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Post by Shockprowl on Aug 15, 2010 1:03:08 GMT
You gotta love the Great Simon F. He took a, yes unique, but fairly insignificant toy and turned him into a fantastic and very interesting character- Decepticon Leader no less!
To quote the mighty Hero: BLUDGEON RULES, BABY!!!
('Cept he doesn't say 'Baby'.)
(Maybe he should say 'Baby'?)
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Aug 15, 2010 6:52:14 GMT
I suppose... but looking at him critically, does he really belong in a Transformers comic? Yeah, I know we've seen him come out of his shell occasionally just for form's sake, but most of the time I think he's wandered in from some other non-robot comic. A samurai zombie comic... or something. I don't think swords and martial arts are really something giant armour-plated death machines would see as a viable technological avenue, to be honest. Mind you, Prime in the live-action movies... Martin |
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Post by Shockprowl on Aug 15, 2010 15:22:52 GMT
I think Martial Arts can fit in with robots. Just have to be roboty Martial Arts, you know, not trying to make Human Martial Arts fit in with robots. Not sure if that proves your point or not, Martin! ;D I do think he looks about as non-Transformery as it's possible for a Transformer to look!
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Aug 16, 2010 6:39:06 GMT
I think Martial Arts can fit in with robots. Just have to be roboty Martial Arts, you know, not trying to make Human Martial Arts fit in with robots. As far as I know we've only ever seen Bludgeon do human martial arts moves. If I was a robot and wanted to be a master of hand-to-hand combat, I would install optic sensors on the back of my head and make all my joints fully 360-degree articulated, so that I could spin like a helicopter on my waist, or whizz my lower legs and forearms around and around at speed. I would also give myself go-go-gadget fists and feet so I could punch and kick people at long range. Oh, and I'd have a coupld of extra arms. And extra legs. Why not? But the guy with the target-tracking laser gun will still win. Martin |
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Rich
Protoform
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Post by Rich on Aug 16, 2010 23:12:53 GMT
Martin, I've been swayed by many of your arguments about TF being real within their own universe, but to think of TF without Bludgeon is just about impossible if you ask me. Bludgeon is the B&W stories as far as I'm concerned.
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Aug 17, 2010 2:26:48 GMT
Well, I'd sure love someone to write a fan story some time about how and why he decided to make his Pretender shell a skeleton in a samurai costume. I mean it. There could be something really interesting going on there.
Karl's usually good at doing Japan-based stories...
I'd also like to see what form his martial arts take when he's not in his shell. Maybe he has more robotic moves in robot mode.
Martin
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Post by grahamthomson on Aug 17, 2010 8:13:10 GMT
Maybe Bludgeon can _only_ do all the swordy stabby stuff while inside his Shell.
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Dave
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Post by Dave on Aug 17, 2010 9:05:06 GMT
I'm sure there was a panel *somewhere* where Bludgeon was out of his shell and swinging his sword about - or maybe I'm imagining it. I do like the character but I remember picking up the final issue after years of not reading TF comics (apart from the odd holiday special I had lying around) and thinking there must have been a He-Man crossover or something.
