TRANSFORMERS CYBERTRON
Robots in Disguise Character Bios

Earth Planet

Earth - Now under the protection of Jetfire, Scattorshot and the other Autobots - is a front line in the struggle for domination of the universe. With their home world under threat by the super giant black hole left by the destruction of Unicron, the Autobots and the Decepticons have secretly moved their bases of operation to earth. With the help of Vector Prime and a few humans that have discovered their presence on Earth, the Autobots must race against time and battle an unbelievably more powerful Megatron and his new army of Decepticons to recover the lost planet keys, ancient artifacts missing for eons. What few realize is that this little planet called Earth has played a vital role in the history of Cybertron for millions of years.

Downshift: A few years of experience in the Energon Wars have gone a long way in DOWNSHIFT. Once an impulsive speedster, he has learned patience and consideration from his mentor HOT SHOT. Where he once would have raced straight into battle against even overwhelming odds, relying on his speed to get him out of tight spots, he has now learned to observe and enter a fight cautiously. His keen eye and quick reflexes allow him to exploit even the smallest opportunity to bring down DECEPTICONS much bigger and stronger than him.

Swindle: Though he is outfitted with a sensor package and weapons system nearly identical to his twin brother HARDTOP, SWINDLE scorns long-range tactics. He'd rather charge an AUTOBOT and club him across the visual cluster with his laser rifle than actually use it to blast another robot. SWINDLE is deceptively agile and tough for his size, traits developed over years of picking fights and winning. He's not as slavishly loyal to MEGATRON as his brother; he'll work for anyone who lets him trash AUTOBOTS.

Thunderblast: Thunderblast knows that the weakest part of any Autobot is his obnoxious sense of nobility. They're constantly rushing to the rescue, an every last one of them would sooner scrap a basket of Antilian bumble-puppies than blast a female as pretty as she is. She uses that fact to her full advantage; more than one Autobot has fallen first for her charms, and then to her plasma torpedoes. As an agent working on earth for Starscream, she knows better than to trust any Decepticon, but she finds a kindred spirit in the con-man Sideways.

Crosswise: Crosswise is an ancient bounty hunter tricked centuries ago into following a target to Earth, where he was captured and sealed into the side of a glacier in the Alaskan wilderness. Gruff, sarcastic, and always spoiling for a fight, he isn't above resorting to dirty tricks to take down an enemy. Though he rarely works without getting paid, he also has a strong sense of right and wrong, and when he hears about the danger to Cybertron, he is only too glad to sign on with Optimus Prime and the Autobots.

TRU exclusive Starscream: Constantly plotting being his leader's back, STARSCREAM is using the DECEPTICON forces left under his command on Earth to further his own ambitions. He desires the power granted by the Planet Key, believing it will finally give him the power to destroy MEGATRON and the AUTOBOTS. With a mighty array of weapons, including his fearsome Null ray cannons, he is second to none in aerial combat and skill with an Energon blade.

TRU exclusive Vector Prime: VECTOR PRIME outmatches STARSCREAM in wits and strength, but the ancient AUTOBOT is pushed to the limits of even his incredible power by the demands of the search for the Planet Keys and the defense of CYBERTRON from its countless enemies. Forced to use his remarkable time-traveling abilities to constantly hop between dimensions, he finds himself weakened during the frequent skirmishes with DECEPTICON forces. Nonetheless, he must persevere, for noting less than survival of the Universe is a stake!

Costco exclusive Optimus Prime: OPTIMUS PRIME is a leader in the best sense of the word, taking point on every mission and never sending his team into any situation he wouldn't go himself. Dedicated to the protection of all life and the preservation of freedom for all sentient beings, he serves as a role model for his fellow AUTOBOTS. It is through his keen intelligence, even hand, steady nerves and endless compassion that the AUTOBOTS continue to frustrate the DECEPTICONS evil plans again and again. Teamed up with his brother ULTRA MAGNUS for a desperate mission to the most remote areas of Earth, OPTIMUS PRIME will once again use the Spark of Combination granted him on CYBERTRON at the beginning of the POWERLINX Battles.

