FIRRIB
An acronym sometimes bandied about by fans, FIRRIB means "Frenzy is red, Rumble is blue". The phrase originated on alt.toys.transformers circa 1994, essentially as a (largely joking) rallying cry for those who favored the original cartoon over various other media portrayals of the Transformers. In time, the counterpoint FIBRIR emerged, standing for "Frenzy is blue, Rumble is red". The forms RIBFIR and RIRFIB are also known.
The debate revolves around the colors of the Decepticon Mini-Cassettes, Rumble and Frenzy. It was Hasbro's intent that Rumble be black and red, and Frenzy be two shades of blue. These color schemes are used in the toyline, Marvel Comics and many storybooks and ancillary media from the early years of Generation 1, and naturally, it was intended for the cartoon series to render the characters in this manner as well (as proven by the show's production bible, which identifies Rumble as the "red robot"). However, as a result of some unspecified error somewhere in production, the two robots had their color schemes swapped, leaving the animated incarnation of Rumble blue, and Frenzy red.
Due to the widespread recognition the cartoon received, the concept of Rumble as the blue robot was ingrained into the minds of many viewers. As such, years later, fans would argue vehemently (though often tongue-in-cheek) over which coloration was "correct", based mainly on their personal preference for the cartoon or comic.
The FIRRIB movement was codified by a cartoon fan named Scott Wells in 1994<ref>ATT FAQ file, 1994</ref>, who coined the acronym FIRRIB. The FIRRIB idea quickly caught on with other cartoon fans on alt.toys.transformers, frequently appearing in signature files; its counterpoint, the comic- and toy-based FIBRIR, soon appeared as well. After endless discussion threads fueled by little more than personal preference, the subject eventually landed in the group's FAQ file as a do-not-ask question.<ref>ATT FAQ file, 1998</ref>
The Japanese dub of the Generation 1 cartoon rectified the error, making the animation match the toys by simply switching the characters' names around.
As later incarnations of the characters draw on both the cartoon and toys as influences, the waters have become muddier still:
Items in the following table are listed in release order. E.g., the original toys came first.
| Frenzy | Rumble | |
|---|---|---|
| Original toys | Blue | Red |
| Marvel comics | Blue | Red |
| Ladybird Books | none | Red |
| Kid Stuff | none | Red |
| US cartoon | Red | Blue |
| Japanese cartoon | Blue | Red |
| Dreamwave comics | Blue | Red |
| Devil's Due comics | Red | Blue |
| IDW comics | Blue | Red |
| Alternators toys | none | Red |
| Diamond Select | Red | Blue |
| Music Label earphones | Blue | Red |
| Robot Heroes | none | Red |
| G1: The Awakening | Blue | Red |
| Transformers: United | Blue | Red |
It is generally agreed that pointing out Rumble was actually kinda purple in the original cartoon is not helpful (particularly since he still has blue in the places where Frenzy has red). Nor is pointing out the fact that for a brief moment in the movie (when Rumble, Frenzy, Ratbat, and Ravage jam Blaster's transmission) both of them were red. Or that the Marvel US coloring had Rumble as red and blue. Or that the Generation 2 Go-Bot version of Frenzy was purple, and the planned corresponding Rumble was to be both red and blue.
Similar cases
While the coloration of Frenzy and Rumble is the most well-known instance of the original cartoon's color choices not matching the toys its characters are based on, there are similar cases, some of which have also resulted in fan dissent regarding the question which is to be considered the "correct" coloration for the character in question:
- Red Alert's toy sported a black head, but possibly in order to differentiate him further from his mold-mate Sideswipe, the cartoon changed the head's color to red. His comic appearances usually use the toy's black head, while new toys are a mixed bag (TakaraTomy leans more towards a cartoon-accurate red head, while Hasbro appears to prefer the original toy's black head). Thus far, however, none of Takara's reissues of the original toy have featured a show-accurate red head.
- Grapple's original toy sported a black head, but the cartoon changed it to orange, possibly to differentiate him further from his mold-mate Inferno. The episode "Auto Berserk", however, consistently gave him a (mostly) toy-accurate black head. The Marvel comics once again followed the toy's coloration.
- Bluestreak is a huge mess: While early catalogs depicted him in a blue and silver deco based on his original Diaclone colors, which is also used for the instructions and the toy's package art, the toy itself sports an entirely silver deco for the vehicle mode. The cartoon, on the other hand, gave him a silver and black vehicle mode deco based on another Diaclone color scheme. Later toys have alternatively used variations of any of the three color schemes, although only Takara have thus far released a reissue of the original toy in "show colors" through e-Hobby, and there has been no reissue in the "blue" Diaclone deco at all yet.
- Then there's the thing with Astrotrain's animation model using the colors of an early prototype (as shown in early catalogs), while the actual toy sports an entirely different deco... and Takara released a variation of the toy in yet another different deco. Takara later released a reissue of the original toy in a color scheme resembling (but not identical to) the prototype through e-Hobby, while other toys by Hasbro and Takara have been alternatively based on any of the three decos.
Notes
- In the season 1 episode "Heavy Metal War", Teletraan I displays files on the Decepticons. The texts are, for the most part, lifted directly from the show's production bible, including Hasbro's product code numbers for the toys (which are listed on the toys' packaging). As a consequence, Rumble (misspelled "Runble") is given the detail "red robot".
- The War for Cybertron video game uses the cartoon "FIRRIB" color choices for its Frenzy and Rumble characters. Though clearly patterned after their Generation 1 predecessors, they represent different-universe versions of these characters, so they're listed here instead of the chart above.
References
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