The first Transformers: Dark of the Moon trailer is out, and the crew calls it beautiful but better suited to the first movie. This December 8, 2010 Radio Free Cybertron then goes into full spoilers on the first five episodes of Transformers Prime. Aimee recaps IDW’s Transformers Ongoing #14, and the crew debates whether Michael Bay is a hero or a villain for the brand. The crew also covers Hasbro’s continuity correction for Exodus, War for Cybertron and Prime, and Masterpiece Rodimus video.
News
Transformers: Dark of the Moon Trailer Debuts
The first Dark of the Moon trailer has arrived. The crew calls it beautiful but odd for a third film, since its theme of discovering the Transformers fits the first movie better. They suspect the studio is trying to wash out the sour taste of Revenge of the Fallen. [Source: not found]
Hasbro UK told a fan that Exodus, War for Cybertron and Transformers Prime were not in the same universe, so Hasbro issued a correction confirming they are. The crew says fans have known for months. They compare the shared continuity to Star Wars films, Clone Wars and novels following one show bible. They add that anyone not in the movies now counts as modern continuity. [Source: not found]
Masterpiece Rodimus Video
A video of Masterpiece Rodimus has surfaced, and the crew is fairly sure this one was not leaked. It appears to be an Amazon product video, and the crew jokes about the visible finger turning the toy on its platform. [Source: Amazon]
New Head for Reveal the Shield Lugnut Mold
A new head designed for the Reveal the Shield Lugnut mold isn’t an existing character. The crew jokes it has a monocle and should become a Mr. Peanut promotional figure. [Source: not found]
Bludgeon Upgrade Kit
Exvee describes a third-party Bludgeon add-on kit from the makers of the Hardhead kit, with two optional faces, a helmet and chrome swords. He thinks both heads clash with the toy, though the photos show rapid prototypes that may improve in production. The crew explains how services like Shapeways 3D-print fan designs. One host reviews Generations Thunderwing on the RFC YouTube channel and calls him simple but a great take on the original Ultra Pretender.
Transformers Prime: First Five Episodes Review
The crew agrees Transformers Prime looks great, especially in HD, but finds the pilot uneven. Some say episodes two and three were stronger than the first, and four and five weak despite the zombie Decepticon concept. One host calls it potentially the second-best series of the decade after Animated. Another complains that Jack leaves, then returns for no good reason, and several find Miko annoying. JD Church loves Jeffrey Combs as Ratchet, and Rob praises Bulkhead as tougher than his Animated version.
On voices, the crew says Frank Welker’s Megatron beats expectations, starting with his G1 voice and growing darker. They argue Peter Cullen plays the Optimus Prime fans misremember from the 1986 movie, always grave, rather than the looser G1 character. They blame directing, not Cullen, and note the show targets the Discovery Kids audience raised on the live-action films.
Comic Recap: IDW Transformers Ongoing #14
Aimee recaps the issue. The man who shot Bumblebee in issue 12 got the gun through a website run by Earth’s Children, a group of citizens unhappy with how the government handles the robots. The Autobots returning from China are shot down over the ocean. Soundwave breaks the Decepticons out of Skywatch. The issue ends by revealing that the guns distributed online are pieces of Megatron. The crew mocks the newscast dialogue and wonders how the Megatron pieces will be explained.
This Day in Transformers History
With the TFWiki down, JD Church offers NASCAR driver Ryan Newman’s 1978 birthday. Newman once drove an Optimus Prime-styled car to promote the movie DVD.
Toys for Tots Raffle
Bweebum explains that TFormers and Entertainment News International have teamed with Toys for Tots and a Maryland comic book chain. They are raffling an Optimus Prime collectible autographed by Peter Cullen through December 18. All proceeds go to the US Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program, and listeners elsewhere can donate online.
RFC Year-End Giveaway
Three weeks remain to enter the year-end contest. Prizes include Generations Blurr, Titan Books Transformers trade paperbacks and magazines, a Fanboy Versus clock and an ENI t-shirt. To enter, follow RFC on Twitter, Facebook, Ustream or YouTube, with details at tfradio.net/contest.
Michael Bay: Hero or Villain?
Most of the crew gives Michael Bay a pass. The movies made Transformers bigger than ever, brought new toy waves every month and led to Animated and Prime. One host calls him evil on substance but good for the brand. Rob argues any director would have made a crowd-pleasing explosion movie, and another host says Bay was born to make a live-action 1986 movie. They agree fans struggle most with the movie character designs, and Rob calls the fandom shallow for judging looks first. The verdict lands on anti-hero: not the director fans wanted, but the one they needed.
Twitter Theater
Rob shares a video of the Korean band Echo Jinx performing in Optimus Prime and Darth Vader costumes in a dim basement. He says the movies’ popularity means more odd Transformers clips like this keep surfacing online.
Radio Free Cybertron is the world's first and oldest toy and action figure podcast — broadcasting from the heart of the Transformers fan community since October 1999. What started as a scrappy fan show has grown into an institution, with nearly 1,000 episodes and over 25 years of coverage. Every week, host Brian Kilby and the RFC crew dig into the latest Transformers news, toy reveals, collecting, and everything hitting shelves from Hasbro, Takara, and beyond. No fluff, no hype — just informed, passionate collectors who have been doing this longer than anyone else on the planet. The original. The longest running. Till all are one.