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Welcome to the latest episode of the Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast! This episode features your host ScottyP with Thing 1 & Thing 2: Megatronus and RodimusConvoy13. Listen in as we discuss the latest news, toys, and more.
Episode #165 "Recall Bias" is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on iTunes and Stitcher Radio within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.
We start out with a little Rescue Bots appreciation. Traversing its 100th episode in season 4, Rescue Bots has surpassed (US) G1 in episode count. The Twincast crew ponders Rescue Bots' staying power, and what aspects of the show have cultivated loyalty in fans old and young alike.
Robot dinosaurs from space make every show a classic.
We take a look at Optimus Prime #3, from Soundwave's evolving relationships, to our growing enjoyment of and engagement with Zama's excellent artwork, to our boundless love for all things Junkion. Bonus: our official Seibertron.com review can be found here.
The art is seriously good.
Lost Light #2 is next, and we are deep into the functionist hellscape, err... rabbit hole. While the implications of Megatron's existence weigh heavy, there is only one thing truly on our minds: All hail the useless one. If that wasn't teaser enough, our official Seibertron.com review can be found here.
Lonely, and useless.
In light (he he) of Screenrant's article declaring Lost Light the greatest story in the franchise, and our observation of stray comments exhorting a return to G1 cartoon source material in terms of content and form, we ask: What drives this desire, aside from the obvious draw of nostalgia? Is it recall bias, or something else entirely? Think of this one as a conversation starter and let us know what you think by replying to this post!
A new generation of stories, for the next evolution of the brand.
Back to toys: Toy Fair 2017 is just a couple short weeks away, and as always, our expectations run high. What reveals does the Twincast crew predict this year, and in a perfect world, what would we like to see?
I repeat: Robot dinosaurs from space make every show a classic.
The Power of the Prime vote is underway, with the second and final round of voting coming to a close. Who are we voting for, and what can we hope for under Deathsaurus Prime's leadership?
Unknown Evil, every time.
The 10th anniversary of the Bayverse continues: in addition to Takara's 'The Best' line of premium movie figure redecos, it appears we can also expect Transformers AU X converting cell phones. We're not quite sure what to do with these.
Hard pass.
Bragging Rights is here. What has everyone gotten since their last recording? And what kind of cocktail would you be mixing up?
Girls just wanna have fu-un!
We'll be back in approximately two weeks to discuss reveals from Toy Fair 2017, more comics, and Masterpiece Cheetor!
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| Want to keep the discussion going? You can do so by simply replying to this post! |
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Many thanks to the Seibertron community for letting us know that the Super Bowl spot for Transformers: The Last Knight has been officially released by Michael Bay and Paramount. Most of the additional footage not in the shorter version of this trailer is actually of scenes we have seen in previous trailers, so there isn't much new. The one new element is that Optimus Prime's name is heard after the "your world is dying" quote, which leads one to think that it is indeed a "Creator" talking. Then again, isn't Optimus Prime's world already dead? Or is his world Earth? Let us know what you think!
Michael Bay wrote:I’m not going to let you wait ’til super bowl. I have have diehard fans, some are very good at hacking.
Since someone found it and hacked it (does this person work for the Russians?), I’ve decided to release the extended ad before the games. So you guys are the first to see it.
And lo! as promised, the first version of the new spot for Transformers: The Last Knight - from Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay - is now online! A longer, extended version will be available after the Super Bowl this weekend, bringing the 30 seconds below to 55, and hopefully showing more new footage. Check out the clip embedded below in the meantime, featuring Grimlock, Anthony Hopkins, Optimus Prime, Laura Haddock, Mark Wahlberg, Bumblebee, Isabela Moner, and let us know your thoughts in the Energon Pub!
Screenrant has published a Transformers-related list in the form of a Top 15 reasons why Lost Light is the greatest story in the franchise! As many of us remember, More Than Meets The Eye was a very good book that was highly praised and awarded during its run, and the story continues on as Lost Light with issue 2 coming out next week.
