17 - AVP - Autobot vs Predator

[Grand Moff Muffin]

AVP: AUTOBOT VS PREDATOR

"That was long ago. And now I stand here, alone with my memories, a solitary figure high up on a mountain Cybertron thrust up many thousands of years ago, its own tribute to the peace that now reigned. I wish I could just stay here, say nothing. But the lessons of the past cannot be ignored. Once before I shut my eyes, refused to accept the threat, and it almost cost us dear. Now events gather pace once more, and we must be prepared. One of our many probes has reported in from the far reaches of the Galaxy, telling of a gathering of Decepticons, a new, more powerful breed, massing for attack. I must go down now, tell my people that their respite is over, that they must once more take up arms and go to war. The future holds only conflict and mayhem! It never ends!"

- Marvel's Transformers UK Annual 1992

NOW READ ON

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

SKYQUAKE (a.k.a. Direct-Hit)

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Predator Commander-in-Chief
Sub-groups: Micromaster Battle Squad, Predator
First appearance: Prelude to the Predator War: Who is Skyquake?

"Break them, crush them - grind them to dust!"

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Direct-Hit was a Ferak-class Decepticon hunter-seeker skyship who spent millennia hunting down Autobots and neutrals and calmly dropping them into the Polyhex Smelting Pool to suffer a slow and agonising death. He was possessed by a pathological hatred of anything and anyone that was not 100% evil. A wicked genius, wholly dedicated to laying waste all in his path, he was, nevertheless, utterly cold, calculating and rational. Even his all-consuming loathing of the Autobots was clinical in its vicious single-mindedness.

In 1989 Thunderwing selected Direct-Hit and five other expendable serial killers from amongst his troops and forced them to undergo the experimental Micromaster combiner process. Direct-Hit was personality-matched with a communications officer in the long-range artillery division with a penchant for torture called Power Punch. They were reduced in stature to seven feet in robot mode but given the ability to transform and combine into a cannon transport. Together with the other four subjects, they became the Micromaster Battle Squad, and for the following two years they were the nucleus of the Decepticons' off-radar defence system, usually to blame whenever Autobot spacecraft suddenly disappeared from radar. (Their team motto was, "The higher they fly, the faster they'll fall!") Utilising the Micromaster combiner feature, each robot in the Battle Squad had the ability to connect with other Micromaster combiners to form powerful, devastating vehicles of destruction. When separated, they would take potshots at each other for sport. On his own, Direct-Hit transformed into an armoured car.

The Battle Squad utterly disregarded the Autobot-Decepticon truce ordered by Primus ahead of the battle with Unicron, taking the opportunity instead to round up many of the neutrals who emerged from hiding to flee the battle zone, and march them straight into the Smelting Pool. Following Unicron's destruction, they avoided the likes of Bludgeon and continued to hunt any Autobots, neutrals and (in their eyes) traitorous Decepticons who now fraternised with the enemy. They therefore completely missed out on the Battle of Klo and the Battle of Hydrus Four. The other Decepticons who avoided those decisive conflicts made peace with the Autobots. Not the Battle Squad - as far as they were concerned, they were still at war!

Rounding up a complete set of non-sentient yellow Constructicon drones, Direct-Hit led the Battle Squad into space, to build their strength and prepare for the right moment to strike back. After two decades of patient development, the yellow Constructicons perfected a giant new exo-form for Direct-Hit to pilot, which made him master of the skies once more. He called it Skyquake.

Skyquake transformed into a large, hyperdrive-capable bomber jet, loosely inspired by the SR-71 Blackbird stealth reconnaissance plane of Earth. In this mode, he could lock together with other Predator jets to maximise his astounding 'supersight' capabilities. This interaction also gave him instant 'ultra-communication' with the minds of his forces. As a bomber, Skyquake was able to launch attacks with his 15 dreadful missiles all at once, and in August 2018 he wiped out the Autobot helicopters, Crossblades and Rotorstorm, with a single salvo. As a robot, Skyquake struck terror into his foes with his devastating physical strength and hand-held missile weaponry. Only the combined might of Emirate Xaaron's new enhanced form, Thunderclash, and the electrocuting Insecticon, Shrapnel, was sufficient to finally end his murderous killing spree.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

STALKER (a.k.a. Power Punch)

Allegiance: Decepticon
Functions: Communications, interrogation
Sub-groups: Micromaster Battle Squad, Predator
First appearance (as Battle Squad): Prelude to the Predator War: Who is Skyquake?
First appearance (as himself): Where Were You During the Predator War?

"Hate till it hurts and then hate some more."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

"Strike hard and fear no-one!" was the joint motto of Direct-Hit and Power Punch when they went into battle together as a terrifying long-range cannon transport. But unlike his partner and team leader, Power Punch had never been an airborne warrior, and when the yellow Constructicons used stolen Motorvator technology to build the Battle Squad's Predator exo-forms, Power Punch was the only one to request a land-based form. Flying just wasn't his thing! But in all other respects, he fitted in just fine. Possessing a truly twisted mind capable of the purest evil, he was the master of the double bluff, using his super-tech 'Garble' system to protect Battle Squad / Predator signals from Autobot spies and then slyly scrambling their communications to wreak the havoc and confusion that he so loved. It was he who came up with the idea of killing random Autobots and Decepticons such as the Hot Rod Patrol, Frenzy, Rumble, Dirge, Thrust, Doubleheader and Pincher, and mysteriously delivering their bodies back to their comrades with the enigmatic message, "Skyquake is coming."

As a vehicle, Power Punch's Predator alter ego, Stalker, stood solid as a caterpillar-tracked armoured satellite station and rocket launcher with multiple missiles at his disposal. As a robot, he towered above any battle, wielding his impressive hand-held missile launcher.

Power Punch / Stalker was an expert when it came to torturing enemy robots, but didn't really know what to do when confronted with his first human prisoner, the Space Marine Danita Santella. He worried that he might kill her by accident during the course of her interrogation, before she could be made to divulge her secrets - little suspecting that the daring young Circuit-Breaker had got herself captured on purpose in order to feed the Predators information that would lead them into a fatal trap. In the final battle with Thunderclash's Autobots in space in the year 2018, Stalker piloted the Predators' main warship against Countdown, but his ship's engines were disabled by the human Matrix-bearer, Katy Witwicky, and he stood alone at last against a boarding party consisting of Action Master Bombshell and the Autobot Powermasters, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. He asked for no mercy and received none.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

FALCON (a.k.a. Fireshot)

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Predator Squadron Leader
Sub-groups: Micromaster Battle Squad, Predator
First appearance (as Battle Squad): Prelude to the Predator War: Who is Skyquake?
First appearance (as himself): Where Were You During the Predator War?

"I despise weakness and spit on compassion."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Fireshot was devilishly clever and utterly evil - no-one could devise more daring and dastardly raids. As the Predator plane, Falcon, his far-seeing Megavisor capabilities and firepower made him a terrifying foe. As a robot, he attacked with his hand-held missile launcher.

Fireshot combined with Vanquish to transform into an Earthen SR-71 Blackbird stealth reconnaissance plane. Their joint motto on stealth missions was, "It's my duty to know the unknown!" Fireshot's Falcon exo-form transformed into an Earthen F-117A Nighthawk fighter jet with hyperdrive capability.

Fireshot/Falcon's all-consuming loathing for the Autobots proved his downfall, when he and his comrade Skydive found themselves surrounded by Gunrunner, Skyhammer and the Astro Squad space shuttle on one side, Blitzwing and Astrotrain on the other. Ferocious fighters both, they vowed not to be taken alive.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

SKYDIVE (a.k.a. Half-Track)

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Scientific advisor
Sub-groups: Micromaster Battle Squad, Predator
First appearance (as Battle Squad): Prelude to the Predator War: Who is Skyquake?
First appearance (as himself): Where Were You During the Predator War?

