Talk:Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II

You know, I'm reallly trying to remain calm, and it's a bit expected after the first one and everything, but seriously, book in hand, and oh my freaking god you guys for reals. - Chris McFeely 11:39, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

Is it that cool? Because the first one has already taken the definition of "loaded with Easter eggs, in-jokes and other cool stuff" to previously non-existent levels. ---Blackout- 11:49, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

Broke the scale, off the charts, shattered trousers past what Rocherts did with LSotW, and maybe blew our socks off if anything from his reaction. :D All I know is that I'm going to be giggling/squeeing quietly to myself, looking a loon, after I pick them up. --Lonegamer78 13:16, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

Let me put it this way: On page 9, we get Octus (Animated). And it's all uphill from there... JW 19:44, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

Alignment is now canon

You magnificent bastards. --FortMax 13:29, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

Hnnh, and here we all thought Jim was just joking. --Khajidha 13:41, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

The apocrypha template feels unlove. Geewunling 13:44, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

It hasn't even been finalized yet! --Khajidha 14:08, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

Alignment? Canon?

Good grief. ---Blackout- 14:18, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

Details, please? I don't know of any way for Alignment-as-a-whole to become canon other than to be reprinted in its entirety in an official publication. --KilMichaelMcC 16:32, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

In the in-universe introduction, the authors note that they were going to take on Decepticon disguises from "Alignment, the true and accurate account of the future of Primax 984.0 Gamma as chronicled by Simon Furman". - Chris McFeely 16:35, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

UNRELIABLE NARRATOR --ItsWalky 21:33, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

The fact remains that the specific story details of Alignment were never approved by Hasbro. Does Alignment become official simply because another official publication says so in such broad terms? Crockalley 07:21, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

You know, that's a good point. I wouldn't think Alignment can become official until it's actually approved as such by Hasbro. --Jeysie 08:19, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Yet another question for the next Hasbro Q&A. ---Blackout- 08:51, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Isn't Liege Maximo being one of the 13 from Alignment? And "Galvatron II"? Seems like at some point it is pointless to argue against it being in canon. --Khajidha 08:55, 1 July 2010 (EDT) (double checking my facts caused me to forget to sign)

Hasbro approved publication of this book, and there's absolutely no other sane way to interpret authorial intent, here. The creators of this canonical Transformers book intended to make Alignment canonical. JW 10:48, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Yeah, it's not like the statement was completely obscured within universal-stream language, either, meaning Hasbro could easily miss it. It's pretty straight-forward. Unfortunately. --ItsWalky 10:52, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Unfortunately? Alignment was awesome. Hell, it's part of my personal canon.

I'll just shut up now before I start rambling. ---Blackout- 11:03, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

I dunno, it all seems kind of silly to me. Because, hey, I have several fanfics (not by me) I wouldn't mind seeing canonized if we can suddenly make official with a single sentence (in a book in a different continuity by a different author, to boot) things that were never approved or officially published by Hasbro. (An author deciding to borrow elements from an unofficial story into his own official one is very different than trying to declare an entire as-is unofficial story as official canon.)

This seems to me like playing a bit too much more fast and loose with the canon wand than we should be. --Jeysie 11:13, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Hasbro also officially approved and published the Ultimate Guide, in which Simon Furman himself says Alignment is unofficial fanfic. As so often is the case when we get into author-intentism, it is now a contest of which author's intent we validate. --Thylacine 2000 11:32, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

I'm much more inclined to go with the intent of the writer of the contested piece proper. Soooooo... --M Sipher 11:49, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Later material, by definition, supercedes earlier material, yes? Ergo, previously Hasbro didn't consider it canon (when TUG went to print), but as of 2010 they do. Same as the singularity-god-Unicron thing overriding his G1toon origin, f'rinstance. - Mammalian Verisimilitude 13:35, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Not unless it's later material in the exact same continuity a la IDW or such where the later writer actually has some "right" to change the work.

And things like the Sentinel/Zeta mixup (and there's been implications that "Hail and Farewell" also is an example) show that Hasbro or its appointed editors sometimes approve things they didn't realize the full ramifications of and later backtrack on. Do we have evidence that the current Hasbro folks know what Alignment is, rather than just thinking it was some imaginary book/story Sorenson made up out of thin air as a cute reference?

Unless we do, I'm with Sipher on this one. --Jeysie 15:57, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Furman says Alignment is fanfic, but does that mean that he would be against canonizing it? Saying it is fanfic is a statement of fact, it was produced without official approval. But Furman has used concepts from Alignment elsewhere so he is apparently open to the possibility of it coming into continuity. But the final arbiter is Hasbro, and I'm pretty sure your "thinking it was some imaginary book/story Sorenson made up" theory is correct. --Khajidha 16:16, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

We have never stopped to question whether Hasbro knows or cares about the minutiae in Transformers fiction and works. Why the hell are we starting now? —Interrobang 16:19, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Because up until now (AFAIK) we've never been faced with declaring a previously unofficial story as official and canon, have we? --Jeysie 16:33, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Season 4: Apocryphal or . . . ?

So, Almanac 2 contains an episode-by-episode synopsis of what Animated season 4 would have been. Since this is material included in an official Transformers publication, it obviously has a place in this wiki. I assume, however, that we don't count these events as actually having happened in the Animated universe? (I mean, an argument can be made that the events "happened", and we're just learning about them in canonical text-blurb form instead of canonical animated episode form . . . ) JW 23:00, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

The events did not happen. Unwritten and unpublished stories are at the same level as unreleased toys. --Thylacine 2000 23:13, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

...er, these are published, though. Actually, I think I have an easy solution, which will have to be backed up by someone who has the book already. Does this part of the book have the "out of universe" hazard border or not?--Rosicrucian^Talk 23:38, 30 June 2010 (EDT)

It does. --ItsWalky 00:15, 1 July 2010 (EDT)

Then that likely settles it.--Rosicrucian^Talk 00:19, 1 July 2010 (EDT)