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Thread: Awful uses of existing TF's names

  1. #1
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    Default Awful uses of existing TF's names

    What do you think are the worst reuses of a TF’s name?

    Though they seem to have gotten better in recent times, it seemed for a few years Hasbro would arbitrarily use any old name they had copyright for for any new toy they made. What do you think are some of the worst ways they enacted this?


    Note: I’m discounting Beast Wars as there were many characters who had G1 names but were intended to be completely different characters – not reimaginings of old ones. Examples: Rampage, Scorponok, Inferno, Megatron etc. I’m also discounting Mini-Cons as they seemed to randomly use any old name for those little fellas (Swindle, Ironhide etc) so weren’t really reimaginings of old characters or particularly significant arbitrary use of an existing name.



    I’ve listed 5 examples that come to mind:
    (trying to reference different toylines and where there is still some similarity)


    RID(2001) Grimlock
    An Autobot with a shovel with teeth (kinda) and part of the command structure, but a big departure from the Dinobot commander. Colour scheme has been revived for the new RID Grimlock.

    Armada Smokescreen
    Still a ground based Autobot but Smokescreen is suddenly an orange crane-truck now? Weird!

    Energon Ironhide
    He’s got a bit of red, turns into a ground-based vehicle and he’s an Autobot. Besides that he bares no resemblance – a young, inexperienced and rather annoying rookie rather than a grizzly old veteran.

    Cybertron Scattorshot
    Gone from the Leader of the Technobots and a big outer-space jet to a little tank dude. Lots of guns in alt-mode but that’s the only similarity.

    Movieverse Scorponok
    Yeah he is a Decepticon and he is a Scorpion. That’s where the similarities end. Instead of a gigantic Con who makes plays for leadership he’s a little dirt digger.



    So what else has been a horrible use of a name that already belonged to an existing character?

  2. #2
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    Does RID15 Grimlock count? I mean we seem to have two different Grimlock's in the Aligned continuity now. One a Autobot Dinobot created by Shockwave the other a Decepticon turned Autobot Dinobot.
    I have a list of all G1 characters that have been released in CHUG form. You can find it here. Please feel free to let me know if I got anything wrong so I can fix it.

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    Was it Smokescreen that was part of that G2 green bomber 2pk?

    I try and let each new series do its thing but some alternators and movie figures i wish had better suited names.
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    Sky High the Micromaster. First time an existing name was used for a new character, and started this confusion.

    But both are obscure so few people try to say Micromaster Sky High is meant to be, or meant to be based on, Pretender Sky High. (Like people saying Movie Barricade is a new version of Micromaster Barricade, or many of the other examples).

    I don't mind that Magnaboss is made up of Prowl, Silverbolt and Ironhide. I think it's pretty stupid that it's extended universe canon that Magnaboss is made up of reformatted versions of G1 Prowl, Silverbolt and Ironhide.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Deonasis View Post
    Was it Smokescreen that was part of that G2 green bomber 2pk?
    Yep. When they rereleased the toys for RID they renamed him 'Smokejumper' which is the version I have I think the G2 version was blue though, not sure. The RID version is definetly green.

  6. #6
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    Worst (that hasn't already been covered)

    * Any sub group/faction name reassigned as individual names; e.g. Dinobot, Insecticon, Predacon etc.
    * Wheeljack (Armada); all because Hasbro said that it sounds like an 'evil' name because it shares the same suffix as carjack and hijack... despite being the name of a tool that you use to change your car tyres. Guh. And as a result, poor Super Link Wheeljack suffered from being called "Downshift" in Energon, and likewise his Cybertron counterpart (although at least Hasbro gave him a different colour scheme)
    * Devastator (TF1); really should've been called Brawl. Then things got even more confusing when another Devastator appeared in ROTF. They could've easily changed the subtitles to say "Brawl" for the DVD release.

    IMO one of the best name reuses would have to be Beast Wars Inferno.

    Quote Originally Posted by DELTAprime View Post
    Does RID15 Grimlock count? I mean we seem to have two different Grimlock's in the Aligned continuity now. One a Autobot Dinobot created by Shockwave the other a Decepticon turned Autobot Dinobot.
    Yeah but at least he's still a Dinobot. Different continuity = different origin story; remember that Aligned is a Continuity Family, not a continuity. e.g. G1 is a continuity family that has different continuities in it; G1 comics Grimlock was created on Cybertron and travelled to Earth aboard the Ark with the other Autobots, but G1 cartoon Grimlock was created on Earth by the Autobots -- two different origin stories from two different continuities within the same continuity family.

    RiD 2001 Grimlock was a steam shovel. He was nothing remotely like Grimlock, he wasn't even a Dinobot, he was a Buildmaster. Hasbro was just maintaining the trademark.

  7. #7
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    With RID Grimlock, I kind of justified it like this:
    He has grabby claws, therefore he has a grim lock (of his hands). I though it was a pretty stupid reuse TBH.

    Agreed on group names becoming actual character names, Sharkticon, etc. Blah, use some imagination.

    On the otherhand, some reuses are pretty good. BW Ironhide from Magnaboss for example, he was an elephant, who have pretty tough skins.

    Scattorshot makes a bit of sense when he's a guy with lotsa guns and spekking errors.

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    Rid 2015 Grimlock- nothing like his previously portrayed FoC/Prime Beast Hunters Self

    Armada Smokescreen- why couldn't he have just been Hoist from the beginning???

    Energon Megatron- he should have just kept being Galvatron after his rebirth

    Movie Mirage/Dino- he is an awesome character, but not anything like G1 or other incarnations of Mirage

    The Movie Constructicons- ALL OF THEM - There names and characters and personality are completely uncoherent/existent other the Demolisher (or Scavenger or whatever)
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    Movie Jazz is a stupid name. I've never seen him listen to Jazz, just hip hop and whatever

    Quote Originally Posted by UltimateGalvatron View Post
    Energon Megatron- he should have just kept being Galvatron after his rebirth
    Then what would've cybertron Megatron be known as? Ultratron?
    I'll update this when I'm needing help finding particular figures

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Handsprime View Post
    Then what would've cybertron Megatron be known as? Ultratron?
    .............


    .............



    Golden Megatron
    "Save the rebellion! Save the dream!" - Saw Gerrera


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