TRANSFORMERS: THE BASICS on the SEEKERS

[@sovietmaori]

The idea of the seekers just being a ploy to evade the IRS is the best I've heard yet

[@hissignaturestudios6869]

Starscream: I'm crazy enough to take on Megatron, but the IRS? Nooooo thank you!

[@sovietmaori]

@@hissignaturestudios6869 Sam:*puts an untaxed 5 dollar note in megatrons chest*

[@ronnycsiregar3262]

It's incredible

[@bluevelocity9166]

@@hissignaturestudios6869 Damn. Beat me to it. Ha.

[@logictv6667]

Frfrfr

[@aleaj169]

Starscream evading taxes just feels so in character and I love it

[@williamhumes7332]

True.

[@darkneon5637]

Lol

[@JayPlusForerunner]

It's amazing lol

[@DeathScepter]

true that he is an squirrelly asshole and we love him for that

[@clownplayer7265]

Toyline: "Recoloring save costs." Dreamwave: "Mass production army for Megatron." Animated: "Cloning process to create an army." Aligned and Cyberverse: " Chaste system made by the primes." IDW: "Hahaha, tax fraud goes brrrrr."

[@JewishMemeMan]

Starscream being on the run for tax fraud really is perfectly in character.

[@darkneon5637]

That's so starscream 😂

[@vincentleonard3797]

The bolts on that guy.

[@darkneon5637]

@@KevinSeyson chilli

[@darkneon5637]

@@KevinSeyson what is it

[@darkneon5637]

@@KevinSeyson no

[@anotherrandomguy8871]

So lemme get this straight, Starscream has committed tax evasion on cybertron with the assistance of Skywarp and Thundercracker. I love this goofy series. From now on, it’s now my headcannon that every version of Starsceam is secretly a tax evader.

[@Jack_o3654]

that's a good headcannon I might barrow it

[@60sspider-man29]

Megatron: "what do you mean you haven't paid your taxes Starscream?!?" Starscream: "the fuck do you mean we're decepti-" Megatron: "IT IS YOUR CIVIC DUTY!" *reports Starscream to space IRS*

[@arjunthemadlad]

Armada screamer evading Minicon taxes?

[@BBmetalhead04]

The Seekers are like the Mortal Kombat ninjas. Originally designed to help fill out the roster, but ultimately have become staples of their respective franchises.

[@clownplayer7265]

Give MK and Transformers credit as well, despite their similar appereances, they did bother giving them different personalities, behaviors and backstories.

[@myst3rixusl3ftb3hind]

@@clownplayer7265especially when the fans brought Tremor to life in MKX thanks to the petition

[@bromicorn]

Starscream dodging the irs is something i did not expect

[@HerrLokiZockt]

And yet it is something where one has to say: Yes, this is very Starscream. Especially the whole thing about pulling Thundercracker and Skywarp in and over the top.

[@darthlord1997]

I remember something about IDW saying that Cybertron's corrupt government set up a system where some Cybertronian's were naturally born from the Allspark, but Seekers had bodies pre built for them, then the sparks inserted. Basically determining an individual's life role pre birth

[@ChrisMcFeely]

An entire generation of Transformers had bodies pre-built, the body-form that would become associated with Seekers was just one of them. This originates from a one-panel scene in an issue of "Till All Are One," in which we saw Starscream's creation, and four other lifeless Seeker bodies beside him. It seemed like it was an attempt at explaning why there are so many Seekers, but it didn't really fit with the earlier explanation (Seekers look like that because they rebuild themselves to look like their commander) and was contradicted further by the later expansion of that concept (Thundercracker and Skywarp were not created with that bodyform, only adopting it at Starscream's suggestion, plus their special powers indicate they were natural-born, not pre-built bots). So we have to conclude that while there ARE other pre-built 'bots with the Seeker body-form (in the same way that there are many Transofrmers who share body-forms with one another) it's not the reason there are so many of them.

[@clogs4956]

I’ve always assumed that jets were a best-selling war machine line for the Quintessons when they controlled Cybertron (and lied about being the creators). When the rebellion happened, there’d be a lot of jets already around plus all those bodies ready for activation/sparking.

