COUNTDOWN: 14 Transformers robot modes with unusual or noteworthy feet

Here we are again, serving you up the content that everyone demanded! What’s that? No-one asked for a list about Transformers with unusual feet? Well bear with us, as we’ve compiled one anyway! You see for as strange as some Transformers robot designs have been over the years (and boy, have there been some weird ones), it’s surprising how normal their feet tend to be. Go and look for yourself and you’ll see what I mean.

However there are a few choice examples from different parts of the franchise, and it’s those brave souls that we’re highlighting today – the ones who dared to step out a little differently! Yep, we’re counting down 14 Transformers with weird feet. Go with it.

 

#14: Devastator

Image c/o: botchthecrab.com/

There’s no way this list would be complete without the big green meanie himself. G1 Devastator is one of the quirkiest designs from the early part of the franchise, taking a relatively rare step of being quite adorably asymmetrical but also fully embracing the construction-vehicle motif by wearing his various cranes, treads and shovels with extreme pride. As far as the feet go, Devastator makes the most of his lot, featuring a cement mixer cab on the left and a weird tripod-like mix of a digger scoop and a pair of robot arms on the right. It means that very few toys of the character ever have the benefit of feeling entirely stable, but it’s still pretty devastating. You would not want a kick in the nuts from this lad, after all.

 

#13: Bumblebee

Image c/o: botchthecrab.com/

Bumblebee of course shares the rough aesthetic with some of his Micro Change-brethren, but having the front half of a Volkswagen Beetle for a set of clompers is such a statement that he takes pride of place on this list. Other bots over the years have attempted something similar, but it’s never been done quite as well as the mini yellow lad from back in the day, giving him the right amount of awkward proportions to make him just utterly adorbs. The little scamp.

 

#12: Megatron

Say what you will about the Bayformer designs (and boy, do people say plenty!) but this second big-screen attempt at the dastardly Decepticon leader is a favourite amongst movie fans, and for good reason. Aside from rocking a set of hands right out of your worst nightmare and a shoulder pad that would make Kiss proud, he can also boast about his rather distinctive set of dogs. Made up of bits of tank tread, this is a pair of hooves that you would not want stepping on you during a dance routine of any kind, as Megatron demonstrates on Starscream during the film itself. Well, except the dance routine bit, I think.

 

#11: Tripredacus

Image c/o: transformerland.com

Putting together this list, I initially looked to Beast Wars as a potential treasure trove of tantalising tootsies, but alas – they mostly turned out to be more normal that you might have first expected! Not so with big bad lad, Tripredacus though, who makes the most of trouser-bot, Sea Clamp’s claws by utilising them as a pair of hooves. I will note that actually Tripredacus’ hands are way weirder than his feet, but hey – that’s a list for another day, perhaps.

 

#10: Rattrap

If Beast Wars was surprisingly shy of embracing weird & wonderful robot designs then Beast Machines more than made up for it – and then kept going! All of the main cast we’d come to know through the previous show were suddenly sporting some rather strange new looks, but perhaps none of them made fan’s jaws drop more than Rattrap. Without wishing to debate the merits of the robot mode as a whole, let’s draw our attention to the fact that he’s now a rat on wheels, which is surely one of the more bizarre iterations of any character from across the whole of the franchise. Do they count as feet? Well, for the purposes of this list it’s in there, although frankly this design creates more questions than answers.

 

#9: Superion Maximus

Image c/o: transformerland.com

Quite clearly inspired by the Superion of days of yore, Superion Maximus from the mid-2000s’ Energon line definitely mixes things up a bit when it comes to the distinctiveness department. Despite still featuring jets as his main appendages, he also makes use of Energon weapons (that line’s gimmick-du-jour) as… I want to say toes? Again, this is one combiner that has equally idiosyncratic hands, although in this case you can perform a bit of Scramble City-style limb-swapping too, should you absolutely wish.

