Lost Episode: Five Faces of Darkness

[Toph]

Apparently Dick Gautier wasn't always the voice of Rodimus?
The original tests featuring Ted Schwartz as Rodimus have been discovered.

[Toph]

I dunno... It just doesn't work for me. Not bad for Hotrod, but a bit too much "Turbo Revvin' Young Punk" and not enough "Tired Dad" for Rodimus Prime.

Wouldn't be a bad choice for the Lost Light Captain though

[Benn]

I kinda like it. It's more about showing the difference between him and Optimus more clearly. Originally we don't see the grinding down that leads to 'tired of your shit' Rodimus and I think with this younger sounding leader who gradually gets more and more fed up with being made an adult before his time, it could have made his arc to acceptance and then freedom a bit stronger. As it is, Rodimus starts off tired and doubting, and doesn't really go anywhere with that until Optimus returns.

Here he starts off kinda okay, but then his friends all run off to have adventures and he's stuck at home and you get that first sense of "C'mon, why'd it have to be me", but he does have that moment of clear decisiveness to balance it out. We SEE why he's got that leadership potential and then it's undermined by his own immaturity. And I think it could have been interesting to see that play out over the season.

Rodimus has a lot more boring serious grown up jobs to do with the Galactic peacekeeping that Optimus never had, and he spends more time at base while everyone else is off having fun adventure times comparatively too. It's a different sort of leadership and it would have worn him down.

Interesting to think about, if nothing else!

[Toph]

Yeah, but that requires a level of consistency and writing that sunbow G1 didn't have.
That's a multi season personal character arc for a series that barely remembers episodes that happened before it, and can't even get them in the right order.

Your scenario is very fun though, and fun to think about
Throw in Ultra Magnus, who not only is teaching Rodimus how to be a leader, but actually enjoys the bureaucracy and the boringness of it after so much war.

[chrisl]

Not a fan I'm afraid. I totally agree with Toph on this one.