You can read the whole list by going to the above link, and we have quoted part of the list below for you to read. Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
Transformers sometimes get a bad rap, but historically, the breeding ground for great storytelling in the world of Autobots and Decepticons has been in comic books. Bob Budiansky and Simon Furman conceived the lion’s share of what have become the basic cornerstones of the Transformers universe through Marvel’s Transformers comic in the ’80s and ’90s.
The current Transformers comics are produced by IDW, and while every series they’re currently producing is at the very least good, there’s one that stands head and shoulders above the rest: James Roberts’ Transformers: Lost Light.
Originally titled More Than Meets The Eye, the recently rebranded series tells the story of a ragtag group of post-war Cybertronians ostensibly on a mission to find the mythic Knights of Cybertron. That’s not what the book is really about though; it’s a story of freedom, redemption, romance, and family. It is equal parts hilarious and terrifying. It’s the best fiction ever associated with the franchise, and it’s not even a close race.
.....
13. DEVELOPMENT OF D-LIST CHARACTERS INTO FAN FAVORITES
Remember when you were a kid, desperately scouring Toys ‘R’ Us for the newest Grimlock or Starscream figures only to find shelves overflowing with the mediocre toy of some character you’d never heard of? The affectionate term coined for such toys is “pegwarmers.” The Lost Light is practically overflowing with pegwarmers.
Part of Roberts’ genius early on was making a conscious decision not to lean too heavily on the established icons of the Transformers mythos. A lot of those characters are compelling, but they have decades worth of storytelling baggage and expectations. Taking obscure, little-loved characters that had largely been ignored by the pre-existing fiction and grafting complex, surprising personalities onto them provided the crew of the Lost Light with a genuine breath of fresh air.
There’s Tailgate, a diminutive, endlessly enthusiastic Autobot who accidentally slept through the entire war; Brainstorm, an absolute genius inventor who is just a bit too amoral to be wearing that Autobot insignia; and Skids, a highly skilled theoretician with some alarming holes in his memory. It’s a sprawling, eclectic cast, though a few characters definitely stand out from the rest…
.....
7. THE SCAVENGERS
Imagine you’re a soldier in a universe spanning war that’s been going on for millions of years. You’re not a good soldier; there’s a decent chance you’re among the very worst. You’re in such a remote part of the universe that when the war ends, nobody bothers to tell you. You eventually figure out you’re on your own, and you were on the losing side of the war. What do you do?
That’s the scenario that faces the Scavengers, a group of absolutely anonymous Decepticon grunts. They have exactly one thing in common with the nightmarish Overlord: they have no real loyalty to Megatron or the Decepticon cause. They’re just trying to survive by whatever means necessary, dodging the gaze of more serious Decepticon outfits, and taking on surprising allies, like the brain-damaged Autobot warrior Grimlock. The book only periodically visits these Decepticon counterparts to the main cast, but the characters are just as fully realized and compelling as the crew of the Lost Light.
.....
5. THE REVOLUTIONARY ARTWORK
While James Roberts rightly fields the majority of the praise for the book’s success, Lost Light wouldn’t be what it is without its stable of artists. The book was launched with the sublime Nick Roche on pencils, and Jack Lawrence has recently taken the reins to great effect, but Roberts’ true partner in this endeavor has been Alex Milne.
Milne got his start working on Transformers during the infamous period when Dreamwave held the license, ghosting for that company’s owner and self-proclaimed “superstar” artist, Pat Lee. If anything positive came out of the embarrassing, litigious Dreamwave debacle, it was Milne. His work brims with painstaking detail, and no one has ever had the ability to infuse life into robots the way he can. He has the uncanny ability to let his characters emote without ever veering into cartoonish excess. The book is as defined by his visual flair as it is Roberts’ meticulous plotting. His future on the title is, at the moment, a bit unclear, but it’s difficult to imagine reading these characters for an extended period of time without his influence.
With the Autobots and Decepticons both unable to rely on one Combiner, they must battle harder than ever to gain a valuable 4-StarMaximus Bot or Combaticon Crystal to construct their next Combiner.
