History WhatAnIdiot / Transformers

'''Result:''' Megatron launches the Nemesis with no interruption.

'''Result:''' Depth Charge later considers Silverbolt's words, and does go to help... only to unintentionally cause the Maximals to lose the current mission. The Predacons gain the Maximal's technology, and retain Rampage and Quickstrike.

** In the same episode, Airazor has just successfully infiltrated the Predacon base in order to recover the rectifier coil stolen from the Maximals.\\

** "Dark Designs": After Megatron forcibly converts Rhinox into a Predacon, the Maximals break into their base to rescue him and in the ensuing battle, successfully take down the Predacons. Optimus orders Dinobot to grab Rhinox and for the Maximals to excape. Dinobot protests, pointing out that this is the Maximals' chance to take command of the base.\\
'''You'd expect:''' Optimus to fully consider this. During the converted Rhinox's coup, most of the Predacons were incapacitated, and those that weren't had been just taken out by his troops, who themselves are at minimal damage. (Optimus himself had just sliced of Megatron's arm, Skorponok was beaten by Dinobot, and Waspinator shot down by Cheetor).\\
'''Instead:''' He still orders a retreat.\\
'''Result:''' The Predacons are eventually able to recover and continue the war.
** "Call of the Wild": Megatron has stolen a component of the Maximal's base. This causes them to be forced to remain in beast mode, and eventually their instincts taking over, making them easy prey for the Predacons.\\
'''You'd expect:''' For Megatron to simply destroy the component after he's stolen it. He has no apparent use for it, and keeping it around would only cause the Maximals to at some point, attempt a retaliation to reclaim it. Plus, destroying it would simply put more pressure on the Maximals, as they have no way of replicating it. Additionally, if he did have a use for it, Megatron to immediately integrate it into the Predacon base so that it wasn't easily reclaimable, or to hide it away where only he would know where to find it. \\
'''Instead:''' Instead he keeps it out in the open within the base, with only a single booby trap. \\
'''Result:''' Airazor breaks into the base, easily disables said booby trap, (while remarking about how predictable it is, and reclaims it for the Maximals. And speaking of Airazor...
** In the same episode, Airazor has just successfully infiltrated the Predacon base in order to recover the aforementioned, Maximal component.\\

** Another episode, "Decepticon Air" has Sentinel Prime, on the way back to Cybertron, bringing out the captured Decepticons from their cells to interrogate them. Then he is called to the bridge to speak with the High Council.\\

* All the goddamn time, Megatron transforms into a gun that has to be fired by someone else.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Him to go into the hands of someone loyal, like Soundwave or Skywarp, or just you know, ''don't transform in the first place'' and use his own ArmCannon.\\
'''Instead:''' he jumps into the hands of [[TheStarscream the guy who has a trope about betraying things named after him]] and Starscream gets to hold the boss he longs to overthrow in his hand and point and shoot him. It's only because Starscream is even more of an idiot that this doesn't backfire.\\
'''In Fairness:''' As pointed out on [[Fridge/TransformersGeneration1 the Fridge page]], when Megatron's in Starscream's hands, he becomes the only thing Starscream CAN'T shoot.

* In "More Than Meets the Eye, Part 3", Mirage has snuck aboard the Decepticons' ship, while [[{{Invisibility}} invisible]]. [[BigBad Megatron]] and [[TheStarscream Starscream]] are fighting a duel over the leadership of the Decepticons.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Mirage would take advantage of the distraction and his own invisibility to pick off the Decepticons one-by-one, take over their ship, pick up the rest of the Autobots, and return to Cybertron.\\
'''Instead:''' He becomes visible, forcing a fight and crashing the ship. Sure, he survives, but so do the Decepticons.\\
'''In All Fairness:''' He can't fire his weapons while invisible, as far as anyone knows.

* In "More Than Meets the Eye, Part 1", The ark crashes into a volcano on Earth, the impact of which knocks Teletraan I and all the Autobots and Decepticons onboard offline. After four million years pass, an eruption jumpstarts Teletraan I, whose auto-repair system targets Skywarp (perhaps indiscriminately), bringing him back online. Skywarp then proceeds to revive Megatron and the other Decepticons.\\

* In "More Than Meets The Eye, Part 3", Mirage has snuck aboard the Decepticons' ship, while [[{{Invisibility}} invisible]]. [[BigBad Megatron]] and [[TheStarscream Starscream]] are fighting a duel over the leadership of the Decepticons.\\

'''Instead:''' he jumps into the hands of [[TheStarscream the guy who has a trope about betraying things named after him]] and Starscream gets to hold the boss he longs to overthrow in his hand and point and shoot him. It's only because Starscream is even more of an idiot that this doesn't backfire.

