Just to say before I sign off for the night, Smokescreen's backstory is undergoing some changes in my new universe.
But thank you for finding my posts for him, I can hardly find anyone else who cares for him!!!
I know!!! He's so underrated with so much untapped potential for storylines. It's so weird when I see AUs of him being captured or beaten up easily because if he was untalented, he wouldn't have been put on missions so quickly. Like, if you want to have him be captured or bested in combat, give a reason for it. Like, "oh no Megatron is gonna shoot one of the team if I don't intervene." Don't do it to just overly-babify him.
Funnily enough, Smokescreen has a better track record than most of the team but I do NOT think he's a "Gary Stu". Honestly, I think it's because he doesn't have the emotional baggage or grudges that the majority of the team has. He's not rushing off for revenge against someone, doesn't have longstanding bitter rivalries, past friendships turned sour, or even an inflexible way of doing things that cause him friction. He hears Starscream has invulnerable armor and is wrecking scrap and he goes "oh we have a workaround right in base, imma get that now before I leave to fight."
The Autobots barring Smokescreen rarely used relics once they were acquired. Optimus used the Star Saber until it broke. Magnus used the Forge after it ran out of power and then until THAT broke at the hands of Predaking. Most of the other members barely touched anything until the season 2 finale. And his sneakiness kept the Shifter out of Con hands for most of the show. The one time he lost it in the show proper, he snagged it back.
