Transformers: Deviations - Atop the Fourth Wall

Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. In this Patreon-sponsored episode, Linkara looks at a Transformers comic that changes how the movie went!
Check out more AT4W shirts at Shark Robot: sharkrobot.com...
Title Card Art by Viga: / vigasartroom
atopthefourthwa...
/ at4w
Originally released September 24th, 2022
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION: 'Til All Are Changed!
#at4w #transformers

[@ShadowKnux372]

Given the screechy tone of Starscream's voice, I'm just imagining the "upgrade" he gets in a hypothetical voice for him is like...Gilbert Gottfried.

[@6inTruder]

Oh shit! That's inspired!!!

[@seventhbracken4466]

BRILLIANT!!!!!!! XD

[@tannerprice2018]

That would’ve been PERFECT.

[@ProfessorChaos56]

RIP, he was a legend.

[@GamerGoingGrey]

That was my thought as well. It's perfect

[@gota7738]

I already don't get people who feel personal hatred towards fictional characters who are badly written, but people who personally hate characters THEY'RE writing baffle me. It's your job! If you don't like how they're written...WRITE BETTER.

[@TevyaSmolka]

indeed

[@Alucard-A-La-Carte]

Peter Laird, you listening?!

[@GatorRay]

Yeah. Remember. Hot Rod asked Optimus to forgive him afterwards.

[@RustyShackleford101]

Can we all take a moment to appreciate the titanic brass balls on a wounded, dying Megatron to say to (in some versions) the Devil of the Transformers "State your business" as though Unicron was nobody.

[@Future_Vantas]

Whats the Devil to a nonbeliever?

[@Relichunters01]

@@Future_Vantas but Megatron is a believer though?

[@plantainsame2049]

​@@Future_Vantas still the f****** devil still capable of putting you in unending agony

[@henkman00]

I forgot where I read this but some comic stated that Megatron doesn't believe in a higher power (Primus, the Matrix) than himself. so imagine someone with that view on life meeting an entity like Unicron.

[@matthewgagnon9426]

Megatron is the Master Shake of Transformers. No matter how badly outmatched he is, he's still going to talk shit and get hit.

[@JetZV]

The description of this story as an angry fan-fic is rather accurate. The treatment of Arcee, Springer, and Perceptor as afterthoughts, the lack of Blurr and Wheelie, and the treatment of Hot Rod imply some things about the writer. Interesting that Kup makes it, though; I'm guessing they must've had a soft spot for him since lots of his jokes are carried straight from the movie.

[@foxfireinferno197]

He probably just couldn't find a way for Kup to die that was Hot Rod's fault.

[@Rabbitlord108]

I think in this time-line Wheelie died during the battle of Autobot City. As for Kup. Just retcon it so Megatron encountered him in the past (Ala Ratchet & Lockdown from Transformers Animated) and blow the old veteran's head off. Giving Optimus time to blast Megs.

[@wstine79]

I remember crying when that sentient robot was on its death bed. Thankfully, Johnny 5 was rebuilt and became a US citizen while getting a Chrome makeover.

[@brianjordan3841]

To this day I always wonder y they didn’t bring back the military from the first movie to try n recapture Johnny 5 especially when he shows up in New York n it wasn’t like he was keeping a low profile

[@WolfMaestro5482]

@@brianjordan3841 The company went under and the project was abandoned. No one cares about a robot from a defunct company.

[@Megaspartan23]

@@brianjordan3841 If they brought Nova back, it would feel like a retread of the first movie. I'm glad Short Circuit 2 didn't include them (only mention that Nova was disbanded) and decided to do something new and different. Thats why the second movie is way better.

[@nightshardthefanguidebrony847]

I WAS SO NOT EXPECTING THE TRANSFORMERS STYLED INTRO BUT I WELCOME IT

[@Pikachu2Ash]

Makes me wish he also used the Star Trek intro for all his Star Trek comic review instead of only for "Star Trek mouth".

[@jordanhunter3375]

He needs to save this for whenever he does a Transformer Month

[@the4thwallkid132]

Personally I think primes death should have happened later in the movie, like if Optimus was hot rods mentor during the movie, until his fight and death with galvatron on Junkion instead of Ultra Magnus, that would have made it less scaring and made it memorable like a passing of the torch kind of thing

[@carsonsmith7314]

That would make sense, considering You got the Touch COULD be a passing of the torch song.

[@swordkingx4874]

@@carsonsmith7314 Nah gotta throw out all the old toys and advertise only the new cooler toys.

[@gracekim25]

@@carsonsmith7314 mmm good point

[@rodimusriderv2368]

Agreed

[@kidprime6863]

Yeah. Yeeeeaaah. That's what should have happened. Then Hot Rod would be more likable and Prime's death won't his fault.

[@FNGLHR]

I think the outright killing of Arcee, not even giving her a line, was what pissed me off the most. I get hating Hot Rod, even if it's ridiculously over the top and frankly needlessly hateful, but what the hell did Arcee ever do? Was the writer one of those people who just hates the idea of female Autobots outright?

[@foxfireinferno197]

Wouldn't surprise me.

[@jeremyriley1238]

That, and he pretty much hates any Autobot introduced in TFTM that replaced Optimus and the others in Season 3.

[@ironmaster6496]

@@jeremyriley1238 Except for Kup (thank primus), though i'm surprised that he killed perceptor since he was yhere before the movie

[@ironmaster6496]

Yeah hers and Ultra Magnus was completly unfair they were good characters and here they turned him into a dick and killed him off

[@jotacatalan]

not only arcee, but everyone Not from the original show line became some kind of parody of themselves and were treated very poorly in this comic. There's a video made by Dr.Lockdown who describe how bad the comic actually is and how the same author made the same mistakes in the netflix show

[@FruityGroovy]

It kind of feels like Ultra Magnus is the most out of character in this book. In the movie, he's a humble boy scout. Here, he's a major asshole. It kind of feels like part of the IDW version of Ultra Magnus is bleeding into this version of the character, but also some what the IDW version of Prowl, as well.

[@uncannyrman]

Glad to see I'm not the only one that was traumatised by Short Circuit 2.

