Talk:Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers

2010-11-29T16:56:01Z

82.15.221.203: /* War for Cybertron is a prequel to the G1 cartoon/War for Cybertron is part of G1 */

How about the statement that Metrotitan is made of the ghosts of dead Decepticons? I know I've heard that thrown around a time or two back in the day.... [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 20:23, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

Thats Violinjyger and it's true.

Alright, how about something about how G2 is G2 and everything after the movie, while technically a second generation, is not "G2" (although I recall hearing that Pat Lee regarded it as such).--[[User:Zodberg|Zodberg]] 22:37, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

== Addition to the Beast Wars Section: Black Arachnia was inspired by an Asian stripper ==

Can some please add this? The guy from Mainframe said (you can find his post on A.T.T.) that their animator, WHO IS OF ASIAN DESCENT, was taken to a strip club before he worked on BA's animation model. There was NEVER any mention of an Asian stripper by ANYONE from Mainframe, EVER!
:I had forgotten this one, but it DID have a serious amount of play in the late 90's fandom... [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 07:42, 8 November 2010 (EST)

== French Starscream ==

I went ahead and removed the entry about Starscream. First of all, while I don't know about Bigbot's reliability... the sound clips ARE legit. And the French source you pulled from TFW2005 referred to Starscream being male in the CARTOON (ie "episodes") rather than the movie itself, which used an entirely different dub team.

I'm French Canadian, all my ancestors came to Canada from France, between the ages of three and ten, I rented the movie in French every single time I was at my grandparents' house. So I know what I'm talking about here. --[[User:Detour|Detour]] 22:04, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
:I would also assume that the French fans interviewed to dispell that theory ALSO knew what they were talking about. And [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhOCYZRxypM this Youtube clip] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAodylu8rWw this other Youtube clip] don't make him sound very female to me. It's your word against both other French fans and evidence I just watched with my own eyes, man. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 22:25, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
::I dunno how many more bloody times I must say this, the French movie used a different dub team from either French dubs of the cartoon. I even pointed it out in Starscream's article. Yes, in the TV show he was a guy, but in the movie, the new dub team made him and Shrapnel girls. [http://www.bigbot.com/mp3/transformers_mp3.shtml#Femmes Listen to those clips for proof.] Those are legit from the TFTM I watched growing up. --[[User:Detour|Detour]] 22:36, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

::::I tried to get Nevermore to clarify on this when he made the changes, but he was unable to provide more info. Can you confirm that Starscream was characterized / referred to as female in the movie, along with the feminine voice? I think it's important that we clarify the myth as "partly true" rather than just delete it, but I want to be sure we have it all nailed down. --[[User:Steve-o|Steve-o]] 22:40, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
:::::Well, aside from the obvious voice, Megatron says to Starscream "Tu es une imbécile." In English, "an idiot" would be used to refer to a male or a female idiot, but in French the article varies in gender, were Starscream a male he would have said "Tu es un imbécile." instead of "une imbécile". ([[Wiki:French_articles_and_determiners#The_indefinite_article|French articles and determiners]])
:::::Shrapnel being female is OBVIOUS from the fact that Kickback calls him/her "Mademoiselle Shrapnel", which translates to "Miss Shrapnel".
:::::I'm trying to locate video clips of the French dub of TFTM to have more than just sound clips but so far I haven't found any... not sure where I could find a VHS tape in this day and age either... --[[User:Detour|Detour]] 22:55, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
::::::For those wondering why Shrapnel's being mentioned here, you can read [[Talk:Shrapnel_(G1)|this link]], which is how this whole issue was brought up in the first place. But note that I've never questioned (for I've had no reason to do so) movie Shrapnel's femininity.--[[User:G.B. Blackrock|G.B. Blackrock]] 23:17, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

==Repackaged old toys==
I think we should also have something on the notion that new-packaging releases of older toys are old unsold items taken back from store shelves, pulled from their cards, and RE-packaged onto new cards. I mean, this HAS to be bullshit. But I'm not sure of the best way to phrase it, since it's not a ridiculous argument that comes up very often. I wonder if Kyde has any insights on this. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 20:20, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
:I don't know that I've ''ever'' heard somebody claim that, but admittedly, I have been out of online TF discussions for a year or two, and have never read the web boards regularly. I think that unless this is something that actually comes up semi-frequently, there's not much reason to bring it up in the article. --[[User:Steve-o|Steve-o]] 22:19, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
::I've heard it said repeatedly that REDECOs are unsold toys that are sent back to Hasbro and repainted. Of course, I've only ever heard it said on Tformers. Those posters probably aren't competent enough to be held accountable for their actions. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 00:29, 14 December 2007 (UTC)
::I've seen it several times over the course of years. Certainly more than I've seen "Shrapnel's a girl in France" and "Geman movie omitted Starscream's death"... which is never before the wiki. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 23:07, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
:::Yeah, what Siph said. [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 00:48, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
::::I've recently had a discussion with a common friend of ours, who is a longtime hardcore collector with inside contacts, and even ''he'' believed in the "repackaged toys are REpackaged in the literal sense" theory until I pointed out to him how expensive that would be. So I agree with Sipher here that it deserves a place on this page.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 00:25, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

