Bay's final word on Jazz in TF2? (SPOILERS)

[griffin]

Spoilers here:

http://www.shootfortheedit.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9717&postcount=5

In the topic, 'bring back Jazz', Bay replies:
No Jazz is dead. We have way more cool robots to come.

[kup]

Despite this words coming from the source itself I still think that its too early to say. Bay is known for mistakingly saying things that are untrue. He had a whole history of it preceding the first movie so any concrete news will probably come from Kurtsman or Orci but not Bay.
________
SATELLITE (http://www.dodge-wiki.com/wiki/Plymouth_Satellite)

[Adzma]

They'll bring him back somehow... I mean, he IS Jazz, that's reason enough for me. ;)

[Gutsman Heavy]

Stay dead Jazz, I love ya but there are many other characters that should have a shot at movie fame. *cough*Grimlock*cough*

[iceburn]

Yeah...i also personally think we don't need more of Jazz toy figures in the next movie. i want different moulds...yes Dinobots esp Grimlock would be great as he's one of my fav too

[GoktimusPrime]

I also think that Jazz should stay dead. Aside from giving other characters a shot, I also think that bringing him back would make his heroic sacrifice in the 1st movie less meaningful and it also makes war seem inconsequential and lessens its tragic nature - thus basically trivialising death in battle. Yes, it totally sucks how war creates death - there is nothing nice about war! Having characters die and stay dead helps reinforce that sad and very consequential reality of war.

Jazz is the metaphor for the fallen soldier who is remembered by others as a hero as making the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of freedom and justice.

Heroic http://i.enewsi.com/g/albums/Entertaiment/Transformers_Bios/AUTOBOT-JAZZ.jpg Autobot

[Trailer Park Ninja]

I'm glad that Michael Bay is considering not bringing Jazz back , though this may change between now and when the sequel comes out. We still have the Writers Guild Strike to contend with and that will circumvent any start on a script let alone production.

To be totally honest, I didn't feel much when Jazz kicked the bucket. Not that I think I'm an insensitive jerk or anything :D but I put it down to the little screen time Jazz had. I know he put himself on the line to protect the humans and died fighting (though vainly) against Megatron to suffer such a terrible fate.

But it didn't have the emotional resonance to me it should have. Another reason was that I didn't identify the movie Jazz with the G1 Jazz even though they both share the same characteristics. I made the executive decision to treat the movie as a separate animal to the G1 Transformers I love and grew up with before I entered the theatre. That said, I think it made me love the movie even more on its own merits :) and avoid unfair comparisons.

Now if Bumblebee bit the big one, it would be a different story. There was a lot of emotional investment in building that relationship up between Sam and Bumblebee as his guardian/protector which I'm sure will carry over to the next movie.

Related to my point about the correlation between screen time and emotional impact of Jazz's death, Michael Bay can only give so much screen time to both human and transformer cast members for each interdependent story arc to work. I thought his management on this front was excellent as each had their own great moments. The human cast were important link for the audience to identify with their experiences.

I think the good thing now with the first movie out of the way, less time is needed in a sequel to set things up as it isn't an origin-type movie. I am hoping this will translate into more screen time for the core cast but also peripheral cast members. This would see the introduction of other new Transformers. Alas, poor Jazz, we knew you well but there are a lot of Transformer toys to play with in the sandbox.

P.S. I am writing this reply in the wee hours of a Monday morning before a work day because it is too FRIGGEN HOT here in Sydney to sleep at night :p

[GoktimusPrime]

That was done intentionally (of sorts) to avoid the bad publicity experienced from Transformers The Movie with the death of Optimus Prime with all those kids crying in theatres and even one boy in the US locking himself in his room for several months in mourning... erk.. so for that reason they really didn't want to kill of any characters that people would care about.

