Why do writers want Man At Arms to be evil?

[EtherianChronicles]

It's because of "Superman syndrome".

Traditionally, writers have said that writing for Superman is/has become a difficult task over time. The entire concept of his character is that he is tried and true, honest to a fault, and physically unbeatable without the assistance of Kryptonite. And there are only so many little shards of Kryptonite that they can keep inventing from the "lost" planet of Krypton, and only so many ways to use it on him. Because he is such a "good guy", you can't even really use his personal life - I mean, Superman is never going to have some drama where he cheats on Lois Lane, or is even tempted to - that is completely against the basis of his character.

Although he does not have the physical prowess, MAA is similar in that he has virtually no faults, is a stand-up guy, has a good relationship with his family, always does the right thing, is stalwart and the most trusted character in many ways. It only makes sense to make him "go bad" - to give him some character development and to give other characters a new way to interact with him, as well.

All that said, I think in all cases he will "recover", much like how Angel will always get his soul back in the Buffy-verse when it's lost. To not return him would be disastrous to the character, so it will likely always be a temporary condition out of his direct control (bonus points if he helps fight the control himself, because he is such a good character that even spellbound there is still a part of him that remains).

[AdultCollector]

From a bio aspect, I'm loving the idea of Man-At-Arms as a major villain. I would however like a clear explanation of whether or not the powers that be did indeed intend for him to become permanently evil in the 200x cartoon.

[Dr Kain]

maybe but it buried the line in north america for a good few years. until beast wars 2nd attempt actually (in a sense the 2nd attempt as i conside croc megatron and bats pirme the first try that failed)

Thanks for the clarification Jack, you're exempt because you had the idea first either way! but why DID you choose Duncan over anyone else?

What does killing off Optimus Prime have to do with Beast Wars? BTW, Croc Megs and Bat Prime were only made to release the leaders in some form until they brought out the show accurate ones.