Contenders for the Primacy among the Female Autobots
Now, I maintain that Smokescreen's a great candidate for the Primacy, and should be explored more and even featured in some media as taking up the Matrix of Leadership. However, I cannot help but recall the only fan polling by Hasbro that I managed to take part in, and making Arcee a contender....was exceptionally stupid.
Look, this is no hate to Arcee's fans, or even to Arcee herself. But the plain and simple fact is that, outside of G1, not a SINGLE person at Hasbro or their hired writers seem to know what they want to do with her. They either want to make her the mom, the snarky "no damsel" fighter, the traumatized waif, or some combination of all of the above. This makes her characterization erratic, contradictory, and incomplete, and throwing the Matrix at Arcee like a football is only going to make those problems worse.
I have, however, given some thought about which Autobot ladies would have been better alternatives - or, at least, who could have become a Prime in another universe.
For that, I wish to throw out my own suggestions.
Elita One
G1's "The Search for Alpha Trion" was the first introduction to Elita One, and established that not only was she the female counterpart to Optimus Prime, but his equal in moral character and strength.
She fought alongside him for five million years, and then in his absence of four million years, Elita stayed true to him and their cause while knowing he might have died. Elita led a guerilla war/resistance on Cybertron with limited energon reserves, cloak and dagger tactics, and never fell apart from her ordeals when others would have shattered far more easily and quickly. Elita One never wavered in the face of insurmountable odds, nor did she let hardship harden her. For this, she would be the ideal bearer of the Matrix of Leadership among the Autobot ladies, and it's truly a slap in the face that she didn't get that chance (or recognition on television until the last six or eight years.)
Moonracer
Now believe me, I recall Moonracer's mess up in "The Search for Alpha Trion". However, that sequence actually showed some important traits of Moonracer's:
Initiative and responsibility.
Yes, it was insubordinate of her to take an extra energon cube when Chromia told her otherwise. However, with their desperate situation, it was understandable. And yes, it got herself in trouble and them almost caught, but she also owned up to it even before they returned to Elita.
This shows that Moonracer has the drive to make executive choices that could benefit others, and that she takes responsibility for her actions. Ironically, this makes her similar in some aspects to Smokescreen, although he isn't as shortsighted about his actions as Moonracer can be. If you took the time to explore Moonracer's character, let her mature and grow over time, then I believe she would make a good candidate for the Primacy. And if it ends up that she doesn't quite line up with the requirements of the Matrix after all, then Moonracer could still be able to ascend the ranks of leadership to at least captain.
Windblade
Even if you kept her as an Autobot warrior during the War, that would only increase Windblade's popularity. Because then the Cybertronians who served with her, the civilians protected by her, and anyone else who knew of her would trust her to keep them safe in a more demanding role. Yes, it might be too much to throw on her with her Cityspeaker duties, but really, Windblade would probably be able to handle it with the right advisors guiding her.
Windblade would be easy to nudge toward the Primacy. Her whole arc revolves around her becoming a leader in her own right on Cybertron, and even if you made her a Kaonite native like the fans initially did, Windblade would still have that arc. Being a Cityspeaker means that, no matter how you slice it, Windblade will inevitably become a major player on the political scene, whether as the governor of Metroplex's city and the people who call him home, or in the ruling body of Cybertron. In fact, her virtues and dedication to doing the right thing would make Windblade quite popular with the wider Cybertronian society, and that alone would be quite the backing for her campaign to taking a step towards a leadership role.
I know I think it's doable, if you put the effort and thought into it.
Nyx
Override
I'll admit, with Nyx, you'd have to squint a bit. She's the pilot of the Axalon in the 2021 Beast Wars run, gets captured by the Predacons, then saved by Dinobot as he defects to the Maximals. After her introduction and bond with Dinobot, from what I can gather, Nyx ends up fading into the background a bit, at least insofar as her tie to Dinobot isn't used after his defection.
However, Nyx ended up taking a lot of Cheetor's traits, who himself is a contender for the Matrix.
Furthermore, a trait I believe aids in Nyx's possible ascent to Primehood is her inquisitive nature. When faced with the knowledge that Dinobot saved her, a Predacon, she immediately went to him after she'd healed to ask why he'd done so. This curiosity, and the willingness to poke and prod until she gets an answer, is quite similar to Orion Pax/Optimus Prime, and thus is something you could use to expand on Nyx that would make her more than just a wide-eyed, eager young pilot. It would lead to other developments for her as a character as well, and if you played your cards right, she'd even be a candidate for receiving the Matrix of Leadership.
And frankly, I'd like to see someone take up the Matrix in the Beast Wars Era for a change.
(Please note that, despite my personal dislike of Cheetor, I am not using Nyx as a means to prop up Nyx at his expense. I am merely saying that Nyx could potentially become worthy of the Matrix, and pointing out how this could be achieved. No hate to the Cheetor fans, or his worthiness for the Primacy.)
Honorable Mentions - Greenlight and Lancer
As the former leader of Velocitron, Override arguably meets the most qualifications for Primehood status. She's ruled an entire planet, and while said planet is obsessed with racing, there's still the needs of many people that Override has to address and otherwise care for. This also makes her politically savvy enough to meet the needs of the Cybertronian race, with her status as a Velocitronion making peace agreements and treaties more easily done between planets. Additionally, her combat capabilities and quick-thinking make her an ideal warrior for the fights that naturally come knocking for the Prime's attention.