[@lucaselliott2097]

Same. I remember bawling when I watched that movie.

[@charlesswansonii9319]

Johnny Five was the hero we needed, but didn't deserve. Gone from the world too soon... too soon.

[@calebmarmon1310]

It’s funny that I’ve only ever seen the first one. I still know him as Number 5.

[@jediroshi]

Same... must help robots.. they are our friends.

[@TheAllSeeingEye2468]

I liked that movie

[@HeadmasterAutobot]

This comic seems to have a real beef with Ultra Magnus, too, using him as a cantankerous mouthpiece to dunk on Hot Rod even when Magnus is normally a pretty measured and professional 'bot.

[@ganados0]

They all acted out of character towards Hot Rod. That's the authors voice, he's a child, traumatized by the first film and throws all the blame on Hot Rod then pathetically tries to act like he isn't by killing him. The most telling thing is the comic failed to substantially deviate, it ended the same way as the movie.

[@NearingLight]

11:25 Hot Rod: thank you Hot Rod for noticing the deception, preventing them from storming the city before we got it into battle mode with all of us dying and prime not knowing.

[@legogodzilla]

A toy reviewer and stop-motion artist named Lazy Eyebrow did do something like this, where Rodimus Prime traveled back in time to stop Hot Rod like Kup did in the comic. Thing is, it changed nothing. Megatron still managed to kill Optimus, but instead of feeling like he got in the way, Hot Rod felt like he could've done something.

[@serPomiz]

with the recently unvelied first draft of the film, we all know that optimus would have fallen anyway (even pretending that he could have not, big hand universe and everything...) but still...

[@sonicfan20395]

Can you give us a link to it?

[@seant1326]

@@sonicfan20395 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWWrlYporr1nj9U

[@Jetblast01]

@@sonicfan20395 Here kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWWrlYporr1nj9U

[@nonspiderweb]

This is way too unimaginative for a what if. as you pointed out everything that happened in the movie basically still happened. just with some characters and details swapped around. imagine if it had REALLY mixed things up? still have Cup stop Hot Rod from interfering, but rather then have Optimus kill Megatron, the consequence of him living is stat he is captured by the decepeticons, THEN Optimus and Megatron are BOTH dropped into space and BOTH become servants of Unicron. Think about where it could go from there? a brainwashed optimus would give the matrix to unicron, and the autobots would need to find a different way to stop him. there's so much potential and instead they just retold the movie.

[@Dynaman21]

All the maturity and writing quality one would expect from fanfic circa 1996.

[@ProfessorChaos56]

And not just any fanfic, but a revenge fic. Whether the author meant it that way or not, this book seethes hatred.

[@redconvoy]

Agreed. I could not stand this comic. Everyone was out of characters and it was just one "let's bag on Hot Rod" comic. WORST FANFIC EVER XD

[@gracekim25]

@@redconvoy um how exactly is an official comic Fanfiction? They’re paid to did this

[@Cdr2002]

@AT Productions Cybertron’s most wanted or the Predacus set with flat head Ravage?

[@Cdr2002]

@@gracekim25 comparing it to fanficfion to the sake of a joke

[@marcluu2433]

WHAT THIS? 3 VIDEOS IN ONE WEEK. WHAT NEW SPORE OF MADNESS IS THIS????

[@DigiRangerScott]

Getting these episodes done more leisurely in the wake of 700 and releasing them closely to make up for it

[@sonicx945]

Spiral Mania is running wild!

[@danielbrant6740]

Playing catch-up.

[@fanofpink]

He's in hurry because October is coming. The pateron sponsored reviews need to be done before then because the next few months are for Halloween Ring comic, orgins Comics month and Christmas. Not mention 10 years of longbox.

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@fanofpink but we are already pass event comics month.

[@the-aspiring-creator4249]

The treatment of Hot Rod here honestly makes me think about another time this happened with the same franchise. The IDW Transformers comics if I remember correctly used to have a running "joke" where Cy-Kill of the Gobots would appear... only to suffer a horrific death which was done because at the time the popular consensus was "Transformers are cool while Gobots are the lame knockoffs.". This later stopped when, shock of all shocks, people were getting annoyed with the laziness and pettiness of continuously killing off a character out of spite. I also think about how Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash treated the characters of the less popular sequels of those franchises. It's okay to dislike a character but it's always important to not let that dislike bleed through when you are writing a story. Phelous can get away with mocking Hot Rod because he's doing silly skits. You have an actual story constantly crapping on the guy and, well AU one-shot or not, it's not cool for either the character or their fans.

[@ShadowWingTronix]

It wasn't just IDW. Dreamwave and the convention comics would not only take down Cy-Kill but Cop-Tur as well.

[@Macrochenia]

@@ShadowWingTronix IIRC, the first instance happened during the Marvel books.

[@ShadowWingTronix]

@@Macrochenia I don't remember seeing it in any of the Marvel comics. The first time I saw it was in a Dreamwave book.

[@Macrochenia]

@@ShadowWingTronix IIRC it was some background character who was getting blasted during a group scene that had a silhouette that was vaguely like Cy-Kill. But Dreamwave was where it really became a thing because Hasbro owned the copyrights to the GoBots by then.

[@ShadowWingTronix]

@@Macrochenia Yep, Cy-Kill and that one time Cop-Tur have been smashed, hung out die, and other kinds of destroyed. When you remember GoBots are technically cyborgs (Gobotronians went the Cybermen route but kept their emotions and added conversion) it becomes even darker.

[@mikegates8993]

Speaking as someone who considers the original Transformers movie one of my favorites, I never really blamed Hot Rod for Optimus' death. He didn't exactly help and Prime probably could've taken down Megatron when he went for the gun had Hot Rod not been a being used as a human shield, but Optimus was wasting time taunting him.

[@MMTrigger]

That's something I've realized. For all the flak Hot Rod's gotten from the fandom, Megatron used a secondary cannon on his back and right arm in just the first season of the show. Prime should've been ready for Megatron having one last trick. Or at the least kept his wounds covered.

