‘Transformers’ G1 References In The Bayverse Movies
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Transformers as a series debuted in 1984, with the simultaneous introduction of the toy line, the original cartoon series, The Transformers, which ran for approximately three seasons from 1984-1987, and the animated film, The Transformers The Movie (1986), all of which are now collectively referred to as “Generation One” (or G1). The Michael Bay live-action Transformers franchise (aka the “Bayverse”), which debuted in 2007, although financially successful, has been roundly criticized by fans of the larger Transformers franchise for various reasons, mostly crude jokes, too much focus on human characters, and overall incoherent storytelling.
While this article is not meant as a defense of the Bayverse movies, there are still lots of G1 references and gems to be found in the movie that should please fans of the original The Transformers series enough to check the films out, even if they are not the best movies ever made. Below are the top G1 references to be found in the Bayverse live-action Transformers movies.
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Spike And Bumblebee’s Friendship
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In Transformers G1, the first human characters/allies introduced in the series were Spike Witwicky and his father, Sparkplug Witwicky. Spike quickly developed a close relationship with the Autobots, in particular Bumblebee, and they shared many adventures together throughout the series. In the Bayverse movies, the main human character and chief ally to the Autobots for the first three Bayverse films was Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LeBeouf, who likewise developed a close personal relationship with the Autobots, particularly Bumblebee.
Peter Cullen As Optimus Prime
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Peter Cullen is an immensely talented voice actor with numerous voiceover credits to his name, especially in many 1980s cartoons, including The Transformers, Voltron, Dungeons & Dragons, among many others. Most Transformers fans seem to agree that one of the best decisions made by Michael Bay for the live-action movies was to recruit Peter Cullen to reprise his role as the valiant Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. Whatever else one might find fault with in the Bayverse movies, getting Cullen back into the role of Optimus Prime (almost) makes the films worth at least the price of admission alone for most hardcore Transformers G1 fans.
Cullen has also gone on to reprise his role as Optimus Prime in several newer animated incarnations of the Transformers since then, starting with Transformers Prime. Prime’s character’s robot mode for the Bayverse movies also closely resembles his animated counterpart the most of any of the other Transformers featured in the live-action films, most of whom underwent massive changes to their appearance. Cullen (as Prime) also got to recite a slightly modified version of his most iconic line directed towards Megatron in the introductory 2007 live-action film that was originally featured in the 1986 animated Transformers movie during his fateful final battle with Megatron: “One shall stand, one shall fall!”
The Autobot Matrix Of Leadership
The Autobot Matrix of Leadership was introduced in The Transformers: The Movie as being the source of the Autobots’ wisdom, as well as a symbol of authority to lead the Autobots. The Autobot Matrix of Leadership was passed down to another Autobot, Ultra Magnus, from Optimus Prime when Prime was fatally wounded during his one-on-one battle with Megatron in the film. The Matrix continued to be a major part of Transformers lore for the remainder of the G1 series. The Autobot Matrix of Leadership was re-introduced in 2009’s Revenge of the Fallen. The Autobot icon is discovered by the human hero, Sam, and used to revive a fallen Optimus Prime during the climax of the film. It is featured once more in 2011’s Dark of the Moon, which featured Optimus Prime handing over the Matrix to Sentinel Prime due to Prime’s belief that Sentinel should resume his previous role as leader of the Autobots.
Devastator
In the G1 Transformers animated series, fans were introduced to Transformers which could not only transform from robots to other forms but also merge together and become larger, more powerful robots. The first of these “combiners” introduced in the series were the Constructicons, Decepticons disguised as common construction vehicles that were also able to combine to form Devastator, who often wreaked havoc against the Autobots. 2009’s live-action Transformers film, Revenge of the Fallen, re-introduced Devastator fighting against the Autobots and their human allies, although the live-action character design ended up being somewhat of a bad joke to many moviegoers.
