MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Fire in the Sky

2013-03-16T07:52:51Z

Salva Veritate: changed 'North America' to 'the United States' in one of the continuity errors

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=7
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=62
|prev2=Masquerade
|next2=Fire on the Mountain
|image=Fire in the sky.jpg
|caption="If I talk to you for two minutes, I consider you my friend."
|title="Fire in the Sky"
|production code=#700-04
|airdate=[[December 8]], 1984
|written by=[[Alfred A. Pegal]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''While siphoning the Earth of its energy, the Decepticons uncover a long-lost colleague of Starscream.'''

:''Japanese title:'' スカイファイヤーの再生 (''Skyfire no Saisei'', "Skyfire's Resurrection")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''Fogo no Céu'''
:''Russian title:'' '''Огонь в небе'''(''Ogonj v nebe'')
:''Serbian title:'' '''Ватра на небу'''(''Vatra na nebu'')
:''Italian title, dub 1:'' '''Sfida tra i ghiacci''' ("Challenge in the ice")
:''Italian title, dub 2:'' '''Fiamme nei cieli''' ("Flames in the skies")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:FireintheSky snowball.jpg|left|150px|thumb|This snow isn't as fun as Spike said it was!]]

What’s this? A blanket of snow over the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'s volcano? The Autobots and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] engaged in a snowball fight? In July? In the middle of the desert? Something is amiss with the world’s weather. According to [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s scans, temperatures are 40 degrees below normal and falling rapidly.

[[Image:FireintheSky Reflector draincrystal.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Im in ur ice cave, steamcleanin ur crystal]]

Somewhere in the [[Arctic Circle]], the Decepticons have tapped a crystal shaft leading directly to the [[Earth's core]] to siphon the planet's heat energy into [[energon cube]]s. While excavating the icy caverns surrounding the crystal, [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] uncovers a Transformer frozen in the ice. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] recognizes it as his old colleague [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]].

The Autobots finally pinpoint the source of the Earth’s energy drain, and Teletraan I confirms Decepticon activity surrounding a crystal outgrowth in the Arctic Circle. [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] hastily assembles an assault team, and they [[roll out]], with Spike and [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] accompanying.

[[Image:FireintheSky DecepticonsrepairingSkyfire.jpg|left|150px|thumb|I don't care if he is a fat bastard, Thundercracker. You don't weld a bot in the pills. It's just not cricket.]]

The Decepticons have hauled the frozen titan out of the ice and proceed to repair it. Starscream explains his past: [[MYA|millions of years ago]], before the final falling out between the Autobots and Decepticons, Starscream and Skyfire were both explorers. They were charting an unknown planet, Earth, when a storm separated the two and Skyfire was lost.

Skyfire awakens and [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] welcomes him to the Decepticon cause. Though Skyfire is grateful for having been thawed out, he shows doubts about being a warrior rather than a scientist. He commits to the cause out of loyalty to Starscream. When the Autobots arrive in the Arctic, Skyfire targets them for destruction.

[[Image:FireintheSky Skyfire peers in.jpg|right|150px|thumb|I see you.]]

Skyfire opens fire, scattering the Autobots. Spike tumbles through the ice into the arctic waters. Sparkplug pulls him out, but they are trapped on an ice floe. They cry out for help. Skyfire is intrigued by the new lifeforms and tries to befriend them, not realizing that they are terrified by Decepticons. Spike and Sparkplug try to explain that it’s the Decepticons that are the true monsters. The naïve Skyfire takes the humans to Megatron to prove the Decepticons' good intentions. Megatron and Starscream promptly imprison Spike and Sparkplug behind bars of ice, and plan their execution, leaving Skyfire troubled.

[[Image:FireintheSky pileofparts.jpg|left|150px|thumb|They got better.]]

Optimus leads his Autobot team into the icy caverns, but a cave-in splits the team in two. Prime's group finds the humans and frees them, while the other team—including [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] and [[Gears (G1)|Gears]]—find the crystal shaft tap. Megatron discovers this second group and has his soldiers capture them. To test Skyfire's loyalty, Starscream orders Skyfire to execute the captives. Skyfire refuses, and in a fit of rage, Starscream blasts his old friend. Starscream then blasts the prisoners to pieces.

[[Image:FireintheSky Skyfires magicAutobotsymbol.jpg|right|150px|thumb|A changing faction symbol? It's Sideways! Get him!]]

Well, not really. Once again, one of Hound's holograms has saved the day, creating the illusion of blasted Autobot parts. When Starscream departs, Hound drops the illusion. An ailing Skyfire awakens and is pleased to see the Autobots functioning. The disparate Autobot teams unite as Ratchet repairs the fallen titan. [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] spies Ratchet's work and reports to Megatron. The Decepticon leader chews out Starscream for failing to kill the prisoners. Megatron orders his soldiers to attack.

[[Image:FireintheSky Memorial.jpg|left|150px|thumb|"Rest in peace, Skyfire." "[[Fire on the Mountain|I'm not dead!]]" "I can still hear his voice on the wind... *sniff*"]]

As the battle progresses, Prime and Megatron each grab shards of crystals and engage in a duel. Skyfire appears on the battlefield, and Megatron orders him to attack Prime. Skyfire refuses, and proudly declares himself an Autobot, attacking Megatron and his Decepticons instead.

The battle takes to the air as Starscream and Skyfire engage in an aerial dogfight. A midair collision sends Skyfire out of control. In a last ditch effort, his blasts bury the crystal, but Skyfire crashes into the ice. The Autobots mourn Skyfire’s heroic sacrifice.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (2)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (3)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (4)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (5)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (6)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (7)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (8)
*[[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] (14)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (15)

|c2=
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (9)
*[[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] (10)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (11)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (12)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (13)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (17)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (18)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (19)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (20)

|c3=
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (1)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (16)
}}

==Quotes==
"Not snowman, Spike. Snowbot! There's a flurry in a hurry!"
:—A snow-covered '''Jazz''', surprising Spike

"Okay, Spike. You rat on me, I'll splat on you!"
:—'''Bumblebee''', after Spike warns Ratchet about Bumblebee's incoming snowball

[[Image:FireintheSky Gears crashes through ice.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ironically, Gears is the one with the junk in his trunk. Well, truck bed, anyway.]]
"Ironhide's carrying too much lead in his caboose!"
:—'''Gears''', predating the "junk in the trunk" standard after they all fall through an ice sheet

"Lucky for you my laser has a defrost cycle."
:—'''Cliffjumper''' breaks Spike and Sparkplug out of an ice prison.

"Well, I'll be reprogrammed with a rivet roller."
:—'''Ironhide''' reveals yet another unusual piece of Cybertronian technology.

"I'm a scientist, not an executioner!"
:—'''Skyfire''' objecting to Starscream's demand that he execute the captives.

"He won't be forgotten, Spike. He will live forever... so long as freedom exists. We shall remember you, Skyfire."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s eulogy for Skyfire

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:FireintheSky Gears AninconvienientTruth.jpg|right|200px|thumb|ManBearPig - I'm serial!]]
* Jazz laughs at Spike's "I get the drift" line in Cliffjumper's voice.
* His voice apparently stolen by Jazz, Cliffjumper oophs and grunts in a Don Messick voice as he bangs into a tree. It's similar to the "What does it instantly immobilize?" flub from the later episode "[[The Immobilizer]]".
* As Optimus Prime muses about how the heat from the Earth's core is being drained away, Gears can be seen in the background sitting in front of a console with a very small screen. But during the closeup of Gears, the screen is ''much'' larger. The screen also makes a mechanical whirring noise as the view pans across a native village, as if the screen itself were moving.
* While Megatron and Starscream are talking at the energon cube-filler machine, Reflector places an already-filled energon cube at the machine, seemingly to have it filled. In the same shot, another Reflector bot's chest is all gray.
* Rumble's mouth moves after Skywarp taunts him, but rather uncharacteristically, he doesn't actually say anything.
* As Starscream berates Skywarp and Rumble for standing around, Skywarp's cockpit fringe is gray instead of black, and Rumble's eyeband is gray.
* The first bit of Skyfire that's sticking out of the ice doesn't correspond to any actual part on his body.
* After Starscream melts away more of the ice, that first part of Skyfire is no longer sticking out.
* While watching the Sky Spy's footage, Spike describes a "weird light", but the screen shows nothing of the sort. The big, green, not-a-light crystal is plain as day, though.
* When the Autobots roll out, the background is moving far too quickly, making them appear to be sliding across frame while transforming. It doesn't help that they aren't drawn very well, either.
* Appearing / disappearing Autobots:
** Only Prime, Jazz, Ironhide and Hound are shown rolling out. Gears shows up in the convoy on the way to the north pole. Cliffjumper, Ratchet and Bumblebee finally show up when the group transforms in front of Skyfire.
* "Give him 50,000 volts" - Starscream's "collar" is red instead of gray.
* As Soundwave deploys the electrical device, his face is misdrawn with a strangely pointy faceplate, and his eyeband is colored gray instead of red.
* "I knew him once" - the tip of Starscream's gun turns the same blue as his glove as he gestures.
* In Skyfire's memory monitor, a distant shot shows Starscream looking like a short, dumpy version of [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]].
* When Skyfire first wakes up and asks where he is, Starscream's mouth appears to be moving, but he isn't actually saying anything. In the same shot, the back of Thundercracker's head is white instead of black.
* The base of Megatron's fusion cannon is the same silver as his arm, as he introduces himself to Skyfire.
* "Hail Cybertron!" - Skyfire's face is white instead of gray.
* As Skyfire first takes aim at the Autobots, his Decepticon symbol is red.
* As the Autobots roll toward Skyfire in profile, Jazz's fenders are colored windshield blue.
* When the Autobots stop in front of Skyfire, they're ''tiny'' - maybe as tall as his feet.
* When Spike yells for help, one of Hound's laser blasts comes out of mid-air instead of his gun.
[[Image:Skyfire-Valkyrie-Arm-FitS.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Gotta admit it...that boy has really gotten a lot better.]]
* When Skyfire picks up Spike and Sparkplug, his entire right arm, including his gun, is drawn as the Macross Valkyrie-styled arm from his [[Jetfire_(G1)#Notes|original animation model]].
* "I'll take you to Megatron, my leader" - red Decepticon symbol on Skyfire again.
* Spike and Sparkplug's fur hats are beige instead of brown as they look at each other in fear.
* In a rather odd shot set up, Skyfire is too big to fit into a cave that Megatron and Starscream stand in. He’s forced to peer through the cave’s opening.
* After Starscream shoots his hand, Skyfire has an extra line on his face that makes him look like an old man (the same trick later used to distinguish [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] from his Rodimus Prime persona.) His arm jointing seems oddly drawn, as well.
* When Bumblebee tells Optimus that he can't find Ironhide and the others, the animation makes him look like he's floating a foot or two above the ground.
* Prime clearly drives into the caves without his trailer. When Bumblebee reports in, Prime does have his trailer. In the next shot, he lacks the trailer again. His smokestacks are rendered as thin red lines, too.

** Later, during the big fight at the end, Prime's trailer appears again so he can use its weapons.
* Gears is missing his forearm as he and the others peer at the green crystal.
* "We'd better find Optimus and the others before..." Ironhide's backside is entirely dark gray; there should be some red and light gray.
* "With pleasure, Megatron!" The bridge of Starscream's nose is light gray; it should be dark gray.
* As Hound gets to his feet, he leaves a copy of his missile launcher behind, briefly giving him ''two'' launchers. In the same shot, Ratchet's mouth goes missing.
* In the wide shot of Ratchet repairing Skyfire, Skyfire's got a red Decepticon symbol yet again.
* Skywarp's nosecone is all orange as he transforms and takes off.
* Prime's bumper is yellow as he spins around to transform his trailer.
* Megatron's missing his back gun barrel as he spins 180 at the waist.
* Optimus is shown mouthing Megatron’s order to Skyfire (to destroy Optimus Prime!)
* Starscream fires strange cross-hatch lasers at Skyfire. As he swoops in, a purple Autobot symbol is briefly visible on his wing.
* Spike and Sparkplug are both shown mouthing Spike's "Belt him in the burners" line.
* As the Autobots cheer for Skyfire's apparent victory, Optimus Prime's whole torso is colored blue.
* Skyfire's thruster nozzles are white as he approaches the crystal.

===Continuity errors===

* This episode's basic premise is one of the most bizarre and scientifically ludicrous conceits ever created by the cartoon - namely, the idea that draining the energy of the Earth's core would somehow severely and instantly affect its climate, causing plummeting temperatures world wide. If internal heat generates the planet's climate, why would there be big frozen zones at the poles? Doesn't Earth actually have a big [[Sun|external heat source]] that would offset the devastating loss of this (infinitesimal) heat source?

* Teletraan I says the global average temperature has dropped by 40 degrees. To put that in context, the average temperature was about 8 degrees less than the present day ''during the last ice age.''
* What exactly do green crystals have to do with the Earth's core?
* Superhuman Spike:
** Spike not only survives (without bruising, or bleeding) a watermelon-sized snowball headshot (to the face) powerful enough to knock him off a cliff, but also rolling down said cliff with enough velocity to knock over several full-sized Autobots without so much as breaking a bone. In fact, he just gets up and is *smiling*!
**Spike falls and nearly drowns in Arctic water, and somehow is not overcome by hypothermia. It probably helps that both he and his clothes dry out about five seconds after being pulled out.
** Both Spike and Sparkplug seem none the worse for wear after being casually tossed onto solid ice by Starscream.
* Someone forgot that the Seekers have a pre-Earth design; in a flashback to millions of years ago, Starscream is shown transforming into his F-15 jet mode (millions of years before his arrival on Earth, or the invention of jets.) The script for the episode ''did'' call for a Cybertronian alternate mode, but evidently the animators didn't get the message.
* Skyfire/Starscream's little excursion occurred before the Cybertronian civil war even began. Yet when they fly to earth, the geography of the Americas reflects what it is today.
*The Autobots can apparently drive from the United States to the Arctic in a fairly short amount of time.
* Just where did Skyfire get this whole "evil Autobots" notion, anyway? Did he miss that whole "conquer the universe" bit in Megatron's speech?
* Gears says that his group had better go find Optimus before they're discovered by the Decepticons. The group then stands around doing nothing until, sure enough, they're discovered by the Decepticons.
[[Image:FireintheSky Reflector formation.jpg|200px|right|thumb|And then there's this. Did the script call for this? What the hell?]]
* Couldn't four Autobot prisoners overpower their captors (Starscream and Skyfire) with relative ease? Heck, Hound's still got his missile sitting there, ready to go!
* Starscream is apparently dumb enough to think that 2 piddly little null ray blasts are enough to reduce four Autobots to scrap.
* It's never adequately explained where Skyfire got an Autobot badge from. And he tears the old one off like it's made of paper.
* Why was Skyfire's whole sacrifice even necessary? Couldn't the Autobots have buried the crystal from the ground?

===Rhino DVD release===
[[Image:G1toon starscream and skyfire.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"Are you happier having a [[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|red symbol]] [[Starscream (Prime)|than a purple one]], Starscream?" "Yes! It is far more exciting! And it goes so well with my red highlights!"]]

* At the beginning of the episode, the snow falls upwards and many snow effects are missing.
* In many instances Skyfire's symbol is miscolored.
* Right after he wakes up, Skyfire has a red Decepticon insignia in his chest in one shot, before they actually imprint the symbol on him.
* When Starscream blasts Skyfire, the laser blast is missing.
* The chapter stops for this episode on the Rhino DVD are Opening / Snowbot / At the Arctic Circle / "Destruction to Autobots" / An Illusion / Skyfire is Gone

===Continuity notes===
* Aside from astroseconds, Transformers also use astrominutes as units of time.
* Gadgets and powers:
** Soundwave can transform his right forearm into a cylindrical electricity firing module capable of generating a million volts.
** Ratchet uses the same forearm-mounted laser scalpel that he had in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]".
** Laserbeak uses his forehead-mounted microphone... to broadcast a signal.
** Megatron receives that signal with a flashing of his pectoral rectangle things, a trope that will show up again in "Countdown to Extinction".
** Megatron can rotate his lower torso 180 degrees, which makes for some cool hand-to-hand combat maneuvers.
[[Image:Combat deck.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
* Prime’s [[Combat Deck (G1)|Combat Deck]] cannons make a rare appearance in this episode, emerging from a non-transformed trailer.
* The first appearance of Skyfire, obviously.
* "We shall remember you, Skyfire!" Optimus solemnly vows. Yeah, especially [[Fire on the Mountain|next time we need a ride somewhere]].

===Real-world references===
* "It's educational, kids!" - we get an appearance of the Aurora Borealis.
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** ''Falcon'' engine burst as the Seekers transform and take off.
** Death Star super laser as they launch their attack a second later.
** Exploding X-Wing fighter (or an explosion aboard the Death Star) as the Autobots flee from Decepticon bombs.
** Clashing lightsabers as Ratchet gets blasted away from Skyfire.
** TIE Fighter roar as Skywarp and Thundercracker crash.
** Clashing lightsabers again as Prime knocks Megatron's cannon away.
** ''Falcon'' engine burst as Skyfire takes off.
** X-Wings and TIE Fighter as Skyfire aims for the crystal.

===Japanese version===
*The Japanese ordering of this episode places it toward the end of the series. This was done as it featured Skyfire prominently and with his toy being of [[Bandai]] design (and not sold in Japan as a Transformer), that caused some legal concerns amongst Takara (many of Skyfire's smaller scenes in other episodes were cut entirely). Though the episodes featuring him as a main characters were eventually shown, the scripts were not reworked to adjust to the new chronological placement, simply being more or less direct translations of the original English versions.

*'''Cut:''' After Jazz makes his "snow fair" joke, the pan across to Bumblebee has been cut.

*'''Cut:''' After Cliffjumper crashes ino the snow-covered tree, the scene of him shaking his head, Hound sliding by and crashing into a cactus have been cut.

*'''Cut:''' The scene of Gears pointing to his monitor and blaming the snow on the Decepticons and Prime walking up and bending forward have been cut.

*'''Cut:''' After Megatron makes his speech about gathering enough Energon cubes to conquer the universe, the pan across the ice cave toward Rumble has been cut.

*'''Cut:''' Following Teletraan-1's line, "Abnormally large energy expenditure in the Artic Circle", the scene of the monitor panning across the frozen tundra toward the large green crystal cone has been cut.

*'''Cut:''' After the Autobots all transform and leave the Ark, the scene of Prime driving next to the cliffside and Spike's line, "Arctic Circle, here we come" have been cut.

*'''Cut:''' After Starscream tosses Spike and Sparkplug to the ground, the following scene of him pointing his arm gun toward them and the humans reacting in horror have been cut. The sequence resumes as his firing on the roof of the ice cave to create the ice bars.

*'''Cut:''' Once Soundwave ejects Ravage at Megatron's command, the scene of Megatron pointing Ravage in a certain direction and Ravage charging down the cave have been cut. The sequence resumes at the inward pan of the empty cave and Jazz's line about "searching these tunnels for astro-minutes".

*Additional narration is added describing the scene where all the Autobots are standing over the injured Skyfire and Laserbeak sneakily observing them.

*'''Cut:''' Immediately following ''that'' scene, the scene of Megatron sitting down and spinning an Energon cube in his hand has been cut. The sequence resumes at his blinking chest.

*Additional narration, "and then...", is added to the scene of Megatron receiving the message from Laserbeak.

===Notes===
* This episode was produced as the seventh in the season, though it aired after the eighth-produced episode, "[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]".
* This episode contains the first time that Prime gives the famous "Transform and roll out" order.
*Strangely, the official [[Sunbow Productions]] cast list entry for "Fire in the Sky" names "Decepticon Workers" who "resemble Skywarp" as silent characters ("no dialogue") appearing in the episode. No such legion of Skywarps actually appears.
* Spike and Sparkplug have fashionable fur-lined cold-weather hardhats with ear flaps.
* Skyfire gets what may be the only internal monologue in the entire series, as he reflects unhappily on the Decepticons ethos.
* If you don't get a laugh out of Megatron nonchalantly beaning Starscream with an energon cube, there's no hope for you.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1985 — ''The Transformers'' — Volume 4: "Fire in the Sky" ([[Family Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1995 — ''The Transformers'' — The Autobots vs. The Decepticons ([[Malofilm]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Original Series: Volume Three ([[Maverick Entertainment|Sony Wonder]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Complete Original Series: Deluxe Edition (Sony Wonder) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — First Season Collector's Edition ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume Two (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 1: Series 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Classic Transformers'' — Series One: Part One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 01: Stagione Uno Parte Prima ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete First Season: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/fire_in_the_sky.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity

2013-02-09T08:14:27Z

Salva Veritate: Added plot elements of Spotlight:Megatron to the story of Megatron's life and rephrased the opening sentence of the paragraph that follows this addition

{{suite}}
{{factions|decepticon}}
[[Image:IDWMegatron.jpg|thumb|300x342px]]
'''Megatron''' waged a battle to destroy the evil forces of the [[Senate]]!

==IDW Generation 1 comics==
{{ongoing}}

{{quote|In the final analysis, I would happily wade across a river of corpses, chest-deep in rust and grease and engine oil, just to crush the Spark of the last Autobot standing. And I would not do so simply as a means to an end. No. I'd do it, Prime, because it would give me ''pleasure''.|Megatron to Optimus Prime|''[[Chaos Theory Part 1]]''}}

[[Image:Ongoing22 MaccadamsNewOilHouse.jpg|left|thumb|300px|His neighbors said he was so quiet and unassuming.]]
Long ago, before the war and under the reign of [[Nominus Prime]], Megatron of [[Tarn (polity)|Tarn]] was an [[energon]] miner, a member of the lower class, living near [[Rodion]]. The caste-ridden social apartheid of Cybertronian society—where your form determined your role, and your role your rights—sickened him and, being an intellectual sort, he wrote [[After the Ark: Nominus Prime and the Illusion of Progress|a treatise]] on how pacifist dissent and the exchange of ideas could change things. But then he was arrested for a crime [[Impactor (G1)|a friend]] had committed against the Autobot upper classes, and [[Whirl (G1)|one of their friends]] in the police beat him in his cell, intending to kill him, while mocking him for how nobody would care about the death of a lowly miner. Police captain [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]], however, found out Megatron was innocent and let him go. But now he was filled with rage and hate, disillusioned with his former ideology and realising the power of applied violence. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}

Megatron's samizdat writings began to circulate in Cybertron's underground, spawning the Decepticon movement. Wanting him out of the way but not wanting to make him a martyr, the Senate exiled him to the mines on [[Messatine]]. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} He continued to seethe with hate and frustration while at [[Mining Outpost C-12]]. One day [[Decimus|Senator Decimus]] arrived at the mine to announce that the mine was being closed immediately and the workers would be relocated. However, when one of the Senator's guards killed a worker for insubordination and claims of Senate corruption, Megatron attacked Decimus and killed the guard in self-defense (and was shocked to find he had done so). This started a riot which was quickly crushed. He and the other miners were en route to [[Penal Facility H-3|imprisonment]] when [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] broke free and started a riot aboard [[Longshot (G1)|their ship]]. They overpowered their guards, damaged Decimus's ship to ward off pursuit, as the authorities would focus on his rescue, and made their way to [[Kaon]]. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 1|Megatron Origin #1}}

[[Image:Apexthrone.JPG|right|250px|thumb|You should have gone to IKEA.]]

After evading law enforcement, Megatron joined a team of underworld gladiators under the tutelage of [[Clench (G1)|Clench]]. Initially repulsed by killing his opponents, the games eventually turned him more brutal and excessive, and he took control of the entire operation from Clench. The opportunistic Senator [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]], after seeing how much money there was in the underworld matches, sent his agent [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] to offer Megatron weaponry and technology to upgrade himself and his comrades. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}} [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]]'s Autobots were sent to investigate the gladiatorial games, but when two Autobots were personally killed by Megatron, Prime's forces stepped up their pursuit. Megatron used the gladiatorial games to drum up an army of violent malcontents and spread chaos throughout Cybertron. He then deliberately allowed Sentinel Prime's forces to capture his burgeoning army, {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} so that [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (pretending to defect) and Soundwave and his hidden cassette army could exterminate the Kaon Senate and then free every last prisoner. Megatron led the army of prisoners against the Autobots, beat Sentinel Prime nearly to death, and took control of Kaon. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

Megatron's infamy spread and his message of rising up against the ruling classes struck a chord with many disenfranchised Cybertronians. One such fellow was [[Drift (G1)|Drift]], who attended a Decepticon rally and was personally asked by Megatron to fight at his side. Megatron rechristened Drift as "Deadlock" and welcomed him into the Decepticon fold. {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}} Soon enough, the growing Decepticon forces had spread across six [[Polities of Cybertron|Torus-States]]. {{storylink|Parasites}} At one point, he met Orion Pax again on [[Sherma Bridge]], where they did battle for the first time. Orion chopped off Megatron's cannon arm during the fight, but the Decepticon leader came out victorious by tossing him off the bridge. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}

To Megatron's interest, his now-abandoned treatise had been a source of inspiration for Orion Pax, who had even quoted from it when he confronted the Senate and openly accused them of corruption. When the Autobot captain came close to Kaon during a mission, Megatron saw it as a chance to speak to him and had his Decepticons bring him in. {{storylink|The Hunt for Soundwave}} Orion, turned cynical by his time in the force, refused Megatron's offers for them to work together against the newest corrupt Autobot leader, [[Zeta Prime (G1)|Zeta Prime]]. Megatron let him know that Zeta was even worse than he seemed, having planned to let Orion die in [[Nyon]] so that he could use his death as pretext to invade the rebel-infested city and drain the citizens of their energon. Orion then escaped, but knowing the doubts he'd placed in his head would only serve to damage the Autobot cause, Megatron let him go. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}}

Megatron continued to keep an eye on Orion Pax's activities, spying on his encounter with the Nyon insurgent [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]. {{storylink|Ruins}} When Zeta Prime's [[Guardian robot|Omega Destructor]]s suddenly attacked Nyon, Megatron was surprised by how zealously the new Prime fought against the city's rebels, but his real interest still lay on how Orion would handle the crisis. {{storylink|Purge}} Orion turned on Zeta, who in turn attempted to kill him, prompting Megatron to intervene and force the Prime to retreat. Taking Orion back to Kaon, he again offered that they work together against Zeta's corruption, and this time the Autobot officer accepted. {{storylink|Choices}} As their combined forces invaded the [[Citadel]] in Iacon, Megatron and Orion Pax made their way inside and fought Zeta Prime in person.The battle ended with Megatron killing the Prime with a head shot, and with his objective complete, he then betrayed the injured Orion by shooting him in the back. {{storylink|Overthrown}}

With Zeta dead, Megatron conquered Iacon and declared himself ruler of Cybertron. His soldiers patrolled the planet's streets to "keep the peace", mostly by hunting down and capturing any remaining Autobots who opposed him. {{storylink|Transformation (issue)|Transformation}} During his rule, Megatron attempted to sway the neutral [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] into joining the Decepticons, but he decided otherwise upon witnessing Megatron ordering the execution of several Autobot prisoners. {{storylink|Rise}} Megatron was shocked to learn that Orion Pax had survived the betrayal and was organizing a rebellion against him under the name "Optimus Prime", and even more shocked that people actually had the courage to listen to him. He wasted no time in striking back against the rebels approaching the Citadel with the full force of his army. {{storylink|Broadcast}}

During the battle, Megatron ordered Blitzwing to distract the Autobots long enough for him to bring out the "vamparc annihilator", a giant [[vamparc ribbon]] built inside the Citadel by Zeta Prime. Though he managed to knock out a lot of Autobots, [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] arrived and took out the cannon along with the entire building, causing Megatron to fall to the streets and face Optimus Prime himself. He lost the ensuing [[The Transformers: The Movie|familiar-looking duel]] and was badly wounded after a failed attempt to defeat Prime by holding Hot Rod hostage, forcing him to escape aboard Astrotrain. As he fled, he warned Optimus that he hadn't won, he had only started a war unlike any Cybertron had ever seen. {{storylink|Endgame}}

At some point early in the war, he wrote ''[[Towards Peace]]'', a new treatise to replace ''After the Ark'', in which he described continuing to fight the war until the very notion of conflict was literally inconceivable. Then and only then would he finally give up his fusion cannon. At some point, he also created the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] to deal with traitors. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement}}

[[Image:Megatrong1idwpreearth.jpg|left|150px|thumb|450 years ago, his helmet was black, but now it's gray. The difference time makes, huh?]]
Over time, the war between Megatron's Decepticon army and Optimus Prime's Autobots covered the entire planet and soon beyond to the rest of the galaxy. Optimus grew to respect and fear Megatron as a calm, calculating and measured opponent, while Megatron himself respected Prime's sheer power and his skill as a tactician and as a leader. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} They would proceed to duel each other directly many times, such as during the [[Battle for Hell's Point]] and the [[Siege of Massunstrad]] {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}, and also fight by proxy, sealing themselves into [[Omniglobe]]s, "hypercongizance shells" which would feed them the entirety of data from the frontlines, enabling the sides to throw everything they had at each other for a prolonged period of time. The Decepticons didn't even spare the resources to collect their dead, who lay where they fell for eons. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement}}

Ultimately, with total war getting nowhere, Megatron would go on to develop a six-stage [[infiltration protocol]] to be used for conquering targeted planets, and selected Sixshot, a living weapon he had constructed with frightening amounts of power that only he had the "off-switch" for {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}}, and the similarly ultra-powerful Overlord and [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] to be the agents who would strike the final blow in each battle. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} As the Autobot/Decepticon war progressed, the conflict became so great that it created an impending energy crisis and threatened the stability of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] itself. When [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] left Cybertron, secretly pursuing alternate energy sources, Megatron ordered [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] to investigate his files, secretly assigning Soundwave to investigate Bludgeon. {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}}

When Deadlock deserted the cause at some point during the war, Megatron sent the bounty hunter [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]] to bring him back. {{storylink|Drift issue 2|Drift #2}}

Later, a Decepticon scientist, [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]], came to Megatron with a revolutionary, controversial plan to stave off this energy death by [[Pretender|polydermal grafting]], a process where they encased themselves in "symbiotic carapaces", or shells created from living tissue. When Megatron dismissed him angrily and cut him down, Thunderwing did not abandon his research, but instead experimented on himself. As a result, Thunderwing became so powerful that Megatron had to join forces with Optimus Prime to stop him. This battle at [[Thunderhead Pass]] accelerated the apocalypse destined to befall Cybertron, leaving it an uninhabitable, radioactive husk and forcing both armies to continue their war on other worlds. Megatron advocated that they simply destroy Cybertron to ensure that Thunderwing was destroyed, but Prime refused, and threatened to stop Megatron if he tried. Megatron agreed not to destroy the planet, but warned Prime that whatever happened was on his head. Shortly after the last big push by the Decepticons, Cybertron was abandoned by both factions.

[[Image:Infiltration6 takeyourpunishment.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Those librarians are getting really strict on late returns.]]
Seven hundred [[Units of time|stellar cycles]] later, in current times, it was discovered that as a result of digging through Shockwave's files, Bludgeon had resurrected Thunderwing's dangerous project, as well as Thunderwing himself. After being informed of Thunderwing's attack on [[Nebulos]], Megatron dispatched the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] in the ''[[Thanatos]]'' to Cybertron, authorizing [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] to do whatever was necessary to destroy Thunderwing, including the destruction of Cybertron. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}} However, Optimus Prime and the [[Wrecker]]s were able to thwart both Bludgeon and Thunderwing, and so destruction of the planet was averted. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 4|Stormbringer #4}}

{{quote|You will stand down. If you fight, you ''die''. There is no room anymore for mercy. In the end, you are ''all'' expendable. Choose.|Megatron's ultimatum to Starscream's troops|"[[Infiltration issue 6]]"}}

Megatron, meanwhile, was on Earth, investigating Starscream's infiltration team. He discovered that Starscream had stumbled across [[Ultra-Energon|Ore-13]], an incredible energy source which had been [[Spotlight: Shockwave|mysteriously seeded there]], and that the [[Air Commander]] was planning to use it to usurp Megatron's command—this annoyed him, as he had thought they were beyond such power games. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 4|Infiltration #4}} After seriously damaging the hesitantly rebellious [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]], {{storylink|Infiltration issue 5|Infiltration #5}} Megatron ordered the AWOL team to stand down and then took on a super-powered Starscream. Though the Ore-13 made Starscream a formidable adversary, Megatron was still more deadly than he, and Starscream was destroyed. All throughout, he acted eerily calm & measured and made both Autobot and Decepticon wet themselves in fear. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

Megatron took stock of Starscream's progress on Earth in light of the discovery of Ore-13 and called a meeting to make Starscream's former troops aware, in no uncertain terms, that any further insurrections would be met with deadly force. {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}} Initiating phase two of infiltration protocol, Megatron stole a prototype [[Psycho-Prism]] from [[Doctor Doom]]'s laboratory. He created an "array" structure in [[Latveria]] as a base of operations. He sent Skywarp and Thundercracker to the nearby country of [[Symkaria]] in hopes they will blame Latveria and start a war. He activated the Psycho-Prism which produced an aggression wave that made nearby humans more aggressive in order to further increase international tensions. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part One}} Doctor Doom, not appreciating the Decepticons' setting up shop in his country, tried to remove their base with an army of [[Doombot]]s. Megatron had no problem repelling them. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}}

The [[Avengers]] arrived and Megatron let them enter his facility where he scanned them looking for a suitable sample to leech power from as part of their [[mirror response mode]]. He selected [[Spider-Man]] and captured him. The remaining Avengers retreated and Megatron energized the facilities energy shield. The Autobots arrived and were attacked by the Avengers thanks to their heightened aggression. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part One}}

Megatron energized himself and all of his troops except Ramjet, who he didn't trust. Outside, the Autobots were able to nullify the aggression wave amongst the Avengers and they teamed up and started attacking the array. Megatron sent out his energized troops to repel the invaders. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Two}} Ratchet, Prowl, and [[Luke Cage]] were able to breech the array's defenses. Megatron captured Ratchet and Luke Cage while Ramjet and Megatron's new ally, Doctor Doom captured Prowl. When his forces outside were defeated, Megatron—on the advice of Doctor Doom—sent a holographic message to those outside that he would kill his captives if they did not surrender. They did not surrender and instead renewed their attack. Megatron blamed Doctor Doom for the failure and turned on him.