"True cruelty is the highest form of art."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Half-Track revelled in the science of battle. Cold, calculating and entirely cruel, not even his fellow Battle Squad members understood or trusted him. As the Predator plane, Skydive, he used the far-seeing properties of the Predators' Megavisor technology, which he invented, to the ultimate as a lean and hungry fighter. As a robot, he would calmly attack with his hand-held missile launcher.

Half-Track combined with Meltdown to transform into an anti-aircraft vehicle. Their joint motto was, "Ramming speed is the only way to travel!" On a mission to Earth in 1990 they once shot down the Aerialbot called Skydive, a member of the Autobot Earthforce, and Half-Track took their defeated foe's name as a trophy, applying it to the Predator exo-form built for him years later by the yellow Constructicons. The Skydive exo-form transformed into an Earthen Northrop YF-23 Black Widow II fighter jet with hyperdrive capability.

When the Predators revealed themselves in the year 2018 and lured Thunderclash's Autobots into a sector of space contolled by them, it was Skydive's battle tactics that resulted in the shooting down of a number of Cameron starships and the complete destruction of three Autobots, Flash, Scorch and Vroom, by the combined firepower of Skydive and Snare. Truly, he was a dark version of his Autobot strategist namesake.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

SNARE (a.k.a. Vanquish)

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Surveillance
Sub-groups: Micromaster Battle Squad, Predator
First appearance (as Battle Squad): Prelude to the Predator War: Who is Skyquake?
First appearance (as himself): Where Were You During the Predator War?

"Fear? What's that? It's all fun to me."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Vanquish was a crazy loner who knew no fear. It made no difference to him if nothing remained of him, as long as he had fun. His attitude made him uncommonly dangerous in his original (pre-Micromaster) role as a sentry and guard. In his later years, as the Predator plane, Snare, he was deadly and streamlined, with extra sight thanks to his Megavisor system. As a robot, he attacked the foe with a hand-held rocket launcher.

As a Micromaster, Vanquish reluctantly combined with Fireshot to transform into an Earthen SR-71 Blackbird stealth reconnaissance plane, while his later Snare exo-form transformed into an Earthen Grumman X-29 fighter jet with hyperdrive capability.

In the final space battle of the Predator War, Skyquake, Falcon, Skydive and Snare targeted the Autobots, Gunrunner and Skyhammer, the combined space shuttle form of Phaser and Blast Master, and the Cameron star-gliders 'Resolute' and 'Vigilant', but then the Autobots' Decepticon allies joined the fray, splitting them up and leaving Vanquish/Snare, the loner, isolated from his comrades. Ultimately, the battle-crazed Predator cared more about using his missiles to destroy the Resolute and its crew of humans together with the Autobots, Boss and Hurricane, than he did about watching his own back, allowing the Vigilant to come close enough for the Autobot Windcharger to entrap him in a magnetic field, pull him in and destroy him.

FILE ENDS

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

TALON (a.k.a. Meltdown)

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Advance fighter
Sub-groups: Micromaster Battle Squad, Predator
First appearance (as Battle Squad): Prelude to the Predator War: Who is Skyquake?
First appearance (as himself): Where Were You During the Predator War?

"Don't get me mad.... when I get mad I get even."


Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

In his Talon exo-form, Meltdown was incredibly strong and vicious, mowing down all in his path as a terrifying wall of attack in battle. His low intelligence combined with brute force and a vile temper made him a dangerous enemy. As a plane, he would plummet down to wipe out targets pinpointed using the heightened vision of his Megavisor system. As a robot, he attacked mercilessly with his hand-held missile launcher.

Meltdown transformed into an armoured truck and combined with Half-Track to form an anti-aircraft vehicle, while his Talon exo-form transformed into an Earthen McDonnell-Douglas F-15 Eagle fighter jet with hyperdrive capability.

Meltdown's low intelligence led to his death when he boarded the star-fighter of the human Circuit-Breaker, Danita Santella, a.k.a. Dani Dareheart, in his Micromaster form, and got himself fried. The resourceful young Space Marine later teamed up with the Insecticon Kickback to hotwire Talon and use him/it to get back to Grand Central Space Station. They survived, but Talon was immediately identified as a hostile fighter and destroyed by the various alien ships parked outside.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

ASTRO SQUAD

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Interstellar defence
Sub-group: Micromasters
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Unicron

"There's no speed like light speed!"

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Each Micromaster combiner in the Astro Squad detaches from its main vehicle mode and can be reattached with another Micromaster combiner to create exciting new teams. However, their usual pairings are as follows: Barrage and Heave form a radar rover ("There's no speed limit to where we drive!"), Phaser and Blast Master form a space shuttle ("Peace in space means peace on Earth and throughout the universe!"), and Moonrock and Missile Master form a rocket transport ("The price of freedom is always high!").

Self-sufficient, metallised warriors, the Astro Squad are the Autobots' first line of defence against threats from space. Protected by an impenetrable coating of cyclonic steel for maximum deflection of enemy photon blasts, Phaser and Blast Master expand in size when they combine into their space shuttle form, and are thus able to carry their four comrades at light speed and beyond, rocketing across interstellar distances in seconds. The Astro Squad are equipped with an array of advanced, technological micro-circuitry, which they employ to their advantage when engaged in defensive manoeuvres and deep space exploratory operations. Barrage and Heave's radar rover form is armed with an anti-gravitational device to counteract enemy tractor beam attacks, while Moonrock and Missile Master carry a rocket that can be equipped with a variety of payloads, ranging from glass gas to high explosives.

Sometimes Phaser and Blast Master's shuttle form travels too fast and overshoots its objective, earning them a stern debriefing from the Astro Squad's supervising officer, Autobot Interstellar Defence Commander Countdown.

FILE ENDS

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

CONSTRUCTOR SQUAD

Allegiance: Decepticon
Functions: Construction, technology
Sub-group: Micromasters
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War (Epilogue 1: Bludgeon)

"There's nothing like the feel of cold steel!"

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/


As part of the Micromaster combiner force, each member of the Decepticon Constructor Squad can be separated from its partner and re-combined with another Micromaster combiner to form an incredible new Micromaster combiner constructor. However, their usual pairings are as follows: Excavator and Stonecruncher form a double crane ("The bigger the Autobot scrap heap, the greater our success!"), Grit and Knockout form a backhoe ground digger ("Only our Decepticon victory is carved in stone!"), and Hammer and Sledge form a dump truck ("Dumping a world of hurt on the Autobots is our only purpose in life!").

The Constructor Squad can turn raw ideas into structural monsters of hard concrete, and are known for constructing monuments at Decepticon headquarters after every fresh conquest. They enjoy watching the destruction of something beautiful so that they can build a frightfully ominous edifice in its place. Unusually for Decepticons, they take pride in constructing rather than in destroying, and will build anything, anywhere, any time, for the highest bidder. Before becoming Micromasters, they built the castle of Darkmount and the great Smelting Pool at Polyhex, as well as the stronghold referred to as Fortress Scorponok. They changed the neutral scientist Spanner (now an ally of the Autobots) into the first and greatest Space Bridge.

Only two of the Constructor Squad - Grit and Knockout - survived the three great battles of 1991. They were captured by the Autobots but found not guilty of war crimes and released into Trypticon's custody. In the year 2019, the human Matrix-bearer, Katy Witwicky, repaid a debt that she owed the Decepticons by giving them four new sentient brain modules to replace the deceased Excavator, Hammer, Sledge and Stonecruncher, and the Constructor Squad lived again. But whereas Hammer had been their leader previously, it was now the war veteran Grit who had the most experience and took command, reporting to Decepticon City Tyrest's Director of Construction and Technology, the Constructicon Scrapper.

