TRANSFORMERS: THE BASICS on VEHICONS
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- From "Beast Machines" to "Transformers: Prime" and beyond, these are the Basics on the endless, faceless, mass-produced armies of evil - the VEHICONS!
Support the show on Patreon: www.patreon.co...
Buy me a coffee: ko-fi.com/184X...
Follow me on Twitter: / chrismcfeely
Follow me on Tumblr: / chrismcfeely
Logo by Liam Shalloo: / liamshalloo
Background music: Aitech Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons...
End card music: "Tech Live" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
creativecommons...
Never knew of the Steve joke, but still laugh at Megatron throwing the ground based vehicon from this ships landing deck.
i like to believe that's Steve XD
Fun fact: the G1 episode "Make Tracks" also has Megatron create an endless army of mindless car drones, just over a decade before Beast Machines!
I was wondering whether the 'watchdogs' in The Ultimate Doom are primeval Vehicons, but we never see them transform. Also, TFWiki suggests that they could be native alt-modes for the likes of Reflector...
Megatron had drines when he was Cybertron in war dawn
@@chrisedwards3214Yes! You’re right!
@@matthewreynoso6904 And in Beast Wars: Uprising, they were retroactively named Dropkicks (after the 2007 Movieverse character).
Nice
The Vehicon Generals, Obsidian and Strika especially, need new toys more than most
New and BETTER toys no less.
Agreed
Beast Machine Strika and Obsidian Leader and Voyager class with Prime vehicons to boss around would be so perfect for Legacy
Obsidian just needs to appear again outside of comics, period. Strika got to be in both Animated and Cyberverse.
Agreed.
Steve will always be iconic, but also Jetstorm is pretty cool.
"Now, Waspinator cool biker bot."
"Hardly ever get blown up and..."
“Mmm… chick-bots _diiiiiig_ brooding loner bit!”
@@awesomeproductions7755 "You mean I risked my life for this... this.. SCRAP HEAP?! EEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!!"
@@GoGojiraGo that means spiderbot not go steady with waspinator?
@@reubenguttenberg7405 NNNNNNNOOOOOOOooooOOOOOOoooooooo!!
The Transformers game from 2004 based on Armada also had it's own mass produced army of Decepticon robots known as "Decepticlones" with several different types such as "Light Unit", "Medium Unit", "Heavy Unit" and more. These guys are pretty iconic to me given their uniqueness amongst the designs rather than being all one theme / color, although it is cool to have that too sometimes.
Huh no mention of Decepticlone army from Armada game or Cybertron games various grunt designs from both sides?
@@noddy1973 The Decepticlones are the enemies you fight off in the Transformers Armada PS2 game.
@@noddy1973 re using background character models is somewhat common in FPS games. So it's up in the air if the Cybertron games grunts are supposed to be clones in cannon. OR if it's limitations of the time and money necessary, to make individual bots that makes them so similar
Man I love that game. The Heavy Unit and Spiders terrified me as a kid but I loved it.
@@zacharybrogden3038 The Spider Tank is probably one of my favorites
I always forget that Animated Jetstorm's design was loosely based on Beast Machines Jetstorm. I'm glad he got that recognition, but honestly, I'd love to see a more faithful update someday - he's one of my favourite characters!
I'm pretty sure that Jetstorm was on the designers mind for Cybertron Snarl too, he himself is based on Beast Wars Silverbolt but the chest colour makes it look like the Vehicon face
@@capmodestySnarl? Dinobot?
@@robinleedy7828 No, Cybertron Snarl, wolf, AKA Fangwolf in Galaxyforce
@@capmodesty Oh Yeah That Snarl
Another nice bit about the Vehicons is that now animators have an easier time with them since they all have the same design and can just copy and paste them without having to recolor (if necessary)
That’s true! Another thing that makes the Prime versions awesome!
A fancy way of saying using generics for the sake of filling out the enemy ranks, or to make up for the small cast in a show
@@joshuaromerogonzalez945 Hey you and I both have an Optimus Prime based profile picture!
Kinda like the seekers.
Yea it's like picking Freeza over Cell
i like how after the war ended, in RiD2015 the decepticons were able to recolor themselves, with one of them altering their appearence further and becoming a bounty hunter
Kinda like black rights after 19-
kinda like clone troopers from starwars
The Beast Machines Vehicons (show and toyline) were the best part of that entire series. Such an interesting aesthetic too. Basically how Cybertronians would look without humanising features and faces.
