#transformers theories

[ck-17088]

Transformers One Theories Part 1: Sentinel Prime and how he gained power on Cybertron (Special Guests: Quintessons) 

Hello, Transformers One has taken over my mind so I’ve been rewatching the trailers and reading some interviews/articles. One thing I’ve noticed is that the marketing for this movie is mainly focused on Orion Pax and D-16’s friendship and the tragedy of their eventual fallout. However, there is little information on Sentinel Prime and the role he plays in the movie. Since I’m delusional, I came up with these crazy theories about Sentinel Prime, specifically on how he’s the villain in this story. 

Before we get into my theories, here is some extra information that I’ll be referring to when explaining:

What We Know (trailers, interviews/articles, TV spots already released)- be warned, potential spoilers from articles/interviews released in Summer 2024

FYI- I will include screenshots from both trailers, so they should be images you've already seen- so no unexpected images.

In an IndieWire interview, the film was described as an “epic story about the rise of two leaders… including the start of a revolution, a years-long conspiracy and war with other aliens…”  

In an interview with Josh Cooley ( aka the director), he says that he “embraced the chance to explore.. political corruption, revolution, and war”

Cybertron is currently undergoing an Energon crisis/drought (from other interviews)

There was another conflict, which involved the Primes, that occurred before the events of the movie- at the SDCC panel, they showed a clip of Sentinel Prime giving a speech about a past battle that killed all of the Primes and some veterans.

Source Material (?)

Cooley also mentioned in an interview (and at the SDCC panel) that Hasbro gave him a “bible” of Transformers lore

In a different interview, he also said that in the original story for the movie, Megatron was a gladiator. In fact, there were gladiatorial fight scenes planned, but were eventually cut out. 

In addition, he and Orion Pax originally came from very different social backgrounds.

Does that sound familiar? (It should)

The “bible” of Transformers lore with D-16 as a gladiator and Orion Pax from a different social background would be the “Binder of Revelation”- which is what the Aligned Continuity (WOC games, TFP, Rescue Bots) is based on. 

I’ll be referring to the Aligned Continuity as “AC” from now on. Yes, I know it sounds like air-conditioning, deal with it.  

Therefore, I’ll also be talking about AC Sentinel Prime, as I believe that TFO Sentinel is heavily based on that version. 

In the AC, Cybertronians initially did not know how to transform, but everyone was born with a dormant T-cog. 

The Quintessons showed up later, pretending to be emissaries who wanted Cybertron to join the galactic community. They pretended to magically give the Cybertronians T-cogs and the ability to transform (they were activating the dormant T-cog). As a result, they were welcomed on Cybertron and gained public support from its inhabitants. 

Afterward, they set up a global puppet government ruled by Sentinel Zeta Prime and a small council of Cybertronians. They also established the social caste system where one’s alt mode determined their role in society. 

However, their facade was uncovered when a few individuals found out about their plan to sell Cybertronians. 

Sentinel Prime led a rebellion that kicked the Quintessons out of Cybertron.  

Afterward, Sentinel stayed as the leader of Cybertron and continued to enforce the caste system- making it the absolute way of life on Cybertron- which would later become one of the reasons for the start of the Great War. 

(Taken from TF Wiki) 

Now.. finally- my theories

THEORIES

Sentinel Prime is business partners with the Quintessons (sort of?) 

The first trailer shows some Quintessons arriving on the surface of Cybertron. Later shots show Sentinel Prime landing in front of one of the ships. In the background, there are also two trains,Airachnid, and some Vehicon-looking soldiers. It seems that they were expecting the Quintessons. They would have brought more soldiers and weapons if they were unexpected guests. Also, when one of the Quintessons grabs Sentinel, he seems distressed but makes no effort to escape. If it was an unexpected action, he may have reacted more violently. None of the soldiers in the background react to this too- meaning that this interaction isn't new. My main takeaway here is that Sentinel has interacted with the Quintessons before. 

