CON-QUEST ISSUE DETAILS:
Raksha's Rantings ... from Issue 14, Winter '95/'96

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How does one become a Decepticon? This is a pretty exclusive group, after all characterized very much by an extreme "team mentality" that has nothing but disdain for outsiders. They're proud of their identity, proud of their abilities, their far-flung goals, and their high standards. But every now and again, an outsider beckons to join them. Is it possible even to get one's foot in the door, and if so, how?

Two cartoon episodes stand out, that showed outsiders becoming Decepticons. The part that angers and disgusts me, is that the writers seemed to take great pains to show that the joining was involuntary. In "The Secret of Omega Supreme", it was the Constructicons - who were "re-programmed" by a device of Megatron's (the ludicrously named Robo-Smasher), to become "evil" and serve him. In "Enter the Nightbird", a lot of effort was put into insinuating that Bombshell had warped Nightbird's mind somehow, to make her willing to obey and carry out Megatron's mission.

It's as though the notion isn't allowed to exist that perhaps all these individuals joined the Decepticons of their own free will. Isn't it equally likely - more so, in fact - that the Constructicons realized Megatron offered them a far greater outlet for their talents than the Autobots who kept them chained to drudge-work? That Nightbird realized her abilities were wasted in serving mere humans as a demo model and strove for her own freedom? That all of them might have been captivated, not by some vile mental manipulation, but by Megatron's own charisma and command presence, and by the freedom, revolutionary vision, promise for a better future, and honor of being among such top-notch warriors, that are represented by the Decepticon cause? That these were beings with a strong sense of individuality, who were not willing to be subjugated by the Autobots' conformity, and sought to achieve great heights in their own lives? But for some reason it's taboo to give a logical explanation like this in the "official" sources. It goes back to the mistaken notion that the Decepticon cause is "evil" in some ultimate sense, and so no one in their right mind should want to join up. Given those pre-existing biases, I feel more than justified in dismissing the "reprogramming" explanations as so much propaganda, and ignoring them entirely. Besides which, I don't believe a Transformer's personality can be "reprogrammed" any more easily than an organic life-form's. These are living sentient beings, with complex psychologies, and a few twists of the screwdriver isn't going to do it.

Unfortunately I see the same trend in some fan writing. There are far too many profiles that point to some horrendously traumatic event in a character's past, that "turned them evil" and "drove them to join the Decepticons." As though there were something inherently wrong with doing so, and there has to be some convoluted explanation to show why anyone would ever even want to. It's not my place to criticize anyone else's creative work, and this is absolutely not my intention - but I do feel the need to point out aspects that fan writers may not have considered. I don't think anyone deliberately tries to create an inviable character, but they may have unwittingly bought into the stereotype promoted by the "official" sources. Wanting to create a neat character, yet also wanting them to be a Decepticon, they may find the two concepts mutually exclusive and feel the need to "explain" or "apologize for" putting both aspects into one character. To those writers I would say, *there is no need for apology*! Next time you create a Decepticon character, consider letting them be a Decepticon because they're worthy of the faction, not because they were forcibly "re-programmed" or scarred irredeemably by some terrible suffering that warped them forever.

Naturally there will also be characters driven by hate and revenge, who join the army because it gives them a chance to carry a big gun - because Decepticon High Command isn't going to be terribly bothered over the occasional sadist who indulges in his enjoyment of torturing an enemy, or gunning down as many uninvolved bystanders as possible for the sake of alleviating boredom. But - guess what? -- the Autobots have similar types too. So why go to such great lengths to make "excuses" for anyone who is shown to join the Decepticons? The fault lies with the paranoia and closed-mindedness of our current culture, I would venture to guess. Gods forbid that we should show any decent, intelligent, compassionate individual voluntarily joining the "evil" side because perhaps they agree with the cause - because perhaps they admire its leaders - because perhaps they would take great pride in being accepted into such an exclusive group with such grand ambitions - because perhaps they hold a great sense of patriotism for Cybertron, their homeland, and saw it grind to a halt and stagnate under the Autobots' timid isolationist policies-because perhaps, the so-called "evil" side might then be perceived as a simply different and equally valid point of view. Gods forbid.

Answering the question "How does one become a Decepticon?", well, the much more sensible answer seems to be this: you have to prove that you will be able to live up to their standards. You have to show that you're willing to fight for the cause - that you have the internal strength of character to never lie down and die, to never surrender. And that you have the specialized skills or abilities that will, in fact, make you an asset. They won't take just anyone. And there's the real story of how Nightbird and the Constructicons became Decepticons.

The End