[@TheUncivilizedNation]

You’re referring to Cold Construction. Started by Nova Prime. He used the Matrix of Leadership to create Life Sparks. But he made too many. And he had to start a program to store the artificial Sparks while custom bodies are built for them. Megatron is among the bots produced by the program Nova wanted to make an army for conquest and a Cybertronian Empire. But while it’s an amusing theory it doesn’t work. Starscream was not born of Cold Construction and his Spark is natural. All other Seekers share these natural origins

[@neptuneplaneptune3367]

@@ChrisMcFeely I honestly prefer the "Starscreme did it to avoid taxes" explanation over anything else. Its just so wonderfully in charakter fore him and not ewrithing needs a serious reason, I like it when such things somtimes have more silly origins. Like why the Nemesis crashed on Earths moon in Transformers Animatet, it wasnt because the ship was already damaged, nah, as Blitzwing said, Starscreme just kinda sucks at parking.

[@RubyUnicorn-n6o]

@@neptuneplaneptune3367 Ironic

[@thejoshman8618]

Starscream tricking thundercracker and skywarp to look like him because he committed fraud is the most starscream thing ever

[@bilal_Hadjlaoui907]

Can we appreciate the fact that the seekers inspired a lot of frequently used molds,like siege sideswipe,legacy skids ?

[@dogvader19]

nah too many diaclone repaints

[@darkneon5637]

Too much

[@syafiqjabar]

Those are all had their origins in diaclone repaints.

[@dogvader19]

@syafiqjabar I just don't get the appeal of these non characters when other characters who hadn't had a toy in years wasn't a repaint , i.e. armada wheeljack could have been easily a sideswipe repaint but we had to get character who weren't even characters to begin with , we got a bunch of ehobby characters who had little to no know fiction but never got sunstorm who had a appearance in dremwave and animated .

[@XboxTF2Tidbits]

Starscream making up a ritual which involves heavy body modification just so he could use them as body doubles because he stole money form tax payers is such a starscream thing to do.

[@silentnight6810]

Lol

[@clownplayer7265]

Tax officer: "Are you Starscream?" Acid Storm: "No, I'm Acid Storm." Tax officer: "Are you Starscream?" Hotlink: "No, I'm Hotlink." Tax officer: "Are you Starscream?!!" Acid Storm: "I just told you I'm Acid Storm!"

[@jamesrichardson8484]

​@@clownplayer7265 Tax Officer: Are you Starscream?" Starscream: "No, I'm Acid Storm." Tax Officer: "You darn seekers all look alike." Starscream: "That's racist."

[@joesplace2960]

Police Officer: *gets cancelled to death*

[@Gaia_BentosZX5]

It's very simple: Fans have a knack of digging up seemingly useless trivia. And when it came to obscure trivia, no one can rival the wily archivists of the transformers fandom. While hasbro may have forgotten, the fans NEVER forget.

[@zoefurlong8031]

You'd be surprised what people are willing to do if they are passionate about something.

[@tehuselessguig3138]

i love the seekers, because they're always cited as the archetypical decepticon unit, when their 3 most notable members (starscream, jetfire and thundercracker) are a backstabbing traitor, a defector and a decepticon skeptic.

[@zplazma5557]

Exactly, archetypical decepticons the lot of them

[@miyako1909]

Jetfire isn't a seeker. In Marvel comic and G1 catoon, he was never a seeker. Even in later continuities, he isn't a seeker. The 3 most notable seekers are Starscream Thundercracker and Skywarp. Jetfire was a toy that didn't come from the same toyline with the other Seekers. He came from another company that made the Macross toyline. That was why he was dropped from G1 cartoon in later seasons.

[@toddwood440]

I think you meant Skywarp, not Jetfire. Jetfire has a past with Starscream from before the war but was never really a Decepticon seeker, at least by G1 lore. In War for Cybertron I suppose he started as a Decepticon but he was not a part of the iconic trine

[@ishashifar]

​@@miyako1909 i think he was a seeker in the aligned continuity at least, it was said he was one of the seekers who worked under starscreams command at trypticon station

[@calvinmatthews1527]

I love how the Seekers have become a staple of the franchise. From their iconic look-a-like designs to them always playing a major role in every series they're in. Also helped by the fact that the group spawned so many fan favorites, obviously like Starscream, but much more than that.

