You know, I've been thinking about this lately, but for a Cybertronian, it must be TERRIFYING when someone like Elita-1 or Arcee walks into the room. Because not only are they extremely intimidating individuals in their own rights, but these are mechs that have specifically chosen to paint themselves in the same color as energon. (At least in Elita's case, but I like to think Arcee's was a conscious decision as well).
Like. The gall you have to possess in order to walk around every single day, wearing the same shade as your people's lifeblood, is INSANE. (And I think in some comics it's mentioned that this is exactly the color of innermost energon, which is SO METAL).
Even after the war is good and done with, she continues to keep up with that *very specific* shade of pink. And I think this is often discounted by the people consuming Transformers content because to us, it's just a silly little shade of pink on a girl robot. This subversion in her color scheme is especially cool to me in continuities where Elita-1 is a known threat, like IDW. Hell, during the whole Carcer debate thing it's shown that she literally TOWERS over Starscream. She may not be a tank, but she's huge, and she makes sure to use this to her advantage. This isn't even to mention how utterly brilliant she is. I'd be willing to bet that if things had gone differently, she could've made an absolutely ruthless leader of Cybertron. In my mind she rivals Megatron and Optimus in all aspects.
It's no wonder the Council is so afraid of her. Elita-1 is a mech that's proven time and time again that she's wickedly intelligent, ruthless in battle, and knows how to make a statement. She's spent her time intentionally making herself as big of a threat as possible in every way. She literally acts as her own warning sign (that paint just SCREAMS 'I know how dangerous I am, and so should you'). Honestly, I'd piss myself if I ever met her on a battlefield or if I ever had to debate against her.
One last note, I really enjoyed the way Elita's character was handled later on in the IDW comics. It was amazing to finally get her out from Optimus' shadow and not only give her some actual characterization but to see her become so vastly DIFFERENT from her earlier counterparts. This Elita means business. She's independent to an insane degree. I really love the way she got to reclaim the pink as something that's no longer just a color she was given because she's a girl robot, but as a critical piece of her character and a part of WHY she's so feared. I just love Elita-1.
I'd like to really explore this whole concept (when I have some more time for it) within my own AU. Because this kind of stuff is incredibly fascinating to me. I have some very specific ideas on both Warframes and Femmes, and this is one of those perfect tie-ins imo. Love it when women get to be evil <3