==Featured Article?==
If we can get a few pictures... like the catalog image of blue-sided Bluestreak, Raiden in the Headmasters cartoon, a few other things... I think this page should have Featured status. It's important shit. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 22:54, 24 November 2007 (UTC)
:I'd say all the reference links are going to need alternate text before we can safely call this a featured article.--[[User:Rosicrucian|Rosicrucian]][[User Talk:Rosicrucian|<sup>Talk</sup>]] 00:03, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

=="Confirmed" myths?==
Would it be worth it to add urban legends that are actually true? (I'm thinking here things like "Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's/Starscream and Skywarp's tech specs were swapped, there was a Unicron toy planned during G1 that had an Orson Welles voice chip, etc.) Some of those things almost reach the status of urban legends in the fandom (not as much as they used to, now that information is easier to come by, but still.) Also, we need to add "Armada was supposed to tie together all previous TF continuities" or whatever the dumb rumor was. Also, maybe something to explain exactly what the RTV dubs really are (made in Malaysia, not Singapore, did they REALLY air in Hawaii/Mexico/wherever as I've seen people claim, etc.) [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 13:40, 26 November 2007 (UTC)
: Also, "There was a Transformers breakfast cereal with Bumblebee-shaped marshmallows and when you poured milk on it, they changed from car mode to robot mode." A kid at my school SWORE he had eaten this. [[User:Hooper X|-hx]] 13:42, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

==TF:TM soundtrack evidence of "lost" scene==
The 10 seconds in question are from 02:29 to 02:39 in "Death of Optimus Prime" on the original soundtrack CD. There was at least one other release of the soundtrack, right? Can anyone check and see if the mysterious sequence is there too? Or, hell, if anyone has heard of DiCola giving an alternate explanation, please disabuse me of the whole notion. - [[User:Jackpot|Jackpot]] 19:39, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

== Misconception? ==

"A misconception usually held by casual fans or nostalgic adults is that of the original 1980's cartoon being the best fiction and most influential/successful line to date, with all other successors being unpopular and/or unsuccessful ventures.
Some of this misconception is based on the fact that most of the original audience stopped watching and following the franchise after its cancellation, or even before (as it wasn't "cool" to be kiddy once the puberty hit). Without any exposure to the market, the toyline and the new cartoons, they simply assume that Transformers has sunk in both popularity, quality and sales, since it's not what they remember."

Any facts/sources to back this up? I'd bet that actual sales between the demise of G1 and Micheal Bay stepping in were significantly lower, which would seriously contradict what's being said here.

:According to lists that used to be published in Tomarts(?) magazine, Transformers has consistently placed in the top 3 boys toys properties since the beginning of Beast Wars. Robots in Disguise and Armada both reported record profits, though Energon and Cybertron didn't seem to match Armada's success. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 03:56, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
::How ''did'' Energon and Cybertron sell, anyway? It seems widely known that Armada sold like hotcakes, but nobody ever brings up the two sequels in that regard. -- [[User:Repowers|Repowers]] 20:44, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

==Team names and vowel breaks==
While I'm good with the "Seacons" inclusion... well, bot every Decepticon team had an "i" vowel break... like the Predacons. And not every team had a vowel break at all... like the Triggercons, and arguably the Firecons. On the other hand... were the Seacons the only ''two-syllable name'' team, where everyone else had three? Nothing else is springing to mind... --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 19:51, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
:Whether it's a "a" or an "i" is kinda moot; the point is that there ''was'' a break in all the teams before them. (FWIW, to a lazy Southern tongue like mine, the "i" and "a" are almost indistinguishable. It all comes out "uh-cons" regardless.) As for the contemporaneous Triggercons, there's no ambiguity in their name, as there's no vowel there to be misappropriated. Right or wrong, the extraneous "uh" in "see-uh-cons" comes from the "a" in "Sea". Last question: "Firecon" is only two syllables, innit? -- [[User:Repowers|Repowers]] 20:03, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
::It's only two syllables if you're a dirty southerner. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 20:08, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
::I'm a Southerner, and I say it "Fie-er". Any rate, the point is the current entry says "all teams had 'i' vowel breaks". Which ain't true... I'm more inclined to believe it's a "three-plus syllables" pattern. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 20:11, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
:::(D'oh. Terrorcons!) --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 20:12, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
::::See, I think we should start calling the Pretender Monsters the Pretendicons, just to keep with the pattern. [[User:Semysane|Semysane]] 08:38, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