Love beast machines
You blew my mind with the KSI bots being Vehicons theory. I had never thought of it like that but it makes so much sense. Great video as always! Excited to see all the Rise of the Beasts tie in episodes next month
It's pretty obvious. Don't know how you never realised it
Didn’t expect to see you here
Awesome seeing you here, Pigpen!
@@bamaboyz8978 where
@@NobleRaider2747 in Italy?
Fun fact, it’s been stated that the concept for the mass produce drones and beach machines was basically they didn’t have the money to create that many character models for the bad guys
I wished, but didn't dare hope for Steve to be mentioned. Always going above and beyond.
These were always my favorite army build types, especially in Prime, but I love the variety in Beast Machines
So basically, the Prime vehicons are just Transformers' equivalent to a combination of Star Wars' B1 Battle droids and the Republic's clone troopers.
Edit: thanks for pointing it out.
I made this comparison, and it made me laugh.
Roger Roger.
@@minimalbstolerance8113 Roger Roger!
@@DonaldWWitt Steve Steve!
That makes so much sense I can't believe I never made the comparison before. The majority of times incompetence, the humor in many of their deaths, and the brief moments of sapience that some show.
Wow, I didn't know the Beast Machines Vehicons were so terrifying. The concept of having your soul and individuality stripped away to become part of a seemingly endless hoard of drones is something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy.
Perhaps the idea of the Decepticon drone army began as early as Generation 1 with the Insecticon swarm? Or even just the mass of paint swapped Seekers? Although the Seekers weren't drones, they do kind of create the idea of a near infinite number of identical-looking soldiers to fill the evil army.
In the original toyline at retail, the Autobots outnumbered the Decepticons (22 Autobots against 7 Decepticons). So the Seekers were a way to pad out the Decepticon army (along with a few Reflectors, although the toy wasn't available until it became available as a mail away, two years later).
In the G1 episode War Dawn I’m pretty sure Megatron has a squad of identical soldiers, so maybe that’s where the idea came from
I was a big fan of the Vehicons when I first saw them in Beast Machines as a kid. As their Cybertronian alt modes fascinated me. My love of Vehicons would only return several times after watching TFP, AOE, and after reading Beast Wars Uprising where they were portrayed as an army of Transforming Terminators with the added bonus of having a zombie virus (that one was by far the coolest).
I would later find myself creating an army of all the various Vehicons.
So as a long-time fan of the Vehicons, it was great to finally get a video of them.
I loved it when emgo called he’s vehicon Gary the accountant 🤣
I would love to see both Vehicon incarnations come together into one big army.
I love both vehicon incarnations, especially the designs of the Beast Machines ones because they're decently diverse.
But I also enjoy how the designs and how similar-looking the Prime Vehicons were. I just love how the flying Vehicons looked vaguely Sportscar-like.
I actually feel sorry for them always being abused, especially in the prime series as we can see they don’t want to fight, but are always suffering:(, especially the part with ratchet torturing a miner class one. They are just robots doing their assigned job and they had to suffer because they were born in the side of the deceptions.
It’s just great to see in the ending of transformers prime the vehicons and the other transformers unite together and rebuild cybertron.
Didn't also some named Decepticons kill some additional vehicons because they're terrible bosses?
@@clownplayer7265 The only named Decepticons we’ve actually seen kill the vehicons were Starscream and Megatron, and Starscream only killed the vehicons to escape capture when he went rogue. Breakdown actually respected the vehicons and in an episode (I forgot which one) Breakdown regularly talked with them.
@@fegreninja7197it was one with racket juiced up on synthetic energon and he talking to a vechicon something about arachnid
@@Wolfbroa Oh right, “Stronger, Faster” that’s the one
Wasn't mentioned in the Video but "Prime" Vehicons are also introduced in G1 IDW 2005 Comic Books, serving as Titan Hunters or appearing in Holiday Special
9:09/9:10 Nitro Zeus is based on the KSI BOSS body type. Not to mention that the BOSS recolor and the KSI Sentry recolor from Stinger were released in the Studio Series toyline.
Ppl don’t know trax is vechcon I keep arguing with them
Seems like Nitro Zeus was a BOSS who survived long enough to develop sentience, and reconfigured his head to base it off of Shockwave.
@@ltb1345 like any cybertronion they can have upgrades
There are also two more different named Vehicons besides Steve: Shadelock, a vehicon turned bounty hunter/mercenary from Prime`s sequel series Robots In Disguise and Fearstorm, a gladiator from IDW Publishings comic books. There maybe more Vehicons like these that I don`t know about. These two are only one that know of.