Costco exclusive Ultra Magnus: Known throughout the AUTOBOT ranks for his boundless courage, ULTRA MAGNUS is a powerful warrior and able leader in his own right. He is nagged by a constant self-doubt brought on by the fact that he was passed over in favor of his brother when it came time to pass on the AUTOBOT Matrix of Leadership. Though his jealousy of OPTIMUS PRIME once drove him nearly to treasonous violence, he has since grown older and wiser. His competitive nature drives him constantly to prove himself against the DECEPTICONS, but his natural intelligence makes him a careful planner. Not given to philosophy like his brother, ULTRA MAGNUS is a straightforward thinker. He dislikes wasted effort, and often his commands amount to little more then one or two words.

Runamuck: For most of his life, RUNAMUCK served as a spy and courier for MEGATRON, carrying messages to DECEPTICON warriors behind enemy lines. Since his leader's disappearance, though, RUNAMUCK has been pretty bored. Too many AUTOBOTS around meant he couldn't get away with much. But now, with the AUTOBOTS forced into hiding on Earth, he's having the time of his life tormenting them by striking at vulnerable targets in front of a lot of human witnesses, where the AUTOBOTS can't counterattack.

Hardtop: HARDTOP has been left on Earth to swerve as a spy, tracker and ground-based spotter for the aerial team of Starscream and Thundercracker. He uses his impressive array of sensors not only to pinpoint Autobot targets up to 7000 miles away, but also to listen to and record the treasonous whining of Starscream. Though he generally prefers to hang back from the front lines of a fight, he finds a certain pleasure in taking pot shots at Autobots with his super-precise, long-range laser rifle.

Starscream: Unsurpassed in ego or ambition, Starscream is the scheming second-in-command to Megatron. With his mastery of the sword, null-ray cannons that can disrupt the functioning of even the most hardened Autobot and a vast array of secondary weapons, Starscream is second only to Megatron and Optimus Prime in power. His speed is uncanny, often giving slower 'bots the impression that he actually teleports around the battlefield. Left stranded on Earth to battle Jetfire - the only Autobot warrior capable of even coming close to matching Starscream for speed or skill in aerial combat - he plots to seize a Cyber Planet key for himself in order to gain the power he needs to finally overthrow Megatron and take command of the Decepticon army himself. Though his battle prowess is legendary, he lacks the practical intelligence to hide his ambition from his leader, and Megatron is more than aware of his plotting.

Scattorshot: Possibly the most neurotic Autobot ever created, Scattorshot always gets the job done. As the right hand 'bot to Jetfire in protecting Earth, he worries so much about messing up in front of his legendary commander that he sets a nearly impossible standard for himself. Despite his nervous clumsiness, he somehow never seems to fail, but his good luck just serves as proof to him that somewhere in the universe is a huge store of bad karma just waiting for the right moment to come crashing down on him.

Optimus Prime: Optimus Prime is a leader in the best sense of the word, taking point on every mission and never sending his team into any situation he wouldn't go himself. Dedicated to the protection of all life and the preservation of freedom for all sentient beings, he serves as a role model for his fellow Autobots. It is through his keen intelligence, even hand, steady nerves and endless compassion that the Autobots continue to frustrate the Decepticons evil plans again and again. In a desperate race against time, Optimus Prime, has been forced to send teams of his best soldiers into unknown parts of the Universe in search of the lost planet keys, ancient artifacts with the power to save Cybertron and the rest of the universe from the giant black hole formed from the implosion of Unicron.

Megatron: For millions of years, Megatron has led fanatical legions of evil Decepticons on their war for conquest of the Universe. A living weapon with dozens of self-inflicted modifications made in the name of increased power and destructive capability, his only weakness is his single-minded desire for the enslavement of the Universe. His intellect, ego and talent for deception are second to none, and he rules his Decepticons with an iron-fisted combination of fear and force of personality. Driven by a nearly insane lust for power, Megatron managed not only to survive the catastrophic implosion of Unicron, but also to absorb much of his power. Now, wearing salvaged pieces of the ancient destroyer's armor, Megatron is awesomely powerful, and is determined to beat Optimus Prime and the Autobots to the lost planet keys.

Thundercracker: This loyal Decepticon works under the command of Starscream for the recovery of the Planet Key on Earth. Thundercracker believes that the most effective way to defeat an enemy is to terrorize and demoralize him before attacking. The mere sound of his focused sonic booms - audible for more than 200 miles - is enough to frighten many other Transformers.