There are a few drawbacks should Override be chosen to bear the Matrix, however.
One is that, in her most famous canon appearance, Override ended up stepping down from leadership to explore the galaxy/universe, and gave Hotshot - himself, unless I am mistaken, a possible future Prime - the duty of ruling Velocitron. This was in part because Override's arc hinged on her realizing that there was more to the universe than just racing, and she now desired to see what else was out there. The other is that with Hotshot as a potential Prime, they'd have a rivalry of sorts for taking up the Matrix, or at least it would become awkward should one or the other be chosen, though I admit I can't see either of them holding a grudge over who was picked by the Matrix. But still, with her canon appearance as it stands, Override would be a good choice for Primehood.
Greenlight and Lancer are, unfortunately, both easily forgotten or are lazily used for rep/minor background appearances. This is a shame, because their bios state that they're both scientific geniuses in their own way, and that Lancer herself has wanted to be inducted into the Elite Guard but keeps getting cold feet.
However, precisely because of this niche-ness of theirs, Greenlight and Lancer could be spun into new characters with personalities that mark them as Prime material.
Much like how Smokescreen rose from the shadow of obscurity to prove his worth as a potential Prime, pioneering writers could take either Greenlight or Lancer and make them candidates for receiving the Matrix of Leadership. If you gave them the same core principles as Optimus and Smokescreen - never backing down in the face of adversity/evil, always quick on their feet, and humbly using themselves as agents of good - then you can make Greenlight or Lancer as expressive or stoic as you want, and they'll still be worthy of the Matrix.
That's my two cents based off an old Hasbro fan poll, patient readers. If you enjoyed this, I'm glad. If it got your minds turning, I'm even happier. Until next time -
I tried to find out what bats lived in Africa and North America during the pliocene, for Beast Wars redesign ideas (the crews as actual pliocene African animals, and the crews as actual pliocene North American animals (the Ark crashed in America's west coast in G1, not in Africa)).
I found this, but of course I can't get species names because I can't see the full text.... Could somebody else?
(And of course, this is only Kenya. I still need to find out which American bats were around four million years ago...)
Beast Wars 2021 Comic Thoughts: Dinobot's Interactions With the Women
It might surprise you, but I've recently read the 2021 Beast Wars comics from IDW before they shut down.
No, I'm not the biggest fan of BW, but I do like parts of it, and Dinobot is quickly becoming one of them - as well as becoming a favorite of mine. Nyx is another, and I even have a soft spot for Skold.
Which has led me to a happy/interesting thought about how Dinobot respects both of these wonderful ladies, and how it differs yet remains consistent in his treatment of them.
First, let's tackle Skold.
Throughout these panels/stories, Dinobot is very respectful of Skold. He doesn't pick on her for her shyness, merely telling her to speak up both because she was too quiet and as a means of trying to get her to build up her confidence. He views her as an equal, albeit one who is, effectively, his younger sister.
The way he says "You're young. You don't understand yet..." comes across as a big brother who is trying to guide his younger sister in the same gang mess as him out of the life after he's had his realization about the choices he made. Dinobot does indeed view her as someone younger than him, but he also sees what she could become if she'd believe in herself and her chances outside of the prison she locked herself in. It's a very beautiful little dynamic, especially since Dinobot still respects her choices as well as Skold for who she is in spite of his desire to see her grow.
Then there's Nyx, and it's noticeably different.
With Nyx, it's nowhere near that level. Once he learns that Nyx has not only refused to give any information to Megatron but was almost killed for it, he realizes just how much honor she herself has. Going forward, he views her as a fellow warrior due to her steadfastness against horrifying torture, he is considerate and careful with Nyx when taking her back to the Maximal base, and speaks with her as if she were his equal, but without treating her as his junior like he does with Skold. As a matter of fact, Dinobot's teasing of her before they argue is a sign of how much he respects her. He knows now how honorable and gutsy she is, how she's willing to suffer torture to such extremes for the sake of her team. His tease of Nyx is basically Dinobot's way of showing a more relaxed form of the respect he has for her.
And while we didn't get much interaction between them after the first six issues, there is still a scene in a later issue that has them speak briefly to each other. When Primal, under a psycho-aggressive agent and prompting from Dinobot, goes to confront Megatron in a rage [Dinobot's plan was to let him burn it out of his system], Nyx tries to call Primal back and Dinobot says "Let him go, Nyx." It's a small moment, but the way in which he delivers the line suggests that it's less a superior/elder telling the junior officer what to do, and more your compatriot saying "Don't worry, it'll be fine."
These are very fascinating dynamics between Dinobot and the two more prominent female members of the 2021 Beast Wars cast. While I'm saddened we didn't get to see him interacting with Airazor, I still love his interactions with Nyx and Skold. And while they never really encountered each other in this take, an honorable mention goes to the fact that Dinobot would (and likely doesn't) have any respect for Blackarachnia. She's more underhanded than any of the other girls, and he'd have no patience for her, if you ask me.
That's my thoughts. I hope you enjoyed it, and gave you something new to think about.
I've been having a bit of trouble making a girlfriend for TFP Smokescreen, and while I'm keen on figuring out how to write her pre-character development, I still get cold feet. Sometimes, to cope with that, I compare with other pre-existing girls.
So, I now present to you these ladies as a possible girlfriend for Smokescreen (links to their bios below.)