Countdown to Combination
Now it's time to tackle the bigger problem of successfully combining. With the Aerialbots increasing fatigue, and Megatron pushing the Combaticons to their limit, the Autobots and Decepticons are focusing on the task at hand!
Fight to support your faction’s efforts and gain Energon, Alloy, Spark, 3-Star Shards, a 2-Star Crystal and a 4-Star Maximus Bot or Combaticon Crystal!
Start Date: 27/01/2017 11:00 UTC
End Date: 30/01/2017 11:00 UTC
How do I participate?
Reach HQ Level 4!
Join an Alliance!
Tap the Event button!
Select an Event Battle Zone to fight in!
Win your battle and gather Battle Points!Collect Prizes!
Prizes
Prestiges Allowed: None
Bonus Experience: Earn Double XP in Event Battle Zones
Event Battle Zones Totaliser PrizesNew Combiners are Coming!Given the tremendous burden that each faction’s lone Combiner must shoulder, it's evident that relying on only one Combiner is not a long term solution to the enemy threat! Both factions initiate plans to form additional Combiners, each built with 5 bots to help share the massive responsibility. Collect the necessary bots and activate your Combiner in the Combiner lab to unleash colossal power upon your opponent!
---------------
Character Spotlight
Let’s take a look at Optimus Maximus and Bruticus in action!
---------------
Combiners FAQ
Q) Which bots do I need for the new Combiners?
A) You need to collect the 5 bots below to form the new Combiners.
Optimus Maximus
Bruticus
Q) Do I need different spark for these combiners?
A) Yes. You can upgrade your Combiner’s health and damage using Optimus Maximus or Bruticus Spark obtained from duplicates of Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Prowl and Mirage or Combaticons in the Space Bridge.
Q) Can I switch between different Combiners?
A) No, once a Combiner is activated in the Combiner Lab you will only be able to use that active Combiner in battle. Once the activation of the Combiner expires, you may activate another Combiner.
Q) What are the new Combiner abilities?
A) These powerful Combiners come equipped with three new powerful abilities to deliver devastating damage to your opponents.
Earth Shatter - Send a powerful shock wave dealing damage to targets in a line. Deals 600% damage to walls!
Righteous Rage and Frantic Rage - Grants increased movement speed, damage reduction and a close range splash-radius attack with increased damage.Shockfire Missiles- Fire 4 missiles that lock onto enemy defenses, disabling them and dealing damage. (4-Star Only) 5-Star Crystal Shards
Starting Thursday you can collect 5-Star Crystal Shards from duplicate 4-Star Bots!
You will be able to use these Crystal Shards to purchase the 5-Star Character Crystal which unlocks a new guaranteed 5-Star Bot!
Please know that we're aware of a visual bug where you cannot see the total number of 5-Star Crystal Shards you've obtained. Any 5-Star Crystal Shards you collect over the next few weeks will become available early next month once the 5-Star Character Crystal is released. Twitch Stream
COMBINER ART! Find out how we brought the brand new Combiners to life!
Meet our super-talented artists and get a rare behind-the-scenes of Optimus Maximus and Bruticus from concept to 3D. Join Deb, Adam and the art team LIVE Thursday, January 26th @ 5pm UTC.
Welcome to the latest episode of the Seibertron.com Twincast / Podcast! This episode features your host ScottyP and his merry marauders, Megatronus, RodimusConvoy13, Razorclaw, and Counterpunch - listen in as we discuss the latest news, toys, and more.
Episode #164 "Getaway Was Right" is available directly and in our RSS Feed, and should appear on iTunes and Stitcher Radio within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.
We kick off the podcast with the latest images of upcoming Titans Return Krok & Quake. What does the crew think of Titans Return now that the inevitable onslaught of repaints has begun, and how does the previously utilized strategy of pre-tools color our hindsight view of Combiner Wars?
Who wore it better?
Time for some old fashioned Takara goodness with a discussion of the Legends line. We've got Soundwave + cassettes on the brain, along with Super Ginrai and anime-style Brainstorm. How do these figures compare to their Hasbro counterparts, and which are worth double dipping for?