[@tristankawatsuma8962]

Yeah, when you think about it, Hot Rod did the right thing, or at least the natural thing. What would you do if your leader or a comrade had the enemy at gunpoint, but that enemy was secretly planning on shooting them? You intervene. Unfortunately, Hot Rod underestimated Megatron who was still stronger than him after the beating he had with Optimus. Still, fans sure are hard on Hot Rod when he took a major risk. If Megatron wasn't wounded, he might have killed the young Autobot with his bare hands.

[@ShadowWingTronix]

I read a fanfic once where Hot Rod just shot the gun away before Megatron could reach it, and Prime won a fair fight. That seems to be a better way of doing things.

[@Nameless-ln5mr]

Funny thing, in the Marvel comic adaptation of the movie, Hot Rod didn’t reach the fight on time, and Megs’ just shot Prime while he was monologuing.

[@Pikachu2Ash]

@@ShadowWingTronix Who really freaking cares about fairness in a ROBOT fight?

[@Pineappolis]

I remember one of the creators saying he was shocked by people telling him that they/their children were devastated by Prime's death. They'd never really stopped to think of it as more than advertising for the toyline. They hadn't reckoned on the power of Peter Cullen.

[@jackmcslay]

Unicron attacking Cybertron right there seems like a huge plothole, in the movie he does that just after Galvatron threatens to open the matrix, seemingly implying that the reason he wanted the matrix destroyed was so he would be able to attack Cybertron unimpeded, and swallowing Galvatron seemed good enough that being a decepticon he would not be able to open the matrix. Him attacking cybertron before Megascream got even close to destroying the matrix removes any reason to send the decepticon after the matrix in first place.

[@foxfireinferno197]

There's something I've always wondered. Neither Magnus nor Galvatron tried to open the matrix correctly. Magnus just pulled on the handles, and Galvatron tried to pry the core open ... but Hot Rod actually stuck his fingers in the slots on the handles. Could Mags or Galv have opened it if they'd actually done it right?

[@Macrochenia]

@@foxfireinferno197 Lol, Hot Rod succeeded by following the instructions.

[@Cdr2002]

@@foxfireinferno197 I think the Matrix has an internal intelligence that decides “worthyness” and Hot Rod opening it correctly is mostly a visual to show him as more worthy than the previous holders

[@louisduarte8763]

@@Cdr2002 So it works like Mjolnir that way.

[@Cdr2002]

@@louisduarte8763 yeah!

[@tristankawatsuma8962]

Well, as a fanfiction writer myself who tries to be fair to all characters even if I have favorites among them, here is how I would write the story: Prime has Megatron at gunpoint and Kup has pinned down Hot Rod, partially because he thinks the kid will get in the way and also recalling the many times he's seen rookie Autobots try to act like heroes only to be cut down. Megatron does get a shot off, maybe wounds Optimus, but Prime ends up blowing away Megatron. Starscream calls a retreat and the Decepticons bug out. The Decepticon wounded are dumped out, but Unicron reformats them to be the first of his army of soldiers. However, as there is no Megatron he just commands these warriors directly. The Autobots begin reconstruction on Autobot City and nobody is being so hostile to Hot Rod. Kup and Ultra Magnus may chew the kid out for his attempted heroics, but it would be more so because he very well could have gotten himself killed instead of the chance that he could have gotten Prime killed. Optimus comforts Hot Rod, pointing out everybody makes mistakes and that his intentions were completely noble, and that maybe he has the potential to be something more. Cyclonus and Scourge, formerly regular Decepticons, interrupt Starscream's coronation to invite the other Decepticons into the ranks. While Starscream is hesitant, seeing the way his old comrades were upgraded convinces him to also be reformatted. Unlike Galvatron or this comic's version, he has a contingency plan. The dude finally got the leadership of the Decepticons, so he isn't just going to lose it to some planet-eater. Starscream and his forces attack Earth and Optimus orders a quick evacuation, especially after Moonbase 1 and Moonbase 2 are eaten by Unicron. For the seating arrangements, I say they remain the same except Optimus and Blaster journey with Hot Rod, Kup, and the Dinobots. This is so Blaster isn't just ignored and I would think these two would be able to get the Dinobots on the ship quicker since they know each other longer. I would also have Autobots who we didn't see die in the battle join both crews. One critique I have with season 3 of the show is the small cast, barely using anybody from the old cast. I might even have the Female Autobots send secret messages to Blaster about the arrival of the reformatted Decepticons. Yeah, this would be more of a mini-series than a single issue for me. Anyways, both shuttles crash on the same worlds that they did. Of course, the Decepticons instead go to the homeworld of the Quintessons since Prime is on that shuttle. On Quintessa, the larger Autobot force led by Prime drives off the Sharkticons, until the Decepticons intervene. This three-way battle claims combatants on all sides until Wheelie leading the Dinobots shows up and allows the Autobots to emerge victorious. Starscream learns of Unicron moving to eat Cybertron and thus enacts his contingency, making an alliance with the Autobots. Naturally, Optimus is very cautious of such a deal with Starscream but agrees due to the larger threat to Cybertron. On Junkion, Ultra Magnus and the Autobots under him find themselves under attack by the Junkions. This goes on until the Autobot-Decepticon alliance arrives, with Optimus of course restraining Starscream from blowing away the natives while Hot Rod and Kup use the universal greeting to make peace. Then we come to the final battle. Starscream at first thanks to the influence of Unicron attacks the Autobots, but Prime orders them to restrain Starscream since Unicron is forcing him to attack. The Autobot-Decepticon strike force gets inside Unicron and gets split up. Daniel and maybe Wheelie who have become quick friends find the captured Autobots and save them. The main force nearly gets overwhelmed by the defenses, and a few others including Prime, Hot Rod, and Starscream find themselves in the same location for the final battle. Starscream critically wounds Optimus despite the Autobots and Decepticons both trying to stop him, then he reveals of course that it wouldn't have mattered if Unicron was forcing him or not, he was still going to betray Prime and steal the Matrix. He then planned on using the Matrix to destroy Unicron and be hailed as a hero, cementing the reign of Starscream, Emperor of Destruction. But the Matrix refuses to work for Starscream and in a moment of heroism, Hot Rod fights back, gets the Matrix, and becomes Rodimus Prime. Unicron gets destroyed, but the Decepticons are divided in two. Optimus in his last act as Prime grants the Decepticons pardons for helping to save Cybertron from the greatest evil. Soundwave and most of the Decepticons take the pardon while Starscream and his followers go to Chaar, still determined to carry on the Great War. Rodimus becomes the next leader of Cybertron, ensuring that together, Autobots and Decepticons will be ready the next time Starscream or any type of evil tries to emerge. On paper, the story goes in the same direction as the movie. However, I would utilize as many characters as I could and show Starscream's treachery unintentionally leading to Autobots and Decepticons finally making peace, realizing they have other things to worry about besides wrecking each other. Granted, this may negate Season 3 as the Decepticons under Starscream would be a much smaller force, but the addition of the Decepticons introduced in Season 3 along with the Headmasters and Targetmasters may even things out a little.

