If I Wrote Transformers: EarthSpark

As a person who has been betrayed one too many times by flippant storytelling, I don't like to dedicate a lot of emotional energy to things unless I'm sure there will be adequate payoff. If a book piques my interest, I will open it to the first page. If the first page does not hold my interest, I will flip to the last page... Yes, I am that person. Same thing goes for TV shows: If I watch the trailer and it intrigues me, I will go watch the first episode. If the first episode fails to grab me, I will watch the last available episode or the season finale. That was the case with Transformers Earthspark just now, and boy howdy! What even was that?

I'm not a movie critic, and its not my intention to start a blog reviewing shows for people or parents looking for something to watch. I just had cogitations about the show is all. If you want to see my compliments and complaints, click the expandable box below. There are spoilers though, so be warned.

Compliments & Complaints: Warning: Spoilers!

✨ First, my compliments:

• Story: They had something going there. What happens AFTER Cybertron's restoration has rarely been explored since G1, but Earthspark did it.

• Character designs: I liked most of their designs. There were a few I wasn't a fan of, but all the other bots (old and new) were nice to look at.

• Answers to questions we've all had: How newborn Transformers come into being, and what "child" Cybertronians are like is something I've desperately wanted to see done! Also, how bots born after the war would view the conflict between Autobots and Decepticons is a very interesting idea.

• "Cybrid" idea: I really like the idea of the Terrans and the human Malto kids being actual personifications of the now-entwined destinies of Earth and Cybertron. For some reason, the planets can never go back to being separate, they have permanently converged as is made manifest within the Maltos.

• Character development bridging the generation gap: The veterans obviously have a lot of trauma and prejudice they'd still be working on, while these new starry eye'd bot children would have an outsider's perspective on the whole matter; and perhaps be able to bring to the table solutions that neither side had really considered before. It was fresh! There were a lot of possibilities there.

• Two worlds, one family: I liked the idea of a family dynamic forming between humans and bots. Raw potential really.

🔪 Now, here are my complaints:

• Skipping character development and bonding: Two new bots are born in front of two human children and instead of having the four bond like normal emotionally intelligent beings, we use a magic-glove-to-instantaneously-bond-us cop out. Then newborn bots appear before the older bots, and instead of regarding them with wonder as the newborn hope of a species nearly gone extinct, Optimus and Megatron shrug it off- Immediately wanting to give the kids to the swat team who apparently controls every aspect of Cybertronian life on Earth. While that wonder and hope IS addressed in later episodes, it just seemed wonky that it was totally skipped over in the first place just so the Terrans can get kidnapped and Mandroid can be established as the villain.

• Personality murder: Optimus did NOT act like Optimus. I should know because Optimus is my favorite character of the franchise. There was nothing leader about that guy, just cheesy foot soldier. Where is his accumulated wisdom of all the Primes? Where is his characteristic gentleness and restraint? The Megatron character murder is more forgivable, since he's clearly had a change of spark at some point, but there are still moments when he says or does something that have the audience go: "Yup, that's Megatron". Not so with Optimus.

  Holes in the setup: Why are Optimus and the Autobots foot soldiers for G.H.O.S.T? Optimus and the other bots should be Cybertronian ambassadors to Earth, helping capture rogue Decepticons and take them back to Cybertron where they belong, to stand trial or be imprisoned properly. What is this permanent exile of keeping them on Earth? Has Cybertron NOT been restored? If not, then why was Croft talking about conquering it? If the surviving Cybertronians have no hope of returning to Cybertron and have to live on Earth now, there should be some adjusting to that involving world powers. Ya know, trying to find their place or establish their own society and dwelling or whatever? Every single Cybertronian being a foot soldier for a swat team to hunt down every Cybertronian that doesn't want to be part of the swat team is a serious issue in setup. Also, Optimus has apparently lost his moral compass, or his sense of anything, because we let evil scientists kidnap these captive Decepticons and corrupt government officials run experiments on them, and we don't even care that any of that is happening. And if the war is over, then why are Decepticons not allowed to move on? Why are Autobots not allowed to move on? Why are Autobots still employed in hunting down Decepticons, and Decepticons being hunted down even if they're not causing trouble? I mean, this could conceivably be a plot device, but the fact that it is never actually addressed makes it a hole.

• No background, loose threads: Megatron has apparently switched sides. Which, you know, isn't that unbelievable-- But how? And why? When did that happen and what caused him to do that? He said that it was Dorothy, but what did Dorothy do that got through to him when other humans and even Optimus couldn't? Why didn't any of his followers go with him? Why is Megatron treated like the liberated victim when he literally led that world-desolating crusade in the first place? Meanwhile his victims and followers are treated like bad guys who bullied him into it. What started the war?