In their three combined forms, the Constructor Squad are unbeatable as builders, but when separated they're too busy trying to out-design each other to get anything useful done.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

METRO SQUAD

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Internal security
Sub-group: Micromasters
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Unicron

"Protecting life is the most unselfish act of all!"

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

As Micromaster combiners, the Metro Squad's vehicles can separate in half and attach with other Micromaster combiners to form different, specialised rescue vehicles. However, their usual pairings are as follows: Power Run and Strikedown form a hovercraft ("Either you're an Autobot, or you're nothing!"), Oiler and Slide form a fuel tanker truck ("Whoever controls energy, controls destiny!"), and Roadburner and Wheel Blaze form a fire truck ("We're the coolest when things get hot!").

Emirate Xaaron commissioned the Metro Squad to shield the streets from chaos and destruction, reinforcing Autobot defences by clearing embattled areas of debris and fallen Decepticons. Well-respected by fellow Autobots for their fearless courage in the face of danger, they possess an impeccable success ratio in protecting civilians during Decepticon attacks. Unwilling to accept awards for acts of heroism, they are satisfied knowing they've helped the fight against evil. However, their eagerness to aid the wounded is often overshadowed by their ability to get in each other's way.

Now that the war is over, the Metro Squad are the backbone of Iacon's internal security force, operating alongside the Rescue Patrol under the direction of Pointblank, Downshift and Red Alert.

FILE ENDS

[manmiles]

I see what you did there.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

I did a few things. To which are you referring...?

Martin

[manmiles]

I forgot that there were Decepticon 'Predators' and I admit I was expecting more dreadlocked aliens.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Aha, yes.

No, that's one crossover I'm not going to touch with a bargepole.

Though we do have Death's Head II in the Marvel universe, which isn't far off.

Martin

[manmiles]

I was telling someone last week that since the original Death's Head has appeared in the Fantastic Four and that Black Panther's first appearence was in the FF, then I could justify reading 'Black Panther: Panther's Quest' as a piece of Doctor Who related spin-offery.

I don't think Marvel Unlimited has 'Panther's Quest' on it, but you should check it out, it's an amazing story.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

COUNTDOWN

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Interstellar Defence Commander
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Unicron

"For a world without evil, you need a universe without evil."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

An intergalactic hero and space explorer, a legend to beings throughout the universe and an inspiration to his fellow Autobots - truly, Countdown is the Ace Rimmer of Transformers. He has fought a thousand battles and circled almost a million stars, defending the rights of the innocent. And the difference between him and Sky Lynx? Countdown's extreme modesty, which, perversely, irritates Micromasters with an attitude such as Roadhandler far more than Sky Lynx's boasting. "Why must he always leave it to others to tell people how great he is?" moans the leader of the Race Car Patrol. There's no pleasing some people! But Countdown bears the resentment of his few detractors with characteristic benevolence and self-deprecation. What a guy...

Besides protecting the Galaxy from Evil Decepticons (most recently, Skyquake's Predators), Countdown has battled Dark Elves, Dire Wraiths, the Lunartix Empire, Mecannibals, Quintessons, Scraplets, Sharkticons, Thanos, Unicron... He's even survived a minor scuffle with Galactus. He's fought alongside Beta Ray Bill, Death's Head, the Fantastic Four, Hercules, the Junkions, Power Pack, Rocket Raccoon, the Silver Surfer, the Spectral Knights, Thor, the X-Men and Zodac.

Since volunteering to become a Micromaster, the better to interact with smaller space-faring species such as Galadorians, Halfworlders, humans, Kree, Rigellians, Shi'Ar and Skrulls, Countdown transforms into a lunar rover with a satellite dish that enables him to control his interstellar rocket ship and rocket base from up to 30,000,000 miles away. The rocket itself converts into a mobile space station, providing a launchpad for smaller ships and armed with twin energy-zapping 'de-kineto' cannons that freeze objects in mid-motion. The rocket is designed to use planetary orbits and gravitational pulls to 'slingshot' across entire galaxies in seconds, and is capable of comfortably carrying several normal-sized Autobots and numerous Micromasters. Countdown's usual crew are the six Micromaster combiners that form the Astro Squad, or just four of them if Phaser and Blast Master are travelling under their own power.

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

The rocket's command base is equipped with eight laser blasters, a high-tech repair bay, an interstellar communications centre, space-tracking radar, runways for Micromaster jets, a helipad, and an aerial scout vehicle armed with its own large laser. The base transforms into a mobile high-speed launchpad with tower, which can service either Countdown's rocket or the new Galaxy Shuttle. The rocket base is usually referred to in the singular, but several copies of it are actually in operation, on Cybertron, Cameron, Earth's Moon, Halfworld, Lithone, Nebulos and, most recently, Planet Beast.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

GROUNDSHAKER

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Director, City Defence
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Unicron

"A life without risk is a life without reward."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Despite his high rank and position of responsibility in the Autobot hierarchy, Groundshaker is a rowdy, rebellious robot who likes to be where the action is. He is at his best when crashing his titanium-steel, self-propelled cannon through enemy barricades, just so he can unload his x-ray laser cannon, sonic boomers and automatic machine gun at the enemy.

Groundshaker's Micromaster form is a copy of that of the Decepticon Air Strike Patrol member, Whisper, and transforms into a fighter jet possibly based on the apocryphal Earthen F-19 design. Groundshaker's all-terrain vehicle (A.T.V.), affectionately known as Landshaker, converts into a battle station and helipad. It is equipped with awesome ultra-violet radar that guards against aerial attacks, and carries four missile launchers in addition to the weaponry already listed.

Groundshaker is currently in charge of the defence of Autobot City, Iacon. Quickswitch is his second-in-command, and his other troops include the Air Patrol, the Battle Patrol, Camshaft, Cliffjumper, the Clones, Doublecross, Gusher and Pipeline, Overload, the Powerdashers, Retro and Surge, Scoop and Warpath.

FILE ENDS

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

SKYHOPPER

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Aerial Assault Commander
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Unicron

"The bigger the boom, the better I like it."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Skyhopper liked to watch things explode. He especially enjoyed firing his helicopter's sonic cannon at anything associated with the Autobots. His fellow Decepticons suspected that all the explosions had rattled his brain circuits once too often, but are content to follow his lead to death or glory.

Skyhopper's Micromaster form was a copy of that of the Decepticon Air Strike Patrol member, Storm Cloud, and transformed into a Dassault Rafale fighter jet. His giant helicopter ('Sky Hyper') survived the battle with Unicron that saw the death of Skyhopper himself, and is now in the hands of an Autobot Micromaster, Deadwheeler. It converts into a battle base, equipped with a powerful molecular disrupter gun capable of altering the circuitry of enemy robots. Sky Hyper is armed with multiple long-range missile batteries in both helicopter and base modes.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

SKYSTALKER

Allegiance: Decepticon
Functions: Interstellar assault, Micromaster Commander
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Xaaron

"Terror reigns from the skies, the hapless rule on the ground."


Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Skystalker was obsessed with power - acquiring it, keeping it, and using it to tyrannise all who opposed him. He lived for the day when the Decepticons would rule the universe under his command. After millennia of fighting for the Decepticons in deep space, occasionally crossing swords with his Autobot nemesis, Countdown, and having been the first Transformer to set foot on Planet Beast in the year 1986, he returned to Cybertron and volunteered to undergo the Micromaster process in order to become leader of the Decepticon Micromasters, and then, finally, following Thunderwing's disappearance at the culmination of the Matrix Quest, he made his bid for the supreme Decepticon leadership on Cybertron. In this contest he was opposed by Gutcruncher, Sixshot and Trypticon. Before a victor could emerge - and before Countdown and Skystalker could decisively resolve their long-standing rivalry - Unicron attacked. No coward, Skystalker led his army of over a hundred Decepticon Micromasters into the field against the Chaos-Bringer, and died along with most of his troops in the ensuing battle.

