#tf Orion pax

[compaculaaa]

Ruined

Based of this pic from when they were constructing the stuff for the tf one premier

[kiwiiji]

PLEASE WATCH TRANSFORMERS ONE

these two ruined my life. KILLED ME even .

[bananazlol]

this has to be the true reason

[mellliow]

I LOVE TFONE SO MUCH!!

[seafoamsol]

:)!

[klaudia96art]

My brother or my enemy… tfa version

[mochifiction]

I Saw Transformers One Early Last Week. Let’s Talk About It!!! (SPOILER FREE)

EXPECTATIONS

I’m going to be honest, I had very very low expectations for this movie for a multitude of reasons. The first was the cast, particularly choosing celebrity hires instead of professional voice actors for a franchise where dialogue delivery means SO MUCH historically and the present. I like Chris Hemsworth, I do, but I am so attached to Orion Pax that I did NOT see him as someone fit for the role. I was also afraid of it becoming a WFC situation where the VA tries TOO HARD to be Peter Cullen. I am also a huge fan of Elita One, and Scarlett Johansson was not my first choice by any means. The one thing giving me hope was the fact that Scarlett and Chris interact SO WELL in their films together and in press releases and they do give off that Orion and Elita energy sometimes. Regardless, I was skeptical.

Now for the big thing: I was very nervous how they were going to handle the politics and the buildup that leads to Megatronus and Orion’s separation. It is no secret that Pre-War Cybertron in many continuities begins with a very corrupt and fascist Senate. Corrupted Senators, capitalistic manipulation and unethical abuse, dehumanization, corporal punishment, you name it, Cybertron had it. The concepts of functionalism, shadowplay, mnemosurgery, and empurata also come to mind. It is also no secret that the United States is on the brink of total fascism. A lot of Pre-War Cybertron’s themes, particularly the Decepticon cause in its early days as a movement, emphasized the elimination of the oppressive regime and reconstruction with an end to the very infrastructure that caused class division and brutalization of Cybertronian bodies. Not only this, but Megatronus and Orion’s schism often comes because of class, particularly privilege and lack thereof, which is something that often happens in revolution. Those with more privilege often think that reform can happen underneath the system that looms over them, just with a switching of a guard and elimination of a few policies. They are often ones who partook in and benefitted from the system by birth or for the sake of survival. Those who come from the lower classes want to burn the entire system down, understanding in its entirety that its very infrastructure is unstable and is not sustainable, no matter who is in power. Examples of this divide despite deep friendship and similar ideas is Andres Bonifacio and Jose Rizal of the Philippines (as a Filipino). Orion, in most cases coming from a privileged background, saw hope in simple reform after extracting the corrupt portions of the federal structure. Megatronus, who fought his whole life to be deemed as sentient, understood that the entire system was diseased and could not go on. It would just eventually continue its horrid practices. I can go on a tangent about this, as someone who studies and writes on anti-colonialism, but that’s another post for another day. My concern based on the trailers was that it would address NONE of that and there would be some watered down conflict that removed the nuances and political passion behind a lot of other continuities. The trailers, to me, were not giving me enough proof that it would be handled correctly.

Initial Experience

My theater was filled with mostly adults of various ages who were fans of different continuities. Some people were even talking about how they thought the movie was going to suck, including me with my dad, who has been a fan since G1 in the 80s and was going in blind. However, throughout the entire film, the whole theater was laughing, gasping, cheering, clapping, and screaming. Afterwards, there were people who were literally talking about how it was the movie they’d been waiting for after years of disappointment. Someone literally shouted when leaving the theater that he was so excited for September when everyone else could see it. My dad, who has not been a fan of recent Transformers material, talked nonstop about how much he loved it. Me personally, I was BRIMMING with excitement afterwards, which is huge given that I was ready to criticize the movie’s every move. Let me get into why- note this is SPOILER FREE.

Orion Pax

Believe it or not, I really liked TF1’s Orion. He was witty, had the snark of Aligned Orion, and clearly had a goal in mind: to entirely shift the status quo by breaking the class distinction. He was extremely optimistic like most versions, something that is often criticized in the fanbase, and is also criticized in the film. However, the qualities that G1 created and the Bayverse destroyed were THERE. Orion was a DORK. He was KIND. He CARED for people deeply, even if they weren’t necessarily thinking about him. He was a KNOWN PROBLEM-SOLVER. His intelligence is noted MULTIPLE times. He really is authentically Orion. I’ll do a more in-depth analysis in September.

Megatronus/ D-16

Now, THIS MAN WAS AMAZING. I am so used to the source of his anger being solely lower class-based oppression amongst other things relating to that. The film offered another option, which I will not disclose, but I thought it was a wonderful addition. I will keep my mouth shut about D-16’s personality in this film because it’s a secret, but just know this new take on Megatronus was a bit refreshing and gives new material for both fan continuity writers and fanfic writers.