  In the finale, Mandroid is defeated but we never see what happens to him. Despite the fact the human members of the Malto family have been unconscious through the majority of the finale, they suddenly know exactly what the tower is and how to use it to fix everything. What happened to the spear that knocks bots offline? What happened to the Decepticons that showed up to help? Why is there a symbol in the sky?

• Absence of emotion and emotional bonding: The character emotions felt hollow. This is the finale, yet everyone acted like acquaintances who barely even knew each other. The Maltos are supposed to be a family, right? Why do they feel so totally insincere? "Our parents just got eaten!" Well, that was weird, on to the next thing. "We just lost our brother and sister!" No sweat. I'd follow you anywhere, Twitch! "We don't have a chance but we totally have a chance! Who's with me!?" And everybody cheers instead of voicing uncertainty or any vulnerable emotion whatsoever. The characters go through one trauma after another, but never express more than the vaguest inkling of any emotion over it. They just moved on it from a second later in favor of more "action"-- I mean, they literally watch a human being explode, and nothing. The brother of that human stares in disbelief for a minute-- Just a minute, mind you. Then he's over it, and we're back in action. "Oh, our bot brother might be dead!" Brief weepy moment with literally two faint sobs, then a nose wipe of "All better, hey look! My magic glove is glowing!"

• Inconsistency in the scene changes: The situations the characters found themselves in were not followed through with from one scene to the next. Croft goes from standing on a burning car to standing on the lawn-- And not even on the same place on the lawn from one scene to the next. How does Shockwave go from standing apart from the group, being restrained, to standing beside the group and totally fine a second later? Thrash is on the edge of the cliff in Mandroid's grip, but a second later he launches a weapon into Mandroid's head and somehow, he's not in Mandroid's grasp anymore and they are standing several feet apart. They're not even in the same position on the edge of the cliff anymore. Like, how!? We went from being the monster's grasp, to somehow sneaking up on the monster and rescuing yourself as though you were never in the monsters grasp? Also, Mandroid goes from sitting on his throne to tumbling off his throne and rolling down the stairs. Why? What knocked him off?

• No showing the side-characters: We're left to assume things happened, rather then witness them happen. Did Starscream actually fight the mind-controlled Megatron? Dunno. They were in a relatively close proximity to one another when they passed out. Also, characters show up, then disappear and are never mentioned again. What happened to the twin banshees that Starscream had with him? They moved in to attack Megatron too, and we saw them fall out of the sky, but they weren't on the ground when Starscream and Megatron wake up.

• Slowest "fast pace" EVER: All of the action sequences felt anti-climatic because all they did was stand around staring at each other. Actually fighting, dodging or moving around literally seemed like an afterthought for everyone involved. Everything was rushed in the slowest way possible.

Final thoughts: The concept was brilliant, but the execution was downright ameture, especially in the finale. Like, what the hypothermic hemorrhage did I just watch?!?! Because it sure as hark wasn't a fully fleshed out piece of media.

I won't be continuing the series because it is my understanding that Seasons 2 and 3 take my compliment section and unceremoniously flush it down the toilet, leaving nothing but my complaints and actually adding to them. However, I DID actually enjoy a couple of things-- Enough to coax me into watching a few scattered episodes anyway.

I'm not the kind of person to really invest a lot of time in a rewrite or fanfiction, I did want to explore how I would've written the show.

Transformers: Earthspark, by C8E

Season One

If I wrote Earthspark, I wouldn't change too much about the first season. The G.H.O.S.T corruption and Mandroid arcs worked. Mostly I would do is lean more into the characters and establish the Maltos as a "legacy of hope" a little more. I would also make the situation with G.H.O.S.T a little more complicated; really outlining why every single Cybertronian on Earth answers to them and tie Optimus' hands in working for them.

For instance, after losing the Allspark and the Space Bridge, the Cybertronians are permanent residence of Earth now. This means they'll eventually have to establish their own government here, and as you can imagine, current world powers would want to prevent that as long as they could. After all, the Cybertronians are bigger and have more advanced technology then Earth. World governments would want such power for themselves, get the Cybertronians to pick sides and be citizens of their countries, not gain power unto themselves and be their own independent country. So, in order to prevent Optimus from establishing a Cybertronian government, they do what politicians do best and weaponize the personal pain of the people: Bringing their war to Earth in the first place effected many natives, and a lot of Earthlings harbor resentment toward the supposedly homeless refugees they now have to share their planet with. As such, world powers want every Cybertronian on Earth to be registered with and answer to G.H.O.S.T "for their own protection". Registering with a government, they say, will keep them safe from hostile natives. Optimus is not fooled, but having just ended the war with Decepticons, and not really wanting to start a war with Earthlings over their own planet, he and the Autobots have opted to play by their rules for now in order to keep the peace. That said, there is tension between the world powers too: Because the Cybertronian war landed in America, that is where Optimus felt fences needed mending, while the other governments of the world watch cautiously how America handles its advanced alien killing machines. This is the world the Malto children, human and Terran alike, find themselves born into.