[@darkneon5637]

Which incarnation of the seekers is your favorite

[@jakeutage374]

​@@darkneon5637Animated, there clones and I love that

[@bilal_Hadjlaoui907]

Even after all these years,I still found that the seekers design still hold up and I like the color different,my fan favourites are definitely acid storm-sun storm-nacelle

[@jonathonholifield3166]

There's a brown one named Sh*tstorm

[@Da_ComputerMonster]

@@jonathonholifield3166 Finally; "Sh*t Piece" is CANON

[@jonathonholifield3166]

@@Da_ComputerMonster waaaaaaa, hahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!! DR SMOOV, boyyyy WOOO

[@THANATOS-PRIME]

I would love to see a Generations Selects two pack with Sunstorm and Nacelle

[@Acidstormstudios]

@@THANATOS-PRIME you could pay someone to make a Sunstorm and Nacelle custom

[@gabrielchee8470]

10:17 starscream: guys I can explain... Thundercracker: You made us dress like you? Skywarp: So you can avoid punishment. Starscream: Pls, just let me *Boom*

[@silentnight6810]

Skywarp: "tax evasion is a crime, starscream" Starscream:" Its an obligation!"

[@dubuyajay9964]

This is bad comedy.

[@saturncrush]

I love the idea of the seekers being Starscream’s act of selfish and narcissism.

[@darkneon5637]

That's Starscream for yeh

[@battleupsaber462]

The domino effect of a name originating from old obscure toy catelogues from 1984 becoming an official term used in almost all modern TF fiction is nothing short of fascinating

[@warlordsquerk5338]

I bet some fans who still had those catalogues were asked for the term by people trying to think up a name for the group and/or were the ones to spread it since it was official anyway

[@violagreene4643]

I don't think the younger fans quite understand how important those old catalogs were. We would spend hours on hours staring at them. Dreaming of owning all the wondrous things in them and what we would do with them when we got them. Especially if we were not particularly well off and had no real expectation of ever having all those toys. I can easily believe that some of those kids would go on to use the term when the online fandom began forming.

[@jamesianhutchison1165]

I've always thought that the numerous recoloured characters was a natural and logical thing. Just like, when you get right down to it, there are only so many "body types" among humans. There are only so many configurations of Cybertronian. So everyone has a doppelganger or two, even Megatron. 😬 It's just the spark that set's them apart.

[@Sarisjackoviak1815]

I could see that

[@mistermann4163]

I more or less see it just like the clones in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

[@genomcyberbubblegum4049]

I actually thought the seekers being , let say , clones, and the fact we did had different planes, were a question of military grades. Like, cone-heads being the lower rank, starscream clones, being a rank above and different skills. That is what i understood from it since then.

[@wintermute8315]

"There are only so many body types among humans". Completely disagree. There are practically infinite.

[@davidm4566]

Exactly. I imagine each character comes from their own line of identical robots. There are so many lines that usually they don't have a bunch of the same type running around together. My head canon os that Sunstreaker was identical to his "brother" Sideswipe but then upgraded himself with non-stock parts to look nicer.

[@bromicorn]

I cant believe cyberverse did a cosmically empowered starscream decades after it was cool

[@tomnagy3010]

Cosmic Powered Starscream is always cool.

[@miyako1909]

Cybertron Starscream is cosmically empowered, too. He absorbed part of Primus' spark, grew to planet size, and fought with Primus.

[@bromicorn]

@@tomnagy3010 fair

[@bilal_Hadjlaoui907]

Shoutout to cybertron thundercrscker whose design is an entirely new one,and also to armada skywarp,that head design is solid

[@jaredhebert942]

Oh, absolutely! Cybertron Thundercracker's always been one of my favorite iterations and I'd love to see him comeback in some way in a new series post-ES

[@lukedelameter7961]

Hopefully with a new figure that doesn’t disintegrate.

