MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Streetwise (G1)

2010-04-16T15:47:41Z

214.3.140.16: /* Toys */

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2}}
{{disambig3|Streetwise}}
{{picsneeded|Toy}}
:''Streetwise is an [[Autobot]] [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobot]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Streetwise g1 boxart.jpg|right|300px|thumb|What snakes? What plane? I don't get it.]]
Who's the [[Neon|black]]-and-white [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobot]] 
That knows every street and parking lot? 
'''STREETWISE'''! 
Ya damn right! 
 
And who is the bot that would risk his [[spark]] 
For his brother bots? 
STREETWISE! 
Can you dig it? 
 
What interceptor won't back down 
'Til his target's run to ground? 
STREETWISE! 
Right on! 
 
They say this cop car is a [[Depth Charge (BW)|bad mother—]] 
SHUT YOUR MOUTH! 
I'm just talking about Streetwise! 
We can dig it! 
 
He's a [[Combiner|combination]] bot, 
But no one gets to use him but [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]]! 
STREETWISE! 

:''French-Canadian name'': '''Aviso''' 
:''Italian name'': '''Phantom'''

==Fiction==
===Cartoon continuity===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Peter Cullen]] (English), [[Yoku Shioya]] (Japanese)

[[Image:G1 RevengeofBruticus FirstAid Streetwise help.jpg|left|170px|thumb|If you see me walking down the street / walk on by, walk on by]]
When the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] attacked an inhabited city on [[Earth]], Optimus Prime called upon the Protectobots to evacuate the civilians caught in the crossfire. Streetwise was carrying civilians when he discovered an injured man and called [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] over to help him. Later, as Earth's orbit was diverted to the [[Sun]] by the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]], Streetwise and [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] commandeered a meat locker to keep the overheated humans cool. Streetwise assured Groove that given the constantly rising temperatures outside, the humans would not freeze to death. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

Streetwise, as part of Defensor, totally blew up [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]]. Afterward, he was with the Protectobots when they saved some window-washers from a burning skyscraper, catching the humans when [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] blew them off their platform. Later still, Streetwise and the other Protectobots were ordered to help defend [[Ark (G1)|Autobot Headquarters]] from a Decepticon attack. They merged into Defensor and activated his useless force field, which almost immediately deactivated, allowing the Decepticons to blast Defensor back into his component parts. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}

[[Image:G1 UltimateWeapon HotSpotStreetwise covering FirstAid.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Bad Boys / Bad Boys / Watcha gonna do / Watcha gonna do when they come 4 u.]]
In the year 2006, the Autobots were asked to help the Dutch authorities deal with French rebels. After dispersing the human aggressors by crashing a trash can into them, the Protectobots came under attack from the Decepticons. Streetwise expressed concern that the Decepticons didn't care how many innocent humans they killed so long as they destroyed the Protectobots. Later, it turned out the battle was only a diversion to allow [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] to steal [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[transformation cog]], First Aid left the Autobots when he failed to stop the theft. Unfortunately, just as First Aid left, the Autobots were called upon to deal with a rampaging [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. Hot Spot ordered the remaining Protectobots to combine into Defensor, and they successfully saved a train full of civilians, even without First Aid. {{storylink|The Ultimate Weapon}}

Later in 2006, the Protectobots arrived at the aftermath of the battle between the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s and [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]] at [[Mark Morgan]]'s laboratory. They transported the injured [[Jessica Morgan]] to County General Hospital and watched over her as the doctors restored her ability to walk with an exo-skeletal structure, enraging the robo-phobic senior Morgan. This had [[Hate Plague|negative consequences]]. What a jerkface. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}
{{-}}
===Japanese cartoon continuity===
====Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers====

When the Stunticons attacked a baseball stadium, [[Kenji]] alerted the Autobot combiners that they were needed. As the Protectobots arrived, Streetwise got the humans to safety while Hot Spot extinguished the blaze caused by the Decepticons. They transformed into Defensor, but Hot Spot was damaged in a savage attack by [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and Bruticus, leaving the Protectobots unable to combine. Seizing upon an idea, Kenji told Superion to shoot out the Decepticons' legs. Streetwise and First Aid then swooped in and combined with Bruticus, while their comrades did the same with Menasor. With their own legs out of control, the Decepticon combiners were tossed out over the ocean by their own limbs. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 5}}

Later, Streetwise transported the [[Autobot Mini-Cassette]]s [[Eject]] and [[Rewind]] into battle, pitting them against their Decepticon counterparts, [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]]. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 7}}

====''Scramble City'' cartoon====

Streetwise and the Protectobots participated in the Scramble City project under Ultra Magnus's direction, working towards the construction of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]. After the Decepticons uncovered their secret building site, the Protectobots rode into battle alongside the newly completed Metroplex. Streetwise and his comrades arrived and formed Defensor just in time to act as the harbinger of Metroplex and his really big gun. {{storylink|Scramble City}}

====The Great Transformer War====

Streetwise and the Protectobots joined forces with the Aerialbots for a raid on [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. They intended to rescue [[Doctor Dalton]], a scientist Galvatron had kidnapped in order to force him to use his knowledge to upgrade the Decepticons. The Aerialbots, as Superion, charged in first, but were torn to shreds by the Combaticons and Stunticons. Hot Spot went to work in his repair bay mode fixing them up, and tasked [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] with infiltrating Trypticon to recover the missing scientist. In the meantime, it was up to Streetwise, [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] and [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] to keep Bruticus and Menasor occupied long enough for Hot Spot and Blades to complete their missions. Soon, the revived Aerialbots stepped in to save their Protectobot comrades, and Blades successfully freed the doctor from the Decepticons whle they were distracted watching the battle. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 1}}

====''The Headmasters'' cartoon====

In 2011, Galvatron attacked Cybertron looking to take control of [[Vector Sigma]]. Streetwise and the Protectobots were active in Cybertron's defense as Defensor during the assault. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}} Later, Streetwise's team assembled on Earth at Ultra Magnus's command. Their mission was to stop the Decepticons from interfering with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]]s, who were searching for the hidden location of the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. On a security sweep, the Protectobots ran across their old nemeses, the Combaticons, and went into battle. The two teams quickly assumed their combined forms as Bruticus and Defensor, as the fighting escalated. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

When Galvatron made another strike on Cybertron, this time to steal the super-metal [[Cybertonuron]], Streetwise and the Protectobots assembled before the [[Space Bridge]] on Earth to be transported into battle. Seeking out the Combaticons on the battlefield, the Protectobots soon formed Defensor and fought once more with Bruticus. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} Defensor and Bruticus's battle continued as Defensor delivered a devastating smash to Bruticus's back. For at least part of the battle, the two teams disassembled again for man-to-man combat, {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

Streetwise and the Protectobots were dispatched to [[Peru]] with the [[Trainbot]]s when a volcano erupted, leaving a mountainside village in dire peril. Their rescue mission was blocked by the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]]. [[Shoki]] and the Trainbots occupied the fiends so that the Protectobots could proceed on to the village and protect the innocent lives. Nevertheless, the Protectobots failed to reach the village, as they were intercepted by the Decepticons' second wave, the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]]s. Streetwise and the Protectobots briefly struggled with the Headmasters before forming Defensor, but that left them grouped together and vulnerable to an underhanded attack. Defensor was taken out of action by [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]]'s paralysis ray, which was strong enough to force Streetwise and the Protectobots apart and leave them completely immobilized. {{storylink|The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts}}

Streetwise and the Protectobots were part of a strike team that flew to the [[Moon (moon)|moon]] to disrupt Scorponok's gathering of Decepticons. They immediately formed Defensor upon entering the battle. {{storylink|Return of the Immortal Emperor}} When the planet [[Sandra]] sent out a distress call asking for energy, the Autobots of Earth responded. While they were loading the Trainbots full of supplies, however, Galvatron and the Decepticons arrived to take the energy for themselves. Streetwise and the Protectobots fought back against the enemy, and formed Defensor to counter Devastator on the battlefield. {{storylink|SOS from Planet Sandra}}

After the death of Ultra Magnus, the Autobots were desperately trying to pick up the slack during Sixshot's campaign of destruction around the globe. Streetwise and the Protectobots assembled as Defensor to go out and confront Sixshot at one of the attack sites, but they apparently didn't fare too well. {{storylink|The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg}} When the Decepticons seemingly abandoned Earth, Streetwise and the Protectobots assisted Spike in rebuilding the planet after the enemy's departure. On one occasion, they located Sixshot's old command base. By combining into Defensor, the Protectobots helped Raiden and Computron obliterate the base, wiping out all trace of the Decepticons' presence. {{storylink|Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)}}

Following a lengthy period of inactivity, the Decepticons renewed their attacks on Earth. With Fortress still off in space, Spike Witwicky dispatched Streetwise and the Protectobots to attend to the threats. In Canberra, [[Australia]], the Protectobots confronted Bruticus at one of Scorponok's new Death Towers. As Defensor, the Protectobots were beaten severely by Bruticus, and First Aid was even knocked out of the arm socket. Using Scramble Power, Defensor switched Streetwise up to his shoulder and reattached First Aid as a leg, still carrying his fireball cannon. Despite this cunning(?) trick, Defensor was defeated by Bruticus. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)}} As part of Defensor, Streetwise participated in the Autobots final battle with Scorponok's Decepticons at the North Pole. He lent his energies to the Headmasters' [[Head Formation]] to revitalize Fortress Maximus at the critical moment. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}
Streetwise and the other Protectobots were created on Earth by [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and the Autobots after they stole a recording of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]'s combiner transformation sequence and modified it ''(and after [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] shared a [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]-induced vision of the future with the [[Special Teams]] in it).'' {{storylink|Second Generation!}}

On their first mission, the Protectobots joined Optimus Prime in protecting [[Energy Futures Industries]] and the [[hydrothermocline]] from [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]]. After agreeing to battle for the prize in a virtual reality so that neither the hydrothermocline nor innocent bystanders would be harmed, Optimus and the Protectobots entered the bizarre landscape of ''[[Multi-World]]''. Searching for the Combaticons, Streetwise and [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] entered Vineland. On a hunch, Streetwise chose to lift a falling web of vines out of their path instead of blasting through it. This left them open to attack by [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] and [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]], but it also earned the respect of the living vines populating Vineland, who entangled the Combaticons long enough for the Protectobots to beat their opponents. Streetwise did so by shattering the enemies with his [[Compression cannon|air-compressor cannon]] after First Aid [[Decrystallizer cannon|crystallized]] them. {{storylink|Afterdeath!}}

[[Image:Streetwise-g1issue35.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Get me Undercover Brother!]]
After the ''Multi-World'' battle led to the death of Optimus Prime, the Protectobots fell under the command of [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. They were sent to capture the deserter [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], which led to another confrontation with the Combaticons in a used car lot. During the battle, Streetwise blinded [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] with his [[photon pistol]]. {{storylink|Used Autobots}} They successfully arrested Blaster, but ran into the Combaticons yet again while Streetwise was reporting the mission results to the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. This battle went poorly compared to the past ones, as the Protectobots were defeated by [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], the Combaticons' combined form. {{storylink|Child's Play (issue)|Child's Play}}

''Later, Streetwise helped a [[Christmas kid|young boy]] teach [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] the meaning of [[Christmas]]. Okay, so actually he was trying to shoot Starscream. And sure, Starscream didn't actually learn the meaning of Christmas so much as deliberately fake it in order to piss off Streetwise because the humans liked him better than the Autobot. But still... holiday spirit and all that.'' {{storylink|Stargazing}}

====Generation 2====
When Optimus Prime and Grimlock discovered the threat of the [[Cybertronian Empire]], they called in Autobots scattered across the galaxy, including Streetwise. And, when Grimlock chose to disobey Prime's directives and make a tactical first strike against [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s ships, Streetwise went with him. They were quickly found out and captured, though, leaving it to Optimus to bail them out of trouble. {{storylink|Devices and Desires! (Marvel)|Devices and Desires!}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:Streetwise-warwithin.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hot buttered 'bot]]

During the so-called [[Dark Ages]], when [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] vanished in a [[space bridge]] accident, Streetwise stuck with his Protectobot team after the signing of the [[Crisis Intervention Accord]]. Whilst in their base at [[Iacon]], Streetwise reported the rumour of the [[Ultracon]] [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] having been unleashed in the [[Tagan Heights]] against [[Springer (G1)|Springer's]] [[Wrecker]]s. Deciding that they could not afford to ignore this or let the [[combiner]] arms race begin once again, the Proctectobots rolled out to assist the Wreckers. Arriving in Tagan Heights, they formed the mighty Defensor and the battle of the titans was on. {{storylink|Escalation (Dreamwave)|Escalation}} Unfortunately, they could not control Defensor's dim-witted battle lust, and were forced to separate and find a less destructive means of taking down Devastator. While Devastator manhandled Springer, the Protectobots hooked him up to a nearby power generator. With the Ultracon was distracted, Streetwise threw the switch, overloading the enemy combiner and forcing him to separate into the individual [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. {{storylink|Devastation (Dreamwave)|Devastation}}

Whilst the Protectobots were trying to figure out what went wrong during the battle in their combined form, the [[Chaos Trinity]], minions of the mysterious being known as [[The Fallen]], attacked. As Streetwise drew a bead on [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], he was hypnotized into blasting [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] by [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]]. {{storylink|Confrontation (issue)|Confrontation}}
{{-}}

===IDW comics continuity===

Streetwise was one of many Autobot survivors who made it through Megatron's all-out attack on their defense network. In the two years following the attack, he made his way to Earth and united with Optimus Prime and the Autobots stationed there. In order to keep an eye on the humans, Streetwise and [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] infiltrated the police force in their alternate modes. Both were present for an emergency response to [[Breakdown]] attacking a power plant. The robot hunters of [[Skywatch]] arrived and disabled the Decepticon, but then proceeded as if they were going to execute him on the scene. Despite Streetwise's words of caution, Prowl transformed to stop the execution and was captured. Streetwise maintained his cover and reported the incident back to Prime. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
*'''Streetwise''' (Protectobot, 1986)
**''Team ID number:'' '''P1'''
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-73'''

: Streetwise transforms into a Nissan 300ZX Turbo police car. In car mode, he has a large, rear-mounted, double-barreled cannon accessory. He can also form a limb of any [[Scramble City]]-style combiner, but his usual place is as [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]]'s left leg. He was available both on an individual card or as part of the Defensor gift set.

: This mold was also used to make [[Streetstar]].

===Generation 2===
[[Image:G2 Menasor and G2 Defensor.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Black and red?? G2 toys were so [[neon]]!]]
* '''Streetwise''' (Unreleased)
**''Team ID number:'' '''P4'''

: Streetwise and the other Protectobots were slated to be [[Redeco|redecoed]] and re-released as part of the [[Generation 2 (toyline)|''Generation 2'' toyline]]. However, they and the redecoed [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] were canceled, with less than a half-dozen production samples of each mold known to exist (save the [[BotCon 1994]] [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], of course). The reason for the cancellation is unclear; it's possible they were considered redundant product due to the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbot]] and [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]] re-releases, especially since [[Hasbro]] was putting out entirely new-mold Transformers then, and would most likely have wanted ''those'' to have as much shelf space in toy aisles as possible.
{{canceledtoy}}
{{-}}

===Timelines===
*'''Streetwise''' (BotCon boxed set figure, 2010)

It was revealed in the brochure for BotCon 2010 that [[Protectobot]] Streetwise would be included in the [[BotCon 2010]] convention set, "Generation 2-Redux!".