I'd keep the Decepticon hunt in play. Decepticons, having technically lost the war, have been branded as outlaws. Originally, the rule was terminate on sight, but Optimus wanted to have as many of them pardoned as he could and pushed back against the government, having them incarcerated instead to give them a chance at reformation. Meanwhile, world powers are sending spies to America in an arms race to get ahold of as many Decepticons as possible, hoping that if they offer the Cons protection from the American government, they'll have powerful Cybertronian soldiers on their side. This is partially why Megatron works with Optimus now.

If I wrote Earthspark, Megatron would still be somewhat dangerous and not altogether a good guy. He's had an awakening to the precariousness of their situation as a species: without the Allspark, the Cybertronians are on the edge of extinction. The bots they have now are the only bots left. Without hope of the species continuing, Megatron doesn't want to risk losing any more lives. He also knows that the situation they are in now is his fault, which guilt kinda curbs his usual tyrannical fire-- But he's not fully on the Autobots side. He, like Optimus, is playing to the system in an effort to save the remaining Cybertronians. Whereas Optimus is trying to do what's best for ALL Cybertronians. The alliance between them is uneasy, only becomes a real truce wherever the Maltos are involved. You see, Megatron did have a slight change of spark toward humans after genuinely befriending Dorothy. He likes Dorothy, and he likes her kids.

This puts the Maltos in a favorable position with both sides, and sets the stage for them to be a real legacy of hope.

Now, about the Maltos. Earthspark, as it is written now, doesn't answer the questions it poses. It harps very heavily on the Maltos being a "Legacy of Hope", but it doesn't elaborate on that.

Season Two

After season one establishes the Maltos as a "legacy of hope", season 2 to explore what that meant: Such a fancy title and all the talk of evolution implies the next generation of humans and Cybertronians will be a united people of sorts. The Cybertronian race, despite having been nearly driven to extinction, can and will continue on Earth. The magic glove thingies accommodate that continuation by bestowing upon humans a way to connect, protect and care for the next generation. The show itself implies such, but doesn't elaborate on or explore it. So I will. Though to be honest, if I wrote Earthspark, I'm not sure I would include the magic gloves... Or if I did, I would give it a more 'convergence-of-worlds' meaning: Because they touched the stone, the brother and sister are now two halves of a whole, which whole used to be Quintus Prime. Therefore, the Malto children would be, after a manner, a cybrid Prime-- The essence of Quintus Prime reborn after merging with the human children. They, referred to as a Prime only jointly, have been elected to shepherd the next generation of Cybertronians born on Earth. The gloves would not only connect with the Terrans, but would enable them to connect with any Cybertronian who was friendly toward them.

"But wait!" I hear a reader cry, "What about Optimus and the Matrix of Leadership?"

I'm not sure Earthspark ever even mentioned the Matrix, or if it did, I never saw it. But yes, you are right. The human children as a Prime would be a colossal upset among Cybertronians, who would be force to face the fact that a human Prime means most undeniably that their way of life has changed and the fates of the two planets have merged. That said, the angle I would play to is that the Matrix of Leadership doesn't just make a Prime, it makes the leader of the Primes. Nobody ever said there couldn't be more Primes after the original 13, nor did they ever say that there couldn't be more Primes that Optimus would be the leader of as bearer of the Matrix. Ergo, while Robby and Mo are a Prime just like Optimus, they would still answer to Optimus as their leader. Does that make sense?

Well, it doesn't have to. This is what I would do if I wrote Earthspark.

...Or any Transformers show, honestly. I've always liked the idea of multiple Primes being reborn or chosen, and still answering to Optimus as the bearer of the Matrix of Leadership.

Plot wise, season 2 would establish Robby and Mo as the first human Prime, concrete the merger between Cybertron and Earth in this way, and resolve the goings on between the Decepticons and Autobots. After Mandroid's attack and G.H.O.S.T's corruption revealed, the government is scrambling for a way to cover their bases. The Decepticons are free, and no body is hunting them anymore, but their treatment in the G.H.O.S.T facility has caused an uproar among humans and Cybertronians alike. Even those who did not altogether like the Cybertronians, because such treatment of prisoners is barbaric-- And, you know, government coverups and conspiracies always sets people's hair on fire anyway, so yeah. So, season 2 sub-arc would be the grown ups dealing with the fall out of that. With enough evidence of corruption and the vocal support from humans now, Optimus is able to push back a little stronger against the government, which is supposed to be run by the voice of the people anyway. The Maltos would have more interactions with Decepticons, both positive and negative, as they would be key in driving home for them the fact that Cybertron and Earth are now permanently connected. This would explore an interesting angle of how Decepticons and Autobots alike--- A species in who's very CNA is written the code for change ---actually handle change, and how its not easy for them either, despite being the very essence of who they are.