[@kaih_the_viewer]

10:12-10:18 this line feels so in character for Starscream I also love how you almost started laughing when reading out that line. I definitely wouldn’t have lasted

[@LunaticReason]

My personal head cannon is that the Seekers where more like the secret police ie KGB, Gestapo etc. Essentially hunting down the rebel Autobots from the sky and wiping them out. Which is why you dont see as many duplicate Autobots as you would see the Seekers.

[@SwiftpawWolffox]

It's also makes sense that the Autobots have more diverse designs because they are more often configured to do different specific roles rather than be one unified military unit (with some members having custom abilities like Skywarp's teleport). Which would be a reason for the Autobots have smaller clusters of similar body types (Prowl/Bluestreak/Smokescreen) or ones that are a similar vehicle base but with kits for different specialties (Trailbreaker and Hoist, Grapple and Inferno, ect)

[@LunaticReason]

@@SwiftpawWolffox Exactly I was also thinking something similar. Cybertronians when "Birthed"/Created don't have as much variety as the human species rather they like you said have clusters of similar body types which are given sparks and then given roles/class/caste. In the case of the twins Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Brothers because they where brought to life together. Whereas Grapple and Inferno despite having similar bodies arent siblings.

[@Monody512]

Head cannon? With two 'n's in the middle? Like DotM Lockdown? :P

[@mariaisabelg4701]

I'm glad the seekers got to be named like that. I mean, "Decepticon Planes" and "Strike Planes" just doesn't have that umph that "Seekers" have, you know.

[@texasbeast239]

The stripes on the G1 Seekers appear to be inspired by the paint jobs on the YF-15 prototype jets used during Eagle Full Scale Demonstration testing in the 1970s. When the prototype jets left the McDonnell Douglas factory to head for USAF trials, each jet received a pale bluish-gray overall color, with blaze orange stripes near the leading edges of the wings, vert stabs, and stabilators, as well as either side of the intakes. When they were returned to McDD, most were given overall white paint jobs, but with red stripes. One of the airframes (71-0283) even underwent changes to its radome or nosecone in a different, darker blue-gray color. This really seems to have given rise to the familiar Seeker color blocking pattern. With low res printing on low quality paper, it is entirely possible that Takara employees may have misinterpreted the actual orange on blue-gray color scheme as red on gray all along. Either way, this seems like a pretty clear explanation for how the Jet Robo High Speed Type/Starscream look was born.

[@jakeutage374]

OH very nice

[@Richterdgf]

Deception Seekers: for when you absolutely, positively need to fill out a crowd, accept no substitutes!

[@jaystebbing4317]

So that earliest reference to Seekers is fascinating! Thank you for all you do on these, they’re brilliant!

[@shockwave_datafiles8099]

I think my favourite has to be Acidstorm. The pure green look is so cool for the Seekers, plus the idea of being a scientist introduced in Cyberverse helps flesh them out.

[@PhantomLover007]

Starscream is always been my favorite character, but Sunstorm was the coolest to me

[@unigenius]

I've always liked the idea that the Seekers was the elite group of 7 Decepticon jets, led by Starscream. And all of the other jets were just Jetrons, hoping to one day get promoted to "Seeker."

[@smugsneasel]

10:13 And we're just going to add Tax Fraud and Money Laundering to Starscream's ever-growing list of crimes

[@jokelethkurueisner9229]

“I’m crazy enough to take on Megatron, but the IRS? NOOO THANK YOU!”

[@zerocooler7]

Thank you for this. I've always liked the Seekers, even before I knew that name for them. My first Transformer toy was a Seeker, Thundercracker, back in 1984. It was cool to see what he looked like as a Diaclone toy.

[@MicronOnline]

This has to be the best written video to date. So concise and informative 👍👍

[@madmerlinsart]

Favourite seeker? The one and only Starscream! But for me it's a specific Starscream, that of the Armada series. I always loved his more noble and honourable character traits, even to the point of switching loyalties because he could never get the respect he wanted from Megatron. As for design, nothing quite beats that classic G1 seeker body, a design I'd never owned until my 25th Birthday when I brought a Japanese reissue of G1 Starscream, who I still have 10 years on, I also enjoyed the early 2000's Classics range which re-imagined those G1 designs with modern engineering and tooling. Safe to say I'll be picking up the new Armada Starscream model as I never owned the original.

