Transformers: Spark Hunt
                 A hypothetical "season" of Transformers
                          by Dave Van Domelen, 2008
            Based on properties owned by Hasbro, TakaraTomy
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INTRODUCTION

     This was inspired by a question asked by Dave "Zobovor" Edwards: if
Hasbro would only make toys in one size class (i.e. Scout, Deluxe, Voyager),
which would you advocate?  I decided I wanted Deluxes, but would spice up the
line by having combiners too.  And that led to an idea for another "reboot
season" of Transformers.
     I'll go through the storyline first, then characters, then discuss the
toys. 


STORYLINE

Deep Background

     The Great War ended a long time ago, with the mighty leaders of both
sides, Optimus Prime and Megatron, annihilating each other in final battle.
With the leaders dead and the followers weary of war, an uneasy truce was
agreed to, and it has held for hundreds/thousands/millions of years (however
long feels right).  Ultra Magnus leads the Autobots now, a competent but
uninspiring war hero.  Meanwhile, Starscream finally got his wish and leads
the Decepticons, and he hasn't done too badly for himself.
     However, Starscream rules in part because he has a secret: Megatron
wasn't totally destroyed, and at least one small piece of his Spark remains.
A piece that Starscream has held close to his own for all these years,
drawing on both its power and the accumulated political wisdom of the old
leader.  
     And so things remained for a long time.  The Decepticons secretly
expanded their empire out into space, covertly conquering worlds in one
direction, while peaceful Autobot exploration missions largely went the other
direction.  This could happen because while arbitrary FTL transport is
technically feasible, there are two "slideway" routes away from Cybertron
that vastly reduce fuel expenditures...and in the cease fire agreement each
faction got one of the two slideways.  Ultra Magnus suspects Starscream is
abusing his "side of the galaxy", but lacks the resources to do more than the
occasional spot check, and Starscream is clever enough to avoid detection by
treaty enforcement teams when they do come around.


A Young Leader (Season 1, episodes 1-3)

     One of these inspection teams is led by young Optimus (no "Prime"), who
is one of many Autobots named in honor of a fallen Autobot hero of the Great
War.  His survey team includes BB, Streak, Locke and Jet, plus team medic
Minerva (a survivor of the Great War).  They've come across an organic world
on the Decepticon side of the galaxy, one that current intel indicates is
likely next on the conquest list if Starscream does as expected (always a
dicey proposition).  The goal is to set up a "blind" on this planet and wait
for proof that Starscream is violating terms of the treaty.
     On this planet, known as Earth by its inhabitants, they assume disguises
that fit the local machineforms, and go to ground.  As expected, a Decepticon
"explorer team" arrives soon after, but due to a traitor in Autobot Command,
they know about Optimus's team and attack it immediately.
     Forced to flee for their lives after their ship is destroyed, Optimus
leads his team into a deep cavern network where strange energy readings will
hopefully mask their presence from Decepticon sensors.
     It is there that Optimus finds the source of those readings...a fragment
of the Spark of the legendary Optimus Prime!  Cornered by Seekers, Optimus
has no choice but to absorb the fragment of his namesake, using its power to
beat back the invading force and gaining the gratitude of the organic
lifeforms of Earth.
     However, when the battle is over, Optimus knows that the war has just
started.  He can sense the presence of other fragments, and also knows that
if Optimus Prime's Spark survived, Megatron's must have as well.  The hunt is
on to reunite the pieces of Prime's Spark, before Starscream can (ever-so-
reluctantly!) do the same with Megatron's!


The Spark Hunt (Season 1, Episodes 4-12)

     The first 3 episodes set up the scenario seen above and lay out most of
the deep backstory.  The next 9 focus on an interstellar scavenger hunt, as
both sides seek to find Spark fragments or stop the other side from doing so.
Optimus quickly finds that no modern Autobot can contain more than one piece
of Prime's Spark, so each of his crew take on a piece as it's found.
Similarly, Starscream tries really hard to absorb the second fragment of
Megatron he locates, but is unable to, and is forced to entrust it to his
lieutenant, Thundercracker.
     By episode 12, five pieces have been found of each Spark, and only
Minerva of the Autobots lacks one (she doesn't want one).  Starscream has
given pieces to Skywarp, Ramjet and Thrust in addition to Thundercracker,
causing resentment in his other general, Dirge.
     Each Cybertronian who has a fragment is known as a Sparkmaster.  The
Decepticons don't change much (possibly because they don't let the Spark
fragments truly merge with them), but the Autobots become visibly different
when they call upon the power of Optimus Prime and take on names out of
history: Bumblebee, Bluestreak, Grimlock and Jetfire.


