Transformers: Dark of the Moon was the third entry into the series of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies. Dark of the Moon (DOTM) continued to evolve the aesthetics of the film franchise, and introduced many of the aesthetic traits that would come to define subsequent films, such as extremely human Autobots and drawing and occasionally tweaking pre-existing models from previous films to fill out the cast. The toyline continued to evolve many of the features found in previous movie toylines, such as automated gimmickry, high levels of complexity, Human Alliance figures, and others.
Aesthetically, DOTM is significantly busier than its predecessors. In many respects, ROTF represents a smooth and fairly coherent outgrowth of the visual language of the first film. While DOTM is clearly drawn from the same source, sometimes quite literally, it lacks much of the unity of the earlier media. Although one concept artist, Josh Nizzi, was responsible almost all of the designs of Dark of the Moon (“Nizzi continued Megatron’s evolution, as well as designing Shockwave, Soundwave and Laserbeak, the Wreckers and Dreads…pretty much everybody except Wheeljack and Brains”, the straight reuse of models from ROTF and the first film, the presence of many generics without alternate modes, and the iconic elements of the aforementioned characters Wheeljack and Brains contributes to the lack of a strong aesthetic identity for DOTM. (Apcog)
Like Revenge of the Fallen before it, DOTM reused the models of the core cast of autobots, with minor cosmetic changes for Bumblebee and others, and back characters from previous films as themselves, most notably Barricade. (ItsWalky, Dark) However, DOTM also uses generic models to fill out a large army of generic enemies. One of the central plot points of DOTM is a pitched battle in Chicago, featuring wave upon wave of Decepticons versus the Autobots. (ItsWalky, Dark) In order to have the requisite number of bodies to fill out a whole army, DOTM adopted several approaches. Several generics with unique models were created; many of these were only onscreen for a handful of seconds, and never received a figure or even a name. It is often possible to watch the entire movie without realizing that a particular model, like that of new character Devcon, has been on screen. (Tom Servo) Most of the characters, however, were straight asset reuses from the previous films. Examples include Scrapper and Long Haul, two ROTF era decepticon models, reuse of the first movie Brawl/Demolisher M1 Abrams model, Sideway’s Audi R8 from ROTF, Lensmeter decepticons, reusing Scalple’s ROTF model, and others. (ItsWalky, Dark). While ROTF had often used multiple constructicons, particularly in the Egypt scene, to pad the ranks of the enemy forces, those models originated in that film, and aren’t reuse in the sense employed here. This reuse somewhat complicates the issue of what can be said to be the aesthetic of Dark of the Moon; obviously, these models are part of the finished film. However, they are simply drawn wholesale from previous efforts. They constitute, therefore, a part of the aesthetic of the film despite not being originally from it, creating one of many subcategories of the aesthetic of the movie.
We also find a lack of cohesion in the designs that are original to DOTM as well. In the first movie, the Decepticons were all military vehicles, with the exception of Megatron, who didn’t have an earth based alternate mode, and Barricade, who turned into a police car. (ItsWalky, Transformers) In DOTM, there is no such clear unifying element. On the Decepticon side, five new characters are introduced; Shockwave, Laserbeak, and the three Dreads. (ItsWalky, Dark) Megatron and Soundwave also receive completely overhauled designs. (Apcog) All of these characters have very distinct alternate modes and high level concepts. The dreads are three different robots that each turn into identical chevy suburbans. (Khajidha, Dreads) Laserbeak can turn into anything (SFH, Laserbeak). Soundwave turns into a fancy Mercedes (Servitor 2152). Megatron turns into a Mad Max styled Mack truck, and Shockwave doesn’t actually transform in the film, although his toys are generally given some pseudo tank alternate mode. (M Sipher, Shockwave; Dark T Zeratul)
The robot modes share this lack of cohesion. In the first movie, the decepticons all shared monstrous proportions and strongly angular, insectoid heads. In DOTM, Laserbeak is a bird, and the Dreads are based on nothing so much as the Predator. (SFH, Laserbeak ; Khadijah, Dreads) Like the Dreads, Shockwave is quite monstrous, but lacks earth based alternate mode detailing. (M Sipher, Shockwave) His head is no longer clearly insectoid, and is quite visually distinct from those of the Dreads, or Soundwave’s new head. While Megatron was much the same in ROTF, in DOTM he once again has an alternate mode, and sheds much of the anonymous metal tangles that once comprised his robot mode in favor of vehicle kibble, differentiating him from Shockwave.