[[Image:Megsandspidy.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]

Megatron did not go through with his threat of killing the hostages. Instead he went out to face his attackers himself, holding Luke Cage. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Three}} He was beating the opposition until Prowl, Ratchet, and Spider-Man [[orbital jump|orbital bounced]] out of the facility. They had been freed by Doctor Doom and the two Autobots used the Decepticon equipment to energize themselves with [[Wolverine (superhero)|Wolverine]]'s super power. This added firepower led to his defeat. His Psycho-Prism was destroyed so there was no point in continuing the fight and ordered his troops to retreat using an [[emergency warp-out]]. Megatron himself stuck around awhile hoping to beat someone up, but Spider-Man wrapped him up in webbing, Luke Cage knocked him over, and the Autobots opened fire on him while he was down. He finally warped-out taunting Optimus Prime on the way out. {{storylink|Man and Machine, Part Four}}

[[Image:Megatrong1idwgunbody.jpg|right|150px|thumb|I also wonder.]]
After getting the infiltration protocols back on track, Megatron stayed instead of leaving Earth in the hands of a new commander. He decided to try out his new [[Size changing|mass-displacing]] handgun [[Alternate mode|altmode]] and the Ore-13 power. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}} He personally took charge of the Decepticon subterfuge in [[Brasnya]], guiding the facsimile of [[Georgi Koska]] in an attempt to escalate an international incident into a full polarizing war, and acting as Koska's personal weapon. (His alt-mode only works when a human is holding and firing him, which left him at a disadvantage against the Autobots, who could simply pin him down in that form. Maybe Megatron just wants to be held.) {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}}

When Optimus Prime arrived, Megatron transformed and started a full-blown to-the-death melee with his longtime foe for all the nuts and bolts—this surprised Optimus, who accused Megatron of letting the Ore-13 power go to his head and causing him to be "some raging braggart". Even with his fusion cannon disabled almost right away, Megatron gained the upper hand due to his Ore-13 high. Beating his foe down, he squeezed Prime's spark casing and seemingly killed him; {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} aghast, the Autobots moved into a full but ineffective counterattack, their only edge being that Megatron had no long-range guns left. However, Prime's death was a desperate ruse, and the Autobot leader countered with a surprise attack on Megatron, able to exploit Ore-13's weakness—the more it's used, the faster it burns itself out. Megatron almost collapsed from power loss and was forced to have Skywarp take him to safety before the Autobots could kill him.

Upon returning to base and being refueled and repaired, Megatron was hopping mad. Mad enough to prematurely call in his ultimate living weapon—[[Sixshot]]—despite [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]]'s panic attack on hearing that. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

During this time, he discovered a plot by [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] to overthrow him. Without saying a word, he beat the living [[Slag (slang)|slag]] out of the attempted traitor before tearing him apart and keeping his head as a trophy. {{storylink|Spotlight: Ramjet}}

Upon Sixshot's arrival, Megatron ordered him to utterly destroy the Autobots, throwing out the methodical "Phase" strategy. The other Decepticons were worried that Megatron was losing his grip—and since they were too scared to tell him that, they decided to revive Starscream to do it for them. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} Before Sixshot could obliterate the Autobots, Megatron recalled him to deal with a new threat—the [[Reaper|Reapers]]. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} Megatron deduced that the other Decepticons betrayed him by awakening Starscream, but decided not to punish them '''yet''', due to the present task of destroying the Reapers. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} After these foes were dead, Megatron was forced to accept Starscream and the others when it became clear the humans were aware of them now. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

[[Image:Bringingthehousedown.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Megatron's urban renewal program was off to a flying start.]]
Some time later, the Autobots were led into a trap; false information was planted by an [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Autobot traitor]], and they were led into an ambush and soundly defeated by the Decepticons and the newly-created [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. After personally ripping the [[Matrix of Leadership]] out of Optimus Prime's chest, Megatron planned to drop the Autobots into the midst of [[Insecticon swarm|three thousand horrendous things he had created]] on Cybertron. When all but Prime had gone through the space bridge, Prime grabbed Blitzwing's gun and somehow saved the other Autobots from certain death, closing the portal. Optimus was critically injured by the space bridge, which fried his circuits. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} This caused Starscream's status among the Decepticons and their concern about Megatron to go ''way'' down, with former dissenters like [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] becoming Megatron fanboys. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} By use of Sunstreaker's input with Starscream and Bombshell's experimentation on [[Hunter O'Nion]], Megatron was able to defeat [[Omega Supreme (G1)|almost]] all the Autobots in the galaxy...

A year after the defeat of Optimus, Megatron decided to take Earth and make it the new Decepticon homeworld. He arrived on the front lines as the Decepticons attacked [[New York City]], humiliating Starscream by outdoing him in destroying things with just one shot from his fusion cannon. When the US Air Force responded with an F-22 squad, as a show of force Megatron had Soundwave disable the human's missile targeting, followed by the Decepticons just standing there shrugging off bullets before making their attack. After one jet was damaged by Skywarp, [[DJ (G1)|its pilot]] attempted to take out Megatron with a suicide run, but the Decepticon leader calmly swatted the incoming plane, causing it to explode. As flames rose from the wreckage, Megatron emerged, completely undamaged, laughing maniacally. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}} Megatron continued to direct the Decepticon assault on New York, dispatching [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] to mop up the U.S. Army's ground forces and ordering the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] to combine into [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and destroy the underwater tunnels leading out of the city. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 2|All Hail Megatron #2}}

His plan executed flawlessly, the Decepticons continued their assault on the major cities of the United States, disabling or nullifying any attempt by the army or navy to counterattack. As he surveyed his handiwork in New York, he ordered Hook and the Constructicons to begin building ''something'' in the once-great human city and appreciated their "sacrifice" in using "substandard" building materials. Soon thereafter he was joined by Starscream, with whom he had a heart to heart and revealed he believed Starscream to be the embodiment of the Decepticon cause, but that Starscream was blind to realizing this. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 3|All Hail Megatron #3}}

When the humans had fallen, Megatron made a propaganda speech to his men in the ruins of New York. He heaped great praise on their efforts, both on Earth and across the galaxy, announcing they had finally crushed the Autobots for good. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} After making this speech (and dispatching Ratbat to attack a small group of mercenaries led by [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Commander Witwicky]]), Megatron entered one of the "buildings" to gaze at his newly prized possession... the Autobot Matrix of Leadership that he stole from Optimus. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}}

[[Image:AHM6MegatronVsIsrael.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]

That praise turned out to be empty, as Starscream started noticing that Megatron didn't have a plan now victory had been achieved, and the smashy-smash fun on Earth was him trying to distract the troops—because now he had an army of evil sociopathic murderers with nothing to murder and a doctrine of taking power. Not even smashing up [[Israel]] made him feel better. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} Eventually, Starscream made his move, revealing to Megatron that he had swayed the Insecticons to his side. Megatron easily swatted the insects aside, however, and explained to Starscream that he had known about his plans all along. Unfortunately, he hadn't anticipated Starscream to have rallied the Constructicons backing him up, and found himself having to fight the mighty Devastator. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}}

[[Image:AHM12-youreafool.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Ever so often, Megatron likes to remind us he's basically Magneto.]]

As the battle was interrupted by an attack from human jets, Megatron and Starscream put their differences aside momentarily to organize a defense. Megatron was not at all surprised by the attack, as he had planned the invasion—nay, the ''war''—down to the smallest detail. He explained to Starscream that while the Decepticon forces may have no real goal at the moment, he planned to remodel them into something greater after the war was done. Then he was suddenly interrupted by something he ''hadn't'' planned for: the return of the Autobots. After assuring Starscream that he'd be leader someday (just not right now), Megatron confronted Optimus Prime again, accusing the Autobot of coming for his Matrix rather than truly caring about Earth. He also revealed that Prime's supposedly "innocent" humans were planning to nuke New York, killing millions of their own just to get rid of the Decepticons. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 11|All Hail Megatron #11}}

Prime retorted that it wasn't about the humans, it was about the difference between him and Megatron—the difference between Autobots and Decepticons. The two came to blows, and Megatron eventually came out on top by throwing Prime into a building. He ordered the Decepticons to leave Earth, leaving the Autobots to be killed by the humans' nuke... only to be shot in the face by [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], wielding a powerful weapon reverse-engineered from Cybertronian technology. Injured and disoriented by the blast, Megatron was finished off when Optimus Prime got back up and smashed his face in with his own fusion cannon. As he wanted to ''take'' leadership rather than just have it fall in his hands, Starscream picked up his damaged leader and took him off the planet. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

[[Image:AllHisEngines-Megatron.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Pretty sure when you float in a bacta tank you're supposed to be wearing a diaper.]]

On board Astrotrain, Megatron was put on life support and was tended to by Soundwave and his cassettes. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Uneasy Lies the Head}}

The Decepticons eventually settled on a desolate asteroid and Megatron spent the next three years in a [[CR chamber|CR tank]]. He was somehow conscious and aware of current events during his recovery. Megatron was forced to simply watch as most of the Decepticon army languished in inactivity and slowly began to unravel under Starscream's leadership. {{storylink|All His Engines}} But despite Megatron's mental health and awareness, Soundwave eventually realized that his body was beyond repair. He convinced Shockwave, who had been given access to plenty of resources for his space bridge project, to help him build a brand new body for Megatron's consciousness to inhabit. They were successful, and even included space bridge technology in Megatron himself, allowing him to create warp portals to Earth.

Back in action, Megatron devised a plan to destabilize the relationship between the humans and Autobots on Earth. Together with Soundwave and Shockwave, he chopped up his old body and used it to create human-scaled replicas of his former gun mode, containing small pieces of his own consciousness. Starscream caught them in the act, but wasn't too shocked to learn of Megatron's return, as he knew it had been inevitable. Megatron was unable to take back leadership of the Decepticons at the moment, however, as Starscream was in possession of the Matrix of Leadership, an object which Megatron considered a threat due to its mysterious nature. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}}

[[Image:Ongoing Issue 13 - Megatron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Ever see the movie ''Tron''?"]]

When [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]] infiltrated the Decepticons' asteroid base and recovered the Matrix from Starscream, Megatron stepped in to intercept the Autobot. Rodimus panicked when coming upon the reborn Decepticon commander and held up the Matrix to try and ward him off. But Megatron simply shot Rodimus at point-blank range, blasting him out into space, Matrix and all. Intent on reestablishing his authority, Megatron then informed Soundwave to gather the other Decepticons so he could address them. {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}}

Distrustful of Shockwave's motives for preparing his new body, wary of Soundwave's constant surveillance, and repulsed by the state of his once fearsome Decepticon war machine, Megatron decided that he needed to unequivocally reestablish dominance over the now Matrix-less Starscream. His intended to beat Starscream near to death, thereby allowing both of them to work out their frustrations with Starscream's inability to lead effectively over the three years Megatron was incapacitated. However, Starscream did not want to fight. He was devastated by his loss of the Matrix and his inability to command the obedience of the Decepticon forces in Megatron's absence despite possessing the Matrix, and simply wanted Megatron to kill him and get it over with, if that was what Megatron intended to do. Megatron, instead of accepting Starscream's refusal to engage him, goaded the former Matrix-bearer into opening fire upon him. This forcds Starscream to both flee and fight for his life so that he might escape Megatron's vengeance. Megatron continues to bait Starscream into conflict as he tries to run, and eventually achieved his desire to beat him into submission, which re-ignited Starscream's scheming nature, and the desire to lead the Decepticons once again, which Megatron believes is necessary for the proper functioning of his Decepticons. {{storylink|Spotlight: Megatron}}

Megatron, aided byShockwave, moved to immediately implement the first stage of his planned vengeance against the Autobots and the citizens of Earth by sending a container full of guns based on his former alternate mode ( which were made from his old body), as well as his old head, through a space bridge to Earth, where it landed in [[Quetzaltenango]], [[Mexico]]. Without the knowledge of any human government, the powerful weapons were then smuggled into the United States by gun enthusiasts and civilians looking for anti-Transformer weaponry. This allowed Megatron's consciousness to spread throughout the land, until it was focused enough to contact one particular owner of a Megatron gun: [[Joe Gladki]]. He deceived and manipulated the paranoid human, and eventually convinced him to perform an assassination attempt on [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], the new Autobot leader. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} In their ignorance, the Autobots then mistook Gladki's gun for Megatron himself and held it captive. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 1: The Demolished Man|The Demolished Man}}

With the Autobots in chaos, Megatron started the next phase of his plan and returned to Earth personally, where he used his new stealth bomber mode to shoot down a plane carrying Optimus Prime and several other Autobots. He then hunted down [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], who was in charge following the loss of both Bumblebee and Prime, and killed some Mexicans attacking Magnus's troops with Megatron guns just because. With his powerful new body, he effortlessly defeated the entire Autobot team and killed some of their [[Skywatch]] allies. Ultra Magnus tried to stop him, telling Megatron that he was back for the Autobots and not the humans, but Megatron assured him that humanity was his real target. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies|Woken Furies}}

Megatron revealed that his entire scheme was a plot to try and crush Optimus Prime's spirit and ruin the fragile alliance between humanity and the Autobots by arming deranged and unstable humans with advanced weaponry based on his old body, thus forcing the Autobots to choose between fighting the humans or allowing them to kill them. He dumped several of the Autobots in a heavily populated area and mind controlled three already paranoid humans to kill the Autobots. He also took Ultra Magnus hostage, having Soundwave keep a weapon trained on him as he taunted Prime about the no win situation he had created. However, he also revealed to Prime that he was controlling the humans, and in a bid to distract him enough to break the mental control, Prime shot Soundwave in the head, badly wounding him. Distraught and furious that his faithful lieutenant had been wounded, Megatron chose to flee to get Soundwave medical attention, forcing him to break communication. Unfortunately however, despite this Megatron's plan succeeded. Jazz was forced to kill a human to save Bumblebee's life, increasing the paranoia and hatred that humanity felt for the Autobots. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|Burning Chrome}}

With Soundwave wounded severely, Megatron took him to a temporary lab that Shockwave had set up on Earth, to have Soundwave repaired. However Shockwave noted that much of the Decepticon's resources had been used to construct Megatron's new body and the new space bridge, and it would take a great deal of time to properly rebuild Soundwave. It was at this point that Optimus Prime attacked again and after threatening Shockwave, goaded Megatron into a confrontation. Megatron ordered his troops not to attack Prime, wanting them to watch as he crippled the Autobot leader and left him for the humans to kill. However one thing Megatron didn't suspect was for Prime to be desperate enough to drop a satellite on top of him, in an effort to kill him once and for all.

However Megatron's new body, empowered greatly by Ore-13, was virtually unharmed by the attack. He beat Prime senseless but then, shockingly, surrendered to the Autobots and was promptly imprisoned inside Omega Supreme. Optimus demanded to know why he surrendered and Megatron taunted him by revealing that Spike Witwicky had murdered a Decepticon in cold blood and told him the humans couldn't be trusted, mocking Prime's desire to work with the humans and warning him that he had doomed his Autobots by allying with Skywatch. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 5: Enemy Mine|Enemy Mine}}

Prime immediately had Prowl begin investigating Spike and Skywatch, and one of the first things Prowl did was quiz Megatron on what he knew about Spike's activities. Megatron told him what he needed to know after a little verbal sparring. {{storylink|Police Action: Prologue}}

When Rodimus returned to Earth and warned the Autobots that [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] had taken control of Cybertron, now habitable once more thanks to Alpha Trion repairing the ravaged world and Ironhide and Sunstreaker having wiped out the Swarm, Optimus decided to lead the Autobots to claim their homeworld back from the insane Galvatron. He also decided to bring both Megatron and the Matrix, believing that the humans would be less at risk of Decepticon attacks if Megatron and the Matrix were both off earth. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}}

On the way to Cybertron, Megatron was fully scanned by both Ratchet and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], who, along with [[Xaaron]] had come to assist the Autobots in making sure Megatron was secure and to provide legal counsel in how to treat him as he was now a prisoner of war. Megatron was silent while they confirmed that he had no concealed weaponry on him. Shortly after this, Prime himself came to talk to Megatron, wanting for once to have an actual conversation with his old foe and try to make peace, seeing the situation as a chance to finally end the war. Initially skeptical of Prime's reasons for talking to him, when Prime released Megatron from his bonds. Megatron challenged Prime's motto of "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" by pointing out that it was he, not Prime, who had stood up for the Cybertronians who were treated as little more than slaves by the corrupt ruling class of Cybertron and claiming that the only true way to bring peace to the universe was through conquest. After arguing about their conflicting viewpoints the two began to remember old battles and the numerous near death experiences, even laughing together as they shared war stories. It was then that Optimus tried to reach out to Megatron, offering him the chance to end the war once and for all with a handshake, telling him that all he had to do was tell him that he wanted the war to end and it would. Megatron appeared to consider it for a moment but ultimately remained silent. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}

Under pressure to decide whether Megatron would be executed or imprisoned should he be found guilty of crimes against the species and genocide, Prime confronted Megatron and asked him if he regretted any of his actions. Megatron coldly replied that he did not and in fact only regretted that he hadn't done more and killed more Autobots, claiming that he would kill Autobots solely for pleasure and that as long as anyone stood in his way he would kill them. He also claimed that Optimus was secretly glad for the war, taunting him in a manner similar to the way Whirl had once taunted Megatron by pointing out that if the war had never happened Optimus would have lived and died as a nobody, with no one knowing or caring who he was, but because of Megatron Optimus had become famous and the most respected and worshipped Cybertronian of all. It was a taunt designed to make Prime want to kill him and Optimus nearly did, activating the Variable Voltage Harness. Omega Supreme managed to cut the power in time and Megatron, struggling to stay conscious, offered Prime his thanks for saving his life all those years ago in Rodion. Shocked by his actions Prime realised that Megatron wanted to die and wanted him to be the one to kill him.

This was confirmed when he asked Megatron what HE wanted his punishment to be if found guilty at his trial. Death or imprisonment. Megatron calmly replied that he chose death. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}

On the way to Cybertron, Megatron demanded to know who or what was attacking the planet, questioning whether it was Starscream, Shockwave or even Thunderwing. Optimus refused to answer, stating that now Megatron was a prisoner everything going on outside the walls of his cell was no longer his concern and questioning why Megatron was suddenly so sentimental. Megatron ominously noted that Cybertron was more than just a metal world and that if it was in the wrong hands they were all in danger. He also threatened Prime but Optimus simply left the cell, no longer willing to speak with Megatron. {{storylink| Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}}

As the battle with the [[Sweep]]s and Galvatron raged across Cybertron, Megatron chose this moment to reveal the ace he had up his sleeve: The Autobots had confiscated a number of the guns made from his old body, which he was able to take control of and use to upgrade himself into a secondary armored mode. This allowed him to break free of his restraints within Omega Supreme, cackling insanely as he broke loose and confronted both the Autobots and the gathered Sweeps, declaring that Cybertron belonged to him and he would not allow Galvatron to have it. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}}

[[Image:Megatron Chaospt4 Genesis.jpg|right|thumb|200px|End...of...line...]]
Tearing through the Sweeps with ease, Megatron summoned his Decepticon forces to kill the Autobots gathered on Cybertron, using a beacon built into his new body to lead them to exactly where he was. While Megatron fought the Sweeps his Decepticons came close to overwhelming the battered and exhausted Autobots, before [[D-Void]], acting through the [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]], summoned all the Decepticons to combine into a gigantic monster along with the Sweeps, a monster that began attacking Cybertron and the Autobots. Megatron ordered Prime to come join him in battle against the monster but Prime replied that as he had to deal with Galvatron, it would be up to Megatron to stop the advancing monstrosity. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}}

As the stunned Autobots watched, Megatron, though gravely wounded and missing an arm, resisted D-Void's control and not only fought but destroyed the Deceptigod, blasting it apart with one massive beam from his weapons. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}} In the chaos that followed Galvatron's defeat and the restoration of Cybertron, Megatron was nowhere to be found. As Optimus Prime exiled himself from Cybertron weeks later, he mused that his nemesis must still be out there somewhere. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

Months after what had become known as the "Chaos Event", Megatron wandered into a rebuilt [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] from the wilderness Cybertron had become, heavily damaged and carrying a bunch of severed Sweep heads. {{storylink|The End of the Beginning of the World}} He claimed to come in peace, a claim that was hardly convincing to Bumblebee's Autobots overseeing the city who opted to kill him on sight. They were stopped by Iacon's Decepticon population, who saw Megatron's actions during the Chaos Event as those of a hero and forced them to take him into custody instead. He requested to talk to Bumblebee, who refused on the grounds that his "talk" with Optimus Prime had gone nowhere, and was instead approached by Starscream. {{storylink|City on Fire}}

Millions of years after the end of the war, when the Autobots were finally at peace, [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] still believed Megatron to be alive and promised a young Autobot they would defeat him again if he ever returned. {{storylink|Pax Cybertronia (issue)|Pax Cybertronia}} This may have actually have happened, or it may just have been a vision Ironhide had during the Chaos Event. {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}}

===Spotlight: Mirage===
{{note|The events of ''Spotlight: Mirage'' are presented as a dream sequence of Mirage, and may possibly represent an alternate/unknown continuity.}}
With most of the Autobots in the galaxy defeated, Megatron chafed to end the war quickly. He demanded [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] track the last pocket of Autobot resistance down for the Decepticons. The mercenary demanded a majority share in all energon mining operations, a deal which outraged Megatron, until Mirage pointed out it was a small price to pay to end the war. After Optimus Prime surrendered, Megatron demanded the prisoners be executed despite Mirage's promise to spare Autobot lives. Seeing Mirage's hesitation, Megatron appealed to his greed. {{storylink|Spotlight: Mirage}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
* In "[[Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2]]", we see that Megatron's helmet is, in fact, [[:Image:MegatronOrigin2 Megs hair.jpg|a helmet and not part of his head]] (at least in this continuity). Upon removing his helmet, Megatron then briefly unfurls a crest. The significance of this moment is not explained, nor is it ever revisited. Thankfully.

[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Gladiators]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]

Hardhead (G1)

2013-02-05T06:50:05Z

Salva Veritate: Added a summary of Hardhead's appearance in 'Syndromica 2' and made phrase changes to the summary of Hardhead's appearance in "Syndromica 1'

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig2|the Headmaster from Generation 1|the Predacon from Beast Wars Neo|Hardhead (BWN)}}
:''Hardhead is an [[Autobot]] [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:HardH.gif|right|274px|thumb|No, my toy's head looks nothing remotely like this, why do you ask?]]
'''Hardhead''' is a soldier to his core. A soldier with a stubborn streak a [[Units of length|megamile]] wide. He's stubborn to the point of rejecting outright any path but his own, any idea that goes against his natural instinct or inclination (namely fighting), and any advice he didn't come up with himself. He doesn't talk much, and when he does, it tends to be blunt and terse, if not outright rude. A soldier doesn't waste time on social niceties when there's a war to fight.

Perhaps surprisingly, given his limited social aptitude, Hardhead has found a good companion in [[Duros]], his [[Binary bonding|binary-bonded]] [[Nebulan]] partner, who enjoys warfare just as much as Hardhead does. The two mesh so well, it's been said that theirs may be the best match among all the Autobot-Nebulan teams.

{{quote|So what? They call me Hardhead. And that's really '''''all''''' you need to know.|Hardhead is unimpressed with [[Sixshot]]'s bragging|[[Devastation issue 4|''Devastation'' #4]]}}

==Fiction==
===''The Transformers'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Stephen Keener]] (English), [[Eiji Itō]] (Japan), [[Franz Rudnick]] (German, ''The Rebirth, Part 1''), [[Hans-Rainer Müller]] (German, ''The Rebirth, Part 2'')
[[Image:Rebirth2-Welcometotheclub.jpg|left|thumb|250px|This is what my head looks like. Sometimes.]]
After the resurrection of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], the Decepticons practically disappeared for a time. On Cybertron, Brainstorm used this reprieve to experiment on pairing Transformers with human partners, though his efforts did not convince Hardhead or [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]]. Shortly after the exercise, Optimus Prime contacted them, notifying them of the Decepticons' return. They had stolen the [[Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber]] and were on their way to the chamber itself on Cybertron. Unfortunately, the chamber's activation would destroy Cybertron. Hardhead and several other Autobots commandeered a ship to head off [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] before they could reach the Plasma Energy Chamber, and they managed to retrieve the Key, but an energy surge smacked the Autobot ship out of Cybertron's orbit and far into space.

Hardhead and the others crash-landed on a strange planet named [[Nebulos]] and were quickly taken captive by an underground resistance movement that believed the Autobots were machines controlled by the [[Hive (G1)|Hive]], who ruled Nebulos. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 1}} After Hardhead volunteered to become a Headmaster, he was partnered with Duros. Their first test run against the Hive machines was a cracking success with the pair working to take one down. They followed that up by taking part in the liberation of some Autobots who had been captured by Decepticon forces, easily outclassing their foe. He was the first to welcome Optimus Prime when the Autobot leader arrived on the planet. The Autobot Headmasters and Targetmasters managed to get the stolen key back from the Decepticons, only for [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] to reveal himself. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}}

With the key back in Decepticon hands, the Autobots headed back to Cybertron in an attempt to regain it. It looked like the Decepticons were planning to open the Plasma Energy Chamber, and the Autobots suddenly found themselves abandoned by their partners. Stuck in vehicle mode, Hardhead and the others tried to storm Scorponok to rescue [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]], but were easily captured. [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] came to the rescue with [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]], and the Autobots were free for all of thirty seconds before they were overwhelmed by the energies from the opened Plasma Energy Chamber. Luckily they had Spike and the Nebulons to close the chamber and bring about a new [[Golden Age]].

Hardhead, Duros and the other Headmasters later returned to Nebulos to begin the work of reclaiming and rebuilding the planet. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}

===Japanese cartoon continuity===
{{note|In Japan, Hardhead is a small robot who transforms into a head and controls a larger, lifeless [[transtector]] body. The ''Headmasters'' toyline referred to the small robot as '''Ros''', with "Hardhead" being the name of the combined small robot/transtector form, though this distinction is hardly ever made in fiction.}}

====''The Headmasters'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Masato Hirano]] (Japanese)
[[Image:HM7 Hardhead learns to transform.jpg|thumb|right|230px]]
Four million years ago, Hardhead was among a group of [[Cyberdroid|diminutive Cybertronians]] who departed Cybertron under the leadership of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]], seeking to escape the eternal war that had consumed the planet. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}} Alas, engine trouble caused their craft to crash land on the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]], an inhospitable world whose murderous environments and wildly changeable atmospheric conditions threatened the lives of the Cybertronians almost as soon as they stepped off their ship and were caught in a desert of sinking sands. Fighting against the odds, the Cybertronians made several technological quantum leaps to survive on Master, including the creation of larger, lifeless Transformer bodies called [[transtector]]s. Hardhead and many of his comrades underwent rigorous physical and mental training to master the art of [[transformation]], learning to transform into heads that connected to the transtectors and placed them under their control. {{storylink|The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery}} Hardhead was one of ten warriors who became one of these "Headmasters", but unfortunately, half their number soon rebelled against Fortress's leadership and sided with a traitor named [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] against him. Via the Decepticon ninja [[Sixshot]], Scorponok soon forged an alliance with the Decepticon leader, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

[[Image:HM2 Hardhead small robot.jpg|thumb|left|220px]]
In the year 2011, when Galvatron launched his latest attack on Cybertron with the added power of his new Decepticon Headmasters, Hardhead and his fellow Autobot Headmasters traveled to the planet to help their comrades defend their homeworld. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} He helped [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] fight [[Weirdwolf]]. After the battle concluded with a Decepticon retreat, the Headmasters went to [[Athenia]] for introductions with the rest of the Autobots. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}} They soon joined [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] on [[Earth]] to search for the [[Matrix of Leadership]] and fought [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] while Hot Rod retrieved their prize. They returned to Cybertron with the Matrix, and witnessed [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] sacrificing himself to save [[Vector Sigma]] and Hot Rod becoming Rodimus Prime. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

[[Image:HM4 Hardhead.jpg|thumb|right|280px]]
When the Decepticons developed the [[Madmachine]], the Headmasters were all ready to storm over to [[Chaar]] and destroy it. Instead Rodimus had [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] resurrected as Twincast, and the Headmasters went to Cybertron to delay the Decepticons and their machine long enough for Twincast to find a way to destroy it. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}} Out on patrol in space, Hardhead and Chromedome first found stowaways in the form of [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]] and [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], and then retrieved a couple of [[Beastformer]]s floating in space. The latter led the Headmasters to the planet [[Beast (planet)|Beast]], where they found the natives had been subjugated by the Decepticons. Joining with [[White Leo]]'s rebels, they helped free the natives from Decepticon rule. {{storylink|Rebellion on Planet Beast}}

[[Image:HM8 Hardhead.jpg|thumb|left|280px]]
After the Decepticons directed a metal-warping meteor named [[Metamorphose]] at Athenia, the Headmasters accompanied Daniel on a mission to destroy it and ended up tangling with the Decepticon Headmasters. {{storylink|Approach of the Demon Meteorite}} Lured to the planet [[Praum]] by a distress call, the five Headmasters fell into a trap laid by Scorponok. It was only by remembering their struggles back on Master that they performed a Cross-Head on and escaped the trap so they could fight the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery}} When Earth's major powers were threatened by a mysterious blackmailer, the Headmasters attempted fruitlessly to track the culprit down, until a clue led them to the fact it was Sixshot. They joined [[Raiden]] in cornering Sixshot in [[Japan]] and saw the Decepticon off. {{storylink|Terror! The Six Shadows}}

The Headmasters continued their training, with Hardhead exercising on a treadmill. When the Decepticons were reported to be heading for Earth, he and Chromedome went there to investigate, and when it turned out that the Decepticons were heading to Cybertron to secure the supply of [[cybertonuron]], the pair joined the other Earth-based Autobots in heading there too. The Decepticon Headmasters mysteriously ran off mid-battle {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} and the Autobots tracked them down. They followed the trio to Vector Sigma's chamber, where the Decepticons had planted a number of bombs. Unable to defuse them, the Autobot Headmasters headed to the surface and raised the alarm, allowing the planet to be evacuated before it was destroyed. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

[[Image:HM11 Hardhead sings karaoke.jpg|thumb|right|280px|''Never gonna give you up Never gonna let you down'']]
At the party to celebrate the completion of the [[Sol 1]] satellite, Hardhead got drunk, bullied Twincast into providing music, and "treated" everyone to some karaoke. When the Decepticons attacked the launch, Hardhead and [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] double-teamed [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and the satellite was successfully launched, though a short time afterward, the Decepticons stole it. The Headmasters tried to retrieve it, but were eventually forced to destroy it to prevent it being used for evil. {{storylink|The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok}} The Headmasters followed that up by helping save the residents of the South American village of [[Pan]] from a nearby erupting volcano. {{storylink|The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts}} They also faced a huge [[buridanka]] plant as it attacked [[San Francisco]], though it wasn't until Fortress pulled out the [[Master Sword]] that they were able to defeat it. {{storylink|Head On!! Fortress Maximus}}

[[Image:HM15 Hardhead aims gun.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Ah ah! I know what your thinking. Did he fire 30 shots or only 29? Well, to tell you the truth I kinda lost track myself with all this excitement. But being this is a 1000 Magnum the most powerful rifle in the universe and would blow your head clean off. You have to ask yourself one question. Do I feel lucky?... Well do you punk?!]]
When reports came in of the Decepticons being up to something on [[Mars (planet)|Mars]], hardhead and the other Headmasters traveled there in [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]. After tangling with [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] they rescued Daniel and found out that the Decepticons were planning to blow the entire planet up. Interrogating the Decepticons led them to a crater which naturally turned out to be a trap. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger}} With Maximus, [[Brainstorm]] and Highbrow out of commission, Hardhead and Chromedome fought on. Despite the help of Raiden and the other Headmasters once they were better, the Autobots were faced with the arrival of Scorponok's new transtector, and were unable to prevent the Decepticons destroying the planet. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears}}

[[Image:HM17 Daniel and Wheelie have fun with hoses.jpg|thumb|right|240px]]
Despite Fortress's orders, Chromedome and Hardhead made an attempt to attack Chaar by concealing themselves aboard Maximus and heading toward the planet while the ship was on patrol. They were intercepted by the forewarned Decepticons, who sent them back to Maximus in a hurry. Hardhead took part in the Autobot strike on Scorponok's coronation, and was witness to the return of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. {{storylink|Return of the Immortal Emperor}} Following a distress call from the planet [[Sandra (planet)|Sandra]], the Headmasters attempted to take a shipment of [[energon]] there. When they were ambushed by the Decepticons ''en route'', Hardhead and Chromedome used their transtectors as decoys while they went on ahead to deliver the energy. {{storylink|SOS from Planet Sandra}}

As part of [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]]'s plan to negotiate with the Decepticon, the four Headmasters accompanied him to [[Shangri-La Island]] on Earth as an escort. When the Galvatron who met with Spike turned out to be an impostor, Hardhead and the others rescued [[Carly]] and Daniel before attacking the Decepticons. During the escape, Sixshot destroyed the [[space bridge]] network, and the Autobots set out in pursuit in Battleship Maximus. {{storylink|Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever!!}} When the Decepticons invaded [[Hive (planet)|Hive]], the Headmasters set out to assist, but the Hive ships mistook them for enemies, and even Hardhead, Chromedome, and Brainstorm trying to reason with them didn't help. After Chromedome went on ahead and persuaded the people of Hive that the Autobots were on their side, the other Headmasters were allowed to help fight off the Decepticons. {{storylink|Fight to the Death on Planet Hive!!}}

[[Image:HM21 Hardhead splitscreen.jpg|thumb|left|240px]]
The Autobots followed the Decepticons to [[Twin Star]], where it turned out that the planet the Decepticons were attacking had already been evacuated of population and energy. {{storylink|Battle for Defense of the False Planet}} They next followed an SOS to planet [[Daros]] where they helped overthrow a corrupt government and fight off the Decepticons. {{storylink|Find MegaZarak's Weak Spot!!}} Hardhead and Chromedome were put to work fixing Battleship Maximus's weapons systems, and completed repairs by the time they had to go rescue Highbrow and expel the Decepticons from the idyllic world of [[Paradise]]. {{storylink|Head Formation of Friendship}} They again tangled with the Decepticons on the [[Pirate Planet]], though it ultimately turned out that the planet's energy was long gone. {{storylink|Mystery of the Space Pirate Ship}}

[[Image:IRiskMyLifeForEarth-Letgoofme.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Humpty Grumpty.]]
As the Decepticons returned to Chaar, their mission complete, so the Headmasters returned to Athenia. They were unable to get to Earth in time to prevent Sixshot from killing [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], but fought the ninja off with a fearsome counter-attack. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus Dies!!}} The emboldened Decepticons began striking across the globe until the Headmasters tracked Galvatron down in [[Alaska]]. Using information passed on by [[Punch (G1)|Punch]], they defeated the Decepticon leader and buried him beneath the ice. {{storylink|The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg}} New information pointed to the Decepticons trying to destroy Earth altogether. As Chromedome had been relieved of duty by Fortress, Brainstorm took Hardhead and Highbrow to face the Decepticons on [[Kamchatka Peninsula]]. They didn't fare well until Chromedome completed Highbrow's research, discovering Scorponok's weak point. {{storylink|I Risk My Life for Earth}}

With the Decepticons having abandoned Earth, the Autobots set about repairing the damage they'd done. Hardhead and Chromedome attempted to remove a number of bombs from a mine, but when Chromedome accidentally activated one, the pair had to perform a head switch to get them out safely. As they transported the bombs to a safe location in space, the Headmasters encountered a ship of refugees from Master. The refugees attempted to help dispose of the bombs but were caught in the explosion. {{storylink|Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)}} The refugees from Master became bonded as [[Targetmaster]]s with three newly-arrived Autobots, who turned out to have a low opinion of the Headmasters. Nonetheless, the Headmasters returned to their home world to fight the Decepticons. {{storylink|Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)}}

[[Image:HM30 Hardhead in hiding.jpg|thumb|left|250px|We don't know why he's smiling, because we can't see what he's doing behind that rock.]]
After the Decepticons ransomed Wheelie for information on the Master Sword, Hardhead and the other Autobots were unsuccessful in keeping said information out of the Decepticons' hands, even after Wheelie was rescued. {{storylink|The Master Sword Is in Danger!!}} The Headmasters worked on finding Scorponok by searching for unique energy wavelengths and even found the cavern where he was constructing the [[Zarak Shield]], but were too late to prevent its completion. {{storylink|The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide}} Hardhead and the others went along with Chromedome's plan to rally the population of Master against the Decepticons, only for the whole plan to go wrong when Scorponok popped up in the middle of a major city and defeat Fortress Maximus. {{storylink|Operation: Destroy the Decepticons}}

As the Decepticons left Master to head home, the Autobots gave chase. When Daniel was inadvertently ejected during a battle, the Headmasters eventually traced him to [[Daira]], though they had a hard time believing that he'd been looked after by Sixshot. {{storylink|My Friend Sixshot!}} When Sixshot challenged Chromedome to a duel, the other Headmasters tried and failed to talk their comrade out of it. They were unable to follow him to lend help, as it turned out the whole thing was a diversion while the Decepticons headed for Earth. {{storylink|Duel on the Asteroid}}

[[Image:Hm35 chromedome hardhead hypnotised.jpg|thumb|right|230px]]
By the time the Autobots reached Earth, the Decepticons had begun erecting [[Death Tower]]s made from [[crysmagnetal]] around the globe, discharging energy from their tops. The Headmasters had their hands full attending to the crash of Spike and Carly's plane in the Andes Mountains. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)}} The Autobots headed for [[Egypt]] where they tangled briefly with the three Decepticon Headmasters and failed to stop another Death Tower going up. As a last ditch effort, the Headmasters joined the entire Autobot army in a counter strike on the Decepticons at the [[Arctic|North Pole]]. Hardhead and Chromedome were saved from [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]]'s hypnotism by Twincast and his cassettes. As Fortress Maximus was caught in the energies preparing to tear the planet apart, Hardhead and the other three Headmasters attempted a Head Formation to give him more power. It was only when the other Autobots joined in that they succeeded, and the Decepticons' satellite was destroyed. With the Decepticons having fled into space, the Autobots left Earth to pursue them. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}

====''The Great Transformer War''====
While significant Transformer battles were being waged on [[Earth]] and across space, Hardhead and the other Headmasters were battling their Decepticon counterparts on the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]]. Thinking that the three Decepticons had escaped them by leaping into a chasm, Hardhead began raging, and nearly wound up fighting with [[Brainstorm]] when the other Headmaster told him to calm down. Luckily, he was able to direct his anger back upon the Decepticons when they came bursting out of the ground beneath the Autobots' feet. The Decepticons didn't fare terribly well in the battle, which abruptly ended when the Decepticon ninja [[Sixshot]] arrived and instructed them to follow him back to [[Chaar]]. The Decepticons fled into space, but Hardhead and his fellow Autobot Headmasters quickly gave chase aboard the battleship ''Maximus'', heading for Cybertron rejoin the larger Transformer war. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 3|The Great Transformer War #3}}

====''The Headmasters'' comic====
{{storylink|The Headmasters issue 1|The Headmasters #1}}
{{storylink|Great Decisive Battle of Planet Beast!}}
{{storylink|The Headmasters issue 2|The Headmasters #2}}
{{storylink|The Headmasters issue 3|The Headmasters #3}}
{{storylink|The Headmasters issue 4|The Headmasters #4}}
{{storylink|The Headmasters issue 5|The Headmasters #5}}
{{storylink|The Headmasters issue 6|The Headmasters #6}}
{{storylink|The Headmasters issue 7|The Headmasters #7}}
{{charstubfiction}}

====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic====
Several years after the end of the Headmasters' war on Earth, a new Autobot [[Supreme Commander]] named [[Ginrai]] was appointed, and flown to [[Athenia]] for his coronation. Hardhead was present for the ceremony, and then helped to fight off a Decepticon attack upon the planet. {{storylink|The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops}} Soon after, when the Decepticon [[Scorponok (G1)|BlackZarak]] made his way to Earth, Hardhead, the other Autobot Headmasters and [[Raiden]] pursued him, but were defeated in battle in Earth's orbit. {{storylink|God Ginrai's Amazing Super-God Combination!}}

===Marvel Generation 1 comics===
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Hardhead-RingofHate.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Highbrow's forehead is right!]]

