Canon

[Verno]

Cool.

Ok, lets drag some more BM slander in here:

At what point did the original Transformers 'learn' to transform?

Stupid Beast Machines.

[theheretic]

LOL But I had to vent after watching that last episode of BM. I didn't mind the rest of BM except for it being a bit slow and not enough vehicons.

So what's the plan over-all plan with this discussion? Are you going to write/type something up as a story/history?

[Verno]

Cabbage-Tron is never a good way to end a series

I'm writing some Fanfic and just wanted to know what sort of boundaries one can work within, and how much those boundaries can be pushed before you're operating too far out of what is already 'canon'.

If you've got some spare time, read through the whole of this thread, the Vector Sigma / Transmetal Diver thread, as well as my Spotlight: Tarantulas stuff, which is my own random thinkings put together.

[Sky Shadow]

At what point did the original Transformers 'learn' to transform?

Somewhere between nine and four million years ago. In the Headmasters cartoon, transformation is something that has to be learned and is in fact difficult. There are definitely canonical instances where one side 'learned' to transform before the other. In Five Faces Of Darkness from the G1 cartoon it was stated that the Autobots developed transformation first: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac1Mw...ailpage#t=196s and then the Decepticons "learnt" afterwards, shortly before the rise of Megatron. In the Marvel Comics the Decepticons learned to transform first.

[Verno]

I'm sure they actually 'transformed' though, not 'got all shiny and morphed and grew new limbs randomly' ala BM.

[GoktimusPrime]

Beast Machines was Aaron Archer's baby, as was Transmetal 2s, which was Archer's first foray into Transformers. Now, keeping this in mind - go watch the 2007 Transformers movie DVD special features disc... and listen very carefully as Aaron Archer insists that "Transformers don't morph."

Yeah, I had to bite my tongue pretty hard when I first watched that.

[Sky Shadow]

I'm sure they actually 'transformed' though, not 'got all shiny and morphed and grew new limbs randomly' ala BM.

Maybe, but if they could grow entire new Transformers as they did in G2 I'm sure they could potentially evolve transformation as an adaptation.

[Verno]

I like the idea of budding, but it needs to be re-looked at, because the notion of a Spark adds some problems to it. The Spark has to split in order to make a new 'bot. Or take a Spark so close to death that it opens a small rift to the Allspark that you can steal another one out.

[GoktimusPrime]

Recommended reading:
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Windrazor_%28BW%29
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Twin
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Cloning#Dreamwave
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Arcee_%28Movi...t-movie_comics
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Flatline

[Paulbot]

Actually if you start here http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Main_Page you'll find the answers to most of the questions raised in this thread. There's no better online source for what's canon in Transformers than the wiki.