The Autobots also had a lot going on. Several autobots were introduced for this movie; Dino, Sentinel Prime, Wheeljack (Que), Brains, and the Wreckers. (ItsWalky, Dark) As with the Decepticons, each of these has a very pronounced aesthetic, but they don’t have much in common with each other. Sentinel Prime draws many visual cues from Optimus Prime’s design, particularly around the head, in the way his legs are shaped, and the cab chest. (Charles RB) The Wreckers all turn into Nascars (sometimes customized with a massive array of weaponry), and their robot modes feature styling based on the stereotypical Nascar fan such as mullets and shades. (Derik) Brains and Wheeljack have glowing, floaty hair, strangely human eyes, and pronounced teeth. (SFH, Que) To top it all off, all of the Autobots occasionally sport a ‘Stealth Force’ mode, where their vehicles grow an array of weapons comparable to the Wreckers. (ItsWalky, Stealth)
While even from the outset the Autobots had less in common than the Decepticons, in Dark of the Moon there is almost nothing to unify them. Even elements that they had shared before, such as blocky heads, are now largely absent. Dino’s head is quite different from even Sideswipe, who was introduced in the previous film. (M Sipher, Dino) Where before the heads of the Autobots had been blocky, with clearly defined features such as noses and mouths, Dino’s head is largely smooth, with no obvious features other than his unnaturally round eyes. (M Sipher, Dino) Wheeljack and the Wreckers drift in the opposite direction, from humanoid to being essentially metal people. This aesthetic decision presaged things to come; in Age of Extinction and the Last Knight, most of the new characters featured this sort of ‘metal person’ styling.
Each faction has a handful of distinct aesthetics, conspiring overall to give the film a lack of singular purpose in design. Where ROTF and the first movie had featured a strong and well defined visual language, DOTM is a seemingly directionless mix of the work of various artists from various points in time. While individual characters have strong visual identity and design elements, as a whole, the film lacks any unifying elements to focus these individual designs, save perhaps the extreme complexity that is the trademark of the franchise. The result is an aesthetic that feels like nothing so much as an arbitrary grouping of disconnected ideas.
When translated to the toyline, these notions become even more complex, in part because the toyline omits features found in the film, and in part because the toyline introduces features unique to it.
DOTM was the last movie toyline to feature a high proportion of toy only characters; AOE had only two, and one was a redeco of a character who did appear in the film. (Seichi, Age) As a result, the toyline has features of many of the first two movie lines. Toy-only characters tend to have a softer implementation of the iconic movie aesthetic, garnering their highly detailed appearance from detaining on solid pieces of the alt mode, rather than revealing an entirely new set of details in robot mode by rearranging vehicle shell. Like ROTF and the first movie line before it, DOTM issued a slew of retailer exclusive decos of figures, both ones new to DOTM and preexisting ones.(Seichi) These also lend unique design elements to the toyline.
DOTM elaborated on the automated gimmickry in the previous two movie lines. Where before the gimmick had been on the figures themselves, in DOTM, the automated features, now referred to as Mech Tech, were found instead on spring loaded weapon accessories packaged with all figures of deluxe and voyager classes. (Eagc7; Seichi)
The Human Alliance sub-branding was now expanded to include figures roughly analogous in size to the scout figures of previous lines. DOTM also included “the Cyberverse subline featuring Legends Class characters, Commander Class (new price point, effectively replacing Scouts)” (Seichi;Khajidha) This subline emphasized the interactivity of figures and playsets. Moreover, “toys were roughly in relative scale with each other”, which served to reinforce the concept of Cyberverse, not as individual toys, but as an ecosystem. (Khajidha)
Following in the footsteps of the first two movie lines, DOTM featured many toys targeted at a much younger audience. These included Activators, Bash Bots, Revving Robots and Go-bots, all of which were much simpler figures, often with some sort of autotransformation gimmick. (Seichi) The number of these offerings is somewhat comparable to the larger, more complex figures aimed at older children. (Seichi) This feature of the DOTM line presages an important development in later movie toylines, namely the increasingly well defined breach between figures targeted at collectors and older children. Although ROTF arguably represents the peak of complexity in movie figures, DOTM figures are by no means simplistic. DOTM figures continue to have intricate, sometimes arcane transformation schemes, involved shells to create realistic car modes from the highly stylized robot models of the films, and small, dedicated pieces.
