Poll: Best Transformers Incarnation

[thejboy88]

As the title says. I'd like to know which of all the various Transformers series made so far is the most popular.

And bear in mind that series that are continuations of one another will be lumped into the same category, just so I gan fit them all in the poll.

 

[MasochisticAvenger]

Best and most popular are two different things, and it's really going to come down to who you ask. In terms of most popular, it probably has to be the movies since they not only bought older fans back into the mix, but also bought in a whole bunch of new fans who never had any previous experience with Transformers.

As for the best, it really depends on personal taste. For me personally, it will always be the Beast Era. I just loved the story and characterization, even though Beast Machines did kind of make a mess of things. G1 was fine for what it was, at the time, but I really don't think it held up that well. I liked Robots in Disguise and Armada (I still maintain Armada had the best incarnation of Starscream), Energon was a piece of crap, and Cybertron was just okay.

The live-action movies were god awful, and I really hated Animated. I could probably do a full rant on what pissed me off about Animated. Though I could probably sum it up as "most disappointing villains ever" and that would cover about half of it. Seriously, did anyone notice the Decepticons were actually doing better BEFORE Megatron got his body back?

As for Prime... I haven't seen a lot of it. It looks interesting from what I have seen, but I haven't seen enough to overly weigh in on it just yet.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I'm going to be bias to say G1 since I grew up with that shows.

If I were to exclude G1 then I would of picked Animated. Sure it was cartoony but it was unquie compared to the past incanation of the franchise. Beside it was a welcome change compared to the crappy CGI Japanese cartoons Energon and Cybertron, going back to western animation. I also appreciated the amount of homage/ reference to G1 they put in it.

While I have been liking Prime but I do wish it had a larger casts like G1 and for Mengatron to have more casts aswell to replace his cannon fodder Vehicons (well they're cool but still). It's getting silly that no matter how many Vehicons he has at his disposal, they all got take down by mere 5 Autobots.

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

I like G1 but I always see it as a means of beginning a franchise but nothing much else from that. I also enjoy Robots in Disguise, sure it's a bit more dumbed down with everything being played up for laughs which stands out a bit from the darker Beast Machines which came before (Which I haven't seen, nor do I want to) but I like the Anime-tion that it used and there are a lot of jokes in there that I liked (Besides, who DOESN'T love Sky-Byte?). The Unicron Trilogy is a bit more of a mess, I rather liked Armada, Energon remains one of the worst incarnations of the show to date (With only Michael Bay taking the lead) and I haven't seen much of Cybertron but from what I got from it it's kind of "Meh" at best. As for Transformers Prime, I've been really interested in it but I lack the means to view it due to not having satellite TV and whatever I find online is either clips or gets removed a few days later.

As for which incarnation was the best, I'm constantly stuck in a tie between Beast Wars and Transformers Animated.
On one hand Beast Wars offered great storylines and characters, had really good animation and to this day remains as the only thing Transformers related that made me cry, aside from the poor execution of the live-action movies. Transformers Animated on the other hand had gave me basically the same thing only with slightly less dramatic moments and a more disappointing conclusion due to being tragically cut short thanks to executive meddling and Revenge of The Fallen being released. What TF:A lacked in drama though, it really made up for it in it's jokes and references showing an undying loyalty and celebration to 20+ years of Transformers content that came before it which always seems to warm my heart.

I guess if I REALLY have to choose which one is the best I'll have to go for which one has the most music on my MP3 player, and in that regard...

Spoiler: The winner is...

 

[Winnosh]

Am sorry but your list doesn't include the three best incarnations.
The 1980s comics by Marvel
The current IDW comics
The War for Cybertron / Fall of Cybertron games.

 

[Johnny Impact]

I grew up with G1. Haven't seen most of the later series but it doesn't matter. G1 will always be the best for me because it conjures happy memories of idle Saturday mornings, nothing to do but eat cereal and watch cartoons.

 

[Littaly]

Beast Wars. That's the one I grew up with. I don't know anything about the Transformers mythos in general and I care even less, but man, Beast Wars was amazing. It's not the cartoon I watched the most, it's not the one I was most the most wrapped up in, but it's definitely the one that made the biggest impact on me. I even revisited it a few years back and parts of it still holds up really well.

 

[malestrithe]

Beast Wars. It had the best characters. It had the best development of them all. It had character arcs, something foreign to G1 and still present in modern transformers. Also, it did not exist solely to sell a toy line, which is always a plus.

G1 Transformers is not as good as people remember it. It started out

The elements that a lot of people mistake for G1 actually came from the Marvel Comics, more specifically the U.K. edition. In the TV series, there is very little indication why Megatron should lead. He was grossly incompetent at the role, more likely to sound the retreat instead of following through with his plans. In the comic book, Megatron was no better than a thug that ruled through fear an intimidation. He was not a tactician, that came in much later in the franchise. He was still better than doormat that was on G1 Cartoons.

I would advise anyone with the desire to "correct" me to look at some of the older cartoons with modern eyes and not through rose colored goggles. Nostalgia is not reality.