Jetfire: This steadfast AUTOBOT is often annoyed by his hyperactive partner SCATTORSHOT, but he nonetheless takes his duties very seriously, and will follow through on his orders no matter what. JETFIRE has been assigned by OPTIMUS PRIME the difficult tasks of protecting Earth while keeping the AUTOBOT presence a secret and searching for the Earth Planet Key. JETFIRE would much rather be fighting in the front lines alongside his leader, but his strategic genius and status as the upstanding, honorable second-in-command of the AUTOBOTS make him an invaluable asset at the AUTOBOT base.

Landmine: With a wisdom born of experience, and a tactical knowledge unmatched among the AUTOBOT ranks, LANDMINE is a soldier other ‘bots follow without reservation. He suffered heavy injuries in the final fight with UNICRON. After crash-landing on Earth, he was repaired by the new human allies of the AUTOBOTS. An excellent battlefield commander, he's determined to prevent the DECEPTICONS from gaining an edge by recovering the Earth CYBER PLANET KEY.

Mudflap: There's nothing MUDFLAP likes more than demolition. A DECEPTICON agent planted on Earth even before the arrival of the AUTOBOTS, he managed to disguise himself well enough to infiltrate the construction industry. He uses his position to see to it that the projects he works on ultimately fail, collapsing into their foundations, their load-bearing beams mysteriously cut through. Still, as much as he enjoys destroying construction projects, he's only too glad to join the fight once the AUTOBOTS arrive on Earth!

Armorhide: A soldier to the core, ARMORHIDE is often frustrated by missions that don't go perfectly according to plan. He often finds himself aggravated during the search for the Planet Key on Earth. Still, he finds a kind of joy in the frequent battles with the DECEPTICON forces that seem to block him and the other AUTOBOTS at every turn. Tough, dedicated and fearless, ARMORHIDE neither asks or gives any mercy in the ongoing battle with the evil DECEPTICONS.

Recon Mini-Con team: JOLT—the leader of the team, and the only one able to speak a human language—is a great lover of human culture, addicted to television, music and the Internet. On more than one occasion he has caused difficulty for the AUTOBOTS by forgetting he's not a human being. SIX-SPEED and REVERB, though sometimes frustrated by their leader's tendency to become distracted by cartoons and web-comics, love the excitement of missions with their human partners, working as a fast response strike and rescue team on away missions on the Lost Planets.

Evac: EVAC loves flying on Earth almost as much as he loved soaring over the epic skylines of CYBERTRON. He's been in hiding on Earth since guardianship of the Planet Key was passed on to him millions of years ago. He feels a keen affection for the people of Earth, whose history he has observed from its very beginnings. It frustrates him that the TRANSFORMERS must keep their presence on Earth a secret, because he recognizes the potential value of the humans as allies. Courageous, determined and gentle, EVAC avoids fighting when he can, but if forced into combat, he can be a very tough opponent. He is dedicated to the protection of other life in all its forms.

Brushguard: One of many scientists working for MEGATRON, BRUSHGUARD has dedicated his life to xenobotany - the study of alien plant life. A firm believer in DECEPTICON supremacy, he hopes to find unique toxins in Earth plants for use against the AUTOBOTS and their human allies. Though he dislikes violence, he has been retrofitted to fire short-range bursts of superheated acid from his chest.

Speed Planet

The pure racing culture of the Speed Planet is about to change forever, as it becomes the first battleground in the war for the lost planet keys, ancient artifacts missing for eons on the lost colonies. In order to save Cybertron, Optimus Prime sends Hot Shot and Red Alert to face the untold dangers of this lost planet and an army of Decepticons, who seek the planet keys for their own evil ends. The speed planet is a tangled mass of roads, trails and aerial racetracks, ruled by the dazzlingly fast Override. For millions of years, the inhabitants of the Speed Planet have been devoted to the pursuit of perfect acceleration, tuning their vehicle forms for optimum horsepower, displacement and torque. It is a turbo-charged world of cold air intakes, narrowed air flow profiles and stiff struts, where only the fastest survive, and the slow are left behind, grills choked with the dust of a thousand street battles.

Swerve: Impatient and short-tempered, SWERVE is a robot whose processors run so hot he was forced to install a backup exhaust system just to compensate for the excess heat. After his suspension from official races for poor sportsmanship, he found himself in the seedy underground oil-sport racing circuit. There, running races in which the last robot standing is declared victor, he's finally found an outlet for his temper, and a use for his lightning fast reflexes and sharp-shooting skills.