==Soundwave's buttons==
I think there are actually two separate issues at work here. I'd always been under the impression that G1 Soundwave underwent a running change in both the U.S. and Japan--going from the distinct, inset early buttons to the big protruding single chrome block later. After that change occurred, the mold was altered to turn it into Soundblaster. That was why Hasbro said at first they couldn't use the tooling anymore--because the door had been changed. The Takara bookbox reissue solved this by making a new version with a hybrid single door / late chrome button style, and also keeping another version with all of Soundblaster's features still around. Have I completely misunderstood the issue? --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] 14:35, 3 April 2009 (EDT)

== R-rating ==

http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=40510

Huh.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 07:13, 8 June 2009 (EDT)
:Didn't they clarify that he was actually talking about Disturbia, Shia's OTHER PG-13 movie that came out that summer? - [[User:Cattleprod|Cattleprod]] 14:19, 8 June 2009 (EDT)

== Plagiarizing ==

Yeah. [http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/blog/9107] [http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/blog/9113] [http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/blog/9160] [http://www.thatguywiththeglasses.com/blog/9169] Awesome work stealing our content and adding your poorly written own stuff, sucker!--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 16:56, 13 July 2009 (EDT)
:I like how he added his own dumb "conclusions", which mostly contradict the copy+pasted text and are just completely wrong too. -[[User:Mazenoise|Mazenoise]] 17:38, 13 July 2009 (EDT)
::I've talked with some Brian guy over at that site, and he says he'll be deleting the blogs. Victoly? --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 17:46, 13 July 2009 (EDT)
:::Hasn't happened yet.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 06:58, 14 July 2009 (EDT)
::::Surprise! --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 09:48, 14 July 2009 (EDT)
:::::Looks like it's been removed.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 13:10, 31 July 2009 (EDT)

== "Companies" section? ==

I've seen the misconception that Tomy bought Takara (rather than merging with them on equal terms) thrown around quite a few times...What else could go into such a section?

Additionally, thise page has grown quite large. Should we split it?--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 19:12, 26 July 2009 (EDT)

==Variations in Europe==

''Some toys were exclusively (or predominantly) available in the United Kingdom (sometimes also the Netherlands)''

As I understand it, one of the reasons why this one may have taken root is because when the franchise began Hasbro in the UK and continental Europe were not yet integrated and so the releases were separate - I think the UK may have even begun the toys in late 1984 (which would explain why the comic began in September that year rather than waiting for the toys advertised to arrive the next). Most of the sightings of toys being available in one market but not the other, though in my experience tend to be cases of the UK not getting toys seemingly available on the continent - e.g. issue #60 of the UK comic reports Blaster being available in Germany with German tech specs - rather than the other way round. [[User:Timrollpickering|Timrollpickering]] 08:04, 26 September 2009 (EDT)

Agreed. I saw Trypticon and Bruticus box-set on sale in Greece, and Deluxe Insecticons and Shockwave in France circa 1986. None of these were ever available in the UK. [[User:J'mie|J'mie]] 08:18, 26 September 2009 (EDT)
:But this section is not referring to European releases of regular US toys. It's referring to Euro-exclusive toys like the "Classic" reissues, Turbomasters etc.--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 02:52, 9 May 2010 (EDT)

==Here's an old one I just remembered==
Since the Diaclone & Microchange molds have copyright dates from the 70s on them, the original toys are from the 70s as well. That one's been pretty well debunked by actual release date info, but we should probably have something on the wiki explaining the reason that toys from '82 were marked '78 or whenever. It's something to do with how Japanese patent or copyright law or whatever worked at the time, IIRC - since Microchange STARTED in the late 70s, all the toys, no matter whne they dropped, had the copyright date of the initial product. At least, I think that's how it worked. [[User:Hooper X|Hooper_X]] 10:51, 30 September 2009 (EDT)
:Correct. Japanese copyright stamping at the time went by year of the brand's inception, not the year the toy per se was created. (I'm not sure if that's still the case in Japan. For any toys produced for non-Asian markets, it seems they're adhering to the date of manufacture rather than brand inception. At least, I can't recall the last time I saw a new TakaraTomy or Bandai toy with an old copyright date on it.)--[[User:Apcog|Apcog]] 11:01, 30 September 2009 (EDT)
::Right. and shortly after posting this, I see it's already on there. It seems like we might need a more logical organizing process for this thing - maybe a "pre-Transformers" section before G1 to cover stuff like this exactly. Kind of track it through the history of the series, rumors about pre-TF toylines first, then rumors about TF development (John Romita drawing the character models, f'rinstance) and then kind of an era-by-era as appropriate. [[User:Hooper X|Hooper_X]] 11:40, 30 September 2009 (EDT)

