After weeks of hushed murmurs and blogosphere speculation, the War for Cybertron trailer is here at long last! It’s been a minute, but Transformers is back on the block like Omar Little with the sawed-off! After a resurgence of 80s nostalgia showing up on Netflix the last few years (She–Ra, Voltron), it makes sense that Optimus Prime and Megatron return to throw cybernetic hands in the midst of the dumpster fire of 2020.
Made of Sterner Stuff
This is a far cry from the shiny veneer and flashy reboots we’ve seen thus far. On this go-round, the War for Cybertron feels a lot like the beach scenes in Saving Private Ryan. A grizzled and weary Optimus and a wrecked crew of Autobots set the stage for a much darker look at the Transformers mythology. Imagine Westworld meets West Side Story, but more lasers. Dark as it may be, the property has never looked as compelling as this trailer! Optimus looks beat up. Window pecs all smashed up, morale low, getting washed up by Megatron all throughout the trailer. The real kicker, there will be no Peter Cullen in the booth. No matter what, interest is high in the pandemic and this “Netflix original ANIME series” is looking like a needed boost of Energon.
Which Way to Cybertron?
After thirty-plus years of reboots, rehashes, reinventions, and interpretations; which set of lore are they going with? The trailer suggests, all of it. Easter eggs are all over the place. The title is from the video game (2010 on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC) with some nods to the music in the scoring. They reference the Allspark, the Deus Ex Machina invented for the Michael Bay movies based on the OG ‘matrix of leadership.’ In that same Allspark reference, Megatron lets off his iconic, “Yeeeesss,” which alludes to the various Megatrons from the Beast Wars saga. A plot unfolds where Autobots are turned into Decepticons and scores of bodies are strewn about the landscape. We don’t know where this is going to go, but we know there are bodies everywhere so one will stand, one will fall.
Now that that’s out of the way, I know what you really came through for: the who’s who of Transformers in the building for the series!
Robot Roll Call
Everyone’s favorite robo medic Ratchet is on deck! Intergenerational fan favorite Bumblebee (looking like his Goldbug incarnation) shows up early on. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw on their Birds of Prey vibes, scared off by Optimus and a gang of Autobots (one looking like Wheel Jack’s car form). Of course, Megatron is in the building, but in his ear is none other fellow gat master, Shockwave! A throwback to the Generation 1 days, Ultra Magnus, RC, and Kup return to the fray! Ironhide has a moment, and the oversized boosters of Skyfire flare up. Starscream is seen hovering over a downed prime. The reveal of all reveals though is the goosebump inducing hand of Omega Supreme!
As the first of an announced trilogy, Transformers: War for Cybertron – Siege delivers like TF purist’s dream and has a little something for everyone. Set for release on July 30th, Netflix has this one in the bag.
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you? Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
Show Comments