A Personal Headcanon of mine, was that since the Nemesis was Trypticon from Fall of Cybertron, I always figured the Prime Vehicons to be clones of Full-tilt, G1 Trypticon's chest partner.
It was actually me and my twin bro who looked through TF Prime and decided which Vehicons were Steve, finding him some of the worst but memorable moments from most episodes that he'd always survive somehow. We brainstormed a backstory that he was a CYbertronian witht he ability to expend great energy to shift between 3 body forms, Miner with greater strength for labor, car, and jet, that he was cloned by Trypticon as the Nemesis as it needed a crew, and so his forms became the body types of each Vehicon, he would never get noticed by the named Cons and endure horrible situations on Earth, at some point taking damage, forgettign his designation, and adopting the Human name Steve, by the final batle of Prime he'd been assigned to a mine and waited there for some time with 2 other Vehicons until an encounter with the Bee Team and Steeljaw during RID. We even made him and entire article on the Transformers Prime Wiki, sadl soem morons tried messing with it. THe article got a bit of attraction. So I think we helped in growing the legend of Steve the Vehicon a bit. I love that he was made canon through a comic.
You are a Legend for this.
@@braydengill9495 Thanks.
The Basics On Vehicons… as well as Steve.
I just expect Steve walking in with vordt of the boreal valley's OST
Steve would be proud of you for this amazing basics video!
Your videos are wonderful. I love learning more Transformers in-world and fandom lore from you
I have an idea for a Vehicon concept where they're a hive mind, with a primary body and many remote drone bodies. That way, we can give them personalities while not feeling so bad watching them get smashed up because as long as the primary body is alive, so are the Vehicons, because it only counts as "death" if the primary body is destroyed. They still react to pain because the primary body has a connection to them and have basic "minimize damage to tools" functions, and their dull minds stem from the stress of having to split their consiousnesses so much.
For me the Beast Machines Vehicons will always be the best especially Jetstorm with his threatening banter and pop culture references like “ Gotta catch’em all “ and “ your situation matches your location TERMINAL!”
My brother and I got the original Vehicon Generals way back when they came out, though it was weird how much larger Jetstorm was from Tankor and Thrust. We never saw Obsidian/Strika in stores. My brother also got Blastcharge, but we never even knew about the other 3 Generals until this video. A couple years ago, I spotted the new show-accurate Tankor in store and snatched him up. Out of all of them, I'm not sure who I like more, Jetstorm or Tankor. Character-wise, probably Tankor due his character arc, but I have a special love for flyers and tanks. I often impulse buy when I come across something that can fit one or both of those descriptions.
I'm really hoping that at some point the writers revisit the Vehicon generals in a future show. It's always interesting seeing the distinct personalities that lead their perspective squad.
The idea that every vehicon is actually just one guy who’s consciousness is spread across hundreds of clones.
And that guy being called ‘Steve’.
Is both horrendously tragic and hilarious.
I had no clue that "Steve" was a thing and now I'm in love with Vehicons!
I own the Buggy Vehicon figure from AOE and because of that figure, I’ve always labeled the KSI Drones as “Vehicons” instead of their actual name cause Vehicons seemed much more fitting
They're actual name is the prototypes. But they're literally the vehicons in concept
Thank you I’m not the only one
@@novustalks7525 they can’t have protoform
I believe they are vehicon
@@jakecowsert6185 what? They're made by humans
Honestly, I didn't think there was enough content for a Vehicons basics video?
You proved me wrong again Chris. Kudos.
As for my favorites, I like the Beast Machines Vehicons the most.
I'm getting a brainstorm for including Vehicons in my fanfiction right now!
Man really dose research everything about transformers. We never thought he would talk about these. Prime is probably the most famous. Gotta feel bad for Steve.
Whenever I think of mindless Decepticon armies I always think of the Decepticlones from the Transformers PS2 game :)
I’ve been hoping for a The Basics episode on the Vehicons! I really love the Prime versions of the Vehicons the most, but I love both the Beast Machines and Beast Wars Uprising versions as well!
I remember as a kid when watching Beast Machines on dvd 📀 being intrigued by the Vehicon concept and thought Megatron’s decisions on who’s sparks to use for the generals added additional evil irony to his character.
