...and basically everyone agrees he's gay.
Okay I may have to do some explaining here for those unfamiliar with him and/or Transformers in general.
But before that I have to state the obvious; That I really like Knockout in Transformers Prime.
I mean who DOESN'T?
He's campy, theatrical and always entertaining. He has a great design, his line deliveries are great and he oozes personality and charm.
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His medical practices may be... questionable to say the least, (he has zero qualms about doing unethical medical experiments, says he is better at breaking bots than fixing them and I don't think he believes in using anesthetics) but he gets the job done.
Honestly Megatron sends him to do basically whatever is needed at the moment. In one episode he may be actively fighting the autobots, while in another he's actually practicing (robot) medicine and then suddenly he'll be some kind of intel-gathering expert. He'll do basically anything as long as he avoids getting his paint scratched. He is very vain, but I'll get to that later.
So let's address the elephant in the room: People in the transformers fandom generally agree that he's gay, or at least that it is completely fair to interpret him as such.
I mean, just look at him and you know what I mean. His voice is also pretty stereotypically gay:
In Transformers Prime (the series where Knockout as we know him was first introduced) he was never explicitly confirmed or denied as being interested in other "masculine"-presenting bots. I'm saying it like that because Cybertronians lack any sort of biological sex (they reproduce asexually and how exactly varies a bit from timeline to timeline) and how and why any sort of gender differentiation exists is rarely ever explained in-universe. The explanations also vary quite a lot between continuities, so I won't be getting into that today.
Most bots are masculine. It's been like that since the very start because the toys are primarily aimed towards boys. While many of the feminine transformers now have pretty fleshed-out and independent characters, most of them started out as girlfriends to the masculine bots already in the series. There really aren't a lot of them, so unless a masculine transformer is either very notable or very lucky, what we would see as a heterosexual relationship rarely occurs.
As a transformer, realistically speaking, you have these options:
- Be alone
- Find another masculine bot
- You are/become the feminine bot (some bots do actually switch from masculine to feminine and vice versa so this isn't off the table)
I'm saying all of this because being "gay" as a transformer really isn't a big deal. If anything it'd make more sense than being "heterosexual", given the abundance of masculine transformers. "Lesbian" transformers really must be struggling out there, huh.
There are a few scenes where Knockout expresses attraction towards other masculine bots.
In his third ever scene, (and the first where he interacts with an autobot) he literally wolf whistles at Optimus Prime and compliments how his truck looks.
I am not making this up that is literally what happens:
Not only that, but his partner in Transformers Prime, Breakdown, is his cojunx in one of the comic series. Being cojunxed is exactly the same as being married. They appear somewhat frequently there and are very obvious about being in love with each other. In TFPrime Breakdown is referred to as Knockout's partner which obviously can be understood in a few ways. It's never specified.
The comic came after TFPrime ended, so perhaps they were inspired by fans shipping the pair. Maybe it was the writers' idea, who knows. The comics get more free-reign than the movies and TV Shows. Some of them have some genuinely heavy and out-there topics. (so do the shows, but to a lesser degree on average) I suppose it's because it isn't as accessible as a publicly broadcast TV Show. Less risky for Hasbro or whatever.
The designers tried to make him very extravagant, and as a byproduct he ended up becoming a very attractive bot. Their words, not mine.
"When we started designing [Knockout], the only directive was to make him a fast car, a foil for Bumblebee. I remember looking at rims and saying 'just pimp him out'. We gave him lots of red and gold. That made him feel more extravagant. I remember thinking that he'd be attractive in bot mode. Then the studio said that he's the sexiest bot they'd ever seen. That's where his vanity came from." -Jose Lopez
If anyone damages his paint job in any way he will immediately threaten to maim and kill them, and he really means it. We see him getting polished in a few scenes and in the only one where he has to do it himself he remarks:"Ugh! Detailing was so much easier when Breakdown was around."
Knockout and Breakdown together. I'll eventually make a post about Breakdown's wasted potential and how he and Knockout work together.
Which further supports the claim that Knockout and Breakdown in Tranformers Prime are more than just business partners or at least good friends. Some say they are just coworkers in the show and only a couple in the comics, which is okay since there are some differences between the two continuity-wise, but I wouldn't say that preening and polishing someone who is merely your coworker is normal.
So, Knockout is a flamboyant, quite selfish, vain and theatrical bot. He kind of is a walking stereotype. I've never seen any LGBTQ+ Transformers fans be offended by him, though. If anything I see a lot of them identify with and/or love him as a character specifically because of these traits
We also have to consider that the show aired in 2010. It wouldn't exactly be unprecedented for them to throw some kind of homophobic joke in there, but they didn't. I don't think that the designers specifically intended for him to be seen as gay, though. I think that it's a byproduct of many stereotypes of gay men lining up with his vain and theatrical archetype and Daran Norris' voice acting.
I also really want to emphasize that the show never focuses on him being a stereotype. He is never discriminated against. and he is a very competent bot in the decepticon army who is loyal to its cause. His sadistic nature and disgust towards humans is in no way connected to his queer mannerisms. He is only ever berated by Starscream (who is very selfish and mean towards basically everyone) for choosing an automobile vehicle mode, which is atypical for a decepticon.
Basically, Knockout is happy with who he is and the people around him really don't care.
I think that interpreting him as gay (whether that be in the comic or in TFPrime) is very understandable and makes a lot of sense. He is very much a highlight in the media he appears in, and I really like him as a character.
What makes him so interesting, in my opinion, is how distinct of a character he is. He has his own unique interests and personality traits. Out of all the decepticons we meet he has arguably the largest knowledge on how humans act and work. He has watched movies in drive-in cinemas and actually converses with humans, although he is quite disgusted by them. This leads to him being much more aware of what to expect from them than practically any other decepticon. He does disobey Starscream's (and later Megatron's) orders by going on these trips. He really loves being out and about in vehicle mode. His loyalty isn't unwavering, he does risk him and other decepticons being detected by autobots whenever he engages with participates in street races but he keeps doing it for the love of the game. (automobile enthusiast and all that) In the end he knows when to shut up and follow orders, unlike Starscream for example.
Yesterday I rewatched the clip where Optimus Prime doesn't notice him preparing to attack simply because Knockout was invisible when Optimus was looking straight ahead. Knockout is about 6.5 meters tall while Optimus stands at 9.5 meters. Breakdown is about 8 meters tall. The fact that he and Breakdown alone managed to keep Optimus busy for several minutes in the ensuing fight (when Optimus usually makes quick work of incoming attackers) is quite impressive.
He also lacks the decepticon insignia. In-universe it's likely because he feels like it ruins his paintjob. From a practical standpoint the animators likely didn't want to/didn't have the budget to make another model for if Knockout switched sides and became an autobot. This plot point barely became a reality, though. It kind of just... happened at the end of TFPrime and it really would have been cool to see his dynamic with the autobots had he switched sooner and not as some kind of afterthought.
Lastly, I just want to remind you of this scene between Starscream and Knockout. I feel like it says quite a lot by itself:
Thanks for reading my 1500 word rant. Yeah... This was also a long one.
It will happen again.
