Hm... I know Rodimus Prime was supposed to be a powered-up version of Hot Rod and all, but... it also appears to me that he became a self-doubting wus like Magnus the minute he put that matrix into his chest! The third season of the cartoon spells this out in detail. So while it was cool for me to see Rodimus being able to totally wipe the floor with lots of heavy-hitting decepticreeps, I much prefer him in his original form as Hot Rod.
Hot Rod had the speed, the agility, and more attitude than any one decepticrumb could handle! He was also the first autobot (as far as I can remember) whose guns were mounted on his arms, and thus, he could never be separated from his firepower, and always had that extra free hand… which he could turn into a circular saw! I say let Prime be the most powerful badass leader on the Autobot team. As far as leaders go, he’s my favorite of all time.
Let’s be fair. Hot Rod wasn’t always around. So before Hot Rod, my favorite autobot would have been Iron Hide. He was always taking the major hits and saying the badass lines… He only “talked it” the way Prime could “walk it,” but he did pull far more weight than most autobots in the first two seasons anyway. And besides, It is difficult to find one episode in those first two seasons where Iron Hide didn’t display some new hidden skill or piece of gadgetry. He even seemed more useful “in a pinch” than Wheel Jack most of the time, which is a huge oversight for the makers of the cartoon, and also a crying shame. Even into the first of the new movies, he’s got the “cannons” to deal with anything. When the second one comes out on the silver screen, I am confident my verdict will stand.
As far as decepticons go, I’m not sure anyone will name someone besides Star Scream or Megatron/Galvatron… Starscream would have been my favorite by far, but why focus on the obvious choices? I’m gonna’ go ahead and say Rumble. Sure, he couldn’t beat Sludge in a ground-stumping contest, but he’s got everyone else beat by a long shot! And have you ever noticed the idiocy of the things he says? The dude’s head is a pure titanium brick! And let’s not forget his ability to sneak into small spaces… or beat-up on humans hand-to-hand, or ride Blitzwing’s tank form like a medievil lancer! Rumble gets my mention for his stellar combination of raw, destructive force and unparalleled powers of comedy! One need only watch the episode in Season 2, Part 2 called “Sea Change,” to appreciate where I’m coming from!