The meanest fighter to ever raid an enemy outpost, Skystalker's Micromaster form was a copy of that of the Decepticon Great Car Rally Patrol member, Metrobomb, and the Autobot Robocritter, and transformed into a Porsche 959 sports car with a maximum speed of 175 miles per hour. Both before and after becoming a Micromaster, he rocketed across galaxies in his fearsome Cybertronian space shuttle, destroying everything in his path. The shuttle and its detachable jet pod were armed with laser cannons, cluster bombs, accelerator beams, air-to-air missiles, and a nosecone modulator that emitted earth-shaking sonic booms. Its control panel was equipped with long-range aerial tracking devices and lock-target laser guidance systems. Its lower platform contained an atom scrambler that disintegrated objects in seconds. All the components of Skystalker's shuttle were destroyed together with their master by Unicron's eye beams.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

TURBOMASTERS

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Anti-Predator operations
First appearance: Prelude to the Predator War: Who is Skyquake?


Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Following the events of 1991 that saw an end to large-scale Autobot-Decepticon hostilities, teams of Autobots roamed the planet Cybertron, hunting down Decepticons who had broken the post-Unicron truce and were wanted for suspected war crimes on either Klo or Hydrus Four. One of these hunting parties named itself the Turbomasters. They weren't as successful as the Motorvators and Steeljaw when it came to capturing or killing high-profile fugitives, but they caught a few notables such as Overkill, Slugfest, and the Micromasters, Grit and Knockout (all of whom were later released without charge).

The Turbomasters were four cars and a helicopter. Their distinguishing characteristic was that they all carried large turbines for extra power, which doubled as powerful missile launchers. In 2018 they volunteered to follow Thunderclash - Emirate Xaaron - into space to hunt renegade Decepticon Predators, and before they set off Thunderclash adopted their missile technology and became an honorary Turbomaster. Alas, the hunter became the prey, and while the Autobots and their human allies ultimately triumphed over Skyquake's forces, the five original Turbomasters all perished in the fearsome conflict.

The Turbomasters' courageous team leader was appropriately named Boss. He transformed into what can only be described as a light blue Batmobile with yellow missile launchers. ("Never underestimate your enemy... he's always worse than you could ever imagine.") The decoy, Flash, also known as Breakneck, the fastest of the Turbomaster cars, transformed into a modified Lamborghini Diablo sports car, with jet turbine and missile launchers. ("Don't blink, I was that blur on the horizon.") The super-intelligent defence tactics specialist, Hurricane, transformed into a racer loosely based on a Porsche 917, with jet turbine and missile launchers. ("Give it all you've got. There may not be a tomorrow.") The guide and strategician, Rotorstorm, with his hyper-keen senses and eavesdropping technology, transformed into a Nebulan helicopter with two jet turbines and missile launchers. ("Get into your enemy's mind. And then beat him at his own evil game.") And the fiercely loyal rearguard, Scorch, transformed into a pick-up truck, with jet turbine and missile launchers. ("No-one gets past me. If they know what's good for them.")

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

AIRWAVE

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: City defence
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Singular Adventures of Slugfest and Overkill

"My price is too high and you're going to pay."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Airwave is a black market barbarian who acts as go-between for Gutcruncher's opportunistic Action Master Consortium and Trypticon's Decepticon regime in the Cybertronian city-state of Tyrest. He negotiates deals that keep the fuel flowing, the trade in 'acquired' technology booming, and the city's borders secure against alien threats. As the Micro in the middle, Airwave takes his cut under the table from both sides, and life is good.

Airwave's Micromaster form is a copy of that of the Decepticon Air Strike Patrol member, Nightflight, and transforms into a Grumman F-14D Tomcat fighter jet, a disguise he used when he went undercover on a NATO base in Turkey in the year 1990 to gather intelligence about the distribution of military and energy resources in Europe. His airport is equipped with retractable tyre-shredding spikes that prevent enemy invasions. In attack mode, it converts into a mobile dual missile battery with a range of over 300 miles. Its control tower is armed with atomic panels that short out enemy optic sensors.

FILE ENDS

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

GREASEPIT

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Director, Energy Provision
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Singular Adventures of Slugfest and Overkill

"An engine is only as powerful as the fuel that runs it."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

In 1987, Decepticon fuel auditor Ratbat sent his protege, Greasepit, to Earth with two cassette Decepticons, Overkill and Slugfest, to steal energy from various countries in the Eastern Hemisphere, thus avoiding contact with the Autobots. It was a brilliant plan that worked well, for the most part. To begin with, Greasepit was a normal vehicular Transformer who turned from a tanker truck into a petrol station. Two years after the commencement of their mission, however, he underwent the Micromaster process and acquired his current mobile fuel depot / battle station. A small-minded swindler, Greasepit would siphon fuel from the cars of humans to supply his Decepticon comrades back on Cybertron. Now he occupies the position previously held by Ratbat as the Decepticons' chief fuel procurer, albeit reporting to Trypticon rather than to Straxus. He is aware that Ratbat has recently resurfaced in a new body on Planet Beast, but is of the view that he has outgrown his former mentor, to whom he feels he owes no long-term loyalty, and has no desire to join Ratbat's latest, somewhat questionable venture. He does, however, retain an odd affection for his bumbling former partners in crime, Overkill and Slugfest, and is glad to have them back in the ranks, even if Overkill is somewhat reduced in stature following his unfortunate experiment with Nucleon.

Greasepit's Micromaster form is a copy of that of the Autobot Off Road Patrol member, Mudslinger, and transforms into a pick-up truck with 'monster' tyres. His battle station is armed with ionic cannons, rail-launched incendiary missiles and circuit-scrambling jammers. Its tower-mounted sonic disrupter emits pressurised sound waves that can crush any target.

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HOTHOUSE

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Base defence
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Last Minispy: Jaws of Steel

"Communication is the key that unlocks victory."


Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Hothouse is a babbling brawler who talks constantly, even in battle. If he were a human, he'd be a radio talk show host. His partner, Ironworks, has found a way to put Hothouse's garrulous nature to good use on Cybertron by employing him to deliver a 24-hour news-and-views programme, which Ironworks broadcasts across a 3,750-mile radius encompassing Iacon, Tyrest and the Cosmic Carnival. As long as Hothouse is still talking, listeners are reassured that peace on Cybertron endures.

Hothouse's Micromaster form is a copy of that of the Decepticon Air Strike Patrol member, Tailwind, and transforms into an A-10 Thunderbolt ground-strike plane. His fire station is equipped with built-in siphons that can draw water from an alien planet's soil to form a high-impact water jet capable of blasting through granite. In mobile battle station mode, its front ramp converts into a high-speed battering ram. It is also armed with a rocket launcher and freeze missiles, and its caterpillar tracks are resistant to most forms of artillery.

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FACT-FILE INTERFACE

IRONWORKS

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Communications
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Last Minispy: Jaws of Steel

"Strong support needs a good foundation."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Ironworks is a construction powerhouse, capable of fixing just about anything. He converts his construction site into a full-service repair bay equipped with hydraulic lifts, titanium rivet guns and a searing iron forge. In battle station mode, it is armed with a surface-to-air proton missile launcher and interstellar laser communicators. In times of peace, Ironworks's primary role is as a member of the Cybertronian Autobots' communications network, led by Blaster, liaising with Iacon's communications officer, Cosmos, and the audio and video correspondents, Grand Slam and Raindance. Unlike the battle station of his partner, Hothouse, Ironworks's does not travel under its own power and relies on Full-Barrel and Overflow's mobile Battlefield Headquarters to move it from one location to another.

Ironworks's Micromaster form is a copy of that of the Autobot Off Road Patrol member, Powertrain, and transforms into a truck cab. He can expand to the size of a normal Earth vehicle when in this form, and is capable of towing the trailers not only of his fellow Micromasters, Erector and Overload, but also of larger Autobots such as Ultra Magnus and Thunderclash Prime.