Blurr: A former race champion, BLURR retired years ago and has since made a career coaching younger speedsters in the subtleties of racing. He is a tough teacher, with a gruff personality that often comes across as bad-tempered to those who don't know him. Long-time students of his know, however, that his demanding temperament hides a gentle Spark. He is tough on those who come to him for training because he takes their successes and failures personally, and he requires no less of his students - and himself - than their best.

Override: Long-time champion and leader of the Speed Planet, Override is always ready for a race. Acceleration is her only ideal, but she respects anyone with the guts to challenge her. She's faced and beaten thousands of upstart speedsters in her time. At first she's suspicious of the intentions Hot Shot and the Autobots have for her world's Cyber Planet Key, but once she realizes what's at stake she's only too glad to help.

Dirt Boss: A wild outlaw, rugged villain of the rough backwaters of the Speed planet; those who are fooled by the sheer size of Dirt Boss into thinking he's slow are soon left choking on his exhaust. He lives to pound his opponents into the dust and leave them spinning their wheels - that's if he decides to leave the wheels attached. Hot Shot is certain to learn some tough lessons from him.

Crumplezone: Trusting but dumb, Crumplezone is often drawn into serving as the muscle to back up the paranoid plotting of his partner Ransack. Huge, powerful and superfast, Crumplezone is sometimes surprised by sudden turns. Not that it matters - he's the biggest guy on the Speed Planet, and crashing straight ahead through whatever gets in his way is his specialty. Twin-turbine ramjets can propel him at nearly the speed of sound, and selective thrust reversal allows him to fire hypersonic, high-explosive slugs nearly 12 miles.

Ransack: Skittish and suspicious, Ransack is a loudmouth bully, always ready to intimidate others into giving him what he wants, but only when his big partner Crumplezone is around. With the energy of the Speed Planet flowing through his circuity, everything about him is fast - sometimes too fast. Unable to stop thinking or moving, his hyperactive mind tends to draw connections between unconnected things, and he sees conspiracy everywhere.

Skyfall: Scout/ Adventurer. Specialty: Pilot of the Flash Frenzy/ Deep Space Explorer. Weapons: 30mm cannon, double barreled laser, twin rocket engines, energon plasma weapon. Defenses: Creates an apparently impenetrable force field from an unknown energy source. Dogged for as long as he can remember by the sense that he had lost something vitally important - that he's supposed to be part of something great - Skyfall has spent most of the last few thousand vorns charting and exploring barren star systems. All too aware of his difference from the other natives of Speed, he has chosen the life of a lone explorer, piloting his ship the Flash Frenzy to deep space destinations. He's certain he's one of the oldest transformers on Speed, and yet he continues to function without the quirks or stalls the other old-timers seem to develop. Now he has embarked on his latest solo mission to a long forgotten planet called Cybertron where he hopes the solution to the riddle of his past will be found. In battle Skyfall wields a formidable 30mm cannon, double-barrelled lasers and his impressive ability to shape energon into a plasma pulse weapon. When under extreme duress, Skyfall can generate an apparently impenetrable force field made of an unidentified form of energy. He is largely unable to control this ability, but it has saved his life on more than one occasion. "If you can't help me, why am I talking to you?"

Hot Shot: A natural leader with a lot yet to learn, HOT SHOT often races straight into danger at top speed. He takes great pride in the fact that he's the fastest AUTOBOT there is, but it isn't until he gets to the Speed Planet that he learns the true meaning of velocity. Faced by the almost unbeatable OVERRIDE, HOT SHOT needs to learn a whole new way of thinking about acceleration before he can win the Great Race.

Brakedown: An old racer on his last lap, BRAKEDOWN was the fastest around in his day. He knows every inch of track on the Speed Planet, and while his systems can't keep up with the supercharged speed of younger robots this old speed demon's still got one or two tricks up his sleeve. With his pipes rusting through and his suspension grown brittle with age, he's got to rely on CLOCKER, to whom he's passed his knowledge of the Great Race.

Clocker: A young speedster with nerves of steel and technique to spare. Quick-thinking, clever and courageous, his size prevents him from presenting a real challenge on the track. He races out of a sense of duty to his mentor BRAKEDOWN, and he knows every bit of road on the Speed Planet like the back of his hand. It's his knowledge of the Great Race that gives HOT SHOT the edge he needs.

Red Alert: Self-sacrifice is a way of life for RED ALERT, but non-stop fighting with the DECEPTICONS has caused him to doubt his skills as a healer. His vast sensor array and integrated tools and his instincts as a scientist give him an almost limitless capacity for absorbing data. He considers every possible course of action before committing to a plan, which brings him into conflict with the hot-headed HOT SHOT when the pair arrives on the Speed Planet.

