The Binder's take on Cheetor and Rodimus - I actually like them thanks to it
Cheetor...I can hardly believe they made him so standout from his original depiction. I mean, he literally doesn't get caught in the Binder's outline, whereas in Beast Wars he could barely go two episodes without landing himself in the clutches of the enemy. And his arrogance and nobility being a sort of tug-of-war over his personality, insofar as it's hard to discern his true nature under his cocky, self-assured exterior....dang, that's what Arcee thought Smokescreen was. Heh, I can see them going at it hammer and tongs.
His precognition actually getting addressed is a relief, because I still don't know what the point of it was in the cartoon itself. I can see this version of Cheetor becoming Alpha Trizer more easily than his BW counterpart, and now I wonder how I could/can work that whole upgrade thing into his arc.
And now I have an idea of Cheetor going on travels with the Autobots in his past after a chance encounter with Jetfire/Skyfire via the latter's transwarp drive....that'd be a fun arc for him and Smokescreen actually, hmmm....
Okay, I already have set plans for Hot Rod/Rodimus Prime in my AU, and while he's been dead for some time...I think I can take a version of the Binder's idea of him and spin him into a new character. Make him an orphan from the streets who survived on his guts into young adulthood to become an Autobot after Megatron declares war. His arrogance and ego - more tempered, since he's not a leader or even trying to become one - are gonna be the result of his pride from handling himself as well as he did before everything went to Pit. Upon joining, he takes the name Rodimus because of the reputation he had, and because he looked up to the Prime during the few times he got to learn any kind of history.
That wasn't shrouded in vagueness, that is.
He's also just A Guy. Like he's part of a squad of sorts in the background, but tries to clean up a lot of messes he and his crew get mixed up in. Until Clobber joins, he's basically surviving on energant to function.
I don't believe it, the Binder really did make me love two characters I can rarely, if at all, stand.