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MICROMASTER COMBINER TRANSPORTS

First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Nucleon

As we have seen, and only partly due to the theft of the original designs from the Autobots by Thunderwing, many Micromaster bodies are duplicate copies of one another. For example, we have observed that Airwave, Groundshaker, Hothouse and Skyhopper are clones of the Decepticon Air Strike Patrol; Skystalker was a copy of the Decepticon Great Car Rally Patrol member, Metrobomb, and the Autobot Robocritter; Greasepit and Ironworks are the twins of Mudslinger and Powertrain; and the Autobot Demolition Derby Patrol were duplicates of the original Race Car Patrol.

Only one Micromaster combiner squad has had exact copies made of it, and that is the Decepticon Constructor Squad, who provided the template for the three Micromaster pairs who commanded the three combiner transports to survive intact the battle with Unicron in 1991. Cement-Head and Terror-Tread, who commanded the Decepticons' cannon transport, were based on Sledge and Hammer, and formed a dump truck. ("We aim for nothing else than total victory!") Gusher and Pipeline, who command the Autobot Tanker Truck transport, are based on Knockout and Grit, and form a backhoe ground digger. ("Leave the enemy spitting dust and bolts.") And Retro and Surge, who command the Autobot Missile Launcher transport, are based on Stonecruncher and Excavator, and, like them, form a double crane. ("Perseverance leads to triumph.")


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The Decepticons' cannon transport (function: demolitions) could be relied upon to move its twin-turret, high-impact cannon into prime position to unleash its earth-crunching firepower. It was able to change into an all-terrain vehicle and ultra-force battle platform, and was equipped with a state-of-the-art cybernetic scanner that detected Autobot troop movements up to 20 miles away. Fresh from its success in helping to shoot down the approaching spaceships under the command of Grimlock, the last thing it detected at the turning point of the Battle of Klo in 1991 was the newly arrived Omega Supreme inbound on a supersonic ballistic trajectory.


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The Tanker Truck (function: Autobot City ground defence and counterattack) is able to carry emergency reinforcements and fuel supplies to any area of confrontation. It reconfigures to form a fully equipped battle platform and heavy-hitting assault vehicle. It employs twin gun emplacements for defensive manoeuvres that blast enemies into deep space.

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The Missile Launcher (function: Autobot City long-range defence) is an awesome array of military might. In transport mode, it is able to easily scale steeply graded hills and rocky, brush-filled terrain. It converts into a stationary battle platform for quick-strike, counterattack manoeuvres. Its platform is equipped with dual gun emplacements and hydraulic boarding ramps. It is specially programmed for Decepticon surveillance and Autobot infantry support.

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ERECTOR

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Construction engineer
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Nucleon

"Everyone loses if there's nothing to win."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Programmed to build and preserve, reluctant to destroy, Erector only fights when provoked, and even then he prefers to use cunning and tactical manoeuvring to ensnare his enemies. He is, nevertheless, a brave and respected warrior. He is equipped with titanium-belted, bulletproof tyres and an alloyed exterior that's impervious to most armaments. His crane hook, with its hydraulic swing, can pierce enemy armour with deadly accuracy. Erector's trailer converts into a battle station armed with a devastating photon cannon and anti-aircraft machine gun battery.

In post-war Iacon, Erector reports to Grapple, Director of Construction, and works alongside the Construction Patrol, Huffer and Landfill to create beautiful new mechanical vistas and cyberscapes worthy of a second Golden Age.

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FACT-FILE INTERFACE

FLATTOP

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Naval warfare
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: Marvel's Transformers UK #245 ('Underworld')

"Terror is the ultimate weapon."

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Originally a neutral Cybertronian, Flattop got tired of hiding from Decepticon harvester units and eventually, reluctantly, joined the Autobot Military Academy. Drunk with the fighting potential of his new, upgraded body, he foolishly persuaded his fellow cadets, Subsea and Tailgate, to undergo a rite of passage in Cybertron's Underworld, whose mutated denizens summarily killed Subsea and apparently Flattop himself. Left for dead by the Autobots, he was found and saved, ironically, by one of the Decepticon harvester units he had been dodging all his life, sweeping the tunnels for enemies after detecting multiple energy discharges. Unable to tell whether the mangled wreck was Autobot or Decepticon, the harvester took Flattop back to its headquarters, where, upon returning to consciousness, Flattop feigned partial amnesia but maintained that he was a Decepticon trooper who had been lured into an Autobot ambush. (The Decepticons had indeed lost several troopers in the Underworld in recent months.) Short-handed, the new Decepticon Leader, Thunderwing, approved him to undergo the Micromaster process and he became a Decepticon naval warrior, free at last from any fear of being smelted, either by the mutant Smeltdown or in the Decepticons' Smelting Pool. But his happiness was short-lived, as, less than two years after he received his commission, he was smelted down in mid-air by Unicron's plasma breath.

The self-proclaimed scourge of the seven seas of Cybertron, Decepticon Micromaster Flattop prowled the oceans, sinking everything. Mentally scarred by memories of his run-in with the mutant Smeltdown, he dreamed of floating on a sea of burning Autobot fuel. His aircraft carrier was armed with torpedo launchers whose projectiles were guided to their targets by heat-sensitive tracking devices. The carrier transformed into an interstellar jet, equipped with devastating x-ray laser cannons and serrated wingtips capable of cleaving enemy warriors in two. Flattop himself transformed into an F-4 Phantom fighter jet, which possessed superior manoeuvrability in the air. The reinforced, steel alloy fuselage of his Micromaster form was ideal for mid-air dogfights, but Unicron was not impressed.

The Decepticon Micromaster Metrobomb, only survivor of the Decepticon Great Car Rally Patrol, took possession of Flattop's aircraft carrier following its owner's demise, transforming it into its interstellar jet configuration and using it to pursue his shadowy craft of assassin-for-hire across the Galaxy. Metrobomb enrolled as a combatant in the 2021 Galaxy Kombat tournament on Derut Four, but was displaced to Limbo by time-travellers from the future right in the middle of the contest, and never returned. Flattop's transport was still parked outside the arena when the Battle Beasts, Power Nozzle the Antic Anteater and Tanglin' Pangolin, emerged, battered but victorious, their weapons dripping with the blood of the young Thunderian Bobkitten. They considered it for a time, and wondered how hard it would be to hotwire.

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OVERLOAD

Allegiance: Autobot
Functions: Troop transport, city defence
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Nucleon

"Know your enemy and he's yours."

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

A bold and daring soldier and tactical genius on the front line, during the war, Overload would often break away from cargo-hauling missions to join his fellow Autobots on the battlefield. Now he pilots both his own transport and larger vessels, carrying troops, civilians and diplomats safely and securely into and out of Iacon, to and from areas of Cybertron both safe and hazardous. And if attacked, he will defend himself and those he conveys with skill and valour.

Overload transforms and grows in size to become the cab of a car carrier. His trailer converts into a turbo-boosted, supersonic fighter jet armed with wing-mounted, double-barrelled machine guns. His laser-guided, lock-target scanners provide him with pinpoint firepower, and his jet is capable of reaching speeds in excess of Mach 2. It is also equipped with hydrofoil capabilities.

Overload has had more than his fair share of grief ferrying Battle Beasts around, and trying to keep them out of trouble, since they first arrived on Cybertron in 2019. Most recently, he has been tasked with solving the mystery of unexplained ruptures in the Cybertronian surface, all of them coinciding with key points in the abandoned tunnel network criss-crossing underneath Iacon. Overload suspects that a certain missing Miner Mole may be behind the creation of these ugly mecha-molehills, and is hoping to predict when and where the troublesome Battle Beast will surface next, and be there waiting for him.

