More random thoughts:

  • Much like Bumblebee, the prologue in RotB is 100% Transformers. The prologue also allows the movie to instantly dive into the Transformers lore instead of beginning on Earth with humans. We also see Unicron in the prologue.

  • Are the Maximals also Cybertronians and was their homeworld a colony planet? There is a hint that the Maximals are from the future, as Optimus Primal saw Optimus Prime as a legendary hero whom he was named after. So I think it's implied that they are future Cybertronians, if not explicitly stated.

  • The Terrorcons also have no defined origin story. All we know is that they can transform, they have knowledge of Cybertronian history and culture (Scourge mentions Primus), and they are slaves to Unicron. They remind me of the Wraiths in The Lord of the Rings. Again, I think there is an implication here that the Terrorcons are Cybertronians.

  • Much like the Bumblebee movie where Bumblebee and Charlie shared a character journey together, Optimus Prime and Noah also have a parallel path of personal growth. They both want to defend their families, but start off doing so in more self-serving ways; but both learn to take risks to save the greater good. And both of their goals were on the opposite sides of the coin; Noah initially wanted to destroy the key, but for the sake of others he chose not to. Optimus Prime initially wanted to preserve the key, but for the sake of others he chose to destroy it. But both made that decision based on the motif of "Till All Are One."

  • Noah and Mirage's relationship reminds me of Raoul and Tracks from the G1 cartoon. Both humans met their Autobot buddies while trying to steal them as cars. Both RotB Mirage and G1 Tracks are cocky and arrogant (I love how Mirage yelled at Kris for scratching his paint ). And both pairs end up risking their lives to save each other. Noah introduces Mirage to his mate, Reek, similar to how Raoul introduced Tracks (and Blaster) to his human buddies, Poplock and Rocksteady.

  • I want a garbage truck Mirage toy, damnit! I love mundane alt modes because that's how being a robot in disguise works. Mirage knew that being a Porsche would draw too much attention, so he disguised himself as a garbage truck. I want that toy! Although this does dismantle the idea that Transformers can only scan and transform into objects of equivalent size. If Mirage can change from a 4.5m sports car to a 7.9m garbage truck, what limitations do they even have? And I assume that garbage truck Mirage's robot mode would be pretty huge; not as big as Stratosphere, but larger than Optimus Prime.

  • I don't "want" want an F1 race car RotB Mirage; it only appeared on screen for a second as an Easter Egg. Buuuuut... I would probably buy one if Hasbro made it.