The Vehicons need new figures immidiately, both the Beast Machine generals, Strika, Obsidian, Tankor, and the Prime Vehicons who can be the foot soldiers serving under the BM Vehicon generals.
“Know the best thing about vehicon troopers?”
“They’re easily distracted.”
When we find out Rhinox is one of the generals hit home for me, that still hits me hard as I grew up with beast wars and is my favorite transformer line.
TF prime vehicons are basically the transformers version of stormtroops
or the concept of "decepticons cars" stunticons
Vehicons always have the coolest were most unique designs in my opinion.
I am hoping that the next chapter to Legacy has a version of these guys in either the car or jet mode.
I know for a fact that studio series is going to do the Devastation variations since they basically have the molds and get easily be sold individually or as a two-pack. We would buy it
There have been many names for these guys Steve, Ted, Chuck and the best of all Gary
This is an Easter egg for all the Emgo316 fans out there
Also great job as always man👍
I’ve always knowing Unnamed Vehicon Drone as Gary instead of Steve. I thought everyone called him Gary until I learned about the Steve running joke on the wiki
Your videos are the reson behind most of my transformers knowledge. Thank you for these videos.
Would the Sweeps from G1 also count as such a horde of mass-produced things?
Oh sure, if I was doing a video specifically about "mass-produced guys" ("The Basics on Army-Builders" maybe?) they'd definitely be in there. There's tons of other examples not touched on in this video.
@@ChrisMcFeely
I have to disagree, G1 sweeps were mainly individual reformatted decepticons and the times we see them are in pairs of 4 or even 7 at times. Dreamwave comics did made them a mass produced army builder unit but outside of most Transformers material the Sweeps aren’t a army unit.
Okay apparently Tfwiki also states that other media has the Sweeps as army building units in IDW, Legends material comics as well
@@ChrisMcFeely The video is about Vehicons after all. I just had to think directly of the sweeps when describing it. You never see a lot of them, but as often as things die, there must be quite a few of them.
Never would’ve thought of adding the Sweeps into all the armies mentioned in this video!
@@metal_fusion The ability to duplicate themselves carried over for the Insecticons when they became Sweeps. That's why there are more than just two or three of them.
I never heard about vehicon Steve before and now I love him
When a series show an army of clones, identical individuals or at least all wearing the same uniform, one of them will stand out and his name shall be Steve.
Gotta say that the Prime Vehicons are definitely my favorite
Fun Fact: Those hilarious Hub promos are the reason I like the Vehicons even more. I even bought a Prime Vehicon because of it. God, I miss The Hub
Now we need a basics of decepticons warships nemesis.
I loved the joke in Prime where megatron tell the jet vehicons to go after smokescreen and throws the car vehicon off the ship 😅
I think I liked the Prime version as they are not that dumb but they are comical relief for both Autobots and Decepticons.
Do THE BASICS on DRONES next, Chris!
I wanna see SG Vehicons (Prime kind) with Autotrooper colors and vice versa.
Legacy has the advantage of drawing different characters from all the continuities and they’re touching Animated with Prowl but I’m hoping Hasbro uses Legacy to do some TFA characters that didn’t get toys in that line like say General Strika.
I feel like the "I am Steve" line from the RID 2015 comic would get referenced from the Minecraft Trailer.
idk, I just realized this now looking back at this video
This is a pretty good video that I didn't know had too much lore to it. I can't wait for the Metroplex and Fortress Maximus Basics videos and go over their histories since there are Basics videos on Trypticon and Scorponok.
Im so happy I've got the reissue 2-pack of TFP Breakdown and Vehicon Jet. Two TFP figures I've never got as kid. And now I have a Breakdown for my Bulkhead and a friend for my Steve after so many years.
I cant believe the “steve” joke in transformers one is a reference
I really wanna see a basics vid on Mass Shifting
Construction vehicles to titanic limbs, giant robots to handheld objects and tall bots that can cram every servo into a motorcycle
It feels like it could have been tied into the generic seekers used to turn a few Decepticon characters into and army in early G1 episodes and then later was taken further with the Vehicon concept.
I loved the TFP Vehicon design. It was like someone made the Decepticon logo into a car.
Back in the time of beast machines, the scavenger went on clearance so my main playtime featured techno wasp buzz saw and black arachnia taking out control towers that the scavengers built and guarded.
All praise Steve, the real hero of the decepticon ranks.
I did not even realize that the KSI drones were not called Vehicons. I've been calling them that without a second thought since day one.