[@jrcarter9175]

See, now this, I might have enjoyed.

[@TevyaSmolka]

wow that's actually great story great job man ;)

[@gracekim25]

Eeeep don’t forget paragraphs next time😅

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@gracekim25 indeed

[@kidprime6863]

Now that's a better "what-if" scenario. Better story, better pacing, better character development, and better ending.

[@tannerprice2018]

In my opinion, Hot Rod did nothing wrong in the 1986 film. He acted reckless, certainly, but I say there would’ve been a 50/50 chance that Optimus still would’ve been killed by Megatron, had Hot Rod not interfered. Should Hot Rod have shot Megatron from a distance instead of tackle him? Sure. But Hot Rod isn’t necessarily the sole reason that Prime died. But this comic feels like it was written by someone who was traumatized by Prime’s death in 1986, then wrote a story where stuff that occurred outside of ANY Autobot’s control were course-corrected because “Make way for our favorite Robo-Jesus.” The story just feels like it was written by someone who was super bitter about that one scene. Especially when it completely writes Ultra Magnus, a character in the cartoon who was supportive of his troops, including Rodimus Prime, as someone who treats Hot Rod in this story as a traitor, despite him doing literally nothing in the battle against Autobots in this movie.

[@Macrochenia]

Given that Hot Rod had been established to have blasters in his arms when he opened fire on the shuttle several scenes earlier, the real correct action seems like it would have been to shoot the gun and/or Megatron.

[@Jetblast01]

@@Macrochenia It's also been shown that Autobot weapons no longer work when they're low on energy, happened with Hoist and Warpath. They been fighting a full day against the Decepticons, so who knows.

[@reyonXIII]

Yeah, Brandon Easton was a vindictive manbaby here. Given his work on Siege and Earthrise, he's not that great of a writer either. And thus, I worry about him being the writer for the Kamen Rider Zero-One comic. If it bombs because it's a bad comic, then it's gonna hurt the effort to have KR plant a stronger foothold in the west that'll overshadow the Masked Rider series' unfortunately surviving legacy.

[@beastmaster0934]

Me before watching this video: Transformers Deviations huh? Sounds like a neat concept Me after watching this video: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT NONSENSE!?

[@battleupsaber462]

glad to see this one covered. this comic has been the punching bag of the TF fandom for a long time now, and the fact that the writer of this comic is doing the upcoming Kamen Rider Zero-One comic has me pretty concerned to say the least.

[@Dynaman21]

He’s doing a Zero-One comic? Man, comic writers just fail upwards, don’t they?

[@TeryJones]

Oh Christ really? Oy vey, who do they hate from that show?

[@evanartist8060]

Wait. This guy is writing the Zero-One comic? Ooooooh no, I’m worried now. I was looking forward to that. Well here’s hoping it goes better…

[@sscool100]

I didn’t even know there was a comic coming. How did I miss that?

[@foxfireinferno197]

How good it is probably depends on how much he likes the characters. Logically, if you don't like the characters you wouldn't work on the book, but we just learned this writer didn't get the memo on that.

[@alexandersturnn4530]

Not gonna lie, Linkara, that Transformers-style Intro is fucking WICKED! Also, Lord Vyce showing up at the end of said Intro. A hint at everyone's favorite Buckethead-Villain returning one day, or just a cool Image to go along with the Intro? You make the call!

[@Pikachu2Ash]

No it's definitly just "a cool image" Lewis has said before he's completely done with Vyce character unless he can bring him back and make him interesting again.

[@TheMemeRepository]

Another problem is that this premise feels like it deserves at least four issues (same as the movie comic), as you can feel this single issue straining to compress the movie's runtime down to single issue page count, so there's no room to breathe. Reading it feels more like a series of bullet points being rattled off in quick succession more than it does a story unfolding organically.

[@carlrood4457]

I have a playlist of songs from movies of the 80's. Every time "The Touch" plays, I say, "Arise, Rodimus Prime" and "This is the end of the road Galvatron" It's a really cool intro/origin that the series bungled.

[@Vesperitis]

Wait Johnny Five nearly died, recovered, then got a gold color scheme. IS JOHNNY FIVE A SUPER SAIYAN?! BTW that intro is fantastic.

[@GatorRay]

Nah I think it might be a reference to Bumblebee becoming Goldbug in The Return of Optimus Prime (He was nearly killed but ended getting rebuilt into Goldbug during the multi parter for those who don't know)

[@clarktooncrossing3975]

Okay, I am super loving the new music like the new ‘Linkara’s Going Nuts’ score and that badass Transformers-style theme. That entire opening is just glorious! Also, happy to see you putting out content so regularly lately, especially given how much the schedule’s been stressing you out. As for the comic, yeah, the hatred aimed towards Hot Rod is really annoying. I don’t love the character, but much like Scrappy-Doo, I must wonder why writers lack the creativity to fix characters they hate instead of just crapping on them.

[@juliagoodwin9510]

I don't hate Scrappy either and think that he deserves a chance... problem is that most people don't care...

[@mitchfletcher2386]

@@juliagoodwin9510 Scrappy fan right here!