==Trivia==
[[Image:ArmadaCameos-RedRoom.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Ahhhh .. Freak out! Le Freak -- c'est chic ... Freak out!]]
* Streetwise's animation model appears in the [[Armada (cartoon)|''Armada'' cartoon]] as a "generic" Cybertron at (presumably) Autobot HQ, alongside [[Wide Load]], [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]]/[[Lander]] and [[Sixknight]]. He is only seen from the back and pretty heavily miscolored, making him hard to identify. {{storylink|First Encounter|First Encounter}}

* The toy of Streetwise is unique amongst Scramble City-style combiner limbs in that he has a "normal" robot head that does not also function as a connector peg — instead he features a fold-out connector peg to attach him to Hot Spot.
{{-}}

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/Streetwise/streetwise.htm Streetwise at TFU.info.]
*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Streetwise Streetwise's Universe profile at NTFA.net.]

[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category:Interceptors]]
[[Category:Protectobots]]

Clench (G1)

2010-04-16T15:45:34Z

214.3.140.16: /* Toys */

{{factions|decepticon|decepticong2|{{factions/icons|custom=Megatron Origin Symbol.png|cSize=35x35px|cLink=Gladiatorial combat}}}}
{{disambig3|Clench}}
:''Clench is a [[Decepticon]] [[Obliterator]] from the [[Generation 2]] portion of the [[Generation 1]] [[continuity family]]. He is also known as '''Colossus'''.''

[[Image:G2-Clench-boxart.jpg|right|300px|thumb|You were supposed to be this colossus! You were this great legendary thing!]]
Utterly devoted to destroying the [[Autobot]]s, the Decepticon leader '''Clench''' is fueled by anger, hatred and malevolence. He wades into battle blasting, smashing and running over anything in his path with no mercy, then shooting anything else with heavy firepower.

So naturally, he's a registered driver in [[Texas]].

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 2 UK====
[[Image:WarWithoutEndG2UK-Clench.jpg|left|200px|thumb|C'mon, at least shout your name and powers or something.]]
Clench was part of the Decepticon force led by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], sent to [[Earth]] to smash stuff up and lure out [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. Mostly, he just drove over some parked cars. {{storylink|War Without End (issue)|War Without End}}
{{-}}
===IDW comics continuity===
[[Image:MegsOrigin2 Clench dies.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Insert crappy "Let me give you a hand" joke here.]]
Long before the war, a group of ex-miners including [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]], and [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] took part in a violent uprising against leaders who had exploited them while pocketing the fruits of their labor. They found themselves on the lam in [[Kaon]], which is where they apparently met Clench. Clench employed these same bitter ex-miners to work as gladiators in an [[Gladiatorial combat|underground bloodsport]] (in which he also occasionally partook), placing them at greater risk than they had ever known and conditioning them to give into their murderous impulses, all while hoarding the fruits of their labor for ''himself.'' Clearly, he had thought this through.

So Megatron eventually killed him during one of the fights and took over. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Clench toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|MEGAWEAPON!]]
*'''Clench''' (Obliterator, 1993)
*''Accessories'': 6 missiles
: Clench transforms into the front half of a long-nosed truck cab of undetermined model. The back half of his vehicle form, the truck bed and container, turns into a large, double-barreled, missile-launching artillery platform that uses "gravity feed" to load a new pair of missiles for rapid firing. Pressing a button between the barrels pops up a spring-loaded targeting reticule. Both [[gimmick]]s are available in truck mode as well. In truck mode, the support strut for the artillery cannon becomes a rear-mounted, extending gripper-claw.

: He was first released as part of the "transitional" period of ''Transformers'' in the European market, in Generation 1 style packaging, yet bearing the new ''Generation 2'' Decepticon sigil.

:Despite what his tiny fictional appearance and his boxart would suggest, Clench is actually a very dark blue-green in colour. With neat little sparkles! Yay. Sparkles.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1993/Decepticon/Clench/clench.htm More information on Clench at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Generation 2===
*'''Colossus''' (Obliterator, 1994)
:Clench was re-released without changes in ''Generation 2'' proper under the name "Colossus."

===Timelines===
*'''Clench''' (BotCon boxed set figure, 2010)

It was revealed in the brochure for BotCon 2010 that [[Decepticon]] leader Clench would be included in the [[BotCon 2010]] convention set, "Generation 2-Redux!".

==Trivia==
* No, really, his toy's license plate says "Texas." It's also clearly some kind of European plate, so apparently this is the Texas in Europe.

* Speaking of Clench's stickers, those on his truck hood are oddly involved by Transformers standards: jagged lightning bolts that at their center feature a gunsight-target view of a red wolf in crosshairs. Exactly what this is supposed to symbolize is unclear.

* His Function is "Leader." This supposedly means he's the main baddie of 1993's line, though Hasbro Europe was pretty liberal with the "Leader" label during that time. But most of the other "Leaders" were members of multi-bot groups, and since Clench is a Decepticon sub-group of one, then it follows he's likely the head honcho of them all.

[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:European-original characters]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]

Sky-Byte (RID)

2010-04-16T15:44:17Z

214.3.140.16: /* Timelines */

{{factions|predaconrid}}
{{disambig2|the haiku-writing Predacon from ''[[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]''|the haiku-writing Decepticon from ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]''|Sky-Byte (Animated)}}
:''Sky-Byte is a [[Predacon (RID)|Predacon]] from the [[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:SkyByteAnime.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Who's the greatest shark around?]]
Deep within '''Sky-Byte''' beats the [[spark]] of a poet, a scholar, a brilliant and cultured military general who can command armies capable of conquering worlds. But without aptitude and patience, that means jack squat, and Sky-Byte lacks both. Still, he soldiers on, for he is driven...by a desperate need for approval. He ''needs'' the blessings of his commander, [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]], quite possibly more than he needs [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. And Megatron, being Megatron, doesn't dole out praise much, so Sky-Byte tries harder and harder, getting more and more desperate.

This drive is the root of all his problems. He's actually quite intelligent and physically powerful, but he pushes himself to extremes to impress his leader. When he's in control of a situation, he's a deadly, effective foe. But as soon as the situation begins to slip even the smallest bit, he starts to panic and usually ends up doing something to mess things up and lose the upper hand, which makes him panic ''more'', so he overreacts, and gets in ''more'' trouble, etc., etc., etc. It doesn't help that while he's ruthless towards [[Autobot|Autobots]], [[human]]s seem quite safe from his ire. Maybe he sees a little something of himself in these underdogs. After all, they developed his new favorite form of expression, the haiku. And they ''do'' seem rather impressed by him...

Sky-Byte is in charge of the Predacon lackeys [[Dark Scream]], [[Gas Skunk]] and [[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]], not that they give him any modicum of respect. In fact, they're more likely to try and shuffle the blame for their failures onto the shark, a gambit that's actually moderately successful, since Sky-Byte is so very ''good'' at making things worse for himself. He has a hate-hate relationship with the new [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], especially [[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]], whom he sees (rightly) as being a huge threat to his position as Megatron's second-in-command.

:''Poor frustrated shark.''
:''Megatron is a dumbass.''
:''Why do you bother?''

{{quote|Who's the baddest shark around? Who's the smartest shark in town? Sky-Byte, that's me! Who'll drive Scourge into the ground And never let old Megatron down—Sky-Byte, that's me!|Sky-Byte, that's him!}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Gelshark''' (ゲルシャーク ''Gerushāku'')

==Fiction==
===''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Peter Spellos]] (English), [[Konta]] (Japanese)

{{bigquote|Come back, please, little dot! Please don't go away now.... That little red dot meant so, so much to my promising career. I'm just chum. Optimus! Optimus Prime! I'll find you! I'll find you! I swear! You're mine! I'll get you! You're mine! I'm...much better now.|Sky-Byte, ''[[Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!]]}}

[[Image:Explosive Situation Skybyte book.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Finding the O-Parts was no challenge compared to finding Waldo.]]
As Megatron was dressing down the Predacon trio for their latest failure, Sky-Byte suddenly appeared—demonstrating a skill for either invisibility or teleportation that he would never display again. {{storylink|An Explosive Situation}} He would often show up the Predacons with his lofty aims and superior fighting ability, {{storylink|Bullet Train to the Rescue}} but had a tendency to talk with his mouth full. {{storylink|Spychangers to the Rescue}} He later showed the power and skill to go one-on-one with [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] and almost win, as well as a new-found love for poetry. {{storylink|The Hunt for Black Pyramid}} It took Optimus and two of the Autobot brothers to chase him away from some ancient ruins which he'd been sent to investigate. {{storylink|The Secret of the Ruins}}

[[Image:Sky-byte_eye.gif|thumb|I spy, with my telescopically enhanced robot eye... a [[The Ultimate Robot Warrior|giant buddha?]]]]

Unfortunately, things rapidly went downhill for Sky-Byte, and after a string of failures starting with the inability to capture a steam train, {{storylink|Secret Weapon: D-5}} Sky-Byte soon found himself going from feared warrior and commander of dangerous missions to...commander of missions that were flawed from the jump, with Megatron openly getting annoyed with his failures. This got to the point where Megatron almost offhandedly blasted him with missiles during a car race. {{storylink|Skid Z's Choice}} A plan to brainwash a newly arrived Autobot went terribly wrong, {{storylink|Tow-Line Goes Haywire}} and Sky-Byte was even fooled by Autobots in fancy dress. {{storylink|The Ultimate Robot Warrior}} Despite these indignities, he was still viewed as "sneaky, clever and dangerous" by the Autobots. {{storylink|Hope for the Future}}

And then Scourge and the Decepticons turned up. Serious, militaristic and (mostly) ''competent'' villains, they replaced the Predacons in Megatron's eyes. Sky-Byte became desperate to get his old status back, attempting to ruin Decepticon plans and usurp them for himself {{storylink|Commandos}} and even trying to bump off Scourge in battle. {{storylink|Volcano}} The Decepticons, for their part, mocked him. Soon, Megatron stopped even telling Sky-Byte about his plans. {{storylink|The Test (episode)|The Test}}

[[Image:The Fish Test Skybytepose.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Another happy Charles Atlas customer]]
Sky-Byte's self-esteem was soon nonexistent (especially after an on-line Fish Personality Test told him he was a jellyfish), and he became desperate to gain Megatron's approval, but every endeavor he made to discredit Scourge ended disastrously, and his attempt to carry out his own evil plot just served to ruin one of Megatron's plans {{storylink|The Fish Test}}.

Eventually, to get attention, Sky-Byte led the Predacons in the attempted destruction of the new [[CGA Tower]]. This plan would've worked, except the Autobots, thinking the humans in the tower were the Predacon's hostages, asked what demands he wanted met for their safety. Wanting to seem like he knew what he was doing, Sky-Byte made up a random demand on the spot that by sheer chance was interpreted as a demand for [[O-Part]]s. He'd achieved accidental success, only to take out the tower's last support by mistake and be forced to ''stop'' it collapsing so he'd still have his hostages. This single-minded desire to keep the tower up was interpreted by the hostages and TV news crews as the Predacon trying to save them for altruistic reasons, and when the hostages started to cheer him on, Sky-Byte gave his all to keep them safe out of an increasingly genuine desire to save them. ("My hostages need me!") It was only hours after the tower was saved and the Predacons were nursing their damaged backs that they remembered about getting the O-Parts... {{storylink|Sky-Byte Saves the Day}}

This accidental heroism, plus his generally comic persona during events [[Koji Onishi]] and his friends witnessed, led the children to become very fond of Sky-Byte, following him and pestering him for autographs. A proud Predacon, Sky-Byte was bewildered by this attention, although he briefly thought of using it as a way to get his haikus published.

[[Image:Forced Fusion Skybytedelusion.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Kiss Players]], the pilot.]]

Despite all his failures, Sky-Byte was still known to be extremely loyal. As a result, Megatron sent him to get the remaining O-Parts...with Sky Byte unaware he'd been fed false info and was being used by the Decepticons to draw the Autobots into an ambush. Poor Sky-Byte spent ages digging, finding only the detritus of Humanity and [[Rubber Ducky|war surplus]] {{storylink|Ultra Magnus (episode)|Ultra Magnus}}, and was still digging long after Megatron thought he'd have stopped. In a stroke of luck, though, this allowed him to notice Optimus Prime was wounded and track him to where he was being repaired. He could now kill Optimus when he was weak and Megatron would reward him! Unfortunately, the Decepticons, Megatron ''and'' [[Ultra Magnus (RID)|Ultra Magnus]] had all tracked him, and poor Sky-Byte was left [[Furmanism|surplus to requirements]] once again. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!}}

[[Image:Koji Gets His Wish Skybyteonishi.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Sky-Byte does his best impression of a football team logo.]]
Sky-Byte took [[Doctor Kenneth Onishi|Dr. Onishi]] out of the Predacon base to help search for [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|Fortress Maximus]], in an attempt to find it before Scourge. In the process, he ran into Koji, who appealed to him to help rescue his father or at least to pass on a birthday present. The Predacon actually felt bad for Koji and was reduced to a blubbering wreck by the boy's appeal, but was mortified to find Koji didn't believe he was a threatening villain any more. Sky-Byte later became so preoccupied with battle that he tossed Dr. Onishi to Koji, leading the youth to believe Sky-Byte had deliberately rescued his father out of the goodness of his heart. The Autobots believed this too and apologized to Sky-Byte for fighting him (after they'd already blown the tar out of him). {{storylink|Koji Gets His Wish}}

To make matters worse, Sky-Byte's cunning plans to beat both Autobot and Decepticon to the O-Parts only caused the Autobots to ''gain'' them all, {{storylink|A Friendly Contest}} and his attempts to stop the Autobots from obtaining the [[Orb of Sigma]] only resulted in him being run over by both the Autobot Brothers and the Decepticons. {{storylink|Peril from the Past}} With Megatron gone, Sky-Byte and the Predacons found that Scourge was even more unpleasant to work for than their former leader. They attempted to get into Scourge's good graces by snatching [[Cerebros (RID)|Cerebros]] from the Autobots and greasing up to the Decepticon. In the following battle for Fortress Maximus, Sky-Byte was delighted by the arrival of his former leader, resurrected as Galvatron. {{storylink|Maximus Emerges}}

During another attempt on Scourge's part to control Fortress Maximus, Sky-Byte watched nervously, as he knew every one of the Decepticon's victories would mean Galvatron ignoring him even more. During the fight after the arrival of the Autobots, Sky-Byte accidentally saved Koji's life and was horrified at the idea Galvatron would find out. {{storylink|The Human Element}} Later on, while talking to himself, he would admit to having a friendship with Koji, though it was nothing to getting into Galvatron's good books, and he still attempted to kidnap the boy to help control Fortress Maximus. (Being Sky-Byte, he grabbed the wrong person.) {{storylink|Mistaken Identity}}

[[Image:Skybyte discovers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Streetsharks!]]

Eventually, Sky-Byte's loyalty paid off: When Scourge's treachery was revealed, Galvatron remarked the Predacons had always been trustworthy and gave Sky-Byte command of the Decepticons. He even managed to locate the Autobot base by following Koji, but in the process led everyone into an Autobot trap. The array of Autobot firepower caused him to cower behind rocks, crying for his "blankie". {{storylink|Surprise Attack!}}

During the final battle, Sky-Byte was almost killed when he led the Predacons into the [[Global Space Bridge]] after the Decepticons—not realising Galvatron intended to kill them. Sky-Byte was left on his own {{storylink|Galvatron's Revenge}} and escaped certain death just in time to be ordered to hold off the entire Autobot army. This did not go well for him, oh no.

[[Image:Skybyte happy at last.jpg|left|180px|thumb|No, not the final scene from Free Willy.]]