* In ''A Prime Problem'' Megatron builds a fake Optimus Prime to infiltrate the Autobots and bring them down from the inside after seemingly neutralizing the real Optimus Prime. Various problems ensue (such as the fake Prime not knowing some of the basic day to day aspects of the Autobots routine or who certain Autobots are, mistaking Ironhide for Bumblebee and what not) before the real Prime shows up and confronts his evil twin and the Autobots have to figure out which Prime is the real one, since the fake is so well built that even Teletran-1 can't tell them apart.\\
'''You'd expect:''' That the Autobots would easily solve the problem by just sitting the two Primes down and asking questions that only the real Prime would know the answers to, or that the real Prime would just assert himself by using his knowledge of all things Autobot related to discredit the fake Prime.\\

* In ''War Dawn'', the Aerialbots have doubts about their loyalties, wondering if the Decepticons are truly evil. They arrange a meeting with Starscream, who plays along with it.\\
'''You'd expect:''' That Megatron, already griping about how his faction is losing their advantage in the skies to them, would seize the opportunity to deceive them into joining the Decepticons, or at least use his trap to blow them up into scrap metal since they were helpless.\\
'''Instead:''' He goes through a convoluted plan to send them back in time, and by doing so, ends up creating his greatest enemy, Optimus Prime ''(who himself would go on to create the Aerialbots.)'' \\

** In the movie, Unicron is a massive planet eating monstrosity, who can only be destroyed by the "Matrix of leadership". Galvatron brings it to him, and plans on using it against Unicron, but can't get to work.\\

* In ''A Prime Problem'' Megatron builds a fake Optimus Prime to infiltrate the Autobots and bring them down from the inside after seemingly neutralizing the real Optimus Prime. Various problems ensue (such as the fake Prime not knowing some of the basic day to day aspects of the Autobots routine or who certain Autobots are, mistaking Iron Hide for Bumblebee and what not) before the real Prime shows up and confronts his evil twin and the Autobots have to figure out which Prime is the real one, since the fake is so well built that even Teletran-1 can't tell them apart.\\

* ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' had the episode, "Heavy Metal War", where Optimus Prime and Megatron agree to [[CombatByChampion one-on-one combat]] - the losing side has to leave Earth. Every single Autobot tells Optimus this is a bad idea because Megatron can't be trusted to fight fairly. They're right, as Megatron uses AppliedPhlebotinum to [[PowersAsPrograms transfer the special abilities of the other Decepticons into himself]]. [[SarcasmMode Guess who wins the battle?]]\\

** In "More Than Meets The Eye, Part 3", Mirage has snuck aboard the Decepticons' ship, while [[{{Invisibility}} invisible]]. [[BigBad Megatron]] and [[TheStarscream Starscream]] are fighting a duel over the leadership of the Decepticons.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Mirage would take advantage of the distraction and his own invisibility to pick off the Decepticons one-by-one, take over their ship, pick up the rest of the Autobots, and return to Cybertron.\\
'''Instead:''' He becomes visible, forcing a fight and crashing the ship. Sure, he survives, but so do the Decepticons.\\
'''In All Fairness:''' He can't fire his weapons while invisible, as far as anyone knows.

'''You'd Expect:''' Mirage would take advantage of the distraction and his own invisibility to pick off the Decepticons, take over their ship, pick up the rest of the Autobots, and return to Cybertron.\\

** All the goddamn time, Megatron transforms into a gun that has to be fired by someone else.\\

** In ''A Prime Problem'' Megatron builds a fake Optimus Prime to infiltrate the Autobots and bring them down from the inside after seemingly neutralizing the real Optimus Prime. Various problems ensue (such as the fake Prime not knowing some of the basic day to day aspects of the Autobots routine or who certain Autobots are, mistaking Iron Hide for Bumblebee and what not) before the real Prime shows up and confronts his evil twin and the Autobots have to figure out which Prime is the real one, since the fake is so well built that even Teletran-1 can't tell them apart.\\

'''Instead:''' The Autobots make the two Primes compete in absurd contests of shooting and racing as if these will somehow show which Prime is the real one. Megatron then tries to make his clone look good by rigging it so his fake Prime kills a fake Starscream, which somehow convinces the Autobots that fake Prime is the real Prime even though the real Prime had never heartlessly killed any opponent like that before, no matter how evil or just plain annoying, and almost follow the fake Prime into a dangerous area that could kill them all against the protests of the real Prime and only stop short when another Autobot warns them that it's dangerous and informs that Spike is in danger, which the fake Prime dismisses as not important, at which point the Autobots finally realize that fake Prime is a fake because the real Prime would save Spike even if it meant losing out on a valuable energy source. Also reflects badly on Megatron because you would think after all those centuries of war that Megs would know the real Prime better than that.
** In ''War Dawn'', the Aerialbots have doubts about their loyalties, wondering if the Decepticons are truly evil. They arrange a meeting with Starscream, who plays along with it.
'''You'd expect:''' That Megatron, already griping about how his faction is losing their advantage in the skies to them, would seize the opportunity to deceive them into joining the Decepticons, or at least use his trap to blow them up into scrap metal since they were helpless.
'''Instead:''' He goes through a convoluted plan to send them back in time, and by doing so, ends up creating his greatest enemy, Optimus Prime ''(who himself would go on to create the Aerialbots.)''
'''Also:''' You'd think that with a ''time machine'' at his disposal, that he'd put it to more practical use, such as sending a squadron with advanced weaponry from his era to assist his past self.