A long time ago, on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Hardhead was part of an Autobot strike unit led by [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. This unit operated out of a cave dug into the [[Manganese Mountains]], and often worked to foil the schemes of their primary nemesis, [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. Their last major mission on Cybertron was to upset a slave march to the [[Smelting pool|smelting pools]]. After that, however, Fortress Maximus revealed to the Autobots that he had grown sick of warfare, and planned to escape the endless ring of hate by immigrating to a new world altogether: [[Nebulos]]. Initially, Hardhead was outraged and accused Maximus of cowardice for even conceiving of leaving the war before it was finished, but he was quickly chastized when [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] reminded him of how valiantly their leader had fought on the battlefield that day, and every day prior for countless [[Units of time|vorns]]. With some convincing, Hardhead and many others chose to join Fortress Maximus on his quest for peace. Peace is rarely an Autobot's lot, though, as an innocent mishap combined with some xenophobia among a few of the Nebulan rulers to bring war to the Autobot camp's doorstep. Hardened warriors like Hardhead and [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] immediately fell into old habits and started fighting back, but Fortress Maximus abruptly ended their gunplay and ordered an all-out retreat.

Despite these setbacks, Fortress Maximus was determined to wage peace, not war. He brought an envoy of Autobots, including Hardhead, to the Nebulan capitol of [[Koraja]] to once again plead for peace. When the Nebulans still were not totally swayed after he and his Autobots disarmed, Maximus removed his own head from his shoulders, leaving his body deactivated and inoperable in the Nebulans' care. Hardhead and three other Autobots joined their leader in his gesture. It was this gesture which finally ushered in a cease fire with the Nebulans. {{storylink|Ring of Hate!}}

Fortress Maximus, Hardhead and the others had their separate heads and bodies detained inside a bunker outside Koraja, as so-called "prisoners of peace", while the Nebulan leaders conversed with them and also the remaining Autobots (under Kup's supervision) in the [[Folassian Forest]] beyond the city. Maximus had successfully convinced [[Galen]], head of the [[World Watchers]], of his good intentions, but the paranoid Lord [[Zarak (G1)|Zarak]] distrusted the Autobots at every turn, and was committed to removing them from Nebulos even if he had to fake their crimes in order to do it. He even went so far as to summon the Decepticons to Nebulos, hoping that they would rid the planet of their Autobot problem. (So he's not that bright. Give him a break, he's in politics!)

[[Image:Loveandsteel-runfortmaxrun.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]

The Decepticon arrival was everything you would expect, as Scorponok and his henchmen began to lay siege to Koraja, trying to get at the inoperative Fortress Maximus and his men. Galen and Council Guard Commander [[Duros]] arrived at the Autobots' bunker to rapidly consult them on options. Several potential strategies were discarded in short order, and the allies finally settled on a radical solution involving bio-mechanical engineering — Galen and several other volunteers were bionically reconstructed to transform into duplicates of the Autobots' severed heads, allowing them to [[Binary bonding|binary bond]] with the Autobots' bodies and share both physical control and tactical analysis with the original Autobot personalities. Duros was one of the first volunteers for the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] process, and was binary bonded to Hardhead. Duros quickly adjusted to the raw power and military might of his new body, using Hardhead's laser-guided cannon against the Decepticon aggressors. {{storylink|Broken Glass!}}

Their status as the saviors of Koraja made Duros and the others an instant hit among the populace, but Nebulos's rulers were still wary of the Transformers, especially now that their presence had led Nebulans themselves to wage war for the first time in over 10,000 years. Galen and his men did their best to assuage the fears of the [[Council of Peers]]. When the [[Horrorcon|Horrorcons]] and [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]] attacked the [[Splendora]] resort, Hardhead and [[Brainstorm]] joined their Autobot comrades, the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]], in fending off [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] and zapping [[Apeface]] and [[Snapdragon (G1)|Snapdragon]] into submission. The devastation left in the wake of their battle did little to discourage the Council's antipathy, however. When the Autobot Headmasters went on a rescue mission to recover Lord Zarak and his followers (who had been prisoners of the Decepticons since their arrival), a detachment of Council members insisted on accompanying them. Unfortunately, Zarak had entered into a bargain with Scorponok, and by the time Hardhead and the others reached the [[Plains of Thok]], the Decepticon Headmasters had been born. Although Zarak / Scorponok endangered the council members by using them as a diversion to gun down the Autobots, [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]]'s hypnotic gaze had scrambled the other Nebulans' minds so much that Zarak was able to convince them that Galen's men were the evil ones, and he manipulated the Decepticons into becoming Nebulos's new "champions". {{storylink|Love and Steel!}}

Duros and the other Nebulan Headmasters were held captive by Zarak in Koraja, alongside their disabled Autobot counterparts. Despite his hunger for power and growing battle-lust, however, Zarak still ultimately wanted what was best for Nebulos. Realizing how a continued war between the Autobots and Decepticons would truly affect the planet he loved, Zarak freed Duros and the Autobot Headmasters, sending them back to their comrades in the forest. Galen had reached the same conclusions as Zarak, and gathered his men back aboard the Autobot ship ''[[Steelhaven]]'', to leave Nebulos behind to rebuild in their absence. Sure enough, Zarak / Scorponok and the Decepticons chose to follow the Autobots into space. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

[[Image:Hardhead-WorldsApart.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Got to... SHEEAKK!]]

''Before they left, however, the Autobot Headmasters had another encounter with their Decepticon opposite numbers. After the [[Targetmaster|Targetmasters]] were captured by the Decepticons for analysis and dissection, Hardhead and the Headmasters went out looking for them, only to run into the Decepticon Headmasters on the way. Hardhead was nearly knocked off the road when Mindwipe's hypnotic stare sent Brainstorm crashing into him. Despite being shaken by the impact, Hardhead still managed to defeat both [[Weirdwolf]] and [[Skullcruncher]] by himself. The Autobots regrouped to follow Mindwipe, the last of their attackers, who was apparently fleeing for safety. After entering the Decepticons' [[Fortress of Despair]], however, Hardhead and the others realized they had been led into a trap, and were confronted by the might Scorponok and the Decepticon Targetmasters. In order to help even the odds, Hardhead freed the Autobot Targetmasters who were being held prisoner. With their help, the Autobots eventually overcame the Decepticons and fled back to base. {{storylink|Worlds Apart!}}''

[[Image:Trialbyfire-fortmax-disassemble.jpg|right|thumb|250px|And I'll form the head! Fortress Maximus's head, that is. With tools.]]

After leaving Nebulos, Hardhead and the crew of ''Steelhaven'' followed an Autobot distress call to the planet called Earth. During the long journey, they had Fortress Maximus heavily upgraded into a larger, more powerful body. Even the militaristic Duros was a bit unsettled by the new war-like outlook of their leader, Galen, but he insisted he was merely changing to fit the circumstances they had been dealt. Upon arrival, Fortress Maximus, Hardhead and the other Headmasters took a shuttle down to Earth's surface, and located the caves in [[Mount St. Hilary]] where the distress call had first been broadcast. They also found the broadcaster himself, an Autobot named [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]] whose [[brain module]] had been retrofitted into a tiny electronic toy car. [[Toy Soldiers!|Long story]]. Scorponok and the Decepticon Headmasters had also come to Earth after the distress call, however, and a battle broke out. The battle proved costly, as Galen died protecting an Earthling from Scorponok. He passed on his control helmet to this boy, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], leaving Fortress Maximus and the Autobots in his hands. It was Hardhead who first suggested that Spike was the group's new leader. {{storylink|Trial by Fire!}}

In the weeks that followed, ''Steelhaven's'' crew united with the other Autobots on board the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. Hardhead was present on the moon when two members of the Ark's crew, [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], engaged in ritual combat to settle their differences. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

[[Image:Edgeofextinction-hardheadbombburst.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That's gonna leave a mark.]]
''During the [[Time Wars (event)|Time Wars]], Hardhead was among the Autobot strike team gathered by [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]], Grimlock and Fortress Maximus to engage [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] for the fate of two time periods, several associated planets, and the universe at large. Unfortunately, the future Autobots of 2009 arrived before the battle began, and the mass-substitution effect created by time travel shunted Hardhead into [[Limbo]] for the duration. {{storylink|Time Wars}}''

Hardhead was next seen on Cybertron for the final united battle against [[Unicron]]. Working with the Decepticon [[Pretender]], [[Bomb-Burst (G1)|Bomb-Burst]], he was in the process of moving a surface-to-air missile battery into position when Unicron touched down on the planet's surface. The Planet-Eater's massive foot indiscriminately crushed Autobot, Decepticon, and weapon flat. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}
{{-}}

===IDW Generation 1 comics===
[[Image:Escalation6 Hardhead AVENGE.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hardhead makes his own decisions!]]
Hardhead was a career soldier, intended as a problem solver who got things done fast. To him, this meant he had no future, as some day the war will end, and he would be a walking reminder of it, something to be quietly done away with. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}} He was part of the [[113th Battalion]] and took part in a massive battle against [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]]. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement}}

[[Image:Devastation4 Hardhead.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Hardhead answers his own questions!]]
Prior to the [[Brasnya]] incident, Hardhead was ordered by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] to [[Earth]] on the ''[[Ark-32]]'', along with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}} The two arrived right in the middle of the battle, although Hot Rod sped away after the [[facsimile construct|facsimile]] before Hardhead could stop him to report their presence. He engaged in battle with [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], {{storylink|Escalation issue 4|Escalation #4}} causing severe damage to the shuttle [[Triple Changer]] and continued to hound him to such an extent that [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] had to call in [[Thundercracker (G1)|reinforcements]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}} When [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] seemingly defeated Optimus Prime, Hardhead attempted (futilely) to damage him with repeated cannon blasts. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

Hardhead would eventually regroup with his teammates after the battle and was among them during [[Sixshot]]'s surprise assault on the ''[[Ark-19]]''. He bravely (if futilely) attacked Sixshot, along with the rest of the Autobots before being beamed back to the ''Ark-32''. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation #4}} Due to injuries and separate missions, Hardhead found himself to be the only active Autobot besides [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]—and neither were happy to hear that Optimus was withdrawing them from Earth to [[Garrus-9]]. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} Hardhead went to retrieve Hot Rod and the others, blowing up a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] that was attacking Hot Rod. Hot Rod refused to go though, wanting to see the Headmaster mystery to the end. Hardhead reluctantly let him go and took [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] back with him. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

[[Image:SpotlightHardhead HardheadsHeadshot.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hardhead expresses his own feelings!]]
Soon, [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] discovered that he logged a message during his visit to [[Gorlam Prime]]—of which he had no recollection—and asked Hardhead for help. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}}

Before leaving for Gorlam Prime, Nightbeat told Hardhead of his fears that he may be compromised, and that if he threatened Hardhead or anyone else, he should terminate Nightbeat. Arriving on Gorlam Prime, Nightbeat and Hardhead discovered virtually the entire planet's population had frozen in a chrysalis-like state and were in the midst of undergoing some kind of evolutionary cycle. Before they could explore further, however, they were beset upon by dozens of [[Micromaster|Micromasters]], all of whom immediately targeted Hardhead.

[[Image:Nightbeatexecuted.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Hardhead shoots his own comrades!]]
Escaping from their attackers, the two Autobots fled deep underground. Once they neared the portal to the [[Dead Universe]], [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] took remote-control of Nightbeat and tried to kill Hardhead with a point-blank shot between the optics. Fortunately, Hardhead lived up to his name and took the shot with minimal damage. As Nightbeat was joined by more Micromasters, Hardhead took the opportunity to retreat deeper into Gorlam Prime's underground caverns.

There, he discovered the portal to the Dead Universe. As the mind-controlled Nightbeat caught up with him, Hardhead realized he had nowhere else to fall back to. When told to surrender, Hardhead responded by shooting Nightbeat through the head with a pinpoint shot and then plunged through the portal, ready to face whatever dangers lay on the other side. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}}

[[Image:DeadUniverseHardhead.jpg|right|100px|thumb|Hardhead rises from his own grave!]]
Having become a permanent resident of the [[Dead Universe]], Hardhead did not resurface until Jhiaxus's plans were well underway. However, he did manage to catch the Cybertronian scientist who was fleeing the onslaught of [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]. Preventing the madman's escape, he explained to the hyperviolent Autobot that Jhiaxus couldn't truly die here on the threshold between the material world and the Dead Universe. That suited Arcee fine, as it let her indulge her revenge fantasies to their utmost. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

Hardhead remained at Arcee's side as she happily killed Jhiaxus over and over again, though he was more interested in investigating some ancient catacombs discovered in the depths of Gorlam Prime. After some time had passed, the portal to the Dead Universe began to act strangely, luring the inhabitants of the planet into wandering through it. Seemingly due to his connection to the Dead Universe, Hardhead was immune to this apparent hypnosis, and he pinned Arcee down to keep her from following the others. Once the entire population of Gorlam Prime was gone, the portal emitted a flash of light and changed shape, knocking Hardhead and Arcee out cold. After they awoke, they left to investigate the catacombs and figure out what happened. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 2|Heart of Darkness #2}} Eventually, they detected [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] and his troops entering the portal's chamber and attacked them. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 1|Heart of Darkness #1}}
[[Image:Heart of Darkness2 HardheadVSCyclonus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Hardhead delivers his own lame dialogue!]]
Hardhead took on [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], defeating both of them, but was brought down by Galvatron, who was drawing on power from the Dead Universe. He urged Arcee to flee and warn the Autobots, and was then captured by Galvatron, who invaded his mind and read his memories. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 2|Heart of Darkness #2}}

Having presumably fallen under Galvatron's control, Hardhead joined the army he was building to defend the universe from [[D-Void]] from the Dead Universe. He accompanied Galvatron, Cyclonus, and a [[generic]] or two to the planet [[Dykayra]] to scout out a sight of an incursion of D-Void. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 3|Heart of Darkness #3}} There, he and the others fought with [[Nova Prime|Nemesis Prime]], resurrected and controlled by D-Void. Hardhead survived the battle and was later air-dropped onto [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], the army's first line of defense. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 4|Heart of Darkness #4}}

[[Image:Hardhead Chaos Part4.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Hardhead crashes his own ship!]]
Hardhead was somehow freed from Galvatron's influence and reunited with Arcee. Thanks to Galvatron tapping into his mind with the [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]], Hardhead had a solid understanding of the connection between it, the D-Void, and Galvatron himself. Aboard Arcee's shuttle in Cybertron's orbit, they addressed the survivors of the destroyed [[Kimia Facility]], expounding on Cybertron's current predicament. Some, like [[Brainstorm|Brainstorm]] and [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]], had trouble grasping the complicated scenario, but Hardhead finally broke through to [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]. The group of Autobots set upon the task of preventing Galvatron from unknowingly doing the D-Void's bidding and turning Cybertron into a massive portal for the Dead Universe to bleed through.

Bringing their shuttle into Cybertron's crumbling atmosphere, everyone but Hardhead and Arcee bailed out when it was decided to fly under the planet's surface. Following a large access tunnel directly to [[Vector Sigma]] and the core, Hardhead crashed the shuttle directly on top of Galvatron. Galvatron dug himself out from under the debris and took both Hardhead and Arcee on, quickly defeating them. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis}}

After the Chaos war ended and Galvatron was defeated, Hardhead, [[Wheelie (G1)| Wheelie]], and [[Garnak]] took custody of the catatonic Jhiaxus and left Cybertron to keep it safe from his brand of evil. After a while, their ship picked up a distress signal from the planet [[Arduria]], which caused Jhiaxus to awaken and begin screaming 'Pax'. In response, Hardhead called Optimus Prime, who had changed his name back to Orion Pax in the aftermath of the Chaos Event. Together, they investigated the situation on Arduria, only to fall victim to a Decepticon trap. Attacked by [[Monstructor (G1)|Monstructor]], Hardhead and Orion were unable to prevent Jhiaxus from begin rescued by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], but upon deducing that the Decepticons were hunting down the fruits of Shockwave's [[Regenesis]] program, they pursued them to the [[Lenocinium Velnero System]]. {{storylink|Syndromica (1)}}

Hardhead, Pax, Wheelie, and Garnak, after months of searching for Jhiaxus, came across another Decepticon ship just as it entered planet [[LV-117]]'s atmosphere. This ship was manned by [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]], who had just stolen it out from under [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] on Cybertron. {{storylink|Night and the City}} Hardhead and his companions chased the stolen Decepticon ship to LV-117's surface only to arrive, to their surprise, many years after the ship they had just followed to the surface has crashed. Almost immediately, Orion Pax disappeared from the company of his companions to find himself shifting non-linearly through time, which, fortuitously, enabled him to gain a firmer understanding of what Jhiaxus and Bludgeon were planning. Pax, after a month away, temporally stabilized and returned to his friends, who had waited on LV 117 for his return at Wheelie's staunch insistence. Hardhead then let Pax know how long he had been gone and informed him that Jiaxhus and his followers had returned in Pax's absence, stolen the crashed Decepticon ship, and were gone again. The quartet set out once more to hunt down and stop Jiaxhus, Bludgeon, and Monstructor. Hardhead attempted to pilot the ship out of the planet's orbit at the same angle by which they had entered, but despite his best efforts, another two weeks was lost leaving orbit. {{storylink|Syndromica (2)}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===''Transformers: The Headmasters''===
Hardhead was kidnapped by the Decepticons and held captive on the Jail planet by [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. He was rescued by [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and his other comrades, and in turn helped rescue those who were still imprisoned. Once they had reunited, Hardhead and the others met with [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] for the last battle against [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. {{storylink|Transformers: The Headmasters (video game)|Transformers: The Headmasters}}

===''The Transformers'' (PS2)===
{{Note|Hardhead was available as a playable character in the Autobot campaign during the second playthrough.}}
{{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Hardhead toy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|I don't get it either. Not like I have a "hard head" to draw.]]
*'''Hardhead''' (Headmaster, 1987)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''C-102'''
**''Accessories'': "Duros" Headmaster partner "Tank Commander", 2 "Shatterblasters"

:Hardhead transforms into a Cybertronian self-propelled artillery gun. Like many Transformers of this era, he can store his rifles in 5mm peg holes in his vehicle mode, and his Headmaster partner, Duros, can ride inside his cockpit. Duros transforms into his head, which, when attached to Hardhead's robot mode, activates a simplified, spring-loaded [[Tech Spec]] meter hidden under a panel on his chest. This [[gimmick]] works with any other Headmaster "pilot" figure.

:In robot mode, Hardhead is unusually tall for a toy of his price point, as the tank basically flips on end and extends to transform. As to be expected, Hardhead has rather limited articulation.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1987/Autobot/Hardhead/hardhead.htm More information on Hardhead at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Universe2008toy-HardheadUltra.jpg|right|thumb|300px|It feels like a pizza-disc launcher is missing.]]
*'''Hardhead''' (Ultra Class, 2009)
**''Series:'' '''Generation 1 Series'''
**''Accessories'': Shield

: Hardhead is a mostly green [[Walmart]] [[exclusive]] [[redeco]] of ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' Ultra Class [[Onslaught (G1)#Uni08Ultra|Onslaught]], and transforms into a six-wheeled SWAT assault truck with positionable mine-scoops and a rotating double-barreled turret on top. When the button on his rotating turret is pressed, electronic lights in his head and turret flash and one hears either machine gun fire or a siren sound, either of which are continuous if held down. Rolling the vehicle's middle left tire activates a third sound effect of him causing extensive property damage on something unfortunate enough to get caught under his wheels. A looped driving sound will then be continuously played until the tire stops rolling, when a final sound of the vehicle driving away/to a halt is played. He comes with a riot shield, which can either connect to a flip up tab on his left arm in robot mode, or store on top of his turret in either mode. The small flap at the top of the shield is used to access the turret's button, either by pressing on the flap itself, or by flipping it open and pressing the button directly. A button on his right arm spring-deploys an arm-mounted weapon. Instead of blending in with the rest of his colors, his shield stands out entirely black with a messily painted "no" sign on top of a similarly made Decepticon symbol with seven tally marks below it.

: The robot mode [[Kibble#.22Faux-parts.22|cheats]] somewhat, having a second tow-winch on his belt-buckle immediately below his vehicle hood, while the actual vehicle mode winch splits in two to form his shoulders.

: Hardhead uses the later version of Onslaught's electronics that doesn't cut off quickly.

: This mold was [[retool]]ed into ''[[Transformers Timelines (toyline)|Timelines]]'' [[Clench (G1)#Timelines|Clench]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Autobot/TFUHardhead/hardhead.htm More information on Hardhead at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:G1HardheadOriginalHead.jpg|right|340px|thumb|More like... Squathead...]]
[[Image:Hardhead-in-WarpathInstructions.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Ah, ''that's'' more like it!]]
* In the television [[commercial]] for [[Marvel Comics]]' ''[[The Transformers: Headmasters|Headmasters]]'' limited series, the Autobot and Decepticon Headmasters are shown having different head designs than the ones their Nebulan partners would later turn into. These designs were seemingly never used in any other piece of ''Transformers'' media. The [[Character model|models]] for most of them, however, turned up in the excellent ''[[Transformers Generations]]'' guidebook.
* The [[instructions]] for ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Warpath (G1)#Generations|Warpath]] show him with an alternate head sculpt resembling Hardhead. Unlike various other ''Generations'' toys, however, the alternate head only shows up in ''some'' steps in the instructions, whereas most steps simply depict Warpath's actual head. There are currently no known specific plans to release a Hardhead [[retool]] of Warpath.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Ros''' (ロス ''Rosu''), '''Hardhead''' (ハードヘッド ''Hādoheddo'')
*''Italian:'' '''Blindobot''' ("Armoredbot")
*''French:'' '''Tête-Dure''' (Canada, "Hard-Head")
*''Mandarin:'' '''Tǐeh Tóu''' (Taiwan, 鐵頭, "Hard Head", literally "Iron Head"), '''Lao Wangu''' (China, 老顽固, "Old Stubborn")
*''Russian:'' '''Tverdolob''' (Твердолоб ''Die-Hard'')
{{--}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Hardhead Hardhead's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce Autobots]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]
[[Category:Wal-Mart exclusives]]

Changing Gears

2013-02-03T16:46:45Z

Salva Veritate: Added continuity error note about the Solar Needle

{{disambig2|the 1985 cartoon episode|the movie-era book|Transformers Classified: Switching Gears|Switching Gears}}
{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=18
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=12
|prev2=Autobot Spike
|next2=Traitor
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=27
|prev3=Roll for It
|next3=Attack of the Autobots
|image=ChangingGears Happy Gears.jpg
|caption=OMG! You guys! This is so awesome! Yay!
|title="Changing Gears"
|production code=#700-17
|airdate=[[September 23]], 1985
|written by=[[Larry Parr]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''In a plot to drain the Sun for power, the Decepticons capture and alter the grumpy Autobot Gears.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ソーラーエネルギーを盗め! (''Solar Energy o Nusume!'', "Steal the Solar Energy!")
:''Italian title:'' '''Energia solare''' ("Solar energy")
:''Russian title'': '''Привода подменили''' (''Privoda podmenili'', "Gears Is Quietly Substituted")
==Synopsis==
[[Image:Changegearsskywarp.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Photograph taken immediately post-stair-pushing.]]
The [[Decepticon]]s attack [[human]]s working in a gold mine and take them prisoner. Just as [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] is about to blast a human calling for help on a radio, [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] backhands him, saying that he wants the human to bring the [[Autobot]]s.

At the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] orders the Autobots to assemble at once, which they do with lots of hustle. The only exception is [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] who complains the whole way. Prime orders his troops to head out to the mine to engage their enemies.

When they arrive a battle ensues, but Megatron lets the miners get in the way. Unwilling to endanger humans, Prime orders the Autobots to hold their fire. Megatron uses this chance to get the drop on the Autobots, then takes Gears captive for purposes unknown and retreats.

[[Image:Changegearsinahole.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Team Rocket traps Gears in a hole in order to steal his Pikachu.]]

In [[Africa]], Megatron has Starscream zap Gears with the [[null-ray]], then takes out a special circuit from Gears's body. The Decepticon leader explains that this circuit is the final component he needs for his energy absorbing [[Solar Needle]], a solar collector which his Decepticons have constructed to harness energy from the heart of the [[Sun]]. With the circuit in place in the needle, the device activates and causes world-wide earthquakes. Unbeknownst to Megatron, the Solar Needle is flawed, causing a dangerous instability within the core of the Sun.

[[Image:Changegearstakeitout.jpg|left|200px|thumb|KALI MA! KALI MA!]]

The effect on Gears is profound as well. The removal of this component from Gears corrupts his personality, turning him from a surly grump into a happy-go-lucky, ultra-polite guy who'll do absolutely anything for anyone. This allows Megatron to manipulate and control him. Mentally, Gears still knows the Decepticons are evil and doesn't want to help them, but he's been rendered so "nice" that he can't refuse any request.

The Autobots blast through the jungle and start firing at the Solar Needle, but it's protected by a [[force field]]. Prime concocts a dangerous plan to circumvent the field by jumping through the hole at the top where the Sun's energy is coming through. [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] say it’s too dangerous, but [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] drives past them, makes the attempt and shatters the force field.

[[Image:Changegearsmegatrontriumphs.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Let there be light!"]]

The 'Bots battle. Megatron gets the drop on Prime and orders the Autobots to surrender or he'll shoot their leader. Prime orders them to fight on, but the Autobots capitulate. Prime asks for one last request, which Megatron allows. The chief Autobot turns and asks Gears to do him a favor now. Gears obliges and shoots a component of the needle. Inspired by his change of heart, the Autobots fight back against the 'Cons, who retreat.

[[Image:Changinggearsautogroup.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"You heard Jeff Probst, now get off the island."]]

Prime orders Wheeljack and Ratchet to deactivate the device, but they argue over the correct solution. Out of time and with the Sun about to explode, Optimus just grabs at a wire inside the device and pulls. The needle shuts down and the Sun returns to normal.

Prime removes Gears's circuit card from the needle and hands it back to him, but [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] interrupts, saying that the rest of the Autobots like the new Gears over the old. Gears isn’t too happy about that, so Optimus returns the card and the surly, cranky hypochondriac is back. The Autobots roll on back to headquarters, leaving Gears to complain to himself.
{{-}}

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (9)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (10)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (11)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (12)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (13)
*[[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (14)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (15)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (16)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (17)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (18)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (19)
*[[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (20)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (21)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (22)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (23)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (2)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (3)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (4)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (5)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (6)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (7)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (8)

|c3=
*Miners (1)
}}

==Quotes==
[[Image:ChangingGears Gears Bee acrobatics.jpg|thumb|250px|right|This act is illegal in 23 states and the District of Columbia.]]

'''Ironhide:''' "Action first, Gears; maintenance later." 
'''Gears:''' "Easy for you to say. Your pulleys don't squeak!" 
'''Bumblebee:''' "Your ''squeaking''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s not the problem—[''does a forward flip over Gears'']—it's your ''squawking!''"

"Go ding your diodes and get defunct Megatron. I’m not helping you do zilch."
:—Cranky, gutsy '''Gears'''

"Megatron is behind this. I’d bet my titanium torsion bars on it."
:—That's probably a safe bet, '''Optimus Prime'''

"I should be very angry at you, Megatron. You ''are'' an evil son of a [[retrorat]], but for some reason, I just can't get too upset."
:—Cheery, nice '''Gears'''

"I should have destroyed you when I had the chance, but Megatron can't save you now!" 
"Heheheh, I really hate to disappoint you, Starscream, but you better look behind you!" 
"Do you seriously expect me to fall for such a stupid trick?"
:—'''Starscream''' refuses to be distracted by '''Gears''' warning of an impending charge from Bumblebee.

"How can I help you, Megatron, heh heh, you rotten hunk of scrap?"
:—'''Gears''', piling on the flattery.

"What did you do to Gears, you monster? You turned him...''nice!''"
:—'''Ironhide''', at Gear's sudden change in personality.

"All right, now let's blast that Solar Needle and roll out." 
"I suppose you want me to do that." 
"Be my guest."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Gears''', grumpy once again.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Missing Seeker insignia:
** Skywarp and Thundercracker are both missing their wing emblems as they dive to fire on the miners.
* The gold car ''explodes'' when it gets shot by a laser beam. Maybe what the miners really struck was TNT.
* Ravage is ''tiny'' when he tackles the trapped miner, not more than 4 feet long.
* Megatron's Decepticon symbol is a medium gray instead of purple when he bashes Starscream aside.
* Sunstreaker and Trailbreaker run past Gears twice in successive shots.
* The size and shape of the corridor that Gears is walking through changes radically between shots; it's much smaller when Ironhide chastises him. In the same shot, the corridor floor is sliding underneath both Autobots much faster than the pace of their walk.
* The shot of Prime transforming to roll out for the gold mine is recycled as the Autobots leave for Africa. This is not an error in and of itself; however, Cliffjumper being colored yellow is!
* Appearing/disappearing Autobots: Lots of Autobots come and go throughout the episode. The core Autobot cast is pretty consistent (Prime, Hound, Cliffjumper, Gears, Ratchet, Jazz, Wheeljack, Sunstreaker, Bumblebee, Ironhide and Trailbreaker; this is, for example, the group that gathers to look down on the Solar Needle, and again after the Decepticons retreat.) But several Autobots just show up for one or two shots, infrequently enough that it's not clear if they should have been shown or not:
** Mirage is seen driving away from Autobot Headquarters (twice due to recycled animation), dodging rocks the second time, and again jumping over the crevasse. He's never seen in robot mode.
** Bluestreak and Brawn show up for a single shot at the mine. Later, Bluestreak is seen at Autobot HQ dodging boulders.
** Huffer's distinctive profile can be seen at the end of the Autobot convoy as they roll out first time.
** Sideswipe can be seen in the Autobot convoy just before they start blasting the jungle, and very briefly as the Autobots charge toward the Solar Needle.
* Ratchet's vehicle mode is missing some red detailing as he rolls out behind Hound.
* Despite Prime's warnings about not endangering the humans, the three miners are almost completely out of the Autobots' line of fire. Additionally, the Autobots make no attempt to move ''themselves'' out of the way.
* Megatron's transformation sequence is about half over by the time the corresponding transformation noise begins.
* Megatron reaches behind him to pull out his secondary gun. Given the angle of the shot, he pretty much has to have pulled it out of his...ahem...exhaust port.
* The running light housings on Prime's chest are white instead of red as he order the Autobots to "look sharp". The same error repeats later, as he reacts to the falling boulders outside Autobot Headquarters.