Following Autobot victory, every Decepticon and Predacon was rounded up to be incarcerated, but the Autobots hadn't captured Sky-Byte. (Whether they'd forgotten about him or he was hiding well is unknown.) He was left to spend the rest of his life on Earth, a fate the other Predacons seemed to view as worse than death, though his own attitude as he swam off into the sunset singing suggests he felt quite differently... {{storylink|The Final Battle (RID)|The Final Battle}}
{{-}}

===Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?===
[[Image:UltraMagnustotheRescue_SkyByte_haiku.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Where the heck is the ''rest of him?'']]
Sky-Byte and Scourge were sent on a joint mission, although they did nothing but bicker until Optimus and Ultra Magnus showed up. While Scourge battled them, Sky-Byte took advantage and made off with the goods, leaving Scourge with a haiku to keep him thinking. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?}}

{{-}}

===''TransTech'' comic===
Sky-Byte somehow ended up at [[Axiom Nexus]] and was "processed". {{storylink|Transcendent: Part 1}}

==Toys==
===Robots in Disguise===
[[Image:RID Sky-Byte Toy.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Love child of Peter Benchley and H.R. Giger.]]
*'''Sky-Byte''' (Mega, 2000/2001)
**''Japanese ID Number'': '''D-005'''
**''Accessories'': Launcher, 2 missiles

:An extensive [[redeco]] of the [[Transmetal|Transmetal 2]] [[Maximal]] [[Cybershark]], Sky-Byte transforms into a large, monstrous, bio-mechanical great white shark. His tail has a gear system that spins the fins like a propeller when a wheel in his side is turned. This system becomes his right arm, forming a spinning claw weapon. He also has a double spring-loaded missile launcher concealed in his shark mouth that also serves as a hand weapon.

:First available as part of the ''Car Robots'' line in Japan, there are no noteworthy differences between the [[Takara]] and [[Hasbro]] versions.

===Timelines===

*'''Skybyte''' (BotCon boxed set figure, 2010)

It was revealed in the brochure for BotCon 2010 that [[Predacon]] General Skybyte would be included in the [[BotCon 2010]] convention set, "Generation 2-Redux!".

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2001/Predacon/SkyByte/skybyte.htm More information on Sky-Byte at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
*During the Hasbro designers' panel at [[BotCon 2009]], it was stated that if Sky-Byte were to get a toy in the ''[[Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' line, its bio would be written as a haiku in homage to his love of poetry.

[[Category:Entertainers]]
[[Category:Poets]]
[[Category:Predacons]]
[[Category:Robots in Disguise characters]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]

Sky-Byte (RID)

2010-04-16T15:38:26Z

214.3.140.16: /* Toys */

{{factions|predaconrid}}
{{disambig2|the haiku-writing Predacon from ''[[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]''|the haiku-writing Decepticon from ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]''|Sky-Byte (Animated)}}
:''Sky-Byte is a [[Predacon (RID)|Predacon]] from the [[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:SkyByteAnime.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Who's the greatest shark around?]]
Deep within '''Sky-Byte''' beats the [[spark]] of a poet, a scholar, a brilliant and cultured military general who can command armies capable of conquering worlds. But without aptitude and patience, that means jack squat, and Sky-Byte lacks both. Still, he soldiers on, for he is driven...by a desperate need for approval. He ''needs'' the blessings of his commander, [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]], quite possibly more than he needs [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. And Megatron, being Megatron, doesn't dole out praise much, so Sky-Byte tries harder and harder, getting more and more desperate.

This drive is the root of all his problems. He's actually quite intelligent and physically powerful, but he pushes himself to extremes to impress his leader. When he's in control of a situation, he's a deadly, effective foe. But as soon as the situation begins to slip even the smallest bit, he starts to panic and usually ends up doing something to mess things up and lose the upper hand, which makes him panic ''more'', so he overreacts, and gets in ''more'' trouble, etc., etc., etc. It doesn't help that while he's ruthless towards [[Autobot|Autobots]], [[human]]s seem quite safe from his ire. Maybe he sees a little something of himself in these underdogs. After all, they developed his new favorite form of expression, the haiku. And they ''do'' seem rather impressed by him...

Sky-Byte is in charge of the Predacon lackeys [[Dark Scream]], [[Gas Skunk]] and [[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]], not that they give him any modicum of respect. In fact, they're more likely to try and shuffle the blame for their failures onto the shark, a gambit that's actually moderately successful, since Sky-Byte is so very ''good'' at making things worse for himself. He has a hate-hate relationship with the new [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], especially [[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]], whom he sees (rightly) as being a huge threat to his position as Megatron's second-in-command.

:''Poor frustrated shark.''
:''Megatron is a dumbass.''
:''Why do you bother?''

{{quote|Who's the baddest shark around? Who's the smartest shark in town? Sky-Byte, that's me! Who'll drive Scourge into the ground And never let old Megatron down—Sky-Byte, that's me!|Sky-Byte, that's him!}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Gelshark''' (ゲルシャーク ''Gerushāku'')

==Fiction==
===''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Peter Spellos]] (English), [[Konta]] (Japanese)

{{bigquote|Come back, please, little dot! Please don't go away now.... That little red dot meant so, so much to my promising career. I'm just chum. Optimus! Optimus Prime! I'll find you! I'll find you! I swear! You're mine! I'll get you! You're mine! I'm...much better now.|Sky-Byte, ''[[Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!]]}}

[[Image:Explosive Situation Skybyte book.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Finding the O-Parts was no challenge compared to finding Waldo.]]
As Megatron was dressing down the Predacon trio for their latest failure, Sky-Byte suddenly appeared—demonstrating a skill for either invisibility or teleportation that he would never display again. {{storylink|An Explosive Situation}} He would often show up the Predacons with his lofty aims and superior fighting ability, {{storylink|Bullet Train to the Rescue}} but had a tendency to talk with his mouth full. {{storylink|Spychangers to the Rescue}} He later showed the power and skill to go one-on-one with [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] and almost win, as well as a new-found love for poetry. {{storylink|The Hunt for Black Pyramid}} It took Optimus and two of the Autobot brothers to chase him away from some ancient ruins which he'd been sent to investigate. {{storylink|The Secret of the Ruins}}

[[Image:Sky-byte_eye.gif|thumb|I spy, with my telescopically enhanced robot eye... a [[The Ultimate Robot Warrior|giant buddha?]]]]

Unfortunately, things rapidly went downhill for Sky-Byte, and after a string of failures starting with the inability to capture a steam train, {{storylink|Secret Weapon: D-5}} Sky-Byte soon found himself going from feared warrior and commander of dangerous missions to...commander of missions that were flawed from the jump, with Megatron openly getting annoyed with his failures. This got to the point where Megatron almost offhandedly blasted him with missiles during a car race. {{storylink|Skid Z's Choice}} A plan to brainwash a newly arrived Autobot went terribly wrong, {{storylink|Tow-Line Goes Haywire}} and Sky-Byte was even fooled by Autobots in fancy dress. {{storylink|The Ultimate Robot Warrior}} Despite these indignities, he was still viewed as "sneaky, clever and dangerous" by the Autobots. {{storylink|Hope for the Future}}

And then Scourge and the Decepticons turned up. Serious, militaristic and (mostly) ''competent'' villains, they replaced the Predacons in Megatron's eyes. Sky-Byte became desperate to get his old status back, attempting to ruin Decepticon plans and usurp them for himself {{storylink|Commandos}} and even trying to bump off Scourge in battle. {{storylink|Volcano}} The Decepticons, for their part, mocked him. Soon, Megatron stopped even telling Sky-Byte about his plans. {{storylink|The Test (episode)|The Test}}

[[Image:The Fish Test Skybytepose.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Another happy Charles Atlas customer]]
Sky-Byte's self-esteem was soon nonexistent (especially after an on-line Fish Personality Test told him he was a jellyfish), and he became desperate to gain Megatron's approval, but every endeavor he made to discredit Scourge ended disastrously, and his attempt to carry out his own evil plot just served to ruin one of Megatron's plans {{storylink|The Fish Test}}.

Eventually, to get attention, Sky-Byte led the Predacons in the attempted destruction of the new [[CGA Tower]]. This plan would've worked, except the Autobots, thinking the humans in the tower were the Predacon's hostages, asked what demands he wanted met for their safety. Wanting to seem like he knew what he was doing, Sky-Byte made up a random demand on the spot that by sheer chance was interpreted as a demand for [[O-Part]]s. He'd achieved accidental success, only to take out the tower's last support by mistake and be forced to ''stop'' it collapsing so he'd still have his hostages. This single-minded desire to keep the tower up was interpreted by the hostages and TV news crews as the Predacon trying to save them for altruistic reasons, and when the hostages started to cheer him on, Sky-Byte gave his all to keep them safe out of an increasingly genuine desire to save them. ("My hostages need me!") It was only hours after the tower was saved and the Predacons were nursing their damaged backs that they remembered about getting the O-Parts... {{storylink|Sky-Byte Saves the Day}}

This accidental heroism, plus his generally comic persona during events [[Koji Onishi]] and his friends witnessed, led the children to become very fond of Sky-Byte, following him and pestering him for autographs. A proud Predacon, Sky-Byte was bewildered by this attention, although he briefly thought of using it as a way to get his haikus published.

[[Image:Forced Fusion Skybytedelusion.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Kiss Players]], the pilot.]]

Despite all his failures, Sky-Byte was still known to be extremely loyal. As a result, Megatron sent him to get the remaining O-Parts...with Sky Byte unaware he'd been fed false info and was being used by the Decepticons to draw the Autobots into an ambush. Poor Sky-Byte spent ages digging, finding only the detritus of Humanity and [[Rubber Ducky|war surplus]] {{storylink|Ultra Magnus (episode)|Ultra Magnus}}, and was still digging long after Megatron thought he'd have stopped. In a stroke of luck, though, this allowed him to notice Optimus Prime was wounded and track him to where he was being repaired. He could now kill Optimus when he was weak and Megatron would reward him! Unfortunately, the Decepticons, Megatron ''and'' [[Ultra Magnus (RID)|Ultra Magnus]] had all tracked him, and poor Sky-Byte was left [[Furmanism|surplus to requirements]] once again. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!}}

[[Image:Koji Gets His Wish Skybyteonishi.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Sky-Byte does his best impression of a football team logo.]]
Sky-Byte took [[Doctor Kenneth Onishi|Dr. Onishi]] out of the Predacon base to help search for [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|Fortress Maximus]], in an attempt to find it before Scourge. In the process, he ran into Koji, who appealed to him to help rescue his father or at least to pass on a birthday present. The Predacon actually felt bad for Koji and was reduced to a blubbering wreck by the boy's appeal, but was mortified to find Koji didn't believe he was a threatening villain any more. Sky-Byte later became so preoccupied with battle that he tossed Dr. Onishi to Koji, leading the youth to believe Sky-Byte had deliberately rescued his father out of the goodness of his heart. The Autobots believed this too and apologized to Sky-Byte for fighting him (after they'd already blown the tar out of him). {{storylink|Koji Gets His Wish}}

To make matters worse, Sky-Byte's cunning plans to beat both Autobot and Decepticon to the O-Parts only caused the Autobots to ''gain'' them all, {{storylink|A Friendly Contest}} and his attempts to stop the Autobots from obtaining the [[Orb of Sigma]] only resulted in him being run over by both the Autobot Brothers and the Decepticons. {{storylink|Peril from the Past}} With Megatron gone, Sky-Byte and the Predacons found that Scourge was even more unpleasant to work for than their former leader. They attempted to get into Scourge's good graces by snatching [[Cerebros (RID)|Cerebros]] from the Autobots and greasing up to the Decepticon. In the following battle for Fortress Maximus, Sky-Byte was delighted by the arrival of his former leader, resurrected as Galvatron. {{storylink|Maximus Emerges}}

During another attempt on Scourge's part to control Fortress Maximus, Sky-Byte watched nervously, as he knew every one of the Decepticon's victories would mean Galvatron ignoring him even more. During the fight after the arrival of the Autobots, Sky-Byte accidentally saved Koji's life and was horrified at the idea Galvatron would find out. {{storylink|The Human Element}} Later on, while talking to himself, he would admit to having a friendship with Koji, though it was nothing to getting into Galvatron's good books, and he still attempted to kidnap the boy to help control Fortress Maximus. (Being Sky-Byte, he grabbed the wrong person.) {{storylink|Mistaken Identity}}

[[Image:Skybyte discovers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Streetsharks!]]

Eventually, Sky-Byte's loyalty paid off: When Scourge's treachery was revealed, Galvatron remarked the Predacons had always been trustworthy and gave Sky-Byte command of the Decepticons. He even managed to locate the Autobot base by following Koji, but in the process led everyone into an Autobot trap. The array of Autobot firepower caused him to cower behind rocks, crying for his "blankie". {{storylink|Surprise Attack!}}

During the final battle, Sky-Byte was almost killed when he led the Predacons into the [[Global Space Bridge]] after the Decepticons—not realising Galvatron intended to kill them. Sky-Byte was left on his own {{storylink|Galvatron's Revenge}} and escaped certain death just in time to be ordered to hold off the entire Autobot army. This did not go well for him, oh no.

[[Image:Skybyte happy at last.jpg|left|180px|thumb|No, not the final scene from Free Willy.]]

Following Autobot victory, every Decepticon and Predacon was rounded up to be incarcerated, but the Autobots hadn't captured Sky-Byte. (Whether they'd forgotten about him or he was hiding well is unknown.) He was left to spend the rest of his life on Earth, a fate the other Predacons seemed to view as worse than death, though his own attitude as he swam off into the sunset singing suggests he felt quite differently... {{storylink|The Final Battle (RID)|The Final Battle}}
{{-}}

===Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?===
[[Image:UltraMagnustotheRescue_SkyByte_haiku.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Where the heck is the ''rest of him?'']]
Sky-Byte and Scourge were sent on a joint mission, although they did nothing but bicker until Optimus and Ultra Magnus showed up. While Scourge battled them, Sky-Byte took advantage and made off with the goods, leaving Scourge with a haiku to keep him thinking. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?}}

{{-}}

===''TransTech'' comic===
Sky-Byte somehow ended up at [[Axiom Nexus]] and was "processed". {{storylink|Transcendent: Part 1}}

==Toys==
===Robots in Disguise===
[[Image:RID Sky-Byte Toy.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Love child of Peter Benchley and H.R. Giger.]]
*'''Sky-Byte''' (Mega, 2000/2001)
**''Japanese ID Number'': '''D-005'''
**''Accessories'': Launcher, 2 missiles

:An extensive [[redeco]] of the [[Transmetal|Transmetal 2]] [[Maximal]] [[Cybershark]], Sky-Byte transforms into a large, monstrous, bio-mechanical great white shark. His tail has a gear system that spins the fins like a propeller when a wheel in his side is turned. This system becomes his right arm, forming a spinning claw weapon. He also has a double spring-loaded missile launcher concealed in his shark mouth that also serves as a hand weapon.

:First available as part of the ''Car Robots'' line in Japan, there are no noteworthy differences between the [[Takara]] and [[Hasbro]] versions.

===Timelines===

*'''Generation 2 - Redux!''' (BotCon boxed set figure, 2010)

It was revealed in the brochure for BotCon 2010 that [[Predacon]] General Skybyte would be included in the BotCon 2010 convention set.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2001/Predacon/SkyByte/skybyte.htm More information on Sky-Byte at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
*During the Hasbro designers' panel at [[BotCon 2009]], it was stated that if Sky-Byte were to get a toy in the ''[[Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' line, its bio would be written as a haiku in homage to his love of poetry.

[[Category:Entertainers]]
[[Category:Poets]]
[[Category:Predacons]]
[[Category:Robots in Disguise characters]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]

Hawk (G.I. Joe)

2009-06-15T15:13:57Z

214.3.140.16: /* Devil's Due G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers continuity */

{{disambig2|the human commander of [[G.I. Joe]]|the Pretender|Metalhawk}}
:''Hawk is a member of [[G.I. Joe]] from the [[Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Hawk.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Get the disc to the core of the MCP, Tron. Free the system.]]
General Clayton M. Abernathy, codename '''Hawk''', leads [[G.I. Joe]], a [[United States]] military taskforce dedicated to stopping the terrorist organization [[Cobra]].