Jungle Planet

There is one law on the Jungle Planet: Might Makes Right. The transformers sent there by Optimus Prime and Megatron in search of one of the lost planet keys find a brutal world full of bestial robots, each devoted to hoarding as much power as they can. Unfortunately for the Autobots, this power-mad world is a ready-made Decepticon stronghold in which the evil robots feel right at home. With the Jungle Planet and its planet key firmly in the grip of the dangerous beast-bot Scourge, and time running out for a damaged Cybertron, Overhaul and the other Autobots sent there have their work cut out for them.

Brimstone: Brimstone likes the simple things - food, flying, thrashing Autobots. He leaves stuff like thinking, planning and noticing what's going on in the world around him to his pal Undermine, which is just as well because that tiny, little head of his contains a badly undersized CPU. Still, being dumb doesn't make Brimstone any less dangerous. In flight, he is totally silent, and his diamond-edged vanadium wing blades can pierce even the toughest armor.

Scourge: Scourge is the brutal and awesomely powerful ruler of the Jungle Planet. He views any display of kindness, compassion or generosity as weakness, and he hates weakness. Cold, distant, and prone to violent rage against those he views as lesser creatures, he holds most of the Jungle Planet firmly in his transmetal claw. Those defying him are likely to experience the searing heat of his stellar plasma breath, or the bite of his axe as their final sensation before their spark is extinguished. Overhaul, Snarl, and the Jungle Planet rebels will find him to be the most powerful foe they have ever faced.

Overhaul: One tough Autobot, Overhaul has never thought much of intellectual pursuits. His solution to a complex problem is generally to stomp on it until it gets simple or stops being a problem. He's never felt that he's had the respect his strength deserves from the other Autobots, but now that he's on the Jungle Planet - where might makes right - he feels right at home.

Wreckloose: An eager fighter for SCOURGE, WRECKLOOSE throws himself wholeheartedly into battle. He rarely carries a ranged weapon, preferring to use his bladed shield in close combat. Able to blend in almost perfectly with the Jungle Planet underbrush and move silently through even the densest vegetation, he will wait in hiding for days just to ambush a challenging opponent.

Backstop: Once the most feared and powerful warrior on the Jungle Planet, BACKSTOP was long ago beaten and cast out by SCOURGE. Forced to live among weaker beasts, he came to value the equality of all creatures above all else, and now fights against SCOURGE with the other Jungle Planet rebels. He hates the cruel dictator, and dreams often of the day on which he will finally throw down and destroy the evil, three-headed dragon-bot.

Snarl: SNARL is master of the darkest, most wild places on the Jungle Planet, and it is through his cunning that the Jungle Planet rebels have survived long enough to team up with their new AUTOBOT allies. He is a 'bot of few words, preferring constant action to hiding and resting. Despite this, he is a clever fighter and a careful planner, never putting his soldiers at unnecessary risk, and never leaving a 'bot behind to be tortured by his sworn enemy SCOURGE.

Dark Scorponok: Awesomely powerful and incredibly intelligent, SCORPONOK was once widely feared by DECEPTICONS and AUTOBOTS alike, until his chassis was destroyed by MEGATRON. His mind and memory shattered, only partially operational and powered by the might of UNICRON - some of which he managed to absorb - he hungers for a return to full functionality. Even in his partly destroyed state, his mech-venom sting and super-strong claws are a threat to all but the most powerful beings, and his return heralds a new era of fear for all who stand in his way.

Leobreaker: After learning some tough lessons at the ruthless hands of the Jungle Planet's dictator SCOURGE, OVERHAUL found greater strength in himself than he thought possible and morphed into the mighty LEOBREAKER! His new lion mode is a nearly unstoppable hunter, perfectly adapted to life and battle on the Jungle Planet. Teamed up with the Jungle Planet rebels, he's determined to bring the fight to the evil dragon-bot and his DECEPTICON cronies in a final battle for freedom and the Jungle Planet Key!

Undermine: Cruel and predatory UNDERMINE serves as a scout and spy for SCOURGE, unquestioned ruler of the Jungle Planet. He enjoys hunting, and will often toy with his prey before moving in to rip out its power source with his powerful fangs. Silent, cunning and all but impossible to sneak up on, UNDERMINE is possibly the greatest hunter the Universe has ever seen. The only reason you haven't heard about him before now is that none of his prey have survived long enough to talk about it.