[@Pikachu2Ash]

"I must wonder why writers lack the creativity to fix characters they hate instead of just crapping on them." Oh I don't know.... maybe because they HATE HIM, think about it.... you expect more creativity out of something the writers didn't want to do to begin with and you come in with your smart alek response of "just use your creativity to fix things". Ever heard of creative burnout? or you know, the idea of "PEOPLE DON"T WANNA WORK ON THINGS THEY DON'T LIKE" It doesn't matter if you love Scrappy or not, the writers were forced against their will to do it to begin with just to please corporate executives who think "popular thing is popular", in fairness they should be able to do whatever they want given the circumstance and honestly more power to them, Scrappy at best was okay and tolerable at times and at worse he was a big fat annoying waste of space who got Shaggy and Scooby into more trouble then needed. (just like most of the other annoying awful and pointless cast of Hanna Barbara characters. At least Scooby-Doo branched out eventually, but I better leave soon before more of unpopular opinion juice seeps out ;) I'm glad he got the treatment he did in the live-action movie because it was so fitting anyways. (the annoying character with the awful movie). Scappy sucks and I totally agree with the writers making him suffer, that is the hill I'm dying on. (PUPPY POWER!!!! lIke god shut up you stupid mutt!!!) Now here comes the angry mob to torch me in my sleep. (better late than never I guess, gets giant bottle of wisky and toasts the glass while laughing with the cigar in his mouth).

[@clarktooncrossing3975]

@@juliagoodwin9510 No, the problem is he was portrayed as a villain in that crappy live-action movie after Cartoon Network portrayed him as a pest in their marketing and ever since then nobody's wanted to use the character. Which is weird, I remember watching the Scoob movies starring Scrappy when I was younger and never thought he was annoying. Heck, a relative of Scooby who actively wants to go after the monsters? That to me sounds like an interesting dynamic. Shame nobody else in charge of the franchise seems to think so.

[@clarktooncrossing3975]

And to that one commenter that made a very long essay saying why Scrappy 'clearly deserved' what he got in the live action movies: Look, even if YOU don't like the character, chances are somebody else does. I absolutely despise the Teen Tians from TTG! but not enough to wish horrible things to happen to them. Heck, I honestly wish they'd be given the chance to live up to the legacy left behind by their predecessors. And if you are gonna do something awful to them like kill them off, let it at least be a heroic sacrifice or somethin'. I just don't like hating stuff.

[@notsosmartguy6254]

I HATE when writers put their hate and bias towards certain characters in comics. I won't name any examples but it's a big thing in alot of recent comics it's so frustrating. If you don't like the the characters don't put them in the story.

[@TevyaSmolka]

same here

[@WraithTDK]

THANK YOU! I really, really miss screaming "technical difficulties" Linkara. Also, that animated intro was INSANELY kick-ass.

[@SwiftGundam]

Just the intro alone earns this video the top spot in Atop the Fourth Wall videos. 14:39. Oh, the face Linkara makes at Starscream's insult to Soundwave. Priceless.

[@felipevega830]

That transformers themed, theme song was fantastic along with this episode, a great time

[@lakelandbuzz2252]

If you're not a fan of Hot Rod, then let me suggest the More Then Meets The Eye comics by James Roberts. That series is a godsend for both obscure characters and Hot Rod.

[@mwc1707]

"Challenge for the crown." Man I just had the thought of Decepticon Game of Thrones. "You know nothing Jet Snow."

[@ShadowKnux372]

Honestly, with how these sort of stories tend to be, with last week's comic being "something goes wrong but things work out alright at the end," I kinda expected this to be a switch on that and that Optimus not dying would have lead to things going completely off the rails and leading to full near bad-end style disaster. It's rather surprising it ended up being kinda by the numbers, especially given when it came out.

[@Jetblast01]

You'd think it would've gone how Gurren Lagan would've if Kamina survived. The creator stated if he did live, the Dai-Gurren team wouldn't have been able to win again Lord Genome. And nothing would've changed.

[@MMTrigger]

What weirdest of all for me is that I can understand the anger at Hot Rod, but why the rest of the Season 3 cast? It's actually surprising that Kup survived.

[@GatorRay]

I would've honestly had Shockwave also get an upgrade. As for the name. I would call him Shockblast (For those who don't know. That's the name his Unicron Trilogy counterpart went by because Hasbro didn't have the trademark for his Original name at the time)

[@michaelnally2841]

I mean I understand wanting like the characters from season 1-2 more cause even the ones who survived like Bumblebee and Jazz I don’t think they got featured much. But for record I only watched season. 3 once and it was years ago.

[@Rabbitlord108]

@@michaelnally2841 That's an understandable criticism.

[@notsosmartguy6254]

Man these animated intros you have are God tier.

[@TevyaSmolka]

Indeed

[@monstercombo007]

That 3D Intro was super sick!

[@Nameless-ln5mr]

18:55 Fun fact: The Universal Greeting has different meanings depending on what member of the writing staff you ask. My favorite version is, “Do you hate Dirtwad Decepticons as much as we do?”

[@nine_tails137]

All Talk... No Shock! Best Line ever! Soundwave FTW!

[@JetSamurai7X]

can i just say CLAP CLAP CLAP to whomever made that intro THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!

[@YMasterS]

That intro was out of this world. This comic did really feel more like a fanboy trying to "correct" how they thought the movie should have gone.

[@Savagewolver]

Love the transformers intro. Hopes that’s going to be a recurring thing from now on.

[@serPomiz]

I love how "in the far future of 2000-something" has become a thrope for cassette futurism this comic focusess up a problem with one-shot what if: you need to know much more than the story presented; the whole thing with hot rod in the pre-film commercial, is that everyone shit on hot rod for being himself (and have magnus focussing on HIM being the leader should optimus not be able to or away, and being annoyed for the existance of rodimus), but this is barelly touched on anywhere else but here, and everyone just know the "killed optimus" stuff

[@BaronSengir1008]

"Who is a man?" Well, let's see how they punch!

[@Dr_Geek]

The "As such we surrender" line took me by suprise. The most giggle I ever gotten from your content :)

[@wstine79]

Three AT4W videos in one week? This is indeed a dark universe.

[@faishiro5009]

about to say this; I hope Linkara is ok.

[@TheCaptainKuhn]

Since this is on Transformers it would be the Shattered Glass universe

[@Silentking5995]

He is probably compensating for his schedule slipping so much

[@Pikachu2Ash]

Or you know just a schedule trying to fix itself.