He's the one in the bomber jacket, [[Duke]] is the one with the buttoned-down work shirt.
==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
He bones Senator [[Barbara Larkin]].

===Dreamwave ''Transformers/G.I. Joe'' continuity===
He's from World War II.

===Devil's Due ''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers'' continuity===
The youngest army cadet to graduate from West Point Military Academy, Col. Abernathy was in charge of military security for what he assumed would be a typical peace summit, however when [[Cobra]] attacked the summit, he called Code Red and proceeded to evacuate civilians. In the aftermath of the attack, [[General Flagg]] appointed Hawk the leader of the newly formed task force [[G.I. Joe]]. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1}}

Despite protests from bureaucrat, he recruited his comrade Snake-Eyes to the group. Later he was present for [[Mercer]] revealing to the team the truth about the nature of the robot attackers. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 2}}

After the Autobots saved the team during Cobra's attack on the SPS Research Facility, Hawk was initially suspicious of the robot's trust-worthiness, but gave [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] a chance to access G.I. Joe's computers. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 3}}. Thanks to Wheeljack's hacking, the Joes were able to trace their enemy back to Cobra Island. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 3}} But the team left to attack their enemy only after Hawk had disabled Wheeljack and Bumblebee for safety reasons. Although the actual plan was to use a nuclear strike against Cobra, Hawk went against orders lead his forces to the island when Wheeljack explained that a nuclear strike would place the whole world in danger. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4}}

However the [[Commander In Chief]] United States Military felt that eliminating Cobra was more important than the safety of the troops and the nuclear missiles were launched anyway, placing Hawk and his G.I. Joes (and the world) in danger. Wheeljack and [[Dr. Mindbender]] were able to stop the nuclear missiles, and [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] defeated [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]].

Apparently the government forgave Hawk for leading the G.I. Joe team on the unauthorized missing to Cobra Island, as weeks later, Optimus thanked Hawk for G.I Joe's' aid in construction of a new [[Ark]] to return to [[Cybertron]].

==Trivia==
*Hawk is shown as a shadow in the shape of Shockwave on the packaging of the Star Brigade Armor Bot.

==External links==
*[http://www.yojoe.com/action/82/hawk.shtml Hawk on YoJoe.com]

{{charstub}}
[[Category: G.I. Joe]]
[[Category: Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category: Matrix bearers]]

Scale

2009-06-12T15:42:35Z

214.3.140.16: /* Multiple scales of same character */

[[Image:OptimusSnakeEyes.jpg|right|300px|thumb|And the truck's how big...?]]
'''Scale''' in ''Transformers'' is, not to put too fine a point on it, a crapshoot.

Virtually no era, franchise, fiction, [[Toy|toyline]] or other incarnation of ''Transformers'' has presented scale in a logical or believable fashion. (The only exceptions are the 1:24 toys for ''[[Alternators]]'' and ''[[Kiss Players (toyline)|Kiss Players]]'', but they [[Atari Hitotonari|have their own problems]].) Most fans agree that one must either ignore it or accept it, lest they be tempted to explain these problems and in the process fanwank themselves into oblivion.

However, the scale problems of ''Transformers'' still merit description.

{{bigquote|"Clearly, the pitiful humans at Hasbro are so overwhelmed by the awesomeness of Cybertronian life forms that they can't get the scale right."|[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]|[[Transformers Comic issue 23|Star Scream's #23]]}}

==Scale within toylines==
===Toys out of scale with others in the same line===
[[Image:DiacloneScale.jpg|right|350px|thumb|That little guy — who comes from the same toyline as all those vehicles — is supposed to be a normal-sized human. Yeeeah.]]
The early [[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1 toyline]], especially the pre-[[The Transformers: The Movie|movie]] lines, were repackaged and [[Redeco|redecoed]] toys from several different Japanese toylines. The crucial point is that the toylines were initially unrelated. The characters ''should'' be in scale to each other as they all have real-world altmodes that (should) pass for real vehicles. However, since ''[[Diaclone]]'' toys were not part of the same line as ''[[Microman]]'' toys, scale issues arose. ''Diaclone'' figures such as [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Optimus Prime]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] are more-or-less in correct scale to each other (though problems already arise with [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], whose [[alternate mode]]s are based on ''the same car'' yet are not quite the same size), but many of the [[Mini Vehicle]]s from the ''New Microman'' line are clearly far too small by comparison. Even aside from their deformed penny-racer proportions, a [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys|Volkswagen Beetle]] Microman toy is disproportionately tiny when compared to a [[Jazz (G1)/toys|Porsche 935]] Diaclone toy. The disparity becomes even more obvious with [[Mini Vehicle|Minibots]] such as [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (a tank) and [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] (a hovercraft), who should be many times their actual size.

Another glaring scale problem comes in the form of the [[Seeker]]s, who turn into F-15 Eagles which, in real life, are 19.4 m (63.8 feet) long. Correctly scaled, this would make their robot modes ''colossal'' compared to most Autobots. Similarly, the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], despite also coming from the ''Diaclone'' line, are too small. Far worse is the other ''Diaclone'' combiner team, the [[Trainbot]]s, who have train engine altmodes, yet their toys are among the ''smallest'' of the ''Diaclone'' releases.

===Toys out of scale within teams===
Even toys specifically designed to interact with each other suffer from this problem. The [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] are wildly out of scale to each other—[[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]]'s space shuttle mode should dwarf [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]], with the others somewhere in between. Instead, they're about the same size. Among the Constructicons, [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] is designed to look like a gigantic [[Wikipedia:Image:Liebherr t282 1.jpg|"earth-mover" mining truck]]. He should be able to carry all his teammates in his bed, with some crowding. Similarly, [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (a Concorde jet) is dramatically undersized compared to his fighter-jet [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbot]] teammates. These scale problems are necessary to avoid misproportioned gestalt forms.

Don't even ask about the Protectobots with their [[Groove (G1)|motorcycle]] and [[Blades|helicopter]] limbs...

===Same altmode, different sizes===
Other scale problems come from characters who transform into the same (or similar) altmodes but whose toys are different sizes. For example [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] transforms into an F-15 Eagle, but his toy is half the size of [[Starscream (G1)/toys|Starscream]]'s. The same can be said for the Lamborghini Countach [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], who should be the same size as [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], not significantly smaller. These discrepancies are also seen in the other [[Scramble City]] combiners with Earth altmodes, whose toys are all smaller than similar earlier toys.

===Multiple scales of same character===
Although it was never really a problem in G1 (later retro-iterations of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|G1 Prime]] e.g. [[Masterpiece]] don't count), later franchises sometimes released multiple versions of the same character in different [[size class]]es ''within the same product line'', usually limited to the leader characters. Multiple versions of [[Optimus Primal/toys|Optimus Primal]] and [[Megatron (BW)/toys|Megatron]] in ''[[Beast Wars (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' weren't exactly an example of this, as they represented different bodies, but ''[[Beast Machines (toyline)|Beast Machines]]'' began the problem in earnest with three different [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetor toys]] released over the course of the line. With one toy at the Supreme size point, one at the Mega point, and a third slight variant at the Deluxe point, there was no real indication of which size if any was the "correct" one. The same line also released two different [[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]] toys, two different Tankor toys, two different Thrust toys, and two different Optimus Primals (Though in the case of the Vehicons one of each pair could be considered a distinct "drone" version, in the media the "drones" and the "sparked" Vehicons were physically indistinguishable).

[[Image:TFAnimated RolloutCommand OptimusPrime toy.jpg|right|230px|thumb|Hooray. I'm in scale with nobody.]]
''[[Robots in Disguise (toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' continued the trend, with several prominent characters receiving a smaller [[Spy Changer]] toy in addition to their larger toy, such as [[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]] and [[X-Brawn]]. The ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' line featured both a Super-Con and Super-Base version of [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/toys|Optimus Prime]] featuring the same design at different size-classes, an issue repeated with [[Megatron (Armada)/toys|Megatron]] in ''[[Energon (toyline)|Energon]]''. The introduction of the "Legends of Cybertron" size class in ''[[Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' only compounded matters, as a plethora of different characters were released at a size wildly out of scale with any of their contemporaries. ''Cybertron'' also featured the first notable case of out-of-scale toys being at least partially explained in the fiction with [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]], who did change size over the course of the series.

With the explosion of toys for the [[Movie (toyline)|Movie]], even more scale problems erupted. The line offered both Voyager and Leader-class iterations of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys|Prime]] and [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], not to mention nearly all of the movie's onscreen cast getting a Fast Action Battler toy which introduces scale problems between the toys and one another. The fact that [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] came with a small Scorponok, and a separate Deluxe class [[Scorponok (Movie)|Scorponok]] was released, only expands the scale problems when one realizes that the Blackout and Deluxe Scorponok toys are meant to interact. Blackout can carry the small Scorponok ''while'' clipped on to the larger one as well, effectively transporting ''both'' at the same time, which makes the entire assembly a nightmare of scaling problems.

This mishmash has expanded even further in the ''[[Transformers Animated (toyline)|Animated]]'' line, with Deluxe, Voyager, and even Supreme-class versions of [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus]]. [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], has an Activators, Deluxe, Voyager and Leader mode. And there's even three different sizes for poor [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]- Leader, Voyager, and Activator.

Originally, the intent was apparently to make the popular [[Optimus (disambiguation)|Optimus]] and [[Megatron (disambiguation)|Megatron]] characters available at lower price points than just "leader" class so that children with less money would not miss out, while also forcing [[completist]] [[User:ItsWalky|collectors]] to buy multiple versions of one character. The result, however, is that it creates further confusion about scale within the toyline, as the contradictory sizes of these toys leave it [[Personal canon|up to the fans]] to determine which is the "correct" version, either using apparent [[show-accuracy]] or other criteria. Sometimes this creates even further problems, though—if one assumes that the Voyager-class Movie Prime is the "correct" version, then he either has comically small seats for human passengers or [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] has absurdly large seats.

===Toys out of scale with themselves===
[[Image:G1 Broadside toy.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Kill me. Just... kill me now.]]
[[Triple Changer]]s create a whole new set of problems. [[Octane]] transforms from a 20 m (60') tanker truck into a 65 m (200') jumbo jet. [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] transforms from an Earth jet into an entire ''aircraft carrier.''

Even a two-mode toy can have this problem. Twentieth Anniversary Optimus Prime has wheels which are pretty tiny for a Freightliner truck, while his rear hitch section is too thick. These out-of-proportion vehicle parts were necessary to give his robot mode [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] proportions.

===Toys with roleplay altmodes===
The characters with roleplay altmodes such as Generation 1 [[Megatron (G1)/toys|Megatron]], [[Soundwave (G1)/toys|Soundwave]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], or [[Laserbeak (Armada)|''Armada'' Laserbeak]] are scaled to be human-scale (well, kid-scale). Since the [[size changing]] seen in the fiction is not possible for real toys (at least, that's what [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] ''wants'' us to think), this human-scaling makes in some cases for inordinately large robot modes. E.g., [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]'s toy, in robot mode, is taller than most other Transformers.

The opposite problem is seen with [[Megatron (G1)/toys|Masterpiece Megatron]], whose robot mode is in scale with Masterpiece Optimus Prime. The result is that, while he may transform into a very accurately-proportioned handgun, it's unmistakably much larger than the real thing. (Not that this has stopped him being widely banned as a "realistic firearm replica"...)

===Fanciful altmodes===
Most post-[[The Transformers: The Movie|movie]] Generation 1 characters (for that matter, most post-Generation 1 lines) are difficult to accurately scale, as they generally transform into futuristic or Cybertronian vehicles whose size we don't really know. (Or, indeed, they don't transform into vehicles at all.) The scale of characters such as [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys|Hot Rod]] or [[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Leobreaker]] is fairly arbitrary and can only be estimated by their relative size to other characters in the fiction (although most fiction is highly inconsistent in this regard, see below). Nevertheless, if one assumes that most vehicle altmodes are intended for human-sized passengers, comparing toys such as [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and [[Lightspeed (Technobot)|Lightspeed]] suggests the combiner scale problem continues.

===Big toys===
It goes without saying that the [[city-bot]] and planetbot toys (such as [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and [[Unicron]]) are not remotely to scale with normal Transformer toys. While they are indeed ''large'' toys, they're only two to five times bigger than typical Transformer toys, and thus transform into "cities" and "planets" about the (relative) size of a bungalow. The scale problems extend to the details. Some of the citybot toys have visible windows, which are too large for a city, suggesting instead a medium-sized building.

However, it's hard to begrudge Hasbro not offering us a [[Primus]] toy the size of an asteroid. Where would we keep it?

===An exception===
There has only been one notable exception to all of this scale weirdness in the toys: the ''Alternators'' toyline, where every toy is a 1:24-scale representation of a real car, and thus they are in perfect scale with each other. Unfortunately, for practical reasons this limits the choice of altmodes. A Blast Off (space shuttle) toy in scale with the Alternators toys would be 1.6 m (5.1') long, while a Broadside (aircraft carrier) toy at that scale would be over 12 m (40'). (Hasbro actually displayed [[Prototype|mock-ups]] for an unproduced line of "military" Transformers in scale with the Alternators during the BotCon 2007 Hasbro Tour; two of them recycled parts of ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Unicron]], and were thus [[Size class|Supreme-sized]], which made said potential toyline not particularly commercially viable for Hasbro.)

== Scale within fictions ==
Scale issues abound within the fiction, especially the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]]. Some can be attributed to [[animation error]]s, such as layering problems,[[:Image:Tinybluestreak.jpg|1]][[:Image:Huge Ironhide and Small Ratchet.jpg|2]][[:Image:CarnageMiniBlaster.jpg|3]] but some "errors" were deliberate choices, for a variety of reasons.

===Fictional scale vs. toy scale===
[[Image:TeenyCliff.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Frighteningly toy-accurate.]]
[[Image:Powerglide Astoria Marygoaround.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Actually, [[Kiss Players (franchise)|disturbing fiction]] is probably more of a concern than scale issues.]]
G1 ''Transformers'' fiction often depicts characters to the same relative scale as the toys, which duplicates the intra-toyline problems described above. The cartoon, for example, shows Prime, Megatron and Soundwave as about the same height, Seekers and Autobot cars as slightly shorter (though not as much as the toys are), and Minibots as smaller yet. This scale was carried over to their vehicle forms, resulting in differently-sized cars that, based on real world measurements, should be virtually the same size.

[[Image:Omegasupreme astrotrain.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I know he's meant to be big, but holy crap, dude!]]
For another example, the Marvel Comics portrayed the Pretenders as literal interpretations of their toys: 60-foot humans with full scale Transformers inside. The "disguise" aspect of this was later explained by having Landmine and Cloudburst encounter giant, transformer-sized humanoids on an alien planet which made them appear to be of a "normal" scale.

Transformers fiction commonly shrinks or inflates characters, relative to their toy sizes. "Giant" characters such as [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] are, even aside from any [[size changing]] for transport purposes, clearly not in the same scale in toy form as they are depicted on screen. [[Mini-Cassette|Cassette characters]] such as [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]]'s toys are roughly the same height as most Minibots, while in the show they are usually portrayed as human-sized.

[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] are usually shown to be of a fairly similar height (although Magnus is much bulkier), whereas there is a considerable difference between the size of their toys. By the same token, Rodimus is always depicted as being an equal stature to his opposing leader [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], whereas the toy Galvatron is instead the same size as Magnus. Optimus Prime is also usually shown as only a head or so shorter than Magnus (if that), which gets very strange when you realise that a [[redeco]] of Prime's toy forms but a small part of Magnus' robot mode.