FINAL FUSION! (Season 1, episode 13)

     In Episode 13, the Spark fragments are all brought together in the same
place, the site of the battle where Optimus Prime and Megatron "died".
Unable to control their new powers, the Sparkmasters find themselves fusing
into titanic new forms, and the personalities of Optimus Prime and Megatron
emerge!  They do battle, but it ends inconclusively as Starscream forces
Megatron apart and orders a retreat.


Season 2 (episodes 14-26)

     Episodes 14-26 involve Starscream's quest to find a way to exert total
control over the Megatron form, possibly by digging up a macguffin of some
sort (Vector Sigma, the Plasma Energy Chamber, whatever), while Optimus and
his team try to prevent this.  Meanwhile, the two factions edge closer and
closer to a state of "hot" war, ending the eons-long cold war.  In Episode
26, Megatron manages to displace Starscream entirely, controlling both
Starscream's regular body and the merge form.  But Starscream's spark lands
in Dirge, creating an uneasy new Sparkmaster who schemes to wrest control of
the Decepticon Empire back from the reborn Megatron....


Season 3 (episodes 27-39)

     Should it continue into a second calendar year, the series would rename
as Transformers: Spark War.  An all-female "artificial" Sparkmaster team led
by Minerva will emerge (mergeform of Elita-1).  Megatron will seek to create
a new, solo body for himself, withdrawing his Spark entirely and making the
Seekers into artificial Sparkmasters by splitting loyal Soundwave's Spark
among them (ensuring that their merged form "Devastator" would serve Megatron
rather than try to overthrow him).  Starscream/Dirge locates a quartet of
Decepticon malcontents and creates the Combaticon Sparkmasters, with
Starscream's own Spark forming the binding force for "Bruticus".
     The big blow-out in episode 39 would be the apparent destruction of
Bruticus by the combined efforts of Optimus Prime and Elita-1...but he
survives, as seen in the final scene before the credits.


Season 4 (episodes 40-52)

     Optimus Prime duplicates Megatron's feat and gets himself a new body.
But when Starscream and Megatron come to terms and form an alliance,
Devastator and Bruticus prove too much for Elita-1 and the non-Sparkmaster
Autobots.  Prime prepares to sacrifice himself to re-create the original
Sparkmasters...but Ultra Magnus does the classic "bonk on the head with a
wrench in the locker room" move and does the job himself.  This new
Sparkmaster is called Fortress Maximus, and when Optimus powers up he calls
himself Fortress (in previous seasons, he didn't change his name while in
Sparkmaster mode).  Optimus, BB, Locke, Jet and Streak all get new
Sparkmaster forms.
     There will also be some new artificial Sparkmasters in this season that
are duos and trios, since the only new five-team will be Fortress Maximus.
     The Autobot/Decepticon War has gone totally hot by this point, and
Episodes 50-52 are one long climactic battle between Optimus Prime, Fortress
Maximus and Elita-1 on one side, and Megatron, Devastator and Bruticus on the
other, plus hundreds of non-Sparkmasters and the surviving Duocons and
Triplebots.  No cosmic power stuff, just a big battle for all the marbles.


THE CHARACTERS

Autobot Sentai:

     This series will have a strong sentai, or "Power Rangers" bent to it.
The core five heroes will have "normal" identities as regular Transformers,
and then call upon their Sparkmaster powers to upgrade to a tougher form that
later in the series is revealed to be a combiner.  Minerva will be the
mentor figure for the team.

     Optimus: Young leader, uncertain of himself and quite aware that the
legacy he carries goes beyond just his name.  Think of it as having a guy
named George Washington Jenkins as a platoon lieutenant, who finds he's a
partial reincarnation of America's first President.  His powered down form
turns into a pickup truck, while his Sparkmaster mode turns into a
Cybertronian vehicle that resembles a Hummvee.  His colors are the standard
red, gray and blue.
     Optimus forms the torso and head of Optimus Prime.  In Episode 26 his
legs go from being blue to being gray with yellow accents, as they form the
pelvis of the combined form.