Elita

I was honestly scared to see how they would portray Elita, especially with their track record of solely making her Optimus’s love interest and killing her off. I also was afraid that they would turn her into a white feminism caricature, which I can go into depth about for clarification if anyone needs it. However, the writers take feminism for Elita and take a much more in-depth route. I found her well done. She was giving mother in this film, absolutely brilliant. There will be an analysis on her as well in September, especially since they have so much intended room for her.

Worldbuilding and Additional Characters

I think that with about an hour and a half, it would have been SO HARD to create an entire world of deep political brutality and nuance like the comics directly. So, I think the writers created a framework that was good enough to convey the fascist undertones of Cybertron while also leaving so many avenues to explore and elaborate on for future films, whether they be prequels or sequels. Some characters were added in with a bit of context, but no in-depth explanations. While I would normally say that’s a downside, I think that it was actually really smart on their part. If you tried to add all of these complex stories from the comics in an hour and a half film combined with everything else, it would have likely been underdeveloped and left more questions and holes than answers. By removing that, I think that it was a smart move to expand on in their own time and with good pacing. Besides, the presence of some characters was very enjoyable and kept the audience I was with wanting more from them. Not in a “there wasn’t enough of them” way at all, but instead a “they were so cool in the short time they were here I need more now” way. Everyone in this continuity gets a new and different start. I honestly think it would give fan continuity writers motivation to continue what they’re doing, now that basic and consistent pre-war plot lines have been redone. I think for how long the movie is, they did a great job.

Additional Thoughts

I think that everything was pretty well done. The pacing was especially important, given we were supposed to witness a buildup in such a devastating “divorce”. That isn’t done lightly, and they made sure that they built it up enough to where the final blow was devastating. It was SO DEVASTATING that people in my theater were gasping left and right. The comedy was well done, as someone who hates poorly-written jokes for laughs. It fit into the characters’ personalities well, that’s what made it work well. It didn’t feel forced because that’s just how that particular character is. I also think that, as a fandom, sometimes we get too wrapped up in very specific characterizations of these individuals to the point where we refuse new ideas. I was extremely guilty of this. However, this film was truly made by someone that loved the franchise and knew exactly what the fans wanted. Brian Tyler, who did the score for TFP, also doing the score for this film was proof of that (as someone who absolutely ADORES film scores as a musician) There was a good amount of brutality within the rating of the film, so bayverse fans who are itching for something shockingly horrible are in for a surprise. I also think that it knew its boundaries well and moved not to push them while also being considerate of certain audiences who may be a bit younger. It was a good restart, especially for animated Transformers films, and I think that they can really build it into something great. This was a very sound foundation and I was not disappointed.

ALSO, THERE IS A MID AND POST-CREDIT SCENE SO DON’T LEAVE IMMEDIATELY

[beemochi-art]

PAX AND ARIEL! Simpler times, Happier times. Back when everything thing made sense and nothing mattered but each other.

Orion comes from a higher background. Thanks to alpha trion, Orion was able to become an archivist and get proper medical treatment for his condition, he loves learning all he can about everything but history is what he likes most.

While training for his position as an archivist apprentice. He noticed a cleaner in the halls. She was out of place for the job she was taking on. A pretty femma hauling big ass loads of trash out of the building and then coming back for more, getting her beautiful plating dirty and not giving a shit about it. She was super strong too. He was enamored. Orion was also curious how she has such a difficult and dirty job when she could easily be doing something else, She was beautiful. Plenty of companies were looking for secretaries. When she had a break He gained the confidence to talk to her.

On Ariel’s side he walked up and she was instantly attracted. They got to talking and she simply answered Orion’s question with “I have my reasons.” She brushed over the subject and asked him out on a date. Orion was dumbfounded but ultimately ecstatic.

Things moved pretty fast. (They Rizzed each other) They were both incredibly comfortable in each other’s presence and pretty much spent most of their free time hanging out, cuddling, flirting, doing things in places they shouldn’t. Orion tried to hide his condition from her the best he could in the beginning but ultimately just caused more harm to himself. He thought she would leave if she found out because it’s a rare condition but a debilitating one. They exact opposite happened Ariel would educate herself about his condition to try and help him best she could, caring around extra inhalers and doing venting exercises. Orion’s condition would never go away but her being there and making sure he was taking care of himself made him need his inhaler less than he usual did.

Ariel is a lower class mecha. Most of her past and information is either unknown or she’s unwilling to share. Orion never pushed her. She’s a bit of a troublemaker and seems to go wherever she wants too (rule breaking is new to Orion). Ariel’s job is shitty, the mechs she works with are bottom of the barrel scum and don’t like Orion. But she refuses to quit for whatever reasons. But it has short hours so she has more time to hang around Orion. She sometimes is self deprecating and tells Orion he could do better, and that she would only cause problems for him. He doesn’t care tho and would do anything to convince her he’s not going anywhere.