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Post by andrewbcalculating on Aug 17, 2010 10:16:18 GMT
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Rich
Protoform
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Post by Rich on Aug 17, 2010 11:54:10 GMT
Did you not hear in the news? Detailed study of Ukiyo-e (until recently believed to depict only visionary art) created during the early Edo period, has led art historians to believe that a skull-faced giant inspired the Samurai tradition in the Heian period of the 8th and 9th centuries when the word shogun was first coined. The isolationist tendencies of Japanese culture during the period ensured that this amazing story was never recorded by the stubbies of marvel UK  |
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Post by Shockprowl on Aug 17, 2010 19:46:11 GMT
...and thinking there must have been a He-Man crossover or something. HHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!!! |
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Post by legios on Aug 19, 2010 20:22:56 GMT
I don't think swords and martial arts are really something giant armour-plated death machines would see as a viable technological avenue, to be honest. Mind you, Prime in the live-action movies... I can actually see a logic to having close combat weapons - not as a primary weapon, but they might be useful to have around for certain circumstances. Given that the majority of Transformers we saw in the comics used a lot of external weapons, in much the same way that humans do, they are probably going to be prone to the same hindrances. Whilst in open terrain, or at a distance, the guy with a gun is always going to come out best if the fight comes down to stabbing distance (and in situations like ambushes, urban combat or very tight terrain this can happen quicker than you might like) a long-gun can be unweildy and difficult to actually point at your opponent. If you can get close enough a transformer armed with a melee weapon might find he has more advantages than one might think. Generally the 'bot with the gun is going to win, but just occassionally you are going to be glad you brought a knife to a gunfight. That said, Transformers do differ from humans in one important way - humans are only sometimes armoured, whilst Transformers always are. I would have expected that this would have affected the kinds of weapons they developed. Slashing and cutting weapons, like the sword Bludgeon had, are less useful against armour than weapons designed to pierce and pry at armour or to crush it and transfer energy to the vital systems underneath. So I'd have thought that pick-like weapons like Straxus' (or the hooked claws on Movie Brawl) would be more common than cutting weapons like the Dinobots' or Bludgeon's swords. Mind you though, Bludgeon did seem to belong to some kind of cult of warrior excellence, so it may be that he has deliberately opted for an inferior weapon as a method of honing his skill in a fight. Or it might just be pure robot-machiso. He doesn't strike me as being above a bit of posturing. Well, I'd sure love someone to write a fan story some time about how and why he decided to make his Pretender shell a skeleton in a samurai costume. I mean it. There could be something really interesting going on there. It is an interesting question. I don't have any answers at the moment but the imagery does raise questions. Why the Great Armour, why appear to be unquiet dead? What message is being sent there. Is it something specific in Japanese history and culture he is tapping into or is it a resonance with something in Cybertronian culture? (Do Cybertronian's even have traditions surrounding the walking dead, given their different understanding of death, or is it the result of a cross-cultural misunderstanding?) It does raise a lot of questions, and I have a strong suspicion that these are going to keep coming back to bother me for a while now. Maybe. On the other hand most Transformers are basically humanoid in one form, so there will be a lot of cross-over in terms of the basic principles I suspect. Karl |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Aug 19, 2010 21:11:22 GMT
That said, Transformers do differ from humans in one important way - humans are only sometimes armoured, whilst Transformers always are. I would have expected that this would have affected the kinds of weapons they developed. Slashing and cutting weapons, like the sword Bludgeon had, are less useful against armour than weapons designed to pierce and pry at armour or to crush it and transfer energy to the vital systems underneath. So I'd have thought that pick-like weapons like Straxus' (or the hooked claws on Movie Brawl) would be more common than cutting weapons like the Dinobots' or Bludgeon's swords. Blitzwing's jagged electron scimitar seems like a good weapon - tear an opening in the armour and short-circuit your enemy. Bludgeon's sword, on the other hand, just appears to be a cutting blade. On the other other hand, look at his tech-specs.  The antennae on his samurai armour are supposed to act much like Shrpanel's antennae, and his inner robot carries an electrical weapon - both very effective weapons in reality for disabling armoured robots. He also apparently has smoke generators and smelly 'mucus slime' (is that a weapon or a personal problem?). Which makes his exclusive use of a sword in the comics doubly perplexing. Martin |
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Aug 20, 2010 22:40:54 GMT
I guess you could stretch things a bit and argue that as a Pretender it is possible that his primary foes are not other Transformers but alien organics and thus a bladed weapon might indeed be more suitable. Especially if covert assassination on alien worlds to better benefit the Decepticons is what he was up to before his comic appearances.
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 20, 2010 22:54:49 GMT
Or the sword is an early form of Targetmaster weapon mini-robot but the 'bot was fused in sword mode, Bludgeon's only friend. His name...was Metallikato!
I'll get my coat.
-Ralph
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Aug 21, 2010 7:02:11 GMT
Or the sword is an early form of Targetmaster weapon mini-robot but the 'bot was fused in sword mode, Bludgeon's only friend. His name...was Metallikato! Yes! And Bludgeon learnt his martial arts by instructing his servant Metalli-Cato to attack him whenever and wherever he least expects it - just like Inspector Clouseau's manservant, Cato! It all makes sense now! Martin |
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Post by Shockprowl on Aug 21, 2010 9:17:49 GMT
Metalli-Cato!!!! Brilliant! Have some karma!!!
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