We've got Hall of Fame voting going on up there

[Shockwave]

Eh it happens. And actually, the pics on BBTS were the first I saw of it (and Drift). Whenever I tried to follow links before they never seemed to work. Drift looks meh. I'll probably get him if I see him at retail.

[Dominic]

Notice how Soundwave's tapes are now Minicons. That is a stupid retcon.

I would rather have gotten Thundercracker than Acid Storm. But, I am not even close as unhappy with Acid Storm, (not unhappy with it at all actually), as some people are. And, there is enough fan demand for Sunstorm, (and the colors would be sellable), that Hasbro could justifiably put off Thundercracker to make Sunstorm.

Dom
-wonders if the mould is still viable.

[andersonh1]

Notice how Soundwave's tapes are now Minicons. That is a stupid retcon.

Yeah, I found that a little odd as well. I suppose Hasbro is trying to relate the figure to more recent Transformers lines in which smaller interactive robots have almost all been mini-cons. I don't particularly care for that, but I get what they're doing.

But since when is Soundwave emotionless?

[Shockwave]

Wasn't Laserbeak a Minicon in Cybertron? I thought Soundwaves G1 bio said something about him being emotionless.

[Dominic]

"Cybertron" Lazerbeak is listed as a Minicon either on the box or in a character profile, despite the toy not having any MInicon functionality.

Inversely, "Universe" Caliburn (BC04) is cast from a Minicon mould but listed as a Nebulan. 'And, in SG, the term "Minicon" and various "-Masters" are used interchangeably.

Apparently, the term Minicon is so fluid as to be near meaningless.


There are so many iterations of Soundwave, many of those influenced by fanfic and such, that it is tough to come up with any characterization for him. (Part of the reason I did not vote for the character.) I tend to go with a mix of his old box profile and the cartoon. He is an extortionist and a snitch. But, he is also a rationalist and is not going to do anything too stupid in front of, or to, the boss.

The "emotionless" angle does have some precedent. Note his manner on the cartoon. Hook even accuses him of being "an uncharismatic boor". And, given how Soundwave was talking smack a few minutes before, (Soundwave, superior. Constructions, inferior."), Hook might not have been too far off.

Dom
-and he might be a BW mutant as well.

[Onslaught Six]

There are so many iterations of Soundwave, many of those influenced by fanfic and such, that it is tough to come up with any characterization for him. (Part of the reason I did not vote for the character.) I tend to go with a mix of his old box profile and the cartoon. He is an extortionist and a snitch. But, he is also a rationalist and is not going to do anything too stupid in front of, or to, the boss.

The "emotionless" angle does have some precedent. Note his manner on the cartoon. Hook even accuses him of being "an uncharismatic boor". And, given how Soundwave was talking smack a few minutes before, (Soundwave, superior. Constructions, inferior."), Hook might not have been too far off.

Dom
-and he might be a BW mutant as well.

This is true. I think actually saying he's "deleted his emotional programs" is a little too far...unless Hasbro (or a character within fiction) is speaking figuratively. (I can see this happening. Animated Ratchet's line in the beginning of the first episode is probably robot sarcasm.) Plus, Soundwave's AHM portrayl and the way Rumble gets shot is pretty damn emotional. (Or was definitely, er, intended to be. The art kind of ruined it.)

[Dominic]

The AHM filler art was jarring, yes. But, I was still able to read it.

Hasbro might just be retconning Soundwave. This is also the first canonical, (that I can recall), mention of the tapes being symbiotes, rather than just a specialized (though presumably fungible) regiment of troops. I always assumed they could work with any communicator unit, (as evidenced by Flipsides' bio).

So, who wants to go out on a limb and speculate about there being other Soundwave type guys? I always figured there were, even before the E-Hobby Garboyle and Howlback set.

Dom

[Onslaught Six]

Of course there are, Soundwave is just the best and most recognizable. Other Soundwave guys would, within fiction, likely have appearances that resemble other Soundwave appearances that don't match up to one's "ideal" Soundwave.

For example, my ideal portrayl of Soundwave is basically the toy, with the cartoon's head. (In fact, this can describe a lot of my ideal TF depictions. The toys, with a few of the oddball bits straightened out.) So other Soundwave-type guys would be guys who had the toy's head, or purple guys with faces ala the G1/G2 comics sometimes.

[Shockwave]

Or the guy seen running in flashback sequences of Beast Machines. Or, Soundblaster for that matter.

[Onslaught Six]

No, Soundblaster doesn't work, since that's just Soundwave. That's like saying there's multiple Armada Megatron guys running around, and a bunch of them look like Galvatrons.