[@Pikachu2Ash]

@@faishiro5009 He okay chill. 👍

[@florenceb1031]

As someone loves both Transformers and What If stories, I remember being really excited when I first heard about this comic and only didn't buy it because I didn't see it available at Barnes & Noble and didn't think to try a comic book store. Now that I know what happens, I'm glad I missed out on this one. It would have, at best, left me unsatisfied and, at worst, been rage inducing for killing off several of my favorite characters (or preventing the existence of in the case of Cyclonus) for an unsatisfying story.

[@alex_-yz9to]

6:28 "hot rod's dissatisfaction" of COURSE, he was dissatisfied that he was in the terrible famicom game where they need to find out details about optimus' death and purpousely left him to die... it makes so much sense!

[@TevyaSmolka]

Wow 3 atop the fourth wall episodes this week it’s a Christmas miracle.

[@Pikachu2Ash]

Say it with me kids "HE'S BEHIND SCHEDULE"

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@Pikachu2Ash lol indeed

[@Gojiragon]

HOLY HELL THAT OPENING WAS KICKASS!

[@link8909]

Okay first, that Transformers style intro is AMAZING! So this comic both baffles me and concerns me; baffling because it was written 30 years after Transformers The Movie, there have been multiple versions of Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime, Optimus Prime and his deaths and resurrections, and even in this continuity he was brought back, as you said at the end this is something that people would have accepted by now, so for me seeing this type of story where it was either written by or written for people that were still un-ironically angry over Optimus Primes death and blamed/hated Hot Rod 30 years later, its just… no, just no okay. But that leads me into why this concerns me; because this mentality is not isolated, it’s a common thing in many fandoms to the point of predictability, and has only gotten more notoriety over the years, so I’m worried that if we’re not carful that in another 30 years time we’ll see more of this type of angry, bitter storytelling in other franchises, stories not written for a love of a work, but by or for the angry people who never learnt to accept and move on.

[@Rabbitlord108]

Heck. Transformers Animated had Ultra Magnus as leader of the Autobots (Before Sentinel Prime took over later on. But still)

[@crazeejaycee1617]

that opening crawl was really cool.

[@RaphBlade7]

I wonder what Poyo thinks about Linkara's Short Curcuit 2 trauma or if he feels the same way about it seeing as Johnny 5 is a fellow robot. I also dig the Transformers themed intro! Wonder if Linkara will continue to use it for future Transformers reviews.

[@Hawkatana]

Barely over a minute in & Linkara is already having a mental breakdown. This is gonna be good.

[@angryspork610]

That CG opener alone was worthy of a Like. But now my brain can't stop trying to parody the TF theme song's lyrics for AT4W. "LINKARAAAAA! Wears a purty hat! LINKARAAAAA! Surprised by sudden cat! Linkara wages his battle to burn down the evil forces of, crappy comic books! LINKARAAAA!" I'll see myself out.

[@foxfireinferno197]

That was actually pretty effing good, dude. :)

[@angryspork610]

@@foxfireinferno197 Thanks.

[@thomashollingshead015]

Dude, that intro was f’in awesome!

[@Bobsheaux]

"...Because this is a STORY with CHARACTERS they ENJOY." So of course it only makes sense that Steven Spielberg would want to hire a director with absolutely NO LOVE for the Transformers to helm the movie franchise. ...Mr. Spielberg, I love you, but what the f***? Dude, you're 3D-printing Johnny 5 toys?? I want one! 😃 (And yes, Johnny 5 getting mangled was horrible. Where WAS Los Locos? Them showing up to save the day would've been awesome.) 3:12 - And now we have a Lion/Vince DiCola cover of the AT4W theme... Too, too awesome, sir. Ooh! Is Comicron-1 gonna transform?? "Jettison some weight, or we'll never make it to Cybertron!" Despite the lack of gravity, weight IS an issue in space. The heavier something is, the more INERT something is, and the more wanting it is of energy to propel itself. (Both would be equally weightless, but you're still going to have more trouble pushing a cruise ship in space than you are a baseball.) A worn-out, energy-deprived Astrotrain demanding less weight to carry with his limited energy reserves makes total sense. _"...Or do you spend all of your free time interfering in battles above your pay grade?"_ ...But... that didn't happen. At all. Hot Rod was GOING to interfere with Optimus' fight with Megatron... but he DIDN'T. And Ultra Magnus had nothing to do with that interfering not happening, that was Kup. I get where the writer might have a chip on his shoulder because how the movie went down, but wtf is THIS? Or is Ultra Magnus cheesed at Hot Rod for shooting at the approaching Autobot shuttle and we no longer have Lookout Mountain as a result? "All you know about him so far is that he's really big and voiced by Orson Welles." What, that's not ENOUGH?? Ha. Megascream looks like that giant Starscream figure from the Transformers: Cybertron toyline. Nice touch, comic.

[@Rabbitlord108]

That last comment is especially funny since in Transformers Cybertron (At least in the English dub) Galvatron says "I still function" in his battle with Optimus.

[@TALLPANZER]

I can totally hear Starscream say: "I was going to eat that moon!"

[@lordzeppelin3824]

Me: Holy cow! Not one, not two, but THREE uploads within the span of a week! It's a Christmas miracle! "It's September!" Me: Semantics!

[@Pikachu2Ash]

No not at all. That's not what Semantics means at all... "The study or science of meaning in language. The competence of a speaker with regard to the interpretation of the meaning of linguistic structures. The study of relationships between signs and symbols and what they represent"

[@zexalbrony4799]

Three reviews in just one week!? This is completely unprecedented. Are you okay Linkara? You're not forgoing sleep or drinking way too much coffee to be able to get these out so fast?

[@Pikachu2Ash]

Dude he trying to play catch up, he's been way off scheduals for weeks now. Just be happy you got the video and stop being dramatic.

[@zexalbrony4799]

@@Pikachu2Ash I get that, but considering how unusual it is a lot of us wanted to make jokes about it in the comments. Also, I am legitimately concerned that Linkara may be pushing himself too hard to be able to get three decently long videos out in such a short time. And the last thing I want is such a great and entertaining KZbinr I respect to hurt himself by trying to do too much at once.