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ROUGHSTUFF

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Aerial defence
Sub-group: Micromaster
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Xaaron

"Shoot first, aim later."


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A trigger-happy sniper, Roughstuff never aimed, he would just start blasting away, sending even Decepticons running for cover when he joined the battle. He transformed into a military truck cab, towing a trailer equipped with an anti-aircraft plasma-pulse gun battery and two heat-seeking proton missiles. The trailer was capable of transforming into an atomic-powered fighter jet and mobile battle platform armed with side-mounted gatling cannons and a nosecone emitting a high-intensity heat ray capable of liquifying metal on contact. The jet was also equipped with sub-orbital capabilities.

When Unicron attacked Cybertron in 1991, Roughstuff's lack of aim wasn't really an issue. Sadly for him, neither was Unicron's.

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BLACKOUT AND SPACESHOT

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Ground infantry
Sub-group: Micromasters
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Nucleon

"Persistence is the cornerstone of victory."

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Although these two Micromasters transformed and combined into a B-1 Lancer bomber, their role in the Decepticon military was to stay on or near the ground, controlling their anti-aircraft base, one of the most powerful Decepticon weapons ever created. This perfectly matched pair were able to plot a course of attack in the middle of battle, change manoeuvres to match the enemy and almost always emerge victorious. They often circled overhead during a battle in bomber mode, surveying the battlefield and providing air and ground support when and where their comrades needed it the most. Their tank was armed with sophisticated all-terrain and underwater attack capabilities, and dual 50-millimetre cannons for long-range firepower. In battle station mode, it was outfitted with a 3-stage photon rocket launcher, a heat-seeking stun laser and a turret that converted into a devastating gun emplacement. Its on-board computer radar guidance systems and automated repair bays provided additional ground support, while its self-propelled scout vehicle was fully equipped for short-range reconnaissance missions and was capable of reaching speeds in excess of Mach 1.

The Micromaster combiners' anti-aircraft base was pivotal in shooting down Grimlock's starships at the beginning of the Battle of Klo, and then blasting the Autobots themselves out of the sky as they desperately tried to make it down to the planet's surface and find cover. In all, they destroyed over a dozen Autobots before they could reach the ground, and then several more as the survivors of the drop attempted to regroup and muster a defence. When the Autobots were as good as defeated, Blackout and Spaceshot left their Decepticon comrades to mop up the stragglers, and resumed an anti-aircraft stance, ready to shoot down the inevitable second wave of Autobot reinforcements from Cybertron, which was bound to turn up sooner or later.



The ship that eventually arrived to relieve Grimlock's survivors was of an unknown configuration and appeared to be somewhat antiquated. Blackout and Spaceshot took no chances and opened fire immediately, and were amazed to see their photon rockets blink out of existence before they could impact on the ship's hull. The anti-aircraft base's lasers bent around the Autobot vessel as if deflected by a massive gravitational field warping space itself. Then Optimus Prime leapt from the ship's cockpit to confront Bludgeon, who was distracted by a trio of costumed humans appearing at the same time as the mysterious vessel. The ship itself then transformed and landed. Blackout and Spaceshot pulled themselves together and began reconfiguring their anti-aircraft base to fire on a ground target. This proved to be their undoing, as Countdown's rocket swept over the mountains, firing its energy-zapping 'de-kineto' cannons, which froze the base in place, leaving it at the mercy of the dead Autobots scattered around the battlefield, who suddenly began coming back to life, in the exact condition they had been in prior to being shot. This was all too much for Blackout, who fled on foot. Spaceshot stood his ground and was destroyed along with their precious anti-aircraft base.

In the years that followed the end of the war, Blackout upgraded to a non-Micromaster helicopter attack form, an MH-53 Pave Low. He went to Trypticon and demanded that he reignite the war. When Trypticon refused, Blackout departed alone, swearing to find alien allies and have his revenge on all such traitors. In the year 2019 he returned, partnered with an Elpasos Scorponoid and determined to go out in a blaze of glory, forcing Trypticon's Decepticons to kill him and so show themselves to be the traitorous Autobot-loving scum he claimed them to be. The Decepticons managed to avoid this outcome by enlisting the aid of a human Circuit-Breaker (Danita Santella, escorting Irwin Spoon to Bombshell to have his cerebro-shell removed). The Decepticons destroyed the Scorponoid, while the Circuit-Breaker killed Blackout.

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FULL-BARREL AND OVERFLOW

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Base defence
Sub-group: Micromasters
First appearance: The Last Minispy: Jaws of Steel

"Speed and power are the driving force for victory!"

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Full-Barrel and Overflow's job is to keep the peace on land and in the air. Though mere Micromasters themselves, they use the overpowering size of their massive Battlefield Headquarters to rumble to victory over any hostile adversary and provide a place of safety for Autobots under attack. Highly mobile, the giant armoured vehicle is stockpiled to the max with defensive armaments, including wing-tip rocket launchers capable of firing both air-to-air and cruise missiles, pivoting high-intensity heat laser machine guns and dual concussion scrambler mortars. The Battlefield Headquarters' non-oxygenised, vacuum-sealed cybernetic computer system controls all the vehicle's on-board weaponry and energy output. The tractor trailer separates to become two aerial defence craft, which then combine again to form a sub-orbital space station. Full-Barrel and Overflow themselves transform and combine into an unmarked lorry, which could, in stark contrast to the Battlefield Headquarters itself, pass unnoticed on Earth.

The Battlefield Headquarters usually carries Ironworks's repair bay and communications centre in its trailer, and moves around Cybertron with Hothouse's mobile battle station in tow. They frequently join forces with the Action Masters' Armoured Convoy to establish a sizeable mobile fort whenever Thunderclash Prime and his Rescue Force require a temporary Autobot stronghold on the Transformers' homeworld.

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TARGET: 2036 AFTERMATH

1. GUTCRUNCHER

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Director, Action Master Consortium
Sub-group: Action Master
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Xaaron

"Conquest begins with control of the sky!"

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

The story so far: In the year 2021, three Autobots from 2036 mass-displaced Prowl, Blaster and First Aid to Limbo to enable them to investigate who else had been time-jumping recently and who they had targeted as mass substitutes - because in the future they came from, the world was being plagued by an invasion of Limbo creatures, given life by Transformers who, like Skids, had spent too long in that nightmare dimension. They discovered that the Dinobots and Dinoforce had been displaced from Earth's Savage Land by eleven Decepticons from an unspecified possible future, led by the evil Clench. They also learnt that the Decepticons, Blue Backlash and Metrobomb, had been displaced from Derut Four by persons unknown. With no realistic prospect of finding those last two time-travellers and convincing them to return to their own time, the Dinobot Snarl decided to act, killing Blue Backlash and Metrobomb while still in Limbo, in order to prevent them from spawning a race of dream monsters. The Earthen Autobots and Avengers, meanwhile, engaged Clench's army in battle and forced them to activate their time-jump trigger and return to whatever year they had originally come from, thus bringing the Dinobots and Dinoforce safely back to Earth. Surrounded and massively outnumbered, the Dinoforce surrendered immediately to Jetfire, and were escorted across the Space Bridge to join Trypticon's Decepticons back on Cybertron.

All that remained was to bring back two more Decepticons, Black Shadow and Sixshot, who had been mass-displaced to Limbo by a pair of unknown Transformers popping into existence not far from Fortress Scorponok on Cybertron. The invaders were located by satellite, and Gutcruncher led his Decepticon Action Master forces out to subdue them and drive them back to their own time... and, he hoped, get his hands on some valuable future technology in the process.