Yes, it's silly... but it's also silly how people wept over the death of Optimus Prime, whose heroic death was definitely not in vain. Despite Jazz's best efforts - and there's no doubting his incredible courage - he failed to stop Megatron (possibly he knew this and was merely buying the other Autobots & humans time to flee and prepare a better counteroffensive, also to buy more time for Prime to arrive), whereas in TFTM, as Kup said, "Prime did it. He turned the tide." - how cool was it seeing the Decepticons in full retreat with Soundwave carrying Megatron's mortally wounded body back to Astrotrain.

Jazz may have died a hero, but Prime died a martyr... even as a little kid watching Transformers The Movie in the cinema, I understood this and thought that story-wise it was cool (although I must admit that I did want Optimus Prime to return - again, looking at this through a child's eyes). But I never wept over Prime's death and I always thought that Prime dying as a heroic martyr and passing the Matrix to Rodimus Prime was really, really cool (even though Rodimus was disappointing afterwards, but at the time of watching TFTM I didn't know this - there was a lot of potential in the Rodimus Prime character which could've been done really well if he didn't hang on that whole "I'll never be as good as Optimus" thing).

In the G1 DVD interview, Flint Dille justifies his decision to kill Prime in the movie as part of showing that war was consequential and also to remove Prime in a more heroic fashion. Dille does admit that the move was very poorly received by the public and that as far as publicity and selling the movie was concerned, it was a really bad move.

So yeah, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee were strictly off limits lest we have more kids locking themselves in their rooms *sigh* Bringing Jazz really seems like nothing more than a move to appease little kids. :/

[i_amtrunks]

I assumed Jazz would stay dead because Hasbro have done everything in their power to sell umpteen versions of the same mould. :(

Still I am glad he is dead, doubt the same can be said for more important characters.

Let's just hope the next lot of characters Bay kills are given more than 2 lines to speak, and have more than a 3 second mourning period post death.

[springah]

Heroic death? Kicking and yelling at Megatron is a heroic death?

"sup bitches" also needs to be... fixed :P

[GoktimusPrime]

Being underexposed in the movie doesn't make his death any less heroic.
Let's examine the sequence of events...

1. We see Devastator roll in (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEcvdZvBqcg&feature=related) - humans in danger! It is Jazz who leads the counter-offensive against Devastator - he is the first to roll followed by Ratchet, the U.S. Army and Ironhide).
2. As you can see at the end of that clip, when Megatron arrives and more humans are endangered, it is Jazz who tells the others to flee, takes out his shield and makes a stand against Megatron to buy the others precious time.


Kicking and yelling at Megatron is a heroic death?
Pretty much. He went down fighting - trying his best to delay Megatron as long as he could. And the taunting was part of that diversionary tactic (and also part of psychological warfare - 90% of a fight is psychological) not to mention an act of defiance - by that stage Jazz knew he was done for. But he wasn't going down without a big "eff you!" to Megatron. It's similar to that scene in Saving Private Ryan where we see Tom Hanks' character shooting at a German tank with a pistol. There's no way that pistol was going to do anything to that tank - it was nothing more than a symbolic gesture of defiance to say "you're not taking me without a fight." Ditto Chewbacca.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/Privatehax.gif

It wasn't the most magnificent of deaths, but MOST deaths in war aren't! Disease killed more soldiers than enemy bullets in Gallipoli because they lived in filthy trenches where they urinated and excreted inside their own uniforms. Forget notions of heroism, that kind of death is utterly humiliating and lacking in dignity - you wouldn't want an animal to die that way. Sadly that is the nature of war.

http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2005/11/02/2_Gallipoli_051101123834026_wideweb__300x375.jpg

[springah]

Yeah, agreed.

Still sucked though! :)

[Saintly]

don't shoot me, but I'd like to see Jazz come back as Undead Jazz :P

[sifun]

I wish they played on jazz's death more. At least made it more dramatic, and more heroic.
Well more so I wish they had more of the robots in battle than they had pentagon scenes.