[@sapphire-gems]

What I would love to see explored in comics is Jetfire's connection to the seekers. Like, if he had a mass-produced form like the rest of them before gaining his more iconic look

[@miyako1909]

In the G1 cartoon, he was just an old friend of Starscream. In Marvel comic, he was created on Earth and then immediately defected to the Autobots. He never performed the same duty as the seekers, so I don't see any connection of him to the seekers. He is a unique jet, like Needlenoose or Blitzwing.

[@twistedgaming9185]

@@miyako1909 In the War for Cybertron cartoon (from Netflix), Jetfire was the leader of the Seekers, until he killed Skywarp. Then he joined the Autobots because he was against Megatron using the AllSpark to forcibly turn the Autobots into Decepticons.

[@sapphire-gems]

@@twistedgaming9185 a bit late for my response, but in the Aligned book Transformers: Exodus, there were Seekers who survived who survived the destruction of Vos. These Seekers joined the autobots, one being Jetfire, and others being the Aerialbots

[@SWDude2710]

Another great video from Chris! I think you should do a basics on the live action movies, seeing as you've already looked deeper into other continuities in the past, especially with Rise of The Beasts soon to arrive in cinemas this June.

[@shadowmage2]

I love how I can hear you amost breaking into laughter near the end, when you talk about Starscream's attempt to evade the police.

[@silentnight6810]

Even on cybertron the IRS can't be avoided

[@originaluddite]

IRS or HMRC or ATO... maybe Cybertron even has its _own_ name for a taxation office...

[@shadowmage2]

@@originaluddite Botcoin

[@kaizozhang15]

If I remember correctly, Dreamwave Seekers were modified that way by Megatron, in the War Within Vol 1.

[@ChrisMcFeely]

I think you're thinking of IDW's "Megatron Origin."

[@kaizozhang15]

@@ChrisMcFeely After revisiting the comics: in DW MTMTE #8, under Decepticons, it was mentioned that "those that did not (possessed enhanced strength and flight capabilities) were subjected to Megatron's ingenious, but hightly painful, reformatting process". Then at the beginning of the War Within #3 showed the modification process of Starscream, right? So I assumed that Starscream (and perhaps some other decepticon jets) did go through that process. But yeah, Sunstorm and the AES were far more conspicuous and iconic in DW.

[@ChrisMcFeely]

@@kaizozhang15 Ah, could be! But obviously, a great many Decepticons must have undergone that process to become stronger and fly in robot mode, so I don't think we can point to it as the origin of the Seeker bodyform.

[@TheOnlyCathyCat]

A few moments in and I've already seen an image I hadn't come across before, had a huge smile put across my face and had my enthusiam stoked.

[@Pigpen_YT]

I know it was only a month but man did I miss this series. So happy it’s back! Favorite seeker outside of Starscream has to be Thundercracker from IDW

[@queen_sectonia]

Hey, i love your videos

[@schmidington]

Of the original six, I like Thrust's design the most due to the unique wings. There's no better color scheme than Skywarp though, and he remains my ultimate favorite of the bunch.

[@mischagriffiths2894]

I've always been fond of EJ Su's F-22 Seeker design from the earliest issues of IDW's original comics run ☺

[@TomMSTie1138]

G1 Ramjet was the very first Transformer I ever got, so I've always had a special place in my heart for the Conehead mold.

[@AgentNevets]

Love the Seekers, and great video as always! I would love to know more about the former generic ones that have started becoming real characters. Acid Storm being one of the most prominent examples of that. Slipstream to an lesser extent. But the others, especially Sunstorm cause he looks awesome lol. Nacelle, ion Storm, Nova Storm. Who else do we have?

[@hpred97123]

I think IDW referred to the pre-built bodies as being "Cold Cast" when it came to the Seekers. An easter egg call back to the original toys being made with metal parts instead of plastic.

[@shawnkarg3794]

As a kid, the G1 seekers were one of my favorite designs. Even now, I love seeing new characters in this style of toy. I know it was a cheap means of adding to the ranks to do repaints, but I never minded that back then.