** All the godamn time, Megatron transforms into a gun that has to be fired by someone else.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Him to go into the hands of someone loyal, like Soundwave or Shockwave, or just you know, ''don't transform in the first place'' and use his own ArmCannon, or even better, order Shockwave to turn into a pistol and jump into ''his'' hand instead.\\

** In ''A Prime Problem'' Megatron builds a fake Optimus Prime to infiltrate the Autobots and bring them down from the inside after seemingly neturalizing the real Optimus Prime. Various problems ensue (such as the fake Prime not knowing some of the basic day to day aspects of the Autobots routine or who certain Autobots are, mistaking Iron Hide for Bumblebee and what not) before the real Prime shows up and confronts his evil twin and the Autobots have to figure out which Prime is the real one, since the fake is so well built that even Teletran-1 can't tell them apart.\\

* This trope is played straight with ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'' episode "Metal Attraction". Breakdown and Airachnid are fighting over an [[MacGuffin artifact that magnetizes metal]]. Arcee and Bulkhead arrive at the scene to watch them duke it out.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Arcee and Bulkhead to [[PassThePopcorn sit back and watch]] as their most hated enemies tear each other apart.\\
'''Instead:''' They immediately leap into action and inevitably results in Airachnid and Breakdown teaming up against them.
** At the end of the same episode, Bulkhead and Arcee are standing over the defeated Breakdown and Airachnid, who have been magnetized together. They contemplate on what to do next.\\
'''You'd Expect:''' Since those two Decepticons are their personal greatest adversaries, they'd finish them off right there, or at least take them prisoner.\\
'''Instead:''' Fearing that the Polarity Gauntlet could cause even more trouble, they just leave them there, allowing Megatron to recruit Airachnid, who's been a rogue so far. Do mind, they have no problem using the Gauntlet later on, and besides, ''they have other weapons''.
** Miko, it turns out, is one to actively try to sneak out and charge headlong into the Autobots' conflicts. This usually makes her the SpannerInTheWorks for the Autobots. Within the first two episodes after her debut, ''everyone'' has caught on to this.\\
'''You'd Think:''' They would modify their Groundbridge transit procedures to prevent Miko from darting through undetected. Like never leaving the Groundbridge open longer than necessary for safe transport. Or the Autobots checking themselves and the surrounding area on both sides of the bridge ''before'' proceeding with their mission. Or having somebody watch Miko and SHOUT if she so much as ''flinches.''\\
'''Instead:''' They don't, and then groan when she ''does'' manage to end up on the frontlines with them. AGAIN.\\
'''You'd Also Think:''' That upon discovering that they have a stowaway (again), the Autobots would insist that Miko return to base, no matter how much she begs and pleads. They ''are'' giant robot warriors, after all; they ''do'' have that kind of authority.\\
'''Instead:''' They just shrug and let her tag along, thinking [[TemptingFate "It can't really be all ''that'' dangerous."]]\\
'''You'd ''Also'' Think:''' Anyone would remember to use ''their own judgment'' rather than take advice from Miko at face value. Yes, she ''does'' sometimes have a point, and yes, her idea ''does'' work for the better every once in a while. But what tends to happen ''more'' often is...\\
'''Instead:''' They take her advice, wind up in over their heads, and have to be bailed out by BigDamnHeroes.
** Another jarring example happens in the ep ''Flying Mind''. The Autobots and Agent Fowler take advantage of the grounded and defenseless Decepticon ship and try to use the Spark Extractor to kill all Decepticons in one shot. However they soon learn that the ship is indeed fully functional.\\
'''You'd Think:''' Having lost their tactical advantage, they would retreat.\\
'''Instead:''' They try to attack the ship anyway, even after it zaps several of them into stasis with its guns. The Autobots fall one by one, leaving themselves and Fowler at the mercy of the ship's cannons. Thankfully, the ship had its own agenda and left the area, so they remained safe, but the Autobots wouldn't have known that. They thought the ship was under Megatron's command, so why did they then keep advancing after almost all of them have been zapped? Even if one of them managed to activate the Extractor, those immobilized Autobots still would have had to be dragged away before its extracting wave reached them or before the ship crashed on them.

** Another jarring example happens in the ep ''Flying Mind''. The Autobots and Agent Fowler take advantage of the grounded and defenseless Decepticon ship and try to use the Spatk Extractor to kill all Decepticons in one shot. However they soon learn that the ship is indeed fully functional.\\