# Why "Decepticons"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 23, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177 "2013-02-23T17:39:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/21 "2013-02-24T01:10:46Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Actually, you weren’t all that far off. In addition to the Transformers, there were the [Gobots](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobots). Gobots toys were cheaper, perhaps because they didn’t transform quite as completely (fewer moving parts). > > Clueless parents everywhere crushed the hopes and dreams of a generation of children opening Christmas presents to find the dorky stupid fake Transformers instead of Optimus Prime and his ilk. (Even though Gobots actually predated Transformers on the American toy market.) At the risk of being totally uncool, I had a place in my heart for Gobots. Sure, they made crappy robots but they did make pretty good Matchbox sized vehicles. I think I used the ambulance guy as my standard Matchbox ambulance and had some sci-fi drilling machine guy ([shown here](http://rodimusprime.free.fr/gobot%20drill.htm) in his painfully lame robot form) I used to like. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/22 "2013-02-24T01:49:21Z")
On the note of Go-Bots, they are now part of Transformers continuity. Hasbro bought out Tonka, who sold Go-Bots in North America, so the Go-Bot name, and the names of the characters became Hasbro property\* and folded into the Transformers multiverse. But, when they get toys now, they bear less resemblance to the originals than they might, since the original Go-Bots were based on toys made by Bandai, who are still competitors to Takara-Tomy, Hasbro’s Japanese partner in the Transformers franchise. Thus there’ve been characters called Leader-1 and Ro-Tor in Transformers, the Go-Bots name itself has been used for several different types of Transformers (small Hot-wheels style cars, toddler-oriented toys), and a couple of the actual, canonical Go-Bots have appeared in TF fiction, and gotten TF toys. Bug Bite, interestingly, has gotten 2! (One part of the Go-Bots mini-vehicle 4-pack, which Takara decided not to name officially because of the whole Bandai thing, though they did get officially named in a TransTech story, the other a Botcon exclusive. Neither resembles his original deco, which would make him look too much like Bumblebee (who his mini-vehicle incarnation was redecoed from.) - There are a couple names they couldn’t get. So the Crasher-based toy ended up named Fracture, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/23 "2013-02-24T06:46:53Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > I always thought King Arthur got what he deserved. Not for sleeping with his sister; that was just a mistake. It was naming his son Mordred. Did he _want_ his son to be evil? Depending on which version of the legends you hear, Arthur probably had no say in Mordred’s naming. One common version of the legend is that the sex between Arthur and his sister Morgause was non-consensual. Arthur either impersonated Morgause’s husband or outright raped her. So when Morgause found herself pregnant afterwards she decided to raise the child as a weapon of vengeance against Arthur. Giving the boy a name like Mordred would fit in with such a plan. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/24 "2013-02-24T06:50:35Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Depending on which version of the legends you hear, Arthur probably had no say in Mordred’s naming. > > One common version of the legend is that the sex between Arthur and his sister Morgause was non-consensual. Arthur either impersonated Morgause’s husband or outright raped her. So when Morgause found herself pregnant afterwards she decided to raise the child as a weapon of vengeance against Arthur. Giving the boy a name like Mordred would fit in with such a plan. Johnny Cash should have written a song about it. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/25 "2013-02-24T21:21:14Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Really? I had supposed that it was “Ro **bots** that are also **Auto** mobiles.” > > Or, you know, “ **Auto** mobiles that are also Ro **bots**.” That is where the name actually comes from. All of the first year Autobots turn into cars or trucks. It wasn’t until the 2nd year toyline with guys like Jetfire and the Dinobots that they started to branch out for the red team. It’s also a bit of a switch from the pre-Transformer Diaclone/Diakron line where they were called Car Robos. Oddly, in Japanese Transformers they aren’t even called Autobots, but rather Cybertrons, and the planet they come from isn’t Cybertron but Seibertron. And the purple team is the Destrons instead of Decepticons. As for the question of why the Decepticons have such a name, hey, it was aimed at kids. Might as well ask why the leader of VENOM (the bad guys in MASK) was called Miles Mayhem. That’s not a very common surname, is it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/26 "2013-02-24T21:52:32Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > TOddly, in Japanese Transformers they aren’t even called Autobots, but rather Cybertrons They were called Cybertron, but not any more. Since 2007 or so (whenever the translated version of the movie went over), Takara has matched their naming to Hasbro’s - so the good guys are the Autobots, lead by Optimus Prime, not the Cybertron lead by Convoy. (Not sure if they’ve normalized Destron/Decepticon.) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/27 "2013-02-24T22:03:09Z")