We jump right into a round of awesome listener questions. Optimuspete asks us about our collection sizes, william-james88 asks which we like to transform more, TR or RID deluxes, and SW's SilverHammer asks whether Evangelion would have been better if MP10 Eva mode was canon. Thanks for the questions, listeners.
Did someone say head-canon?
We take a slight detour to discuss the recently revealed Movie Masterpiece Bumblebee, and then Combiner Force Crash Combiners. Do we view either of these with anticipation, or with a lurking sense of disappointment?
The only movie Bumblebee you'll ever need. We hope.
On a more serious note: Mastermind Creations Tarn and their many IDW styled releases like him, a missed opportunity for Hasbro? With the popularity of More Than Meets the Eye and other ongoing comics, is the continued reliance on obscure G1 (see Krok & Quake, above) sustainable? Does the MP-ification of Generations leave an opening for 3rd Parties that Hasbro will have difficulty wresting back?
Opportunities await.
Enough of comics characters - let's get on to some actual comics. Revolutionaries is hitting stands, and the Twincast has plenty opinions on this crossover. Most of them... unkind. We love hearing from you - let us know your thoughts in the forums below.
Melodramatic, indeed.
Was Getaway right? That's the burning question on our minds as we await for Lost Light #2, with the namesake topic of this episode arriving at last. With the expected eventual reappearance of the mutineers, we debate their controversial actions. Was their betrayal a well intended effort, a malicious revenge plot, or something else? Regardless of the motivation, was it the right move? Was Megatron sorry all along and truly misunderstood by a large portion of the ship's crew? You can even let us know where you stand on this using social media with the hashtags #GetawayWasRight or #MegatronWasSorry.
This guy.
Bragging Rights is here. What has everyone gotten since their last recording?
Can you guess?
We'll be back in approximately two weeks to wildly speculate on Toy Fair 2017, talk about next week's comics like Optimus Prime #3, and much more!
| Love us? Hate us? Extra Super Love us? Drop us a review on iTunes. |
| Want to keep the discussion going? You can do so by simply replying to this post! |
| Got a question for the Twincast? Ask the Twincast. |
A new Facebook page appeared to reveal a new documentary being made for Netflix called The Toys That Made Us. This 8 episode series will dedicate each episode to one specific toyline, mainly focusing on toys from the 80s. A photo of their "drawing board" reveals that Transformers will get it's own episode along with:
Star Wars
Hello Kitty
Lego
Star Trek
GI Joe
Masters of the Universe
Barbie
It is not known when the series will premiere. Let us know if you are looking forward to this show!
Hello Seibertronians! As you might recall, an announcement was made a few months ago detailing the release of a brand-new, Transformers themed, OverWatch-style MMO First Person Shooter. Since then, the game has entered it's 3rd closed Beta, and has apparently undergone some improvements, or so reports the site MMOCulture. These include improved graphics and a better user interface, which both provide an obvious difference to the game since the first videos of the game surfaced. Of course, no plans have been revealed for release of this game outside of China, but, if it does well enough in it's home market, a wider-spread release is probable. Especially when considering the massive popularity of games like Overwatch and the inevitable popularity of Transformers 5 this summer in theaters.
You can see these changes in the gameplay videos below, which showcase four of the game modes available, Capture the Flag, Capture the Points, Escort the Payload (unfortunately not seeming to be thePayload), and Team Deathmatch !
In more Hasbro Studios news today, we have a press release from the past week which announced the partnership between the media branch of Hasbro and streaming service Playster - Canadian, but soon to expand to the US - and their new available programming, which includes 'Transformers animated series'. We believe this to mean the two recent shows of Robots in Disguise and Rescue Bots, and not 2008's Animated. Check out more info below!
MONTREAL: A number of Hasbro Studios’ animated and live-action titles for kids between the ages of 3 and 12 are now available on the multimedia streaming service Playster.