== Blue Bluestreak ==

My brain is too fried from using Linux to make the appropriate edit right now and have it come out not terrible, but I think it's weird that the article acts like we have absolutely no idea why the rumor of a blue '''''Blue'''''streak would be more widespread than the rumor of a dark gray Astrotrain. (And this is the part where someone assumes I don't know what his name means.) --[[User:Andrusi]]

== Can we get this page locked down? ==

Pages of this nature should never be open to anonymous edits, because somebody, somewhere, will take offense to us "lecturing them" on why they're wrong. --[[User:FFN|FFN]] 20:51, 4 July 2010 (EDT)
:That probably won't stop them from making an account just to do the exact same thing anyway. --[[User:LokitheGrammarNazi|LokitheGrammarNazi]] 16:49, 18 September 2010 (EDT)

== Japanese dub of Animated ==

Japanese Animated is a separate continuity from the Movieverse, right? But there was some early coverage that claimed otherwise, which still has people fooled? Is that correct?--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 16:41, 30 October 2010 (EDT)

== "Transformers was nearly rated R by the MPAA." ==

It sounds like this is true, so does it belong here as a misconception or urban legend? - [[User:Starfield|Starfield]] 02:00, 8 November 2010 (EST)
:Because it's Shia's OTHER film, Disturbia, that was almost rated R. --[[User:Detour|Detour]] 02:08, 8 November 2010 (EST)

== Neo/Car Robots Connection- ==

While I am not disputing that it is not a direct sequel, it might be worth noting that this one does have *some* vague credence, as it does include time-travelling Predacons/Destron(gers) as well as the semi-cameo by Heinlad in the pilot. I would imagine that these elements were included, in part at least, to help the transition from the "Beast Era" fiction to generation-spanning mash-up land. Which, still, a sequel does not make, I grant you. But it might be worth mentioning that there are elements beyond "animation style" that point towards this misconception, the Heinlad 'cameo', especially--[[User:Destrongerlupus|Destrongerlupus]] 15:44, 12 November 2010 (EST)

== War for Cybertron is a prequel to the G1 cartoon/War for Cybertron is part of G1 ==

This section comes across as very pedantic, almost like "Hasbro declared it part of Prime, therefore it is. All the contradictions with the Prime cartoon and the similarities with G1 mean nothing, as they are overruled by Hasbro's official verdict". Yes, I know Hasbro has the last word, but seriously...--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 09:32, 28 November 2010 (EST)
:But that is the case. WFC has superficial similarities to G1 so casual fans automatically ASSume that it is part of that continuity. Hell, many of them don't realize that there are multiple G1 continuities. As the Prime franchise integrates and synthesizes elements from all previous continuity families, there are bound to be similarities to G1. However, the franchise is so new that it is hard to get a feel on what it is. Hasbro's statements as to what belongs where is all that we really have to go on as of yet. --[[User:Khajidha|Khajidha]] 09:38, 28 November 2010 (EST)

::I think the section as it is currenty described is pointless. It is G1 cartoon-centric and the reasons why WFC is not G1 also apply to nearly all the G1 comics! [[Special:Contributions/82.15.221.203|82.15.221.203]] 11:56, 29 November 2010 (EST)

Octus (Animated)

2010-08-22T18:50:33Z

82.15.221.203: /* Notes */ G1 factoid

{{factions|decepticon}}

{{disambig2|the Decepticon from the Animated continuity family|the Decepticon from Generation 1|Octus (G1)}}

:''Octus is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Octus_by_BillForster.jpg|thumb|right|300px|THIS IS NOT AN INTERVIEW! THIS IS PEST CONTROL!]]

'''Octus''' is the robotic alter-ego of the human [[Jim Sorenson]]. When going undercover to research ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac Volume 2]],'' Sorenson masqueraded as Octus in order to interview Decepticons safely. Little is known of the real Octus, save that he transforms into a [[Dalek|Mark III Travel Machine]]. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac Volume 2}}

==Notes==
* The text implies that Sorenson ''disguised'' himself ''as'' Octus, and therefore that Octus is a separate entity, a Decepticon with an alt mode and six arms (unlike Sorenson). However, one could also interpret it as saying that Octus is just the disguise, not a real Transformer; this seems the less likely option.
* Animated Octus bares more than a passing resemblance to the one-time G1 Decepticon Leader [[Octus (G1)|Octus]].

[[Category:Almanac-only characters]]
[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]

MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers

Octus (Animated)