mean a damn thing. All things being equal, greater size would be indicative
of greater strength and who would win the fight. But in sci-fi, along with
the real world, all things are rarely equal.
In More than Meets the Eye, Laserbeak was able to take on both Cliffjumper
and Hound at the same time. Rumble was able to go toe to toe with Hound twice.
Starscream was able to take out Skyfire in Fire in the Sky. Ravage was a
match for the much larger Bumblebe in Fire on the Mountain. In the same episode,
not only did again Starscream defeat Skyfire, but Skyfire also froze when
Thundercracker pointed his weapon at him. Moving on to A Plague of Insecticons,
Kickback, Shrapnel and Bombshell were able to beat the much larger Skyfire.
Let�s not forget Rodiums and Unicron...nor Wheelie and Grimlock, as
distasteful as it may be. Drawing examples from Beast Wars, we have Optimus Primal
and Megatron, Dinobot and Megatron, Quickstrike and Optimus Primal, Rhiox and
Dinobot, Ravage and Megatron, Tigerhawk and Optimal Optimus. The list is
endless.
In real life, a single soldier with an RPG is a match for a tank. A chimpaze
is an easy match for a muscular man of greater height. Muhammed Ali took out
George Foreman. The list goes on and on and on. An F-22 is an easy match
for a WWII Flying Fortress. A midget with a gun is an easy match for a
wrestler with a wooden staff.
Hell, even though it�s completely irrevelant, let�s go into examples of the
small defeating the large in other sci-fi series just so you can see that the
small defeating the large is something that you have been surrounded with, and
is anything but some random plot device uniqute to transformers. Godzilla
defeated King Ghidorah, Destroyah, Biollante, Anguirus, among others, even
though they were all larger than him. Eowyn and the Witch King, Ripley and Queen
Alien, Wolverine and Sabertooth, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. And of
course, how can we forget the X-wing and the Death Star? The small defeating the
large is hardly an anomoly.
The cause of the misconception that bigger always equals greater power is
programmed right into our genes. The larger a cave-man, the more muscle his skele
ton can support, and thus is a stronger cave- man whose authority in the clan
you don�t want to challenge.
So what is it that does allow the small, who intuitively should be weaker, to
defeat the large? Simple: the smaller combatant, while possessing smaller
volume of muscle, possesses superior attributes in most of the the other
relevant characterstics, tactics, muscle density, weapon power etc, to a degree
that it overrides the large combatants advantage. Chimpanzes have greater muscle
density, so despite their small size are much stronger than body builders.
The midget with the gun has greater firepower than the wrestler with a stick.
Luke Skywalker used his affinity with the force and destroyed the Death Star.
It�s for these reason that you shouldn�t discount Dragon Megatron�s chances
of defeating G1Megs. While G1 Megs is larger, that doens�t mean he has every
advantage. Does Dragon Megs have greater �muscle� density, allowing him to
be stronger than he looks? Are his weapons more powerful? Are his tactics
suited to dealing with a larger opponent? Can his armor withstand punishment from
G1 Megs? All those questions have to be answered before a sound conclusion
can be made. And how do you answer those questions? The only way possible:
by looking at the episodes of G1 and Beast Wars and collecting evidence of
their abilities. Any other method is just brainless conjecture.