Header art by obfuscobble
Knockout: the Fabulous One (AKA one of Those Two Bad Guys)
My scattered, instinctive thoughts on Knock Out, part 1: I think he’s a perfectionist not only with his appearance but also in the medical field. How much he actually gives a damn is up in the air, but I think he’ll patch you up efficiently for perfectionism’s sake. I agree that Breakdown’s probably the nicest of the ‘Cons, but Knock Out strikes me as second nicest—or definitely the most charming, and I think so much so that I’m tricked into thinking he’s mostly not that bad? Comparing him to the other ‘Cons like Megatron and Airachnid doesn’t help. And I can’t shake my first impression from TVTropes—I first saw the idea that Knock Out not killing the guy was weirdly merciful and if it had been any other ‘Con that human would be dead. But then another Troper pointed out how he drove a human off the road for ONE SCRATCH ON HIS PAINT JOB. And as said before, TV standards wouldn’t let the writers Knock Out kill a human like that. Yet I was really shocked when I finally noticed in a GIF that Knock Out has this demonic crazy smile when he’s about to saw off Bulkhead’s…head. But it is interesting how his vanity is such a beserk button for him. That Knock Out’s apparently quite loopy to boot. After a while, half-jokingly, half-serious, I wondered if Knock Out had a bit of the Cybertronian equivalent to OCD (with regards to vanity/cleanliness and the possibility of perfectionism). I’d have to actually look more into OCD for a better understanding. More seriously, I wondered if Cybertronians also need a clean space for medical work, to avoid any natural infections/viruses. And Knock Out might’ve gone…oveerboard, during the war. Knock Out’s beserk button and his medical training makes him feel like the first ‘Con to get me thinking how the war must have affected both sides (still surprised it’s Knock Out that makes me think of that, and not say, Megatron, given that he wasn’t always nuts). I dunno, like all the ‘Cons didn’t all enter the war as messed up as they are now during the war. There’s some other posts/fic that just makes me think there’s even more stuff and issues going on underneath Knock Out’s shiny pretty surface. Back to Knock Out and Ratchet—right now, they’re our only view of Cybertronian medics, and I think both their bedside manner leaves something to be decided, though arguably KO’s is a little better, given the whole charm issue again—though (also) again, it’s ambiguous how much he genuinely cares. (But me being a fan of Starscream and Knock Out and their dynamic together, but I think Knock Out sounded sorta genuine when tending to Starscream after getting the scrap kicked out of him by Megatron.) Anyway, KO’s and Ratchet’s similar medical behavior made me wonder—is that actually the norm for Cybertron? Maybe Cybertronian doctors don’t have the idea of a bedside manner at all? Just because humans seem to have it, why should they? Just an interesting thought on world-building and human v. Cybertronian culture IMO. Knock Out’s vain, but besides it being his beserk button, I think there’s another nuance to it—like, I think his vanity only really centers on himself? Like, I’m not sure he’d really judge anyone else by appearance alone—but that may speak more to his cunning/cleverness. Though I think he’d still think of it as of course no one could match his appearance, so XD Knock Out strikes me a full on hedonist. Truly his goals are pleasure, survival, perfection. The more and more I think about it, I kinda like the thought that “Operation Breakdown” at least can be seen as implying Knock Out’s presence. What are the specifics of why Starscream needs Breakdown? Okay, besides obvious enforcer material and that, as pointed out somewhere in all the lovely Breakdown discussion before, BD was respectful during Starscream’s rule (when it seemed legit), there could be the KO and BD team to consider. Though as pointed out by lizwuzthere, their fighting together leaves something to be desired, but that actually makes me LOL. Kinda cute to me. And I’m always struck that Knock Out bothers to actually let Breakdown know he just ditched them. Like, if you’re ditching your partner in the middle of a fight, why bother letting them know if at least a part of you didn’t care? (And that part also was confident he’d get out of it alive?) It strikes me as KO’s roundabout or own unique way of showing that he does care about his partner. Anyway, maybe their effectiveness in co-op battle isn’t that great so far, but they still strike me as loyal to each other, and Starscream may need that—may need both of them, as they’re like a packaged deal. And there was this neat fic where Starscream seized on the chance to reign KO in control by finally finding something KO did care about that could be manipulated: Breakdown. So, Starscream could’ve mostly rescued BD on KO’s behalf. Maybe KO was even kept in the loop and wanted to go, but Starscream ordered him to stay, judging that it would be better to keep the medic at HQ and out of harm’s way in this context. I have such a big fic plotbunny on my idea of Knock Out’s backstory, I need to put it down somewhere. …Now I shall check out obfuscobble’s response.