* The animation doesn't really do such a great job of demonstrating that ''all'' the Autobots have been taken out of the fight, but that's about the only conclusion, since ''nobody'' makes any effort to combat the Decepticons after the "energized boulders" incident.
* The electrified cage holding Gears just vanishes after Starscream gives him the [[null ray]] treatment.
* After Bumblebee says "Solar flares!", a quick shot shows the sun with the Solar Needle beam streaking into it, along with a locust-like energy sound effect. If the noise is audible when we're looking at the beam, shouldn't it be heard pretty much all the time everywhere on Earth?
* In the frequently-recycled shot of the destabilizing sun, some of the solar flares are flying past the camera. Given that they have blue sky behind them, that would mean Earth just got vaporized! In the same shot, the Solar Needle's energy beam is nowhere in sight.
* The shot of Starscream, Megatron, and Gears gaping at the newly-activated Solar Needle is recycled after the first commercial break. The next shot has them all in different places and poses.
* Jazz and Sunstreaker's weapons can ''vaporize'' trees? Whoa.
* The gray portion of Gears's chest is abnormally large as he says "I love being a slave!"
* The chunk of earth that breaks loose, endangering Bumblebee, is nowhere in sight in the previous shot.
* Wheeljack gets the "wrong" transformation noise as he returns to car mode after saving Bumblebee from falling into the crevasse.
* Cliffjumper has the wrong voice as he says "Let's stop gabbin' and start blasting!" It sounds like Don Messick.
* Multiple Autobots fire on the Solar Needle, but only one laser beam is shown hitting or getting reflected.
* Ironhide's mouth isn't moving as he declares that "It's a reflective energy shield!" Prime is waving his arm like he should be the one speaking.
* Cliffjumper is shown flying toward the center of the Solar Needle, where he's supposed to be going, but the next shot has him hitting one of the peripheral energy beams instead. (As Cliffjumper flies off after the impact, Megatron appears to be standing there waiting to catch him!)
* The Autobots leap downwards into the Solar Needle's periphery, but it's not really clear where they're leaping ''from''.
* When Starscream says the line "Oh, no, you don't. Your circuit stays right here," the voice saying the line is Skywarp's. The subsequent lines make it clear that this was supposed to be Starscream.
* Starscream's gun barrel has no interior as he aims it at Gears; it's just solid, uniform gray.
* As Soundwave ejects Ravage to attack Bumblebee, Laserbeak's cassette mode is shown (due to the scene being recycled from the previous shot of Laserbeak ejecting.)
* Starscream's shoulder intakes are light gray instead of red when Megatron says that time is running out for Prime.
* Starscream's laser beams aren't quite properly animated to glow as he shoots at Gears repeatedly.
* Megatron's elbow is gray instead of red as he threatens to destroy the universe.
* The boulder that smashes the jungle floor after Megatron retreats appears to have just fallen out of the sky; there's no hill or cliff visible at all.
* Wheeljack's "ears" aren't flashing as he celebrates with the other Autobots, nor as he laughs with them at Gears's threat.
* Trailbreaker has a light gray fist as he and the others listen to Gears complain. It should either be a light gray gun-arm or a black fist.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:ChangingGears Prime Sun being zapped.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Prime's standing outside Autobot HQ, and the bottom of that beam of energy is in Africa. Totally buying that.]]

* Would the miners really find an entire truckload of gold on their ''first strike''?
* "Energized those boulders"? Uh...really?
* Gears's personality is "modulated" by a circuit in his ''chest''?
* The energy beam that the Solar Needle fires into the sun makes contact with its target in seconds, and takes seconds to return to Earth. It should take a minimum of about 8 minutes to reach the sun, and a minimum of about 8 minutes to return.
* How can the sun be up in North America and Africa at the same time?
* When Megatron turns on his space needle
* The Autobots somehow '''drove''' from their base in the Western United States to the '''"geographic center of Africa"''' in '''"slightly less than 2 Earth hours"'''. After traveling through at least eight time zones, it appears to be roughly the '''same time of day''' as when the Autobots left their base.

[[Image:ChangingGears jungleclearing.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Seriously. No roots, stumps, stray rocks, or ''anything''.]]

* "Jazz! Sunstreaker! Laser us a road!" Prime apparently changes his mind on the flagrant destruction of flora some time between this episode and "[[Microbots]]", where he prevents Brawn from blasting a path through a South American jungle.
* Despite Ratchet's assertion that "no one could survive up there", Cliffjumper disrupts the energy shield with little more than a slight hangover to show for it.
** Also none of the Autobots shows much reaction to Cliffjumper's sacrifice. None of them even go to check on him. Of course Ratchet's false assertion likely convinced the Autobots that Cliffjumper was dead but still.
* When Optimus shouts "It's a reflective energy shield" as the Autobots' first volley is bounced back at them, [[Peter Cullen]] accidentally used the voice-performance of Ironhide, Southern-Texas drawl and all, rather than that of Primes; it is stuck as recorded in the broadcasted version.
* Even with Prime disarmed, is Megatron pointing his cannon at Prime such a huge threat that the Autobots really have to surrender? He points that thing at Prime all the time!
* Gears produces two completely different guns from his arm: the one he pulls out when Prime is about to hit the pylon is round, while the one he pulls out to shoot the Solar Needle is square and has fins. In both cases, his fist slides out of his wrist ''holding the gun''. How does that even work??
* Does Gears ''really'' tip the odds that heavily in the Autobots' favor?
* What are these "battle stations" Megatron keeps ordering everyone to man? None of his troops do anything of the sort, probably because there are no "stations" anywhere in sight.
* Throughout the latter half of the episode, Optimus Prime and Megatron argue that the Solar Needle may/may not destroy the universe. While the Sun's exploding would obliterate our solar system, it couldn't destroy the universe in its entirety, unless the Solar Needle is some of the most advanced technology ever wielded by the Decepticons.

===Continuity notes===
* Gears's parts list: unlubed cable relays, squeaky pulleys (twice!), a cramped chronometer, a vibrating sequential camshaft, a trembling gyroscope, and besides that—
* Gears's special circuit board looks like an audio cassette tape. Whether it can [[Mini-Cassette|transform]] is not yet known.
* Gears uses the same hook-shaped welding tip that Brawn used to free Huffer, way back in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]".
* Where does the trailer go?
** At the end of the episode, Optimus Prime's trailer just randomly drives itself out of the jungle and connects to his truck mode. Seriously, where does that thing go when he's in robot mode?
* Yes, yes, we know, [[Solar Needle]], [[Star Harvester]] in ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'', blah blah, we ''promise'' you that ''IT IS NOT AN ACTUAL REFERENCE.''

===Trivia===
* This episode features a ''ton'' of recycled shots: the Autobots leaving HQ; Megatron aiming his cannon at Prime (complete with a pan over to the Autobots); the unstable sun; Megatron & co. gaping at the Solar Needle. Soundwave ejecting Laserbeak/Ravage is used at least four times, and the shot is copied almost line-for-line from "[[Transport to Oblivion]]". And of course, there's the ol' stock Optimus Prime transformation sequence.
[[Image:G1 ChangingGears Ratchet karate.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind."]]
* Cameo locations: Pisa, [[Italy]]; Paris, [[France]]; [[New York City]] (or rather, Liberty Island, home of the [[Statue of Liberty]]).
* As the Autobots descend the cliffside to fight the Decepticons, Gears slides down on his butt, arms up in the air.
* When Megatron throws Optimus into the energy beam, Prime's [[ion blaster]] disintegrates (in a blink-and-you-miss-it bit of animation) and he remains weaponless for the rest of the episode. Wow, chalk one up for continuity.
* In another nice bit of continuity, the Solar Needle sphere that nearly crushes Wheeljack is still laying there broken when the Autobots prepare to blow up the Needle.
* Ratchet has the moves in this episode. First he Bruce-Lee-kicks Thundercracker. Then he kicks a boulder to knock a falling pylon in order to make it miss Wheeljack. While awesome, the latter move totally breaks the laws of physics.
* Man, the Decepticons really get their tails whipped in this episode, huh? First the Autobots capture nearly all of them, then they get beaten so bad that they just up and flee without even getting the order from Megatron.
* Trailbreaker ''is'' joking about not giving Gears back his circuit card, right? There's definitely not enough time for the Autobots actually to take that vote!

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 1 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Bumper Collection Special (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 03: Stagione Due Parte Prima ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/changing_gears.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

Overlord (G1)

2013-02-03T09:38:28Z

Salva Veritate: Phrase change to the paragraph beginning 'Some time later, Overlord...'

{{faction|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Overlord}}
{{featured}}
:''Overlord is a [[Decepticon]] [[Godmaster]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:Overlord.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He's a she! She's a he! He's a she-she. He's half man, half woman. All Lord.]]

[[Autobot]]s quake in fear when '''Overlord''' (オーバーロード ''Ōbārōdo'') thunders on to the battlefield. This towering warrior is an amalgamation of the deadliest [[Decepticon]] weaponry known, armed with laser blasters and grenade launchers in his stomach, and the terrifying ability to prevent the wounds he inflicts upon his opponents from healing. He is even equipped with an internal arms factory. Overlord is formed from two individual vehicles, a tank and a jet, which combine together to form his colossal robot mode, a heavily-armed advance base, or a larger jet capable of space flight.

He is sometimes known as '''Gigatron'''.

{{note|Exactly who—and even ''what''—Overlord is varies greatly from continuity to continuity, to the point that it could conceivably be argued whether or not the different incarnations represent different characters. See individual sections below for details.}}

==Fiction==
===Japanese Generation 1 continuity===
The story of the Overlord begins with the mysterious alien energy-being and self-styled Decepticon god, [[Devil Z]], who schemed to create the ultimate lifeform by merging Transformers and humans into one. Devil Z stole a collection of Transformer [[Transtector]]s from the [[G Nebula 89|G Nebula]] and brought them to Earth, where he recruited two human beings, husband and wife [[Giga]] and [[Mega]], and charged them with creating an army for him. Mega and Giga were both bonded to the largest Transtector, and together, they became the terrifying Overlord, serving as Devil Z's "Ambassador of Destruction" on Earth.

In this continuity, each of Overlord's two components are piloted by Giga and Mega, and are hence known as the '''Gigatank''' and the '''Megajet'''. As deadly as his "Chōkon Daemon Blast" lasers and "Chōkon Bolt Masher" grenade launcher are, Overlord has little need for projectile weapons: as a [[Godmaster]], he is capable of manipulating [[Chōkon Power]], and can even employ it to inhibit the regenerative abilities of other Godmasters.

====Cartoon continuity====
=====''Super God Masterforce'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Keiichi Noda]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Overlord r.jpg|left|225px|thumb|Lady Mega: "Does this Transtector make me look fat?" Lord Giga: *groan*]]
Giga and Mega took their Transtectors into battle for the first time after a string of failures that resulted in several of the Godmaster Transtectors falling into the hands of the [[Autobot]]s. The couple had [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]] and [[Buster (Masterforce)|Buster]] lure Autobot commander [[Ginrai]] into the desert, and then confronted him as Overlord, immediately proving their superiority by beating him to near-death. {{storylink|Super Ginrai Gets Blown Away in the Desert!?}} Believing Ginrai dealt with, Overlord subsequently departed into space, taking control of a [[Weather Observatory Moon Base|weather-monitoring base]] on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]] in order to rendezvous with the approaching [[Scorponok (G1)|BlackZarak]] there. Ginrai, however, proved entirely too stubborn to die, and, powered-up through his combination with the freshly-constructed [[Godbomber]] drone, soon pursued Overlord and engaged him in battle above the moon's surface. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Into the Sky!!}} During the fight, Ginrai was blindsided by BlackZarak and sent crashing down to the moon, where he found himself hunted by the two powerful Decepticons. Luckily, the Autobot battleship [[Grand Maximus]] arrived to help, and the two Decepticon tried to break off the fight an return to Earth. Ginrai and Grand vowed to stop them, and a shot from Ginrai's God Cannon sent Overlord plummeting back to the moon, forcing Giga and Mega to split into their individual Transtectors to soften their impact and save their lives. The Autobot pair managed to drive BlackZarak back to the moon as well, and the dark Decepticon insisted that Overlord return to Earth alone and inform Devil Z of the situation. Overlord refused, furious that anyone other than Devil Z would presume to give him orders, but when Ginrai and Grand returned to press their attack, he realised the damage he had sustained prevented him from carrying on the fight, and he relented. After Overlord departed for Earth, however, the outnumbered BlackZarak was then beaten by Ginrai and sent fleeing back into the depths of space. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Showdown on the Surface of the Moon}}

[[Image:Overlord v.jpg|right|205px|thumb|I'm easy come. Easy go. Little High. Little Low.]]
Incensed by this failure, Giga decided to reduce Ginrai's power level by destroying Godbomber. A desert again served as Ginrai and Overlord's battleground, as Overlord used his Chōkon Power to create a massive whirling tornado out of the shifting sands, but when he was thrown off balance by a sneaky God Punch attack, Overlord's "Chōkon Tornado" quickly backfired on him and sent him spinning off wildly through the sky. {{storylink|Overlord - Terror of the Chōkon Tornado}} Despite this setback, Overlord made another attempt to eliminate Godbomber, this time by separating him from Ginrai with an ambush in the American heartland. In their separate Transtectors, Giga and Mega wore down Ginrai until he no longer had enough Chōkon Power to animate Godbomber, but the plan was foiled when the Autobot [[Headmaster Junior]]s discovered they could combine their own energy to control Godbomber themselves. With Ginrai and Godbomber reunited, Overlord was sent packing by a blast of Chōkon Power. {{storylink|Destroy Godbomber!!}}

[[Image:Overlord b.jpg|left|205px|thumb|Umm, Giga? Where are we supposed to sleep?]]
Overlord later adopted his base mode for the first time to act as a staging ground for the search for the final Godmaster. The search came to an abruptly end, however, when the Godmaster himself, [[Clouder]], sought out the Decepticons, and the villains decided to use his ability to adopt two robot forms to install him as a double agent within the Autobot ranks. {{storylink|Appearance!! The Final Godmaster}} Using information fed to them by Clouder, the Decepticons initiated a full-scale attack on the Autobots' headquarters, again using Overlord's base mode as a mobile headquarters from which the assault was masterminded. {{storylink|Secret Orders! Destroy the Autobot Base!!}} When Ginrai (who had been lured away from the base so the attack to begin) returned to aid his fellow Autobots, Overlord transformed to robot mode and again engaged him in battle, intending to keep him occupied until a [[Seacon (Masterforce)|Seacon]] force could destroy the Autobot base from within. Although defeated in combat, Overlord was still able to gloat, as Ginrai failed to realise that he was being stalled until it was too late. Furious at his own short-sightedness, Ginrai hurled Overlord and embedded him, head-first, in the side of the mountain housing the Autobot base. At that moment, the base's magma converter power core finally exploded, and Overlord was sent flying over the horizon by a jet of lava. {{storylink|Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes}}

[[Image:Overlord spacejet.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Set controls to outer space, now, flying higher than ever before!]]
Soon thereafter, BlackZarak returned to Earth, and the Decepticons began "Operation M-1" to cut a swathe of devastation across the Earth. While BlackZarak tore through [[New York City|New York]], Overlord landed in the heart of [[Paris]], decimating military resistance and destroying the [[Arc de Triomphe]]. With these cities in ruins, the two Decepticons began to converge on Tokyo; while passing over China, Overlord landed on the Great Wall and broadcasted a message to the leaders of the world, warning them to surrender or witness Tokyo's destruction. Overlord then carried on his way, easily defeating [[Metalhawk]], [[Phoenix (Masterforce)|Phoenix]] and [[Diver (Masterforce)|Diver]] when they attempted to block his path. Overlord and BlackZarak soon arrived in Tokyo, and with no surrender forthcoming, began razing the city. In the midst of the chaos, however, Ginrai and Grand Maximus—who had been trapped in a black hole by BlackZarak, and only just managed to escape—arrived to stop their evil deeds. During the ensuing battle, Ginrai manoeuvred himself between the two Decepticons, and dodged at the last second, causing them to blast each other. With his two most powerful warriors damaged, Devil Z called off Operation M-1, and initiated Operation M-2 {{storylink|BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space}} which involved destroying the Earth's atmosphere from orbit with the unholy [[Death Para-Machine]]. Overlord transformed to his "space jet" mode to carry the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors into space for the operation, but naturally, the Autobots pursued their enemies, and Ginrai was able to destroy the Death Para-Machine before it caused irreparable damage to Earth. {{storylink|Crisis! The Day of Human Extinction}}

[[Image:Overlord vs ginrai.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"I outrank you, Ginrai!" "You do NOT! 'God' outranks 'Overlord'!"]]
After a battle with [[Lightfoot]] in southern Europe, {{storylink|God Ginrai - Save Cancer!?}} Overlord tried a more underhanded tactic, capturing Autobot Headmaster Junior [[Shūta Gō]], and using him as a bargaining chip to bring Ginrai to the Decepticon base. The battle that followed was distinctly one-sided, as Ginrai was unable to fight back due to Shūta being in danger, but this suddenly took an unexpected turn when Decepticon Junior [[Cancer (Masterforce)|Cancer]] turned on his teammates and freed Shūta. Even as the shocked Overlord commanded him to stop, Ginrai got back in the fight, and flattened Overlord before escaping with Shūta and Cancer. {{storylink|God Ginrai: Showdown at the Decepticon Base}} With the information Cancer provided them, the Autobots were able to stage an all-out attack on the Decepticon base, during which Overlord again battled Ginrai. The fight came to a sudden end when Devil Z merged together with BlackZarak and collapsed the Decepticon base in a failed attempt to destroy the Autobots. {{storylink|The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform}}

For a time, Devil Z's hatred of humankind had been steadily growing, and rankled with Giga and Mega, reaching a head when the alien abandoned [[Wilder]] and [[Bullhorn]] in the ruins of the Decepticon base, and transformed Hydra and Buster into true robots. {{storylink|Battle to the Death!! God Ginrai VS Darkwings Reborn}} Confronting God Ginrai for one final time in the heart of the [[Grand Canyon]], Overlord vowed to fight him without weapons, battling him only through the use of his physical strength and the power of his human flesh. He didn't explain his motives to Ginrai, but Ginrai observed Overlord's refusal to draw his weapons, and fought honourably. When Grand Maximus arrived on the scene, however, he was not so concerned, and simply shot Overlord out of the sky. {{storylink|Autobots! Desperate Attack!!}}

[[Image:Overlord ginrairescue.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I get by with a little help from my ... uh, foes.]]
After the battle in the Grand Canyon, the Decepticons relocated to the Alps, and the Autobots again gave chase. Overlord was willing to engage the Autobot Godmasters, but the merged Devil Z/BlackZarak entity held him back and instead buried them under an avalanche. Meanwhile, Ginrai again defeated Hydra and Buster, and the two brothers limped back to the peak of the Matterhorn, where Devil Z turned on them for their failure. As their punishment continued, Overlord at last stood up to his emperor and attempted to stop him, only to be on the receiving end of the emperor's wrath. {{storylink|Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z}} Unexpectedly, Overlord was rescued by Ginrai, and as the Autobot leader began his final battle with BlackZarak, Giga and Mega realized that they owed him a debt of honor for saving them and finally made the decision to turn against their former master. When Overlord attempted to aid God Ginrai in his battle with BlackZarak, however, they were struck down and enveloped in a sphere of Devil Z's [[Devil Power]]. Devil Z separated Mega and Giga from their Transtectors, bringing Overlord to live as a true super-robot lifeform. As their [[Master-Brace]]s vanished from their wrists, Giga and Mega died, regretting that they could not settle their rivalry with Ginrai honourably. Alas, there was not even time to mourn, as the new, robotic Overlord lunged for Ginrai, but was tackled by Grand Maximus. Ginrai subsequently united his powers with the Headmasters Juniors to finally destroy Devil Z and BlackZarak, and at the sight of his leader being vaporized, Overlord immediately called for the Decepticons to retreat. As they fled into space, the Autobots' Transtectors were also brought to life, as Overlord's had been, by the death of Devil Z, and they took headed into space in pursuit of Overlord's Decepticons. {{storylink|A Battle... and Then...}}
{{--}}

=====''Victory'' cartoon=====
[[Image:Decepticons in the g nebula.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Those car washes get more dangerous every year.]]
The now-living Overlord Transtector and his followers rejoined the Decepticon forces in space, and Overlord briefly led the Decepticon army before the rise to power of [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]. {{storylink|Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus's toy bio}} Following this, Overlord commanded the Sector Two Decepticon force, based in the G Nebula, where they battled the Autobots under the command of his old foe, God Ginrai. {{storylink|Planet Micro - The Mysterious Warrior}}
{{--}}
=====''Zone'' cartoon=====
[[Image:OverlordZone1.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Robots should not wear [[Transformer clothing#Capes|capes]].]]

:''Voice actor:'' [[Keiichi Noda]] (Japanese)

Years later, when the supernatural creature known as [[Violen Jiger]] seized command of the Decepticons, his first act was to recruit nine "[[Nine Great Demon Generals|Demon Generals]]" from Decepticon history. Overlord was selected to be one of those Generals and was given new power and weaponry to make him an even greater threat than before. At Violen Jiger's instruction, Overlord was sent to the planet [[Feminia]] to wreak havoc along with [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. Together, the three Decepticon Demon Generals destroyed the entire planet and nearly killed Autobot [[Supreme Commander]] [[Star Saber (Victory)|Victory Saber]] in the process.

Two-and-a-half months later, Overlord led Menasor, Abominus and [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] in an attack on the planet of [[Micro|Zone]], gleefully blasting [[Micromaster]]s and using his trident to slice into [[Zone Base]] to retrieve a sample of [[Energon Z]] for Decepticon use. With the Micromasters completely unable to harm the Decepticon generals, Overlord left the planet in triumph, handing the Energon Z off to the second group of Generals, who went on to attack Earth, but were stopped by Autobot [[Powered Master]] [[Dai Atlas (Zone)|Dai Atlas]]. {{storylink|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!}}
{{--}}

====Comic continuity====
=====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic=====
[[Image:Overlord manga.jpg|left|250px|thumb|The sound effect reads "fart."]]
Giga and Mega debuted their Transtectors in an attack on a city, during which they combined into Overlord and devastated the Autobot Godmasters with their Daemon Blast and Bolt Masher weapons. Blindsided and badly damaged by the newly-created God Ginrai, Overlord was goaded into pursuing the Autobot out into space, where BlackZarak was battling the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]. As BlackZarak turned to face the approaching Ginrai, the cunning Autobot swiftly ducked out of the way, causing Overlord and BlackZarak to attack each other. Gravely wounded, Overlord returned to Earth, while BlackZarak fled back into space. {{storylink|God Ginrai's Amazing Super-God Combination!}}

Overlord's base mode was employed by the Decepticon to hold Shūta Gō and [[Cab]] prisoner, when they attempted to torture the two boys into becoming members of the Decepticons. Their fellow Autobot Junior, [[Minerva (Masterforce)|Minerva]], came to their rescue when she crashed Godbomber through Overlord's walls and freed them, after which Overlord transformed to robot mode to face the approaching Ginrai and Grand Maximus. It wasn't his best showing: after Ginrai combined with Godbomber, Grand crashed his battleship directly into Overlord's face, and God Ginrai used the Headmaster's "[[Master Blade (Masterforce)|Master Blade]]" to slice off Overlord's legs. Their Transtectors forcibly separated, the battered Giga and Mega escaped. {{storylink|The Earth Family of Good and Evil}}

[[Image:Overlord aolaser.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]
From the top of [[Qomolangma]], Overlord rained destruction down on the world using the Decepticons' newest weapon, the [[A.O. Laser]]. When Ginrai and Godbomber arrived to stop him, Overlord turned the laser on them; they dodged, but they had failed to observe the presence of the Decepticons' newest member, the Godmaster Clouder, who reflected the laser beam back at them and knocked them out of the sky. Unfortunately for Overlord, a chance comment from Cancer insulting Clouder's falcon mode plunged the Godmaster into such a rage that he turned on his Decepticon allies and blew up the A.O. Laser in Overlord's hands. Although Ginrai had been temporarily blinded by the A.O. Laser, the Headmaster Juniors were able to serve as his eyes and point him in the right direction to unleash his "God Punch" attack, which clobbered Overlord so hard that Giga and Mega actually popped out of his chest. {{storylink|Decepticons' Great Counterattack!}}

Soon thereafter, when the Autobots were off-Earth visiting their space-based allies, BlackZarak was able to return to Earth, and he and Overlord took the opportunity to attack a city. The Autobots soon returned with, and Ginrai and Godbomber grappled with Overlord, forcing him to separate back into the Megajet and Gigatank. The two Autobots clung onto the separate Transtectors, however, refusing to let them escape, as they waited for the new weapon they had brought back from space, the [[VX Bomb]] to detonate. The explosion came seconds later, knocking Mega and Giga's Transtectors offline, but Ginrai and Godbomber survived by combining into God Ginrai. {{storylink|Live? Die?! The Desperate Super-God Combination}}

[[Image:Overlord vs blackzarak.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]
When BlackZarak attacked a city, Cancer happened to be here, and BlackZarak showed his disdain for humans by using the boy as a bargaining chip to prevent the Autobots from interfering with his deviltry. Horrified at this treatment of Cancer, Overlord viciously attacked BlackZarak, rescuing Cancer from his grip, but while they were fighting, it allowed the Autobots to take down both of them. {{storylink|Great Turn-Around! Autobots}}

In light of this act of treachery by Overlord, it was perhaps not surprising that in the midst of his next battle with Ginrai, Overlord himself was the subject of a betrayal. In an attempt to transform himself into the ultimate lifeform, Devil Z fused with BlackZarak, and then turned on Overlord and the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors, attempting to drain theirs and Ginrai's [[Chōkon Power|Jinchōkon]] and take it for his own. They were saved by the Autobot Pretenders, who blocked the Jinchōkon-absorbing beam, and Overlord decided to join with the Autobots in defeating Devil Z. Overlord joined with all the other Transformers in combining their energies into the "Perfect Transform Attack", which finally destroyed BlackZarak and Devil Z once and for all. With the alien's death, the Transformers' Transtectors were brought to life as true super-robot lifeforms, Overlord's included. Alas, Devil Z's energies had also been sustaining the lives of Giga and Mega, and his death also resulted in theirs. The now-living Overlord and Ginrai Transtectors decided to take their troops back into space, where Overlord vowed to defeat Ginrai in memory of Mega and Giga, and for the honor of the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Birth of the Super Lifeforms}}
{{--}}

=====''Zone'' comic and story pages=====
[[Image:Overlord zone manga.jpg|right|160px|thumb|]]
Years after the end of the [[Masterforce War]], Overlord was among the Decepticons recruited by the new Decepticon emperor Violen Jiger to become the strongest of his Nine Great Demon Generals. In addition to his new title of "Super-God General", Overlord was outfitted with new armor and weapons that made him even more dangerous than before. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 1}}

One month after the Demon Generals destroyed the planet Feminia, apparently taking the life of the Autobot Supreme Commander Victory Saber in the process, Overlord led Menasor, Bruticus and Abominus in an attack on the planet Zone, where they successfully stole a sample of the super-energy, Energon Z. When the Zone Base transformed into battle mode and opened fire on the Decepticons, Overlord called retreat, seeing no need to stay and fight when the prize was already theirs. Overlord then handed the Energon Z off to the second platoon of generals, who subsequently headed for Earth, but were defeated in battle there by the Decepticon Powered Master Dai Atlas. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (manga)|Transformers: Zone}}

It wasn't long before Overlord got his own chance to go up against Dai Atlas, but the Powered Master didn't think much of this so-called "Strongest of the Generals," aiming to finish their battle in under eight seconds. Whether or not he achieved this lofty goal is unknown, but he ''did'' lay out Overlord with his powerful "Galactic Dash" attack. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 6}}

The Generals later schooled [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] and the [[Metrosquad]] in the ways of evil, making them formidable foes for the [[Powered Master]]s. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 7}}
{{--}}

====''Transformers PD Type''====
[[Image:Pdtype_overlord.jpg|left|thumb]]
During a battle between Overlord and Super Ginrai, the Autobot Godmaster prepared to attack with Chokon Power. When he raised his hands to summon Tenchokon, however, he was struck by a bolt of lightning, causing Overlord to smirk that the weather wasn't looking too good. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##7 "Fight! Super Ginrai!"|Fight! Super Ginrai!!}}

Sitting in a field, watching the clouds float by, Overlord started to wonder what he was doing with his life and decided he needed a day off to reflect on his lot. Unfortunately, he had chosen to sit down and have this epiphany in the middle of a huge battle, and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] began shouting at him to get back up and join the fight. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##9 "Oh Overlord."|Oh, Overlord}}
{{-}}

===European toy bio continuity===
[[Image:Overlord vs motorvators.jpg|right|thumb|Collect all time-displaced toys.]]
A legend by virtue of his very existence, Overlord is the ultimate Decepticon anti-hero. Emerging to join the Transformers' war at some undetermined point in space and time, Overlord fights alone on the battlefield despite his Decepticon allegiance, a monolithic horror born of "advanced robotic engineering" whose special abilities—including the power to travel across dimensions—come from the "[[Energon figure]]s" that operate his multiple functions.

To counter the monstrous threat posed by this powerful new breed of Decepticon, the Autobots developed their own new team of warriors, the [[Motorvator]]s, emulating Overlord's Energon figure technology to make the trio a match for his awesome power.<ref>Overlord's European toy bio</ref><ref>Story blurb on Overlord and the Motorvators' packaging.</ref>
{{--}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
Gigatron was an ancient Cybertronian, who developed an idea to allow Decepticons to survive on alien planets by biologically integrating local inhabitants into their systems. In modern times, Gigatron's records were uncovered and used to develop the [[Powermaster]] process. {{storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye #8}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{bigquote|A good strategist is half psychologist and half '''sadist'''. And I was the '''best'''.|Overlord|[[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #3]]}}
[[Image:MegatronOrigin2 fightcrowd1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Hey, he appeared as a rabid fan of gladiatorial combat in a crowd shot once. Wouldn't it be ''awesome'' if [[Nick Roche|someone]] built a whole character round that?.]]
In the days before the Cybertronian civil war, Overlord was an avid spectator of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]'s gladiatorial matches. Like many, this led him to join the charismatic pit fighter's army and bear the badge of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}} However, Overlord was enthralled not with the loftiness of the Decepticon cause that Megatron espoused, but with the glorious excess of the gladiator battles and the freedom of making entire worlds his arena. To Overlord, the ends didn't matter overly much when the ''means'' themselves were this pleasurable. As a result his tactics developed a reputation as unsound, and his schemes as nothing more than flights of brutal whimsy. Unlike [[Scorponok (G1)|many]] [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|other]] powerful Decepticons, he had no interest in command, only in taking his slaughter to the next stage. Megatron was not convinced, however, believing the image of Overlord as simply interested in killing to be a façade, and began searching for a way to exert greater control over him.

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers2-teleconference.jpg|left|thumb|300px|I am not a number!]]
During the early years of the war, Overlord was embroiled in battle on [[Caldoon 4]] when he was called to a teleconference with [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]], who announced that Overlord would join [[Sixshot]] and [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] as the "phase sixers" in his new [[infiltration protocol]]. Dissatisfied with being declared a weapon that operated at someone else's whim, Overlord contested his appointment, and Megatron gave him two options: do as he was told, or refuse and have Megatron hunt him down. Overlord made his choice quickly, returning to the battle outside and dispatching every Autobot save one—[[Kup (G1)|Kup]]—who he allowed to survive so a message could be sent to Megatron: Overlord had chosen option two. He proceeded to leave Caldoon 4 to plan for Megatron's inevitable coming, {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} but soon discovered that at some point, [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] had infected him with an [[Achilles virus]] on Megatron's command, giving Overlord a "tactical blindspot" that prevented him from figuring out how to harm Megatron. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

Some time later, Overlord initiated a conflict with the emperor of a star system who was in possession of interstellar travel capabilities and weapons technology that rivaled his own. Finding himself overmatched, Overlord sought and secured the aid of [[Gorelock]]'s Decepticon battalion, which, at the time, was assigned to [[Spensifax B]]. The ensuing battle, according to the estimates of science officer [[Vivisector]], set the technological development of the empire back an estimated 250,000 years. {{storylink|The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Gorelock's prisoner clemency request}}

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers1-Overlord.jpg|right|thumb|250px|We peed a little.]]
At the height of the [[Surge (event)|cross-galactic Decepticon uprising]], Overlord arrived at [[Garrus-9]] in the midst of the Decepticon siege of the prison, and casually murdered garrison leader [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]] when he refused to turn command over to him. Intending to turn Garrus-9 into his home away from home, Overlord personally defeated warden [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and threw him to the crowd of Decepticon prisoners he had freed as a show of good faith. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} Overlord was not done with Maximus, though, later imprisoning him and personally torturing him for information on the [[Aequitas]] computer hidden in the bowls of Garrus-9, and the mysterious secret of the prison that the computer had been created to hide. Maximus refused to give up the passcodes to the device's chamber even after Overlord threatened to kill an Autobot for every second that he withheld them. {{storylink|Interiors}}

[[Image:Overlord-Fort-Max-Interiors.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Do you expect me to talk?" "No, I expect you to die and be a cheap funeral".]]

During his time in command of Garrus-9, Overlord turn the prison into a huge gladiatorial arena, and had the prisoners fight for their lives with the promise that victory meant freedom. This was, of course, a lie; those who won in twelve bouts were offered the choice of facing Overlord himself or committing suicide. Overlord forced the imprisoned [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] to watch footage of both these matches and the sacking of the prison, possibly driving him insane. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}} After a year of this, some of the Decepticons began to have doubts about their sadistic leader; [[Fearswoop (G1)|Fearswoop]] was lucky to survive when he questioned Overlord's lack of sportsmanship, but [[Wingblazer]] and his partner were not so fortunate when they let an Autobot prisoner get the better of them during a hunt, and Overlord killed them for their carelessness. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} Around this time, Overlord also released Shockwave from confinement and let him leave in return for the Achilles Virus being removed. Shockwave could tell that all Overlord was doing with Garrus-9 was trying to get Megatron's attention, though Overlord denied it. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers1-BoreholeKickoff.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Better than television!]]
Two years later, Overlord and his Decepticons watched the captive Autobot [[Kick-Off (G1)|Kick-Off]] battle the Decepticon [[Borehole]] for his amusement. Kick-Off triumphed and was taken to Overlord's quarters {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} where he was offered the customary choice; {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last stand of the Wreckers #4}} he evidently opted to fight Overlord, given the brutalized state of his body when it was later found. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

Not long thereafter, the Autobot strike team known as the [[Wrecker]]s arrived to liberate Garrus-9, breaking through the planetary defenses inside escape pods, one of which crashed into the gladiatorial arena chamber right in front of Overlord's feet. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} Although disappointed to discover that the new arrivals were Autobots, rather than Decepticons sent by Megatron, Overlord was amused by the joke made by [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]] about Wreckers combining... right before he put a gun between Rotorstorm's optics and shot him through the head. The Wreckers turned down Overlord's proposal of surrender but were unable to injure him, and escaped into the prison by detonating a fuel tank to cover their withdrawal. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[Image:LastStandofWreckers4- OverlordSpringerReady.jpg|left|thumb|200px|FINAL ROUND, FIGHT!]]