Though initially welcoming to the Terrans as the hope that their species will continue, Decepticons and Autobots alike might struggle with or even resist the idea of a human Prime, and some might even be antagonistic on both sides. The Great War would not be the focus of their division any more. New lines would be drawn on how to handle having a human Prime in Robby and Mo. As a Prime, these human children outpower and outrank all of them save Optimus himself. We'd have a few character twists here, give a Decepticon or two redemption arcs and an Autobot or two a fall-from-grace, playing to the fact that "Autobot" and "Decepticon" were political factions of the great war, not the automatic distinction between a good Cybertronian and a bad one. Season two is where our fears regarding Megatron's sincerity would finally be put to rest, as he would permanently cast his lot in with the Maltos and subsequently the new order of Primes.

Earthspark's own season 2 arc of collecting pieces of the Emberstone would be completely void because in my version, Robby and Mo would've absorbed the stone after Hashtag, Nightshade and Jawbreaker were born. However, that being the case, season 2 also poses the question as to how more Terrans will be born. The "hope" of the Cybertronians literally does lay with Robby and Mo. Meanwhile, they have to figure out how to use the power that Quintus imbued them with. As it turns out, they are not able to make more Terrans at this time, because the strength of their current age can only muster five presently. Their Prime power will get stronger and more nuanced as the two get older, and as they get older, they will be able to create more Terrans. A question I would have one of the characters pose, but would never actually answer in the show is whether or not Robby and Mo are going to age like humans or whether the Prime side of them will enable them live the lifespan of a Cybertronian.

Season Three

Season 3 would explore a different possibility to what "Legacy of Hope" implies: The restoration of Cybertron.

I'm very disgruntled by the fact that Earthspark has gone for three seasons, and even introduced outside alien threats, but doesn't explore the ultimate fate of the Allspark or Cybertron. If the show was implying that these kids are a legacy or hope because they will prevent another war, and bring the Decepticons and Autobots together for good, that would make sense. That seemed to be the case most heavily leaned into anyway, and seemed to be what the finale underscored-- But apparently not because, according to my research, Season 2 and 3 abandon the concept of "War over. New start" entirely! If Earthspark is just more Autobots vs. Decepticons, the franchise is full of shows like that, so what makes Earthspark so special? What makes the Maltos a "Legacy of Hope" if they're just a new breed of ally for the Autobots? That seems like a really lofty title for such a copy and paste concept. The Autobots have a lot of allies, bro.

Anyway, my version of Earthspark, season 3 would go a little crazy in a different direction. The Cybertronians are now establishing their own government on Earth and building a city (A reference to The Autobot City for G1 fans.) when suddenly they receive a distress signal from Cybertron, but the voice belongs to a very young bot. A newborn.

The Maltos would go with a united Autobot-Decepticon team, including Optimus and Megatron, to return to Cybertron via a newly reconstructed space bridge. They would arrive to find Cybertron is alive, but different. It is wild and untamed, the cities are desolate, overrun with wild animals and cybertronic flora. Basically post-apocalyptical, but cyber style. The Allspark, as it turned out, DID make it back to Cybertron-- But without anyone there to shape its restoration and regrowth, it was as feral as the day Primus first became the planet. Here is where the Maltos and their allies would encounter the Quintessons threat, and this is also where they would meet newborn Cybertronians who don't know what on Cybertron they're doing.

As a matter of fact, I like the idea of a cyber-being or two as part of the group on Cybertron: Humans that were born on Cybertron, and can thus breathe its atmosphere and live off energon! Like the Maltos in reverse. The new Cybertronian kids would also be semi-cybrid just like the human Malto kids, and be able to connect with their cyber-man siblings in a similar way, signifying that the connection between Earth and Cybertron is still very much in force. Robby and Mo would be the Prime for this whole new generation, the Earth-born Terrans and the Cybertron-born Cyberbeings. It would be a thing. These Cyberbeings and child Cybertronians would be adopted into the Malto family, just as the Terrans were.

Defeating the Quintessons and liberating Cybertron would be the plot of season 3, and the whole show would wrap up with some Cybertronians choosing to return to Cybertron to rebuild, while some staying on Earth. Likewise, some Earthlings go to live on Cybertron and some Cyberbeings going to live on Earth. The space bridge would link Cybertron and Earth forever, but the destiny and hope of the two planets would be forever linked by something much deeper then that: The Maltos.

The End.

... So yeah. Like it or hate it, that's my two cents. Thanks for reading!