Further complicating the issue of the toyline’s aesthetic, many of the film’s most iconic characters didn’t receive toys at general retail in the United States. “Due to a combination of factors, a number of named characters from the film did not receive “mainline” toy releases, an issue noted by many frustrated fans. Examples include Deluxe Que and Soundwave never seeing a North American release (apparently an issue with retail orders), Dino not receiving a transformable toy at all until 2014 (due to lack of licensing for his vehicle mode), and only one of the three Dreads receiving a Deluxe-or-larger sized toy (likely due to Hasbro not wanting to release three identical black SUVs, even if they do turn into different-looking robots.)” (Seichi, Dark) Leadfoot, one of the Wreckers, got a human alliance toy, but, like Wheeljack and Soundwave, the release of his deluxe figure in the US was totally canceled. (Seichi, Dark) Similarly, many of the characters who’s models were simply reused as generics didn’t receive toys in the line for obvious reasons. Features from the film like Stealth Force weaponry were also found in a limited way on some figures, and to a much more pronounced degree on others, particularly the Wreckers. (Seichi, Dark; Derik) Since many of the members of the cast to receive toys had been originally featured in previous films, it is difficult to find realized in plastic examples of the many aesthetic features that originated in DOTM, such as Que’s hair. This is perhaps the most profound point of divergence in the aesthetics of the toyline and the film itself, and in many ways is a source of significant departure from previous film toylines, which didn’t feature such a gap.
The toyline’s relationship to the aesthetics of the film is not one to one. Many of the most recognizable elements of the film, such as Dino or Stealth Force, are obscured or absent from the line altogether. Other features, like Mech Tech or the plethora of Human Alliance figures, aren’t featured in the film itself at all. Many toy only characters are obviously inspired by the visuals of the movies, but concede more to being figures by featuring less intricate metal detailing and more alt mode kibble. The toyline is still clearly situated in the tradition of movie toylines; complexity, Human Alliance, and automated gimmickry all provide strong ties to the past. Something of the future is also visible in DOTM. The eventual split between toys for younger children and more collector oriented figures in the movie lines is presaged by the contracted scope of the more traditional toyline and the continued presence of more Playskool figures. Similarly, DOTM also defines many of the aesthetic decisions that would strongly sculpt toylines in subsequent films, in particular the extremely human styling of Que.
Overall, from an aesthetic perspective, DOTM is something of a mess. Because there are so many things going on in the film, from Stealth Force to Soundwave’s sports car alternate mode to Sentinel Prime taking cues from Optimus, it becomes difficult to pinpoint what exactly constitutes the aesthetic of DOTM. Certainly, there are several core elements, such as the oft mentioned Stealth Force, the increasingly human designs of new transformers, Wheeljack’s hair, and the reuse of models from previous films, to name a few. However, in many senses, the primary aesthetic feature of Dark of the Moon, both the toyline and the film, is that there are many little aesthetics, such as that of the Dreads or the Wreckers, and these are combined haphazardly with others to create the overall aesthetic of the franchise.
Works Cited
Apcog et al. “Josh Nizzi” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Josh_Nizzi Accessed 2/27/2021
Charles RB et al. “Sentinel Prime (ROTF)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Sentinel_Prime_(ROTF) Accessed 3/6/2021
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Derik et al. “Wrecker” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Wrecker Accessed 3/6/2021
Eagc7 et al. “Mech Tech” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/MechTech Accessed 2/27/2021
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M Sipher et al. “Dino” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Dino Accessed 2/27/2021
M Sipher et al. “Shockwave (Movie)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Shockwave_(Movie) Accessed 3/6/2021
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Seichi et al. “Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Toyline)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers:_Dark_of_the_Moon_(toyline) Accessed 2/27/2021
Seichi et al. “Transformers: Age of Extinction (toyline)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Transformers:_Age_of_Extinction_(toyline) Accessed 3/9/2021
SFH et al. “Laserbeak (DOTM)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Laserbeak_(DOTM) Accessed 3/6/2021
SFH et al. “Que” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Que Accessed 3/7/2021
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Tom Servo the Great et al. “Devcon (DOTM)” TFwiki. https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Devcon_(DOTM) Accessed 2/28/2021
Transformers Aesthetics 