     Locke: He'd like to think of himself as a grizzled veteran, but he was
brought online after the Great War, and Minerva's presence is a constant
reminder that he's still a rookie.  He doesn't like that.  He frequently
chafes under Optimus's leadership, insisting he can do things better on his
own.  His powered down form turns into a muscle car in primer gray.  He has
the most radical Sparkmaster alterations, gaining a robotic dinosaur altmode
when he calls upon Prime's Spark within him and becomes Grimlock.  His colors
are gray and gold in both forms, and both altmodes are predominantly gray.
     Grimlock becomes a leg of Optimus Prime, and in Episode 26 switches to
having a blue instead of gray as his main color.

     Streak: The fastest thing on wheels, and not afraid to make sure
everyone within earshot knows it.  However, while he also talks a mile a
minute during downtime, he's a well-trained scout and knows when to shut up
and listen.  He's also able to create a photonic interference field that
renders him nearly invisible so long as he keeps moving, turning him into a
vague blur.  His powered down mode turns into an surprisingly nondescript
blue-gray coupe, letting him blend in on Earth...and also leaving foes
shocked when he pours on speed that no "normal" car should be able to
manage.  When powered up as Bluestreak, however, his altmode is a gleaming
silver Nissan 350Z.  Both robot modes add black and red to the color mix.
     Bluestreak becomes an arm for Optimus Prime.  In Episode 26 his silver
is replaced by a blazing red and his robot mode black becomes gray.

     BB: Where Streak is the "humint" specialist, scouting things in person,
BB is the "sigint" expert of the survey team.  Hacker and eavesdropper
extraordinaire, he's also the least physically impressive of the team,
something he occasionally resents when the action starts.  He can generate
realistic holograms which he often uses to fake up having a driver who can
get out and interact with people.  His powered down altmode is a blue compact
car (come as close to a New Beetle as possible without trademark hassles),
and he sometimes disguises himself as a vehicle for the "Nerd Patrol"
computer service chain.  His robot mode is white with blue vehicle kibble.
As Bumblebee, he turns bright yellow and gets a little sportier, but is
otherwise kinda unimpressed at his powerup (Beast Machines Rattrap
syndrome).  However, it's later revealed that he's able to tap the collected
wisdom of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership as Bumblebee.
     Bumblebee forms an arm for Optimus Prime, and like Bluestreak switches
to a red and gray color scheme in Episode 26.

     Jet: The only flier on the team, he's something of a loner both by
choice and because he gets sent on missions that the others can't follow him
on.  This means he also tends to get outnumbered by Decepticons with
depressing regularity, forcing him to retreat a LOT more often than he's
comfortable with.  This has resulted in him getting something of a chip on
his shoulder, and he can be baited into doing stupid things just to prove
he's not a coward.  His powered down altmode is a "puddlejumper" commuter jet
in white with red accents, and his robot mode is predominantly red where not
made of vehicle bits.  As Jetfire, he turns into an F-22 Raptor in white and
red and his speed triples.
     Jetfire forms one of Optimus Prime's legs.  In Episode 26, his color
scheme changes to blue with gray robot mode bits.

     Optimus Prime: Legendary leader of the Autobots.  Initially he can only
stay together in combined form for a few minutes at a time, but by Episode 26
this has been extended through practice to an indefinite duration.  In
combined mode, however, his personality totally dominates the combined
bodies, and he feels that for him to stay in merged form full time would be
like sentencing five brave Autobots to living death, so he refuses requests
that he stick around all the time.
     Initially he's something of a muddle of colors, like Energon Optimus
Prime, but in Episode 26 (when he finally breaks the time limit on
combination) he gets a more unified G1-style color scheme.


Other Autobots:

     Minerva: A veteran of the Great War, she's the "den mother" of the
group.  She rarely disagrees with Optimus in front of the others, and
realizes that despite her greater experience she just doesn't have the knack
for military tactics.  But she often has private conversations with Optimus
in which she tries to help him grow into the role fate has selected for him.
Her powered down altmode is a white sedan with emergency services markings,
and her robot mode has a somewhat matronly look to it.  
     In Season 3, if she gains Sparkmaster powers, her powered up version
turns into an ambulance, and her robot mode looks far younger, more like the
standard G1 femmebot.