Universal/Cybertron

Vector Prime: Vector Prime is one of the first Transformers. A powerful, wise and incredibly ancient warrior, he has served as protector over Cybertron since its beginnings. Pulled out of the shadows of time by a distress signal broadcast by his damaged planet, he arrives too late to save Cybertron without assistance. Arising from an era in which all Transformers lived in harmony, he is unaware of the conflict between Autobots and Decepticons, a fact that Megatron uses to trick him and steal the map to the lost planets and the planet keys. Realizing his mistake, he joins Optimus Prime and pledges his knowledge and skill to the desperate quest to retrieve the Planet Keys before Megatron.

Buzzsaw: Despite the evacuation of CYBERTRON, and the incredible danger presented by the black hole, many of the bravest, craziest or most foolish stayed behind. BUZZSAW is one of the crazies, a dangerous rogue from the DECEPTICON old guard who intends to hoard as much of the planet's Energon as he can for himself, hoping to gain enough power to destroy the AUTOBOTS upon their return! For now, he is content to lurk in the abandoned cities of CYBERTRON, practicing his marksmanship by blowing the tops off the old Energon Towers.

KB Toys exclusive Universe Snow Cat: Long since thought destroyed in the final collapse of UNICRON, SNOW CAT somehow managed to survive, and has been in hiding in the ruins of Kaon since then. Driven mad by his loss of purpose since the disappearance of MEGATRON, he roams the southern polar regions of CYBERTRON attacking anyone he sees, and boosting away before his targets can counter-attack.

KB Toys exclusive Universe Downshift: One of the few AUTOBOTS left behind on CYBERTRON after the evacuation, DOWNSHIFT has been assigned by OPTIMUS PRIME to guard the entrances to the shafts leading to the Energon core of the planet in the city of Iacon. A loner by nature, and a veteran of many tough, secret missions throughout the galaxy, DOWNSHIFT is perfectly at home on the desolate and damaged planet.

Sideways: A con man from the day he first came online, SIDEWAYS is a master of deception, mixing just enough truth into his lies to keep both his enemies and his allies off guard. His tongue is as sharp as his sword, always ready with another trick of language to keep his marks guessing at his true intentions; at least long enough to jam a hidden blade through their anterior power units.

Longrack: Tough as nails and patient as a mountain LONGRACK just wants to fulfill his mission to repair as much of the damage already done to CYBERTRON as possible. He doesn't like to fight, but that doesn't mean he's not good at it. If RUNAMUCK and the other DECEPTICONS are spoiling for a confrontation, LONGRACK is more than happy to introduce them to his powerful Crushsteel Punch.

Giant Planet

Metroplex: Massive, quiet, and extremely protective of his home and its inhabitants, METROPLEX is a kind, intelligent leader of his people. His huge size and quiet ways mask a swift intelligence capable of analyzing the most sophisticated difficulties and arriving at a course of action in seconds, though some have made the mistake of thinking him slow and stupid. He was, at one time, an eager and hideously dangerous warrior who developed his soft-spoken and carefully considered demeanor in an attempt to leave that part of himself behind. Because of this, METROPLEX is slow to anger, but when he converts to combat mode he becomes one of the most fearsome opponents any TRANSFORMER has ever faced.

Galvatron: The rage MEGATRON feels after his defeat by METROPLEX activates the dormant power within his UNICRON armor. This vast energy draws power directly from the Giant Planet itself, feeding it into MEGATRON and changing him into the mighty GALVATRON! A living engine of destruction, GALVATRON lives only to conquer all and grind the Universe beneath his armored heel. His weapons and intellect super-charged by the living energy of the Giant Planet, there are none powerful enough to stand in his way!

MINI-CONs

Shockwave: With the departure from Earth of the Autobots and Decepticons, Shockwave and the Sky Attack Team found themselves free to pursue their own interests. Shockwave has spent the last decade hiding among the armed forces of dictators and tyrants around the world, signing on with whoever is most likely to give him the opportunity to rain fire down on helpless soldiers and civilians. There's nothing Shockwave loves more than to see a huge columnn of oily black smoke arising from the center of a populated area, and know that it was his bombs that lit the fires.

