The crew opens with a rapid-fire catch-up pass covering approximately one month of missed Transformers history, skimming highlights from February 12th through March 3rd before settling into the standard weekly format from March 4th onward. The episode covers five weeks of Transformers history — March 4th through April 10th — and their corresponding anniversaries stretching back to the 1940s.
Major discussions include: the passing of Beast Wars writer Larry DiTillio; the BotCon 2008 Shattered Glass set and how much of it Hasbro has since reproduced officially; the Beast Wars Toonami event week featuring Code of Hero, Transmutate, and The Agenda two-parter; the Headmasters finale two-parter and the climactic Fortress Maximus vs. Scorponok showdown at the North Pole; the Armada animation history traced through Actus Incorporated (formerly Ashi Productions) and how their ownership of the Whirl and Roadbuster molds kept those characters out of the G1 cartoon; the Skyfire-as-European-Autobot-leader story stemming from the Diaclone distribution overlap; the IDW comics license expiration and speculation about who might hold it next; the UK Beast Wars broadcast schedule (school holidays only, double bills, three months between Other Voices parts 1 and 2); the Beast Wars II premiere featuring Lio Convoy, Galvatron, and the Angolmois energy; Titans Return late-wave distribution difficulties for Twin Twist, Misfire, and Windblade; Masterpiece MP-10 Black Convoy and Encore Fortress Maximus releases; and the Devcon/Blurr connection as an example of Aaron Archer’s trademark-preservation naming practices.
Most Important Topics
- Beast Wars Toonami Week — Code of Hero, Transmutate, and The Agenda parts 1–3 all air in the same week; panel discusses the dropped Dinobot personality disc plot and the cut Optimus/Megatron spark restoration scene.
- Headmasters Finale — The Last Battle on Earth two-parter airs in Malaysia, covering the climactic North Pole battle between Fortress Maximus and Scorponok, with discussion of the unusually high implied human casualties in the Japanese version.
- Ashi Productions / Actus Incorporated — The Armada animation history is traced through the studio formerly known as Ashi Productions; their ownership of Whirl and Roadbuster molds is identified as the reason those characters never appeared in the G1 cartoon.
- BotCon 2008 Shattered Glass — The set sells out; panel inventories which characters Hasbro has since released officially in the Shattered Glass sub-line, concluding Jazz is the only major holdout.
- Beast Wars II Premiere — Lio Convoy, Galvatron, Megastorm, and the Angolmois energy source are introduced; panel discusses the series’ relationship to the original Beast Wars and its cast’s figure origins.
- IDW Comics License Expiration — The license is gone as of January 1st; panel speculates about potential successors including Marvel, discusses what an IDW-to-Marvel transition might mean for RID 2001 reprints.
- Titans Return Late Wave — Twin Twist, Misfire, and Windblade (an extensive Highbrow retool) are identified as among the hardest figures to find in the line; the Windblade Titan Master version and Peacemaker/Spoilsport accessory situation are discussed.
- UK Beast Wars Broadcast — Beast Wars first airs in the UK on GMTV on school holidays only, with double bills and months-long gaps between episodes; panel discusses why UK fandom developed through the comic rather than TV.
- Masterpiece Black Convoy / Encore Fortress Maximus — Both released in the same week in March 2013; panel discusses secondary market pricing for Encore Fort Max and QC issues with some copies.
- Whirl / Roadbuster / Skyfire European Leader — The AP sticker on vintage Whirl and Roadbuster packaging is identified; the connection between Diaclone distribution overlap and Skyfire being designated as Autobot leader in some European markets is established.
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RFC Extra 027: NYCC Hasbro Interview with Anthony Brucale