With help from the Decepticon [[Snare]], who had come to believe that the Decepticons on Garrus-9 were as trapped by Overlord as the Autobots were, the Wreckers regrouped with the rest of their team and established a new mission objective: kill Overlord. They did not have to hunt him down, however, as he soon arrived to take them on. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}} The fight quickly made its way to the rooftop of Garrus-9, where [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]] was torn in half and used to dispatch Kup. A harpoon through the eye courtesy of [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] barely fazed Overlord, who delivered a defeat more crushing than any beating: the Autobot prisoners the Wreckers had come to liberate had all been executed on his orders already. [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]], and human ally [[Verity Carlo]] soon arrived to join the fight, bringing with them a huge chaingun-like weapon that Springer emptied into Overlord. The Decepticon shrugged off even its massive payload and slapped Springer to the ground, removing most of his face, before quickly dispatching Perceptor. Rounding on Ironfist, Overlord was amused by the small Autobot's warning not to get any closer, but Ironfist was quick to explain: Springer had shot Overlord with thousands of deterrence chips, which Ironfist then remotely detonated, reducing Overlord to a flaming, yet still-functional skeleton.

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers5-brittlebones.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"Megatron better not show up when I'm naked!"]]

Ironfist fell unconscious, leaving only Verity to hear Overlord's wrathful ranting, as he demanded to know how he could meet a challenge from Megatron in this sorry state. Realizing this what what Overlord had longed for all along, Verity dropped the bomb: Megatron was ''dead''. Overlord was stunned by the realization that while he had dedicated every waking hour of his existence to his supposedly inevitable fight with Megatron, the Decepticon leader had never cared, and would never come. He put up no resistance when Impactor recovered, but Impactor refused to kill Overlord, for Springer's sake, and promised to take him in to face justice. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[Image:Overlord-Lost-Light-Interiors.jpg|left|thumb|First class may seem like a rip off but it has advantages over the alternatives.]]

Several years later, [[Rung]] claimed Overlord had been completely disassembled and his spark placed in a whiteout vacuum on Cybertron. Unfortunately this was not the whole truth. [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] started hearing voices in the depths of the ''[[Lost Light]]''. Stealing a drill, he tunneled into the base of the ship, revealing a huge chamber, in which a trapped, reconstructed but disarmed Overlord continually begged for someone to kill him. {{storylink|Interiors}}

{{-}}

===''Classics''===
[[Image:InvasionPrologue-Gigatron.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Everything's shrunk except those glorious lips.]]

Long ago, Gigatron, the Overlord, grew restless in his duties at [[Darkmount]], and forfeited his throne to [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]]. His psychotic craving for power led him to scour the universe, ultimately leading him to Earth.

Gigatron crashlanded in [[Japan]], where he adopted a robot form resembling a shogun and an M1 Abrams tank altmode. With most of Earth's Decepticons offplanet with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], he was able to gather a small army of ten warriors, and he would infrequently clash with [[Metalhawk]] and his fellow Earthbound Autobots. Once, Gigatron searched in [[Kitakyushu]] for [[Musashi]]'s sword, but legends of the sword's strength were exaggerated.

Soon, Gigatron had set his sights on another potential source of power, [[Rarified Energon]]. The Autobots had been guarding it for a period of time, and had been moving it frequently to keep it out of the hands of the Decepticons. But Gigatron discovered that the Rarified Energon had been moved to [[Ironworks]], and effortlessly battled through an army of [[RUNT]]s to reach the Autobot station. There, he fought Metalhawk, and he and his Decepticons were forced to retreat. {{storylink|Invasion Prologue}}

Gigatron continued to keep vigil over Ironworks, however, and when [[Spinister]] brought him news of a skirmish involving heroic Decepticons and evil Autobots, Gigatron knew it was time to strike! With this distraction, they could easily take the Rarified Energon hidden in the vaults for themselves.

[[Image:Invasion-destroythem.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Gigatron's about to be really happy he got stuck on Earth.]]

Once it was discovered that the evil Autobots were also after the Rarified Energon, Gigatron refused to be out-conquered. He and the majority of his troops came to the rescue of [[Sir Soundwave]], who was about to get assimilated by [[Junkion (SG)|Junkions]]. Aiming to show these heroic Decepticons how it's done, he set Soundwave loose and continued battling the Junkions.

What Gigatron did not know was that the evil Autobots, led by [[Ultra Magnus (SG)|Ultra Magnus]], intended to warp this iteration of Earth to their own universe's Cybertron, destroying it in the process. Though Sir Soundwave was able to expand the force field surrounding the evil Autobots' machinery large enough to protect the entire planet, saving Gigatron and his troops, no one foresaw the true scale of Magnus's intentions. And so as Earth neared the alternate universe Cybertron, its entire dimension was destroyed behind them, leaving Gigatron and the rest of his Earth's citizens the last remnants of their universe.

Gigatron and the others were unsurprisingly distraught, so [[Straxus (SG)|the Bard of Darkmount]] recited for them a hopeful poem. {{storylink|Invasion (issue)|Invasion}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Super-God Masterforce===
*'''Overlord''' (Godmaster, 1988)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-307'''[[Image:G1 overlord toy.jpg|right|325px|thumb|Not to be confused with Blackstar's nemesis.]]
**''Accessories:'' Giga and Mega Godmaster engines, "Transtector Destroyer Cannon", three missiles, tank barrel, two ramps/shin guards, central ramp, two radar arrays, double-barreled laser, rocket launcher, car

: Overlord consists of two vehicles, the Gigatank and the Megajet, which are able to combine together to form a robot mode or a base mode. Like any Godmaster (or [[Powermaster]]), Overlord is only able to transform when the Giga and Mega Godmaster figures are transformed into engine mode and snapped into place in the sockets on top of the vehicles. Inserting Giga into the tank splits it in half to form legs for robot mode, or alternately, the left and right emplacements of the base (the left containing a fold-out twin cannon, the right a poseable claw arm). Fitting Mega into the jet, meanwhile, unlocks the toy's shoulder articulation for robot mode and its fold-out launchpad for base mode. Once the toy is in robot mode, the figures can be removed from their sockets and fitted into two further ports hidden beneath doors on his chest, which unlock the multi-barreled "Chōkon Daemon Blast" and spring-loaded "Chōkon Bolt Masher" weapons that pop out of his stomach. One figure can also fit into the [[Roller (G1)|Roller]]-style car that comes with the set.

: There is, unfortunately, not one mode that uses all of Overlord's many accessories. Standing approximately 15" in robot mode, Overlord is taller than ''most'' Transformer toys, though [[Unicron/toys|certainly]] [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|not]] [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|all]].

: Overlord's instructions do not feature the additional large jet mode seen in the animated series and manga, as it (like [[Sixshot]]'s "Wingwolf" mode or BlackZarak's "Dakatsu" mode) was created by the production staff after fiddling around with the toy itself. As such, it's entirely possible to put the toy in this form, although it doesn't rest evenly on a flat surface.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Destron/Overlord/overlord.htm More information on Overlord at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

===Generation 1===
*'''Overlord''' (1991)

: Initially exclusive to Japan, Overlord's toy was later released in Europe and Australasia with a different shade of purple plastic.

===Timelines===
[[Image:Timelinestoy-BC2012Gigatron.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Oh my, Bludgeon, you've never looked so... ''kissable''... before...]]
*'''Invasion''' ([[BotCon 2012]] box set)
**''Accessories:'' [[Wikipedia:Katana|Katana]], [[Wikipedia:Wakizashi|tanto]]
: ''[[Transformers Timelines (toyline)|Timelines]]'' Gigatron is a [[redeco]]/[[retool]] of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' Voyager Class [[Bludgeon (ROTF)#Voyager|Bludgeon]], sporting a new head. Gigatron transforms from a Japanese [[Wikipedia:Type 90 Kyū-maru|Type 90]] tank into a samurai-esque robot mode. He features a flexible plastic sword which is made out of a portion of the barrel of the tank's main gun as well as a smaller dagger. The dagger can be stored in a sheath which is revealed from inside the tank turret, and both blades can be slotted in holes provided on the robot mode's left hip guard. Additionally, the dagger's handle can fit in the base of the sword's handle, forming a double-bladed weapon. He has [[Mech Alive]] [[gimmick]]s in his thighs and turret: Sculpted cylinders in his thighs rotate whenever his lower legs are rotated, and pulling his turret open makes a sculpted "disc" at the center rotate while a scabbard for the tantō hinges over to the side and props itself up for use.

:The vehicle mode is one of the very few Transformer tank toys with rubber components to its treads. Portions of the tread links can unlock, allowing them to hang from the robot mode, while the wheels of the treads are integrated separately into the robot mode form itself. The treads still do not function realistically; small plastic wheels on the underside of the treads help the tank mode roll, as is standard with nearly all Transformer tank toys.

:The original version of this mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers (2010 toyline)|Transformers]]'' [[Banzaitron]], and it was differently retooled to make ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Megatron (G1)/toys#Generations|Megatron]].

:Gigatron was released in a box set with [[Ultra Magnus (SG)#Timelines|Ultra Magnus]], [[Tracks (SG)|Tracks]], [[Treadshot (SG)|Treadshot]], [[Sir Soundwave#Timelines|Soundwave]], and [[Metalhawk#Timelines|Metalhawk]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2012/Decepticon/BCGigatron/gigatron.htm More information on BotCon Gigatron at TFU.info]''

==Merchandise==
===Parody Deformed===
[[Image:Overlord pd model.jpg|right|thumb|]]
*'''Overlord''' (1990)

:A small blue and white, non-transforming [[super deformed]] model kit of Overlord was available as part of [[Kabaya]]'s "[[Parody Deformed]]" line of [[Candy toy|candy toys]]. The eighth figure in the series, he came with a "[[Transformers PD Type]]" comic about himself, "Oh, Overlord", and something that could charitably be described as "chocolate".
{{--}}
===Super Collection Figure===
[[Image:HOC Gigatron.jpg|right|thumb|]]
*'''Overlord''' (2001)

:A PVC figure of Overlord was part of the ''Super-God Masterforce''-centric fifth act of [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s ''[[Heroes of Cybertron|Super Collection Figure]]'' series, available in both full colour and metallic silver "pewter" in an equal ratio of one each per case of twelve figures. In eight out of every ten cases, the pewter version of Overlord came packaged with the right leg of the wave's "build-a-figure", BlackZarak, itself also available in full color and pewter versions.

:The colour version of his figure was later released in the fourth wave of [[Hasbro]]'s ''[[Heroes of Cybertron]]'', under the new name of Gigatron.

===Heroes of Cybertron===
*'''Powermaster Gigatron''' (2003)
:Gigatron is a slightly-altered version of the ''Super Collection Figure'' Overlord PVC, featuring rounded-off shoulder-cones [[for safety reasons]], plus he used the standard "all clear-red-plastic painted over" coloring process to give him [[Light-piping|light-piped]] eyes. He came with the left arm of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] build-a-figurine.
{{--}}

==Notes==
*Overlord was a new [[character]] created for the 1988 Japanese ''Super God Masterforce'' series. While all his fellow Godmasters had American Powermaster counterpart characters (Ginrai had Optimus Prime, Lightfoot had [[Getaway]], and so forth), Overlord's counterpart came later in the form of a 1991 European and Australasian exclusive. The bio of this figure stated that he was a dimension-hopper, which leaves the door open for him being the Masterforce character who jumped dimensions into the European toy bio continuity. Overlord did not have an American counterpart until 2003, when the ''Heroes of Cybertron'' line introduced "Gigatron". However, the little-known nature of this character (existing as he did only as an obscure PVC figurine), coupled with the fact that Overlord had been around for fifteen years already, meant that the idea of a Powermaster named Gigatron who existed as a separate character from the Godmaster Overlord didn't really catch on. Surprisingly, Dreamwave stuck with the formula in their ''More Than Meets The Eye'' series, briefly mentioning the character as the originator of the Powermaster process, but when the non-Godmaster version of the character appeared again a few years later in [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' series, he was "Overlord" once more. With this, there seems little point in distinguishing between the two characters (different as they are), and as such they are included in this article together.
*Early during pre-production for ''Masterforce'', Overlord was named '''Leviathan'''. This was almost certainly a name based in series creator [[Masumi Kaneda]]'s desire to sprinkle the series with assorted Biblical allegories; the name-change is fairly symptomatic of how these references wound up being downplayed to the point of near-total obfuscation in the finished show.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-images/tech-specs/Heroes-Of-Cybertron-Tech-Specs/2003-Transformers-Tech-Specs/Powermaster_Gigatron.jpg.html Powermaster Gigatron's tech-specs] at TFW2005.com

[[Category:Classics Decepticons]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Decepticon bases]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Dimension hoppers]]
[[Category:Emperors]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Godmasters]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce Decepticons]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Zone Decepticons]]

Overlord (G1)

2013-02-03T09:35:22Z

Salva Veritate: Changed 'requisitioned' to 'secured' in the paragraph beginning 'Some time later, Overlord...'

{{faction|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Overlord}}
{{featured}}
:''Overlord is a [[Decepticon]] [[Godmaster]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:Overlord.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He's a she! She's a he! He's a she-she. He's half man, half woman. All Lord.]]

[[Autobot]]s quake in fear when '''Overlord''' (オーバーロード ''Ōbārōdo'') thunders on to the battlefield. This towering warrior is an amalgamation of the deadliest [[Decepticon]] weaponry known, armed with laser blasters and grenade launchers in his stomach, and the terrifying ability to prevent the wounds he inflicts upon his opponents from healing. He is even equipped with an internal arms factory. Overlord is formed from two individual vehicles, a tank and a jet, which combine together to form his colossal robot mode, a heavily-armed advance base, or a larger jet capable of space flight.

He is sometimes known as '''Gigatron'''.

{{note|Exactly who—and even ''what''—Overlord is varies greatly from continuity to continuity, to the point that it could conceivably be argued whether or not the different incarnations represent different characters. See individual sections below for details.}}

==Fiction==
===Japanese Generation 1 continuity===
The story of the Overlord begins with the mysterious alien energy-being and self-styled Decepticon god, [[Devil Z]], who schemed to create the ultimate lifeform by merging Transformers and humans into one. Devil Z stole a collection of Transformer [[Transtector]]s from the [[G Nebula 89|G Nebula]] and brought them to Earth, where he recruited two human beings, husband and wife [[Giga]] and [[Mega]], and charged them with creating an army for him. Mega and Giga were both bonded to the largest Transtector, and together, they became the terrifying Overlord, serving as Devil Z's "Ambassador of Destruction" on Earth.

In this continuity, each of Overlord's two components are piloted by Giga and Mega, and are hence known as the '''Gigatank''' and the '''Megajet'''. As deadly as his "Chōkon Daemon Blast" lasers and "Chōkon Bolt Masher" grenade launcher are, Overlord has little need for projectile weapons: as a [[Godmaster]], he is capable of manipulating [[Chōkon Power]], and can even employ it to inhibit the regenerative abilities of other Godmasters.

====Cartoon continuity====
=====''Super God Masterforce'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Keiichi Noda]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Overlord r.jpg|left|225px|thumb|Lady Mega: "Does this Transtector make me look fat?" Lord Giga: *groan*]]
Giga and Mega took their Transtectors into battle for the first time after a string of failures that resulted in several of the Godmaster Transtectors falling into the hands of the [[Autobot]]s. The couple had [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]] and [[Buster (Masterforce)|Buster]] lure Autobot commander [[Ginrai]] into the desert, and then confronted him as Overlord, immediately proving their superiority by beating him to near-death. {{storylink|Super Ginrai Gets Blown Away in the Desert!?}} Believing Ginrai dealt with, Overlord subsequently departed into space, taking control of a [[Weather Observatory Moon Base|weather-monitoring base]] on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]] in order to rendezvous with the approaching [[Scorponok (G1)|BlackZarak]] there. Ginrai, however, proved entirely too stubborn to die, and, powered-up through his combination with the freshly-constructed [[Godbomber]] drone, soon pursued Overlord and engaged him in battle above the moon's surface. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Into the Sky!!}} During the fight, Ginrai was blindsided by BlackZarak and sent crashing down to the moon, where he found himself hunted by the two powerful Decepticons. Luckily, the Autobot battleship [[Grand Maximus]] arrived to help, and the two Decepticon tried to break off the fight an return to Earth. Ginrai and Grand vowed to stop them, and a shot from Ginrai's God Cannon sent Overlord plummeting back to the moon, forcing Giga and Mega to split into their individual Transtectors to soften their impact and save their lives. The Autobot pair managed to drive BlackZarak back to the moon as well, and the dark Decepticon insisted that Overlord return to Earth alone and inform Devil Z of the situation. Overlord refused, furious that anyone other than Devil Z would presume to give him orders, but when Ginrai and Grand returned to press their attack, he realised the damage he had sustained prevented him from carrying on the fight, and he relented. After Overlord departed for Earth, however, the outnumbered BlackZarak was then beaten by Ginrai and sent fleeing back into the depths of space. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Showdown on the Surface of the Moon}}

[[Image:Overlord v.jpg|right|205px|thumb|I'm easy come. Easy go. Little High. Little Low.]]
Incensed by this failure, Giga decided to reduce Ginrai's power level by destroying Godbomber. A desert again served as Ginrai and Overlord's battleground, as Overlord used his Chōkon Power to create a massive whirling tornado out of the shifting sands, but when he was thrown off balance by a sneaky God Punch attack, Overlord's "Chōkon Tornado" quickly backfired on him and sent him spinning off wildly through the sky. {{storylink|Overlord - Terror of the Chōkon Tornado}} Despite this setback, Overlord made another attempt to eliminate Godbomber, this time by separating him from Ginrai with an ambush in the American heartland. In their separate Transtectors, Giga and Mega wore down Ginrai until he no longer had enough Chōkon Power to animate Godbomber, but the plan was foiled when the Autobot [[Headmaster Junior]]s discovered they could combine their own energy to control Godbomber themselves. With Ginrai and Godbomber reunited, Overlord was sent packing by a blast of Chōkon Power. {{storylink|Destroy Godbomber!!}}

[[Image:Overlord b.jpg|left|205px|thumb|Umm, Giga? Where are we supposed to sleep?]]
Overlord later adopted his base mode for the first time to act as a staging ground for the search for the final Godmaster. The search came to an abruptly end, however, when the Godmaster himself, [[Clouder]], sought out the Decepticons, and the villains decided to use his ability to adopt two robot forms to install him as a double agent within the Autobot ranks. {{storylink|Appearance!! The Final Godmaster}} Using information fed to them by Clouder, the Decepticons initiated a full-scale attack on the Autobots' headquarters, again using Overlord's base mode as a mobile headquarters from which the assault was masterminded. {{storylink|Secret Orders! Destroy the Autobot Base!!}} When Ginrai (who had been lured away from the base so the attack to begin) returned to aid his fellow Autobots, Overlord transformed to robot mode and again engaged him in battle, intending to keep him occupied until a [[Seacon (Masterforce)|Seacon]] force could destroy the Autobot base from within. Although defeated in combat, Overlord was still able to gloat, as Ginrai failed to realise that he was being stalled until it was too late. Furious at his own short-sightedness, Ginrai hurled Overlord and embedded him, head-first, in the side of the mountain housing the Autobot base. At that moment, the base's magma converter power core finally exploded, and Overlord was sent flying over the horizon by a jet of lava. {{storylink|Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes}}

[[Image:Overlord spacejet.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Set controls to outer space, now, flying higher than ever before!]]
Soon thereafter, BlackZarak returned to Earth, and the Decepticons began "Operation M-1" to cut a swathe of devastation across the Earth. While BlackZarak tore through [[New York City|New York]], Overlord landed in the heart of [[Paris]], decimating military resistance and destroying the [[Arc de Triomphe]]. With these cities in ruins, the two Decepticons began to converge on Tokyo; while passing over China, Overlord landed on the Great Wall and broadcasted a message to the leaders of the world, warning them to surrender or witness Tokyo's destruction. Overlord then carried on his way, easily defeating [[Metalhawk]], [[Phoenix (Masterforce)|Phoenix]] and [[Diver (Masterforce)|Diver]] when they attempted to block his path. Overlord and BlackZarak soon arrived in Tokyo, and with no surrender forthcoming, began razing the city. In the midst of the chaos, however, Ginrai and Grand Maximus—who had been trapped in a black hole by BlackZarak, and only just managed to escape—arrived to stop their evil deeds. During the ensuing battle, Ginrai manoeuvred himself between the two Decepticons, and dodged at the last second, causing them to blast each other. With his two most powerful warriors damaged, Devil Z called off Operation M-1, and initiated Operation M-2 {{storylink|BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space}} which involved destroying the Earth's atmosphere from orbit with the unholy [[Death Para-Machine]]. Overlord transformed to his "space jet" mode to carry the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors into space for the operation, but naturally, the Autobots pursued their enemies, and Ginrai was able to destroy the Death Para-Machine before it caused irreparable damage to Earth. {{storylink|Crisis! The Day of Human Extinction}}

[[Image:Overlord vs ginrai.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"I outrank you, Ginrai!" "You do NOT! 'God' outranks 'Overlord'!"]]
After a battle with [[Lightfoot]] in southern Europe, {{storylink|God Ginrai - Save Cancer!?}} Overlord tried a more underhanded tactic, capturing Autobot Headmaster Junior [[Shūta Gō]], and using him as a bargaining chip to bring Ginrai to the Decepticon base. The battle that followed was distinctly one-sided, as Ginrai was unable to fight back due to Shūta being in danger, but this suddenly took an unexpected turn when Decepticon Junior [[Cancer (Masterforce)|Cancer]] turned on his teammates and freed Shūta. Even as the shocked Overlord commanded him to stop, Ginrai got back in the fight, and flattened Overlord before escaping with Shūta and Cancer. {{storylink|God Ginrai: Showdown at the Decepticon Base}} With the information Cancer provided them, the Autobots were able to stage an all-out attack on the Decepticon base, during which Overlord again battled Ginrai. The fight came to a sudden end when Devil Z merged together with BlackZarak and collapsed the Decepticon base in a failed attempt to destroy the Autobots. {{storylink|The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform}}

For a time, Devil Z's hatred of humankind had been steadily growing, and rankled with Giga and Mega, reaching a head when the alien abandoned [[Wilder]] and [[Bullhorn]] in the ruins of the Decepticon base, and transformed Hydra and Buster into true robots. {{storylink|Battle to the Death!! God Ginrai VS Darkwings Reborn}} Confronting God Ginrai for one final time in the heart of the [[Grand Canyon]], Overlord vowed to fight him without weapons, battling him only through the use of his physical strength and the power of his human flesh. He didn't explain his motives to Ginrai, but Ginrai observed Overlord's refusal to draw his weapons, and fought honourably. When Grand Maximus arrived on the scene, however, he was not so concerned, and simply shot Overlord out of the sky. {{storylink|Autobots! Desperate Attack!!}}

[[Image:Overlord ginrairescue.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I get by with a little help from my ... uh, foes.]]
After the battle in the Grand Canyon, the Decepticons relocated to the Alps, and the Autobots again gave chase. Overlord was willing to engage the Autobot Godmasters, but the merged Devil Z/BlackZarak entity held him back and instead buried them under an avalanche. Meanwhile, Ginrai again defeated Hydra and Buster, and the two brothers limped back to the peak of the Matterhorn, where Devil Z turned on them for their failure. As their punishment continued, Overlord at last stood up to his emperor and attempted to stop him, only to be on the receiving end of the emperor's wrath. {{storylink|Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z}} Unexpectedly, Overlord was rescued by Ginrai, and as the Autobot leader began his final battle with BlackZarak, Giga and Mega realized that they owed him a debt of honor for saving them and finally made the decision to turn against their former master. When Overlord attempted to aid God Ginrai in his battle with BlackZarak, however, they were struck down and enveloped in a sphere of Devil Z's [[Devil Power]]. Devil Z separated Mega and Giga from their Transtectors, bringing Overlord to live as a true super-robot lifeform. As their [[Master-Brace]]s vanished from their wrists, Giga and Mega died, regretting that they could not settle their rivalry with Ginrai honourably. Alas, there was not even time to mourn, as the new, robotic Overlord lunged for Ginrai, but was tackled by Grand Maximus. Ginrai subsequently united his powers with the Headmasters Juniors to finally destroy Devil Z and BlackZarak, and at the sight of his leader being vaporized, Overlord immediately called for the Decepticons to retreat. As they fled into space, the Autobots' Transtectors were also brought to life, as Overlord's had been, by the death of Devil Z, and they took headed into space in pursuit of Overlord's Decepticons. {{storylink|A Battle... and Then...}}
{{--}}

=====''Victory'' cartoon=====
[[Image:Decepticons in the g nebula.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Those car washes get more dangerous every year.]]
The now-living Overlord Transtector and his followers rejoined the Decepticon forces in space, and Overlord briefly led the Decepticon army before the rise to power of [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]. {{storylink|Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus's toy bio}} Following this, Overlord commanded the Sector Two Decepticon force, based in the G Nebula, where they battled the Autobots under the command of his old foe, God Ginrai. {{storylink|Planet Micro - The Mysterious Warrior}}
{{--}}
=====''Zone'' cartoon=====
[[Image:OverlordZone1.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Robots should not wear [[Transformer clothing#Capes|capes]].]]

:''Voice actor:'' [[Keiichi Noda]] (Japanese)

Years later, when the supernatural creature known as [[Violen Jiger]] seized command of the Decepticons, his first act was to recruit nine "[[Nine Great Demon Generals|Demon Generals]]" from Decepticon history. Overlord was selected to be one of those Generals and was given new power and weaponry to make him an even greater threat than before. At Violen Jiger's instruction, Overlord was sent to the planet [[Feminia]] to wreak havoc along with [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. Together, the three Decepticon Demon Generals destroyed the entire planet and nearly killed Autobot [[Supreme Commander]] [[Star Saber (Victory)|Victory Saber]] in the process.

Two-and-a-half months later, Overlord led Menasor, Abominus and [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] in an attack on the planet of [[Micro|Zone]], gleefully blasting [[Micromaster]]s and using his trident to slice into [[Zone Base]] to retrieve a sample of [[Energon Z]] for Decepticon use. With the Micromasters completely unable to harm the Decepticon generals, Overlord left the planet in triumph, handing the Energon Z off to the second group of Generals, who went on to attack Earth, but were stopped by Autobot [[Powered Master]] [[Dai Atlas (Zone)|Dai Atlas]]. {{storylink|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!}}
{{--}}

====Comic continuity====
=====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic=====
[[Image:Overlord manga.jpg|left|250px|thumb|The sound effect reads "fart."]]
Giga and Mega debuted their Transtectors in an attack on a city, during which they combined into Overlord and devastated the Autobot Godmasters with their Daemon Blast and Bolt Masher weapons. Blindsided and badly damaged by the newly-created God Ginrai, Overlord was goaded into pursuing the Autobot out into space, where BlackZarak was battling the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]. As BlackZarak turned to face the approaching Ginrai, the cunning Autobot swiftly ducked out of the way, causing Overlord and BlackZarak to attack each other. Gravely wounded, Overlord returned to Earth, while BlackZarak fled back into space. {{storylink|God Ginrai's Amazing Super-God Combination!}}

Overlord's base mode was employed by the Decepticon to hold Shūta Gō and [[Cab]] prisoner, when they attempted to torture the two boys into becoming members of the Decepticons. Their fellow Autobot Junior, [[Minerva (Masterforce)|Minerva]], came to their rescue when she crashed Godbomber through Overlord's walls and freed them, after which Overlord transformed to robot mode to face the approaching Ginrai and Grand Maximus. It wasn't his best showing: after Ginrai combined with Godbomber, Grand crashed his battleship directly into Overlord's face, and God Ginrai used the Headmaster's "[[Master Blade (Masterforce)|Master Blade]]" to slice off Overlord's legs. Their Transtectors forcibly separated, the battered Giga and Mega escaped. {{storylink|The Earth Family of Good and Evil}}

[[Image:Overlord aolaser.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]
From the top of [[Qomolangma]], Overlord rained destruction down on the world using the Decepticons' newest weapon, the [[A.O. Laser]]. When Ginrai and Godbomber arrived to stop him, Overlord turned the laser on them; they dodged, but they had failed to observe the presence of the Decepticons' newest member, the Godmaster Clouder, who reflected the laser beam back at them and knocked them out of the sky. Unfortunately for Overlord, a chance comment from Cancer insulting Clouder's falcon mode plunged the Godmaster into such a rage that he turned on his Decepticon allies and blew up the A.O. Laser in Overlord's hands. Although Ginrai had been temporarily blinded by the A.O. Laser, the Headmaster Juniors were able to serve as his eyes and point him in the right direction to unleash his "God Punch" attack, which clobbered Overlord so hard that Giga and Mega actually popped out of his chest. {{storylink|Decepticons' Great Counterattack!}}

Soon thereafter, when the Autobots were off-Earth visiting their space-based allies, BlackZarak was able to return to Earth, and he and Overlord took the opportunity to attack a city. The Autobots soon returned with, and Ginrai and Godbomber grappled with Overlord, forcing him to separate back into the Megajet and Gigatank. The two Autobots clung onto the separate Transtectors, however, refusing to let them escape, as they waited for the new weapon they had brought back from space, the [[VX Bomb]] to detonate. The explosion came seconds later, knocking Mega and Giga's Transtectors offline, but Ginrai and Godbomber survived by combining into God Ginrai. {{storylink|Live? Die?! The Desperate Super-God Combination}}

[[Image:Overlord vs blackzarak.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]
When BlackZarak attacked a city, Cancer happened to be here, and BlackZarak showed his disdain for humans by using the boy as a bargaining chip to prevent the Autobots from interfering with his deviltry. Horrified at this treatment of Cancer, Overlord viciously attacked BlackZarak, rescuing Cancer from his grip, but while they were fighting, it allowed the Autobots to take down both of them. {{storylink|Great Turn-Around! Autobots}}

In light of this act of treachery by Overlord, it was perhaps not surprising that in the midst of his next battle with Ginrai, Overlord himself was the subject of a betrayal. In an attempt to transform himself into the ultimate lifeform, Devil Z fused with BlackZarak, and then turned on Overlord and the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors, attempting to drain theirs and Ginrai's [[Chōkon Power|Jinchōkon]] and take it for his own. They were saved by the Autobot Pretenders, who blocked the Jinchōkon-absorbing beam, and Overlord decided to join with the Autobots in defeating Devil Z. Overlord joined with all the other Transformers in combining their energies into the "Perfect Transform Attack", which finally destroyed BlackZarak and Devil Z once and for all. With the alien's death, the Transformers' Transtectors were brought to life as true super-robot lifeforms, Overlord's included. Alas, Devil Z's energies had also been sustaining the lives of Giga and Mega, and his death also resulted in theirs. The now-living Overlord and Ginrai Transtectors decided to take their troops back into space, where Overlord vowed to defeat Ginrai in memory of Mega and Giga, and for the honor of the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Birth of the Super Lifeforms}}
{{--}}

=====''Zone'' comic and story pages=====
[[Image:Overlord zone manga.jpg|right|160px|thumb|]]
Years after the end of the [[Masterforce War]], Overlord was among the Decepticons recruited by the new Decepticon emperor Violen Jiger to become the strongest of his Nine Great Demon Generals. In addition to his new title of "Super-God General", Overlord was outfitted with new armor and weapons that made him even more dangerous than before. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 1}}

One month after the Demon Generals destroyed the planet Feminia, apparently taking the life of the Autobot Supreme Commander Victory Saber in the process, Overlord led Menasor, Bruticus and Abominus in an attack on the planet Zone, where they successfully stole a sample of the super-energy, Energon Z. When the Zone Base transformed into battle mode and opened fire on the Decepticons, Overlord called retreat, seeing no need to stay and fight when the prize was already theirs. Overlord then handed the Energon Z off to the second platoon of generals, who subsequently headed for Earth, but were defeated in battle there by the Decepticon Powered Master Dai Atlas. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (manga)|Transformers: Zone}}

It wasn't long before Overlord got his own chance to go up against Dai Atlas, but the Powered Master didn't think much of this so-called "Strongest of the Generals," aiming to finish their battle in under eight seconds. Whether or not he achieved this lofty goal is unknown, but he ''did'' lay out Overlord with his powerful "Galactic Dash" attack. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 6}}

The Generals later schooled [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] and the [[Metrosquad]] in the ways of evil, making them formidable foes for the [[Powered Master]]s. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 7}}
{{--}}

====''Transformers PD Type''====
[[Image:Pdtype_overlord.jpg|left|thumb]]
During a battle between Overlord and Super Ginrai, the Autobot Godmaster prepared to attack with Chokon Power. When he raised his hands to summon Tenchokon, however, he was struck by a bolt of lightning, causing Overlord to smirk that the weather wasn't looking too good. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##7 "Fight! Super Ginrai!"|Fight! Super Ginrai!!}}

Sitting in a field, watching the clouds float by, Overlord started to wonder what he was doing with his life and decided he needed a day off to reflect on his lot. Unfortunately, he had chosen to sit down and have this epiphany in the middle of a huge battle, and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] began shouting at him to get back up and join the fight. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##9 "Oh Overlord."|Oh, Overlord}}
{{-}}

===European toy bio continuity===
[[Image:Overlord vs motorvators.jpg|right|thumb|Collect all time-displaced toys.]]
A legend by virtue of his very existence, Overlord is the ultimate Decepticon anti-hero. Emerging to join the Transformers' war at some undetermined point in space and time, Overlord fights alone on the battlefield despite his Decepticon allegiance, a monolithic horror born of "advanced robotic engineering" whose special abilities—including the power to travel across dimensions—come from the "[[Energon figure]]s" that operate his multiple functions.

To counter the monstrous threat posed by this powerful new breed of Decepticon, the Autobots developed their own new team of warriors, the [[Motorvator]]s, emulating Overlord's Energon figure technology to make the trio a match for his awesome power.<ref>Overlord's European toy bio</ref><ref>Story blurb on Overlord and the Motorvators' packaging.</ref>
{{--}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
Gigatron was an ancient Cybertronian, who developed an idea to allow Decepticons to survive on alien planets by biologically integrating local inhabitants into their systems. In modern times, Gigatron's records were uncovered and used to develop the [[Powermaster]] process. {{storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye #8}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{bigquote|A good strategist is half psychologist and half '''sadist'''. And I was the '''best'''.|Overlord|[[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #3]]}}
[[Image:MegatronOrigin2 fightcrowd1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Hey, he appeared as a rabid fan of gladiatorial combat in a crowd shot once. Wouldn't it be ''awesome'' if [[Nick Roche|someone]] built a whole character round that?.]]
In the days before the Cybertronian civil war, Overlord was an avid spectator of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]'s gladiatorial matches. Like many, this led him to join the charismatic pit fighter's army and bear the badge of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}} However, Overlord was enthralled not with the loftiness of the Decepticon cause that Megatron espoused, but with the glorious excess of the gladiator battles and the freedom of making entire worlds his arena. To Overlord, the ends didn't matter overly much when the ''means'' themselves were this pleasurable. As a result his tactics developed a reputation as unsound, and his schemes as nothing more than flights of brutal whimsy. Unlike [[Scorponok (G1)|many]] [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|other]] powerful Decepticons, he had no interest in command, only in taking his slaughter to the next stage. Megatron was not convinced, however, believing the image of Overlord as simply interested in killing to be a façade, and began searching for a way to exert greater control over him.

