Post by Jo'Roq on Dec 2, 2004 21:26:36 GMT -5
I thought we could get into a good discussion over the concept of a Transformer's "spark".
A little history (this is from memory, so it may not be fully accurate):
G1 started with portraying the Transformers as just simply robots with individual personalities, nothing special (other than specialized technological abilities). We also saw that personalities could be stored away separate from the bodies or created by the Vector Sigma computer.
When the movie came along, we got our first true introduction to the fact that these robots could die - and it was not just a matter of having their hard drives crash. It also introduced the first bit of the "mystic" (for lack of a better term) or religious aspect into Cybertronian society - "Til all are one" and the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. Post-movie also threw in Starscream's ghost.
Beast Wars first introduced the concept of the "spark", a mysterious orb that resides in all Transformers and is something of the physical analog of a "soul". When a BW Transformer died, his spark would rise up into space to go join the Matrix (not the same as the Matrix of Leadership). As long as the spark "lived", the Transformer would remain alive, even if his spark was removed.
Beast Machines plugged some of the Spark-based holes in the Beast Wars mythos by returning to Cybertron. Here we learned that the sparks of all Transformers past, present and future (with a few notable exceptions like Starscream) are contained with the Matrix. The Matrix releases new sparks to life through Vector Sigma, and all sparks return to the Matrix when their time is over.
Okay. I personally like the base concept of the spark. It gives the Transformers a more believable source for their personalities than just a computer program. Plus it adds that more-than-a-machine feel to their origins, since they are then not entirely technology-based. I think BM pushed things a bit over the top, but to me it did seem to fill a few holes in the G1 stories - like why they absolutely had to go to Vector Sigma to get personalities for new constructs (like the Stunticons and Aerialbots). I think the only exception to that was The Technobots .....
A little history (this is from memory, so it may not be fully accurate):
G1 started with portraying the Transformers as just simply robots with individual personalities, nothing special (other than specialized technological abilities). We also saw that personalities could be stored away separate from the bodies or created by the Vector Sigma computer.
When the movie came along, we got our first true introduction to the fact that these robots could die - and it was not just a matter of having their hard drives crash. It also introduced the first bit of the "mystic" (for lack of a better term) or religious aspect into Cybertronian society - "Til all are one" and the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. Post-movie also threw in Starscream's ghost.
Beast Wars first introduced the concept of the "spark", a mysterious orb that resides in all Transformers and is something of the physical analog of a "soul". When a BW Transformer died, his spark would rise up into space to go join the Matrix (not the same as the Matrix of Leadership). As long as the spark "lived", the Transformer would remain alive, even if his spark was removed.
Beast Machines plugged some of the Spark-based holes in the Beast Wars mythos by returning to Cybertron. Here we learned that the sparks of all Transformers past, present and future (with a few notable exceptions like Starscream) are contained with the Matrix. The Matrix releases new sparks to life through Vector Sigma, and all sparks return to the Matrix when their time is over.
Okay. I personally like the base concept of the spark. It gives the Transformers a more believable source for their personalities than just a computer program. Plus it adds that more-than-a-machine feel to their origins, since they are then not entirely technology-based. I think BM pushed things a bit over the top, but to me it did seem to fill a few holes in the G1 stories - like why they absolutely had to go to Vector Sigma to get personalities for new constructs (like the Stunticons and Aerialbots). I think the only exception to that was The Technobots .....