Ever notice how Shockwave has never had a "definitive" alt mode? Originally he was a comically large laser gun he rarely turned into nor did anyone really use him like Megatron's gun, other times he's been some form of tank. Does his character suffer by not having an iconic alt mode? What's your favorite? Pic related is concept art on the upcoming fan-voted figure, in which Shockwave will have an aquatic whale-like beast mode. Thoughts? And speaking of beast modes (not to be confused with Beast Wars later rules/canon), how many Cybertronians do you think had these forms? What function did they have on Cybertron to warrant these forms?
>>150454247WhaleEEOUUUUUWWWGGGGGGHHHHH EEEEEOOOOUUUUUWWWWGGGHHHHH
>>150454247How about a satelite dish?
>>150455091I always felt Reflector should be a spy satellite
>>150454247Shockwave has the same problem Megatron, Soundwave, Blaster and Reflector have which is that what they originally turned into is silly and makes no sense. The early Transformers characters were just created around existing toys that were never intended to be anything other than toys, which is why such absurdities arose. A robot that turns into a handgun is fun as a toy and a robot that turns into a truck can be cool as a cartoon character, but make both of them characters in a cartoon who fight each other on a regular basis and the result is that you get a robot the size of a truck shrink to the size of a handgun all the time and that's beyond dumb. Which is probably why the handgun robot was changed to be something much larger in later incarnations. Not sure about Shockwave though, If it's weirder for him it's probably because what he originally turned into looked so weird and alien that it's hard to figure out something good?
>>150454247You can tell it's a Sky Bite retool from the cannon alone. Also for an in universe explanation. You can sorta say that there was some aquatic cavern that a sub couldn't traverse and it resembling an earth animal was some convergent evolution.
He should be an orbital laser satellite like the one from Akira.
>>150454247The whale alt mode is literally a joke based on a scene from the Energon Universe
>>150455714>You can tell it's a Sky Bite retool from the cannon alone.Articulation wise I'd say its an improvement simply because you can close the claw hand.>Also for an in universe explanation. You can sorta say that there was some aquatic cavern that a sub couldn't traverse and it resembling an earth animal was some convergent evolution.Actually since some Cybertronians have beast modes from the get go, I can buy this being Shockwave's original form. Just say before the war his original function was to navigate the submerged portions of Cybertron (coolant, oil, whatever is on there) where he was responsible in scavenging and disposing of discarded parts/waste. Could hint origins of a clear class issue, and a curious tinkering mind
>>150456098And I find that awesome
>>150454878Pretty sure there's always been huge things making noise in the oceans..
>>150455714it's not, not just because they specifically said it's not, but also because it has zero in common beyond how it transforms. it shares no tooling. It's from scratch. just same transformation scheme.
>>150454247>>150455701Megs being a gun feels thematically appropriate. A truck is dependable. It transports things great distances, carries other cars and is the labour that maintains the logistics of our society. Optimus being a truck feels important. The autobots being the caste of labourers being in turn lead by the work horse of vehicles is perfect. The decepticons are the military caste, megatron himself this leader of a military junta, turning into a gun? Perfect. A gun doesn’t create, it doesn’t build. It is a weapon wielded for violence and nothing more. He only knows how to kill. To add to it, this gun being something that is supposed to wielded by something else is again perfect for megs. He was created to wielded, used. Less than a man, just a gun. But in rising above his station and taking control he finds he can’t work alone because the nature of his creation. He truly lacks the independence he craves. He must be wielded. Honestly gun is best for megatron. Cybertronian alt modes are take it or leave it.
>>150455701Soundwave feels like he saw earth media from afar, saw the casette player and didn’t realise how big it was supposed to be. Are there any transformers who become buildings.
>>150458208depends how you define buildingoffice building? only in Bigfortress? yeah tons of em.
Do you think they ever shove minicons up their tailpipes?
>>150458190tank fulfills the same purpose without needing someone else to hold him (gay)
>>150454247Same thing with Megatron, they quicly forgot about his gun mode since it either because it could be considered problematic, or because it doesn't suit their new sligthly mature narrative. But at least Shockwave always have the same solid design while Megatron's design changed drastically from series to series. He returned to his roots only because of G1 nostalgia.