[@TomMcD71]

I could've sworn I heard Seekers used in the G1 cartoon but I could be mistaken. Slipstream being a female clone of Starscream was hilarious from Transformers Animated

[@originaluddite]

I still call them Decepticon Planes. Oddly, though, I've called Autobot Cars by the term 'Autobot Freedom Fighters' ever since they were referred to as such in the 1984 catalogue (not as a heading, but in the description).

[@roclockdown3987]

Sandstorm needs some more love! Especially if they keep the shark stickers on him!

[@robotlorekeeper9880]

I really appreciate the deliberate omission of stuff like “tetrajet” and “rainmaker”- I didn’t realise how much fanon jargon we as a community have built up over the years and especially not how much of it centres around the seekers. I don’t like to imagine new fans losing interest because of the prevalence of fan jargon that we take for granted, and this is definitely going to help counteract that if it was happening. The basics does it again

[@ChrisMcFeely]

I did have to weigh up whether to take some time to talk about fandom jargon in this one, since a surprising amount of it is concentrated on Seekers - specifically the whole "trine" thing that's popular in fan-writer circles - but I chose not to since it would basically amount to me saying "you might've heard this, but it's not official."

[@bauwss5742]

@@ChrisMcFeely Will you ever make a video purely about fan jargon?

[@nathanielhernandez3584]

My favorite Seeker has to be slipstream and Thundercracker I like slipstreams Role cyberverse and her character moments and I like the IDW version of Thundercracker and how he actually turned away from the Decepticons and fell in with some humans from what Ive seen he was actually quite happy with the humans even got a dog which is cute

[@warlordsquerk5338]

An interesting episode. I'd say just regarding the last point, I thought the "Deceptions - planes / Autobots - land vehicles" thing switched up with the creation of the Aerialbots and Stunticons? At least I remember from that episode of G1, the Aerialbots became the dominant flyers and the Stunticons the dominant ground vehicles

[@originaluddite]

Well, they certainly mixed things up a bit.

[@2bdaqueen268]

Yeah and there are Autobot flyers like Jetfire, swoop, powerglide, sky lynx, whirl, Windblade, Elita, Springer, tracks, blades, etc and some with jetpacks (sideswipe and Sunstreaker), and for decepticon grounders we got breakdown, knockout, Strika, shadowstriker, flame war, steeljaw, Thunderhoof, Megatron occasionally, clobber, tarn, etc So really the only time it was flyers vs grounders was TFA

[@AIFT_Staff]

@@2bdaqueen268 even in TFA there was Jetfire and Jetstorm. And Prowl with jetpack. And Bumblebee.

[@2bdaqueen268]

@@AIFT_Staff yeah but the jettwins were the result of a experiment with Decepticon programming/DNA, so they still got their abilities from decepticons, and jetpack users aren’t really considered flyers there

[@jedidweedle]

Amazing start to the year! I will never grow tired of watching The Basics. Thank you Chris!

[@theshinythunderclappokemon5830]

I’ll admit, Seekers, Skyraiders, and Jettrons all sound like impressive names for these guys.

[@PLAYER42_ready]

I found you through StCtP and decided to search you up on KZbin and saw this, I absolutely love Transformers. Keep up the great work and I’d love to see a vid about the crossovers, crossover exclusive characters or something along those lines

[@cynthiasoolihua2410]

Skywarp, Acid Storm and Slipstream are my top 3 favourite seekers for sure. Love their colouring

[@lrac6301]

I like how legends series slipstream acts as an animated toy since its that version of the character from said universe.

[@ryanexsus]

Just came to add that I always enjoy your videos. As a 90's kid the Transformers were always my favorite, especially Beast Wars.

[@Kaden10]

It's amazing what a simple recolor can do.

[@Briximusprimedia]

What an amazing video, love and look forward to these every week. And it gives characters and concepts the justice they deserve and the seekers are no exception

[@YeldellGW]

The Decepticon Seeker Posse (DSP) have always been a favorite of mine and probably the reason why I don’t mind repaints as much as most do. As far as favorite version, nothing’s topping the original G1 version. There’s something majestic about that old school alt mode! It’s crazy that when you were deciding on this episode it came down to a toss up between the seekers and the micro cassettes; another group I adore. Looking forward to the day that episode drops. Happy New Year and all the best!