“The Ultimate Doom” & “Megatron’s Master Plan Parts 1 & 2” G1 Storylines
The original Transformers animated series featured two different multi-part stories, “The Ultimate Doom” and “Megatron’s Master Plan 1 & 2”, that seem to have been loosely adapted into the third live-action Transformers film, 2011’s Dark of the Moon. In “The Ultimate Doom”, Megatron and the Decepticons hatch a plan to transport the Transformers’ home planet of Cybertron into Earth’s orbit and harness the energy generated by the ensuing natural disasters on Earth. They also turned several humans into Decepticon slaves with the help of a mad human scientist. In Dark of the Moon, Autobot turncoat Sentinel Prime allied himself with Megatron and the Decepticons to attempt to bring Cybertron to Earth, which was ultimately thwarted by the interference of the Autobots and their human allies.
In “Megatron’s Master Plan Parts 1 & 2”, Megatron schemed with an unscrupulous politician to frame the Autobots for Decepticon wrongdoing, which the public quickly accepted, resulting in the Autobots being found guilty and sent into exile into deep space. Megatron used this opportunity to alter the Autobot ship’s trajectory straight into the Sun, initially appearing to vaporize them all. Fortunately, the Autobots managed to escape a fiery death and returned to Earth to thwart the Decepticons’ efforts to enslave Earth.
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In Dark of the Moon, the protagonists discover that Sam’s boss, Dylan, had secretly allied himself with the Decepticons and that Sentinel Prime, the former Autobot leader, betrayed the Autobots and allied himself with Megatron to set up a space bridge to bring Cybertron to Earth as well. They also forced the Autobots to surrender and forced them into exile. While launching the Autobot’s ship, Starscream attacked and destroyed their ship, leaving the Autobots presumed dead and Earth at the mercy of the Decepticons. However, the Autobots eventually re-emerged and thwarted the Decepticon plans, defeating Sentinel Prime and the Decepticons, as well as their human allies, and sending Cybertron back to where it belonged.
The movie introduced Carly as Sam’s new girlfriend, who also ended up a hero in the fight against the Decepticons, mainly by manipulating Megatron into turning on Sentinel Prime. Carly was Spike Witwicky’s girlfriend and future wife in the G1 series. Also, veteran Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy famously provided voiceover work in both The Transformers The Movie as Megatron’s resurrected form, Galvatron, as well as the turncoat Autobot leader, Sentinel Prime, in Dark of the Moon.
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Dinobots
The fourth live-action Transformers film, Age of Extinction, re-introduced the Dinobots, Transformers built by the Autobots on Earth in G1 that transform into dinosaurs, some of whom are some of the most popular Transformers characters, especially the Tyrannosaurus Rex leader of the Dinobots, Grimlock. The character of Galvatron is also re-introduced in this film as the resurrected form of Megatron, similar to the fate of the G1 character.
‘Transformers: The Last Knight’ (2017)
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The fifth entry into the live-action franchise largely hinted at elements originally featured in The Transformers The Movie and the final season of the original animated series, specifically Unicron, a planet-sized planet-eating robot, as well as the Quintessons, multi-faced robotic beings who are eventually revealed as the creators of the Transformers in G1 continuity. Quintessa is introduced as the villainous creator of the Autobots and Unicron is revealed to be Earth itself in The Last Knight. Also, the character of Hot Rod, originally introduced in The Transformers The Movie is re-introduced in The Last Knight, though his character design is much different than his animated counterpart.
‘Bumblebee’ (2018)
One of the more recent live-action entries in the live-action Transformers series, and considered to be one of the better ones, Bumblebee features several G1 throwbacks, starting with an Autobot-Decepticon battle on Cybertron featuring original G1 character designs for several characters, including Shockwave. Bumblebee, a character who was very prominent in the first two seasons of G1, as well as the previous live-action films, briefly assumes his G1-era vehicle mode, a Volkswagen “Bug”. At the end of the film, Bumblebee is seen driving alongside a tractor-trailer resembling the G1 vehicle mode of Optimus Prime. Also, the song, The Touch, the most iconic song featured in The Transformers The Movie, makes a brief appearance in the film. The film is also set in 1987, during the time frame of the first two seasons of The Transformers.
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Source(s): Collider, Screenrant
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