Okay, I know you seem to like Astrotrain (good choice), can you tell me what about him you love?
And do you also like his trouble making duo with Blitzwing?
ASTROTRAIN MY MAN
Oh okayokayokay, it's rambling time>:)
Astrotrain is a guy who I suddenly started liking along the road. Idrk when though, I just think he's neat! Devinatly on my fav list, not sure where but he's on there!!
I'm gonna structure this similarly like the Motors talk, 'cause I tend to get lost in my thoughts hehe
1. General stuff
a) Alt mode(s)
It's like, he's a space shuttle? Hellooo? That's so cool? And the best part is that's that not all
HE'S A TRIPLE CHANGER
The concept of it in general is reaaaally cool and I and like both of his alt modes a lot.
I mean he's a train and a shuttle, which is such a cool combo
b) Desgin
I think his design is pretty cool, I like the shape of his wings and the little helm a lot
And I mean, you can't go wrong with purple!!
c) The name
I just really think it sounds cool, like it perfectly combines who he is, both parts of the name referencing his alt modes and still sounding epic!!
2. His appearce in media
So far as I know/ saw he's in G1 (quite an OG given he's also in the movie), Cyberverse and the recent Skybound (haven't read IDW but I'm pretty sure he's there too).
a) G1- CHAOTIC TRAIN MAN LET'S GOO
If I remember correctly, he had an episode where he wanted to be like a space god of some moon or something, man just really wanted to be appreciated (as he deserves)
And of course, my beloved episode, "Triple Takeover"
God that episode was so much fun.
Love how he creates his own army of trains, my man got big dreams!!
And I thought he was cool in the movie RIP to him when all the guys started fighting in his belly though
b) Cyberverse- ASSHOLE TRAIN MAN LETS GO
Hehehe God he was so fun
I remember his introduction. I was NOT expecting that shuttle to be Astro, so when his hologram head showed up I went like "!!!"
When some bot catches me by surprise, that they're actually a transformers (happened with Swindle in TFA too), I immediately get a soft spot for that character in general
And omggg he was a lot of fun in that show
I loooooved that they made him into a big guy and I enjoyed it every time he was on screen
His dynamic with Deadend was a lot of fun too
But of course, can't have an Astro with out it, A RANDOM AND UNNECESSARY DEATH
Why TF writers whyyy
Speaking of random and unnecessary deaths:
c) Skybound- :|
*Breathes in* He's an... Interesting topic to discuss. I can genuinely not wrap my head around what was going on in the minds of the writers
-> Introduce a new character to the comic series
-> It's a guy who hasn't been that much in TF shows
-> You hint at an interesting and unique backstory with aspects, not yet explored about him
-> You let him have his moments and interesting interactions with other characters (Beachcomber and Spike)
-> You let him make his goal clear (only to kill Megatron), meaning he'll follow anyone who lets him do that
-> Finally the BIG moment arrives
-> Megatron Vs Astrotrain that's gonna be so epic-
-> He gets like one shotted. Dragged off. And killed.
:|
WHAT
I JUST WHY? WHYYY??
Like he gets NOTHING. You could't even add some sort of anime- backflash sequence or SOMETHING??
Let him beg is love for forgiveness that he couldn't avenge them
And, oh idk, during that MAYBE DROP THE NAME??????
WE DIDN'T EVEN GET A REVEAL WHO THE LOVE OFFICIALLY WAS
(I'm 100% on the team that it was Blitz, because who else? (Also speaking as an Astroblitz fan)) But like, it would've been great if it was made canon?
Like yeah sure, comics have limited run time but don't just introduce him with an interesting plotline and then do NOTHING with it
Like I was super interested in his dynamic with Beachcomber& Spike as well but noOoOOOOOOoooo
Why not have him team up with humans like Starscream did? He's shown Spike respect and like stated he really wants to kill Megatron so he'll follow WHOEVER, maybe even "betray" his own people out of his grief because he's lost himself to it??
(I once mentioned that the theme of Skybound might be something like hope and how people embrace/ abandon it and he would've been an interesting twist to it, because he's lost it and only wants revenge now maybeeeee?)
Small sidenote, I liked Skybound at the start because it moved a bit away from your typical bits. Like Megatron wasn't there and Bumblebee was dead etc.
But now it's kinda moving in that generic set up as well (like the typical OP Vs Megatron)
It would've been cool if the faction stayed split up (Soundwave+ Structis Vs Starscream+ C-cons) and maybe Astro working with some humans, because it would've kept the setting more unique? Idrk
BUT DONT LET HIM DIE JUST LIKE THAT-
This segment is getting too long but it's just so frustrating what happend and I just...Yeah okay moving on
(=> so while I don't like how he was treated at the end I do enjoy his appearance and the what- could've- beens)
3. Story potential
I always enjoy characters with a lot of story potential
And like obviously: A Triple Changer, how's does it affect him being one, how did he became one? Was it an experiment (did he chose to do it?) or is it a rare ability?
Also, I'm pretty sure you've seen the posts about the depersonalisation of space shuttles and ohhhhhh BOI that can be done in such a cool way
And again, LOOKING AT YOU SKYBOUND-, he can be explored in various yet interesting ways, as shown there
*chough* finish the plotline in a good and satisfying way though *chough*
To also answer the second part of your question
YES BLITZWING
Gosh I love these two together (as you might've guessed from the SB segment)
I just think they're sweet together Triple changer buddies ykk
They could be done in a friend/ platonic sort of way but I also think the ship is cute (and I like the name: Astroblitz just sounds cool!!)
Either way LET THEM CREATE ENDLESS CHAOS TOGETHER LIKE IN G1 PLEASEE (Again Triple Takeover was sososo much fun)
The thing is, G1 often gets used as a foundation/ TF keeps referring to it
Which is fair, G1 is great
But it's always the same concepts/ story lines/ characters I fear
G1 has soooo many characters and little episode- plots that could be explored so much
A coup from the triple changers could be a whole Arc
I like to imagine little story lines from time to time and like:
Some cons being unsatisfied with Megatron's rule and fissures are starting to appear within the faction seems very likely to me
Blitzwing would ABSOLUTELY add fuel to the fire and I feel like Astro would be there right by his side, I just feel like that can be done in a fun way
It just would be cool to see different sup groups of the Decepticons more explored (different combier teams, Insecticons, Triple changers etc.) in general because there are so many who often only get background appearances
Astro and Blitz just keep getting split up and I just wanna see those two in a "prepare for trouble and make it double (triple hehe)" sort of way again, yk?
So to summarise: I just think Astros neat because biiiiiiig train- space boi and I love him& his trouble making buddy a lot:)