[@TheeSethCage]

In the Transformers Tabletop RPG, created by Renegade Studios, the term "seeker," is used in character generation, for players who want to create Cybertronian with a fighter jet alt mode (note the word "Cybertronian," in this context, as a seeker in the RPG can refer to either Autobot or Decepticon).

[@MrDoctorVK]

IMO in Devastation game, use of Conehead Seeker mold; namely the Ramjet's design, was interesting use since original Conehead trio wasn't featured. And I think from two Seeker designs, early mentioned Conehead Seekers feel something what I like.

[@compareandcontrast9833]

Starscream: I'm crazy enough to betray Megatron. But take on the IRS, noooo, thank you.

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Great video! Thank you! Strongest moment of nostalgia in the entire video was seeing ads from Zayre. That was a GREAT department store.

[@mechanwhal6590]

Okay, IDW’s explanation is brilliant! That’s SO Starscream!

[@josephb2377]

Great episode. I love anytime we get to talk about Starscream.

[@pian-0g445]

Oh man, that star scream but at the end was amazing. Of course that ‘tradition’ started from him and was because of his own little stuffs

[@Gearoidmcnaught]

I would definitely go with the G1 Seekers cuz in my opinion they’re more memorable but I still like the other incarnations too.

[@verzieditz]

I always loved the design of the War for Cybertron and the Fall of Cybertron seekers. Their thick protruding triangle breastplate was a really cool design and for me became the most memorable characters from the respective games.

[@maskedriderweaver4122]

My favorite Seekers are the Rainmakers. Not just because their cybertronian forms were still intact, but according to one bio I read on them, their powers actually worked together. They were always stronger together rather than separately, unlike most if not all of the other seekers.

[@wolfgang6442]

Hmm quite interesting

[@returnedtomonkey8886]

Bionicle had this exact same thing for it's first 6 years. Just get a toy, recolor it 6 times and sell each as a different character. Near the end they got more ambitions and drop the clone sets , making eah character more unique , only with similar parts being used.

[@christianbrown2471]

Another great video bro. The Seekers concept always will be cool. Hasbro knew these Jets were gonna sell here and boy were they right. And I love how they went back in time and fleshed out other Seekers and gave them back stories like Sun Storm Acid Rain etc. Keep up the great work....

[@the_primal_instinct]

I had a Blitzwing toy as a kid. The very idea that someone could actually design a real life object being able to transform into an android, a plane *and* a tank was the coolest thing ever about the series for me.

[@muhammadhabibieamiro3639]

Another amazing video

[@michaelpytel3280]

Armada Starscream has a great design, as does Transformers Animated, RiD 2015 Starscream, and Cyberverse Seekers are also interesting. But I am a G1er, so I will still have the F15 Eagle Jet As my favorite.

[@darthpaul99]

Starscream is my favorite, but Thrust has my favorite design with his VTOL wings.

[@originaluddite]

For sure, a great partial redesign, and most striking colours. Even better, he gets to keep the original, more complex weapons.

[@karanseraph]

It does frustrate me media did little with the wings. Like 25% of what Windblade does could have been Thrust signature moves back in the day but just wasn't

[@atomicoverridelbc6796]

I thought I had remembered the seekers name being on some of the early packaging here in the U.S. but I was very young around that time. It is awesome to hear that someone had the foresight for such a good label to give to these jets.

[@jellohshots1911]

“ I’m willing to take on Megatron! But the IRS?!? Noooo thank you!”

[@scourgeprime263]

One can never ever have enough of a Seeker mold!

[@vassa1972]

Great video as always Chris keep it up

[@matthewreynoso6904]

The seekers are such a cool horde of Decepticons! Thundercracker is my favorite (perfect because I love blue!)

[@SnowFiresinger]

My favorite seeker moment was from the Transformers Animated series. I may be wrong, but I remember it going like: Starscream: "And just which side of me are you?" Slipstream (his feminine side): "Don't ask..."

