Let me explain how Transformers are not robots
Hi, fans. Today, I am not discussing a theory, but something that is a fact and perhaps the most denied, resisted and challenged fact in all of Transformers lore: they are not robots.
I have gone as far as having long debates with even my own husband about this subject, but the truth is the truth whether you like it or not. Maybe they were introduced as robots and maybe their definition of what a robot is can be different from Earth’s, but they are not robots and when you stop and think about it, they never were. And here is the list of reasons to back it up and I am only counting facts that Hasbro has confirmed as officially part of the Transformers lore;
They have parts (organs) that cannot be replaced by building a new one from scratch. They either get crude replacements or they require an organ donor to replace the part that is lost. Also, these same parts can sometimes be deformed which affects performance. The most obvious they cannot simply replace is their T-cog which is the unique organ that Transformers have that gives them their ability to transform. If this gets damaged or lost, it cripples that ability leaving them as an unchanger. It is also possible for a T-cog to be deformed in which case the Transformer is an unhcanger at birth or has trouble transforming. This organ can only be replaced by a donor or corrected with surgery. It cannot be built. In fact, even body parts like hands, optics and even a foot cannot simply be replaced. They can be put back on, but trying to make a new one is not that simply and at times, the fact that it is a prop shows as seen with Prime Ultra Magnus’ hand, Prime Breakdown’s optic being lost for good and Animated Red Alert’s hand being replaced with a tool. If they were robots, their parts would work like an assembly line of which they are easily replaced and made from scratch. The fact that not even a hand can work this way for Transformers is proof that they are not robots. Like us, if they lose a body part, they won’t be the same. They are even made up of something called CNA which is what DNA is to us. In fact, they share many organs with us like bones and veins.
They have genders and this has been confirmed since the IDW comics and Beast Wars. I admit that initially, they didn’t have genders in the time of G1 which caused confusion for the G1 fans later, but this fact was officially changed by the Beast Wars era. They have biological genders and work the same way as ours. With that said, as radical as it sounds, they come to be through reproduction like us not through being built. Yes, they can be put back together if broken apart, but they don’t come into the world like that. Every Transformer has a mother and father biologically just like you and me.
They can age and die which is something robots cannot do. A robot may wear and tear with time and its batteries will eventually run out, but it never actually was alive to begin with, it never ages and it doesn’t die. You can simply replace the robot’s batteries and they will be fine. As we have seen especially Alpha Trion since G1, Transformers can age and even grow old. And in Rescue Bots, we see that they even start off in the world as children. And most notably, once a Transformer dies, it’s for good. Optimus was the exception through a miracle of Primus. The norm is that death is forever with them. And if you want to look at this from a spiritual perspective if you’re devout like me and believe in that stuff, they have an afterlife where their souls go which is the Allspark. If the ability to age and die while having a soul is not the definitive trait of being a living being, I don’t what is.
They have biological familial relationships which is impossible for a robot. Since the days of G1, we saw many examples of this;
- The Lamborghini twins are twin brothers.
- In some continuities, Optimus and Ultra Magnus are either cousins or brothers.
- Hound and Mirage are cousins. I don’t know if they are close or distant ones, but it is why they share similar powers.
- In some continuities including G1, it is subtly hinted that Elita-One is Alpha Trion and Beta Maxx’s biological daughter.
- G1 Arcee is Beast Wars Rattrap’s great aunt.
- In some continuities, the Prime system is hierarchical meaning from parent to child so all Primes are family. The Megatron system works the same way.
- In some continuities, Ratchet is a father and grandfather.
- In Rescue Bots, Ratchet is Medix’s uncle.
- The Constructicons are brothers.
- In Animated, Jetstorm and Jetfire are twin brothers.
- While it was initially a joke that he had a mother, it is now a fact that Optimus Prime had loving parents who sadly, were two of the many casualities in the war. I don’t know which one was the Prime though.
- In current times, each Dinobot is a parent.
- In Animated, Bulkhead came from a big family.
- In Animated, Kup has a nephew.
- In the comics, it is hinted that Wheeljack has a son out of wedlock.
They can get sick or hurt which is also impossible for a robot. As we have seen since the days of G1, Transformers have health needs and cannot only emotionally feel, but also physically feel for better or for worse. When they get injured, they don’t just simply break. It hurts and in some cases, the severity of an injury can have repercussions such as permanent damage. In the case of Fixit, he is handicapped for life because of the injuries he sustained from his crash. In some fights, Transformers have wound up dead. Which leads us to the diseases they can endure which can be fatal. And unlike a robot that simply acts wonky or nutty when bugged, Transformers act like we do when they are sick. They are weak, they are in pain, they moan and even physically look awful hence needing to stay in bed. And like us, these diseases require treatment.
They can have handicaps and imperfections which cannot simply be corrected by repairing or rebuilding. If a Transformer has a handicap of any kind especially a mental one or suffers from some kind of insanity, you can’t just simply reboot them or fix their processor (brain). And they can have imperfections such as not all having the same level of fitness or even being fat or possibly even being physically deformed. And like an organic person, sometimes, you cannot simply operate on them to fix it because it can be dangerous. For example, it has been confirmed that Lugnut is hideously deformed (though that didn’t stop Strika from loving him), it is hinted that Megatron is a mutant and years of forced surgery to be a great miner mutated him further, and it has been confirmed that out of all the cop Autobots, Prowl is chubby and a lot of evidence points to most versions of Optimus being fat. A robot cannot suffer from insanity, it cannot gain or lose weight and they cannot mutate because they don’t have a biology.
So there you all have it. Proof that the Transformers are not robots and these are facts Hasbro backs up. I hope it has cleared the air and ceased the confusion. Take it or leave it. Personally, I like the fact that they aren’t robots because I find it makes them more interesting and dynamic. That and I find the fact that they can have families endearing. And as side note, the fact that Optimus Prime had kind loving parents.
If you have a Transformers theory or fact you want explored, let me know in my ask box and I will delve into it.
Thanks for reading and talk to you later.
EDIT: Forgot to add a fact. Added sickness and injury now.
EDIT 2: More significant things have been added to the family list. Plus, another significant fact came to mind.