[GoktimusPrime]

don't shoot me, but I'd like to see Jazz come back as Undead Jazz :P

Aaah, nothing more fun than Transformer Zombies!! :D

http://s90690880.onlinehome.us/jhiaxus/images/ukcomics/impactor/zombieimpactor_169_01.jpghttp://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/b/bf/Optimusg1zombie.jpg/300px-Optimusg1zombie.jpghttp://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/7/76/Zombieskalis.jpg/384px-Zombieskalis.jpghttp://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/thumb/a/a1/ZombieScream1.jpg/383px-ZombieScream1.jpghttp://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/d/d1/Zombiesbackfromthedead.jpghttp://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/9/9f/Zombiesspotlightkup.jpghttp://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/transformers/images/6/68/Zombiedarkscorponok.jpg

[hoardz01]

Off topic, but is megatron coming back as galvatron? Hope not, I need more mega/starscream tension.

[GoktimusPrime]

Agreed. Galvatron should be saved for Part 3.

[NEMESIS PRIME]

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c289/Shawdowtrooper17/LF0081.jpg

[jaydisc]

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c289/Shawdowtrooper17/LF0081.jpg

Where do these images come from? I see them a lot on the forum.

[i_amtrunks]

Where do these images come from? I see them a lot on the forum.

lilformers.com (http://www.lilformers.com/home.php)

[JuzMel]

Actually I don't think Jazz will come back, because unless Pontiac is willing to sponsor their sports car again using the same model. Then again if the company wants to promote their car, they would probably want to promote another model this time. So unless they are going to remould Jazz, then he "might" come back, otherwise I think new models will be used for new characters.

[jaydisc]

Due to General Motors' (includes Pontiac & Holden) apparent success with the raising of brand awareness from the movie, I wouldn't be surprised if they A. renew their deal and B. as Mel said, offer a bunch of new, and as yet unused models.

[Bartrim]

So Bay said he was going to keep Jazz dead to show the mortality of transformers right? (or something along those lines) I wonder what the excuse will be for ressurecting Megatron then?

[Saintly]

lol... stop giving Bay ideas :)

[NEMESIS PRIME]

lilformers.com (http://www.lilformers.com/home.php)

Beat me to it,they have some pretty good stuff there.

[Saintly]

lilformers.com (http://www.lilformers.com/home.php)

that's a wonderful website... ahhh being exposed to another TF site :D

[roller]

i think there is a good chance that jazz will come back


you guys all know that the G1 paint version is him brought back to life

[Robzy]

It's hard to feel sorry (or sad) for a character that we didn't really even get to know in the film.

I'll be annoyed if Jazz doesn't come back but Megatron does!

[G1Optimal]

:(

Who Knows, they may pull a Bumblebee - Goldbug. :D :p

[iceburn]

It's hard to feel sorry (or sad) for a character that we didn't really even get to know in the film.

I'll be annoyed if Jazz doesn't come back but Megatron does!

Prob let Starscream lead the first half of the 2nd movie, fighting new Dinobots characters. Then *wham* Megatron comes back as Galvatron to take over the leader role near the end of the movie for Part 3 and leaves all of us drooling eagerly for another 2 years

[Soundwarp]

I don't dig the idea that Jazz died but he has to stay dead, Megatron on the other hand needs to get his ack together....

I say come back as Megatron and in the third change to Galvatron!

[Tiby]

Why is everyone forgetting Pretender Jazz? :P

[Soundwarp]

I try but you won't let us :P

[Bartrim]

If it's ok to bring a character as long as you change his name (ie Megatron to Galvatron)then they can bring Jazz back as Meister.

[jaydisc]

Jazz is going to come back.... but ghost of Obi One Kenobi style... chattin' with Optimus and Bumblebee 'n' stuff.

[GoktimusPrime]

"Use the All-Spark, bitches!"

[G1Optimal]

........then they can bring Jazz back as Meister.

That is along the lines of what i was thinking :D,
"also" They could change the name of jazz, to more like a rapster (sp?) feel to it.

"Especially" when they re-release things with small - medium alterations or/and accessories that were not included with the original releases. :eek::mad:

[Lord_Zed]

I voted Jazz stay dead in the "which chraracter do you not want to see in the next tf movie?" question. I like Jazz, but believe he must stay dead for the reasons Goktimus mentioned earlier. Also if he comes back then who cares who dies in this movie, cuase they'll just come back in the next one. Once you start bringing dead heroes back to life all bets are of, and so is the suspense.