[[Image:Beastwarsmaxgroup.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Airazor picks the Ultra-class figure.]]
The cast of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' were size-tweaked quite a bit, relative to the toyline. The most noticeable problem is Optimus Primal, who has an Ultra toy (the "level four" size, almost twice the size of the "level three" Mega next-largest Maximal toys), but is shorter than both Dinobot and Rhinox (both of whom are "level two" Deluxe sized toys). Further, Cheetor and Tigatron's toys use the same (Deluxe) mold, but Tigatron is a head taller in the show (both because tigers are larger than cheetahs, and because Cheetor is "a kid"). New and altered characters in later seasons were generally more consistent in size (and appearance) with the toys.

The ''[[Beast Machines (toyline)|Beast Machines]]''' toyline was ''far'' worse in size discrepancies with the cartoon. Of the Maximals featured in the show, the tallest character, [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], is the ''shortest'' toy, while the diminutive [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] is a massive Ultra-class toy. And, sadly, the most show-accurate toy, Air Attack [[Optimus Primal/toys|Optimus Primal]], is a ''ginormous'' Supreme figure, towering over the other toys. (Weirdly, the King Kong-like size of this toy became canon in one specific [[micro-continuity]]. {{storylink|Prime Spark}})
{{-}}

[[Image:ShrinkingHeavy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I lost thirty tons, thanks to the Jump-Cut! Thank you, Jump-Cut!]]
In the otherwise fairly toy-scale-savvy [[Unicron Trilogy]], [[Metroplex (Cybertron)|''Cybertron'' Metroplex]] and the other citizens of [[Gigantion]] are depicted as gargantuan in animation, whereas the toys are merely among the normal boxed size-classes. Within the animation, this causes problems with their Mini-Con partners, who are depicted as human-sized in robot mode by themselves, but when shown directly interacting with their larger partners, are scaled up right along with their partner... resulting in some temporarily gigantic Mini-Cons!

The Japanese ''[[Cybertron (franchise)#Galaxy Force|Galaxy Force]]'' release of Metroplex, dubbed "Megalo Convoy", included an exclusive [[redeco]] of the [[Legends Class|Legends of Cybertron]] [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/toys|Optimus Prime toy]] to indicate the "correct" scale.

The ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' franchise has its share of scale problems when comparing its toyline to the cartoon (not helped by multiple releases of some characters in different sizes - see above), with several characters seeming roughly one [[size class]] too small, such as the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]] being a mix of one Voyager size and two Deluxes, [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] looking rather diminutive as a Deluxe, and, most egregiously, [[Lugnut]] as a ''very'' squat Voyager who's shorter than even some Deluxes. (As with Voyager-class Bulkhead, more of his mass went into his width, plus his weapon takes away some from his robot mode.) Conversely, the traditionally stunted [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] is marginally too tall and bulky to be in correct scale to his otherwise fairly accurate core teammates, assuming one includes Voyager [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus]] and Leader [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] in their lineup. In fact, Animated is one of those toylines where you're not quite sure who you're supposed to base correct scale on.

===Inconsistent portrayal===
[[Image:OmegaSupremeintro.jpg|left|175px|thumb|No! Don't wash him in hot water! He'll...]]
[[Image:Omegasupreme-blasterandgrimlock.jpg|right|200px|thumb|...too late.]]
Even if a size was decided on, it often didn't remain consistent. The height of the cartoon's [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]], just to name one, frequently varied between episodes.

The [[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|Generation 1 Marvel comic]] is notorious for changing the relative sizes of various characters. A single Transformer's size is rarely consistent between artists. For example, Rumble and Frenzy vary in height relative to Soundwave. A panel in the "[[Time Wars]]" shows [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Scattershot]], and [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] all the same height. [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], titanic in his original appearance, {{storylink|Command Performances!}} shrunk steadily in subsequent issues until he was not much taller than the average Transformer. Fortress Maximus suffered a similar problem, shrinking in size even though he was explicitly rebuilt to be twice as tall as the average Transformer.

[[Image:Beastwarriors scale.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Beast Megatron's size vs. Optimus Prime's in America... and Japan. Looks like the Blasty Zone adds on a few tons to Beast Era characters.]]
Between the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] and the [[Beast Era]], the majority of the Cybertronian race considerably downgraded in size at the [[Great Upgrade]]. When entering the [[Ark (G1)|''Ark'']], the Beast Warriors are quite small compared to the dormant Generation 1 characters, especially [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]—but just ''how'' much bigger varies quite a bit from scene to scene and episode to episode. When interacting with the Autobot technology of the ''Ark'' and the [[Autobot shuttle]], the Maximals are often dealing with equipment grossly oversized for them (standing on the chairs to reach the controls, turning knobs the size of their heads); yet the ''Ark'' also seems to feature some human-sized computer control panels. {{storylink|Master Blaster|Master Blaster}} Without any height booster, Blackarachnia can interface well with these controls.

On the other hand, ''[[Robot Masters (franchise)|Robot Masters]]'' depicted Generation 1 and ''Beast Wars'' characters like Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal as being exactly the same size. Lovely. It's possible that passage through the [[Blasty Zone]] may somehow [[Wikipedia:Boom tube#Later Additions to the Concept|account for this discrepancy]].

===Explicit size changes===
{{main|size changing}}

Numerous characters are explicitly shown to shrink or expand at various times.

====Human-scaled alternate modes====
Blaster becomes a human-size radio; Megatron shrinks into a Transformer-scaled handgun. The cartoons and comics typically show this without explanation, leaving the reader to attribute it to advanced alien technology.

====Pretenders====
Some versions of the Pretenders are shown to explicitly shrink when hiding in their human-sized outer shells. In the U.S. toy commercials, Grimlock, Bumblebee, and Jazz in their new Pretender forms were small enough to fit in Powermaster Optimus Prime's hand. So, at least in that [[micro-continuity]], they were human-sized. ''[[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Super-God Masterforce]]'' featured Pretenders who did not have outer shells but rather an ill-defined holistic transformation which explicitly involved size changing. A vaguely similar explanation appeared in [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s ''[[More Than Meets The Eye (G1)|More Than Meets The Eye]]'' encyclopedia.

===Implicit size changes===
Characters often change size when transforming in a less explicit fashion. These changes in scale are usually attributed to size changing by that portion of the fanbase who like to find explanations for things. The other explanation is that the artists hoped the audience wouldn't notice.

====Transport characters====
In the original cartoon, Transformers that act as transport for other Transformers, such as [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]], and [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]], will often dramatically change size relative to their compatriots between one shot and the next. For example, Cosmos is ''much'' shorter than Blaster in robot form; yet Blaster easily fits within his spacecraft mode. Likewise, a whole squad of Decepticons can fit into Astrotrain's shuttle mode easily, yet he's an ordinary-sized trooper in his robot form.

Sometimes the cartoon would show ordinarily-scaled characters such as Cyclonus, Thrust or Huffer carrying another Transformer in their cockpit, implying either a tiny passenger or a huge vehicle. Even Omega Supreme, who is supposed to be huge, would have to have a greatly expanded scale for his rocket ship component to accommodate passengers as shown on the cartoon.

The Marvel comics commonly sidestepped this issue by not using Transformers as transport characters, or else requiring the passengers to transform into their explicitly smaller forms to be carried. Yet they were not immune to this problem. In one story, the Pretender [[Cloudburst]] exited his shell, transformed into jet mode, and then his shell (and [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]]) boarded him as a passenger. The fact that his ''outer'' shell was now much smaller than the ''inner'' robot was quietly ignored. {{storylink|Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?}}

Dreamwave's ''More Than Meets The Eye'' series of bio comics tried to explain this for characters such as Astrotrain and Broadside by saying they're able to expand themselves to increase cargo space in vehicle mode, though their armor becomes thinner as it is spread out more. Conversely, the series notes, in robot mode, all that armor and structure being compressed into a smaller form makes that mode stronger and more durable for combat.

<center><gallery>
Image:MakeHoistHuffer.jpg|Definitely ''not'' toy-accurate.
Image:Ironhide carried into Ratchet.jpg|...And not to mention [[Ironhide (G1)|th]][[Ratchet (G1)|is]].
</gallery></center>

====Combiner characters====
[[Image:DreamwaveCover6.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Since when is a sedan nine stories tall?]]
[[Combiner]] characters are often depicted as far larger than the sum of their parts. Characters such as [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] are frequently shown as [[That big green, fire-snortin' lizard|Godzilla]]-sized. Given that their limbs are mere cars and construction vehicles, this is patently absurd. ([[Superion (G1)|Superion]], by contrast, ''would'' be building-sized, given that his torso is a 100-seat jetliner.)

Combiners are also often out-of-scale with other Transformers; a combiner with cars for legs and another car for its torso should be only twice as tall as a one-car Transformer, but they are routinely drawn as five to dozens of times taller than their comrades.

====Scale problems and size-changing====
Some fans interpret the many otherwise-unexplained scale issues above to all be the result of [[size changing]], but this is debatable. If virtually all characters use mass-shifting (or whatever) to gain or drop a few feet of height for no logical reason, the technology would be pointlessly mundane. There's also no known reason for (e.g.) the Seekers to choose to get ''shorter'' when going into battle. A to-scale Starscream in robot mode could kick Bumblebee around like a soccer ball. There's simply no positive evidence that size-changing is so widespread.

===Undersized alternate modes===
Many Transformers are portrayed in fiction as having alternate modes that are smaller than the real-life objects they are imitating. Sometimes this is deliberate, allowing them to match their toy scale and/or be of a similar size to other characters; in other cases, it is essentially an artistic error.

Toys at the lowest price points usually include "mini" or "micro" in their name. [[Mini Vehicle]]s [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]], [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]], and [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] are usually depicted as smaller than other Transformers in fiction, even though their alternate modes should have them towering over other characters. This often results in minuscule vehicle forms; Seaspray is a tiny hovercraft, despite being covered with doors and windows.

[[Image:Hotrodpatrolcommercial.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Do you have change for four hot rods?]]
The [[Micromaster]]s are explicitly downsized Transformers, roughly the size of a human in the comics, meaning that they ''should'' have explicitly tiny vehicle modes... which wouldn't make for very convincing disguises. The Micromasters are about the same height in robot mode, but they transform into equally tiny cars, trucks, planes, tanks, and other vehicles that should be vastly different sizes.

Despite this, the Marvel comic featured [[Roadhandler (G1)|Roadhandler]] carrying a human passenger in his vehicle form, as though he were a full-sized car. The Dreamwave miniseries ''[[Micromasters]]'' suggested that the Micromasters were scaled down to interact more easily with "smaller beings". Whether that meant creatures of human scale or even smaller stature is never clarified, but the Micromasters' passenger compartments are presumably too small to accommodate human passengers.

The [[Mini-Con]]s of the [[Unicron Trilogy]] are another race of small robots who stand approximately the same height as humans and, like the Micromasters before them, are clearly modeled to carry passengers. Really teeny passengers. (Notable exceptions are [[Grindor (Armada)|Grindor]] (in his original body), [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]], and [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]], who become small one-man conveyances.) This results from the Mini-Cons scanning normal vehicles and then resizing them to fit, retaining now-useless passenger compartments. In the [[Cybertron (cartoon)|''Cybertron'' cartoon]], the [[Recon Mini-Con Team]] have slightly-larger-than-human robot modes, but their alternate modes are large enough for a single human passenger, implying either a little size-changing or that their cockpits are kinda cramped. Though the Recon Team all originate from Gigantion, and seeing how partnered Minicons seem to change size to fit their larger companions, a little size shift to accomidate a passenger doesn't seem too far-fetched compared to other scale issues.

Likewise, the [[Beast Era]] Maximals and Predacons possess roughly human-size bodies; yet when portrayed as vehicles on Cybertron ("[[Dawn of Future's Past]]", the [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicons]] in ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''), they feature seats and cockpits that, at their size, should be basically useless.

====Citybots====
[[Image:EarlyGalvatronTVMagazine1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|If you were ever this big in the cartoon, then we might call you a city.]]
[[City-bot|A few characters]] have "city" alternate modes. As actual real-life cities can sprawl for many miles, a [[city-bot]] that can notionally house a population of humans, ''let alone'' Transformers, should have a robot-mode that'd make [[Hojoni|Godzilla]] look like a gecko. Suffice to say, almost no fiction even ''begins'' to approximate the logical size of a true "city-bot". In the American and Japanese cartoons, all four were shown as massive robots capable of housing many normal-sized Transformers. Even so, it would take something along the lines of the grossly undersized depictions of [[Unicron]] (see below) even to begin to represent reasonably the colossal size of a transformed city; so in the context of Transformers, "city" is perhaps better read as "building" or "fortress".

These city-bots often have "small" robots forming vital components. Scorponok has a "human-sized" being forming his head. [[Full-Tilt]], [[Six-Gun]], and [[Slammer]] must logically be building-sized in robot-mode to be in-scale with Trypticon and Metroplex, but, again, are not drawn as such.

The Marvel Generation 1 comic sidestepped this issue by depicting Trypticon, Fortress Maximus and Scorponok as merely "large-standard" characters. However, Metroplex, during his one, brief appearance, was depicted as being immensely larger, crushing Quintesson attack cruisers under foot without batting an eyelid. He was still considerably smaller than a city, however, but this was justified by him merely serving as the 'transformation core' for Autobot City: Earth, not the actual city itself.

{{-}}

====Planets and planetbots====
[[Image:Cybertronplanet.jpg|left|250px|thumb|If we're generous and assume Cybertron is only the size of Earth's moon, then the larger visible buildings are roughly the size of Massachusetts stood on end, and you could wedge France into that gash. (Which would probably improve both Cybertron and France.)]]
Scale when it comes to planets is so fraught it's painful. The problems of describing citybots as "cities" is a thousand times worse if [[Unicron]] is supposed to have a planet alternate mode, and [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] is in turn supposed to be of similar size. Though different stories have compared Cybertron/Primus and Unicron to drastically different real planets, the fact remains that they are ''planets'', and yet are shown in such insane scale to characters as to suggest they are the size of a ''very'' small moon (or [[Darth Vader|space station]]).

To start with, Cybertron was shown throughout ''Generation 1'' with buildings visible from space. Although this was intended to show that the planet was technological in nature, it makes little sense, as the structures would have to be the size of small ''nations'' to be visible. If the buildings were in fact supposed to be skyscrapers (or even ''2000 A.D.''-style arcologies) sized for 10 m (30') robots, Cybertron would still be less than 150km (100 miles) across. The rather [http://www.starwars.com/databank/location/coruscant/index.html Coruscant]-like shots of Cybertron in ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' may be less distinctive or "Cybertronian", but are ''far'' more believable. (Some people reason that the Transformers' advanced technology, along with their large size and and their not needing to breathe, means that buildings actually CAN be that big.)

Unicron is a more extreme problem. Assuming no [[size changing]] occurs during his transformation (and really, what possible reason would he have to become ''smaller''?), in robot mode he would be so massive that any shot featuring a recognizable ''part'' of his body, let alone the whole thing, would be on a scale such that no normal Transformer would even be visible. [[Image:UnicronEatsGalvyMmmm.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Either Galvy is humungo, or Lithone is tiiinyyy!!!]]Scenes in the [[The Transformers: The Movie|1986 movie]] in which he directly interacts with normal Cybertronians are blatantly absurd (though totally phat-looking). Shots such as the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] fleeing his grasping hand, a starship penetrating his eye, impaling [[Brainstorm]] on his fingernail, {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} or ''especially'' him picking up Galvatron between his fingers before swallowing him, break any concept of "planetary" scale.

If Cybertron is the size of Earth's moon (and that's generous), and Unicron is about the size of Cybertron, his hands would be about the size of Europe and Galvatron (to the right) would be about the size of Denmark.

