Pretenders logic
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:38 pm
i understand the perspective of the Transformers toymakers: You only make toys if you think you can sell enough of them to make back at least as much as it cost to make them.
i understand the perspective of the Transformers writers, illustrators, and animators: You give a certain emphasis to characters/abilities/gimmicks represented by toys which are on sale.
From the perspective of the Transformers characters, though: Why isn't everybody a Pretender?
i'd want to be a Pretender just for the ability to be in two places at once--three, if i could score a schnazzy new Ultra Pretender deal. In some versions of Transformers fiction, a Pretender shell also has the ability to shrink itself and its wearer to the size of a Human--also a very useful ability, i would think, even if you only use it for hiding and/or slipping in and out of enemy territory. If you like Humans, the ability to shrink down to their size makes it easier to interact with them (not all of their architecture--living spaces, workplaces--is designed to accommodate somebody of TF size, after all), and the ability to look like a Human might make some Humans more comfortable interacting with you. If you don't like Humans, the ability to shrink down to their size and mimic their appearance could make it a lot easier to infiltrate their "secure" installations and sabotage/steal things, not to mention the psychological warfare tactics available when you reveal yourself as you truly are (and perhaps plant seeds of doubt in their minds as to whether others in their lives might not also be like you, robots in disguise).
Does any official TF fiction explain why not all TFs become Pretenders? If not, has fan fiction or fanon offered any possible explanations?
i understand the perspective of the Transformers writers, illustrators, and animators: You give a certain emphasis to characters/abilities/gimmicks represented by toys which are on sale.
From the perspective of the Transformers characters, though: Why isn't everybody a Pretender?
i'd want to be a Pretender just for the ability to be in two places at once--three, if i could score a schnazzy new Ultra Pretender deal. In some versions of Transformers fiction, a Pretender shell also has the ability to shrink itself and its wearer to the size of a Human--also a very useful ability, i would think, even if you only use it for hiding and/or slipping in and out of enemy territory. If you like Humans, the ability to shrink down to their size makes it easier to interact with them (not all of their architecture--living spaces, workplaces--is designed to accommodate somebody of TF size, after all), and the ability to look like a Human might make some Humans more comfortable interacting with you. If you don't like Humans, the ability to shrink down to their size and mimic their appearance could make it a lot easier to infiltrate their "secure" installations and sabotage/steal things, not to mention the psychological warfare tactics available when you reveal yourself as you truly are (and perhaps plant seeds of doubt in their minds as to whether others in their lives might not also be like you, robots in disguise).
Does any official TF fiction explain why not all TFs become Pretenders? If not, has fan fiction or fanon offered any possible explanations?