>>150454247I think Student Scissors's redesign of having him be essentially an evil starship Enterprise is a great idea, and much more fun than just a big aliean tank.
>>150460770Forgot pic.
>>150460779And the robot mode.
>>150454247Shockwave’s design is so cool he doesn’t need an alt mode
>>150460700So far the most consistent change to Megatron's alt mod has either been a tank or a jetWhich do (You) prefer, /co/?
>>150460828Tank that way he can also keep the cannon on his arm in robot form
>>150460828i wanna see a rail cannon done sometimeand every TF fan wants them to give him a "submarine" mod that you can secretly rework a bit to be a gun
>>150460700>>150460828I still think he should be a self propelled artillery piece instead of just a tank. That way he's still a "gun" and it would make his scifi cannon alt mode as Galvatron feel more connected.
>>150456143i like this idea for shockwave
>>150460700What the fuck, he only started to look like Megatron when Transformers Animated came out.
>>150460885example?>>150460990most of those are not meant to be g1 megatron. one named himself after him, others were named that by localizers.
>>150460828I prefer the tank because you can keep Megatron's big ass gun that's at least a quarter of Megatron's personality. I also really like the idea of an anti-air cannon alt-mode, because it really goes to show why Megs commands the Decepticons.
>>150455701>Shockwave has the same problem Megatron, Soundwave, Blaster and Reflector have which is that what they originally turned into is silly and makes no sense. The early Transformers characters were just created around existing toys that were never intended to be anything other than toys, which is why such absurdities arosewrong actually, Megatron, Soundwave(and his tapes), Blaster(and his tapes), and Reflector all originated(alongside a couple other G1 guys like Bumblebee and several of the other Autobot "Mini Cars") from the Micro Change line which was a sub-line of Microman*(toys from which had previously been brought to the US as the Micronauts) and that line did in fact have fiction surrounding it, in said fiction all the Microman characters are supposed to be the same size as their real world toy counterparts, which is why the Micro Change toys all turn into things like cameras and mini-cassette players so they can hide as those objects*course this ties into the complicated lineage that leads to Transformers(and how that both originates with GI Joe but also ends up being a factor in GI Joe's rebirth in the early 80's) but that's a bit too long to discuss within a single post
>>150461162i don't think that contradicts anything anon said, but well-said, man. i have always found that fascinatingreally both diaclone (cars and jets that transform into piloted mecha to fight piloted transforming dinosaur mecha or whatever) and microchange (actual normal household items that turn into living robots who then fight alien insect bugs with the help of human partners carrying them around) were both more fun concepts than Transformers.
A UFO
>>150461815I think either that or some sort of sci-fi drone could work, especially if his eye is a sort of camera.
>>150454247maybe not every characters need a definitive alt mode, there's enough homogenization in this current evergreen era of Transformers, mix it up please. gets harder to justify buying the same designs of the same characters over and over.
>>150461677>he even has a Metal Gear mode
>>150461874Screw it just have him turn into a TR-3B Triangle
>>150461677CoptorMegs was def an interesting choice
I find Soundwave to be in very funny spot as well. There's nothing problematic about his alt mode, but it no longer fits with the other or in a Cybertronian setting, so they have turn into a shape
>>150458190>To add to it, this gun being something that is supposed to wielded by something else is again perfect for megs. He was created to wielded, used. Less than a man, just a gun. But in rising above his station and taking control he finds he can’t work alone because the nature of his creation. He truly lacks the independence he craves. He must be wielded.Shockwave on the other hand becomes a blaster that's perfectly fine just hovering in space shooting at shit.
>>150464421His Cybertron and Prime alt-modes as a Spy plane were perfection, wish more continuities used them instead of trying to retrofit his microcassette recorder or trying to force the surveillance van look, mainly because a giant purple van with a retractable dish is far more obvious than a BR-71 or a Northrop B-2 cruising the skies and eavesdropping on the fleshies and Autofails.
>>150464421>So there are two robot factions>One wants to rule over organic life, the other just wants to vibe>They're at war. The ones who want to vibe are cars, trucks and non military vehicles and devices, the ones who want to rule are tanks, jets, basically the military industrial complex gone mad(der).>Except this guy, he's a tape cassetteIt doesn't add up!