 

[Ravesy]

Beast Wars. It had the best characters. It had the best development of them all. It had character arcs, something foreign to G1 and still present in modern transformers. Also, it did not exist solely to sell a toy line, which is always a plus.

G1 Transformers is not as good as people remember it. It started out

The elements that a lot of people mistake for G1 actually came from the Marvel Comics, more specifically the U.K. edition. In the TV series, there is very little indication why Megatron should lead. He was grossly incompetent at the role, more likely to sound the retreat instead of following through with his plans. In the comic book, Megatron was no better than a thug that ruled through fear an intimidation. He was not a tactician, that came in much later in the franchise. He was still better than doormat that was on G1 Cartoons.

I would advise anyone with the desire to "correct" me to look at some of the older cartoons with modern eyes and not through rose colored goggles. Nostalgia is not reality.

I know but...but the memories!

I voted G1 anyway, I'm sorry...I thought about the VHS copy of headmasters I had as a kid and before I knew it I had already voted...

 

[Palademon]

My favourite was Energon

Only one important human to deal with and the animation looked awesome.

 

[Tiamattt]

Ugh, the fact that you lumped Beast Wars+Machines together seriously made me want to choose something else. To put it in Transformers terms, Beast Machines was a giant pile of slag. Beast Wars I recently re-watched on Netflix, and while it wasn't as perfect as my childhood brain led me to believe I still like it better then G1. Smaller cast made sure there wasn't a literal army of background characters doing nothing and it's surprising how well it still holds up today. Oh and this has to be my favorite version of Megatron of all time.

I also started watching Prime, I'm 6 episodes in and I have to say there's a lot of potential there. That said the human kids they put in that series to "help" are more annoying then helpful most of the time and they dragging the series down for me. I'm seriously hoping the way they're used greatly improves in the future otherwise....well lets just I'm glad the fast forward function is there.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I was introduced during the Beast Wars era, or Beasties in Canada. Dinobot will always be my hero from Transformers. And it had the best Megatron, admit it.

I do like Prime however. Quite funny at times.

 

[Kikyoo]

Beast wars was easily the best IMO. I've been on a long thing of watching all transformers, but Beast Wars has easily been the best. the first incarnation of Transformers was pretty silly, and nonsensical. Season 1 and 2 were alright but season 3 just got BAD... with a capital STARSCREAM'S GHOST! I haven't been able to locate headmasters I remember it being better, but Beast wars was VERY high quality. Characters had personalities and you got to see them interact a lot. By having a tighter crew things felt more real, and the problems they dealt with were a not as flimsy and shallow as the first gen. Also almost no humans. It's just a story about the transformers mostly. And I like that...

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Beast Wars. Watched it growing up and still love it, even if it is cheesy. Also loved David Kaye as Megatron. Yes...

 

[Azurian]

Even though G1 holds a special place in my childhood I gotta say Beast Wars for only 3 reasons

1. Dinobot
2. Code of Hero
3. Transmutate

Watch Code of Hero and see if it doesn't pull at your heart strings a little bit.

 

[shintakie10]

The fact that you lumped Beast Wars and Beast Machines together makes me sad. Beast Wars was amazin, even if it did get ridiculously cheesy by the end. "Die cast design *looks at camera* it's a lost art." Really? It was funny, sure, but it was weird. Beast Machines had issues. The storylines were...kinda interestin, but it didn't make a ton of sense in a lot of places.

However, with the lack of prime bein on the list, definitely Beast Wars.

I also started watching Prime, I'm 6 episodes in and I have to say there's a lot of potential there. That said the human kids they put in that series to "help" are more annoying then helpful most of the time and they dragging the series down for me. I'm seriously hoping the way they're used greatly improves in the future otherwise....well lets just I'm glad the fast forward function is there.

The kids aren't so terribly bad. Raph actually has a purpose since he can actually do stuff and Jack gets some interestin character growth later in the series. The only one who really has issues is Miko who technically gets character growth, but then doesn't actually grow from there and she just keeps on bein an idiot.

 

[A Username Not In Use]

Gen1 I grew up with them and I still collect them.

 

[MrFalconfly]

I'm gonna have to make a lot of fans angry with my preference (but sod them. I wont be bullied into submission).

I prefer the Live Action films. But then again I wasn't really an original fan (I was more into LEGO than the original transformers action figures) and I'm a massive tech nerd so if you have gratuitous technology porn in you film I'm sold.

 

[Wolfbane_Daoine]

I was seriously torn between my love of G1 and Beast Wars. Beasties! Had to tip it towards Beast Wars in the end, just because of how well written it was. The characters, and their interactions felt much more like they were living beings with continuity and not just there to peddle toys from show to show. (Which they were, but still) Also, I will agree that David Kaye as Megatron doesn't hurt. Oh no...

Great Poll/Thread btw, thanks

 

[woodaba]

Michael Bay's incarnation.

...problem, internet?

Nah, I'm just kidding. I like the old cartoon show, but I haven't seen enough of it to definitely make a statement on it.