Yeah, a bunch of early movie-site articles about the film called them that! Speculatory or based on undivilged behind-the-scenes info? No idea! But it made researching and writing that section of the video a pain! 😆
They're called prototypes. But they're the vehicons in concept
@@ChrisMcFeely Can you upload the BASICS OF DINO/MIRAGE? Please, I love your videos
7:58/8:01 Not to mention Shadelock, a Vechion mercenary employed by Starscream.
Steve: I am Steve, a vehicon!
Wheelie: What are you kidding? My name much more fitted though!
Controversial opinion but I personally think the Vehicons had the best design out all the characters in Prime
The Deluxe-class Vehicon toy is one of my favorites! Great design implemented beautifully as a figure!
Out of all the "Beast Machines" Vehicons, Jetstorm was probably the best with his humor and awesome design. Beyond that, I also like the "Prime" interpretation with their sleek designs and purple/gray color schemes.
I can't help but wonder what was going through that Vehicon's head when Megatron tossed him off the ship. He should know he is a car type. I get from a narrative perspective we would question why he didn't transform as most wouldn't realize he didn't have a jet alt.
In a way the G1 transformers episode War Dawn kinda introduced vehicons considering the bots helping Megatron were identical although they were thinking for themselves.
Transformers One referenced the Steve joke!
The Prime Vehicons/Steve are my favourite they're just so funny and stylish
While the RID Vehicons did get a shoutout, I particularly find it cool that arguably the lead member of Starscream's bounty hunter trio, Shadelock, is a modified Miner Vehicon, further bringing to question the level of sentience amidst the standard Vehicon troops if he was able to break out on his own.
The Insecticons in the original Transformers series were also known for making a vast number of clones of themselves to represent a swarm like real insects often made up of.
The idea of drone armies can be even taken back further in the G1 series with the Insecticons using mindless insect drones to do their bidding.
My favourite version are definetly the Uprising ones. "Derailment" wasn't just a good ending, but also really showed them as a actual threat. They could defeat some without much effort, but there were just too many.
Might we be seeing this idea again in the Transformers ROTB movie in just under a month?? That big battle scene looks like an army of Predacon drones to me... Great video as always bro and the KSI idea also seems on point to me as well.
G1 cartoon War Dawn not only introduced Orion Pax but also Megatron using drone like robots. A grey area would the insecticons, at least in the G1 cartoon, with the all copies of the main three.
Had the same thought
The Prime/Aligned versions are my favorite, but I do have a soft spot for Tankor
Also the decepticon grunts from the highmoon games are also referred to as vehicons
I ALWAYS want to army build with these guys, the Sweeps and the Sharkticons!
The Beast Machines Vehicons are memorable but I think I like the TF Prime Vehicons better especially Steve.
I loved Beast Wars as a kid, but the vehicon figures having non-beast alt modes was kind of a big relief, after nothing but beastformers for years.
TF Prime's Vehicons are my absolute favorites. Their design is simple but so good. I really wish they would release both vehicon variants with new molds.
I like that Strika gets so much attention. There needs to be more Female Transformers with Neutral body/face types, to be judged on the merit of their character and/or coolness rather than their feminine looks.
You could also put the G1 Insecticon clones (Insecticlones) in this category.
5:22 Five Nights at Cybertron.
Hey Chris, could you do a basics on Strika? Or a video on both her and Obsidean as a pair? I loved those two in beast machines!
I love the idea of an episode where Vehicons go on strike and demand better working conditions in the Decepticon
7:15 Best Vehicon moment ever! 😂😂
I always found it weird they never did more with Obsidian, considering him and Strika are the only transformers confirmed to be sort of married.
Married? When?
@@novustalks7525 I said sort of married because Beast Machines refers to Obsidian and Strika being "Consorts" which is a fancy word for being the romantic partner or spouse of someone.
@@grimnir8872 technically Deathsaurus is the first TF who is married.
@@gabrielchee8470 It is only canon to the manga, which is separate from the Japan's G1 cartoon continuity.
Not Vehicons, but in the Transfomers Armada video game there were Decepticlones. And there were ALOT, light, medium, and heavy units, swords units, flying and sniper units, spider tanks, artillery units, gorilla units, drone units, and my personal favorite the roll arm units that rolled around and blasted enemies like a droideka from Star Wars.
So Vehicons are like the Transformers equivalent to the battle droids of the Star Wars franchise, being mass produced machines that are best effective in numbers.
Great Stuff, as always! I love it!
Another amazing video