Transformers are way better than Gobots

[DJM]

7 hours ago, DEF said:

You guys see the crowd funded Unicron? Holy crap I wish I had the crazy money to get that and it is CRAZY money like 600 quid worth.

https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-war-for-cybertron-unicron

Got 12,000+ people backing it in the end.

[LCJ]

I think GoBots were actually first. It’s just that Transformers were the better toys and had Marvel Comics to give the Transformers in the comics and cartoons better characters and storylines.

Edited June 28, 2020 by LCJ

[BigJag]

Chris Mcfeely has done a pretty succinct episode on the invention of the Transformers. 

 Episode 2 season 2 of the Toys That Made Us on Netflix. Covers the whole Transformers story in more detail. Well worth watching and surprising in places.

Edited June 29, 2020 by BigJag

[Surf Digby]

8 hours ago, LCJ said:

I think GoBots were actually first. It’s just that Transformers were the better toys and had Marvel Comics to give the Transformers in the comics and cartoons better characters and storylines.

I definitely had GoBots (or, as they were known at the time, Robo Machines) before I knew what Transformers were. My first was the black train, bought from a toy shop in Hunstanton where big Dave Prowse would later make an apperance.

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

I remember getting the comic book "All Hail Megatron" (great read btw, get it), and it starts with Megatron in a fight pit ripping the shit out of the evil Gobot leader "CyKill". 

Apparently Hasbro acquired the rights to Gobot so could actually feature them in Transformer properties. They did a Vince Mcmahon and just jobbed them out to the real stars. 

Ah yes... here it is. Fuck you CyKill.

[Carbomb]

12 hours ago, Nostalgia Nonce said:

And their planet is shaped like an apple core, as they built the metal planet around the original organic one.

That's an odd one. I still have some recordings of the cartoon from Wacaday, and there's an episode where they go to Old GoBotron (I know, I know), and it just looks like a regular old planet, nothing around it. 

Whilst Transformers is infinitely superior, and they remain a steadfast, fond memory as one of my favourite childhood toy ranges and franchises, I do also retain a soft spot for the GoBots. Cy-Kill, despite the rubbish name, was a tremendous villain, and the voice actor, the spectacularly-named Bernard Erhard, who played him did a great job - if Megatron hadn't already been superbly voiced by Welker, I'd have said Erhard would've done the role proud. 

EDIT: Whoa, I didn't know that GoBots are now sort-of part of the Transformers universe, at least in certain media. Intriguing. 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Carbomb

[Jazzy G]

13 hours ago, DEF said:

That one? Cos if so they aren't just good friends, they are saints.

I might have been older than 30. I think it's the 2011 Supreme Class one for the 25th anniversary of the movie. 

[andrew "the ref" coyne]

1 hour ago, Carbomb said:

EDIT: Whoa, I didn't know that GoBots are now sort-of part of the Transformers universe, at least in certain media. Intriguing. 

Yeah. In another comic series, Shockwave ends up smelting Gobot Leader-1 at the dawn of time or something. Tis a proper middle finger. 

[DEF]

7 minutes ago, andrew "the ref" coyne said:

Yeah. In another comic series, Shockwave ends up smelting Gobot Leader-1 at the dawn of time or something. Tis a proper middle finger. 

I also had no idea about this. Really intriguing. I've not really read much of the comics. I actually have All Hail Megatron issue 1 knocking about here somewhere, I should dig it out.

[Ronnie]

20 minutes ago, DEF said:

I also had no idea about this. Really intriguing. I've not really read much of the comics.

It's not totally clear that it's Leader-1 but you can infer it by the presence of Cy-Kill!

20 minutes ago, DEF said:

I actually have All Hail Megatron issue 1 knocking about here somewhere, I should dig it out.

I'm not naturally a comics fan but I adored the series More than Meets the Eye, which started in 2012 and, after a namechange to Lost Light, finished in 2018. You could do worse than pick up a digital issue or two from Comixology for £1.59 to get an idea of whether you might like it too. Its sister ongoing series Robots in Disguise was also particularly popular.

[DEF]

5 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

It's not totally clear that it's Leader-1 but you can infer it by the presence of Cy-Kill!

I'm not naturally a comics fan but I adored the series More than Meets the Eye, which started in 2012 and, after a namechange to Lost Light, finished in 2018. You could do worse than pick up a digital issue or two from Comixology for £1.59 to get an idea of whether you might like it too. Its sister ongoing series Robots in Disguise was also particularly popular.

Cheers. I've just bought Lost Light Vol 1 from Google Play as it's under a fiver.

[Chris B]

1 hour ago, DEF said:

Cheers. I've just bought Lost Light Vol 1 from Google Play as it's under a fiver.

There are a lot of characters, and you're diving partway into the story. BUT... it's still an easy, fun read and it's not a bad jumping-on point. It's a bit like jumping in on S4 of Star Trek TNG or something - you'll figure most of it out pretty quickly.

In other news, does anyone know what the rights issues are that are stopping the animated movie from being shown in cinemas? The Prince Charles Cinema seems to be prevented from showing it, but I don't understand why.

[DEF]

18 minutes ago, Chris B said:

There are a lot of characters, and you're diving partway into the story. BUT... it's still an easy, fun read and it's not a bad jumping-on point. It's a bit like jumping in on S4 of Star Trek TNG or something - you'll figure most of it out pretty quickly.

In other news, does anyone know what the rights issues are that are stopping the animated movie from being shown in cinemas? The Prince Charles Cinema seems to be prevented from showing it, but I don't understand why.

You aren't kidding about the characters. There's tons of them. But you're right it's an easy enough read. I'm 3 books in right now. Really interesting and fun stuff. I can tell there's loads of stuff I've missed out on jumping in here but it's easy enough to get the gist. I can see me getting properly into TF comics if they are up to this standard.

[BigJag]

 

2 hours ago, andrew "the ref" coyne said:

Yeah. In another comic series, Shockwave ends up smelting Gobot Leader-1 at the dawn of time or something. Tis a proper middle finger. 

The original Smelting Pool story is what gripped me as Transformers fan back in the mid eighties. I'll have to look out a bit more for the Go Bot Easter Eggs whilst reading through the Hatchette books. Kudos to the OP for this thread.

 

[Chris B]

16 minutes ago, DEF said:

You aren't kidding about the characters. There's tons of them. But you're right it's an easy enough read. I'm 3 books in right now. Really interesting and fun stuff. I can tell there's loads of stuff I've missed out on jumping in here but it's easy enough to get the gist. I can see me getting properly into TF comics if they are up to this standard.

The More Than Meets The Eye series which precedes this, and the Lost Light series are shockingly consistent. The rest is variable, but with some definite high-points. I have All Hail Megatron and have been meaning to read it for a while.

The old 80s UK series by Simon Furman is worth looking back at, especially when Geoff Senior was doing the artwork. It was years ahead of its time, with lots of good character and atmosphere stuff. The later story, Time Storm, still stands up there as a really strong time travel story, with multiple versions of Megatron/Galvatron in the same place, with some of them having watched the same events happen multiple times, and being driven insane by them finally happening differently.

This was one of the first issues I ever bought, and I read the series every week for years. The artwork is still some of my favourite from the run.

 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Chris B