[@CrazyBuffyFan1]

@@zexalbrony4799 No need to worry. He said on his Twitter he's handling everything really well and I believe him. Besides, Halloween month is coming and that'll be a busy time.

[@zexalbrony4799]

@@CrazyBuffyFan1 Oh that's good. Yeah, I know he loves to do a spooky storyline every October, I just figured if he fell too far behind he'd just skip a storyline this year, which to be fair his character in-universe would probably appreciate since his character has complained how every Halloween for years now they always have to deal with something.

[@foxfireinferno197]

@@Pikachu2Ash Heaven forbid someone should actually be concerned about another human being.

[@thomaspalazzolo5902]

I teach an Ethics of Computer Science course. Whenever we discuss AI and the concept of Personhood, I always do a full discussion of the Short Circuit movies and Johnny 5's personhood. And yes I get emotional dammit.

[@sophisticautistic5453]

That intro was super unexpected and it was great.

[@spartanvenom5388]

So uuh…this comic completely ignores the fact that Cliffjumper and Jazz died in this version;since even if they survived Unicron devouring moon base 1 like in the movie,they never get rescued here. So instead Hot Rod Kills two of my favorite characters if he doesn’t attempt to help Optimus.

[@Rabbitlord108]

Big OOF! Especially since this comic came out after things like Cliffjumper dying in the first episode of Transformers Prime. Also hate the fact that they fridged Arcee (Without giving her a single line of dialog)

[@Cdr2002]

Yeah I’d have to disagree with Rodimus being as ineffectual of a leader as people remember. Yes, he made mistakes. No, he didn’t try to shirk the responsibly as often as everyone claims. People act like that episode where Scourge stole the Matrix and Dark Awakening were his entire tenure as leader but that just isn’t the case. Ultimately, Rodimus was “guilty” of one thing: the terrible crime of not being Optimus Prime.

[@tomhur1]

I remember one of Rodimus's best moments was his confrontation with Galvatron at the end of "The Ultimate Weapon"

[@Cdr2002]

@@tomhur1 damn I can’t remember that one off the top of my head, I’ll have to find it

[@Mecham25]

Hot Rod: Man, I’m just so dissatisfied of the whole war! I just wanna go fishing with my bud, Daniel. Megatron: At last! The moment I was waiting for! (Evil laughter)

[@ShadeNightwolf]

That intro ROCKED!!!!

[@johnrussellpelt9091]

The ghost of Starscream... I remember that. I'm guessing in this reality, we get the ghost Ultra Magnus popping up every so often, complaining that it's the Autobot that -- as far as he's concerned -- was a screw-up and possible traitor who got him killed that everyone remembers and mourns. And you imitate the Transformers voice over narrator excellently

[@wakeangel2001]

As I recall, in the actual movie Ultra Magnus was broken to pieces but the Junkions were able to rebuild him, I was expecting them to go into the debris and fix up Springer, Arcee, and Magnus, maybe use a few spare parts so we get like Mad Max style vesions with spikes or somewhat asymmetrical designs...but nope, just shit on my favorite character, the awesome triple changer guy, and the blue asshole...actually let them fix springer and arcee but Magnus stays dead as a cheeky reversal from the movie.

[@Pikachu2Ash]

1:16 This joke will never get old XD 3:59 Wow :O You controlling a transformer like it's a Megazord is wicked :) 5:19 So does that mean he's teabaging Megatron? 8:48 Oh come on man that was the biggest missed opportunity for the "boooo" soundclip :D

[@ADdude]

The first two minutes of this review explain so much about Pollo existence

[@alexandercross9081]

3:40 there are many things I never expected to see on this show, and The Soldier from Team Fotresss 2 as Linkara was one of them

[@БогданГоранов-п9х]

That intro is fire.

[@3faltigeralexandro]

A better "What if Optimus had not died" story was how it was adapted in Transformers:Prime (an awesome show altogether) - there, it looks like Hot Rod had to take the Matrix from a dying Optimus, but turns it around and manages to overcome his indecisive nature and save Optimus' life (proving that he has the potential to be a great leader, but not ruining the character by thrusting him into that position by killing off his predecessor).

[@LordQuadros]

There may be just a SLIGHT bit of Transformers fan bias here, but I think I just found my all-time favorite AT4W intro. EDIT: Holy crap, you really could just call this “Fuck You, Hot Rod: The Book”

[@Rabbitlord108]

Never thought I'd reference this in 2024. But this reminds me of the part of the SML video Chef Pee Pee's Lottery Ticket where he got Toad, Bowser, & Bowser Junior (Or Junior as they call him in that series) gathering them so he can say "F you" to all of them. But replace Chef Pee Pee with Brandon Easton and the other 3 mentioned with the season 3 cast.

[@twilightman2816]

19:15 Actually, they do recognize the Autobots in the "original" continuality. What comes next is the five part third season opener, "Five Faces of Darkness". The Autobots and Decepticons discover that the Quintessons are their creators, and the ancient Transformers exiled the Quintessons from Cybertron. The Quintessons were putting Kup and Hot Rod on trial for the "theft" of Cybertron.

[@chasformer3091]

TJOmega talked about this comic, and he even made his own version of an alternate take of the film and comic.

[@Rabbitlord108]

When did he talk about it?

[@MaveriKat]

I love the opening. And you're right, this did feel like a bad fanfiction

[@TheEmeraldWeirdo]

First off, it's awesome that you're managing to get videos out faster. Second, I fully agree that this seems like a fan fic. Specifically, a half-baked fix fic. The so-called "deviation" doesn't really go far enough with the concept. It feels more like the writer's line of thinking was "I don't like the movie, so I'll just redo it myself so it's better!" Third: HOLY CARP THAT OPENING. I take it you're going to be using that for any Transformers reviews going forward, like how you have a special opening for Star Trek reviews?

[@Pikachu2Ash]

He's getting videos out faster because he way behind on schedule.

[@tkayube]

The Linkara 3D model in the opening makes me think of a Team Fortress 2 character. I guess when using more gun doesn't work, you use a giant robot.