After dating for like a year or two, they agreed when Ariel had all her ducks in a row, they would conjunx. Orion wouldn’t mind conjunxing her that day but it was her decision.

That however that didn’t work out.

[chamm0y]

hrnn we all know what happened next :-) 

[gritpyre]

>sets out to draw optimus prime >ends up with orion pax instead

[wait-a-kilk]

Orion got that W rizz

[compaculaaa]

Looking at the world

[bananazlol]

i wonder who his favorite transformer is…

[mellliow]

WIP

[obbystars]

Megatronus: I’m telling you this right now. If you die, then I die, alright?

Orion Pax: ?????

Megatronus: So you can’t fucking die cause if you die I- *tearing up* I’m gonna-

Megatronus and Orion: *sobbing*

[ck-17088]

Similarities between Transformers One and the Aligned Continuity (aka Transformers: Prime) 

Watching the trailers and reading the interviews made me realize that there are many similarities between TF One and the Aligned Continuity. As a reminder (or for those who don't know)- the Aligned Continuity consisted of the War for Cybertron games, Transformers: Prime, Robots in Disguise, Rescue Bots, etc.

Transformers: Prime got me into the fandom, so it's interesting to see a multi-million-dollar movie use elements from the continuity it is a part of.

Here is a list of similarities I have found so far. 

Note: I'll also be mentioning IDW1 briefly since the Aligned continuity and IDW1 comics have similar concepts and have constantly exchanged ideas with each other.

Megatron's name: D-16

In TF One, D-16 will become Megatron. D-16 is a name directly taken from the Aligned Continuity and has been solely associated with it until now. Even though Prime Megatron and IDW1 Megatron have very similar backstories—both being miners and then revolutionaries—only Aligned Megatron was also known as D-16.

Caste system/Social Inequality (hinted)

In both the Aligned and IDW1 continuities, pre-war Cybertronian society had a rigid caste system where one's role in society, thus their life, was determined by their alternate mode (Functionism in IDW1). In Aligned, Orion Pax's desire to learn more about this system, specifically the corruption and inequality it created, leads him to find Megatron (as described in Exodus and TF: Prime). The two become friends who desire change for their society. The interviews with Josh Cooley (the director) hint that something similar exists on Cybertron and is the main cause of their fallout.

 

The thing that starts the wedge between him [D-16] and Orion Pax is that the world is not what they thought it was, and they then start to form two different views on how to solve the problem.

 (Entertainment, Comic-Con 2024 Issue) 

In addition, someone on Twitter -who saw an early screening-said that the movie was "very in-line with IDW's ideas for how the war started," so it's safe to say it draws heavily from Aligned/IDW.  

Extra note: Another interview with Cooley revealed that in an early version of the film, Megatron was supposed to be a gladiator. He and Orion Pax were also supposed to have "very different backgrounds" - which sounds very similar to the data clerk and gladiator origins of the Aligned continuity.  

 Unfortunately, the limited runtime meant Cooley had to limit how much of the characters' origins to show on screen, including changing part of Megatron's accepted story. "If we had all the time in the world, it would've been fun to show Megatron as a gladiator and have the two characters come from very different backgrounds," Cooley added. "We actually had a gladiator scene that alluded to this origin that was cut out." Instead, Orion and D-16 are reimagined as bunkmates working as miners to bring Energon back to the planet after a years-long drought.

(IndieWire)

Cooley also mentioned being given a "bible" of the franchise's entire lore, which reminds me of the Binder of Revelation Hasbro made, or the source material for the Aligned Continuity...

The 13 Primes 

The 13 Primes will appear in the movie (you can spot them in both trailers). The idea of the 13 Primes isn't new, but this particular group version is heavily inspired by the Aligned Continuity. In Aligned, Alpha Trion is canonically one of the 13 Primes (aka the Covenant Primes, who also include Prima, Solus, and Megatronus). He wasn't considered a Prime in other stories before TF: Prime. The Covenant Primes also appear in Cyberverse and Earthspark, and TF One continues the trend. 

Below (in order):

Onyx Prime design from the Covenant of Primus

A mysterious statue (being?) from the trailer that looks very much like the Aligned Onyx Prime

Mysterious beings (Primes?) behind Optimus

Airachnid

 The design for Airachnid in TF One is very similar to the design in TF: Prime. Both have the "arms" on their backs and similar head shapes.

Vehicons 

Some Cybertronians look like the Vehicons. Looks like we're getting multiple Steves…. 

Extra: Brian Tyler 

Not directly related to the story, but the composer for Transformers: Prime (aka the genius who made the ionic Prime theme) is back and composing the music for the movie. If I hear the Prime theme in the movie theater, I might start screaming. 😂

I think it's so cool to see how much influence one continuity can have on the franchise, so much so that its elements are used in a movie that'll soon be seen by millions of people and future generations.