     Ultra Magnus: Aged and weary leader of the Autobots, who turns into a
battle transport.  He finds the idea of Sparkmasters to be akin to
graverobbing, and Optimus often has to disobey his direct orders during
Episodes 4-12.  However, once Optimus Prime returns, Ultra Magnus changes his
tune, and even offers to step aside in favor of Prime.  Prime refuses, on the
grounds that he can only stay together for a limited time, and the Autobots
need a full-time leader.


Decepticon Evil Sentai:

     In contrast to the usual sentai mold, the main villains will also be
Ranger-types.  Think Yoroiden Samurai Troopers/Ronin Warriors more than Power
Rangers.  They don't transform as dramatically as the Autobots do when they
use their Sparkmaster powers, possibly because they refuse to truly merge
with the essence of Megatron, instead trying to force it to bend to their
will.  However, since they start out far stronger than the Autobots, the
lesser "boost" from Megatron's spark is still enough to make them very
dangerous. 
     Not concerned about blending in (they have minions for infiltration),
they all have "Cybertronian" jet modes.  Powering up involves minor cosmetic
changes, mainly positioning of the wings.

     Starscream: Emperor of the Decepticons, and fairly smug about it.
However, the counsel of Megatron's Spark has kept him from the worst excesses
of power that might have led to his overthrow.  Gray and blue with red
accents and a somewhat chunky altmode, he forms the torso of Megatron.  In
Episode 26, when Megatron evicts Starscream's Spark, the body becomes silver
and red.

     Thundercracker: Literally Starscream's trusted right hand, he becomes
the right arm of Megatron.  Thundercracker is competent and hides his
ambition very well, which is why he's risen as high as he has.  When powered
up he can generate powerful sonic booms at will, rocking his opponents back
on their heels.  Blue with white accents initially, he switches to gray with
black and red accents in Episode 26.

     Ramjet: A blunt instrument in both the tactical and literal senses, he
becomes one of Megatron's legs.  The only real difference between normal and
powered up is that his ramming attacks get stronger and he's better able to
survive them himself.  Initially white with gray, he changes to gray with red
in Episode 26.

     Skywarp: Devious and scheming, he has become to Starscream what
Starscream once was to Megatron.  Starscream is simultaneously proud of his
"protege" and nervous that Skywarp will supplant him.  Normally capable of
bursts of speed that can appear to be teleportation, Megatron's Spark
fragment gives him the power of true teleportation when he's powered up.  He
becomes Megatron's left arm.  Initially black with purple accents, after
Episode 26 he's gray with purple accents.

     Thrust: Nearly a twin to Ramjet physically, he couldn't be more
different mentally.  Thrust is all about the overly clever stratagem, and
while he's undeniably brilliant in his planning, he often leaves too little
margin for error and his complex plots fall apart.  He can use the power of
Megatron's Spark to create an energy duplicate of himself, finally having
someone "competent" to help execute his plans.  Becomes the other leg of
Megatron, is initially red and black but becomes gray and red after Episode
26. 

     Megatron: At first, Starscream keeps a tenuous control over the merged
form's actions, fighting not only the other four Seekers but also Megatron's
growing awakening.  As a result, he will break Megatron apart when he feels
that he's about to lose control...he'd rather lose the battle than become
subsumed by another's identity.  In Episode 26, Megatron awakens fully and
actually displaces Starscream's Spark.  He chooses to not remain in combined
form all the time because it's unwieldy and his ego won't let him rely on
such a crutch anyway.
     Initially a mix of colors, but when Megatron asserts his will in Episode
26 a more G1-style gray and red scheme emerges.


Other Decepticons:

     Dirge: The only one of the "Seeker Generals" who doesn't get a fragment
of Megatron's Spark, he suspected he'd be left out all along.  Dirge is an
out and out pessimist, always pointing out flaws in plans and prophecying
doom.  This makes him a useful counterbalance to Thrust's zeal at plotting,
however, and Dirge often finds the hole in Thrust's plan before things can
blow up in their faces.  The VTOL thrusters on his wings make him the most
maneuverable of the Seekers in an atmosphere, but also the slowest.
Originally blue and tan, when he merges with Starscream's Spark in Episode 26
he changes to Starscream's basic body plan but in red, gray and tan (and with
wings more like his original ones than like Starscream's).