The agreement includes the Transformers animated series, Kaijudo, Clue and a variety of G.I. Joe titles. “Making Playster a family-friendly platform that offers great content for every single member of the family has always been one of our top priorities,” said Philip Keezer, the CEO of Playster. “Working with Hasbro Studios will help ensure that our library is suitable for even the youngest entertainment buffs.”
Playster offers unlimited access to millions of songs, books, audiobooks, comics, television shows, movies and games for a monthly fee. The new service is available via iOS and Android apps, as well as through any web browser.
Transformers at the Moon are at it again with the recovering of old audio from the original G1 Sunbow cartoon, this time in the form of audio from episode 7 'Fire in the Sky!' This is a little bit of a unique situation, as the original audio was actually sent to the animators and just never used. Moonbug can explain below:
The audio is from an original slugged cassette and if from the sessions when Skyfire was still referred to as Jetfire. This audio was never used in the final released version.
From what we have been told by those in the industry, slugged tapes mean that the animation was done and thus any missing scene we find on those tapes means that there should (90% likelihood) have been animation produced that may still exist on a tape somewhere.
You can check out the video embedded below, along with a transcript of the missing dialogue. Enjoy!
#### Extended Scene ####
SKYWARP: We... we found something!
MEGATRON: So you did. Starscream, I want a clearer look.
STARSCREAM: You shall have it, leader.
MEGATRON: It appears to be a robot of unknown classification.
*NEW* RUMBLE: Look out -- You'll damage him! Let me do it ..
*NEW* STARSCREAM: Stay back! I've had enough of your bungling today! Wha---?!
*NEW* MEGATRON: Rumble's right -- I don't want the creature damaged. We may be able to revive him!
MEGATRON: With his size and probable strength, he will make an excellent Decepticon!
#### Extended Scene with switched audio ####
THUNDERCRACKER: Whatever it is, being on ice kept it fresh.
SKYWARP: But not perfect. Info center's down.
SOUNDWAVE: Also, cybermotor relays are useless **MOVED IN FINAL VERSION**
STARSCREAM: Then give him 50.000 volts to activate his memory monitor!
MEGATRON: Starscream, why are you so concerned about this creature?
STARSCREAM: Because I knew him once, a long time ago on Cybertron. Again! This time a million volts!
*NEW* THUNDERCRACKER: Converting wrist unit to nuclear-fusion cannon ... and ... firing!
STARSCREAM: Memory monitor activating!
MEGATRON: You knew him?
STARSCREAM: His name is Jetfire.
#### Extended Scene ####
STARSCREAM: Jetfire and I were both explorers from Cybertron.
MEGATRON:That must have been shortly before our final falling-out with the Autobots.
*NEW* MEGATRON: They refused to join us in our conquest of the universe so we declared war on them and all their weakling breed.
STARSCREAM: Yes. Skyfire and I were exploring what was an uncharted planet at that time. This one. Earth.
#### Extended Scene ####
JETFIRE: Aaahh... aahh... What happened? Starscream... it's you. You have... rescued me. But where am I? This is not Cybertron.
STARSCREAM: No. This is Earth, where you crashed many years ago.
*NEW* JETFIRE: How long have I been ... dysfunctional?
*NEW* STARSCREAM: Too long! Much has changed Jetfire.
*NEW* JETFIRE: But I will soon be operational again and we will resume our scientific explorations!
MEGATRON: I am Megatron, Jetfire.
#### Extended Scene ####
SKYFIRE: Destruction to all Autobots!
*NEW* IRONHIDE: He's a Decepticon!
*NEW* PRIME: Seek cover and return fire!
*NEW* IRONHIDE: You can dish it out, big fellah, but can you take it?!
SPARKPLUG WITWICKY: Hit the ice, Spike! He's gonna fire again!
SPIKE WITWICKY: Dad, help!!
#### Extended Scene ####
OPTIMUS PRIME:Possibly. There are hundreds of tunnels down here!
SPIKE WITWICKY: Please, help!
*NEW* SPARKPLUG: Can you hear us!
CLIFFJUMPER: Spike and Sparkplug!
OPTIMUS PRIME: Cliffjumper, be cautious!
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