There is no explanation for any of this. Just go with it.

The depiction of Unicron's scale in ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' was (debatably) a slight improvement, in that physical interaction with normal beings was not attempted. He preferred instead to communicate with normal Transformers by possessing one of them. {{storylink|Sideways (RID)|Sideways}} Nevertheless, shots featuring [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] and [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] standing on his neck are still ''farcically'' out of scale.

===Oversized alternate modes===
[[Image:RattrapLOVEScheetor.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I'm tellin' ya, all da rats in Brooklyn are dis big!]]
Much less common are instances of a Transformer turning into an overscaled real-world object. Most such instances occur in the ''Beast Wars'' era.

Although the Beast Warriors are consistent day-to-day in their relative size to each other, their scale in relation to their real-world animal equivalents is more complex. While the bug characters such as [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] are obviously scaled-up, other characters are more subtly not quite the right size.

[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] and [[Tigatron]] are shown standing next to real members of their species, and they are both the same size as the animals in question. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)}} {{storylink|Law of the Jungle}} This makes them (and Cheetor in particular, since he's around more) the measuring sticks for the other characters. Therefore, [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] is a rather small rhinoceros, and [[Optimus Primal]] is a roughly normal (or female) gorilla. However [[Rattrap]] is a monstrously huge rat, the size of a large dog (indeed, the writers stated that Season 1 Rattrap was 5' (1.5 m) tall<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/8227a6ca84c0238d Bob Forward gives Rattrap's height from the show bible]</ref>). Likewise [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] is considerably larger than a real velociraptor. [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], however, is a tiny specimen of a T. Rex. In their interactions with adult [[protohuman]]s, the Transformer characters seem between twice and three times their height. Considering our ancestors really were smaller than modern humans, this is not extremely wrong, but it deserves noting.

However, thanks to the scaling up of the bug characters, it is relatively safe to assume that the Transformers scanned only animal ''forms'' and then rescaled them to fit their own size, which is actually slightly more believable than all other series, in which the Transformers use mass shifting to make their alt modes the ''right'' size.

===Artistic license===
====Variation for characterization====
[[Image:Prime has a huge head.jpg|left|150px|thumb|With 20th Anniversary Prime and Smallest Transformers Bumblebee, you can actually recreate this scene.]]
Some scale problems are for the sake of characterization. For example, Optimus Prime is routinely shown as thoroughly gargantuan, several stories in height, and capable of cradling humans in his palm. If he's the size of a real truck, Prime in robot mode should be 8–10 m (25'–30') tall, at best. He's drawn large because he's a leader character.

Conversely, [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] is sometimes shown only a few feet taller than an average human, while in reality he would be 3–5 m (10'–15') tall (the Marvel comic actually states he's 15' tall {{storylink|Plight of the Bumblebee!}}). He's drawn small because he's a human-friendly character, and a junior member of the Autobots.

With fighter jet alternate modes, the [[Seeker]]s should be among the largest everyday Transformers and would ''tower'' over their Autobot adversaries; instead, the animation depicts characters such as [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] as about the same height. Though jets are much larger than cars, they're drawn the same height so the battles appear fair. (And also to make it easier to animate; blocking a shot where characters differ radically in height is difficult.)

In a related vein, sometimes Transformers are able to enter human buildings, fitting through their doors and able to run up their staircases without crashing through. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}} A cast that couldn't enter buildings would be grossly inconvenient for telling some stories, so the animators fudge things.

{{-}}

====Intentionally strange scale====
[[Image:MarvelUS-01.jpg|right|200px|thumb|One side makes you larger, one side makes you small. (Op's been noshing on the first side too much.)]]
Sometimes artists draw a character at a different size [[Authorial intent|intentionally]]. For example, on the cover of the [[The Transformers (issue)|first issue]] of [[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|the original ''Transformers'' comics series]], Optimus Prime is extremely huge compared to the highway, bridge, and normal cars. ([[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] is bigger than usual, too.) This is purely for dramatic effect.

Another notable example is the splash screen for the "[http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/TF/bible/index.html World of the TRANSFORMERS]" website, which depicts [[Optimus Primal]] (in his original gorilla body) as the same size as [[Optimus Prime (G1)|G1 Optimus Prime]] and [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Movie Optimus Prime]], directly contradicting the size difference seen in "[[Optimal Situation]]" and elsewhere (except for ''[[Robot Masters (franchise)|Robot Masters]]'').

Artwork for the [[:Image:VaderVsPrime.jpg|''Star Wars'']] subline features [[:Image:Megatronvsluke.jpg|humans from another galaxy]] standing at the same height as Transformers.

[[Image:World of the Transformers ent.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Meet the Supreme class Munky Optimus Primal.]]
{{-}}

===The 2007 ''Transformers'' movie===
[[Image:Moviescale1.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Scale is absolutely not an issue in the movie. Riiight.]]
The creators of the [[Transformers (2007)|live-action movie]] took great pains to avoid out-of-scale issues. (Well, greater than previous franchises.) This is sometimes reflected in the choice of vehicle or the design of their robot mode. E.g., [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] is an extended-hood cab in order to have more mass with which to make a taller robot mode. [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]'s robot mode is nearly as wide as it is tall, with shorter, digitigrade legs, so the massive jet-former won't end up twice as tall as Optimus. In the case of [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]], his huge alternate mode simply results in a hulking, towering robot mode.

There are still minor scale issues to be found, though. For example, Optimus Prime can hold both [[Sam Witwicky|Sam]] and [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] in one hand. Comparing this shot with when he picks up [[Archibald Witwicky]]'s glasses a few minutes later, it seems the glasses have lenses a foot (30cm) in diameter. This is a visual cheat so the glasses are visible to the audience. There's also debate about whether [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]]'s head could compact itself into a slim mobile phone. The [[Movie (toyline)|movie-franchise toys]], meanwhile, are only intermittently consistent (particularly since some of the secondary ones are redecos of toys from previous lines), with the largest contrast among the "primary" toys being between Deluxe Class [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], a motorcycle, and Voyager Class Decepticons with helicopters as their [[Alternate mode|alternate modes]], such as [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Incinerator (Movie)|Incinerator]]. However, many of the wheeled vehicles are close to 1:35 scale, although Deluxe Class [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] and 1977 [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] are ''obviously'' not the same scale.

{{-}}

==Official scale guides ==
[[Image:Tfcartoonscaleguideic1.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Official Scale Guides]]
[[Image:Beastwarsscalepreliminary.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Beast Wars Season 1 scale guide]]
Animators and comic book artists received official scale guides showing relative and (in some cases) absolute heights. Some of these were published in the character model guides ''[[The Ark: A Complete Compendium of Character Designs|The Ark]]'' and ''[[The Ark II — A Compendium of Japanese Character Designs|The Ark II]].'' Though they were sometimes ignored, they still give insight into the official scale of characters in Generation 1. However, even here, there are problems. Devastator in the Season One scale guide was approximately 2.5 times the height of Optimus Prime, but by Season Two he was somewhat less than twice Prime's height.

''Beast Wars'' likewise had an official scale guide, which appeared as a bonus on the DVD set of Season 2. Despite this guide, the series writers have indicated some measure of disregard for relative scale, when it suits the needs of dramatic tension.<ref>[http://builtstlouis.net/tf/manic/m-botcon.html BotCon 98 report - see "ON THE SIZES OF CHARACTERS"]</ref> Thus, Optimal Optimus is ''ungodly'' tall in his first appearance, later reduced to perhaps two times the height of the rest of the cast.

{{-}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/6db411e03e75a342?dmode=source Estimated "real-life" heights for several Transformers, derived from the size of their alt-modes, archived from alt.toys.transformers on groups.google.com]

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Planets]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Toys]]
[[Category:Things that don't exist]]

Scale

2009-06-12T15:42:08Z

214.3.140.16: /* Multiple scales of same character */

[[Image:OptimusSnakeEyes.jpg|right|300px|thumb|And the truck's how big...?]]
'''Scale''' in ''Transformers'' is, not to put too fine a point on it, a crapshoot.

Virtually no era, franchise, fiction, [[Toy|toyline]] or other incarnation of ''Transformers'' has presented scale in a logical or believable fashion. (The only exceptions are the 1:24 toys for ''[[Alternators]]'' and ''[[Kiss Players (toyline)|Kiss Players]]'', but they [[Atari Hitotonari|have their own problems]].) Most fans agree that one must either ignore it or accept it, lest they be tempted to explain these problems and in the process fanwank themselves into oblivion.

However, the scale problems of ''Transformers'' still merit description.

{{bigquote|"Clearly, the pitiful humans at Hasbro are so overwhelmed by the awesomeness of Cybertronian life forms that they can't get the scale right."|[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]|[[Transformers Comic issue 23|Star Scream's #23]]}}

==Scale within toylines==
===Toys out of scale with others in the same line===
[[Image:DiacloneScale.jpg|right|350px|thumb|That little guy — who comes from the same toyline as all those vehicles — is supposed to be a normal-sized human. Yeeeah.]]
The early [[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1 toyline]], especially the pre-[[The Transformers: The Movie|movie]] lines, were repackaged and [[Redeco|redecoed]] toys from several different Japanese toylines. The crucial point is that the toylines were initially unrelated. The characters ''should'' be in scale to each other as they all have real-world altmodes that (should) pass for real vehicles. However, since ''[[Diaclone]]'' toys were not part of the same line as ''[[Microman]]'' toys, scale issues arose. ''Diaclone'' figures such as [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|Optimus Prime]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] are more-or-less in correct scale to each other (though problems already arise with [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], whose [[alternate mode]]s are based on ''the same car'' yet are not quite the same size), but many of the [[Mini Vehicle]]s from the ''New Microman'' line are clearly far too small by comparison. Even aside from their deformed penny-racer proportions, a [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys|Volkswagen Beetle]] Microman toy is disproportionately tiny when compared to a [[Jazz (G1)/toys|Porsche 935]] Diaclone toy. The disparity becomes even more obvious with [[Mini Vehicle|Minibots]] such as [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (a tank) and [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] (a hovercraft), who should be many times their actual size.

Another glaring scale problem comes in the form of the [[Seeker]]s, who turn into F-15 Eagles which, in real life, are 19.4 m (63.8 feet) long. Correctly scaled, this would make their robot modes ''colossal'' compared to most Autobots. Similarly, the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], despite also coming from the ''Diaclone'' line, are too small. Far worse is the other ''Diaclone'' combiner team, the [[Trainbot]]s, who have train engine altmodes, yet their toys are among the ''smallest'' of the ''Diaclone'' releases.

===Toys out of scale within teams===
Even toys specifically designed to interact with each other suffer from this problem. The [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] are wildly out of scale to each other—[[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]]'s space shuttle mode should dwarf [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]], with the others somewhere in between. Instead, they're about the same size. Among the Constructicons, [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] is designed to look like a gigantic [[Wikipedia:Image:Liebherr t282 1.jpg|"earth-mover" mining truck]]. He should be able to carry all his teammates in his bed, with some crowding. Similarly, [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (a Concorde jet) is dramatically undersized compared to his fighter-jet [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbot]] teammates. These scale problems are necessary to avoid misproportioned gestalt forms.

Don't even ask about the Protectobots with their [[Groove (G1)|motorcycle]] and [[Blades|helicopter]] limbs...

===Same altmode, different sizes===
Other scale problems come from characters who transform into the same (or similar) altmodes but whose toys are different sizes. For example [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] transforms into an F-15 Eagle, but his toy is half the size of [[Starscream (G1)/toys|Starscream]]'s. The same can be said for the Lamborghini Countach [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], who should be the same size as [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], not significantly smaller. These discrepancies are also seen in the other [[Scramble City]] combiners with Earth altmodes, whose toys are all smaller than similar earlier toys.

===Multiple scales of same character===
Although it was never really a problem in G1 (later retro-iterations of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys|G1 Prime]] e.g. [[Masterpiece]] don't count), later franchises sometimes released multiple versions of the same character in different [[size class]]es ''within the same product line'', usually limited to the leader characters. Multiple versions of [[Optimus Primal/toys|Optimus Primal]] and [[Megatron (BW)/toys|Megatron]] in ''[[Beast Wars (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' weren't exactly an example of this, as they represented different bodies, but ''[[Beast Machines (toyline)|Beast Machines]]'' began the problem in earnest with three different [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetor toys]] released over the course of the line. With one toy at the Supreme size point, one at the Mega point, and a third slight variant at the Deluxe point, there was no real indication of which size if any was the "correct" one. The same line also released two different [[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]] toys, two different Tankor toys, two different Thrust toys, and two different Optimus Primals (Though in the case of the Vehicons one of each pair could be considered a distinct "drone" version, in the media the "drones" and the "sparked" Vehicons were physically indistinguishable).

[[Image:TFAnimated RolloutCommand OptimusPrime toy.jpg|right|230px|thumb|Hooray. I'm in scale with nobody.]]
''[[Robots in Disguise (toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' continued the trend, with several prominent characters receiving a smaller [[Spy Changer]] toy in addition to their larger toy, such as [[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]] and [[X-Brawn]]. The ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' line featured both a Super-Con and Super-Base version of [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/toys|Optimus Prime]] featuring the same design at different size-classes, an issue repeated with [[Megatron (Armada)/toys|Megatron]] in ''[[Energon (toyline)|Energon]]''. The introduction of the "Legends of Cybertron" size class in ''[[Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' only compounded matters, as a plethora of different characters were released at a size wildly out of scale with any of their contemporaries. ''Cybertron'' also featured the first notable case of out-of-scale toys being at least partially explained in the fiction with [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]], who did change size over the course of the series.

With the explosion of toys for the [[Movie (toyline)|Movie]], even more scale problems erupted. The line offered both Voyager and Leader-class iterations of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)/toys|Prime]] and [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], not to mention nearly all of the movie's onscreen cast getting a Fast Action Battler toy which introduces scale problems between the toys and one another. The fact that [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] came with a small Scorponok, and a separate Deluxe class [[Scorponok (Movie)|Scorponok]] was released, only expands the scale problems when one realizes that the Blackout and Deluxe Scorponok toys are meant to interact. Blackout can carry the small Scorponok ''while'' clipped on to the larger one as well, effectively transporting ''both'' at the same time, which makes the entire assembly a nightmare of scaling problems.

This mishmash has expanded even further in the ''[[Transformers Animated (toyline)|Animated]]'' line, with Deluxe, Voyager, and even Supreme-class versions of [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus]]. [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], has an Activators, Deluxe, Voyager and Leader mode. And there's even three different sizes for poor [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]-Leader, Voyager, and Activator.

Originally, the intent was apparently to make the popular [[Optimus (disambiguation)|Optimus]] and [[Megatron (disambiguation)|Megatron]] characters available at lower price points than just "leader" class so that children with less money would not miss out, while also forcing [[completist]] [[User:ItsWalky|collectors]] to buy multiple versions of one character. The result, however, is that it creates further confusion about scale within the toyline, as the contradictory sizes of these toys leave it [[Personal canon|up to the fans]] to determine which is the "correct" version, either using apparent [[show-accuracy]] or other criteria. Sometimes this creates even further problems, though—if one assumes that the Voyager-class Movie Prime is the "correct" version, then he either has comically small seats for human passengers or [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] has absurdly large seats.

===Toys out of scale with themselves===
[[Image:G1 Broadside toy.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Kill me. Just... kill me now.]]
[[Triple Changer]]s create a whole new set of problems. [[Octane]] transforms from a 20 m (60') tanker truck into a 65 m (200') jumbo jet. [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] transforms from an Earth jet into an entire ''aircraft carrier.''