[1orion2many]

:)From what I remember Optimus came back twice in the G1 cartoon:D.

[Soundwarp]

:)From what I remember Optimus came back twice in the G1 cartoon:D.

Yeah but Optimus single handedly carried TF's for the last 20+ years!

[kup]

What I regret about Jazz's death is that the overall portrayal of the character in the movie was pretty crappy and he never had a chance to thrive.

I woundn't mind if the next movie tries to do him some justice in flashbacks or something.
________
CHEVROLET 150 SPECIFICATIONS (http://www.chevy-wiki.com/wiki/Chevrolet_150)

[Lord_Zed]

From what I remember Optimus came back twice in the G1 cartoon.

Yes but, even as a child untill I saw the movie I didn't think the Autobots could die. And there was never really much threat of the main characters suddenly and shockingly being lost in the G1 toon, and if they were you knew they'd be back. The movie trying to create a more serious all ages atmosphere, nedds to have Decepticons who are a credible threat. If Jazz hadn't fallen then Megatron and the rest of the Deceps would look like a bunch of losers.

Prime also waited a good half a season+ before he came back to.

[GoktimusPrime]

From what I remember Optimus came back twice in the G1 cartoon
And for that reason, the death of an Optimus has basically become meaningless in TF lore. They even poked fun at this in Beast Wars when Megatron once said, "You Optimuses do love to sacrifice yourselves, don't you?" :p

[autobreadticon]

wheeljack > jazz

I WANT PERCEPTOR IN THE NEXT MOVIE MICHAEL BAY, I KNOW YOU ARE READING THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GoktimusPrime]

Given the avoidance of mass-shifting in the movie, he would probably transform into an electron microscope rather than a light microscope - unless you shrunk him down to Frenzy's size.

Not sure what you would do with a microscope mode in the live action movie... CD players and mobile phones are things that would commonly see lying around places - but how often do you see light microscopes outside of a lab? Certainly not on Air Force One or in Mikaela's handbag. :p

[autobreadticon]

Given the avoidance of mass-shifting in the movie, he would probably transform into an electron microscope rather than a light microscope - unless you shrunk him down to Frenzy's size.

Not sure what you would do with a microscope mode in the live action movie... CD players and mobile phones are things that would commonly see lying around places - but how often do you see light microscopes outside of a lab? Certainly not on Air Force One or in Mikaela's handbag. :p


bahaha , the most wanted t/f in the next movie are the dinobots. How do they fit in a live action movie haha

[springah]

bahaha , the most wanted t/f in the next movie are the dinobots. How do they fit in a live action movie haha

If they're anything like the Sector 7 clips, bring em on!

[GoktimusPrime]

they would be crap robots in disguise if they maintain dinosaurs as their alt modes. This is why directors should ignore fans some times. :p Imagine if Megatron had still transformed into a hand gun in the live action movie...

[Robzy]

Imagine if Megatron had still transformed into a hand gun in the live action movie...Yeah, instead he turned in to a ridiculous looking alien space jet!

[GoktimusPrime]

The concept isn't ridiculous though. He looks alien because he never reformatted himself after arriving on Earth - according to the prequel comics he transformed and landed on Earth, during the Ice Age, and because his body was super-heated from entering the Earth's atmosphere, it cracked the ice beneath his feet, which gave way and the freezing waters beneath swallowed him. Thousands of years later, Archibald Witwicky, Sector 7 yada yada yada.

Transforming from an 11m robot to a 53cm pistol just looks really silly to most people. Even back in the 80s other kids used to laugh at how silly it looked in the cartoon! Sure, we still loved it, but we laughed at it too. In a live action movie marketed at a general audience; it's just too much. And the concept of transforming into a weapon that needs someone else to fire it is also really inherently lame. As Michael Bay said, it is like Darth Vader transforming into his own light sabre.