During the war, Gutcruncher shared the Decepticons' dream of total defeat of the Autobots, but for his own reasons - he had a contract with Megatron to sell their remains to the Junkions and other interplanetary spare parts dealers. This cold, calculating capitalist views all opponents as potential profit. As an Action Master, he pilots the space-faring Stratotronic Jet, which has a maximum speed of 40,000 miles per hour and is armed with fusion bombs, cruise missiles, a particle beam, infra-red laser guns and more. It converts into a devastating battle station equipped with a missile launcher, a fusion blaster cannon, a pilotless surveillance drone and a one-robot battle tank.

In the year 2021, Gutcruncher leads the Action Master Consortium, loosely affiliated with Trypticon's Decepticons, though outside their formal chain of command. His lieutenants are his chief enforcer, the exo-suited massive assault specialist, Slicer, and the Turbo Cycle-riding bounty-hunter, Axer. The rest of the team consists of three Action Masters with sentient transforming partners, Banzai-Tron (Razor-Sharp), Charger (Firebeast) and Take-Off (Screech), and two Elite Action Masters, Double Punch and Turbo Master.

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TARGET: 2036 AFTERMATH

2. DEFTWING

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Tactician
Sub-group: Lightformer
First appearance: Right here

"Every mission must destroy its evil target. And it's my task to make sure it does."

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Astute and resourceful, this mysterious Autobot from a possible distant future devises inspired defence plans while hovering menacingly above the battle scene. As a modified Hawker Siddeley GR.1 Harrier fighter jet, he is ever ready for instant action with his vertical take-off capability, while his visible-tracer technology makes his targeting super-accurate. As a plane, his rotating-action missile launcher gives him enormous fighting power, as the Decepticon Action Master Take-Off and his partner Screech found to their cost as they flew in to attack the two time-travelling Lightformers. In robot mode, Deftwing's launcher converts into a free-standing backup weapon, and when he transformed and landed to join his partner Ironfist in resisting Gutcruncher's main assault, he put it to good use, destroying the charging Firebeast at the vanguard of the Decepticons' ground attack.

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FACT-FILE INTERFACE

TARGET: 2036 AFTERMATH

3. IRONFIST

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Weaponry expert
Sub-group: Lightformer
First appearance: Right here

"A brilliantly designed piece of firepower is a work of art to me."

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A most distinguished weaponry mastermind from a possible distant future, Ironfist is strong, silent, and likes his action fast and furious. As an AM General M998 Humvee military off-road vehicle, he easily eats up every type of ground, no matter how rough, attacking with a recoil-action, visible-tracer missile launcher. In robot form, the launcher provides cover as a free-standing weapon, as demonstrated when his missiles ripped through the Decepticon Action Master called Charger as he stormed forward to avenge his fallen partner, Firebeast.

The Decepticons had underestimated the fighting ability of these two invading Autobots and paid the price, but once they had the measure of their enemy they changed their tactics, splitting up and pouring in their Nucleon-born firepower from multiple directions until the free-standing weapons of the two Lightformers were smoking ruins. Gutcruncher held his troops back from killing the two disarmed time-travellers, reminding them that they needed to be sent back to the future if Sixshot and Black Shadow were to be saved. Reluctantly, then, they dragged the dazed Deftwing and Ironfist and their broken toys into Fortress Scorponok's control room, picked one of them at random and vowed to blow his head off if the other didn't instantly produce his time-jump trigger device. Gutcruncher carried out detailed scans of the two Autobots and their weapons for later analysis, hoping that it would yield dividends that would make up for their losses in battle. Then he gave them the nod, and they flipped the switch and vanished in a flash.

"AAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!" screamed Banzai-Tron, as Black Shadow rematerialised on the exact spot where he had been standing when he was first displaced to Limbo - space now occupied by the unfortunate Action Master. Two living beings cannot occupy the same space at the same time, and the results were messy, and mutually fatal.

"What happened?" demanded Sixshot.

Gutcruncher uttered the foulest oath in the Cybertronian language.

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FACT-FILE INTERFACE

TARGET: 2036 AFTERMATH

4. PYRO

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Autobot Leader
Sub-group: Obliterator
First appearance: Right here

"Think of the most awful, unspeakable menace you can - and then double it. That's what we're up against."


Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

In a possible distant future that will now certainly never come to pass, Pyro might have been a colossal hero to the Autobot ranks, his feats of astounding courage legendary. He would have thundered defiantly through everything, eating up any sort of terrain in his Carmichael Cobra airport crash truck disguise. An awesome mixture of speed and firepower, he would have been strong, versatile and as solid as a rock. As a vehicle, he would always come to the rescue and defend the helpless with his massive, multiple-firing missile launcher. He would transform into a huge, multi-function, mid-stage defence launchpad, and then be immovable in battle as a monstrous robot, leading his Axelerators Rapido, Skram, Turbofire and Windbreaker, and his Aquaspeeders Aquafend, Deluge, Jetstorm and Speedstream, to certain victory.

But for reasons we will never know, Clench's army and the Lightformers travelled back in time, and some or all of them evidently intended to stay for a good long while, because by 2036 the world was being plagued by nightmare creatures due to Transformers being stuck in Limbo for too long, like Skids in the 1980s. And this caused Autobots from 2036 to travel back to 2021 to seek the root of the problem and alert the Autobots and Decepticons to the other time-travellers, which enabled them to be sent packing early enough to avoid the monster problem from ever arising.

Just as the likes of Rodimus Prime, Arcee, Galvatron, Daniel Witwicky and Autobot City: Earth never came into existence, thanks to time-travel changing the course of history, so Pyro, Clench and the rest may never now be built.

No-one in the year 2021 is really bothered. The Decepticons have suffered losses, but gained the Dinoforce Pretenders, and so have essentially broken even. Darkwing and Dreadwind are back, as Godmasters, and Nightbeat has a lot to ponder. But life goes on, and the peace holds, for now.

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AXER

Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Bounty-hunter
Sub-group: Action Master
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Unicron

"No prey is too large, no fee is too small."


Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Axer learned his craft hunting down microchip smugglers in the slag swamps of Cybertron. His custom-designed all-terrain Turbo Cycle is equipped with heat-seeking proton missile batteries, quadrophonic sonic blasters and a magnetic-lock targeting destabiliser rifle, and converts into a dual photon cannon battle station. In 2014 he chose to ingest Nucleon, giving up his ability to transform in order to become an Action Master, making him stronger, faster and more alive than ever before. (Though as a robot he's still pretty slow.)

Axer is a bounty-hunter, on indefinite retainer to Gutcruncher's Action Master Consortium, which has recently been reduced in number to the two of them, Double Punch, Slicer and Turbo Master. But Gutcruncher remains the richest Decepticon on Cybertron, and that's all that matters to Axer - that, and ensuring nobody ever dares to refer to him as a freelance peace-keeping agent.

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OVER-RUN

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Air defence
Sub-group: Action Master
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Nucleon

"I rule the skies with a heavy hand!"

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Although supposedly reporting to Scattershot, Jackpot's Chief of Base Defence, in reality Over-Run takes orders from no-one but himself. He pilots an advanced model Attack Copter, which has a maximum speed of 340 miles per hour and a flying range of 1,200 miles, and is armed with air-to-ground magnetic missiles and a rotary photon pulse button. The Attack Copter converts into a double-barrelled concussion cannon emplacement.

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FACT-FILE INTERFACE

SPROCKET

Allegiance: Autobot
Functions: Surface surveillance, scout
Sub-group: Action Master
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Nucleon

"Know your enemy and victory is yours!"

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Sprocket is programmed to take fast, forceful action and no prisoners. Before peace came to Cybertron, this fierce warrior would never withdraw from a battlefield until he'd covered it with the smoking wreckage of Decepticons. Now an Action Master, he drives a rebuilt all-terrain Attack Cruiser, which has the standard supply of two photon rifles, metal-immobilising magnetic rockets and bumper energy shields, but also now converts into a vector-thrust hovercopter, armed with front-mounted plasma-pulse machine guns. Reporting to Nautilus, one of Base Commander Jackpot's lieutenants, Sprocket scouts ahead of the Autobots' Armoured Convoy, eager to locate any new alien threat to the Transformers' homeworld and be the first to test its mettle in battle.

