Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen featured the twins Skids and Mudflap, but their dynamic was only fraternal in the most superficial sense, diluted to mere bickering. Through Airazor and Cheetor, this seventh movie will have the opportunity to explore such a relationship - hopefully, without making the siblings in question racist stereotypes as Bay did.
On the big screen, Transformers has generally avoided family dynamics between its non-organic characters - the Autobots are frequently brothers in arms, but never parents, cousins, or lovers. Avoiding the latter in a series about robots that turn into cars is understandable, yet the absence of the former tends to mean that human characters are forced into acting as the emotional cores of the movies, distracting from the metal-on-metal spectacle that sparked the franchise's huge following in the first place. By Transformers: Rise of the Beasts adapting Beast Wars' plot and characters, particularly when some of those characters have such a novel dynamic, it will hopefully solve this problem.
Why Transformer's Airazor & Cheetor Are So Close
Airazor and Cheetor were not always siblings. When Airazor's stasis pod crash-landed, the locking chip of her protoform was damaged. To remedy the issue, Optimus Primal's Second-in-Command, Rhinox, transplanted Cheetor's chip onto her, to keep her stable. This shared circuitry formed a special bond between the two, and since the incident they have been like brother and sister, with Airazor also viewing Rhinox as a kind of uncle. This is the only such relationship among the Maximals on Earth.
How Airazor & Cheetor's Introduction Can Change The Transformers Franchise
Though Bumblebee in comparison to the vitriol levied at the likes of Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes proves that Cybertron and its inhabitants are the most interesting parts of the series. Thus, introducing a sibling dynamic that would force the narrative to divert more attention to the Maximals could provide a massive change in the films' overall approach to story and character.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts has the opportunity to rectify the mistakes of Bay's original trilogy and shake up the franchise's attitude to character via the introduction of Airazor and Cheetor. Done right, their sibling dynamic could even provide this new Transformers film trilogy with its emotional core, their bond having the potential to be as impactful or more than the human relationships depicted so far. After all, cinematic spectacle is only truly compelling when the characters involved are worth caring about.