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers2-teleconference.jpg|left|thumb|300px|I am not a number!]]
During the early years of the war, Overlord was embroiled in battle on [[Caldoon 4]] when he was called to a teleconference with [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]], who announced that Overlord would join [[Sixshot]] and [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] as the "phase sixers" in his new [[infiltration protocol]]. Dissatisfied with being declared a weapon that operated at someone else's whim, Overlord contested his appointment, and Megatron gave him two options: do as he was told, or refuse and have Megatron hunt him down. Overlord made his choice quickly, returning to the battle outside and dispatching every Autobot save one—[[Kup (G1)|Kup]]—who he allowed to survive so a message could be sent to Megatron: Overlord had chosen option two. He proceeded to leave Caldoon 4 to plan for Megatron's inevitable coming, {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} but soon discovered that at some point, [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] had infected him with an [[Achilles virus]] on Megatron's command, giving Overlord a "tactical blindspot" that prevented him from figuring out how to harm Megatron. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

Some time later, Overlord initiated a conflict with the emperor of a star system who was in possession of interstellar travel capabilities and weapons technology that rivaled his own. Finding himself overmatched, Overlord secured the aid of [[Gorelock]]'s Decepticon battalion, which, at the time, was assigned to [[Spensifax B]]. The ensuing battle, according to the estimates of science officer [[Vivisector]], set the technological development of the empire back an estimated 250,000 years. {{storylink|The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Gorelock's prisoner clemency request}}

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers1-Overlord.jpg|right|thumb|250px|We peed a little.]]
At the height of the [[Surge (event)|cross-galactic Decepticon uprising]], Overlord arrived at [[Garrus-9]] in the midst of the Decepticon siege of the prison, and casually murdered garrison leader [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]] when he refused to turn command over to him. Intending to turn Garrus-9 into his home away from home, Overlord personally defeated warden [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and threw him to the crowd of Decepticon prisoners he had freed as a show of good faith. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} Overlord was not done with Maximus, though, later imprisoning him and personally torturing him for information on the [[Aequitas]] computer hidden in the bowls of Garrus-9, and the mysterious secret of the prison that the computer had been created to hide. Maximus refused to give up the passcodes to the device's chamber even after Overlord threatened to kill an Autobot for every second that he withheld them. {{storylink|Interiors}}

[[Image:Overlord-Fort-Max-Interiors.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Do you expect me to talk?" "No, I expect you to die and be a cheap funeral".]]

During his time in command of Garrus-9, Overlord turn the prison into a huge gladiatorial arena, and had the prisoners fight for their lives with the promise that victory meant freedom. This was, of course, a lie; those who won in twelve bouts were offered the choice of facing Overlord himself or committing suicide. Overlord forced the imprisoned [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] to watch footage of both these matches and the sacking of the prison, possibly driving him insane. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}} After a year of this, some of the Decepticons began to have doubts about their sadistic leader; [[Fearswoop (G1)|Fearswoop]] was lucky to survive when he questioned Overlord's lack of sportsmanship, but [[Wingblazer]] and his partner were not so fortunate when they let an Autobot prisoner get the better of them during a hunt, and Overlord killed them for their carelessness. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} Around this time, Overlord also released Shockwave from confinement and let him leave in return for the Achilles Virus being removed. Shockwave could tell that all Overlord was doing with Garrus-9 was trying to get Megatron's attention, though Overlord denied it. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers1-BoreholeKickoff.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Better than television!]]
Two years later, Overlord and his Decepticons watched the captive Autobot [[Kick-Off (G1)|Kick-Off]] battle the Decepticon [[Borehole]] for his amusement. Kick-Off triumphed and was taken to Overlord's quarters {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} where he was offered the customary choice; {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last stand of the Wreckers #4}} he evidently opted to fight Overlord, given the brutalized state of his body when it was later found. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

Not long thereafter, the Autobot strike team known as the [[Wrecker]]s arrived to liberate Garrus-9, breaking through the planetary defenses inside escape pods, one of which crashed into the gladiatorial arena chamber right in front of Overlord's feet. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} Although disappointed to discover that the new arrivals were Autobots, rather than Decepticons sent by Megatron, Overlord was amused by the joke made by [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]] about Wreckers combining... right before he put a gun between Rotorstorm's optics and shot him through the head. The Wreckers turned down Overlord's proposal of surrender but were unable to injure him, and escaped into the prison by detonating a fuel tank to cover their withdrawal. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[Image:LastStandofWreckers4- OverlordSpringerReady.jpg|left|thumb|200px|FINAL ROUND, FIGHT!]]

With help from the Decepticon [[Snare]], who had come to believe that the Decepticons on Garrus-9 were as trapped by Overlord as the Autobots were, the Wreckers regrouped with the rest of their team and established a new mission objective: kill Overlord. They did not have to hunt him down, however, as he soon arrived to take them on. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}} The fight quickly made its way to the rooftop of Garrus-9, where [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]] was torn in half and used to dispatch Kup. A harpoon through the eye courtesy of [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] barely fazed Overlord, who delivered a defeat more crushing than any beating: the Autobot prisoners the Wreckers had come to liberate had all been executed on his orders already. [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]], and human ally [[Verity Carlo]] soon arrived to join the fight, bringing with them a huge chaingun-like weapon that Springer emptied into Overlord. The Decepticon shrugged off even its massive payload and slapped Springer to the ground, removing most of his face, before quickly dispatching Perceptor. Rounding on Ironfist, Overlord was amused by the small Autobot's warning not to get any closer, but Ironfist was quick to explain: Springer had shot Overlord with thousands of deterrence chips, which Ironfist then remotely detonated, reducing Overlord to a flaming, yet still-functional skeleton.

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers5-brittlebones.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"Megatron better not show up when I'm naked!"]]

Ironfist fell unconscious, leaving only Verity to hear Overlord's wrathful ranting, as he demanded to know how he could meet a challenge from Megatron in this sorry state. Realizing this what what Overlord had longed for all along, Verity dropped the bomb: Megatron was ''dead''. Overlord was stunned by the realization that while he had dedicated every waking hour of his existence to his supposedly inevitable fight with Megatron, the Decepticon leader had never cared, and would never come. He put up no resistance when Impactor recovered, but Impactor refused to kill Overlord, for Springer's sake, and promised to take him in to face justice. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[Image:Overlord-Lost-Light-Interiors.jpg|left|thumb|First class may seem like a rip off but it has advantages over the alternatives.]]

Several years later, [[Rung]] claimed Overlord had been completely disassembled and his spark placed in a whiteout vacuum on Cybertron. Unfortunately this was not the whole truth. [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] started hearing voices in the depths of the ''[[Lost Light]]''. Stealing a drill, he tunneled into the base of the ship, revealing a huge chamber, in which a trapped, reconstructed but disarmed Overlord continually begged for someone to kill him. {{storylink|Interiors}}

{{-}}

===''Classics''===
[[Image:InvasionPrologue-Gigatron.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Everything's shrunk except those glorious lips.]]

Long ago, Gigatron, the Overlord, grew restless in his duties at [[Darkmount]], and forfeited his throne to [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]]. His psychotic craving for power led him to scour the universe, ultimately leading him to Earth.

Gigatron crashlanded in [[Japan]], where he adopted a robot form resembling a shogun and an M1 Abrams tank altmode. With most of Earth's Decepticons offplanet with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], he was able to gather a small army of ten warriors, and he would infrequently clash with [[Metalhawk]] and his fellow Earthbound Autobots. Once, Gigatron searched in [[Kitakyushu]] for [[Musashi]]'s sword, but legends of the sword's strength were exaggerated.

Soon, Gigatron had set his sights on another potential source of power, [[Rarified Energon]]. The Autobots had been guarding it for a period of time, and had been moving it frequently to keep it out of the hands of the Decepticons. But Gigatron discovered that the Rarified Energon had been moved to [[Ironworks]], and effortlessly battled through an army of [[RUNT]]s to reach the Autobot station. There, he fought Metalhawk, and he and his Decepticons were forced to retreat. {{storylink|Invasion Prologue}}

Gigatron continued to keep vigil over Ironworks, however, and when [[Spinister]] brought him news of a skirmish involving heroic Decepticons and evil Autobots, Gigatron knew it was time to strike! With this distraction, they could easily take the Rarified Energon hidden in the vaults for themselves.

[[Image:Invasion-destroythem.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Gigatron's about to be really happy he got stuck on Earth.]]

Once it was discovered that the evil Autobots were also after the Rarified Energon, Gigatron refused to be out-conquered. He and the majority of his troops came to the rescue of [[Sir Soundwave]], who was about to get assimilated by [[Junkion (SG)|Junkions]]. Aiming to show these heroic Decepticons how it's done, he set Soundwave loose and continued battling the Junkions.

What Gigatron did not know was that the evil Autobots, led by [[Ultra Magnus (SG)|Ultra Magnus]], intended to warp this iteration of Earth to their own universe's Cybertron, destroying it in the process. Though Sir Soundwave was able to expand the force field surrounding the evil Autobots' machinery large enough to protect the entire planet, saving Gigatron and his troops, no one foresaw the true scale of Magnus's intentions. And so as Earth neared the alternate universe Cybertron, its entire dimension was destroyed behind them, leaving Gigatron and the rest of his Earth's citizens the last remnants of their universe.

Gigatron and the others were unsurprisingly distraught, so [[Straxus (SG)|the Bard of Darkmount]] recited for them a hopeful poem. {{storylink|Invasion (issue)|Invasion}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Super-God Masterforce===
*'''Overlord''' (Godmaster, 1988)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-307'''[[Image:G1 overlord toy.jpg|right|325px|thumb|Not to be confused with Blackstar's nemesis.]]
**''Accessories:'' Giga and Mega Godmaster engines, "Transtector Destroyer Cannon", three missiles, tank barrel, two ramps/shin guards, central ramp, two radar arrays, double-barreled laser, rocket launcher, car

: Overlord consists of two vehicles, the Gigatank and the Megajet, which are able to combine together to form a robot mode or a base mode. Like any Godmaster (or [[Powermaster]]), Overlord is only able to transform when the Giga and Mega Godmaster figures are transformed into engine mode and snapped into place in the sockets on top of the vehicles. Inserting Giga into the tank splits it in half to form legs for robot mode, or alternately, the left and right emplacements of the base (the left containing a fold-out twin cannon, the right a poseable claw arm). Fitting Mega into the jet, meanwhile, unlocks the toy's shoulder articulation for robot mode and its fold-out launchpad for base mode. Once the toy is in robot mode, the figures can be removed from their sockets and fitted into two further ports hidden beneath doors on his chest, which unlock the multi-barreled "Chōkon Daemon Blast" and spring-loaded "Chōkon Bolt Masher" weapons that pop out of his stomach. One figure can also fit into the [[Roller (G1)|Roller]]-style car that comes with the set.

: There is, unfortunately, not one mode that uses all of Overlord's many accessories. Standing approximately 15" in robot mode, Overlord is taller than ''most'' Transformer toys, though [[Unicron/toys|certainly]] [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|not]] [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|all]].

: Overlord's instructions do not feature the additional large jet mode seen in the animated series and manga, as it (like [[Sixshot]]'s "Wingwolf" mode or BlackZarak's "Dakatsu" mode) was created by the production staff after fiddling around with the toy itself. As such, it's entirely possible to put the toy in this form, although it doesn't rest evenly on a flat surface.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Destron/Overlord/overlord.htm More information on Overlord at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

===Generation 1===
*'''Overlord''' (1991)

: Initially exclusive to Japan, Overlord's toy was later released in Europe and Australasia with a different shade of purple plastic.

===Timelines===
[[Image:Timelinestoy-BC2012Gigatron.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Oh my, Bludgeon, you've never looked so... ''kissable''... before...]]
*'''Invasion''' ([[BotCon 2012]] box set)
**''Accessories:'' [[Wikipedia:Katana|Katana]], [[Wikipedia:Wakizashi|tanto]]
: ''[[Transformers Timelines (toyline)|Timelines]]'' Gigatron is a [[redeco]]/[[retool]] of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' Voyager Class [[Bludgeon (ROTF)#Voyager|Bludgeon]], sporting a new head. Gigatron transforms from a Japanese [[Wikipedia:Type 90 Kyū-maru|Type 90]] tank into a samurai-esque robot mode. He features a flexible plastic sword which is made out of a portion of the barrel of the tank's main gun as well as a smaller dagger. The dagger can be stored in a sheath which is revealed from inside the tank turret, and both blades can be slotted in holes provided on the robot mode's left hip guard. Additionally, the dagger's handle can fit in the base of the sword's handle, forming a double-bladed weapon. He has [[Mech Alive]] [[gimmick]]s in his thighs and turret: Sculpted cylinders in his thighs rotate whenever his lower legs are rotated, and pulling his turret open makes a sculpted "disc" at the center rotate while a scabbard for the tantō hinges over to the side and props itself up for use.

:The vehicle mode is one of the very few Transformer tank toys with rubber components to its treads. Portions of the tread links can unlock, allowing them to hang from the robot mode, while the wheels of the treads are integrated separately into the robot mode form itself. The treads still do not function realistically; small plastic wheels on the underside of the treads help the tank mode roll, as is standard with nearly all Transformer tank toys.

:The original version of this mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers (2010 toyline)|Transformers]]'' [[Banzaitron]], and it was differently retooled to make ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Megatron (G1)/toys#Generations|Megatron]].

:Gigatron was released in a box set with [[Ultra Magnus (SG)#Timelines|Ultra Magnus]], [[Tracks (SG)|Tracks]], [[Treadshot (SG)|Treadshot]], [[Sir Soundwave#Timelines|Soundwave]], and [[Metalhawk#Timelines|Metalhawk]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2012/Decepticon/BCGigatron/gigatron.htm More information on BotCon Gigatron at TFU.info]''

==Merchandise==
===Parody Deformed===
[[Image:Overlord pd model.jpg|right|thumb|]]
*'''Overlord''' (1990)

:A small blue and white, non-transforming [[super deformed]] model kit of Overlord was available as part of [[Kabaya]]'s "[[Parody Deformed]]" line of [[Candy toy|candy toys]]. The eighth figure in the series, he came with a "[[Transformers PD Type]]" comic about himself, "Oh, Overlord", and something that could charitably be described as "chocolate".
{{--}}
===Super Collection Figure===
[[Image:HOC Gigatron.jpg|right|thumb|]]
*'''Overlord''' (2001)

:A PVC figure of Overlord was part of the ''Super-God Masterforce''-centric fifth act of [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s ''[[Heroes of Cybertron|Super Collection Figure]]'' series, available in both full colour and metallic silver "pewter" in an equal ratio of one each per case of twelve figures. In eight out of every ten cases, the pewter version of Overlord came packaged with the right leg of the wave's "build-a-figure", BlackZarak, itself also available in full color and pewter versions.

:The colour version of his figure was later released in the fourth wave of [[Hasbro]]'s ''[[Heroes of Cybertron]]'', under the new name of Gigatron.

===Heroes of Cybertron===
*'''Powermaster Gigatron''' (2003)
:Gigatron is a slightly-altered version of the ''Super Collection Figure'' Overlord PVC, featuring rounded-off shoulder-cones [[for safety reasons]], plus he used the standard "all clear-red-plastic painted over" coloring process to give him [[Light-piping|light-piped]] eyes. He came with the left arm of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] build-a-figurine.
{{--}}

==Notes==
*Overlord was a new [[character]] created for the 1988 Japanese ''Super God Masterforce'' series. While all his fellow Godmasters had American Powermaster counterpart characters (Ginrai had Optimus Prime, Lightfoot had [[Getaway]], and so forth), Overlord's counterpart came later in the form of a 1991 European and Australasian exclusive. The bio of this figure stated that he was a dimension-hopper, which leaves the door open for him being the Masterforce character who jumped dimensions into the European toy bio continuity. Overlord did not have an American counterpart until 2003, when the ''Heroes of Cybertron'' line introduced "Gigatron". However, the little-known nature of this character (existing as he did only as an obscure PVC figurine), coupled with the fact that Overlord had been around for fifteen years already, meant that the idea of a Powermaster named Gigatron who existed as a separate character from the Godmaster Overlord didn't really catch on. Surprisingly, Dreamwave stuck with the formula in their ''More Than Meets The Eye'' series, briefly mentioning the character as the originator of the Powermaster process, but when the non-Godmaster version of the character appeared again a few years later in [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' series, he was "Overlord" once more. With this, there seems little point in distinguishing between the two characters (different as they are), and as such they are included in this article together.
*Early during pre-production for ''Masterforce'', Overlord was named '''Leviathan'''. This was almost certainly a name based in series creator [[Masumi Kaneda]]'s desire to sprinkle the series with assorted Biblical allegories; the name-change is fairly symptomatic of how these references wound up being downplayed to the point of near-total obfuscation in the finished show.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-images/tech-specs/Heroes-Of-Cybertron-Tech-Specs/2003-Transformers-Tech-Specs/Powermaster_Gigatron.jpg.html Powermaster Gigatron's tech-specs] at TFW2005.com

[[Category:Classics Decepticons]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Decepticon bases]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Dimension hoppers]]
[[Category:Emperors]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Godmasters]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce Decepticons]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Zone Decepticons]]

Overlord (G1)

2013-02-03T09:12:46Z

Salva Veritate: 'give' changed to 'given' in the paragraph beginning 'Two years later, Overlord...' in the IDW Continuity section.

{{faction|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Overlord}}
{{featured}}
:''Overlord is a [[Decepticon]] [[Godmaster]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:Overlord.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He's a she! She's a he! He's a she-she. He's half man, half woman. All Lord.]]

[[Autobot]]s quake in fear when '''Overlord''' (オーバーロード ''Ōbārōdo'') thunders on to the battlefield. This towering warrior is an amalgamation of the deadliest [[Decepticon]] weaponry known, armed with laser blasters and grenade launchers in his stomach, and the terrifying ability to prevent the wounds he inflicts upon his opponents from healing. He is even equipped with an internal arms factory. Overlord is formed from two individual vehicles, a tank and a jet, which combine together to form his colossal robot mode, a heavily-armed advance base, or a larger jet capable of space flight.

He is sometimes known as '''Gigatron'''.

{{note|Exactly who—and even ''what''—Overlord is varies greatly from continuity to continuity, to the point that it could conceivably be argued whether or not the different incarnations represent different characters. See individual sections below for details.}}

==Fiction==
===Japanese Generation 1 continuity===
The story of the Overlord begins with the mysterious alien energy-being and self-styled Decepticon god, [[Devil Z]], who schemed to create the ultimate lifeform by merging Transformers and humans into one. Devil Z stole a collection of Transformer [[Transtector]]s from the [[G Nebula 89|G Nebula]] and brought them to Earth, where he recruited two human beings, husband and wife [[Giga]] and [[Mega]], and charged them with creating an army for him. Mega and Giga were both bonded to the largest Transtector, and together, they became the terrifying Overlord, serving as Devil Z's "Ambassador of Destruction" on Earth.

In this continuity, each of Overlord's two components are piloted by Giga and Mega, and are hence known as the '''Gigatank''' and the '''Megajet'''. As deadly as his "Chōkon Daemon Blast" lasers and "Chōkon Bolt Masher" grenade launcher are, Overlord has little need for projectile weapons: as a [[Godmaster]], he is capable of manipulating [[Chōkon Power]], and can even employ it to inhibit the regenerative abilities of other Godmasters.

====Cartoon continuity====
=====''Super God Masterforce'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Keiichi Noda]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Overlord r.jpg|left|225px|thumb|Lady Mega: "Does this Transtector make me look fat?" Lord Giga: *groan*]]
Giga and Mega took their Transtectors into battle for the first time after a string of failures that resulted in several of the Godmaster Transtectors falling into the hands of the [[Autobot]]s. The couple had [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]] and [[Buster (Masterforce)|Buster]] lure Autobot commander [[Ginrai]] into the desert, and then confronted him as Overlord, immediately proving their superiority by beating him to near-death. {{storylink|Super Ginrai Gets Blown Away in the Desert!?}} Believing Ginrai dealt with, Overlord subsequently departed into space, taking control of a [[Weather Observatory Moon Base|weather-monitoring base]] on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]] in order to rendezvous with the approaching [[Scorponok (G1)|BlackZarak]] there. Ginrai, however, proved entirely too stubborn to die, and, powered-up through his combination with the freshly-constructed [[Godbomber]] drone, soon pursued Overlord and engaged him in battle above the moon's surface. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Into the Sky!!}} During the fight, Ginrai was blindsided by BlackZarak and sent crashing down to the moon, where he found himself hunted by the two powerful Decepticons. Luckily, the Autobot battleship [[Grand Maximus]] arrived to help, and the two Decepticon tried to break off the fight an return to Earth. Ginrai and Grand vowed to stop them, and a shot from Ginrai's God Cannon sent Overlord plummeting back to the moon, forcing Giga and Mega to split into their individual Transtectors to soften their impact and save their lives. The Autobot pair managed to drive BlackZarak back to the moon as well, and the dark Decepticon insisted that Overlord return to Earth alone and inform Devil Z of the situation. Overlord refused, furious that anyone other than Devil Z would presume to give him orders, but when Ginrai and Grand returned to press their attack, he realised the damage he had sustained prevented him from carrying on the fight, and he relented. After Overlord departed for Earth, however, the outnumbered BlackZarak was then beaten by Ginrai and sent fleeing back into the depths of space. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Showdown on the Surface of the Moon}}

[[Image:Overlord v.jpg|right|205px|thumb|I'm easy come. Easy go. Little High. Little Low.]]
Incensed by this failure, Giga decided to reduce Ginrai's power level by destroying Godbomber. A desert again served as Ginrai and Overlord's battleground, as Overlord used his Chōkon Power to create a massive whirling tornado out of the shifting sands, but when he was thrown off balance by a sneaky God Punch attack, Overlord's "Chōkon Tornado" quickly backfired on him and sent him spinning off wildly through the sky. {{storylink|Overlord - Terror of the Chōkon Tornado}} Despite this setback, Overlord made another attempt to eliminate Godbomber, this time by separating him from Ginrai with an ambush in the American heartland. In their separate Transtectors, Giga and Mega wore down Ginrai until he no longer had enough Chōkon Power to animate Godbomber, but the plan was foiled when the Autobot [[Headmaster Junior]]s discovered they could combine their own energy to control Godbomber themselves. With Ginrai and Godbomber reunited, Overlord was sent packing by a blast of Chōkon Power. {{storylink|Destroy Godbomber!!}}

[[Image:Overlord b.jpg|left|205px|thumb|Umm, Giga? Where are we supposed to sleep?]]
Overlord later adopted his base mode for the first time to act as a staging ground for the search for the final Godmaster. The search came to an abruptly end, however, when the Godmaster himself, [[Clouder]], sought out the Decepticons, and the villains decided to use his ability to adopt two robot forms to install him as a double agent within the Autobot ranks. {{storylink|Appearance!! The Final Godmaster}} Using information fed to them by Clouder, the Decepticons initiated a full-scale attack on the Autobots' headquarters, again using Overlord's base mode as a mobile headquarters from which the assault was masterminded. {{storylink|Secret Orders! Destroy the Autobot Base!!}} When Ginrai (who had been lured away from the base so the attack to begin) returned to aid his fellow Autobots, Overlord transformed to robot mode and again engaged him in battle, intending to keep him occupied until a [[Seacon (Masterforce)|Seacon]] force could destroy the Autobot base from within. Although defeated in combat, Overlord was still able to gloat, as Ginrai failed to realise that he was being stalled until it was too late. Furious at his own short-sightedness, Ginrai hurled Overlord and embedded him, head-first, in the side of the mountain housing the Autobot base. At that moment, the base's magma converter power core finally exploded, and Overlord was sent flying over the horizon by a jet of lava. {{storylink|Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes}}

[[Image:Overlord spacejet.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Set controls to outer space, now, flying higher than ever before!]]
Soon thereafter, BlackZarak returned to Earth, and the Decepticons began "Operation M-1" to cut a swathe of devastation across the Earth. While BlackZarak tore through [[New York City|New York]], Overlord landed in the heart of [[Paris]], decimating military resistance and destroying the [[Arc de Triomphe]]. With these cities in ruins, the two Decepticons began to converge on Tokyo; while passing over China, Overlord landed on the Great Wall and broadcasted a message to the leaders of the world, warning them to surrender or witness Tokyo's destruction. Overlord then carried on his way, easily defeating [[Metalhawk]], [[Phoenix (Masterforce)|Phoenix]] and [[Diver (Masterforce)|Diver]] when they attempted to block his path. Overlord and BlackZarak soon arrived in Tokyo, and with no surrender forthcoming, began razing the city. In the midst of the chaos, however, Ginrai and Grand Maximus—who had been trapped in a black hole by BlackZarak, and only just managed to escape—arrived to stop their evil deeds. During the ensuing battle, Ginrai manoeuvred himself between the two Decepticons, and dodged at the last second, causing them to blast each other. With his two most powerful warriors damaged, Devil Z called off Operation M-1, and initiated Operation M-2 {{storylink|BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space}} which involved destroying the Earth's atmosphere from orbit with the unholy [[Death Para-Machine]]. Overlord transformed to his "space jet" mode to carry the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors into space for the operation, but naturally, the Autobots pursued their enemies, and Ginrai was able to destroy the Death Para-Machine before it caused irreparable damage to Earth. {{storylink|Crisis! The Day of Human Extinction}}

[[Image:Overlord vs ginrai.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"I outrank you, Ginrai!" "You do NOT! 'God' outranks 'Overlord'!"]]
After a battle with [[Lightfoot]] in southern Europe, {{storylink|God Ginrai - Save Cancer!?}} Overlord tried a more underhanded tactic, capturing Autobot Headmaster Junior [[Shūta Gō]], and using him as a bargaining chip to bring Ginrai to the Decepticon base. The battle that followed was distinctly one-sided, as Ginrai was unable to fight back due to Shūta being in danger, but this suddenly took an unexpected turn when Decepticon Junior [[Cancer (Masterforce)|Cancer]] turned on his teammates and freed Shūta. Even as the shocked Overlord commanded him to stop, Ginrai got back in the fight, and flattened Overlord before escaping with Shūta and Cancer. {{storylink|God Ginrai: Showdown at the Decepticon Base}} With the information Cancer provided them, the Autobots were able to stage an all-out attack on the Decepticon base, during which Overlord again battled Ginrai. The fight came to a sudden end when Devil Z merged together with BlackZarak and collapsed the Decepticon base in a failed attempt to destroy the Autobots. {{storylink|The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform}}

For a time, Devil Z's hatred of humankind had been steadily growing, and rankled with Giga and Mega, reaching a head when the alien abandoned [[Wilder]] and [[Bullhorn]] in the ruins of the Decepticon base, and transformed Hydra and Buster into true robots. {{storylink|Battle to the Death!! God Ginrai VS Darkwings Reborn}} Confronting God Ginrai for one final time in the heart of the [[Grand Canyon]], Overlord vowed to fight him without weapons, battling him only through the use of his physical strength and the power of his human flesh. He didn't explain his motives to Ginrai, but Ginrai observed Overlord's refusal to draw his weapons, and fought honourably. When Grand Maximus arrived on the scene, however, he was not so concerned, and simply shot Overlord out of the sky. {{storylink|Autobots! Desperate Attack!!}}

[[Image:Overlord ginrairescue.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I get by with a little help from my ... uh, foes.]]
After the battle in the Grand Canyon, the Decepticons relocated to the Alps, and the Autobots again gave chase. Overlord was willing to engage the Autobot Godmasters, but the merged Devil Z/BlackZarak entity held him back and instead buried them under an avalanche. Meanwhile, Ginrai again defeated Hydra and Buster, and the two brothers limped back to the peak of the Matterhorn, where Devil Z turned on them for their failure. As their punishment continued, Overlord at last stood up to his emperor and attempted to stop him, only to be on the receiving end of the emperor's wrath. {{storylink|Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z}} Unexpectedly, Overlord was rescued by Ginrai, and as the Autobot leader began his final battle with BlackZarak, Giga and Mega realized that they owed him a debt of honor for saving them and finally made the decision to turn against their former master. When Overlord attempted to aid God Ginrai in his battle with BlackZarak, however, they were struck down and enveloped in a sphere of Devil Z's [[Devil Power]]. Devil Z separated Mega and Giga from their Transtectors, bringing Overlord to live as a true super-robot lifeform. As their [[Master-Brace]]s vanished from their wrists, Giga and Mega died, regretting that they could not settle their rivalry with Ginrai honourably. Alas, there was not even time to mourn, as the new, robotic Overlord lunged for Ginrai, but was tackled by Grand Maximus. Ginrai subsequently united his powers with the Headmasters Juniors to finally destroy Devil Z and BlackZarak, and at the sight of his leader being vaporized, Overlord immediately called for the Decepticons to retreat. As they fled into space, the Autobots' Transtectors were also brought to life, as Overlord's had been, by the death of Devil Z, and they took headed into space in pursuit of Overlord's Decepticons. {{storylink|A Battle... and Then...}}
{{--}}

=====''Victory'' cartoon=====
[[Image:Decepticons in the g nebula.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Those car washes get more dangerous every year.]]
The now-living Overlord Transtector and his followers rejoined the Decepticon forces in space, and Overlord briefly led the Decepticon army before the rise to power of [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]. {{storylink|Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus's toy bio}} Following this, Overlord commanded the Sector Two Decepticon force, based in the G Nebula, where they battled the Autobots under the command of his old foe, God Ginrai. {{storylink|Planet Micro - The Mysterious Warrior}}
{{--}}
=====''Zone'' cartoon=====
[[Image:OverlordZone1.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Robots should not wear [[Transformer clothing#Capes|capes]].]]

:''Voice actor:'' [[Keiichi Noda]] (Japanese)

Years later, when the supernatural creature known as [[Violen Jiger]] seized command of the Decepticons, his first act was to recruit nine "[[Nine Great Demon Generals|Demon Generals]]" from Decepticon history. Overlord was selected to be one of those Generals and was given new power and weaponry to make him an even greater threat than before. At Violen Jiger's instruction, Overlord was sent to the planet [[Feminia]] to wreak havoc along with [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. Together, the three Decepticon Demon Generals destroyed the entire planet and nearly killed Autobot [[Supreme Commander]] [[Star Saber (Victory)|Victory Saber]] in the process.

Two-and-a-half months later, Overlord led Menasor, Abominus and [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] in an attack on the planet of [[Micro|Zone]], gleefully blasting [[Micromaster]]s and using his trident to slice into [[Zone Base]] to retrieve a sample of [[Energon Z]] for Decepticon use. With the Micromasters completely unable to harm the Decepticon generals, Overlord left the planet in triumph, handing the Energon Z off to the second group of Generals, who went on to attack Earth, but were stopped by Autobot [[Powered Master]] [[Dai Atlas (Zone)|Dai Atlas]]. {{storylink|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!}}
{{--}}

====Comic continuity====
=====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic=====
[[Image:Overlord manga.jpg|left|250px|thumb|The sound effect reads "fart."]]
Giga and Mega debuted their Transtectors in an attack on a city, during which they combined into Overlord and devastated the Autobot Godmasters with their Daemon Blast and Bolt Masher weapons. Blindsided and badly damaged by the newly-created God Ginrai, Overlord was goaded into pursuing the Autobot out into space, where BlackZarak was battling the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]. As BlackZarak turned to face the approaching Ginrai, the cunning Autobot swiftly ducked out of the way, causing Overlord and BlackZarak to attack each other. Gravely wounded, Overlord returned to Earth, while BlackZarak fled back into space. {{storylink|God Ginrai's Amazing Super-God Combination!}}

Overlord's base mode was employed by the Decepticon to hold Shūta Gō and [[Cab]] prisoner, when they attempted to torture the two boys into becoming members of the Decepticons. Their fellow Autobot Junior, [[Minerva (Masterforce)|Minerva]], came to their rescue when she crashed Godbomber through Overlord's walls and freed them, after which Overlord transformed to robot mode to face the approaching Ginrai and Grand Maximus. It wasn't his best showing: after Ginrai combined with Godbomber, Grand crashed his battleship directly into Overlord's face, and God Ginrai used the Headmaster's "[[Master Blade (Masterforce)|Master Blade]]" to slice off Overlord's legs. Their Transtectors forcibly separated, the battered Giga and Mega escaped. {{storylink|The Earth Family of Good and Evil}}

[[Image:Overlord aolaser.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]
From the top of [[Qomolangma]], Overlord rained destruction down on the world using the Decepticons' newest weapon, the [[A.O. Laser]]. When Ginrai and Godbomber arrived to stop him, Overlord turned the laser on them; they dodged, but they had failed to observe the presence of the Decepticons' newest member, the Godmaster Clouder, who reflected the laser beam back at them and knocked them out of the sky. Unfortunately for Overlord, a chance comment from Cancer insulting Clouder's falcon mode plunged the Godmaster into such a rage that he turned on his Decepticon allies and blew up the A.O. Laser in Overlord's hands. Although Ginrai had been temporarily blinded by the A.O. Laser, the Headmaster Juniors were able to serve as his eyes and point him in the right direction to unleash his "God Punch" attack, which clobbered Overlord so hard that Giga and Mega actually popped out of his chest. {{storylink|Decepticons' Great Counterattack!}}

Soon thereafter, when the Autobots were off-Earth visiting their space-based allies, BlackZarak was able to return to Earth, and he and Overlord took the opportunity to attack a city. The Autobots soon returned with, and Ginrai and Godbomber grappled with Overlord, forcing him to separate back into the Megajet and Gigatank. The two Autobots clung onto the separate Transtectors, however, refusing to let them escape, as they waited for the new weapon they had brought back from space, the [[VX Bomb]] to detonate. The explosion came seconds later, knocking Mega and Giga's Transtectors offline, but Ginrai and Godbomber survived by combining into God Ginrai. {{storylink|Live? Die?! The Desperate Super-God Combination}}

[[Image:Overlord vs blackzarak.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]
When BlackZarak attacked a city, Cancer happened to be here, and BlackZarak showed his disdain for humans by using the boy as a bargaining chip to prevent the Autobots from interfering with his deviltry. Horrified at this treatment of Cancer, Overlord viciously attacked BlackZarak, rescuing Cancer from his grip, but while they were fighting, it allowed the Autobots to take down both of them. {{storylink|Great Turn-Around! Autobots}}

In light of this act of treachery by Overlord, it was perhaps not surprising that in the midst of his next battle with Ginrai, Overlord himself was the subject of a betrayal. In an attempt to transform himself into the ultimate lifeform, Devil Z fused with BlackZarak, and then turned on Overlord and the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors, attempting to drain theirs and Ginrai's [[Chōkon Power|Jinchōkon]] and take it for his own. They were saved by the Autobot Pretenders, who blocked the Jinchōkon-absorbing beam, and Overlord decided to join with the Autobots in defeating Devil Z. Overlord joined with all the other Transformers in combining their energies into the "Perfect Transform Attack", which finally destroyed BlackZarak and Devil Z once and for all. With the alien's death, the Transformers' Transtectors were brought to life as true super-robot lifeforms, Overlord's included. Alas, Devil Z's energies had also been sustaining the lives of Giga and Mega, and his death also resulted in theirs. The now-living Overlord and Ginrai Transtectors decided to take their troops back into space, where Overlord vowed to defeat Ginrai in memory of Mega and Giga, and for the honor of the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Birth of the Super Lifeforms}}
{{--}}

=====''Zone'' comic and story pages=====
[[Image:Overlord zone manga.jpg|right|160px|thumb|]]
Years after the end of the [[Masterforce War]], Overlord was among the Decepticons recruited by the new Decepticon emperor Violen Jiger to become the strongest of his Nine Great Demon Generals. In addition to his new title of "Super-God General", Overlord was outfitted with new armor and weapons that made him even more dangerous than before. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 1}}

One month after the Demon Generals destroyed the planet Feminia, apparently taking the life of the Autobot Supreme Commander Victory Saber in the process, Overlord led Menasor, Bruticus and Abominus in an attack on the planet Zone, where they successfully stole a sample of the super-energy, Energon Z. When the Zone Base transformed into battle mode and opened fire on the Decepticons, Overlord called retreat, seeing no need to stay and fight when the prize was already theirs. Overlord then handed the Energon Z off to the second platoon of generals, who subsequently headed for Earth, but were defeated in battle there by the Decepticon Powered Master Dai Atlas. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (manga)|Transformers: Zone}}

It wasn't long before Overlord got his own chance to go up against Dai Atlas, but the Powered Master didn't think much of this so-called "Strongest of the Generals," aiming to finish their battle in under eight seconds. Whether or not he achieved this lofty goal is unknown, but he ''did'' lay out Overlord with his powerful "Galactic Dash" attack. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 6}}

The Generals later schooled [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] and the [[Metrosquad]] in the ways of evil, making them formidable foes for the [[Powered Master]]s. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 7}}
{{--}}

====''Transformers PD Type''====
[[Image:Pdtype_overlord.jpg|left|thumb]]
During a battle between Overlord and Super Ginrai, the Autobot Godmaster prepared to attack with Chokon Power. When he raised his hands to summon Tenchokon, however, he was struck by a bolt of lightning, causing Overlord to smirk that the weather wasn't looking too good. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##7 "Fight! Super Ginrai!"|Fight! Super Ginrai!!}}

Sitting in a field, watching the clouds float by, Overlord started to wonder what he was doing with his life and decided he needed a day off to reflect on his lot. Unfortunately, he had chosen to sit down and have this epiphany in the middle of a huge battle, and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] began shouting at him to get back up and join the fight. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##9 "Oh Overlord."|Oh, Overlord}}
{{-}}

===European toy bio continuity===
[[Image:Overlord vs motorvators.jpg|right|thumb|Collect all time-displaced toys.]]
A legend by virtue of his very existence, Overlord is the ultimate Decepticon anti-hero. Emerging to join the Transformers' war at some undetermined point in space and time, Overlord fights alone on the battlefield despite his Decepticon allegiance, a monolithic horror born of "advanced robotic engineering" whose special abilities—including the power to travel across dimensions—come from the "[[Energon figure]]s" that operate his multiple functions.

