Transformers: Then and Now (part 2)

1. It kinda sucks that the Decepticons didn't get more air-play, as for the most part they really awesome.
2. Other than Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave and occasionally Devastator, the Decepticons of G1 didn't really DO that much. They pretty much carried Megatrons stuff and got shot, so really its not that bad.
3. The fact that the few scenes the characters were in captured some of their characters so well is actually really, really impressive.

The 3rd point is the one that this article will focus on (for the most part). Also, you may have noticed that it says part 2" up there. Part 1 was about the Autobots and can be found here if you missed it somehow. Anywho - this isn't about Autobots! This is a land where Autobots fear to tread! The place where Autobots get their asses handed to them. The place that will probably have quite a few spoilers of cool moments (but seriously - its been a week now, what the hell is yer excuse?!). This is Decepticons - then and now!

Decpticons

Megatron
	THEN: Way back when, Megatron was the silver/white, iron-mulleted, ruthless leader of the Decepticons. Like his Autobot counterpart, he wasn't afraid to just shoot his enemies (and often his own cronies) in the face, only he had a giant friggin' arm cannon. This was awesome in robot form, but kinda lame when he turned into a small handgun which had to be wielded by one of said cronies. Why they didn't just bury him, I'll never know - their lives would have been a lot easier.
	NOW: Megatron is still the ruthless leader of the Decepticons, only now he's pretty much just silver, and lacks a mullet. Still ruthless though. Unlike every other robot in the movie, Megs decided not to get a more earth-friendly mode. He's just a spikey robot that turns into a spikey space jet. True, he was only in the movie for about 30-40 minutes, but he made it very clear that he meant business. From his opening line of I. AM. MEGATRON!!! (Coming straight out of a freakin' coma and screaming your own name a wicked way to live) you know he's not to be messed with.
Starscream
	THEN: I've written about Starscream almost 1000 times on this site, so I probably dont need to get into too many details here. So, heres a short overview of classic Starscream characteristics: 1. He turns into a jet. 2. He's a traitorous bastard, yet is also a wicked suck-up. 3. He fails at most things. 4. He shoots others in the back. 5. He tends to run away. He's actually quite a bit more deep than that, but thats the important stuff.
	NOW: I was actually starting to get pretty pissed off - Starscream wasn't in about 90% of this movie. However, it was all made up in that 10%. Somehow in a matter of about 4 lines and 3 actions they managed to portray him as: a bastard, a suck-up, and a failure. Also he shot people in the back, ran away, and was indeed a jet. While movie Starscream looks very little like what he used to (though, he does have the big shoulder wings), the character was dead on. Right down to the annoying nasally voice. I am impressed.
Frenzy
	THEN: Frenzy wasn't really used that much in the original series. He was one of Soundwave's tape-buddies, but he was the one with no actual cool gimmick. He just turned into a small robot. That's really all there is to say about him. Sorry.
	NOW: In the movie, Frenzy is given a MUCH more prominent role, in that the entire role of the Decepticons for the first 2/3 of the movie is to find stuff out, and thats his entire function. He's the ONLY one like that in this one. No Soundwave, no Ravage, no Laserbeak, not even Rumble. Just Frenzy. I guess being the low bot on the totem helps out later. However, despite his big role, he spoke no English, opting to speak, what I can only assume, was Cybertronian. However, since he was small (he was about the size of a little kid, where as all other robots were about the size of houses), he had a high-pitched voice. Almost JarJar-like, but a lot less annoying. He was the cute robot, despite the fact that he was crazy- savage. Also, he got an upgrade from tape to CD player, and later a cell phone.
Bonecrusher
	THEN: One of the crony Constructicons, Bonecrusher was fairly faceless in that he was only really cool when he joined with the others to make Devastator. That being said, he was a pretty damn cool left-arm. Ya know, in comparison to... I dunno... Voltron? He was the more so violent one then, but they were all pretty violent in that all they did was destroy stuff really. He turned into a bulldozer, which is a pretty cool form, I guess.
	NOW: Now the ONLY Constructicon to head to earth, Bonecrusher is a LOT cooler. And he's hip with earth trends! He has roller blades, and goes skating down the highway like a madman (going through buses and whatnot). He actually gets one of the coolest fights in the whole movie against Prime. They really gave old shit-characters the upper hand in this one. Weird. He now turns into... something. A vehicle for construction, but I cant do much better than that. His robot form is pretty awesome though.
Scorponok
	THEN: Scorponok was a pretty late addition to the Transformers universe, coming in at the very end of the original run. However, when he came in he made his mark - he was the leader of the Headmasters, which was a big part of that final season, though at the same time, not all that great. He's pretty simple to get though. Great big robot, turns into scorpion. Pretty simple really.
	NOW: In the movie, Scorponok seems to be leader of nothing. Thats not to say he's not pretty cool though. So, Ill say it now: Scorponok is pretty cool. He still turns into a giant scorpion, and spends his scenes in the desert, and despite the fact that he survives his major battle, we don't see any more of him later on. Oh well. Maybe the Headmasters will show up in the sequel.
Brawl
	THEN: Back then, Brawl was a tank. Honestly, I don't really remember anything about him. I'm a bad, bad article writer. I apologize yet again.
	NOW: In the movie, I'm pretty sure he never goes into robot mode (hence the lack of a decent picture there. That IS him in tank form though. The interesting thing about him is, when it lists their names as the Decepticons are called into battle, it lists him as Devastator. Devastator he is not. Don't be fooled. He's a tank - not a bunch of other robots. Thats quite different.
Barricade
	THEN: Barricade was never in the original series, though he was included in the G1 series of toys, but even then it was pretty late. Back then he was a racecar (he was part of the race track patrol team.
	NOW: In the movie, Barricade is still a racecar, only now he's painted to look like a police car (with the phrase to punish and enslave painted on his side). He's teamed up with Frenzy, and actually has a number of cool scenes. He scares the shit out of Spike, anyways, and then has a really cool chase scene. He also utters one of the most ridiculous lines a Transformer has ever said. But, its not his fault - its Spikes (though even he claimed it was a typo...).
Blackout
	THEN: Sadly, Blackouts then comes courtesy of Transformers Armada. In other words, he's a total n00b. Actually, he came out about the same time as Barricade, but thats the first cartoon appearance. Originally he turned into a tank, but was later a helicopter.
	NOW: In the movie, Blackout was actually one of my favorite villains (though that MIGHT just be because he was the first one shown on screen, and this the first one to get the noise (you know the one I'm talking about). He's massive, and actually looks pretty cool in robot form. They used the helicopter form, and the blades form a kinda cape on him. Neat. Also, he blasts shit and then just struts around as people scream in firey pain. Good work on him.

So, what characters do I wish to see in the sequel? Well, theres quite a few actually. Soundwave, Devastator, the Dinobots (or even just Grimlock). Unicron would be neat too. Also, I wanna see a bigger role for Mountain Dew-bot. Im pretty sure he got out of the battle unscathed.