 

#8: Wideload

Image c/o: botchthecrab.com/

Wideload by name, wide load by nature. In fact a name like “Wideload” is exactly what you get when you have a rather enormous set of soles formed out of the front of a dump truck, I suppose. Whereas the other Throttlebots are all fairly lithe little renditions of sports cars and the like, Wideload goes to the extreme by boasting a pair of barkers that require their own parking space. The look is tapered down a bit for his animation appearance, but personally I like how his box art fully embraces the rather ridiculous ramifications of such a design by showing that he is, in fact, 50% feet.

 

#7: Blitzwing

Yes, it’s Blitzwing and yes, he looks a bit like Starscream. Moving swiftly past any potential designatory discussion let’s instead turn out attention to that rather enchanting pair of Lego-finders, shall we? Blitzwing isn’t just legs-for-days, he’s wheels-for-toes and I for one can’t get enough of it. Oh, and let’s acknowledge the little lights that just happen to be positioned on top of his tootsies, shall we? This is a lad who likes to show off what he’s got, but hey, if you’ve got it, flaunt it. Haute couture hooves, indeed!

 

#6: Thrust

Another Beast Machines oddity, but one that expertly treads the ever-so perilous tightrope between extremely cool and utterly absurd. Somehow Thrust’s husky no-nonsense nature means he’s able to avoid looking like a cross between a souped-up Gizmoduck and some kind of novelty circus act. One can only assume that balancing is a bit of a consideration, but at least when the time calls for it you can be ready for action. In fact what even is the point of a vehicle mode if you just have wheels instead of legs, anyway? Regardless, I don’t know that I’ll ever tyre of this design.

 

#5: Raiden

Image c/o: botchthecrab.com/

Ah it’s wassisname – Mr Made-of-Trains. In case you’ve forgotten, Raiden is actually up for the full Masterpiece treatment soon (and man, I cannot *wait*!), and here’s hoping it fully embraces the outright absurdity of having trains-for-toes, eh? Perhaps it’s just that we’ve had so very few trainformers in the franchise over the years that this chap feel all the more stand-out, or maybe it’s simply because this is one loco design you can fully get on-board with.

 

#4: Scavenger

Woof. I have many, many questions about this guy. How does he sit down, for starters? I always kinda imagine that it must be a horrific pain for lads like this, given that Cybertronian buildings and spaceships and the like always seem to be designed for the more humanoid-looking members of the population. Still, Scavenger seems to take a real convenience in having a spare wheel hanging above his head, presumably making somersaults and backflips a bit of a doddle should the moment call for that kind of thing. In this chap’s case it seems he’s pretty much hellbent on outright destruction though, so I’m guess a huge rolling uni-tyre would be good for that too. The poor unfortunate brute.

 

#3: Tankor

Alright, this is one of the more comparatively tame Beast Machines designs, but still worth throwing in for how distinct those dew-beaters are. Tankor makes the most of it too, not so much walking as he does… treadmilling? Again, this is one that almost makes me wonder why more Cybertronians don’t embrace this sort of look and avoid having to walk everywhere all the time. Maybe Tankor is just too ahead of his time.

 

#2: Quickstrike

When you’ve got a snake’s head for one hand and a set of scorpion claws for the other, perhaps it’s only fair to say that your feet are unlikely to be the weirdest thing about you. So it is with Quicktrike, but that doesn’t mean he’s not serving up two rather tasty plates of meat. Formed out of his scorpion claws, one assumes that they must be rather handy in battle as well, as whoever you’re tangling with is typically going to be troubled by the up-top half of this design whilst never giving a thought to the fact that Quickstrike could quickly and sharply nip things in the bud, so to speak.

 

#1: Motormaster

Image c/o: botchthecrab.com/

I won’t lie, Motormaster was pretty much the inspiration for this entire list! It’s just one of those G1 designs that is so utterly and bafflingly bonkers but we’ve all kind of grown to accept despite the endless number of questions it raises. So, he’s a robot who turns into a truck, that’s the same size as another robot who turns into a truck (you may have heard of him), but that fella’s whole body is the truck whilst this lad’s truck bits are just his feet? Makes sense to me. In any case you just have to embrace stuff like this when you choose to become a Transformers fan or it’ll just make your head spin. Besides, I bet it’s brilliant for rollerskating.

So that’s our list. Did we miss any other obviously weird-footed bots?

TTFN