Tankor: After the Unicron Battles, many Mini-Con robots chose to remain on Earth, in hiding and separate from the ongoing conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons. Tankor, with his teammates on the Air Defense Team, hid among the armed forces of Earth so that they could protect the humans from Shockwave and the Sky Attack Team. The desire to protect human life is nearly an obsession for Tankor; he exists solely to prevent the damage inflicted by Shockwave and his aerial companions. The return of the Transformers to Earth has forced them once again to take sides in a larger conflict.

Sky Lynx: Sky Lynx prides himself on his ability to evade enemy defenses and drop his payload with pinpoint accuracy from amazing altitudes. The only one among all Transformers to ever offer him a challenge in this is Thunderblast, and for that he grants his rival respect and admiration. Given the distance involved in their battles the two have met face to face only rarely, but Sky Lynx considers Thunderblast a friend, despite their differing philosophies.

Thunderblast: These two aggressive robots have been rivals for centuries. Over years Thunderblast has specialized in long-range defense against high altitude attacks specifically for the purpose of defeating Sky Lynx. The two robots treat this rivalry as a game, ultimately caring little for victory, as long as they can offer each other a challenge. Thunderblast shares a rough sort of respect with Sky Lynx, and wishes that circumstances were different so that they might be friends in peace as well as war.

Razorclaw: Razorclaw has such a passion for destruction that he prefers strafing ground targets with his powerful machineguns rather than bombing them from high altitude. Anarchy is his bread and butter; he lives to crush his enemies, drive them before them, and hear the lamentations of the survivors. Nothing gives him as much pleasure as destroying a great city and razing its cultural institutions - libraries, museums, schools - for he knows that ignorance is the seed of chaos, and it is in chaos he feels most comfortable.

Steamhammer: Few enemies are as bitter as Steamhammer and Razorclaw. Steamhammer took his vehicle form because of a deep love of life and order. He believes that war is an unnatural disruption of the organized advance of culture, and does everything he can to limit combat and defend vulnerable targets. He looks at warfare as a necessary evil, but one that does only damage to the civilizations that wage it. Depsite his own heroism, he never sees anything by the terrible cost of war at the conclusion of any battle.

Scattorbrain: There are legends on the Moon among human colonists of ghost vehicles ­ autos and aircraft without drivers ­ that sometimes charge in from the barren, lunar desert to destroy a settlement or a vital terraforming project. The vicious ghosts then disappear into the depths of the lunar night, leaving few survivors. SCATTORBRAIN for his part relishes his status as a legend, and plays up the ghost angle at every opportunity, appearing for a few moments on the horizon near a human outpost, and then disappearing before he can be identified; occasionally attacking smaller outposts to wreak a little havoc and keep the rumors going.

Monocle: MONOCLE could be considered one of the mysterious ghost vehicles, but for a different reason. He and his companions on the Exploration Team stayed on the Moon after most of the other MINI-CON robots left because they wanted solitude and quiet contemplation. They spend most of their time on the dark side of the Moon, where few humans go, and are occasionally spotted by explorers driving across the empty landscape, or meditating on the floor of an old crater. Their peace is disturbed only by the disruptive aggression of SCATTORBRAIN and the other members of the Lunar Assault Team.

Kobushi: During the long years of relative solitude before and since their discovery on the Moon by the larger TRANSFORMERS, KOBUSHI came to the conclusion that personal perfection could be attained through challenging combat. Every enemy destroyed, he believes, adds to his own power as a warrior. He has devoted his life to improving his martial skill, adapting the ancient art of Metallikato to most effectively use his diamond-tipped drill arm. LANDSLIDE, the toughest individual on the Exploration Team, has been his frequent opponent, and KOBUSHI challenges him at every opportunity.

Landslide: LANDSLIDE is at peace always. His long contemplation has taught him the path to inner stillness. He has let go of the physical world, and embraced the world beyond. Recently, he has discovered how to project his core programming out of his robotic body for a limited time and into astral space. There, he has encountered other, powerful beings, and learned many truths. Though KOBUSHI attempts to interrupt his meditation at every opportunity with petty challenges, LANDSLIDE has yet to fall before the aggressive robot's attacks, using his inner strength and passive nature to create the ultimate martial defense.

Payload: You'd expect anyone as big and tough as PAYLOAD to be pretty dumb, or at least used to relying on his natural strength and endurance to get him through life. Many have made the same mistake, but you underestimate the intelligence of this MINI-CON at your peril. PAYLOAD would much rather outwit his opposition than destroy them in a straight fight. He therefore spends his time setting traps and pitfalls for ASCENTOR, who -- while smart -- is often distracted by his own thoughts.