Even a two-mode toy can have this problem. Twentieth Anniversary Optimus Prime has wheels which are pretty tiny for a Freightliner truck, while his rear hitch section is too thick. These out-of-proportion vehicle parts were necessary to give his robot mode [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] proportions.

===Toys with roleplay altmodes===
The characters with roleplay altmodes such as Generation 1 [[Megatron (G1)/toys|Megatron]], [[Soundwave (G1)/toys|Soundwave]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], or [[Laserbeak (Armada)|''Armada'' Laserbeak]] are scaled to be human-scale (well, kid-scale). Since the [[size changing]] seen in the fiction is not possible for real toys (at least, that's what [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] ''wants'' us to think), this human-scaling makes in some cases for inordinately large robot modes. E.g., [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]'s toy, in robot mode, is taller than most other Transformers.

The opposite problem is seen with [[Megatron (G1)/toys|Masterpiece Megatron]], whose robot mode is in scale with Masterpiece Optimus Prime. The result is that, while he may transform into a very accurately-proportioned handgun, it's unmistakably much larger than the real thing. (Not that this has stopped him being widely banned as a "realistic firearm replica"...)

===Fanciful altmodes===
Most post-[[The Transformers: The Movie|movie]] Generation 1 characters (for that matter, most post-Generation 1 lines) are difficult to accurately scale, as they generally transform into futuristic or Cybertronian vehicles whose size we don't really know. (Or, indeed, they don't transform into vehicles at all.) The scale of characters such as [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys|Hot Rod]] or [[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Leobreaker]] is fairly arbitrary and can only be estimated by their relative size to other characters in the fiction (although most fiction is highly inconsistent in this regard, see below). Nevertheless, if one assumes that most vehicle altmodes are intended for human-sized passengers, comparing toys such as [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and [[Lightspeed (Technobot)|Lightspeed]] suggests the combiner scale problem continues.

===Big toys===
It goes without saying that the [[city-bot]] and planetbot toys (such as [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and [[Unicron]]) are not remotely to scale with normal Transformer toys. While they are indeed ''large'' toys, they're only two to five times bigger than typical Transformer toys, and thus transform into "cities" and "planets" about the (relative) size of a bungalow. The scale problems extend to the details. Some of the citybot toys have visible windows, which are too large for a city, suggesting instead a medium-sized building.

However, it's hard to begrudge Hasbro not offering us a [[Primus]] toy the size of an asteroid. Where would we keep it?

===An exception===
There has only been one notable exception to all of this scale weirdness in the toys: the ''Alternators'' toyline, where every toy is a 1:24-scale representation of a real car, and thus they are in perfect scale with each other. Unfortunately, for practical reasons this limits the choice of altmodes. A Blast Off (space shuttle) toy in scale with the Alternators toys would be 1.6 m (5.1') long, while a Broadside (aircraft carrier) toy at that scale would be over 12 m (40'). (Hasbro actually displayed [[Prototype|mock-ups]] for an unproduced line of "military" Transformers in scale with the Alternators during the BotCon 2007 Hasbro Tour; two of them recycled parts of ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Unicron]], and were thus [[Size class|Supreme-sized]], which made said potential toyline not particularly commercially viable for Hasbro.)

== Scale within fictions ==
Scale issues abound within the fiction, especially the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]]. Some can be attributed to [[animation error]]s, such as layering problems,[[:Image:Tinybluestreak.jpg|1]][[:Image:Huge Ironhide and Small Ratchet.jpg|2]][[:Image:CarnageMiniBlaster.jpg|3]] but some "errors" were deliberate choices, for a variety of reasons.

===Fictional scale vs. toy scale===
[[Image:TeenyCliff.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Frighteningly toy-accurate.]]
[[Image:Powerglide Astoria Marygoaround.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Actually, [[Kiss Players (franchise)|disturbing fiction]] is probably more of a concern than scale issues.]]
G1 ''Transformers'' fiction often depicts characters to the same relative scale as the toys, which duplicates the intra-toyline problems described above. The cartoon, for example, shows Prime, Megatron and Soundwave as about the same height, Seekers and Autobot cars as slightly shorter (though not as much as the toys are), and Minibots as smaller yet. This scale was carried over to their vehicle forms, resulting in differently-sized cars that, based on real world measurements, should be virtually the same size.

[[Image:Omegasupreme astrotrain.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I know he's meant to be big, but holy crap, dude!]]
For another example, the Marvel Comics portrayed the Pretenders as literal interpretations of their toys: 60-foot humans with full scale Transformers inside. The "disguise" aspect of this was later explained by having Landmine and Cloudburst encounter giant, transformer-sized humanoids on an alien planet which made them appear to be of a "normal" scale.

Transformers fiction commonly shrinks or inflates characters, relative to their toy sizes. "Giant" characters such as [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] are, even aside from any [[size changing]] for transport purposes, clearly not in the same scale in toy form as they are depicted on screen. [[Mini-Cassette|Cassette characters]] such as [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]]'s toys are roughly the same height as most Minibots, while in the show they are usually portrayed as human-sized.

[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] are usually shown to be of a fairly similar height (although Magnus is much bulkier), whereas there is a considerable difference between the size of their toys. By the same token, Rodimus is always depicted as being an equal stature to his opposing leader [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], whereas the toy Galvatron is instead the same size as Magnus. Optimus Prime is also usually shown as only a head or so shorter than Magnus (if that), which gets very strange when you realise that a [[redeco]] of Prime's toy forms but a small part of Magnus' robot mode.

[[Image:Beastwarsmaxgroup.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Airazor picks the Ultra-class figure.]]
The cast of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' were size-tweaked quite a bit, relative to the toyline. The most noticeable problem is Optimus Primal, who has an Ultra toy (the "level four" size, almost twice the size of the "level three" Mega next-largest Maximal toys), but is shorter than both Dinobot and Rhinox (both of whom are "level two" Deluxe sized toys). Further, Cheetor and Tigatron's toys use the same (Deluxe) mold, but Tigatron is a head taller in the show (both because tigers are larger than cheetahs, and because Cheetor is "a kid"). New and altered characters in later seasons were generally more consistent in size (and appearance) with the toys.

The ''[[Beast Machines (toyline)|Beast Machines]]''' toyline was ''far'' worse in size discrepancies with the cartoon. Of the Maximals featured in the show, the tallest character, [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], is the ''shortest'' toy, while the diminutive [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]] is a massive Ultra-class toy. And, sadly, the most show-accurate toy, Air Attack [[Optimus Primal/toys|Optimus Primal]], is a ''ginormous'' Supreme figure, towering over the other toys. (Weirdly, the King Kong-like size of this toy became canon in one specific [[micro-continuity]]. {{storylink|Prime Spark}})
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[[Image:ShrinkingHeavy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I lost thirty tons, thanks to the Jump-Cut! Thank you, Jump-Cut!]]
In the otherwise fairly toy-scale-savvy [[Unicron Trilogy]], [[Metroplex (Cybertron)|''Cybertron'' Metroplex]] and the other citizens of [[Gigantion]] are depicted as gargantuan in animation, whereas the toys are merely among the normal boxed size-classes. Within the animation, this causes problems with their Mini-Con partners, who are depicted as human-sized in robot mode by themselves, but when shown directly interacting with their larger partners, are scaled up right along with their partner... resulting in some temporarily gigantic Mini-Cons!

The Japanese ''[[Cybertron (franchise)#Galaxy Force|Galaxy Force]]'' release of Metroplex, dubbed "Megalo Convoy", included an exclusive [[redeco]] of the [[Legends Class|Legends of Cybertron]] [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/toys|Optimus Prime toy]] to indicate the "correct" scale.

The ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' franchise has its share of scale problems when comparing its toyline to the cartoon (not helped by multiple releases of some characters in different sizes - see above), with several characters seeming roughly one [[size class]] too small, such as the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]] being a mix of one Voyager size and two Deluxes, [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] looking rather diminutive as a Deluxe, and, most egregiously, [[Lugnut]] as a ''very'' squat Voyager who's shorter than even some Deluxes. (As with Voyager-class Bulkhead, more of his mass went into his width, plus his weapon takes away some from his robot mode.) Conversely, the traditionally stunted [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] is marginally too tall and bulky to be in correct scale to his otherwise fairly accurate core teammates, assuming one includes Voyager [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus]] and Leader [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] in their lineup. In fact, Animated is one of those toylines where you're not quite sure who you're supposed to base correct scale on.

===Inconsistent portrayal===
[[Image:OmegaSupremeintro.jpg|left|175px|thumb|No! Don't wash him in hot water! He'll...]]
[[Image:Omegasupreme-blasterandgrimlock.jpg|right|200px|thumb|...too late.]]
Even if a size was decided on, it often didn't remain consistent. The height of the cartoon's [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]], just to name one, frequently varied between episodes.

The [[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|Generation 1 Marvel comic]] is notorious for changing the relative sizes of various characters. A single Transformer's size is rarely consistent between artists. For example, Rumble and Frenzy vary in height relative to Soundwave. A panel in the "[[Time Wars]]" shows [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Scattershot]], and [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] all the same height. [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], titanic in his original appearance, {{storylink|Command Performances!}} shrunk steadily in subsequent issues until he was not much taller than the average Transformer. Fortress Maximus suffered a similar problem, shrinking in size even though he was explicitly rebuilt to be twice as tall as the average Transformer.

[[Image:Beastwarriors scale.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Beast Megatron's size vs. Optimus Prime's in America... and Japan. Looks like the Blasty Zone adds on a few tons to Beast Era characters.]]
Between the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] and the [[Beast Era]], the majority of the Cybertronian race considerably downgraded in size at the [[Great Upgrade]]. When entering the [[Ark (G1)|''Ark'']], the Beast Warriors are quite small compared to the dormant Generation 1 characters, especially [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]—but just ''how'' much bigger varies quite a bit from scene to scene and episode to episode. When interacting with the Autobot technology of the ''Ark'' and the [[Autobot shuttle]], the Maximals are often dealing with equipment grossly oversized for them (standing on the chairs to reach the controls, turning knobs the size of their heads); yet the ''Ark'' also seems to feature some human-sized computer control panels. {{storylink|Master Blaster|Master Blaster}} Without any height booster, Blackarachnia can interface well with these controls.

On the other hand, ''[[Robot Masters (franchise)|Robot Masters]]'' depicted Generation 1 and ''Beast Wars'' characters like Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal as being exactly the same size. Lovely. It's possible that passage through the [[Blasty Zone]] may somehow [[Wikipedia:Boom tube#Later Additions to the Concept|account for this discrepancy]].

===Explicit size changes===
{{main|size changing}}

Numerous characters are explicitly shown to shrink or expand at various times.

====Human-scaled alternate modes====
Blaster becomes a human-size radio; Megatron shrinks into a Transformer-scaled handgun. The cartoons and comics typically show this without explanation, leaving the reader to attribute it to advanced alien technology.

====Pretenders====
Some versions of the Pretenders are shown to explicitly shrink when hiding in their human-sized outer shells. In the U.S. toy commercials, Grimlock, Bumblebee, and Jazz in their new Pretender forms were small enough to fit in Powermaster Optimus Prime's hand. So, at least in that [[micro-continuity]], they were human-sized. ''[[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Super-God Masterforce]]'' featured Pretenders who did not have outer shells but rather an ill-defined holistic transformation which explicitly involved size changing. A vaguely similar explanation appeared in [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s ''[[More Than Meets The Eye (G1)|More Than Meets The Eye]]'' encyclopedia.

===Implicit size changes===
Characters often change size when transforming in a less explicit fashion. These changes in scale are usually attributed to size changing by that portion of the fanbase who like to find explanations for things. The other explanation is that the artists hoped the audience wouldn't notice.

====Transport characters====
In the original cartoon, Transformers that act as transport for other Transformers, such as [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]], and [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]], will often dramatically change size relative to their compatriots between one shot and the next. For example, Cosmos is ''much'' shorter than Blaster in robot form; yet Blaster easily fits within his spacecraft mode. Likewise, a whole squad of Decepticons can fit into Astrotrain's shuttle mode easily, yet he's an ordinary-sized trooper in his robot form.

Sometimes the cartoon would show ordinarily-scaled characters such as Cyclonus, Thrust or Huffer carrying another Transformer in their cockpit, implying either a tiny passenger or a huge vehicle. Even Omega Supreme, who is supposed to be huge, would have to have a greatly expanded scale for his rocket ship component to accommodate passengers as shown on the cartoon.

The Marvel comics commonly sidestepped this issue by not using Transformers as transport characters, or else requiring the passengers to transform into their explicitly smaller forms to be carried. Yet they were not immune to this problem. In one story, the Pretender [[Cloudburst]] exited his shell, transformed into jet mode, and then his shell (and [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]]) boarded him as a passenger. The fact that his ''outer'' shell was now much smaller than the ''inner'' robot was quietly ignored. {{storylink|Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?}}

Dreamwave's ''More Than Meets The Eye'' series of bio comics tried to explain this for characters such as Astrotrain and Broadside by saying they're able to expand themselves to increase cargo space in vehicle mode, though their armor becomes thinner as it is spread out more. Conversely, the series notes, in robot mode, all that armor and structure being compressed into a smaller form makes that mode stronger and more durable for combat.

<center><gallery>
Image:MakeHoistHuffer.jpg|Definitely ''not'' toy-accurate.
Image:Ironhide carried into Ratchet.jpg|...And not to mention [[Ironhide (G1)|th]][[Ratchet (G1)|is]].
</gallery></center>

====Combiner characters====
[[Image:DreamwaveCover6.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Since when is a sedan nine stories tall?]]
[[Combiner]] characters are often depicted as far larger than the sum of their parts. Characters such as [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] are frequently shown as [[That big green, fire-snortin' lizard|Godzilla]]-sized. Given that their limbs are mere cars and construction vehicles, this is patently absurd. ([[Superion (G1)|Superion]], by contrast, ''would'' be building-sized, given that his torso is a 100-seat jetliner.)

Combiners are also often out-of-scale with other Transformers; a combiner with cars for legs and another car for its torso should be only twice as tall as a one-car Transformer, but they are routinely drawn as five to dozens of times taller than their comrades.

====Scale problems and size-changing====
Some fans interpret the many otherwise-unexplained scale issues above to all be the result of [[size changing]], but this is debatable. If virtually all characters use mass-shifting (or whatever) to gain or drop a few feet of height for no logical reason, the technology would be pointlessly mundane. There's also no known reason for (e.g.) the Seekers to choose to get ''shorter'' when going into battle. A to-scale Starscream in robot mode could kick Bumblebee around like a soccer ball. There's simply no positive evidence that size-changing is so widespread.

===Undersized alternate modes===
Many Transformers are portrayed in fiction as having alternate modes that are smaller than the real-life objects they are imitating. Sometimes this is deliberate, allowing them to match their toy scale and/or be of a similar size to other characters; in other cases, it is essentially an artistic error.

Toys at the lowest price points usually include "mini" or "micro" in their name. [[Mini Vehicle]]s [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]], [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]], and [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] are usually depicted as smaller than other Transformers in fiction, even though their alternate modes should have them towering over other characters. This often results in minuscule vehicle forms; Seaspray is a tiny hovercraft, despite being covered with doors and windows.

[[Image:Hotrodpatrolcommercial.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Do you have change for four hot rods?]]
The [[Micromaster]]s are explicitly downsized Transformers, roughly the size of a human in the comics, meaning that they ''should'' have explicitly tiny vehicle modes... which wouldn't make for very convincing disguises. The Micromasters are about the same height in robot mode, but they transform into equally tiny cars, trucks, planes, tanks, and other vehicles that should be vastly different sizes.

