Yeah, the B1 droids that usually received that slur were low-cost robots with bare minimum software. Their only edge against the clones was numbers. That's it. Their literal intent was to be a mindless swarm.
Other droids like R2 or C3PO were treated mostly normally cause they actually had their own minds. I say mostly cause there were times they were tried to be sold for parts.
Makes sense considering they were made by a megacorp to serve as fodder security guards and then just mass produced for war. Wish the B2's had been more of a threat though.
Soulless, huh? Then explain to me how the Spark Extractor worked on them. And also why Starscream himself says “go for the spark!” when he and Knock Out deal with the Terrorcon Vehicon.
“Spark” could have a literal and figurative meaning, just like we use “heart”. They have a spark that pumps their Energon, and a “Spark” that represents their soul
Same comparison to the human heart. Depending on your views, the Heart is both the spiritual root of compassion and love, and or the organ responsible for pumping blood.
Spark could be similar; referring to both the spiritual core of the self and the physical power mechanism.
Ok fair point on the definition case but the Spark Extractor is clearly a techno-equivalent to soul sucking. It didn’t physically rip through their chassis to pull out a physical spark, it sucked the life essence out of them! Thus they have a spark in the same way any other Cybertronian does.
Vehicons/eradicons are living individuals and I will die on that hill. As someone who roleplays those characters all the time and strictly, they are very much alive!!! If they weren't meant to be individuals then they shouldn't talk.
So thank you! And I agree, they do have sparks! Long love the vehicon/eradicons!
we use clanker for things like GPT and other such AI programs. Cybertronians are a metal based lifeform like Humans are a carbon based lifeform. Being a lifeform, cybertronians are exempt from the slur coined as clanker
I think it depends on the origin u prefer at least for me. If they were built by the quintessons then programmed by vector sigma then yes they are clankers. If u prefer they are the creations of primus then no
He would give a speech on why saying a slur is wrong to call any one or any thing all sentient beings deserve the rigit live a life with out oppression of any kind
Knowing bay's Optimus he would go into a half an hour rant about how he is tierd of humanity's colectiv racist mentality and how autobots must be better
Hes not a robot, hes a silicon based life form, he cant be categorized as a clanker or any of his species, manufactured robots like the ksi drones however can be called clanker, including galvatron
No, because he doesn't fit the definition of a clanker. A clanker is a souless machine that tries to imitate organic beings. Optimus (and other transformers, of course) has an actual soul (he has more soul than many irl humans).
Here's my rule of thumb for technological life, if said life could be considered "natural" like the cybertronians they aren't "Clankers"
To me clanker is a slur for artificial sentient life like all the droids in star wars or the galvanic mechamorphs from Ben 10 and the clanker slur can also be used for cyborgs greater than 25% technological so Cyborg from DC comics is a clanker but Otto Octavius is not
Transformers/Cybertronians are robotic organisms. Yes theyre made of metal and look like robots, but they have minds and souls. A clanker is a machine. Ai or a robot.
Transformers are sentient life forms with biological components underneath a metallic exo-skeleton. If anything, they're more alike crabs than toasters.
Well clanker is for artificial intelligence. Optimus prime is a cybertronian, a metal species not made by anyone so not artificial. You could argue that primus made them but i guess its the same as a mother making you because hes cybertronian too
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u/Anonymous_Guy4k Aug 13 '25