[@Ashurman666]

That WAS a TF2 character, just with different clothes.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

Now that I know about that awesome new Transformers intro I need to secure the next Patreon slot and get you to cover Transformers Vs Mazinger Z.

[@3MenAndALetsPlay]

Woah Linkara is really cranking the videos out, I have been on a AT4W kick for a few weeks now and this is all solid gold!

[@DrakeyC]

5:33 - I object, in sincerity - it shows Kup coming up on Hot Rod, with the thought bubble "and if you to interfere, I'll stop ya!", so there's our clue as to how things are going differently since that didn't happen in the movie. The REAL problem with that cover is that it shows Megatron wielding the laser sword and Prime holding his hip, which hadn't happened at that point in the fight yet, Hot Rod shouted "I've got to help Prime" as Prime hurled Megatron into a wall, and *then* Megatron chucked a piece of debris at Optimus causing the hip wound, and a couple of seconds laser pulled out the laser sword.

[@TevyaSmolka]

I am also sad that IDW is losing the Transformers license because damn I love there transformers comics especially beast wars comics that came out this year which was really awesome and badass and to see it now gone is just sad and depressing.

[@Alverant]

I'm not a fan of the art style in their Beast Wars. I think the reboot of the series is what did it in for IDW. Maybe if there was a longer break between the end of their first series and this new one, it would have been better.

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@Alverant i can understand that but I maintained the beast wars comic was really good.

[@TupocalypseShakur]

The ending made me mad, because I'll never know what BW Megatron's plans for the future were. Is he going to meddle with the Autobots and Decepticons? Is he going to unintentionally change the course of Earth's history? Is he going to try to go to back to Cybertron? I'll never know

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@TupocalypseShakur i can understand that but I have sneaking suspicion that series never got a chance to have a proper ending.

[@Rabbitlord108]

Watch Disney buy Hasbro. Resulting in Marvel making Transformers comics again (As always. Not trying to jinx it)

[@omegamaximus1727]

That computer graphic intro is awesome.

[@SuperMutant2099]

Funny recently someone found the first draft of the 86 movie. It is insanely different then the movie we got. Its crazy. Also amazing opening.

[@javodey]

"I ACCEPT YOUR TERMS!! I ACCEPT!!!" -Megatron, in pain and dying from Unicorn. Yeah, definitely sounds like begging to me.

[@Paraster]

I never knew I wanted to see TF2's Soldier redesigned into a Linkara 3D model.

[@otakon17]

1:07 I feel ya man, hoo that hit me hard too. EDIT: okay that intro was WAY more than I expected and fun to boot.

[@stonekidman2306]

Oh. My. God. This might be my favorite episode; from the amazing cg transformers opening credit (that had my jaw drop) to the hilarious commentary to the pin perfect Clue clips this was an incredible episode!

[@Alverant]

I agree. The comic was condensed with everyone hating on Hot Rod for something he didn't do. Personally, I blame the limited page count. There were some missed opportunities here. Like Thundercracker decided to negoitate with Unicron and becoming Thunderwing, a pretender from year 5 or 6 of the toyline.

[@mray4784]

Love the opening.

[@OhioFanatic97]

The comic never addressed as that Moonbase One was eaten just like in the film... which means Jazz and Cliffjumper were still on it and were eaten as well. And since nobody seems to have gone in to rescue them... it's highly likely they also died when Hot Rod blew up Unicron. So...I'm willing to bet everyone realizes that and starts hating Hot Rod again shortly afterwards. At least for Jazz anyway, Cliffjumper's staring to become like Optimus with how many times he's died.

[@mikegates8993]

Which is kind of hilarious because they're two of the gen1 characters who actually lived through the movie.

[@Rabbitlord108]

​@@mikegates8993Though axing Cliffjumper makes sense since his VA exited the show after the bit of 1980s casual racism that was Carbombia.

[@MalzraAirwynn]

Holy crap you really went all in on the intro for this one.

[@muigokublack6487]

That Transformers-themed intro was EPIC!! For the record I always imagined you as having an exo-suit like Spike in The Rebirth and being a Headmaster but instead of it being with another bot, it would be like in the Japanese Headmaster cartoon where the larger robot body was merely lifeless robot body you attached to and control. Also yeah, it feels like the writer subconsciously had a hate boner for the Season 3 cast but Hot Rod in particular and I don't think it's deserved. Optimus was MADE to be a leader. Hot Rod was just a turbo reeving young punk who now had to man up and lead and it did lead to alot of backsliding with him wanting to give up leadership and just be plain Hot Rod again and perhaps it's because I'm grew up on Armada as my entry to the franchise but I don't hate Rodimus. I thought he had an interesting arc in Season 3. For what it's worth the creators of the movie said during interviews for the 20th anniversary of the movie, that if they had known the backlash that would transpire from having Optimus die, if they could do it all over again they would have so Prime lived cause it's no secret that it was a bad move on Hasbro's part to use the movie as a means to kill off 90% of the '84-'85 toys to make room for new characters because it was a blow that ultimately doomed the G1 show. Ratings declined and kids stopped buying toys.

[@the-aspiring-creator4249]

14:36 That comment from Starscream is... strange to me. I get that it's Starscream being a dick and making a nod to how Soundwave's alt-mode is woefully outdated today... except it doesn't really work when this is taking place in the distant future... of 2005 and from what we see, the year here is basically just "What if the 80s influenced how we chose to style our outfits and buildings well into the future.". Like I'm certain I'm looking a bit too deep into it and this is just a nitpick but still.

[@zaynoonmoses]

Too late but I'm pretty sure it's the same 2005 other than maybe hotrods alt modes but still our 2005 and the decpeticons didn't care to change their alt modes

[@the-aspiring-creator4249]

@@zaynoonmoses It's the 2005 of the movie's universe which can be summed up as what I just said it was, it's the future but as the 80s envisioned it.

[@aaronmartin6108]

The opening credits were absolutely stunning. It was an enjoyable review, especially getting to hear your Starscream voice.

[@slingovision]

Linkara's Transformers Narrator Voice is pretty great.

[@darknessrising2453]

14:58 This is even funnier when you remember he has a TROPE named after him. The guy's name is literally synonymous with treachery.