[@jonathonholifield3166]

Been looking forward to this coming back

[@eurovisionfannz2348]

Slipstream's my favourite seeker!

[@Hektols]

Another reason for the look alike bodies is the efficiency of Starscream's jet body, when you have to fly in an atmosphere the variety of designs for optimum flight is limited. A second reason is the team work, with all the Seekers having the same capabilities they can coordinate much better than the more varied Aerialbots. A third reason would be facilities, Seekers can use the same facilities and objects, they don't need to have adapted stuff for them as happens with cybertronians who are too big as Skyfire or too small as Bumblebee. A final reason, recycling, if a Seeker loses a wing of an arm he can just take a replacement from a fallen comrade without having to adapt it, it's also easier for the Decepticon medics to fix them because they all share the same body type.

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

Ariealbots coordinate just as well, plus with their ability to unite they would have developed better teamwork, unlike seekers who would backstab each other, g1 ep fire in the sky showed the seekers aren't above shoving each other under the bus

[@clownplayer7265]

Starscream actually repaired fellow Skywarp and Thundercracker in one episode, so this theory is not off the mark. It is really odd how a basic attempt for easy repaints has become a surprisingly dynamic concept with lots of care and potential.

[@gabrielchee8470]

My headcanon was that they are just endless starscream clones without a personality, and only when they do well do they get reformatted into new forms (TC, Skywarp and the conehead are the exceptions)

[@chispychisp1690]

Starscream doing tax evasion is the most in character funniest shit I've ever heard XD

[@cameronmoriarty3313]

Something I realized a couple of years ago, Skywarp is the first Transformers black repaint. With a certain segment of the fandom the black repaints are excessively popular. It is mostly Optimus, but there have been others, especially in 3rd Party who have done whole combiner teams with Predaking, Superion, and Piranacon in the last several years.

[@michaellombardi1620]

Glad to have you back!

[@basedpota]

I always liked that one gag they made with the seekers looking alike in the WFC game. The part where Skywarp called Thundercracker ugly, and he points out how they look the same lol

[@KamenRiderSeiryuXV0]

Jet Robo toy is from Diaclone from Takara depicted for. Especially Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp. The other Starscream clones are Sunstorm, Nacelle, Hotlink, and Bitstream, Slipstream, Ionstorm, Acidstorm, Novastorm, Deadair, Skywraith, Gunwing and Red Wing. Other seekers who not like Starscream clones are Dirge, Thrust, and Ramjet. My fave of them is Skywarp who had ability to teleport in move far distance.

[@Combaticon]

Favourite seeker colours: Skywarp Favourite seeker personality: Thundercracker

[@DBWalks2010]

Fantastic story! 👍👍👍😃

[@anzaca1]

5:50 I would've assumed it came from "heat-seekers", referring to the type of missiles carried by fighter jets.

[@andretheterminator]

My favourite Seeker is Skywarp I love his Colors, his Personality and his ability to Teleport. As for my favourite Seeker that isn’t part of The first 6 Seekers I would say Acid Storm The Rainmakers Rule. And of course there is Starcream who is and is still remaining as not just my Favourite 84 Decepticon character but as my favourite Decepticon of all time. Finally my favourite Seeker design my favourites are from Armada, G1, Idw and Cyberverse. Now I better do what Skywarp does best and Warp out of Here * Teleports Away*

[@mindshuffler3332]

Wow! I've been _seeking_ for a video covering this topic!

[@Maswartz226]

Glad you're back and hoped you enjoyed your vacation.

[@Pandarian300]

"kings of the road, rulers of the skies" nice quote chris! like it!

[@kumo549]

Dreamwave: A gift for megs Animated: Clones IDW: TAX EVASION!

[@xemnufromthemagicplanet1678]

Excellent episode. The seekers all being clones has always been my favorite take on the concept

[@RobinSwede]

Starscream: I’m crazy enough to betray Megatron, but the IRS? noooo thank you!

[@clownplayer7265]

Slipstream: "Boss, this Exchange Aluminum looks weird." Starscream: "What do you mean? Look this is regular exchange aluminum, here with Alchemist Prime' s chubby little chee...hold on, what?! Swindle???!!!!"