In AC, the Quintessons secretly took over Cybertron and exploited its people and resources. What if they are doing something similar here? Some interviews said that an energon crisis/drought is happening on Cybertron, and Orion Pax and D-16 are energon miners working to help in this crisis. But what if there isn't a crisis going on? What if this is a cover-up for the truth that all of the energon is going to the Quintessons instead of the people?  The trains in the background came from below the planet where the mines are- so they may be carrying energon to give to the Quintessons. But is Sentinel willingly giving the energon to the Quintessons or is forced to? If he's doing this out of his own free will, then why?

Which brings me to the next theory…. 

Sentinel Prime was somehow involved with the demise of the original Primes 

At the beginning of the second trailer, there appears to be a monument under attack (explosions and Cybertronians running away from it). Other shots of the trailer show that this monument has the Matrix of Leadership and figures (at least 7) engraved in it. This is most likely a monument for the original Primes (and current) because other shots show statues of Sentinel Prime-they are blue and gold and have wings - surrounding it. 

As mentioned previously- before the Iacon 5000- Sentinel gives a speech about the Primes and how they perished in battle. Based on the giant monument and Sentinel’s speech, it’s safe that the Primes are well known and are considered important figures- perhaps heroes- on Cybertron. 

BUT- the first trailer shows the bodies of the Primes in a cave, where they are covered in vegetation- as if they were abandoned. If the Primes are considered important, heroic beings, why were their bodies left on the surface of Cybertron? Why were they not taken back to Iacon to be given a proper funeral? 

….. Something is fishy here.   

Like I said- this is a crazy theory, but I think Sentinel was responsible for the demise of the original Primes. Sentinel giving a speech about the Primes and the event/battle of their deaths suggests that he knows HOW they died.  The fact that a battle is mentioned indicates a war or conflict before the events of TFO. This lines up with what another interview said- that the movie would include wars with other aliens. 

These two pieces of information make me believe that before the movie's events, there was a war between Cybertronians (specifically the Primes) and Quintessons, who were invading the planet. To support that- in a shot with Orion Pax, D-16, and Bumblebee looking at Alpha Trion's recording, Alpha Trion is holding a blaster- he's directly involved in combat.

As said before, in AC, Sentinel was installed as the leader of a puppet government controlled by the Quintessons. But instead of being installed as leader directly by the Quintessons, he probably became leader in a different way in TFO.  

Sentinel may have been under the direct command of the Primes or was one himself. Tying back to the first theory-  I think he made a deal with the Quintessons. He betrayed the Primes- by leading them into a trap/battle where the Quintessons killed them (only Alpha Trion survived- somehow). In exchange for the Quintessons killing the Primes, which would allow him to become Cybertron's leader, he would give them the planet's energon. As a result, the Quintessons would have someone who would give them the resources (energon) they want.  

Also- in the same clip with Orion Pax, D-16, etc.- Orion says that the recording is an SOS call- I betting this was sent when the Primes were overwhelmed by the Quintessons.  Since the call never made it through, someone-maybe Sentinel- blocked it or hid it until the main cast found it. 

Overall, this would be a beneficial situation for both parties- Sentinel gets control/power over the planet, and the Quintessons get Energon without spending time and resources trying to conquer Cybertron. This may also explain why no one is allowed to go to the surface- they might see the Quintessons and discover the Primes’ bodies- and put into question Sentinel’s true loyalties.  There is supposedly a  “years-long conspiracy” involved in this movie, which may be referring to this- the Primes were murdered, and the Quintessons have control of the planet’s resources through Sentinel, who has been lying all these years about the fates of the Primes and where the Energon actually goes. 

Summary of my theories: 

Before the events of TFO, there was a war between Cybertronians and Quintessons, with the Primes defending Cybertron. Sentinel made a deal with the Quintessons. He betrayed the original Primes, allowing the Quintessons to kill them, thus giving him leadership over the planet. This benefits the Quintessons because they get a leader who willingly gives them the planet’s energon. To prevent the Cybertronian population from discovering Sentinel’s role in the Primes’ demise AND the Quintessons, they are not allowed to go to the surface under the assumption/lie that the surface is dangerous. 