In G1, Megatron always needed someone else nearby to wield him in gun mode - Soundwave, Starscream... even Optimus Prime once! And it certainly wasn't a mode that offered a great amount of mobility.

A fighter mode offers:
1/ Autonomy: it's completely self-reliant. After all, Megatron used this mode to travel across galaxies in search of the All Spark. Good luck doing that in gun mode.
2/ Mobility: jet fighters = aerial superiority

You may not like the look of his Cybertronian jet mode - it is meant to look otherworldly/alien of course - but looking strange doesn't mean that it's inherently ridiculous.

A gun mode is inherently ridiculous, as far as a general movie going audience would be concerned.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/madboard01.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/madboard02.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/avatars/madboard03.jpg

[springah]

Still lame - jet was useless. Galvatron style gun would of been cooler.

imo.

[GoktimusPrime]

Galvatron's gun mode, even at full size (Galvatron gun mode was sometimes shrunken down so small it could fit inside Cyclonus' cockpit, other times there was no shrinkage at all), had limited flight capacity - i.e.: it could hover in the air and fire, but it didn't have actual flight combat ability and thus lacked any aerial superiority. It also doesn't look so good because it still looks like a hand gun! And Galvatron's more familiar cannon mode is strictly ground-based.

I think something like Straxus' flying cannon mode would've been the best - it offered the best of both worlds in terms of being a huge cannon and essentially a jet. Animated Megatron's pre-Earth mode is also a flying cannon in the same vein as Straxus.

http://s90690880.onlinehome.us/jhiaxus/images/uscomics/straxus/straxus_us018_03.jpg

Although a flying cannon mode would've been a lot cooler than a jet mode, it doesn't make movie Megatron's jet mode necessarily "lame" and certainly not useless. Notice how each time Megatron transformed into jet mode, he always did something really impressive with it, e.g.:
+ Punching out of his 'prison' under Hoover Dam (just try and stop him!)
+ Fighting Optimus Prime in mid-air (slamming through buildings!)

[Robzy]

Gok, I'm not gonna argue this anymore (by now I'm sure you know I prefer G1 Megatron because we've had this discussion plenty of times :)).

Apart from you (and your friends) I never heard anyone laughing at Meg's alt mode. In fact, when I was a kid every one at school loved the gun mode (I remember someone actually brought one to my primary school). It was ULTRA COOL! But now (as adults) TF fans seem to think it's dumb... I think we're over-analysing it a bit... something we, as kids, didn't do back then - although maybe you did, I'm not sure.

Now flash forward to 2007 - the movie comes out. Okay, Megs is no longer a gun... he's a crapjet! Shouldn't it be an improvement on his G1 alt mode? For argument's sake, let's say I accept the alien jet mode in order to get Megatron to earth (since they got rid of the Ark and the Nemesis :mad:), okay - so he's an alien jet when he arrives, but why not have him reformat in to an earth mode. This is still "robots in disguise" isn't it? I mean, Prime and the Autobots didn't stay as comets. I know you're going to say "But wait - Megatron is the most fearsome creature in the universe - why would he hide behind an earth disguise?!"... the answer is, because he's a TRANSFORMER! He's not Darth Vader or the Predator. He's a robot who turns in to a vehicle/object. This battle takes place on earth - it makes sense that he would have "earth camouflage"!

Bumblebee had 2 alt modes in the film, why couldn't Megatron (Cybertron mode and earth mode)?

[griffin]

Megatron fears no one and nothing. Why would he reformat into a disguiseable form if he has already obtained the most powerful, fastest form already (the interplanetary jet mode). He doesn't need to hide, nor would he want to. Any other mode, even based on something human related, would cost him his advantage of the most powerful mode on Cybertron.
Even Gen1 Megatron didn't choose to be a gun, the Ark did it to him while he was offline. Given the choice, I doubt he would have picked it as an alt mode by choice. He would have gone for the biggest most powerful military weapon possible.

It's nothing against the Gen1 gun mode, just an objective comparisson of whether the most powerful Decepticon would want to be a human hand gun or an interplanetary jet fighter.

