Rise Of The Beasts Finally Debuts A Classic Transformers Weapon In Live Action
Contains spoilers for "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts"
Paramount Pictures' "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" contains a few shocking twists, some admittedly more confusing than others (then again, perhaps a "G.I. Joe" crossover is all but kismet for a franchise that has amounted to little more than the expensive smashing together of action figures). However, one especially delightful surprise is the introduction of the long-awaited "Transformers" weapon known as the "Exo-Suit."
In "Rise of the Beasts," after Mirage (Pete Davidson) sacrifices himself for the life of his human companion Noah Diaz ("In The Heights" star Anthony Ramos), his robotic body is transformed into a small suit of armor that grants Noah the basic capabilities of a Cybertronian. Sure, if you accept the film's premise that these are, in fact, living aliens from another planet, the idea of a human wearing his skeleton as a suit of armor is more than a little grotesque. But then again, it's cool as hell, so who cares?
Exo-Suits also offer one solution to a persistent narrative problem in the Transformers series by giving its human characters a chance to play a more naturally active role in the film's fight sequences. The thinking behind their creation all the way back in Generation 1 was likely quite similar, as these suits of armor have always evened the odds between man and machine.
What are Exo-Suits and how could they return in the future?
The first Exo-Suit was worn by Spike Witwicky, a human character in the Generation 1 animated series (Sam Witwicky, Shia LaBeouf's character from the first three Michael Bay "Transformers" films, was named in reference to this character). Its main function was to serve as a protective shell for the Auto Bots' vulnerable human companion in dangerous situations or uninhabitable environments.
The main difference between the original Exo-Suits and the one worn by Noah Diaz in "Rise of the Beasts" is that Witwicky's wasn't crafted from the parts (or, rather, corpse) of an Auto Bot. Some of these suits did, however, possess transformative capabilities, often acting as both a protective suit and a mode of transportation.
Interestingly enough, the 2009 film "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" introduced so-called "Accelerator Suits," which possess many of the same capabilities as the Exo-Suit given to Noah. If this new iteration of the franchise is able to follow through on the crossover promised in the final scene of "Rise of the Beasts," Noah's Exo-Suit could become the basis of a non-Auto Bot suit that he and the other Joes wear in the future.