This would be a new twist on the events in the Aligned Continuity while also combining a few elements of other versions of Sentinel into one: the jerk from TFA, the betrayer from Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and the leader who only gained power through association with the Quintessons from AC.  

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my rambling. I have no clue if both of my theories are straight up wrong or somewhat correct... but regardless there will be a part 2 of Sentinel Prime Theories coming later....

[autism-autobot]

As a fellow autistic with a special interest in the aligned community, I wanted to share my theory for why Optimus was dead at the start of Robots in Disguise, yet "alive" in rescue bots for the video call with Heatwave episode 1 of season four (when "Optimus" gives Heatwave plans for the rescue academy)- It wasn't Optimus. We learn that the council had been using holoforms to hide their decepticon frames, and all contact with Earth was illegal, but they still need functioning rescue bots to... actually perform emergency work on Cybertron (Side headcanon-it had been volunteers until the academy became active). So the council, once discovering rescue bots were on Earth, used a holoform pretending to be Optimus to tell the rescue bots to make an academy by their design. "Optimus" is extremely brief, never acknowledges Heatwave's questions about the lack of communication, then gives the plans and hangs up. Simulation rooms, AI security, and keeping it attached only to the bunker groundbridge would make it so any recruits would never leave the academy, therefore never being influenced by "illegal Earth connections." We only see plans to go into towns and interact with rescue humans in the Rescue Bots Academy show, so it was something the rescue bots themselves added.

Feel free to ignore this completely, I just saw you reblogging a post talking about Optimus being dead when ignoring Heatwave's calls for three years and wanted to share. I love your blog and it makes me happy to see a shared interest!

Have a great day and I hope this message doesn't bother you.

This message doesn't bother me at all! I hardly ever gets asks!

The way I had always rationalized it is that the time between Seasons 3 & 4 of Rescue Bots is the same (or similar) as the time between the TFP movie and Season 1 of Robots in Disguise. That would mean that it is really Optimus the whole time.

Feel free to have your own headcanons though.

[knnw-a]

[keferon]

......So originally I wanted to make just a sketch of the hug scene but mhmgkhllgkh here we are haha

Based on Mistakes on mistakes until

+ close ups of their eyes because I sprinkled them with the tiny extra details

[sockiepuppetry]

The dark lore of transformers animated

[transformer-analysis]

Transformer Prime Details I’ve Noticed

The Autobot’s computer keyboard keys are short, small and squarely.

maybe cause it’s built with Ratchet’s square fingers in mind:

The Decepticon’s keyboard keys is long and sleekly:

Probably cause it’s built with Soundwave’s long and sharp fingers in mind:

pat on the back for the designers who considered this

(Orion Pax trying to type on the Decepticon’s keyboard with his giant wide square fingers)

[no-lullaby]

[himulrai]

Orion Swap AU (Catalyse That Vertex) Part 5! (Previous | Next | Masterlist)

i was shocked to see so many people talk about the primes in my fic so this idea came to mind! next up will be a continuation of this comic but with TFP OP talking to the TF1 Primes so it'll be significantly fluffier ahah

i am so so sorry for the long wait and really scrappy drawings but schoolwork has been crushing me lately - tysm for all the support on this au though! it motivates me😭

[sgrimp]

TF: One -> Earthspark as the same continuity: ramblings

I think it's interesting that Breakdown and Bumblebee could've met while racing in the Iacon 5000 (after BB recieved his T-cog). This would probably be between the time Megatron was banished and when the war started.

2. This interaction's literally D-16 and Orion Pax. D-16 wanting Orion to listen? Orion wanting D-16 to stop challenging his decisions? THE TRIVIA BLURB AS CONFIRMATION OF THEIR PAST FRIENDSHIP?