To counter the monstrous threat posed by this powerful new breed of Decepticon, the Autobots developed their own new team of warriors, the [[Motorvator]]s, emulating Overlord's Energon figure technology to make the trio a match for his awesome power.<ref>Overlord's European toy bio</ref><ref>Story blurb on Overlord and the Motorvators' packaging.</ref>
{{--}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
Gigatron was an ancient Cybertronian, who developed an idea to allow Decepticons to survive on alien planets by biologically integrating local inhabitants into their systems. In modern times, Gigatron's records were uncovered and used to develop the [[Powermaster]] process. {{storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye #8}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{bigquote|A good strategist is half psychologist and half '''sadist'''. And I was the '''best'''.|Overlord|[[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #3]]}}
[[Image:MegatronOrigin2 fightcrowd1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Hey, he appeared as a rabid fan of gladiatorial combat in a crowd shot once. Wouldn't it be ''awesome'' if [[Nick Roche|someone]] built a whole character round that?.]]
In the days before the Cybertronian civil war, Overlord was an avid spectator of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]'s gladiatorial matches. Like many, this led him to join the charismatic pit fighter's army and bear the badge of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}} However, Overlord was enthralled not with the loftiness of the Decepticon cause that Megatron espoused, but with the glorious excess of the gladiator battles and the freedom of making entire worlds his arena. To Overlord, the ends didn't matter overly much when the ''means'' themselves were this pleasurable. As a result his tactics developed a reputation as unsound, and his schemes as nothing more than flights of brutal whimsy. Unlike [[Scorponok (G1)|many]] [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|other]] powerful Decepticons, he had no interest in command, only in taking his slaughter to the next stage. Megatron was not convinced, however, believing the image of Overlord as simply interested in killing to be a façade, and began searching for a way to exert greater control over him.

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers2-teleconference.jpg|left|thumb|300px|I am not a number!]]
During the early years of the war, Overlord was embroiled in battle on [[Caldoon 4]] when he was called to a teleconference with [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]], who announced that Overlord would join [[Sixshot]] and [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] as the "phase sixers" in his new [[infiltration protocol]]. Dissatisfied with being declared a weapon that operated at someone else's whim, Overlord contested his appointment, and Megatron gave him two options: do as he was told, or refuse and have Megatron hunt him down. Overlord made his choice quickly, returning to the battle outside and dispatching every Autobot save one—[[Kup (G1)|Kup]]—who he allowed to survive so a message could be sent to Megatron: Overlord had chosen option two. He proceeded to leave Caldoon 4 to plan for Megatron's inevitable coming, {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} but soon discovered that at some point, [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] had infected him with an [[Achilles virus]] on Megatron's command, giving Overlord a "tactical blindspot" that prevented him from figuring out how to harm Megatron. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

Some time later, Overlord initiated a conflict with the emperor of a star system who was in possession of interstellar travel capabilities and weapons technology that rivaled his own. Finding himself overmatched, Overlord requisitioned the aid of [[Gorelock]]'s Decepticon battalion, which, at the time, was assigned to [[Spensifax B]]. The ensuing battle, according to the estimates of science officer [[Vivisector]], set the technological development of the empire back an estimated 250,000 years. {{storylink|The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Gorelock's prisoner clemency request}}

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers1-Overlord.jpg|right|thumb|250px|We peed a little.]]
At the height of the [[Surge (event)|cross-galactic Decepticon uprising]], Overlord arrived at [[Garrus-9]] in the midst of the Decepticon siege of the prison, and casually murdered garrison leader [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]] when he refused to turn command over to him. Intending to turn Garrus-9 into his home away from home, Overlord personally defeated warden [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and threw him to the crowd of Decepticon prisoners he had freed as a show of good faith. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} Overlord was not done with Maximus, though, later imprisoning him and personally torturing him for information on the [[Aequitas]] computer hidden in the bowls of Garrus-9, and the mysterious secret of the prison that the computer had been created to hide. Maximus refused to give up the passcodes to the device's chamber even after Overlord threatened to kill an Autobot for every second that he withheld them. {{storylink|Interiors}}

[[Image:Overlord-Fort-Max-Interiors.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Do you expect me to talk?" "No, I expect you to die and be a cheap funeral".]]

During his time in command of Garrus-9, Overlord turn the prison into a huge gladiatorial arena, and had the prisoners fight for their lives with the promise that victory meant freedom. This was, of course, a lie; those who won in twelve bouts were offered the choice of facing Overlord himself or committing suicide. Overlord forced the imprisoned [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] to watch footage of both these matches and the sacking of the prison, possibly driving him insane. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}} After a year of this, some of the Decepticons began to have doubts about their sadistic leader; [[Fearswoop (G1)|Fearswoop]] was lucky to survive when he questioned Overlord's lack of sportsmanship, but [[Wingblazer]] and his partner were not so fortunate when they let an Autobot prisoner get the better of them during a hunt, and Overlord killed them for their carelessness. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} Around this time, Overlord also released Shockwave from confinement and let him leave in return for the Achilles Virus being removed. Shockwave could tell that all Overlord was doing with Garrus-9 was trying to get Megatron's attention, though Overlord denied it. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers1-BoreholeKickoff.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Better than television!]]
Two years later, Overlord and his Decepticons watched the captive Autobot [[Kick-Off (G1)|Kick-Off]] battle the Decepticon [[Borehole]] for his amusement. Kick-Off triumphed and was taken to Overlord's quarters {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} where he was offered the customary choice; {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last stand of the Wreckers #4}} he evidently opted to fight Overlord, given the brutalized state of his body when it was later found. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

Not long thereafter, the Autobot strike team known as the [[Wrecker]]s arrived to liberate Garrus-9, breaking through the planetary defenses inside escape pods, one of which crashed into the gladiatorial arena chamber right in front of Overlord's feet. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} Although disappointed to discover that the new arrivals were Autobots, rather than Decepticons sent by Megatron, Overlord was amused by the joke made by [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]] about Wreckers combining... right before he put a gun between Rotorstorm's optics and shot him through the head. The Wreckers turned down Overlord's proposal of surrender but were unable to injure him, and escaped into the prison by detonating a fuel tank to cover their withdrawal. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[Image:LastStandofWreckers4- OverlordSpringerReady.jpg|left|thumb|200px|FINAL ROUND, FIGHT!]]

With help from the Decepticon [[Snare]], who had come to believe that the Decepticons on Garrus-9 were as trapped by Overlord as the Autobots were, the Wreckers regrouped with the rest of their team and established a new mission objective: kill Overlord. They did not have to hunt him down, however, as he soon arrived to take them on. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}} The fight quickly made its way to the rooftop of Garrus-9, where [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]] was torn in half and used to dispatch Kup. A harpoon through the eye courtesy of [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] barely fazed Overlord, who delivered a defeat more crushing than any beating: the Autobot prisoners the Wreckers had come to liberate had all been executed on his orders already. [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]], and human ally [[Verity Carlo]] soon arrived to join the fight, bringing with them a huge chaingun-like weapon that Springer emptied into Overlord. The Decepticon shrugged off even its massive payload and slapped Springer to the ground, removing most of his face, before quickly dispatching Perceptor. Rounding on Ironfist, Overlord was amused by the small Autobot's warning not to get any closer, but Ironfist was quick to explain: Springer had shot Overlord with thousands of deterrence chips, which Ironfist then remotely detonated, reducing Overlord to a flaming, yet still-functional skeleton.

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers5-brittlebones.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"Megatron better not show up when I'm naked!"]]

Ironfist fell unconscious, leaving only Verity to hear Overlord's wrathful ranting, as he demanded to know how he could meet a challenge from Megatron in this sorry state. Realizing this what what Overlord had longed for all along, Verity dropped the bomb: Megatron was ''dead''. Overlord was stunned by the realization that while he had dedicated every waking hour of his existence to his supposedly inevitable fight with Megatron, the Decepticon leader had never cared, and would never come. He put up no resistance when Impactor recovered, but Impactor refused to kill Overlord, for Springer's sake, and promised to take him in to face justice. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[Image:Overlord-Lost-Light-Interiors.jpg|left|thumb|First class may seem like a rip off but it has advantages over the alternatives.]]

Several years later, [[Rung]] claimed Overlord had been completely disassembled and his spark placed in a whiteout vacuum on Cybertron. Unfortunately this was not the whole truth. [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] started hearing voices in the depths of the ''[[Lost Light]]''. Stealing a drill, he tunneled into the base of the ship, revealing a huge chamber, in which a trapped, reconstructed but disarmed Overlord continually begged for someone to kill him. {{storylink|Interiors}}

{{-}}

===''Classics''===
[[Image:InvasionPrologue-Gigatron.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Everything's shrunk except those glorious lips.]]

Long ago, Gigatron, the Overlord, grew restless in his duties at [[Darkmount]], and forfeited his throne to [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]]. His psychotic craving for power led him to scour the universe, ultimately leading him to Earth.

Gigatron crashlanded in [[Japan]], where he adopted a robot form resembling a shogun and an M1 Abrams tank altmode. With most of Earth's Decepticons offplanet with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], he was able to gather a small army of ten warriors, and he would infrequently clash with [[Metalhawk]] and his fellow Earthbound Autobots. Once, Gigatron searched in [[Kitakyushu]] for [[Musashi]]'s sword, but legends of the sword's strength were exaggerated.

Soon, Gigatron had set his sights on another potential source of power, [[Rarified Energon]]. The Autobots had been guarding it for a period of time, and had been moving it frequently to keep it out of the hands of the Decepticons. But Gigatron discovered that the Rarified Energon had been moved to [[Ironworks]], and effortlessly battled through an army of [[RUNT]]s to reach the Autobot station. There, he fought Metalhawk, and he and his Decepticons were forced to retreat. {{storylink|Invasion Prologue}}

Gigatron continued to keep vigil over Ironworks, however, and when [[Spinister]] brought him news of a skirmish involving heroic Decepticons and evil Autobots, Gigatron knew it was time to strike! With this distraction, they could easily take the Rarified Energon hidden in the vaults for themselves.

[[Image:Invasion-destroythem.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Gigatron's about to be really happy he got stuck on Earth.]]

Once it was discovered that the evil Autobots were also after the Rarified Energon, Gigatron refused to be out-conquered. He and the majority of his troops came to the rescue of [[Sir Soundwave]], who was about to get assimilated by [[Junkion (SG)|Junkions]]. Aiming to show these heroic Decepticons how it's done, he set Soundwave loose and continued battling the Junkions.

What Gigatron did not know was that the evil Autobots, led by [[Ultra Magnus (SG)|Ultra Magnus]], intended to warp this iteration of Earth to their own universe's Cybertron, destroying it in the process. Though Sir Soundwave was able to expand the force field surrounding the evil Autobots' machinery large enough to protect the entire planet, saving Gigatron and his troops, no one foresaw the true scale of Magnus's intentions. And so as Earth neared the alternate universe Cybertron, its entire dimension was destroyed behind them, leaving Gigatron and the rest of his Earth's citizens the last remnants of their universe.

Gigatron and the others were unsurprisingly distraught, so [[Straxus (SG)|the Bard of Darkmount]] recited for them a hopeful poem. {{storylink|Invasion (issue)|Invasion}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Super-God Masterforce===
*'''Overlord''' (Godmaster, 1988)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-307'''[[Image:G1 overlord toy.jpg|right|325px|thumb|Not to be confused with Blackstar's nemesis.]]
**''Accessories:'' Giga and Mega Godmaster engines, "Transtector Destroyer Cannon", three missiles, tank barrel, two ramps/shin guards, central ramp, two radar arrays, double-barreled laser, rocket launcher, car

: Overlord consists of two vehicles, the Gigatank and the Megajet, which are able to combine together to form a robot mode or a base mode. Like any Godmaster (or [[Powermaster]]), Overlord is only able to transform when the Giga and Mega Godmaster figures are transformed into engine mode and snapped into place in the sockets on top of the vehicles. Inserting Giga into the tank splits it in half to form legs for robot mode, or alternately, the left and right emplacements of the base (the left containing a fold-out twin cannon, the right a poseable claw arm). Fitting Mega into the jet, meanwhile, unlocks the toy's shoulder articulation for robot mode and its fold-out launchpad for base mode. Once the toy is in robot mode, the figures can be removed from their sockets and fitted into two further ports hidden beneath doors on his chest, which unlock the multi-barreled "Chōkon Daemon Blast" and spring-loaded "Chōkon Bolt Masher" weapons that pop out of his stomach. One figure can also fit into the [[Roller (G1)|Roller]]-style car that comes with the set.

: There is, unfortunately, not one mode that uses all of Overlord's many accessories. Standing approximately 15" in robot mode, Overlord is taller than ''most'' Transformer toys, though [[Unicron/toys|certainly]] [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|not]] [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|all]].

: Overlord's instructions do not feature the additional large jet mode seen in the animated series and manga, as it (like [[Sixshot]]'s "Wingwolf" mode or BlackZarak's "Dakatsu" mode) was created by the production staff after fiddling around with the toy itself. As such, it's entirely possible to put the toy in this form, although it doesn't rest evenly on a flat surface.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Destron/Overlord/overlord.htm More information on Overlord at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

===Generation 1===
*'''Overlord''' (1991)

: Initially exclusive to Japan, Overlord's toy was later released in Europe and Australasia with a different shade of purple plastic.

===Timelines===
[[Image:Timelinestoy-BC2012Gigatron.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Oh my, Bludgeon, you've never looked so... ''kissable''... before...]]
*'''Invasion''' ([[BotCon 2012]] box set)
**''Accessories:'' [[Wikipedia:Katana|Katana]], [[Wikipedia:Wakizashi|tanto]]
: ''[[Transformers Timelines (toyline)|Timelines]]'' Gigatron is a [[redeco]]/[[retool]] of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' Voyager Class [[Bludgeon (ROTF)#Voyager|Bludgeon]], sporting a new head. Gigatron transforms from a Japanese [[Wikipedia:Type 90 Kyū-maru|Type 90]] tank into a samurai-esque robot mode. He features a flexible plastic sword which is made out of a portion of the barrel of the tank's main gun as well as a smaller dagger. The dagger can be stored in a sheath which is revealed from inside the tank turret, and both blades can be slotted in holes provided on the robot mode's left hip guard. Additionally, the dagger's handle can fit in the base of the sword's handle, forming a double-bladed weapon. He has [[Mech Alive]] [[gimmick]]s in his thighs and turret: Sculpted cylinders in his thighs rotate whenever his lower legs are rotated, and pulling his turret open makes a sculpted "disc" at the center rotate while a scabbard for the tantō hinges over to the side and props itself up for use.

:The vehicle mode is one of the very few Transformer tank toys with rubber components to its treads. Portions of the tread links can unlock, allowing them to hang from the robot mode, while the wheels of the treads are integrated separately into the robot mode form itself. The treads still do not function realistically; small plastic wheels on the underside of the treads help the tank mode roll, as is standard with nearly all Transformer tank toys.

:The original version of this mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers (2010 toyline)|Transformers]]'' [[Banzaitron]], and it was differently retooled to make ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Megatron (G1)/toys#Generations|Megatron]].

:Gigatron was released in a box set with [[Ultra Magnus (SG)#Timelines|Ultra Magnus]], [[Tracks (SG)|Tracks]], [[Treadshot (SG)|Treadshot]], [[Sir Soundwave#Timelines|Soundwave]], and [[Metalhawk#Timelines|Metalhawk]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2012/Decepticon/BCGigatron/gigatron.htm More information on BotCon Gigatron at TFU.info]''

==Merchandise==
===Parody Deformed===
[[Image:Overlord pd model.jpg|right|thumb|]]
*'''Overlord''' (1990)

:A small blue and white, non-transforming [[super deformed]] model kit of Overlord was available as part of [[Kabaya]]'s "[[Parody Deformed]]" line of [[Candy toy|candy toys]]. The eighth figure in the series, he came with a "[[Transformers PD Type]]" comic about himself, "Oh, Overlord", and something that could charitably be described as "chocolate".
{{--}}
===Super Collection Figure===
[[Image:HOC Gigatron.jpg|right|thumb|]]
*'''Overlord''' (2001)

:A PVC figure of Overlord was part of the ''Super-God Masterforce''-centric fifth act of [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s ''[[Heroes of Cybertron|Super Collection Figure]]'' series, available in both full colour and metallic silver "pewter" in an equal ratio of one each per case of twelve figures. In eight out of every ten cases, the pewter version of Overlord came packaged with the right leg of the wave's "build-a-figure", BlackZarak, itself also available in full color and pewter versions.

:The colour version of his figure was later released in the fourth wave of [[Hasbro]]'s ''[[Heroes of Cybertron]]'', under the new name of Gigatron.

===Heroes of Cybertron===
*'''Powermaster Gigatron''' (2003)
:Gigatron is a slightly-altered version of the ''Super Collection Figure'' Overlord PVC, featuring rounded-off shoulder-cones [[for safety reasons]], plus he used the standard "all clear-red-plastic painted over" coloring process to give him [[Light-piping|light-piped]] eyes. He came with the left arm of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] build-a-figurine.
{{--}}

==Notes==
*Overlord was a new [[character]] created for the 1988 Japanese ''Super God Masterforce'' series. While all his fellow Godmasters had American Powermaster counterpart characters (Ginrai had Optimus Prime, Lightfoot had [[Getaway]], and so forth), Overlord's counterpart came later in the form of a 1991 European and Australasian exclusive. The bio of this figure stated that he was a dimension-hopper, which leaves the door open for him being the Masterforce character who jumped dimensions into the European toy bio continuity. Overlord did not have an American counterpart until 2003, when the ''Heroes of Cybertron'' line introduced "Gigatron". However, the little-known nature of this character (existing as he did only as an obscure PVC figurine), coupled with the fact that Overlord had been around for fifteen years already, meant that the idea of a Powermaster named Gigatron who existed as a separate character from the Godmaster Overlord didn't really catch on. Surprisingly, Dreamwave stuck with the formula in their ''More Than Meets The Eye'' series, briefly mentioning the character as the originator of the Powermaster process, but when the non-Godmaster version of the character appeared again a few years later in [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' series, he was "Overlord" once more. With this, there seems little point in distinguishing between the two characters (different as they are), and as such they are included in this article together.
*Early during pre-production for ''Masterforce'', Overlord was named '''Leviathan'''. This was almost certainly a name based in series creator [[Masumi Kaneda]]'s desire to sprinkle the series with assorted Biblical allegories; the name-change is fairly symptomatic of how these references wound up being downplayed to the point of near-total obfuscation in the finished show.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-images/tech-specs/Heroes-Of-Cybertron-Tech-Specs/2003-Transformers-Tech-Specs/Powermaster_Gigatron.jpg.html Powermaster Gigatron's tech-specs] at TFW2005.com

[[Category:Classics Decepticons]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Decepticon bases]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Dimension hoppers]]
[[Category:Emperors]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Godmasters]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce Decepticons]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Zone Decepticons]]

Overlord (G1)

2013-02-03T09:11:03Z

Salva Veritate: Phrase changes to paragraph beginning with 'Som time later, Overlord...' in the IDW Continuity section

{{faction|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Overlord}}
{{featured}}
:''Overlord is a [[Decepticon]] [[Godmaster]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:Overlord.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He's a she! She's a he! He's a she-she. He's half man, half woman. All Lord.]]

[[Autobot]]s quake in fear when '''Overlord''' (オーバーロード ''Ōbārōdo'') thunders on to the battlefield. This towering warrior is an amalgamation of the deadliest [[Decepticon]] weaponry known, armed with laser blasters and grenade launchers in his stomach, and the terrifying ability to prevent the wounds he inflicts upon his opponents from healing. He is even equipped with an internal arms factory. Overlord is formed from two individual vehicles, a tank and a jet, which combine together to form his colossal robot mode, a heavily-armed advance base, or a larger jet capable of space flight.

He is sometimes known as '''Gigatron'''.

{{note|Exactly who—and even ''what''—Overlord is varies greatly from continuity to continuity, to the point that it could conceivably be argued whether or not the different incarnations represent different characters. See individual sections below for details.}}

==Fiction==
===Japanese Generation 1 continuity===
The story of the Overlord begins with the mysterious alien energy-being and self-styled Decepticon god, [[Devil Z]], who schemed to create the ultimate lifeform by merging Transformers and humans into one. Devil Z stole a collection of Transformer [[Transtector]]s from the [[G Nebula 89|G Nebula]] and brought them to Earth, where he recruited two human beings, husband and wife [[Giga]] and [[Mega]], and charged them with creating an army for him. Mega and Giga were both bonded to the largest Transtector, and together, they became the terrifying Overlord, serving as Devil Z's "Ambassador of Destruction" on Earth.

In this continuity, each of Overlord's two components are piloted by Giga and Mega, and are hence known as the '''Gigatank''' and the '''Megajet'''. As deadly as his "Chōkon Daemon Blast" lasers and "Chōkon Bolt Masher" grenade launcher are, Overlord has little need for projectile weapons: as a [[Godmaster]], he is capable of manipulating [[Chōkon Power]], and can even employ it to inhibit the regenerative abilities of other Godmasters.

====Cartoon continuity====
=====''Super God Masterforce'' cartoon=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Keiichi Noda]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Overlord r.jpg|left|225px|thumb|Lady Mega: "Does this Transtector make me look fat?" Lord Giga: *groan*]]
Giga and Mega took their Transtectors into battle for the first time after a string of failures that resulted in several of the Godmaster Transtectors falling into the hands of the [[Autobot]]s. The couple had [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]] and [[Buster (Masterforce)|Buster]] lure Autobot commander [[Ginrai]] into the desert, and then confronted him as Overlord, immediately proving their superiority by beating him to near-death. {{storylink|Super Ginrai Gets Blown Away in the Desert!?}} Believing Ginrai dealt with, Overlord subsequently departed into space, taking control of a [[Weather Observatory Moon Base|weather-monitoring base]] on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]] in order to rendezvous with the approaching [[Scorponok (G1)|BlackZarak]] there. Ginrai, however, proved entirely too stubborn to die, and, powered-up through his combination with the freshly-constructed [[Godbomber]] drone, soon pursued Overlord and engaged him in battle above the moon's surface. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Into the Sky!!}} During the fight, Ginrai was blindsided by BlackZarak and sent crashing down to the moon, where he found himself hunted by the two powerful Decepticons. Luckily, the Autobot battleship [[Grand Maximus]] arrived to help, and the two Decepticon tried to break off the fight an return to Earth. Ginrai and Grand vowed to stop them, and a shot from Ginrai's God Cannon sent Overlord plummeting back to the moon, forcing Giga and Mega to split into their individual Transtectors to soften their impact and save their lives. The Autobot pair managed to drive BlackZarak back to the moon as well, and the dark Decepticon insisted that Overlord return to Earth alone and inform Devil Z of the situation. Overlord refused, furious that anyone other than Devil Z would presume to give him orders, but when Ginrai and Grand returned to press their attack, he realised the damage he had sustained prevented him from carrying on the fight, and he relented. After Overlord departed for Earth, however, the outnumbered BlackZarak was then beaten by Ginrai and sent fleeing back into the depths of space. {{storylink|God Ginrai - Showdown on the Surface of the Moon}}

[[Image:Overlord v.jpg|right|205px|thumb|I'm easy come. Easy go. Little High. Little Low.]]
Incensed by this failure, Giga decided to reduce Ginrai's power level by destroying Godbomber. A desert again served as Ginrai and Overlord's battleground, as Overlord used his Chōkon Power to create a massive whirling tornado out of the shifting sands, but when he was thrown off balance by a sneaky God Punch attack, Overlord's "Chōkon Tornado" quickly backfired on him and sent him spinning off wildly through the sky. {{storylink|Overlord - Terror of the Chōkon Tornado}} Despite this setback, Overlord made another attempt to eliminate Godbomber, this time by separating him from Ginrai with an ambush in the American heartland. In their separate Transtectors, Giga and Mega wore down Ginrai until he no longer had enough Chōkon Power to animate Godbomber, but the plan was foiled when the Autobot [[Headmaster Junior]]s discovered they could combine their own energy to control Godbomber themselves. With Ginrai and Godbomber reunited, Overlord was sent packing by a blast of Chōkon Power. {{storylink|Destroy Godbomber!!}}

[[Image:Overlord b.jpg|left|205px|thumb|Umm, Giga? Where are we supposed to sleep?]]
Overlord later adopted his base mode for the first time to act as a staging ground for the search for the final Godmaster. The search came to an abruptly end, however, when the Godmaster himself, [[Clouder]], sought out the Decepticons, and the villains decided to use his ability to adopt two robot forms to install him as a double agent within the Autobot ranks. {{storylink|Appearance!! The Final Godmaster}} Using information fed to them by Clouder, the Decepticons initiated a full-scale attack on the Autobots' headquarters, again using Overlord's base mode as a mobile headquarters from which the assault was masterminded. {{storylink|Secret Orders! Destroy the Autobot Base!!}} When Ginrai (who had been lured away from the base so the attack to begin) returned to aid his fellow Autobots, Overlord transformed to robot mode and again engaged him in battle, intending to keep him occupied until a [[Seacon (Masterforce)|Seacon]] force could destroy the Autobot base from within. Although defeated in combat, Overlord was still able to gloat, as Ginrai failed to realise that he was being stalled until it was too late. Furious at his own short-sightedness, Ginrai hurled Overlord and embedded him, head-first, in the side of the mountain housing the Autobot base. At that moment, the base's magma converter power core finally exploded, and Overlord was sent flying over the horizon by a jet of lava. {{storylink|Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes}}

[[Image:Overlord spacejet.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Set controls to outer space, now, flying higher than ever before!]]
Soon thereafter, BlackZarak returned to Earth, and the Decepticons began "Operation M-1" to cut a swathe of devastation across the Earth. While BlackZarak tore through [[New York City|New York]], Overlord landed in the heart of [[Paris]], decimating military resistance and destroying the [[Arc de Triomphe]]. With these cities in ruins, the two Decepticons began to converge on Tokyo; while passing over China, Overlord landed on the Great Wall and broadcasted a message to the leaders of the world, warning them to surrender or witness Tokyo's destruction. Overlord then carried on his way, easily defeating [[Metalhawk]], [[Phoenix (Masterforce)|Phoenix]] and [[Diver (Masterforce)|Diver]] when they attempted to block his path. Overlord and BlackZarak soon arrived in Tokyo, and with no surrender forthcoming, began razing the city. In the midst of the chaos, however, Ginrai and Grand Maximus—who had been trapped in a black hole by BlackZarak, and only just managed to escape—arrived to stop their evil deeds. During the ensuing battle, Ginrai manoeuvred himself between the two Decepticons, and dodged at the last second, causing them to blast each other. With his two most powerful warriors damaged, Devil Z called off Operation M-1, and initiated Operation M-2 {{storylink|BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space}} which involved destroying the Earth's atmosphere from orbit with the unholy [[Death Para-Machine]]. Overlord transformed to his "space jet" mode to carry the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors into space for the operation, but naturally, the Autobots pursued their enemies, and Ginrai was able to destroy the Death Para-Machine before it caused irreparable damage to Earth. {{storylink|Crisis! The Day of Human Extinction}}

[[Image:Overlord vs ginrai.jpg|left|225px|thumb|"I outrank you, Ginrai!" "You do NOT! 'God' outranks 'Overlord'!"]]
After a battle with [[Lightfoot]] in southern Europe, {{storylink|God Ginrai - Save Cancer!?}} Overlord tried a more underhanded tactic, capturing Autobot Headmaster Junior [[Shūta Gō]], and using him as a bargaining chip to bring Ginrai to the Decepticon base. The battle that followed was distinctly one-sided, as Ginrai was unable to fight back due to Shūta being in danger, but this suddenly took an unexpected turn when Decepticon Junior [[Cancer (Masterforce)|Cancer]] turned on his teammates and freed Shūta. Even as the shocked Overlord commanded him to stop, Ginrai got back in the fight, and flattened Overlord before escaping with Shūta and Cancer. {{storylink|God Ginrai: Showdown at the Decepticon Base}} With the information Cancer provided them, the Autobots were able to stage an all-out attack on the Decepticon base, during which Overlord again battled Ginrai. The fight came to a sudden end when Devil Z merged together with BlackZarak and collapsed the Decepticon base in a failed attempt to destroy the Autobots. {{storylink|The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform}}

For a time, Devil Z's hatred of humankind had been steadily growing, and rankled with Giga and Mega, reaching a head when the alien abandoned [[Wilder]] and [[Bullhorn]] in the ruins of the Decepticon base, and transformed Hydra and Buster into true robots. {{storylink|Battle to the Death!! God Ginrai VS Darkwings Reborn}} Confronting God Ginrai for one final time in the heart of the [[Grand Canyon]], Overlord vowed to fight him without weapons, battling him only through the use of his physical strength and the power of his human flesh. He didn't explain his motives to Ginrai, but Ginrai observed Overlord's refusal to draw his weapons, and fought honourably. When Grand Maximus arrived on the scene, however, he was not so concerned, and simply shot Overlord out of the sky. {{storylink|Autobots! Desperate Attack!!}}

[[Image:Overlord ginrairescue.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I get by with a little help from my ... uh, foes.]]
After the battle in the Grand Canyon, the Decepticons relocated to the Alps, and the Autobots again gave chase. Overlord was willing to engage the Autobot Godmasters, but the merged Devil Z/BlackZarak entity held him back and instead buried them under an avalanche. Meanwhile, Ginrai again defeated Hydra and Buster, and the two brothers limped back to the peak of the Matterhorn, where Devil Z turned on them for their failure. As their punishment continued, Overlord at last stood up to his emperor and attempted to stop him, only to be on the receiving end of the emperor's wrath. {{storylink|Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z}} Unexpectedly, Overlord was rescued by Ginrai, and as the Autobot leader began his final battle with BlackZarak, Giga and Mega realized that they owed him a debt of honor for saving them and finally made the decision to turn against their former master. When Overlord attempted to aid God Ginrai in his battle with BlackZarak, however, they were struck down and enveloped in a sphere of Devil Z's [[Devil Power]]. Devil Z separated Mega and Giga from their Transtectors, bringing Overlord to live as a true super-robot lifeform. As their [[Master-Brace]]s vanished from their wrists, Giga and Mega died, regretting that they could not settle their rivalry with Ginrai honourably. Alas, there was not even time to mourn, as the new, robotic Overlord lunged for Ginrai, but was tackled by Grand Maximus. Ginrai subsequently united his powers with the Headmasters Juniors to finally destroy Devil Z and BlackZarak, and at the sight of his leader being vaporized, Overlord immediately called for the Decepticons to retreat. As they fled into space, the Autobots' Transtectors were also brought to life, as Overlord's had been, by the death of Devil Z, and they took headed into space in pursuit of Overlord's Decepticons. {{storylink|A Battle... and Then...}}
{{--}}

=====''Victory'' cartoon=====
[[Image:Decepticons in the g nebula.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Those car washes get more dangerous every year.]]
The now-living Overlord Transtector and his followers rejoined the Decepticon forces in space, and Overlord briefly led the Decepticon army before the rise to power of [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]. {{storylink|Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus's toy bio}} Following this, Overlord commanded the Sector Two Decepticon force, based in the G Nebula, where they battled the Autobots under the command of his old foe, God Ginrai. {{storylink|Planet Micro - The Mysterious Warrior}}
{{--}}
=====''Zone'' cartoon=====
[[Image:OverlordZone1.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Robots should not wear [[Transformer clothing#Capes|capes]].]]

:''Voice actor:'' [[Keiichi Noda]] (Japanese)

Years later, when the supernatural creature known as [[Violen Jiger]] seized command of the Decepticons, his first act was to recruit nine "[[Nine Great Demon Generals|Demon Generals]]" from Decepticon history. Overlord was selected to be one of those Generals and was given new power and weaponry to make him an even greater threat than before. At Violen Jiger's instruction, Overlord was sent to the planet [[Feminia]] to wreak havoc along with [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. Together, the three Decepticon Demon Generals destroyed the entire planet and nearly killed Autobot [[Supreme Commander]] [[Star Saber (Victory)|Victory Saber]] in the process.