     Soundwave: Starscream's spymaster, he's the one who brings word of the
survival of Optimus Prime's Spark...and he also has long suspected
Starscream's secret.  He seems suspiciously good at finding the fragments of
Megatron's Spark, almost as if he's been searching for them all along.  He
transforms into a stealth jet with an adaptive outer coating that can let him
tweak his disguise "on the fly" to blend in better with native aircraft.  He
is BB's opposite number in the signals intelligence game as well.

     Skyjack: Soundwave's assistant, with the same altmode and general
abilities.  Appears only occasionally before Season 3, at which point he's
upgraded to a Sparkmaster.


THE TOYS

Mold Size:

     All toys in the Spark Hunt line are Deluxe, a mix of Sparkmasters
(combiners with special translucent plastic bits, like the Energon combiners
but perhaps the smaller "limb" members have an extra gimmick to make up for
the size difference) and regular toys, like Dirge (who later gets reissued as
a recolor/remold of Sparkmaster Starscream) and Minerva.  
     There will be plenty of non-Sparkmaster characters in the cartoon to be
toy fodder, and recolors of the Sparkmasters for the Episode 26 blow-out (in
which the combined forms get unified color schemes to look more like G1 Prime
and Megatron, meaning everyone else gets somewhat odd colors when alone).
     In Season 3, two new Sparkmaster five-teams are added (Elita-1 and
Bruticus), plus a Skyjack toy (replacing Starscream) and recolors of the four
Megatron limbs are released to make Devastator.  Season 4 gets one new
five-team (all new molds, although it'll still be Optimus, Locke, BB, Jet and
Streak powering up), and a number of two and three character combiners.
     All five-teams have interchangable arms or legs, although this is not
used in the cartoon except to have Bumblebee sometimes be the right arm and
sometimes the left.  The two-teams and three-teams are idiosyncratic ("failed
experiements") and cannot swap around.


Sparkmasters:

     Combination will be the core gimmick.  However, to keep proportions from
being weird, the limb Sparkmasters will probably have to be a little smaller
than the cores (Optimus and Starscream).
     In general, the Liokaiser or Magnaboss style will be followed here, with
all the "combiner kibble" being integral to the figures.  
     The arm figures come with extra-big weapons that can attach in either
mode or be snapped together to make a megaweapon for the combiner (Skywarp
and Thundercracker would have missile pods that snap together into a fusion
cannon, for instance).  These weapons would have sound and/or light gimmicks.
     The leg figures could be bigger than the arm figures, and might not need
to have special gimmicks to make up the mass.  If they do, perhaps they get
shields that can be turned into shoulderpad armor for the combiner.

     Duocons (two Decepticons merging) and Triplebots (three Autobots
merging) would be unique designs (although recolors might happen), and follow
whatever plan seems to work best at the time of their design.


Other Gimmicks:

     Minerva would get some light and sound stuff to represent her medikit.
Dirge would have a sound chip to play a dirge, naturally.  Minerva would be
about the size of an arm-Sparkmaster, and Dirge a leg-Sparkmaster, to make it
plausible they'd be from the same "type" and play up the possibility of them
being promoted later.
     In addition to their Sparkmaster versions, there will be "powered down"
versions of Optimus, BB, Streak, Locke and Jet.  These will have a sound and
light gimmick to represent calling upon the power of Prime, with the voice
actor from the show saying things like, "I call upon the power of Optimus
Prime...I am Bumblebee!"  
     The Decepticon Sparkmaster characters would not be sold in "powered
down" versions.  However, every one of them will have wings that can rotate
to be either swept-back or swept-forward (hypercritical).  In powered down
mode, their wings are swept back in jet form and folded down in robot form.
When they call upon their Sparkmaster power, the wings become hypercritical
in jet form and folded upward in robot form (maybe also give them battle
masks?). 

     Dave Van Domelen, doesn't think Hasbro would ever do this, but he finds
the idea interesting.  Certain fans, of course, would howl with indignation
at "Mighty Morphin' Transformer Rangers", but that's probably a plus.