3. The swap in temperament between Soundwave and Shockwave is interesting.

It's like Soundwave's patience is eroding everytime he goes through another leader. It's always been the case, but he's extremely loyal to his leader up until the point where he feels that they're ineffective; then he will do what he can to replace them with another.

Meanwhile, Shockwave starts off as kinda temperamental in TFOne. But if these continuities were one, it'd be assumed that he mellows out externally over the course of the war, but he still has that kind of innate rage he's always had.

To put it shortly:

Soundwave: cold exterior, angry interior -> angry exterior, angry exterior

Shockwave: angry exterior, angry interior -> cold exterior, angry interior

I can really just see Shockwave being the same guy just getting older over time. It's not much of a stretch to me.

4. Bumblebee goes from being extremely lonely to being surrounded by family and friends, while Starscream goes from being surrounded by (at least) allies and troops to being extremely lonely. It's especially apparent when they're both talking to inanimate/inactive objects when they're isolated, like here.

I think there's some merit in Bumblebee helping Starscream through his loneliness for a hypothetical season 4 of ES if this were the case.

[ninjasmudge]

g1 autobots

[lord-squiggletits]

Was doing a live reading/recording of Chaos Theory for my voice class and @icedamage said that Megatron's whole monologue was him at the drive-thru in Wendy's. Couldn't rest until I recreated this image.

[milkymolle]

thinking abt meg with the furiosa war paint. thinking.

original:

[scribescrawls]

Heard Starscream has an immortal spark and crack theory headcanon that it’s not because it was an accident that he was born with a ‘mutant’ immortal spark, but rather it was Primus purposefully making him that way as a wild card in case Unicron ever came back. A wild card where things could go really badly for everyone or really well depending on what Starscream does and you don’t know which it’ll be, but sometimes that kind of unpredictable chaos in desperate situations can change the tide of things tipping the scales in small ways that have big ripple effects. Like running out of ideas and just throwing spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks lol

Like Optimus Prime is Primus’ favorite, he holds the Matrix defending Cybertron and all around doing his best to protect others. Optimus is god’s blorbo.

But imagine Starscream is his poor little meow meow. The dog he put in the room to eat the chess pieces when Unicron isn’t looking. Primus cannot predict what the frag Starscream will do, but that means neither can Unicron. And Starscream can’t die, not in a way that matters. But also imagine Primus decides to never tell Starscream that he has an immortal spark because he thinks he should get to live a normal life (with all the good and bad that entails) without the burden of knowing all of that since there’s a possibility Unicron will never return anyway. What if Starscream is Primus’ silly rabbit.

[dezmolad]

what makes Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus so interesting for me is often spotting similarieties and differences between how this Magnus Armor changes the behaviour of Minimus Ambus. There is a lot of the impact here and I feel like I can't escape writing about it one day it's what makes the similarities even more interesting. Bc despite getting into a different persona some traits and impusles remain and it makes them look significant.

here's the example of one of my favourite shared behaviour:

Both Ultra Magnus and Minimus Ambus express this kind of protectiveness over Rodimus in gestures. It speaks volumes that even if Minimus is so much less imposing without the armor he still keeps this act around Rodimus.

It isn't anything surprising, after what Magnus said on Hedonia

but I still think those gestures adds depth to it, how Magnus can became Minimus and still express the sentiment in the same way.

[cheesesquiggler]

Drift is so silly

[msk29fan]

I still think ravage is the oldest/the leader of the casseticons.

Soundwave cassettes theory (G1 1984 cartoon)

Note: I'm going with Rumble is blue, Frenzy is red for this theory/headcanon.

Common fanon has Rumble and Frenzy are twins, but what if Frenzy was actually the baby (sparkling?) of Soundwave cassettes until Ratbat came along?

It would explain why Rumble has adventures without Frenzy and sometimes even with Soundwave Decepticons/solo, but I can't remember seeing Frenzy battles without Rumble.

Apparently Frenzy needs more protection/supervision.

Thinking further about, I think might actually be the eldest because he's seems the most independent out of all the cassettes!