Introdump

The buying public will never suspect their TRUE NATURES as commercial products until it is TOO LATE!

An introdump (also known as name-dropping, name-checking, forced introduction, or "really awkward self-exposition") is a scene in which new characters are introduced, and the dialog goes out of its way to give each character's name. It is particularly prevalent in certain portions of Transformers fiction.

Sometimes the characters give their own names (referring to themselves in the third person). On other occasions, the characters will work each other's names into the dialog. The classic G1 Marvel Comic was particularly guilty of this, not least because they introduced on the order of 200 characters across only 84 issues (counting Headmasters). In that comic, it was usually signified by the writing of each new character's name in bold typeface.

Because most Transformers fiction exists to sell toys, it seems likely that Hasbro required the writers of the comic to make sure every new character was explicitly named, so the readers could then go out and ask the toy store employee for 'em by name.

Though the G1 comics were particularly notorious for it, introdumps pop up across the whole spectrum of Transformers fiction. In egregious examples, the characters also describe their "selling points" (weapons, etc.)

And that is a flat-out unnatural speech pattern. I know Cerebros. Why is he introducing him to me?Red Alert, "Ten to Midnight"

Marvel Comics

Ten characters, nine color schemes, and only six molds.

• A particularly heavy example, from the first issue of the US comic. (Note Rumble's ironic comment of "Can the speeches.")

Mouseketeer roll call!

• At right, the Stunticons introduce themselves in "Heavy Traffic!". Bonus points for Drag Strip, who goes the extra mile by indicating his personality, too.

The Transformers cartoon

• "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1" features an extended "roll call" scene, where most of the Autobots line up and transform when their names are called.
• "Dinobot Island, Part 1" and "Dinobot Island, Part 2" shows off the 1985 cast for the first time, many having short but fairly explicit introductory lines, seemingly intended to sum up their personalities or abilities, and thus help sell their toys.
• "Heavy Metal War" has a sequential introduction of all the Constructicons as they make their on-screen debut. Other episodes taking a similar approach include "The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1" (for the Stunticons) and "Starscream's Brigade" (Combaticons).
• "The Rebirth" trilogy has three different sequences in which large groups of characters gather and introduce themselves in quick succession.

Beast Wars cartoon

Painful Introductions The Maximals introduce themselves. — 350 KB

• In the sound clip at right, from the first episode of Beast Wars, the writers at least have the justification that the characters are adopting new names at that moment. Through the opening two parter, we also get extended, individualized transformation sequences where the characters shout their names.

Transformers Animated cartoon

• In "Transform and Roll Out", the Decepticons bicker, giving their names and at least one important fact per character:

Lugnut: Megatron is wise! Megatron is bold! Megatron will return the Decepticons to Cybertron and...

Blackarachnia: ...and wipe our homeland clean of the stench of Autobot tyranny, blah-dee blah blah blah! Did you memorize that speech, Lugnut? Or is it just hardwired into that thick, one-track processor of yours?

Blitzwing: (as Icy) As usual, Blackarachnia, your demeanor is as unpleasant as that accursed organic mode of yours.

Blackarachnia: Blow it out your actuator, three-face.

Blitzwing: (switches to Hothead) Ze name is Blitzving, insect! Remember it! Cause it's ze last thing you're going to hear before I-(switches to Random) express my feelings in song!

IDW Publishing

2005 IDW continuity

I, John Barber, probably had way too much fun writing this.

By contrast, IDW's comics seem to go out of their way to avoid introdumps, meaning that sometimes a character with an all-new design will go unnamed for several issues, forcing readers to guess who they are. And the occasional new character is tossed in (and left unnamed) just to make things even more of a challenge. (For instance, Drift, who isn't even named in his first appearance except on the retailer incentive cover.) The ongoing IDW series occasionally used captions to identify some (but not all) characters by name rather than dropping these names in dialogue. The concept returned in Revolution and Optimus Prime, supplying names and brief character blurbs with varying degrees of tongue-in-cheek humor.

One exception is in "Primus: All Good Things," during a flashback sequence designed to homage the early Marvel style, including a lovingly-crafted old-fashioned introdump. This issue's infodump references specifically the Decepticon introdump from the first Marvel issue, seen above.

Other IDW comics

Another exception to the above is IDW's Animated Movie Adaptation, in which writer Bob Budiansky gives characters whose toys had been available 20 years earlier (!) more blatant introdumps than in The Transformers: The Movie itself. Old habits, probably.

John Barber takes another excuse to spoof the convention in issue #2 of Angry Birds Transformers: as the recently created Autobirds stand around and introduce themselves, Bluestreak Bird demands to know why they're talking so strangely and saying their own names for no reason. He eventually gives up and yells his own name just to get it over with.

Prime Wars Trilogy cartoons

• In the first episode of Power of the Primes, as the Dinobots surround the heroes, Grimlock names off himself, Sludge, Swoop, Snarl and Slug in sequence and introduces them as the Dinobots. Perceptor points out that they've already known each other for a long time, making the introductions rather pointless.

External links

• A parallel coining of "introdump", in the context of prose SF.
• "Information dump", a broader term, at Wikipedia.
• Introdump on TVTropes (because we are the trope namer)