We are very close to the release of Transformers: One – the latest installment in the blockbuster franchise. But this time we’re seeing these legendary characters come to life in gorgeous computer animation, like we’ve never seen them before! And we’re going back to the very beginning before Optimus Prime (Chris Hemsworth) and Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry) became the icons they are today.
However, you can’t celebrate the legacy of the Transformers without embracing and appreciating all that came before. And Transformers: One is a treasure trove of fun, eye-popping easter eggs for long time fans and Transformers experts. And we were able to catch a couple, and want to share some of our favorites with you all!
Here are the top 5 easter eggs from Transformers: One.
- The Touch
While Transformers: One offers some amazing animation and explosive visuals, it’s actually not the first time we’ve seen our favorite Autobots and Decepticons on the big screen in glorious animation. In fact the very first time we saw these characters in cinemas was 1986’s Transformers: The Movie. Regarded as a favorite among fans, one of the most memorable aspects in the film was the Stan Bush anthem, “The Touch.”
In the early minutes of the first act of Transformers: One, we’re introduced to Optimus Prime as Orion Pax. He and D-16, aka Megatron, are Energon miners who work for Elita One (Scarlett Johansson). On a successful mining job, Orion Pax boastfully says he has so much power he can almost touch Sentinel Prime, the current leader of Iacon City. To which Elita shoots him down saying, “You don’t have the touch or the power,” spoofing the lyrics of the 1986 song.
- More Than Meets the Eye
Everyone knows the Transformers theme song lyrics, and the overall tagline of the toy line: “Transformers! More than meets the eye!” So it would be an absolute shame not to have this somewhere within Transformers: One. Thankfully, we get it, in an intentional bit of dialogue that helps us also define who Orion Pax and D-16 are as characters. Orion Pax wants to join a high stakes race called the Iacon 5000, despite not having the ability to transform, since he, D-16, and the other miners don’t possess the necessary cogs that give Transformers the ability to change. Persistent and ambitious, Pax decries to D-16, his best friend, that he wants to show Iacon City that they’re “More than meets the eye.”
It’s of course a nod to the Transformers legendary tagline, but more than that, it showcases Pax’s ability to optimistically see his and D-16’s full potential. And it foreshadows his ability to see past the surface level details of others, and tap into his internal sense of optimism and hope to see heroes in unexpected places. This of course becomes critical when he encounters the human race and Sam Witwicky, and the potential for greatness it has as a species.
- The Legendary Records Keeper
Transformers: One features a lot of cameos from the expansive lore of the Transformers – characters that really have yet to be introduced in any of the films. Among them is a Prime called Alpha Trion (Laurence Fishburne). It’s through Alpha Trion that the protagonists of the film, Orion Pax, D-16, B-127 (Keegan-Michael Key), and Elita One learn the truth about the final stand of the original Primes.
This is not an accident. Alpha Trion is in fact the records keeper of the Primes. So it makes the most sense that he would know the history of Cybertron better than anyone else. It also makes sense that he’d know the location of the Matrix of Leadership, since he, himself, was the one who held on to it. So of any of the Primes that the team could possibly resurrect, he was most definitely the most useful.
- The Doctor is In
In a moment following the Iacon 5000, the injured bots are taken to a medical officer, mentioned in passing, named Dr. Ratchet.
This is obviously a reference to the actual Autobot called Ratchet, who is, in fact, the medical officer of the Autobots. While we don’t see him in Transformers: One, we do know he exists. I think this is perfect because it feels like Optimus Prime is beginning to assemble the quintessential team of Autobots from Transformers G1, including Elita One, Bumblebee, and potentially…
- Smooth as Jazz
Jazz is one of the most legendary allies of Optimus Prime. A fan-favorite Autobot who has been a staple in the Transformers franchise since G1. Jazz was even in the first live-action 2007 Transformers movie, before was bafflingly killed in battle by Megatron.
Well guess what: Jazz is in Transformers: One too. He’s got a very blink-and-miss it speaking cameo when Orion Pax comes back to Iacon City to rally his miners to rise up against the bad guys. One of the robots who speaks to him and looks up to him is Jazz, as Orion Pax calls him out! Once more, it feels like a setup for the next film (at least I’m hoping it is), in which we might get a full roster of the G1 characters including Ratchet, Jazz, and Elita One
Transformers: One hits theaters September 20th, but you can catch early Fan Screenings this Saturday, September 14th!