Saibatoron. Seibertron would be “Saber Robots.” And the bad guys are “Desutoron,” which might also be interpreted as “Death Tron” to my eyes (don’t know if they have an official Japanese interpretation). ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/28 "2013-02-24T22:13:42Z")
The faction and the planet had two different spellings. Cybertron, the faction, was spelt サイバトロン (saibatoron). Cybertron. Cybertron, the planet, was spelt セイバートロン (seibaatoron). Seibertron is how it was usually transliterated, to avoid confusion with the faction. Now, they are Autobot (オートボットOotoboto) and Cybertron (サイバトロン saibatoron). And, checking, they have, in fact, normalized Destron (デストロン desutoron) to Decepticon (ディセプティコン diseputikon). ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/29 "2013-02-25T00:07:08Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > As for the question of why the Decepticons have such a name, hey, it was aimed at kids. Might as well ask why the leader of VENOM (the bad guys in MASK) was called Miles Mayhem. That’s not a very common surname, is it? 😃 Mayhem has got to be a pseudonym. I mean, come on. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/30 "2013-02-25T00:45:18Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > I always thought King Arthur got what he deserved. Not for sleeping with his sister; that was just a mistake. It was naming his son Mordred. Did he _want_ his son to be evil? And what is up with the Dwarves of Khazad Dum calling it “Moria” (Elvish for Black Pit) on the moon runes on the door? That can’t have been good advertising. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/31 "2013-02-25T02:04:12Z")
> [@](#): > > And what is up with the Dwarves of Khazad Dum calling it “Moria” (Elvish for Black Pit) on the moon runes on the door? That can’t have been good advertising. Nah, that’s just like all those folks who get tattoos in Chinese characters that they don’t know how to read. You don’t think the dwarves actually learned Elvish, do you? They just got it translated because it looks cool that way. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/32 "2013-02-25T02:26:19Z")
Ah, I knew they’d gone to calling the big red & blue cheese Optimus Prime instead of Convoy, but didn’t know they’d also gone to the American names for the factions and planet. Of course they still seem to be sticking to “Rumble is red” in Japan while Hasbro has gone the “Frenzy is red” route as of late. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/33 "2013-02-25T02:26:46Z")
Oh, good point. Damned elves… ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/34 "2013-02-25T03:11:05Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Ah, I knew they’d gone to calling the big red & blue cheese Optimus Prime instead of Convoy, but didn’t know they’d also gone to the American names for the factions and planet. From what I can tell, from a quick look, they’ve begun normalizing all the totally different names. Animated Blackarachnia remained Blackarachnia instead of Black Widow, movie Mirage remained Mirage (and Dino) instead of becoming Ligier, movie Ravage remained Ravage, instead of Jaguar (and I presume his Aligned version will as well once one of them gets a Japanese release), movie Laserbeak remains Laserbeak instead of Condor (Aligned Laserbeak doesn’t seem to have been named in any of his Japanese appearances - then again, he never got named in English outside of the games until episode 40 of TFP). Rereleases/new toys of G1 and Beast era characters seem to maintain their original name and faction, but since they’re mostly aimed at people who can remember the original versions, that’s to be expected. > [@](#): > > Of course they still seem to be sticking to “Rumble is red” in Japan while Hasbro has gone the “Frenzy is red” route as of late. I’ve never been able to remember which is which, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/35 "2013-02-25T03:27:55Z")
Given that our writers named a couple of our militaristic politicians Dick Lugar and Dick Armey, I don’t think we can complain about the writers of other continuities. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177/36 "2013-02-25T21:51:19Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Given that our writers named a couple of our militaristic politicians Dick Lugar and Dick Armey, I don’t think we can complain about the writers of other continuities. They got nothing on racecar driver Dick Trickle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-decepticons/651177.md?page=1)