RE: Skyfire's post
There are heaps things in G1 that makes no sense - even when watching/reading it as a kid in the 80s, but some of which made less sense as I grew older. I would go nuts if I consciously thought about it all the time, so obviously I just suspend disbelief. But just for lolz, here's a list of some things which, when you think about, makes no sense.
- How does Cybertron have a breathable atmosphere and mild climate? In the absence of plants and oceans, where does its oxygen come from? Being a metal planet, the atmosphere should be a blazing inferno (the entire surface of the planet is like a giant frying pan). Transformers Prime is the first TF cartoon that showed Cybertron having a hostile atmosphere for humans, requiring them to wear spacesuits or be in sealed containers on Cybertron. Also, if oxygen and moisture exists on Cybertron, then rust would be a massive issue. Megatron did say that they were rustproof, but you have individual Transformers who are rust-prone, like Steeljaw.
- Why do most Cybertronians have humanoid robot modes with humanlike faces? Of course, the answer is because Diaclone and Microman etc., but in-universe it makes no sense. Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson has pointed out that most lifeforms on Earth aren't humanoid; thus it makes no sense to assume that alien lifeforms should be humanoid. The real world reason is because it's cheaper to put costumes/makeup on human actors/actresses - but movies like Arrival portray an arguably more realistic vision of what alien life might be like (i.e. very unlike us).
- Why do the Transformers speak English, Japanese or whatever Earth language you're watching it in? The 2007 Transformers movie answered this by explaining that the Cybertronians downloaded Earth's languages from the world wide web, and even had Optimus Prime occasionally speaking in "netspeak" to demonstrate his lack of understanding that some expressions aren't used in real life. The real world reason is "so that the story can happen."
- Why do the Transformers have Earth-mode kibble on their robot bodies prior to arriving on Earth? While Transformers did a better job than Machine Men in showing us alien Cybertronian alt modes, they still kept their Earth-mode kibble. e.g. Bumblebee transforms into a Cybertronian hovercar, but still has VW Beetle parts on his body... plus he even loses a wheel when shot by Decepticons, despite his alt mode having no wheels.
- Some Transformers had Earth-modes on Cybertron! Yeah, they weren't exactly consistent with giving everyone Cybertronian modes. Starscream never transformed into a Tetrajet but an F15 Eagle in Cybertron's distant past; as seen in the flashback scene in "Fire in the Sky." The Triggerbots all also have their Earth modes when they were serving under a young junior officer Optimus Prime in the Underbase Saga flashback. Beast Wars was the first to deliberately show the Transformers not having Earth-mode kibble in robot mode. This was often done by just stripping down the animation models' beast mode parts and then shrouding the 'bots in darkness to hide their lack of detailing; but still, it meant that Optimus Prime did not have gorilla kibble prior to acquiring his beast mode etc.
- Transformers don't breathe... unless they do? In most situations we see the Transformers operating in space or underwater without needing to breathe, which makes sense. They're robots. But then Hound had a face visor when he went underwater and he and Rumble were trying to choke each other? And sometimes we see Transformers coughing.
- How does cloth exist on Cybertron? There are some scenes in the Marvel comics which shows cloth existing on Cybertron, like flags. How is this possible when there is no plant life?
- How do the Transformers measure time? As Cybertron is a rogue planet, it doesn't have a fixed orbit around a star to have consistent periods of day, night and years to use as chronological measures. It may be possible to instead use Cybertron's moons and constellations as reference points, but it does make one wonder what exactly a "stellar cycle" is. I prefer more vague concepts like "Vorns." One neat thing is that in 1984, rogue planets like Cybertron were pure science fiction, but in the past 20 years scientists have confirmed that rogue planets do exist. Some have even suggested that rogue planets may even outnumber fixed orbital planets.
- Why would the Transformers ingest fuel with their mouths? This is an extension of why the Transformers resemble humans. The Marvel comics interestingly portrayed the Transformers as taking in fuel through hatches on their chests, allowing themselves to refuel and talk/socialise at the same time; as seen in Maccadam's Old Oil House.
- Why would the Transformers have physical prisons? As robot lifeforms, it makes as much sense to just remove or download a copy of a Transformers' consciousness for imprisonment; and this has been shown to be a thing sometimes - such as with the Combaticons. Sometimes a Transformers' mind can be voluntarily downloaded because it's easier to transport minds across space than it is to transport physical bodies. An example of this are the 2nd Year Autobot Cars who had their minds stored aboard the Ark, to be later uploaded into new bodies on Earth. Optimus Prime infamously had his mind downloaded onto a floppy disk, which was later uploaded into his new Powermaster body. But in many other times, the Transformers had physical prisons. The Dinobots were imprisoned in a cave, the Stunticons were placed in cells, and Guyhawk was in an off-world Autobot penal colony.
- Why are the Transformers' weapons so ineffective against their own kind? The Sunbow cartoon is the biggest culprit of having non-lethal weapons (ex. TFTM). But this makes no sense; if you're making weapons to wage war against members of your own species, you would logically make weapons that are, ya know, lethal to your own kind. I gotta give credit to Michael Bay in that in the Transformers movies, the Cybertronians actually use weapons that can kill other Cybertronians.
- Why do Cybertronian vehicle modes have windows and human-sized pilot compartments? The Dreamwave comics were on the verge of answering this question before it was axed.
The Aligned Continuity was the first to portray Cybertronian modes without windows and pilot compartments.
- Why does no-one care when certain vehicles that don't belong on public roads just drive on by. Mirage, Jazz, Wheeljack and Smokescreen immediately come to mind, transforming into unique cars. But race cars like Mirage, Drag Strip, Barricade etc. aren't even street legal. Then you have military vehicles like Warpath rolling down the road and nobody bats an eyelid? Also, how did the Insecticons remain hidden for so long in the Sunbow cartoon as gigantic robotic insects? In the Marbvel comics the Insecticons mass shifted in bug mode to the size of actual insects; so while still mechanical, at such a small size, most people didn't notice them (similar to the Insecticons in Revenge of the Fallen).
- Scale. We all know the meme.
What have I missed? What things in TFs makes no sense when you stop to think about it?
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Originally Posted by Skyfire
