What is the worst of all crimes? Murder? Mass murder?
Matricide? Fratricide? Rape?
Not denying that any of those crimes are horrendous, I will still
claim that none of them earn the dubious honor of being "worst of all."
All of them are included, and then some, in what is truly the most
heinous and unforgivable transgression: treason.
Perhaps the crime is better called "betrayal of trust", more so than
treason, as I'm talking about something far more personal than acting
against one's government or its doctrines; to my mind, the worst traitor
is someone who turns not against an abstract ideology, but against
real-live individuals within their personal circle of acquaintances.
More so, a traitor is someone whose actions damage those who have
directly helped and supported him/her in the past.
Why bring up the subject here? Because the Transformer mythos
is full of such contemptible characters - and more often than not,
they're held up as heroes. How often have you seen this scenario, both
in fan writing and from "official" stories: a Decepticon, through
various circumstances, "recognizes" the "rightness" of the Autobot
way, renounces his old allegiances, and redeems his past by joining the
"good guys." He may then bring Decepticon fighting skills and
straightforwardness of nature to the service of the Autobots, which
would of course make him stand out from the others - but none the
less, he's now on the "right" side and everyone's happy. Funny how
it's never the other way around. I dare say an Autobot who recognized
the stifling hypocrisy of his species and "saw the light" in order to join
the Decepticons, would be greeted with the utmost of loathing, rather
than the smugly congratulatory satisfaction with which Decepticon
traitors are welcomed.
Let's start with the worst betrayer of them all, Skyfire, as seen in
"Fire in the Sky." I will say again that I consider personal betrayal the
worst of all crimes, and the worst subset thereof, the pinnacle of
depravity, if you will, is turning on a close friend. And this act is
virtually personified by Skyfire, who was shown to have had a
friendship with Starscream in the past, a friendship that Starscream
went to great lengths to renew. After Skyfire was freed from his icy
tomb by the Decepticons, Starscream put a great deal of effort into
reviving him, and then put his own reputation on the line by assuring
Megatron that Skyfire would make a worthy addition to their forces.
No background check, no trial period - Skyfire was accepted and even
welcomed, purely on the weight of Starscream's recommendation.
How did he thank his benefactor? By joining the enemy and trying to
kill him. I've heard fans say they admire Skyfire for standing up for
his convictions - but there's a huge difference between saying "This
lifestyle isn't quite for me" and walking away - and joining the
group that's trying to kill the guys who gave you a second chance at
life to begin with! Skyfire is deemed heroic, for stabbing his old friend
in the back? How do you think Starscream felt about this brutal
violation of confidence? Or doesn't that matter? What's wrong with
this picture?
Now Starscream himself, contrary to much propaganda and even
curses by Megatron, is no traitor. He has his disagreements with
Megatron, but never once has he betrayed the Decepticon cause, and
only a single time ("Starscream's Brigade") did he earnestly turn his
fighting skills against his comrades. This was by no means an
admirable act, and I think he realized it, because he never did so
again. His complaint was with Megatron, not with the warriors who
had stood with him in battle through so many years. And he never
helped the Autobots against his own. There is the critical
difference. I must wonder about the mindset that brands Starscream a
traitor, and holds the real traitors up for adulation.
One might also point to Blitzwing in FFoD, but he's no traitor
either. He's someone who realized Galvatron's actions could endanger
all other Decepticons, and acted to prevent it - to help his fellow
warriors, rather than hurt them. And even after Galvatron threw him
out, he did not join the enemy. In fact, he eventually came back to the
Decepticons, even though the actual scene wasn't shown - but he's
there again with the others in "Ultimate Weapon."
Now to Dinobot. I've heard even die-hard Decepticon fans say
they liked him, perhaps because of his more warlike and less
pretentious nature. But when they say this, I don't think they're seeing
the full picture. Dinobot was a traitor, pure and simple. I fault him
not for standing against an incompetent leader, who was a danger to
them all and deserved nothing more than to be deposed - I fault him
for afterwards joining the enemy (sound familiar?), and turning his
battle skills against those who had been his comrades, his team-mates.
Next time you're tempted to write (or admire) a character who
sidles from one side to the other, particularly a Decepticon who
"suddenly" develops inexplicable Autobot sympathies, stop and think
about what that really means. Think about what's really involved in
bellycrawling over to the enemy, in betraying one's friends. It's
generally taken too lightly, made too easy. What it really means, is
that such characters are making a deliberate effort to harm, degrade,
and ultimately annihilate the individuals with whom they had formerly
shared the trials of life and death - with whom they'd partaken of
energon, who defended one another in combat, who stood together
against the enemy, on the assumption that all would rely on one
another when it really counted, regardless of an occasional personality
clash. That is, after all, the Decepticon way. But these traitors broke
the agreement, turned on their own, and violated the trust of those who
relied on them. Their own efforts are now geared to cause the deaths
of their former friends, relatives, and protectors - geared toward
destroying the dreams, hopes, and futures of the very individuals who
would once have put their lives on the line for them without a second's
hesitation.
You see? Murder. Mass murder. Matricide. Fratricide. Rape.
And then some.
--Raksha the Plumed Serpent
|