Despite this, the Marvel comic featured [[Roadhandler (G1)|Roadhandler]] carrying a human passenger in his vehicle form, as though he were a full-sized car. The Dreamwave miniseries ''[[Micromasters]]'' suggested that the Micromasters were scaled down to interact more easily with "smaller beings". Whether that meant creatures of human scale or even smaller stature is never clarified, but the Micromasters' passenger compartments are presumably too small to accommodate human passengers.

The [[Mini-Con]]s of the [[Unicron Trilogy]] are another race of small robots who stand approximately the same height as humans and, like the Micromasters before them, are clearly modeled to carry passengers. Really teeny passengers. (Notable exceptions are [[Grindor (Armada)|Grindor]] (in his original body), [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]], and [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]], who become small one-man conveyances.) This results from the Mini-Cons scanning normal vehicles and then resizing them to fit, retaining now-useless passenger compartments. In the [[Cybertron (cartoon)|''Cybertron'' cartoon]], the [[Recon Mini-Con Team]] have slightly-larger-than-human robot modes, but their alternate modes are large enough for a single human passenger, implying either a little size-changing or that their cockpits are kinda cramped. Though the Recon Team all originate from Gigantion, and seeing how partnered Minicons seem to change size to fit their larger companions, a little size shift to accomidate a passenger doesn't seem too far-fetched compared to other scale issues.

Likewise, the [[Beast Era]] Maximals and Predacons possess roughly human-size bodies; yet when portrayed as vehicles on Cybertron ("[[Dawn of Future's Past]]", the [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicons]] in ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''), they feature seats and cockpits that, at their size, should be basically useless.

====Citybots====
[[Image:EarlyGalvatronTVMagazine1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|If you were ever this big in the cartoon, then we might call you a city.]]
[[City-bot|A few characters]] have "city" alternate modes. As actual real-life cities can sprawl for many miles, a [[city-bot]] that can notionally house a population of humans, ''let alone'' Transformers, should have a robot-mode that'd make [[Hojoni|Godzilla]] look like a gecko. Suffice to say, almost no fiction even ''begins'' to approximate the logical size of a true "city-bot". In the American and Japanese cartoons, all four were shown as massive robots capable of housing many normal-sized Transformers. Even so, it would take something along the lines of the grossly undersized depictions of [[Unicron]] (see below) even to begin to represent reasonably the colossal size of a transformed city; so in the context of Transformers, "city" is perhaps better read as "building" or "fortress".

These city-bots often have "small" robots forming vital components. Scorponok has a "human-sized" being forming his head. [[Full-Tilt]], [[Six-Gun]], and [[Slammer]] must logically be building-sized in robot-mode to be in-scale with Trypticon and Metroplex, but, again, are not drawn as such.

The Marvel Generation 1 comic sidestepped this issue by depicting Trypticon, Fortress Maximus and Scorponok as merely "large-standard" characters. However, Metroplex, during his one, brief appearance, was depicted as being immensely larger, crushing Quintesson attack cruisers under foot without batting an eyelid. He was still considerably smaller than a city, however, but this was justified by him merely serving as the 'transformation core' for Autobot City: Earth, not the actual city itself.

{{-}}

====Planets and planetbots====
[[Image:Cybertronplanet.jpg|left|250px|thumb|If we're generous and assume Cybertron is only the size of Earth's moon, then the larger visible buildings are roughly the size of Massachusetts stood on end, and you could wedge France into that gash. (Which would probably improve both Cybertron and France.)]]
Scale when it comes to planets is so fraught it's painful. The problems of describing citybots as "cities" is a thousand times worse if [[Unicron]] is supposed to have a planet alternate mode, and [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] is in turn supposed to be of similar size. Though different stories have compared Cybertron/Primus and Unicron to drastically different real planets, the fact remains that they are ''planets'', and yet are shown in such insane scale to characters as to suggest they are the size of a ''very'' small moon (or [[Darth Vader|space station]]).

To start with, Cybertron was shown throughout ''Generation 1'' with buildings visible from space. Although this was intended to show that the planet was technological in nature, it makes little sense, as the structures would have to be the size of small ''nations'' to be visible. If the buildings were in fact supposed to be skyscrapers (or even ''2000 A.D.''-style arcologies) sized for 10 m (30') robots, Cybertron would still be less than 150km (100 miles) across. The rather [http://www.starwars.com/databank/location/coruscant/index.html Coruscant]-like shots of Cybertron in ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' may be less distinctive or "Cybertronian", but are ''far'' more believable. (Some people reason that the Transformers' advanced technology, along with their large size and and their not needing to breathe, means that buildings actually CAN be that big.)

Unicron is a more extreme problem. Assuming no [[size changing]] occurs during his transformation (and really, what possible reason would he have to become ''smaller''?), in robot mode he would be so massive that any shot featuring a recognizable ''part'' of his body, let alone the whole thing, would be on a scale such that no normal Transformer would even be visible. [[Image:UnicronEatsGalvyMmmm.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Either Galvy is humungo, or Lithone is tiiinyyy!!!]]Scenes in the [[The Transformers: The Movie|1986 movie]] in which he directly interacts with normal Cybertronians are blatantly absurd (though totally phat-looking). Shots such as the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] fleeing his grasping hand, a starship penetrating his eye, impaling [[Brainstorm]] on his fingernail, {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} or ''especially'' him picking up Galvatron between his fingers before swallowing him, break any concept of "planetary" scale.

If Cybertron is the size of Earth's moon (and that's generous), and Unicron is about the size of Cybertron, his hands would be about the size of Europe and Galvatron (to the right) would be about the size of Denmark.

There is no explanation for any of this. Just go with it.

The depiction of Unicron's scale in ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' was (debatably) a slight improvement, in that physical interaction with normal beings was not attempted. He preferred instead to communicate with normal Transformers by possessing one of them. {{storylink|Sideways (RID)|Sideways}} Nevertheless, shots featuring [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] and [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] standing on his neck are still ''farcically'' out of scale.

===Oversized alternate modes===
[[Image:RattrapLOVEScheetor.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I'm tellin' ya, all da rats in Brooklyn are dis big!]]
Much less common are instances of a Transformer turning into an overscaled real-world object. Most such instances occur in the ''Beast Wars'' era.

Although the Beast Warriors are consistent day-to-day in their relative size to each other, their scale in relation to their real-world animal equivalents is more complex. While the bug characters such as [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] are obviously scaled-up, other characters are more subtly not quite the right size.

[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] and [[Tigatron]] are shown standing next to real members of their species, and they are both the same size as the animals in question. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)}} {{storylink|Law of the Jungle}} This makes them (and Cheetor in particular, since he's around more) the measuring sticks for the other characters. Therefore, [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] is a rather small rhinoceros, and [[Optimus Primal]] is a roughly normal (or female) gorilla. However [[Rattrap]] is a monstrously huge rat, the size of a large dog (indeed, the writers stated that Season 1 Rattrap was 5' (1.5 m) tall<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/8227a6ca84c0238d Bob Forward gives Rattrap's height from the show bible]</ref>). Likewise [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] is considerably larger than a real velociraptor. [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], however, is a tiny specimen of a T. Rex. In their interactions with adult [[protohuman]]s, the Transformer characters seem between twice and three times their height. Considering our ancestors really were smaller than modern humans, this is not extremely wrong, but it deserves noting.

However, thanks to the scaling up of the bug characters, it is relatively safe to assume that the Transformers scanned only animal ''forms'' and then rescaled them to fit their own size, which is actually slightly more believable than all other series, in which the Transformers use mass shifting to make their alt modes the ''right'' size.

===Artistic license===
====Variation for characterization====
[[Image:Prime has a huge head.jpg|left|150px|thumb|With 20th Anniversary Prime and Smallest Transformers Bumblebee, you can actually recreate this scene.]]
Some scale problems are for the sake of characterization. For example, Optimus Prime is routinely shown as thoroughly gargantuan, several stories in height, and capable of cradling humans in his palm. If he's the size of a real truck, Prime in robot mode should be 8–10 m (25'–30') tall, at best. He's drawn large because he's a leader character.

Conversely, [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] is sometimes shown only a few feet taller than an average human, while in reality he would be 3–5 m (10'–15') tall (the Marvel comic actually states he's 15' tall {{storylink|Plight of the Bumblebee!}}). He's drawn small because he's a human-friendly character, and a junior member of the Autobots.

With fighter jet alternate modes, the [[Seeker]]s should be among the largest everyday Transformers and would ''tower'' over their Autobot adversaries; instead, the animation depicts characters such as [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] as about the same height. Though jets are much larger than cars, they're drawn the same height so the battles appear fair. (And also to make it easier to animate; blocking a shot where characters differ radically in height is difficult.)

In a related vein, sometimes Transformers are able to enter human buildings, fitting through their doors and able to run up their staircases without crashing through. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}} A cast that couldn't enter buildings would be grossly inconvenient for telling some stories, so the animators fudge things.

{{-}}

====Intentionally strange scale====
[[Image:MarvelUS-01.jpg|right|200px|thumb|One side makes you larger, one side makes you small. (Op's been noshing on the first side too much.)]]
Sometimes artists draw a character at a different size [[Authorial intent|intentionally]]. For example, on the cover of the [[The Transformers (issue)|first issue]] of [[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|the original ''Transformers'' comics series]], Optimus Prime is extremely huge compared to the highway, bridge, and normal cars. ([[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] is bigger than usual, too.) This is purely for dramatic effect.

Another notable example is the splash screen for the "[http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/TF/bible/index.html World of the TRANSFORMERS]" website, which depicts [[Optimus Primal]] (in his original gorilla body) as the same size as [[Optimus Prime (G1)|G1 Optimus Prime]] and [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Movie Optimus Prime]], directly contradicting the size difference seen in "[[Optimal Situation]]" and elsewhere (except for ''[[Robot Masters (franchise)|Robot Masters]]'').

Artwork for the [[:Image:VaderVsPrime.jpg|''Star Wars'']] subline features [[:Image:Megatronvsluke.jpg|humans from another galaxy]] standing at the same height as Transformers.

[[Image:World of the Transformers ent.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Meet the Supreme class Munky Optimus Primal.]]
{{-}}

===The 2007 ''Transformers'' movie===
[[Image:Moviescale1.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Scale is absolutely not an issue in the movie. Riiight.]]
The creators of the [[Transformers (2007)|live-action movie]] took great pains to avoid out-of-scale issues. (Well, greater than previous franchises.) This is sometimes reflected in the choice of vehicle or the design of their robot mode. E.g., [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] is an extended-hood cab in order to have more mass with which to make a taller robot mode. [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]'s robot mode is nearly as wide as it is tall, with shorter, digitigrade legs, so the massive jet-former won't end up twice as tall as Optimus. In the case of [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]], his huge alternate mode simply results in a hulking, towering robot mode.

There are still minor scale issues to be found, though. For example, Optimus Prime can hold both [[Sam Witwicky|Sam]] and [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]] in one hand. Comparing this shot with when he picks up [[Archibald Witwicky]]'s glasses a few minutes later, it seems the glasses have lenses a foot (30cm) in diameter. This is a visual cheat so the glasses are visible to the audience. There's also debate about whether [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]]'s head could compact itself into a slim mobile phone. The [[Movie (toyline)|movie-franchise toys]], meanwhile, are only intermittently consistent (particularly since some of the secondary ones are redecos of toys from previous lines), with the largest contrast among the "primary" toys being between Deluxe Class [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]], a motorcycle, and Voyager Class Decepticons with helicopters as their [[Alternate mode|alternate modes]], such as [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]] and [[Incinerator (Movie)|Incinerator]]. However, many of the wheeled vehicles are close to 1:35 scale, although Deluxe Class [[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]] and 1977 [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] are ''obviously'' not the same scale.

{{-}}

==Official scale guides ==
[[Image:Tfcartoonscaleguideic1.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Official Scale Guides]]
[[Image:Beastwarsscalepreliminary.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Beast Wars Season 1 scale guide]]
Animators and comic book artists received official scale guides showing relative and (in some cases) absolute heights. Some of these were published in the character model guides ''[[The Ark: A Complete Compendium of Character Designs|The Ark]]'' and ''[[The Ark II — A Compendium of Japanese Character Designs|The Ark II]].'' Though they were sometimes ignored, they still give insight into the official scale of characters in Generation 1. However, even here, there are problems. Devastator in the Season One scale guide was approximately 2.5 times the height of Optimus Prime, but by Season Two he was somewhat less than twice Prime's height.

''Beast Wars'' likewise had an official scale guide, which appeared as a bonus on the DVD set of Season 2. Despite this guide, the series writers have indicated some measure of disregard for relative scale, when it suits the needs of dramatic tension.<ref>[http://builtstlouis.net/tf/manic/m-botcon.html BotCon 98 report - see "ON THE SIZES OF CHARACTERS"]</ref> Thus, Optimal Optimus is ''ungodly'' tall in his first appearance, later reduced to perhaps two times the height of the rest of the cast.

{{-}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/6db411e03e75a342?dmode=source Estimated "real-life" heights for several Transformers, derived from the size of their alt-modes, archived from alt.toys.transformers on groups.google.com]

[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Planets]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Toys]]
[[Category:Things that don't exist]]

Beast Wars: Transformers (franchise)

2007-01-29T19:07:06Z

214.3.140.16:

'''''Beast Wars''''' is a Transformers franchise that began in 1996. Although Transformers had previously been through one rebranding in the form of [[Generation 2]], that change was largely superficial. With the change to ''Beast Wars'', the Transformers brand experienced its first complete reinvention. For the previous 12 years, Transformers had been robots who transformed into various machines, but in ''Beast Wars'' the robots transformed into animals -- and not merely robotic animals like the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], but realistic, "fleshy" animals.

The announcement of this change sent waves of outrage through Transformers fandom, which had only recently become well connected through the Internet, allowing much more rapid dissemination of news and discussion than in the days of paper newsletters.

Behind the scenes, the change in direction was related to organizational changes within [[Hasbro]]. Hasbro had recently bought out their rival toy manufacturer, [[Kenner]], and transferred their boys toylines from the Hasbro headquarters in Rhode Island to Kenner's Cincinnati, Ohio offices. Kenner was asked to revitalize the brand with new ideas, and that is exactly what they did.

The ''Beast Wars'' franchise featured the following primary components:
*[[Beast Wars (toyline)|A toyline]]
*[[Beast Wars (television series)|A cartoon series]]

The bios for the initial group of toys and the comic packed with the basic Optimus Primal VS Megatron two-pack seemed to establish the line as a continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict on present day Earth, with Primal and Megatron representing merely new forms of the original Prime and Megatron. However, when the Beast Wars cartoon established an alternate storyline, setting the characters as distant decendants of the Bots and Cons engaged in a new war while lost in the distant past, the early toyline set-up was quickly abandoned and largely forgotten.

The hugely successful cartoon was produced in Canada by Mainframe Entertainment, but also achieved wide popularity in Japan. Unwilling to wait for Mainframe to finish the second and third seasons of the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon, the Japanese produced two stand-in cartoon series, as well as accompanying toy lines:
*[[Beast Wars II (franchise)|Beast Wars II]]
*[[Beast Wars Neo (franchise)|Beast Wars Neo]]

[[Dreamwave Productions]] had plans for a Beast Wars comic book series, but the company declared bankruptcy in 2004, before the first issue was released. Another Beast Wars comic book, [[The Gathering]], was published by [[IDW Publishing|IDW]] in 2006.

Despite initial misgivings by most longterm Transformers fans, ''Beast Wars'' has come to be widely appreciated for the quality of its toys and fiction. It is not at all unusual for a longterm fan, even one who has been with Transformers since its start in 1984, to consider BW to be their favorite Transformers franchise, a situation which would have been nearly unthinkable when the line premiered.

{{stub}}

[[Category:Beast Era]]
[[Category:Beast Wars| ]]
[[Category:Franchises]]<div id="wikia-credits"> From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</div>