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AIR PATROL

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Air defence
Sub-group: Micromasters
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Xaaron

"Keep your eye to the sky!"

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Right up until the last few years of the Autobot-Decepticon war, the Decepticons had total air superiority. On Earth, Starscream's Strike Planes swooped down upon the largely ground-bound Ark crew. On Cybertron, Astrotrain, Blitwing, Dirge, Macabre, Octane, Ramjet, Thrust, the Duocons, the Insecticons and Straxus's fleets of hunter-seeker skyships kept the Autobot rebels cowering underground. On Nebulos, the Decepticon Targetmasters (including the future-born Cyclonus and Scourge), the Horrorcons and Sixshot completely outmatched Brainstorm, Highbrow, Scattershot and Strafe in the skies. And Darkwing and Dreadwind enjoyed flying high over their slower Autobot Powermaster counterparts.

But things changed after the Decepticons lost their most advanced flyer, Jetfire, created by Shockwave using a combination of Cybertronian and Earth technology, to the Autobots, who wasted no time in reverse-engineering his design for use in their own air force. So were born the Aerialbots, a hit-and-miss group ranging from the brilliant Air Raid and Skydive to the frankly embarrassing Fireflight. But they didn't stop there - the Earthen Autobots shared the lessons they had learned with their comrades on Cybertron, so that when the Micromaster arms race began in the year 1988, Emirate Xaaron had his eyes on the prize that was the skies.

There were many aerial Micromasters on both sides, including the Autobot Chopper and Stealth Assault Patrols, and the Decepticon Bomber Squad and Dogfight Patrol, but most of the teams sustained casualties in early clashes and closed ranks to form new teams, many of which then went on to be destroyed outright in the battle with Unicron. The Decepticon Air Strike Patrol suffered the indignity of being wiped out by a single human mutant. But when the dust settled after the final battle on Hydrus Four, one aerial Micromaster unit remained intact - the best of the best, who had earned the right to be known simply as... the Air Patrol.

Blaze Master, the last survivor and star of the now-forgotten Autobot Chopper Patrol, transforms into a Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low helicopter. ("Look out below.") Eagle Eye, the team's charismatic squadron leader, transforms into a Boeing-McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornet fighter jet. ("Victory reigns from above.") Sky High, a Micromaster variation on the design of the Aerialbot Silverbolt, changing his original name, Tailfin, to honour an Autobot Pretender who fell fighting Overlord in the Battle of Klo, transforms into a Concorde supersonic transport jet. ("The sky's the limit.") And Tread Bolt, only survivor of the heroic Stealth Assault Patrol, transforms into a concept stealth bomber jet. ("You can't hit what you can't see.")

An elite corps of top-notch fliers, the Air Patrol are now considered the best aerial fighters to ever take to the skies. Revered by their fellow Autobots for their ability to neutralise enemy encampments without destroying the surrounding area, all four are fast, fierce, efficient fighters. Since becoming a team, they have been given the ability to emit a circular force-field that is impervious to most armaments when flying in a 'V' formation. They are all armed with high-intensity heat lasers and equipped with sub-orbital travel capabilities and the latest long-range communications systems, keeping them in constant contact with Cosmos and Autobot City: Cybertron. They are usually commissioned for the Autobots' most dangerous special air missions, either on their own or as the vanguard of the full Iaconian Autobot air force, commanded by Quickswitch (or occasionally Groundshaker, forsaking his Landshaker tank), together with Cloudraker, Deadwheeler (piloting Sky Hyper), Overload, Sonic Bomber and Zetar.

In the year 2021 the Air Patrol joined up with the non-Iaconian aerial Autobots, Hothouse, Over-Run, Scattershot, Springer, Sprocket, Strafe and Windmill, and a squadron of Cameron star-fighters with Circuit-Breaker pilots, to drive off the legions of Red Mutant Zoids led by Krark, Prince of Darkness, who were laying siege to Decepticon City at Tyrest, saving the last remnants of the Decepticon air force from utter extinction, much to the annoyance of Airwave, Astrotrain, Blast Off, Blitzwing, Divebomb, Gutcruncher, Sixshot, Turbo Master, Vortex, Wildfly, Wingspan and the Insecticons, alongside whom they now fought for the survival of the Transformer race.

The Strike Planes are gone. The Decepticon Targetmasters, Horrorcons and Powermasters are gone. The Air Strike Patrol are gone. And the Autobot Air Patrol now rule the skies of Cybertron.

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FACT-FILE INTERFACE

CONSTRUCTION PATROL

Allegiance: Autobot
Functions: Ground reinforcement, construction
Sub-group: Micromasters
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Xaaron

"The foundations of freedom are forged on solid ground."


Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

The Autobot Construction Patrol are powerhouses of metal and steel, called to battle to fortify and reinforce the Autobots' front line. The first to roll in and the last to roll out, they are a formidable adversary when working as a team. Extremely smart and tremendously strong, they are known for their ability to organise and build a towering fortress out of seemingly worthless junk. Each member of the Construction Patrol is composed of high-density titanium steel for maximum resistance against enemy bombardment, while jet boosters under their wheels provide them with short-range flight capabilities.

Crumble transforms into a crane. ("To build is to grow.") Groundpounder transforms into a digger. ("Dig in!") Neutro transforms into a bulldozer. ("Build it up, before they knock it down.") Takedown, the team's leader, transforms into a cement mixer. ("There is power in building.")

In post-war Iacon, the Construction Patrol report to Grapple, Director of Construction, and work alongside Erector, Huffer and Landfill to create beautiful new mechanical vistas and cyberscapes worthy of a second Golden Age.

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FACT-FILE INTERFACE

HOT ROD PATROL

Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Highway reconnaissance
Sub-group: Micromasters
First appearance: The Last Days of the Transformers War: Unicron

"The essence of speed relies on our power to perform!"

Image source: botchthecrab.com/archive/

Each member of the Hot Rod Patrol possessed 16 cylinders of carbonic Autobot muscle. These high-performance avengers had more rubber-burning speed than the fastest squad of Decepticon cars, and in the late 1990s could often be seen cruising up and down Earth beaches and boardwalks. Highly mischievious and adventurous, they would sometimes be mistaken for Decepticon punks. Though preoccupied with fun, they were still able to quickly respond to emergency roadway situations and spot dangerous Decepticon highway marauders using their telescopic localiser radar. Each car in the Hot Rod Patrol was protected by a geometrical shield capable of deflecting Decepticon photon disintegration beams.

Big Daddy transformed into a modified 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air hot rod convertible. ("We can take Decepticons anytime, anywhere!") Greaser transformed into a 1934 chopped Ford 'Deuce Coupe' hot rod. ("I dig watching Decepticons crack up after I cross the finish line first!") Hubs transformed into a 1941 Willys Coupe hot rod. ("I enjoy burnin' rubber over Decepticon metal.") Trip-Up transformed into a 1966 Ford Mustang fastback hot rod with a Kenne Bell supercharger. ("If you're not driving to win, don't drive at all!")

Courage and tenacity were their finest attributes. Alas, in September 2017, the Hot Rod Patrol came to the end of their road, as they were captured and murdered by the renegade Decepticon faction calling themselves the Predators. Big Daddy was dumped on Iacon's doorstep. Greaser turned up on Nebulos, just outside Koraja. Hubs was found under a railway bridge in Shanghai. Trip-Up was detected floating in orbit around Lithone. All within a matter of days of one another. On each lifeless husk was scratched a Decepticon insignia and a message, written in the dominant language of the place where it was found. Translated into English, they all said:

"Skyquake is coming. Soon."

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