[springah]

Ya, i agree with Robzy.

Jet is just boring. A ground gun thing like Galvatron is still my pick as elite alt mode for Megs. Who says he needs to fly? :P

And yeah, everyone forgets Megatron is a Transformer too.. so the whole race takes alt modes, but Megatron is "better" than that? Pfft.

Oh oh, also, they can re-scan whenever they want. If I were Megs I'd keep upgrading forever!

[springah]

That is along the lines of what i was thinking :D,
"also" They could change the name of jazz, to more like a rapster (sp?) feel to it.

Rapster?

[Robzy]

Megatron fears no one and nothing. Why would he reformat into a disguiseable form if he has already obtained the most powerful, fastest form already (the interplanetary jet mode). He doesn't need to hide, nor would he want to. Any other mode, even based on something human related, would cost him his advantage of the most powerful mode on Cybertron.

I think it would have been nice to see an earth alt mode of some description!

There's a perception that Megatron is the most powerful being in the known universe... yet that didn't exist in G1 (at least not in the cartoon). He wanted to be the most powerful, but wasn't! That's why Prime could beat him. That's why Starscream questioned his leadership. He was beaten by the Dinobots, the triple changers, and the Combaticons. But if Movie Megatron is so damn powerful - why does he need an army? As he states in the film "You've failed me yet again Starscream". Why would this God-like giant want to waste his time with substandard soldiers if he can just do everything himself? Note - servants are different from an army! G1 Megatron needed an army of "loyal" followers - a fact that is epitomised by his "need" for someone to fire him in gun mode.

Personally, I don't think Movie Megatron is so 'mighty' and 'all-powerful' anyway. Firstly, he was beaten by earth's frigid climate. Then when he was revived, he lasted 20 minutes before being killed by a tiny human...

Maybe he should have hidden - from Sam anyway!

[springah]

Yeah, I'm with Rob.

Megatron always said he was indestructible, but I never believed him...

[Gutsman Heavy]

Megatron jumps right into battle after the thawing. Why would he need an earth alt mode? the need to hide had long passed.

I'm not a fan of the jet visually and conceptually, but it would have been quite unnessisary for him to get an earth alt.

[GoktimusPrime]

I agree that Megatron's alt mode is a poor "robot in disguise" - but as griffin and Gutsman Heavy have pointed out, there was no compelling reason for him to have a disguise. The other Transformers spent the rest of the movie in "infiltration" mode - gathering intelligence to find the AllSpark. When Megatron was thawed, the location of the AllSpark was known, they just had to chase it! The IDW comics describe both the Autobots and Decepticons operating in phases - most of which require both sides to remain hidden from the sentient populace of a world - but once the fecal excrement hits the fans, then they move to whatever phase it is (very high level of alert) where they no longer care about remaining in disguise.


Apart from you (and your friends) I never heard anyone laughing at Meg's alt mode. In fact, when I was a kid every one at school loved the gun mode (I remember someone actually brought one to my primary school). It was ULTRA COOL! But now (as adults) TF fans seem to think it's dumb... I think we're over-analysing it a bit... something we, as kids, didn't do back then - although maybe you did, I'm not sure.
Look at it from a non-Transformers fan (i.e.: general movie going audience) POV. You see an effing giant 11 metre robot magically shrink into a hand held 53cm pistol that needs someone else to operate is something that requires an incredible amount of suspension of disbelief from an audience.

For the movie to financially succeed, it needed to appeal to a general audience. Transformers The Movie appealed directly to Transformer fans, and while it's become a pop cult classic, it flopped badly at the box office. The live action movie on the other hand was successful, and part of that reason was because non-Transfan audience members could relate to it.

I can appreciate the fact that you prefer Megatron's original gun form, but this concept would be really difficult to work for a non-fan general audience.


Jet is just boring. A ground gun thing like Galvatron is still my pick as elite alt mode for Megs. Who says he needs to fly? :P
Kinda hard to travel across the stars as a ground-based cannon, don'tcha think? :D Also, aerial superiority is teh pwnz0rz. :p A column of tanks would get smashed by a squad of jets unless they had specific anti-air artillery and/or their own air support - think of the ending of Saving Private Ryan where the German tanks get thumped at the end by Allied planes.


