scorponok]]'s small size to great advantage.

:''Working names'': '''Vortex''' (first), '''Incinerator''' (second)

==Fiction==
===Ghosts of Yesterday novel===

While Starscream is hoping not to find Megatron, Blackout is working against him in hopes of restoring the former leader. He attacks him but loses.

===Transformers (2007) movie===

Blackout is a helicopter and the biggest Decepticon. He can use his helicopter blades as a rotating weapon.

==Toys==
===Transformers===
*'''Blackout''' (Voyager, 2007)
:''Japanese ID Number:'' '''MD-01'''

: Blackout transforms into a reasonably accurate [[wikipedia:MH-53|Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low heavy-lift helicopter]], though his blue color scheme is quite inaccurate compared to the actual helicopter used in the movie and similar ones in USAF service. An aft 'cage' compartment can be opened to release a small PVC figurine of his partner, [[Scorponok (Movie)|Scorponok]]. A button on the end of his tail can be pressed in a geared action to rotate his rotor blades, but this feature really comes into play when the user attaches the Deluxe-class Scorponok figure to the bottom of Blackout's helicopter mode via two pegs. A geared shaft linked to the rotor mechanism connects to a geared peg on Scorponok's back. Thus, pressing the button on Blackout's tail not only rotates his blades, but also rotates Scorponok's pincers. This gimmick is actually easier to activate by rotating the geared wheel on Scorponok's undercarriage.

: During transformation, Blackout's [[Automorph]]ing gimmick is activated when the user swings down his legs, which in turn flips the grey chest section his head is mounted upon up and into position.

: In robot mode, Blackout is not quite as accurate to his CGI design as some of the other Movie toys are. His overall design and proportions are generally described as being closer to traditional Transformers than the aesthetics of the Movie robots. Yet, as expected with most of the movie toys he features excellent articulation, with multi-ratcheting joints in his shoulders, elbows, hips and knees. The entire rotor assembly on his back can be removed and converted into a gigantic fan, to ''vaguely'' represent the hand-held fan weapon he wields in the movie (also seen on the ''Titanium'' figurine).

: There are some significant flaws in Blackout's design. Firstly, the pegs that hold his legs/helcopter fuselage to the rotor/tail assembly do not provide enough friction to withstand the weight of the legs themselves, causing them to detach from the body of the helicopter and droop down. Secondly, the gears in his head/chest's Automorphing gimmick can misalign themselves during usage and transformation back in to vehicle mode, enough so that the cockpit chest/head section refuses to align with the cockpit halves.

*'''Decepticon Desert Attack''' (multi-pack, 2007)
:An unchanged Voyager Blackout was packaged with a similarly unaltered Deluxe Scorponok in this package, which will be available only at Toys R Us.

====Fast Action Battlers====
*'''Blackout''' (2007)

===Titanium Series===
*'''Blackout''' (3" Robot Masters, 2007)

: This small three-inch figurine of Blackout has a more CGI-accurate sculpt than larger Blackout toys. He is partially made of die-cast metal and plastic, sculpted holding his rotorblades as a hand weapon, as seen in the movie. His articulation is limited to his shoulders, head and waist and he comes with a Movie-style Decepticon logo display base.

== Trivia ==
* Blackout was originally conceived as [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], thus his partnership with Scorponok. Though clearly this changed, his portrayal in the ''Ghosts of Yesterday'' novel is rather Soundwave-esque.

{{stub}}
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Movie characters]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>