Ascentor: Unlike MONOCLE and LANDSLIDE, ASCENTOR maintained contact with the MINI-CON robots that returned to CYBERTRON after the Armada Battles. Over the years, he has developed a philosophical give-and-take with the MINI-CON Council of Sages. This ongoing discussion occupies much of his core processor time, causing him to be distracted, and vulnerable to the traps set by PAYLOAD. However, his years of deep thought have also caused his sensory and motor-control systems to rewrite themselves, giving him what appears to nearly be a sixth sense when it comes to avoiding pitfalls and sneak attacks.

Wal-Mart exclusive Repackaged Landmine w/ Dirt Boss: DIRT BOSS crash-landed on Earth at the same time as his Race Team teammates landed on the Speed Planet. Lost in an alien dimension and separated from his friends by thousands of light years, DIRT BOSS wandered the Earth in search of help. Luckily, LANDMINE detected his MINI-CON distress beacon before the DECEPTICONS. Recognizing the importance of one more MINI-CON that could be used by MEGATRON to create the dangerous SKYBOOM Shield, LANDMINE took DIRT BOSS under his protection. He will stop at nothing to protect his MINI-CON friend, help him find his lost comrades, and return him to his own dimension.

Wal-Mart exclusive Repackaged Override w/ Mirage: MIRAGE, leader of the MINI-CON Race Team, was blasted during a battle into a rip in space-time in his own dimension created by the long-range effects of the black hole near CYBERTRON. He was found by OVERRIDE some time later, injured and close to stasis lock. Recognizing the potential of the diminutive speedster, the Speed Planet leader took him in and repaired him. MIRAGE soon became a willing partner to OVERRIDE, helping her win race after race. Now, the pair has discovered that DOWNSHIFT, a teammate of MIRAGE, has been captured and enslaved by DIRT BOSS. They will stop at nothing to bring the cruel outlaw down and rescue DOWNSHIFT.

Wal-Mart exclusive Repackaged Dirt Boss w/ Downshift: Delivered to the Speed Planet by the same space-time anomaly that transported and nearly destroyed his friend MIRAGE, DOWNSHIFT was almost immediately captured by DIRT BOSS and his gang of harriers and outlaws. Using information given to him by MEGATRON, DIRT BOSS was able to force DOWNSHIFT to link with him, granting him unheard of power and speed. Lacking the imagination for a true power play, DIRT BOSS used his newfound might to pillage his way through the Speed Planet's equatorial cities until OVERRIDE and MIRAGE appeared to challenge him to a final showdown in an attempt to rescue his MINI-CON slave.

Wal-Mart exclusive Repackaged Red Alert w/ Dirt Boss: The first duty of RED ALERT has always been to defend and heal the sick and injured. It is for this reason that OPTIMUS PRIME sent DIRT BOSS to the Speed Planet under his protection (though the way DIRT BOSS sees it, he's the one doing the protecting). DIRT BOSS has been separated from the other team members of the Road Assault Team ­ DOWNSHIFT and MIRAGE - to prevent MEGATRON from once again capturing all three of them and acquiring the powerful SKYBOOM Shield. His distance from his counterparts, however, does not diminish his desire to protect the weak, and he happily works side by side with RED ALERT to ensure that all those who need protection are made safe.

Wal-Mart exclusive Repackaged Thundercracker w/ Downshift: A specialty of THUNDERCRACKER is creating fear among the enemy, and the chance to snatch DOWNSHIFT from the AUTOBOTS offered him a rare opportunity. Kidnapping the MINI-CON was a piece of cake, but he never counted on the speed of the tiny robot, or his willingness to help THUNDERCRACKER create chaos. The two have formed an uneasy partnership, dedicated to causing as much havoc as they can among the AUTOBOT forces on Earth.

Wal-Mart exclusive Repackaged Hot Shot w/ Mirage: HOT SHOT always thought he was the fastest, most skilled racer in the Universe, until he got to the Speed Planet. But he never even suspected the blistering speed of which he was capable until OPTIMUS PRIME teamed up with MIRAGE. Brought to the Speed Planet under the protection of HOT SHOT, MIRAGE was originally badly homesick for his compatriots DOWNSHIFT and DIRT BOSS, until he saw the perfect raceways of this new planet. Now, the two have formed a fast friendship, and a nearly unbeatable racing team.

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