And yeah, everyone forgets Megatron is a Transformer too.. so the whole race takes alt modes, but Megatron is "better" than that? Pfft.
He has an alt mode, he just doesn't need a disguise mode.


Oh oh, also, they can re-scan whenever they want. If I were Megs I'd keep upgrading forever!
Please don't let Hasbro hear you say that! :p


But if Movie Megatron is so damn powerful - why does he need an army?
Because he wants to create an inter-galactic empire. For this he needs a bloody big army - not just to conquer, but to continue occupation. He may be powerful, but he can't be everywhere at once. :)


As he states in the film "You've failed me yet again Starscream". Why would this God-like giant want to waste his time with substandard soldiers if he can just do everything himself? Note - servants are different from an army!
Starscream isn't substandard - he blew the legs off Bumblebee, gave the other Autobots a hard time and beat the snot out of the U.S. Air Force. Starscream may be treacherous (and in the movie we're not shown how aware Megatron is of Starscream's true nature - Starscream does act loyal to Megatron) but he's by no means a substandard warrior. He did lead the Decepticons for the duration of the movie until Megatron's thawing.


G1 Megatron needed an army of "loyal" followers - a fact that is epitomised by his "need" for someone to fire him in gun mode.
Having loyal followers is useful for having someone to fire him, but the fact that he even needs someone to operate his alt mode does make it inherently limiting. For example in "Transport To Oblivion" Megatron had no loyal followers around to use him to fire the Exponential Generator into space so he had to elicit the aid of Optimus Prime - his sworn enemy - to fire him! Prime naturally agreed to it out of mutual survival... but it shows how limited his alt mode is. If he were up against enemy forces and needed to transform, but there were no loyal followers around to help him... he'd be effed.


Personally, I don't think Movie Megatron is so 'mighty' and 'all-powerful' anyway. Firstly, he was beaten by earth's frigid climate.
It's no sign of weakness to be pwned by the Ice Age considering that it pwned an entire planet!


Then when he was revived, he lasted 20 minutes before being killed by a tiny human...
...who happened to be holding the AllSpark. :p It would've killed Prime too if he'd shoved it into Prime's chest as he'd told him to.


Maybe he should have hidden - from Sam anyway!
Yeah, but Megatron clearly underestimated the human - Sam beat him using his brains rather than brawn... or huffer. :p

[dirge]

Apart from you (and your friends) I never heard anyone laughing at Meg's alt mode. In fact, when I was a kid every one at school loved the gun mode.


Which is fair enough - but would your general movie-going audience laugh at a Megatron gun? That's the question Bay & co had to ask themselves.

It goes beyond adult transfans, Dreamworks/Paramount cared about adult Joe Public. So mass shifting is out. And Megatron needs to be able to use his alt mode in a one-on-one with Prime.

Personally, I prefer Megatron as a tank, and I don't think much of Nerf Megatron. I'm not in favour of the jet, but I can see why the movie makers went that way. The fact is it makes him more of a menace with a flight capability.

[autobreadticon]

MB says no dinobots in the sequel http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_seyret&Itemid=227&task=videodirectlink&id=656

[GoktimusPrime]

<---not surprised in the slightest.

[dirge]

It'd be hard to convince GM to supply alt mode Dinobots for the film! :)

[griffin]

One of the first things Bay said about this second movie is to not believe anything that gets released to the internet. He wants to keep the fans guessing this time, instead of having plots or scripts out there to spoil it all (or winge about).
The Dinobots, like Soundwave, are a fan favourite, so don't rule either out until the movie is released and they are definitely not in it.
And everything mentioned about the movie in terms of characters or plots until June 2009 should be taken with scepticism, especially if he 'reveals' it himself.

[GoktimusPrime]

Some directors release false spoilers on purpose. :p

[autobreadticon]

owww soundwave as the 'satetille' - unknown if destron or cybertron