TF Views

He's getting put into IDW's RID soon, so hey!

WHAT?!?!?!?! Where?! Show me!!

Dominic wrote:Wheeljack was the first TF to transform on screen. He is visually iconic. And, he did stuff in both the old comics and cartoons and in newer comics.

Just because he was kind of important in the first couple seasons of a cartoon a bunch of kids watched in the 80’s doesn’t make him ‘Hall of Fame’ Material.

Skybite? Well, he was in a cartoon that barely made a ripple in the chamber pot.

Bullshit. RiD’s success was part of the reason Hasbro even went the direction they did with the next three years of Transformers. And Sky-Byte’s presence in the show is indicative of its overall style and direction. He was a recognizable and iconic character from that series itself, who even rose above it to be well-known in Transformers in general, hence his appearance in stuff like the BotCon set, and the upcoming issue of IDW’s RID.

It's...you keep trying to say that RiD didn't affect anything, or didn't matter, but that series was the catalyst for going back to fully-vehicular TFs after so long (and they haven't stopped since), and we're still seeing homages and references to it this far down the line (the continuing use of the Black Convoy color sheme, TFCC Side Burn, Titanium RiD Prime).

There is a huge difference between "Hall of Fame" and "insular fan favourite".

I hardly see how. Unless there’s a large percentage of non-Transformers-fans voting on the Hall of Fame.

Mako Crab wrote:

He's getting put into IDW's RID soon, so hey!

WHAT?!?!?!?! Where?! Show me!!

In the latest issue of RID, the little preview-thing at the end says that Sky-Byte will be arriving to Cybertron in the next issue.

BWprowl wrote:

Skybite? Well, he was in a cartoon that barely made a ripple in the chamber pot.

Bullshit. RiD’s success was part of the reason Hasbro even went the direction they did with the next three years of Transformers. And Sky-Byte’s presence in the show is indicative of its overall style and direction. He was a recognizable and iconic character from that series itself, who even rose above it to be well-known in Transformers in general, hence his appearance in stuff like the BotCon set, and the upcoming issue of IDW’s RID.

It's...you keep trying to say that RiD didn't affect anything, or didn't matter, but that series was the catalyst for going back to fully-vehicular TFs after so long (and they haven't stopped since), and we're still seeing homages and references to it this far down the line (the continuing use of the Black Convoy color sheme, TFCC Side Burn, Titanium RiD Prime).

Well said.

Mako Crab wrote:

He's getting put into IDW's RID soon, so hey!

WHAT?!?!?!?! Where?! Show me!!

In the latest issue of RID, the little preview-thing at the end says that Sky-Byte will be arriving to Cybertron in the next issue.[/quote]
Very interesting. I'll be interested to see how he looks in a G1-esque body.

Mako Crab wrote:Very interesting. I'll be interested to see how he looks in a G1-esque body.

My money would be on something similar to the BotCon toy.

Like I said over in the dedicated RID comic thread, I'm not sure how I feel about it, honestly. I really like RID so far, but introducing Sky-Byte in just seems like an...odd move. It really seems like he'd fit in better with the MTMTE crowd.

I will be disappointed if they try to make the "silly guy" all serious and badass, like with every comic character that was reimagined for the BW Sourcebook.

*EDIT*

EEE!! I just saw SkyByte!! He's in his original RID body!! Makes me happy, cuz I didn't like the Botcon repaint they did. EEEE!! And he's talking about his poetry!! I think I'm plenty happy now.

*EDIT EDIT*

And he's holding Scourge's head!! Or maybe it's a Sweep. But damn! They got the poet and the badass all rolled into one, and that's how I like my SkyByte. Like before the Decepticons showed up in RID, he was a bit of a badass. Now if they can only retain a bit of his charm and humor. . .

RiD changed the direction of the toyline. That is true. But, Skybite was not part of that. In fact, he was very much counter to the changes in the toyline that RiD made. In terms of story, RiD was wholly forgettable.

I hardly see how. Unless there’s a large percentage of non-Transformers-fans voting on the Hall of Fame.

There is a different between "fan favourie" and "important"

There are plenty of obscure characters that I like for various reasons, such as Windcharger. But, I would never say that Windcharger should be up for what is not being called a "Hartman Award".

The problem is that the fandom cannot separate what they happen to like from what is actually important in the franchise. (And, no, the franchise is not, nor should it be, all about the fandom.)

As for Skybite in Barber's "Robots in Disguise" comic, we will hae to wait and see. But, I get the feeling that I am going to be really sorry that I sold off my RiD Skybite figure not too long ago.


Dom
-dang, might have to refind that figure.

Dominic wrote:RiD changed the direction of the toyline. That is true. But, Skybite was not part of that. In fact, he was very much counter to the changes in the toyline that RiD made. In terms of story, RiD was wholly forgettable.

I will agree that the *story* of RID was pretty cookie cutter. Pretty forgettable. But the *characters* of RID are memorable. The fact that SkyByte is more memorable than the stories he's in is testament to that.

The problem is that the fandom cannot separate what they happen to like from what is actually important in the franchise. (And, no, the franchise is not, nor should it be, all about the fandom.)

I'd argue that Hasbro already inducts those real live people and iconic characters that they deem important to the brand, and leave the fun votes to the fandom. In that regard, the fan voting is purely for fun and should thus not be taken too seriously.

Erector will rise again in 2013!!

The plot in RID is cookie-cutter because that's how you service the parody. For example, one could easily call the plot of Spaceballs cookie-cutter, but it's that way specifically so that they can parody elements of the Star Wars series (and other sci-fi movies too). RID is very clearly a loving parody of Masterforce, Victory and other such mecha-influenced TF shows. Some of that kinda gets lost in the dub, I'm sure, but it's clearly there from the animation and the way everything is laid out. RID (or at least Car Robots) is the Carranger of Transformers. (Carranger was the series that became Power Rangers Turbo, which was known for being 'very' different from its source material.)

Dominic wrote:The problem is that the fandom cannot separate what they happen to like from what is actually important in the franchise. (And, no, the franchise is not, nor should it be, all about the fandom.)

Yeah, see, this is what I was doing by voting FOR Skybyte. Because a vote for Skybyte wasn't really a vote for "Skybyte" the character but a vote for "RID". And I think RID was an important part of the franchise and is worthy of being recognized over yet another Ark Crew Member from G1.

Wikipedia wrote:A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field. The meaning of "Fame" has changed over the years, originally meaning "renown" as opposed to today's more common meaning of "celebrity".[1]

"Noteworthy achievement," is the key phrase here. Sky-Byte has, if nothing else, the noteworthy achievement of being a really likeably and memorable character in what some think was a forgettable series.