>>150464220I always wanted to see a Megatron that turned into a battleship or aircraft carrier
>>150460700>>150460990Aaron archer was running the brand in the 2000's and wasn't particularly attached to the G1 Megatron design and felt Megatron should change his look with the times. It was only after the 2007 movie that Hasbro pushed for keeping designs more consistent.
>>150464926Even tho I don't like Earthspark, Soundwave's jet mode was peak
>>150460828Giga cannon from hearts of steel,its galvatron but far cooler
>starscream never has to worry about his alt mode because it's set in stonemy hero
>>150455701Megatron is more associated with a tank.
>>150458190>Honestly gun is best for megatron.See the irony of your post is that it also applies to Megatron being a tank.Tanks are vehicles of violence, literally a gun on wheels. They guzzle gas, have dogshit milage, they ruin roads and they're impractical outside of their very specific use but they're scary as fuck.>He truly lacks the independence he cravesAgain perfectly describes tanks. They're powerful in a combined arms army but when alone and unsupported they're sitting fucking ducks The Israeli army has been finding this out pretty handilyMegatron should be a tank, an alien tank to further highlight his disdain for Earth vehicles
>>150464421It fucking struck me what soundwave can beTheres this offroad kosmonaut recovery vehicle called zil bluebird,its a big 6 wheeled amphibious offroad truck with a small recovery van thats screw propelledAdapt soundwave into the truck,laserbeak can turn into a scout drone,frenzy/rumble can be adapted into screw propelled van (give the one thats red screw arms cause why not) and ravage can be a panther that turns into a dirtbike/atvPut a big satlelite dish on him to justify the name further and there you have all terrain mobile listening post
>>150460779Anon run,trekkies are waddling towards your basement screeching about copyright
>>150455245Reflector gets to be 3 bots forming a tv van
>>150455245thats what i'd do too,
>>150464926I think people lean towards a van or APC or something similar because it'd be easier to maintain Soundwave's classic robot mode silhouette than if he had a plane alt-mode
>>150464926The drone alt-modes problem is how slim it is. You kinda have to do Slenderwave.I think ES and Cybertron have a good compromise with the stealth bomber, since that gives him more bulk for his traditional physique.
>>150468085Plus a surveillance van It also ties to him being the Decepticons resident glowing who is only loyal to the Decepticon Cause and to Megatron, always listening and snitching on his comrades in case they get delusions of grandeur or decide to flip. Something obviously a threat but one you can't remove without suffering major repercussions.
>>150460828Tank will always be my fav (since I grew up with Armada), but I have a soft spot for his Helicopter in Animated. Personally, I want to see him be a drill-tank in the future; maybe a triple-changer or just that his drill can change into a cannon.
>>150468085I think an EW vehicle like the Krasukha would suit Soundwave.
>>150468790Yeah, they need to go with either something bulky like a Northrop B-2 like Cybertron or give him a larger plane like an S 100 Argus or an EL/W-2085. BR-71 is also an option but that one is meant to be way up in the stratosphere and Soundwave has never been characterized as one to sit way back behind enemy lines and avoid fighting, he's not averse to cracking some servos even though it's his goons who do most of the work.
>>150454247Me personally I always felt that High Moon created the perfect design for Shockwave for their games (that IDW even hijacked for awhile). It's pretty much the perfect compromise between a design that looks distinctly G1 while having a form that has the vibe of a "floating space laser gun". Since while he does turn into a spacecraft it is in essence just a floating gun with wings.
>>150454878>whalecels
>>150454247The space gun mode was fine. The Marvel comics used it a lot
>>150470380
POW
>>150470391where did the barrel part come from?
>>150470409same place as Optimus' trailer
>>150465105he's the communications guy! the spy!
>>150454247Is this because he turned a bunch of whales into a slurry?
>>150465105and his army of cassettes
>>150470409in front, are you blind
>>150454247I like Shockwave as a colossal space ship with a huge cannon.
>>150467292the lord always finds a way to remind them 'when you triumph, it will not be by your own might, but by mine.'>>150472243yeah that was a fucking great altmode. though he needs to actually be a giant for that to really look right. Like even by cybertron standards.
>>150470560That's clearly his Targetmaster ally: Microwave
>>150473530
>>150454247
>>150460786strike a pose