Two-and-a-half months later, Overlord led Menasor, Abominus and [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] in an attack on the planet of [[Micro|Zone]], gleefully blasting [[Micromaster]]s and using his trident to slice into [[Zone Base]] to retrieve a sample of [[Energon Z]] for Decepticon use. With the Micromasters completely unable to harm the Decepticon generals, Overlord left the planet in triumph, handing the Energon Z off to the second group of Generals, who went on to attack Earth, but were stopped by Autobot [[Powered Master]] [[Dai Atlas (Zone)|Dai Atlas]]. {{storylink|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!}}
{{--}}

====Comic continuity====
=====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic=====
[[Image:Overlord manga.jpg|left|250px|thumb|The sound effect reads "fart."]]
Giga and Mega debuted their Transtectors in an attack on a city, during which they combined into Overlord and devastated the Autobot Godmasters with their Daemon Blast and Bolt Masher weapons. Blindsided and badly damaged by the newly-created God Ginrai, Overlord was goaded into pursuing the Autobot out into space, where BlackZarak was battling the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]. As BlackZarak turned to face the approaching Ginrai, the cunning Autobot swiftly ducked out of the way, causing Overlord and BlackZarak to attack each other. Gravely wounded, Overlord returned to Earth, while BlackZarak fled back into space. {{storylink|God Ginrai's Amazing Super-God Combination!}}

Overlord's base mode was employed by the Decepticon to hold Shūta Gō and [[Cab]] prisoner, when they attempted to torture the two boys into becoming members of the Decepticons. Their fellow Autobot Junior, [[Minerva (Masterforce)|Minerva]], came to their rescue when she crashed Godbomber through Overlord's walls and freed them, after which Overlord transformed to robot mode to face the approaching Ginrai and Grand Maximus. It wasn't his best showing: after Ginrai combined with Godbomber, Grand crashed his battleship directly into Overlord's face, and God Ginrai used the Headmaster's "[[Master Blade (Masterforce)|Master Blade]]" to slice off Overlord's legs. Their Transtectors forcibly separated, the battered Giga and Mega escaped. {{storylink|The Earth Family of Good and Evil}}

[[Image:Overlord aolaser.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]
From the top of [[Qomolangma]], Overlord rained destruction down on the world using the Decepticons' newest weapon, the [[A.O. Laser]]. When Ginrai and Godbomber arrived to stop him, Overlord turned the laser on them; they dodged, but they had failed to observe the presence of the Decepticons' newest member, the Godmaster Clouder, who reflected the laser beam back at them and knocked them out of the sky. Unfortunately for Overlord, a chance comment from Cancer insulting Clouder's falcon mode plunged the Godmaster into such a rage that he turned on his Decepticon allies and blew up the A.O. Laser in Overlord's hands. Although Ginrai had been temporarily blinded by the A.O. Laser, the Headmaster Juniors were able to serve as his eyes and point him in the right direction to unleash his "God Punch" attack, which clobbered Overlord so hard that Giga and Mega actually popped out of his chest. {{storylink|Decepticons' Great Counterattack!}}

Soon thereafter, when the Autobots were off-Earth visiting their space-based allies, BlackZarak was able to return to Earth, and he and Overlord took the opportunity to attack a city. The Autobots soon returned with, and Ginrai and Godbomber grappled with Overlord, forcing him to separate back into the Megajet and Gigatank. The two Autobots clung onto the separate Transtectors, however, refusing to let them escape, as they waited for the new weapon they had brought back from space, the [[VX Bomb]] to detonate. The explosion came seconds later, knocking Mega and Giga's Transtectors offline, but Ginrai and Godbomber survived by combining into God Ginrai. {{storylink|Live? Die?! The Desperate Super-God Combination}}

[[Image:Overlord vs blackzarak.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]
When BlackZarak attacked a city, Cancer happened to be here, and BlackZarak showed his disdain for humans by using the boy as a bargaining chip to prevent the Autobots from interfering with his deviltry. Horrified at this treatment of Cancer, Overlord viciously attacked BlackZarak, rescuing Cancer from his grip, but while they were fighting, it allowed the Autobots to take down both of them. {{storylink|Great Turn-Around! Autobots}}

In light of this act of treachery by Overlord, it was perhaps not surprising that in the midst of his next battle with Ginrai, Overlord himself was the subject of a betrayal. In an attempt to transform himself into the ultimate lifeform, Devil Z fused with BlackZarak, and then turned on Overlord and the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors, attempting to drain theirs and Ginrai's [[Chōkon Power|Jinchōkon]] and take it for his own. They were saved by the Autobot Pretenders, who blocked the Jinchōkon-absorbing beam, and Overlord decided to join with the Autobots in defeating Devil Z. Overlord joined with all the other Transformers in combining their energies into the "Perfect Transform Attack", which finally destroyed BlackZarak and Devil Z once and for all. With the alien's death, the Transformers' Transtectors were brought to life as true super-robot lifeforms, Overlord's included. Alas, Devil Z's energies had also been sustaining the lives of Giga and Mega, and his death also resulted in theirs. The now-living Overlord and Ginrai Transtectors decided to take their troops back into space, where Overlord vowed to defeat Ginrai in memory of Mega and Giga, and for the honor of the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Birth of the Super Lifeforms}}
{{--}}

=====''Zone'' comic and story pages=====
[[Image:Overlord zone manga.jpg|right|160px|thumb|]]
Years after the end of the [[Masterforce War]], Overlord was among the Decepticons recruited by the new Decepticon emperor Violen Jiger to become the strongest of his Nine Great Demon Generals. In addition to his new title of "Super-God General", Overlord was outfitted with new armor and weapons that made him even more dangerous than before. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 1}}

One month after the Demon Generals destroyed the planet Feminia, apparently taking the life of the Autobot Supreme Commander Victory Saber in the process, Overlord led Menasor, Bruticus and Abominus in an attack on the planet Zone, where they successfully stole a sample of the super-energy, Energon Z. When the Zone Base transformed into battle mode and opened fire on the Decepticons, Overlord called retreat, seeing no need to stay and fight when the prize was already theirs. Overlord then handed the Energon Z off to the second platoon of generals, who subsequently headed for Earth, but were defeated in battle there by the Decepticon Powered Master Dai Atlas. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (manga)|Transformers: Zone}}

It wasn't long before Overlord got his own chance to go up against Dai Atlas, but the Powered Master didn't think much of this so-called "Strongest of the Generals," aiming to finish their battle in under eight seconds. Whether or not he achieved this lofty goal is unknown, but he ''did'' lay out Overlord with his powerful "Galactic Dash" attack. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 6}}

The Generals later schooled [[Metrotitan (Zone)|Metrotitan]] and the [[Metrosquad]] in the ways of evil, making them formidable foes for the [[Powered Master]]s. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Zone (story page)|Zone Part 7}}
{{--}}

====''Transformers PD Type''====
[[Image:Pdtype_overlord.jpg|left|thumb]]
During a battle between Overlord and Super Ginrai, the Autobot Godmaster prepared to attack with Chokon Power. When he raised his hands to summon Tenchokon, however, he was struck by a bolt of lightning, causing Overlord to smirk that the weather wasn't looking too good. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##7 "Fight! Super Ginrai!"|Fight! Super Ginrai!!}}

Sitting in a field, watching the clouds float by, Overlord started to wonder what he was doing with his life and decided he needed a day off to reflect on his lot. Unfortunately, he had chosen to sit down and have this epiphany in the middle of a huge battle, and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] began shouting at him to get back up and join the fight. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##9 "Oh Overlord."|Oh, Overlord}}
{{-}}

===European toy bio continuity===
[[Image:Overlord vs motorvators.jpg|right|thumb|Collect all time-displaced toys.]]
A legend by virtue of his very existence, Overlord is the ultimate Decepticon anti-hero. Emerging to join the Transformers' war at some undetermined point in space and time, Overlord fights alone on the battlefield despite his Decepticon allegiance, a monolithic horror born of "advanced robotic engineering" whose special abilities—including the power to travel across dimensions—come from the "[[Energon figure]]s" that operate his multiple functions.

To counter the monstrous threat posed by this powerful new breed of Decepticon, the Autobots developed their own new team of warriors, the [[Motorvator]]s, emulating Overlord's Energon figure technology to make the trio a match for his awesome power.<ref>Overlord's European toy bio</ref><ref>Story blurb on Overlord and the Motorvators' packaging.</ref>
{{--}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
Gigatron was an ancient Cybertronian, who developed an idea to allow Decepticons to survive on alien planets by biologically integrating local inhabitants into their systems. In modern times, Gigatron's records were uncovered and used to develop the [[Powermaster]] process. {{storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye #8}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{bigquote|A good strategist is half psychologist and half '''sadist'''. And I was the '''best'''.|Overlord|[[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' #3]]}}
[[Image:MegatronOrigin2 fightcrowd1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Hey, he appeared as a rabid fan of gladiatorial combat in a crowd shot once. Wouldn't it be ''awesome'' if [[Nick Roche|someone]] built a whole character round that?.]]
In the days before the Cybertronian civil war, Overlord was an avid spectator of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]]'s gladiatorial matches. Like many, this led him to join the charismatic pit fighter's army and bear the badge of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}} However, Overlord was enthralled not with the loftiness of the Decepticon cause that Megatron espoused, but with the glorious excess of the gladiator battles and the freedom of making entire worlds his arena. To Overlord, the ends didn't matter overly much when the ''means'' themselves were this pleasurable. As a result his tactics developed a reputation as unsound, and his schemes as nothing more than flights of brutal whimsy. Unlike [[Scorponok (G1)|many]] [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|other]] powerful Decepticons, he had no interest in command, only in taking his slaughter to the next stage. Megatron was not convinced, however, believing the image of Overlord as simply interested in killing to be a façade, and began searching for a way to exert greater control over him.

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers2-teleconference.jpg|left|thumb|300px|I am not a number!]]
During the early years of the war, Overlord was embroiled in battle on [[Caldoon 4]] when he was called to a teleconference with [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]], who announced that Overlord would join [[Sixshot]] and [[Black Shadow (Victory)|Black Shadow]] as the "phase sixers" in his new [[infiltration protocol]]. Dissatisfied with being declared a weapon that operated at someone else's whim, Overlord contested his appointment, and Megatron gave him two options: do as he was told, or refuse and have Megatron hunt him down. Overlord made his choice quickly, returning to the battle outside and dispatching every Autobot save one—[[Kup (G1)|Kup]]—who he allowed to survive so a message could be sent to Megatron: Overlord had chosen option two. He proceeded to leave Caldoon 4 to plan for Megatron's inevitable coming, {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} but soon discovered that at some point, [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] had infected him with an [[Achilles virus]] on Megatron's command, giving Overlord a "tactical blindspot" that prevented him from figuring out how to harm Megatron. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

Some time later, Overlord initiated a conflict with the emperor of a star system who was in possession of interstellar travel capabilities and weapons technology that rivaled his own. Finding himself overmatched, Overlord requisitioned the aid of [[Gorelock]]'s Decepticon battalion, which, at the time, was assigned to [[Spensifax B]]. The ensuing battle, according to the estimates of science officer [[Vivisector]], set the technological development of the empire back an estimated 250,000 years. {{storylink|The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Gorelock's prisoner clemency request}}

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers1-Overlord.jpg|right|thumb|250px|We peed a little.]]
At the height of the [[Surge (event)|cross-galactic Decepticon uprising]], Overlord arrived at [[Garrus-9]] in the midst of the Decepticon siege of the prison, and casually murdered garrison leader [[Skyquake (G1)|Skyquake]] when he refused to turn command over to him. Intending to turn Garrus-9 into his home away from home, Overlord personally defeated warden [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and threw him to the crowd of Decepticon prisoners he had freed as a show of good faith. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} Overlord was not done with Maximus, though, later imprisoning him and personally torturing him for information on the [[Aequitas]] computer hidden in the bowls of Garrus-9, and the mysterious secret of the prison that the computer had been created to hide. Maximus refused to give up the passcodes to the device's chamber even after Overlord threatened to kill an Autobot for every second that he withheld them. {{storylink|Interiors}}

[[Image:Overlord-Fort-Max-Interiors.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Do you expect me to talk?" "No, I expect you to die and be a cheap funeral".]]

During his time in command of Garrus-9, Overlord turn the prison into a huge gladiatorial arena, and had the prisoners fight for their lives with the promise that victory meant freedom. This was, of course, a lie; those who won in twelve bouts were offered the choice of facing Overlord himself or committing suicide. Overlord forced the imprisoned [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] to watch footage of both these matches and the sacking of the prison, possibly driving him insane. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}} After a year of this, some of the Decepticons began to have doubts about their sadistic leader; [[Fearswoop (G1)|Fearswoop]] was lucky to survive when he questioned Overlord's lack of sportsmanship, but [[Wingblazer]] and his partner were not so fortunate when they let an Autobot prisoner get the better of them during a hunt, and Overlord killed them for their carelessness. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} Around this time, Overlord also released Shockwave from confinement and let him leave in return for the Achilles Virus being removed. Shockwave could tell that all Overlord was doing with Garrus-9 was trying to get Megatron's attention, though Overlord denied it. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers1-BoreholeKickoff.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Better than television!]]
Two years later, Overlord and his Decepticons watched the captive Autobot [[Kick-Off (G1)|Kick-Off]] battle the Decepticon [[Borehole]] for his amusement. Kick-Off triumphed and was taken to Overlord's quarters {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 1|Last Stand of the Wreckers #1}} where he was offered the customary choice; {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last stand of the Wreckers #4}} he evidently opted to fight Overlord, give the brutalized state of his body when it was later found. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

Not long thereafter, the Autobot strike team known as the [[Wrecker]]s arrived to liberate Garrus-9, breaking through the planetary defenses inside escape pods, one of which crashed into the gladiatorial arena chamber right in front of Overlord's feet. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 2|Last Stand of the Wreckers #2}} Although disappointed to discover that the new arrivals were Autobots, rather than Decepticons sent by Megatron, Overlord was amused by the joke made by [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]] about Wreckers combining... right before he put a gun between Rotorstorm's optics and shot him through the head. The Wreckers turned down Overlord's proposal of surrender but were unable to injure him, and escaped into the prison by detonating a fuel tank to cover their withdrawal. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 3|Last Stand of the Wreckers #3}}

[[Image:LastStandofWreckers4- OverlordSpringerReady.jpg|left|thumb|200px|FINAL ROUND, FIGHT!]]

With help from the Decepticon [[Snare]], who had come to believe that the Decepticons on Garrus-9 were as trapped by Overlord as the Autobots were, the Wreckers regrouped with the rest of their team and established a new mission objective: kill Overlord. They did not have to hunt him down, however, as he soon arrived to take them on. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}} The fight quickly made its way to the rooftop of Garrus-9, where [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]] was torn in half and used to dispatch Kup. A harpoon through the eye courtesy of [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] barely fazed Overlord, who delivered a defeat more crushing than any beating: the Autobot prisoners the Wreckers had come to liberate had all been executed on his orders already. [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]], and human ally [[Verity Carlo]] soon arrived to join the fight, bringing with them a huge chaingun-like weapon that Springer emptied into Overlord. The Decepticon shrugged off even its massive payload and slapped Springer to the ground, removing most of his face, before quickly dispatching Perceptor. Rounding on Ironfist, Overlord was amused by the small Autobot's warning not to get any closer, but Ironfist was quick to explain: Springer had shot Overlord with thousands of deterrence chips, which Ironfist then remotely detonated, reducing Overlord to a flaming, yet still-functional skeleton.

[[Image:LastStandoftheWreckers5-brittlebones.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"Megatron better not show up when I'm naked!"]]

Ironfist fell unconscious, leaving only Verity to hear Overlord's wrathful ranting, as he demanded to know how he could meet a challenge from Megatron in this sorry state. Realizing this what what Overlord had longed for all along, Verity dropped the bomb: Megatron was ''dead''. Overlord was stunned by the realization that while he had dedicated every waking hour of his existence to his supposedly inevitable fight with Megatron, the Decepticon leader had never cared, and would never come. He put up no resistance when Impactor recovered, but Impactor refused to kill Overlord, for Springer's sake, and promised to take him in to face justice. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

[[Image:Overlord-Lost-Light-Interiors.jpg|left|thumb|First class may seem like a rip off but it has advantages over the alternatives.]]

Several years later, [[Rung]] claimed Overlord had been completely disassembled and his spark placed in a whiteout vacuum on Cybertron. Unfortunately this was not the whole truth. [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] started hearing voices in the depths of the ''[[Lost Light]]''. Stealing a drill, he tunneled into the base of the ship, revealing a huge chamber, in which a trapped, reconstructed but disarmed Overlord continually begged for someone to kill him. {{storylink|Interiors}}

{{-}}

===''Classics''===
[[Image:InvasionPrologue-Gigatron.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Everything's shrunk except those glorious lips.]]

Long ago, Gigatron, the Overlord, grew restless in his duties at [[Darkmount]], and forfeited his throne to [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]]. His psychotic craving for power led him to scour the universe, ultimately leading him to Earth.

Gigatron crashlanded in [[Japan]], where he adopted a robot form resembling a shogun and an M1 Abrams tank altmode. With most of Earth's Decepticons offplanet with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], he was able to gather a small army of ten warriors, and he would infrequently clash with [[Metalhawk]] and his fellow Earthbound Autobots. Once, Gigatron searched in [[Kitakyushu]] for [[Musashi]]'s sword, but legends of the sword's strength were exaggerated.

Soon, Gigatron had set his sights on another potential source of power, [[Rarified Energon]]. The Autobots had been guarding it for a period of time, and had been moving it frequently to keep it out of the hands of the Decepticons. But Gigatron discovered that the Rarified Energon had been moved to [[Ironworks]], and effortlessly battled through an army of [[RUNT]]s to reach the Autobot station. There, he fought Metalhawk, and he and his Decepticons were forced to retreat. {{storylink|Invasion Prologue}}

Gigatron continued to keep vigil over Ironworks, however, and when [[Spinister]] brought him news of a skirmish involving heroic Decepticons and evil Autobots, Gigatron knew it was time to strike! With this distraction, they could easily take the Rarified Energon hidden in the vaults for themselves.

[[Image:Invasion-destroythem.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Gigatron's about to be really happy he got stuck on Earth.]]

Once it was discovered that the evil Autobots were also after the Rarified Energon, Gigatron refused to be out-conquered. He and the majority of his troops came to the rescue of [[Sir Soundwave]], who was about to get assimilated by [[Junkion (SG)|Junkions]]. Aiming to show these heroic Decepticons how it's done, he set Soundwave loose and continued battling the Junkions.

What Gigatron did not know was that the evil Autobots, led by [[Ultra Magnus (SG)|Ultra Magnus]], intended to warp this iteration of Earth to their own universe's Cybertron, destroying it in the process. Though Sir Soundwave was able to expand the force field surrounding the evil Autobots' machinery large enough to protect the entire planet, saving Gigatron and his troops, no one foresaw the true scale of Magnus's intentions. And so as Earth neared the alternate universe Cybertron, its entire dimension was destroyed behind them, leaving Gigatron and the rest of his Earth's citizens the last remnants of their universe.

Gigatron and the others were unsurprisingly distraught, so [[Straxus (SG)|the Bard of Darkmount]] recited for them a hopeful poem. {{storylink|Invasion (issue)|Invasion}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Super-God Masterforce===
*'''Overlord''' (Godmaster, 1988)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-307'''[[Image:G1 overlord toy.jpg|right|325px|thumb|Not to be confused with Blackstar's nemesis.]]
**''Accessories:'' Giga and Mega Godmaster engines, "Transtector Destroyer Cannon", three missiles, tank barrel, two ramps/shin guards, central ramp, two radar arrays, double-barreled laser, rocket launcher, car

: Overlord consists of two vehicles, the Gigatank and the Megajet, which are able to combine together to form a robot mode or a base mode. Like any Godmaster (or [[Powermaster]]), Overlord is only able to transform when the Giga and Mega Godmaster figures are transformed into engine mode and snapped into place in the sockets on top of the vehicles. Inserting Giga into the tank splits it in half to form legs for robot mode, or alternately, the left and right emplacements of the base (the left containing a fold-out twin cannon, the right a poseable claw arm). Fitting Mega into the jet, meanwhile, unlocks the toy's shoulder articulation for robot mode and its fold-out launchpad for base mode. Once the toy is in robot mode, the figures can be removed from their sockets and fitted into two further ports hidden beneath doors on his chest, which unlock the multi-barreled "Chōkon Daemon Blast" and spring-loaded "Chōkon Bolt Masher" weapons that pop out of his stomach. One figure can also fit into the [[Roller (G1)|Roller]]-style car that comes with the set.

: There is, unfortunately, not one mode that uses all of Overlord's many accessories. Standing approximately 15" in robot mode, Overlord is taller than ''most'' Transformer toys, though [[Unicron/toys|certainly]] [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|not]] [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|all]].

: Overlord's instructions do not feature the additional large jet mode seen in the animated series and manga, as it (like [[Sixshot]]'s "Wingwolf" mode or BlackZarak's "Dakatsu" mode) was created by the production staff after fiddling around with the toy itself. As such, it's entirely possible to put the toy in this form, although it doesn't rest evenly on a flat surface.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Destron/Overlord/overlord.htm More information on Overlord at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

===Generation 1===
*'''Overlord''' (1991)

: Initially exclusive to Japan, Overlord's toy was later released in Europe and Australasia with a different shade of purple plastic.

===Timelines===
[[Image:Timelinestoy-BC2012Gigatron.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Oh my, Bludgeon, you've never looked so... ''kissable''... before...]]
*'''Invasion''' ([[BotCon 2012]] box set)
**''Accessories:'' [[Wikipedia:Katana|Katana]], [[Wikipedia:Wakizashi|tanto]]
: ''[[Transformers Timelines (toyline)|Timelines]]'' Gigatron is a [[redeco]]/[[retool]] of ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (toyline)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' Voyager Class [[Bludgeon (ROTF)#Voyager|Bludgeon]], sporting a new head. Gigatron transforms from a Japanese [[Wikipedia:Type 90 Kyū-maru|Type 90]] tank into a samurai-esque robot mode. He features a flexible plastic sword which is made out of a portion of the barrel of the tank's main gun as well as a smaller dagger. The dagger can be stored in a sheath which is revealed from inside the tank turret, and both blades can be slotted in holes provided on the robot mode's left hip guard. Additionally, the dagger's handle can fit in the base of the sword's handle, forming a double-bladed weapon. He has [[Mech Alive]] [[gimmick]]s in his thighs and turret: Sculpted cylinders in his thighs rotate whenever his lower legs are rotated, and pulling his turret open makes a sculpted "disc" at the center rotate while a scabbard for the tantō hinges over to the side and props itself up for use.

:The vehicle mode is one of the very few Transformer tank toys with rubber components to its treads. Portions of the tread links can unlock, allowing them to hang from the robot mode, while the wheels of the treads are integrated separately into the robot mode form itself. The treads still do not function realistically; small plastic wheels on the underside of the treads help the tank mode roll, as is standard with nearly all Transformer tank toys.

:The original version of this mold was [[redeco]]ed into ''[[Transformers (2010 toyline)|Transformers]]'' [[Banzaitron]], and it was differently retooled to make ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' [[Megatron (G1)/toys#Generations|Megatron]].

:Gigatron was released in a box set with [[Ultra Magnus (SG)#Timelines|Ultra Magnus]], [[Tracks (SG)|Tracks]], [[Treadshot (SG)|Treadshot]], [[Sir Soundwave#Timelines|Soundwave]], and [[Metalhawk#Timelines|Metalhawk]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2012/Decepticon/BCGigatron/gigatron.htm More information on BotCon Gigatron at TFU.info]''

==Merchandise==
===Parody Deformed===
[[Image:Overlord pd model.jpg|right|thumb|]]
*'''Overlord''' (1990)

:A small blue and white, non-transforming [[super deformed]] model kit of Overlord was available as part of [[Kabaya]]'s "[[Parody Deformed]]" line of [[Candy toy|candy toys]]. The eighth figure in the series, he came with a "[[Transformers PD Type]]" comic about himself, "Oh, Overlord", and something that could charitably be described as "chocolate".
{{--}}
===Super Collection Figure===
[[Image:HOC Gigatron.jpg|right|thumb|]]
*'''Overlord''' (2001)

:A PVC figure of Overlord was part of the ''Super-God Masterforce''-centric fifth act of [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s ''[[Heroes of Cybertron|Super Collection Figure]]'' series, available in both full colour and metallic silver "pewter" in an equal ratio of one each per case of twelve figures. In eight out of every ten cases, the pewter version of Overlord came packaged with the right leg of the wave's "build-a-figure", BlackZarak, itself also available in full color and pewter versions.

:The colour version of his figure was later released in the fourth wave of [[Hasbro]]'s ''[[Heroes of Cybertron]]'', under the new name of Gigatron.

===Heroes of Cybertron===
*'''Powermaster Gigatron''' (2003)
:Gigatron is a slightly-altered version of the ''Super Collection Figure'' Overlord PVC, featuring rounded-off shoulder-cones [[for safety reasons]], plus he used the standard "all clear-red-plastic painted over" coloring process to give him [[Light-piping|light-piped]] eyes. He came with the left arm of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] build-a-figurine.
{{--}}

==Notes==
*Overlord was a new [[character]] created for the 1988 Japanese ''Super God Masterforce'' series. While all his fellow Godmasters had American Powermaster counterpart characters (Ginrai had Optimus Prime, Lightfoot had [[Getaway]], and so forth), Overlord's counterpart came later in the form of a 1991 European and Australasian exclusive. The bio of this figure stated that he was a dimension-hopper, which leaves the door open for him being the Masterforce character who jumped dimensions into the European toy bio continuity. Overlord did not have an American counterpart until 2003, when the ''Heroes of Cybertron'' line introduced "Gigatron". However, the little-known nature of this character (existing as he did only as an obscure PVC figurine), coupled with the fact that Overlord had been around for fifteen years already, meant that the idea of a Powermaster named Gigatron who existed as a separate character from the Godmaster Overlord didn't really catch on. Surprisingly, Dreamwave stuck with the formula in their ''More Than Meets The Eye'' series, briefly mentioning the character as the originator of the Powermaster process, but when the non-Godmaster version of the character appeared again a few years later in [[IDW Publishing]]'s ''Last Stand of the Wreckers'' series, he was "Overlord" once more. With this, there seems little point in distinguishing between the two characters (different as they are), and as such they are included in this article together.
*Early during pre-production for ''Masterforce'', Overlord was named '''Leviathan'''. This was almost certainly a name based in series creator [[Masumi Kaneda]]'s desire to sprinkle the series with assorted Biblical allegories; the name-change is fairly symptomatic of how these references wound up being downplayed to the point of near-total obfuscation in the finished show.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-images/tech-specs/Heroes-Of-Cybertron-Tech-Specs/2003-Transformers-Tech-Specs/Powermaster_Gigatron.jpg.html Powermaster Gigatron's tech-specs] at TFW2005.com

[[Category:Classics Decepticons]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Decepticon bases]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Dimension hoppers]]
[[Category:Emperors]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Godmasters]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce Decepticons]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Zone Decepticons]]

Chromedome (G1)

2013-02-03T08:07:44Z

Salva Veritate: Added caption to chromdome_shoots_jack image.

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig2|the heroic Autobot|his evil mirrorverse counterpart|Chromedome (SG)}}
:''Chromedome is an [[Autobot]] [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:Chromedome manga.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"You're such a coward, Wally!"]]

In most [[universal stream]]s, '''Chromedome''' is a comparatively quiet academic. Originally a number-cruncher at [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s [[Institute for Higher Programming]] working on ways to improve the processing power of the [[Transformer]]s' computerized minds, Chromedome found himself forcibly dragged into the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] when a [[Decepticon]] attack destroyed the facility. Chromedome put his work to use programming Autobots so they could outsmart their Decepticon foes, but alas, only wound up fostering an intellectual arms race of sorts, in which both sides competed to repurpose the newest advances in programming into military advantages. Ground down over the years by this inevitability, Chromedome has come to accept that war with the Decepticon cannot be prevented—but only won.

In many of these universes, Chromedome is [[binary bonding|binary bonded]] to the egotistical [[Nebulan]] [[Stylor]], who is more concerned with the finer things life than intellectual or military pursuits. As such, the two occasionally clash, with Chromedome trying to get Stylor to be a little less superficial, and Stylor trying to bring out Chromedome's more social side, but generally speaking, they get along quite well despite their differences.

As a quiet 'bot of the mind, Chromedome has a tendency to fade into the background, but there also exist universal streams in which he has foregone science and taken to the front lines of battle to become a much more prominent figure. The Chromedome of [[#Japanese cartoon continuity|these worlds]] is barely recognisable as the reserved scientist of those more well-known realities: instead, he is a hot-headed youth burning with an incredible passion for justice who even serves as [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]'s trusted, if impulsive and occasionally-irrational, second-in-command.

{{quote|noquote=true|width=500px|“Come on, tell the truth! You're pretty friendly with Pointblank, aren't you?” 
“He must have converted you with his silver tongue back on Juno!”|[[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] and [[Brainstorm|Brainstorm]] needle Chromedome about his relationships|"[[The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)]]"}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel Generation 1 comics===
{{noteukonly}}
A long time ago, on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Chromedome was part of an Autobot strike unit led by [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. This unit operated out of a cave dug into the [[Manganese Mountains]], and often worked to foil the schemes of their primary nemesis, [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. Their last major mission on Cybertron was to upset a slave march to the [[Smelting pool|smelting pools]]. After that, however, Fortress Maximus revealed to the Autobots that he had grown sick of warfare, and planned to escape the endless ring of hate by immigrating to a new world altogether: [[Nebulos]]. At first, Chromedome was shocked, but eventually he and many others chose to join Fortress Maximus on his quest for peace.

[[Image:Brokenglass-autobotstorage.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Nebulan floors apparently are built as an upward slope.]]
Upon arrival on Nebulos, Chromedome chided Brainstorm for analyzing their new home with his digital readouts rather than just looking around. Indeed, Chromedome found that Nebulos was "a paradise". But when their attempts to forge an alliance with the native [[Nebulan]]s failed (due to sabotage for political reasons), Chromedome suggested that they "talk some sense" into their new neighbors. Their unit was met with military force and Fortress Maximus ordered Chromedome and the others into the woods.

Despite these setbacks, Fortress Maximus was determined to wage peace, not war. He brought an envoy of Autobots, including Chromedome, to the Nebulan capitol of [[Koraja]] to once again plead for peace. When the Nebulans still were not totally swayed after he and his Autobots disarmed, Maximus removed his own head from his shoulders, leaving his body deactivated and inoperable in the Nebulans' care. Chromedome and three other Autobots joined their leader in his gesture. It was this gesture which finally ushered in a cease fire with the Nebulans. {{storylink|Ring of Hate!}}

[[Image:BrokenGlass-Chromedomeoof.jpg|right|thumb|300px|As the saying goes, "Look before you boing your car into the air."]]
Chromedome and the four others who had removed their heads were kept confined within Koraja while the Council of Peers, collateral for a peaceful Autobot settlement within the forest. Soon, however, Scorponok's Decepticons followed the Autobots to Nebulos and attacked Koraja. The peaceful Nebulan [[Galen]] refused to surrender the captive Autobots to the Decepticons, but the terms of the cease fire prohibited the Autobots' heads be returned to their bodies. Instead, a loophole was sought. At first Galen and a few like-minded Nebulans attempted to operate the Autobot bodies by remote control, but this was an awkward solution. The Nebulan scientist [[Arcana]] suggested something more elegant yet groundbreaking - the Nebulans should undergo the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster process]], surgically altering themselves to become the heads of the Autobots! [[Stylor]] volunteered to undergo the process to become Chromedome's head, and the procedure commenced.

The new Headmaster Autobots met the Decepticons in battle, and the Decepticons were amazed at how powerful and agile their foes had suddenly become. Chromedome was able to leap out of the way of Scorponok's deadly stinger attack ''in car mode'', to Scorponok's incredulity, though he did land up-side down. When the Decepticons realized how outclassed they were, they staged a panicked retreat, and the Autobots returned to the city streets victorious. Along with the others, Chromedome removed his head so that the Nebulans could see that the terms of the cease fire were not broken, and they were met as heroes. {{storylink|Broken Glass!}}

[[Image:Loveandsteel-runfortmaxrun.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Chromedome thinks Fort Max is being a little passive-aggressive about the whole [[Alternate mode|altmode]] thing.]]
Despite their newfound celebrity, the populace was still wary of Chromedome and the others, so the [[Council of Peers]] arranged an inspection. Chromedome's body stood by silently as the Council of Peers expressed concerns with the Autobots' Nebulan partners. They were interrupted by a distress call from Galen's political rival, Lord [[Zarak (G1)|Zarak]], who had been kidnapped by the Decepticons. Fortress Maximus led Chromedome and the other Headmasters into battle, but the kidnapping was a ruse. Zarak and his political cronies had undergone the Headmaster process themselves, but with the Decepticons! Now evenly matched, the battle turned against the Autobots when they were forced to come to the aid of the Council of Peers, after which the Decepticons shot the Autobots in the back. Scorponok and the Decepticons claimed Chromedome, his partner, and the other Autobots as prisoners. {{storylink|Love and Steel!}}

Here they remained until Lord Zarak, with the last remaining bits of his dwindling sanity, realized the destruction he'd wrought upon his own homeworld. He set the Autobot Headmasters free, hoping to follow the Autobots to another world so they could leave Nebulos in peace. On their way out of Koraja, Chromedome and the other Headmasters battled the new Decepticon [[Targetmaster]]s. Once they escaped the Targetmasters, they returned to the Autobot camp in the forest, where the Headmasters learned of a distress signal from other Autobots on [[Earth]] and prepared to depart Nebulos. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

[[Image:WorldsApart-Chromedome.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Every time Chromedome says this, Furman gets a dollar.]]
''Before they left, however, the Autobot Headmasters had another encounter with their Decepticon opposite numbers. After the Targetmasters were captured by the Decepticons for analysis and dissection, Chromedome and the Headmasters went out looking for them, only to run into the Decepticon Headmasters on the way. After Chromedome stared down [[Snapdragon (G1)|Snapdragon]], the Autobots regrouped to follow Mindwipe, the last of their attackers, who was apparently fleeing for safety. After entering the Decepticons' Fortress of Despair, however, Chromedome and the others realized they had been led into a trap, and were confronted by the might Scorponok and the Decepticon Targetmasters. In order to help even the odds, the Autobot Targetmasters were freed, but the Autobots weren't out of the woods yet. Chromedome singlehandedly fought Scorponok, lecturing his massive nemesis about how despite the differences between him and his partner Stylor, their shared purpose made them stronger than might alone. Ultimately, Scorponok was forced to withdraw.'' {{storylink|Worlds Apart!}}

During the long journey to Earth, the Autobot Headmasters had Fortress Maximus heavily upgraded into a larger, more powerful body. Once their construction was completed, Chromedome introduced Fortress Maximus's full arsenal of abilities to the others, including his battle station mode and [[Cerebros (G1)|Cerebros]]. Upon arrival, Fortress Maximus, Chromedome and the other Headmasters took a shuttle down to Earth's surface, and located the caves in [[Mount St. Hilary]] where the distress call had first been broadcast. They also found the broadcaster himself, an Autobot named [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]] whose [[brain module]] had been retrofitted into a tiny electronic toy car. [[Toy Soldiers!|Long story]]. Scorponok and the Decepticon Headmasters had also come to Earth after the distress call, however, and a battle broke out. The battle proved costly, as Galen died protecting an Earthling from Scorponok. He passed on his control helmet to this boy, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], leaving Fortress Maximus and the Autobots in his hands. {{storylink|Trial by Fire!}}

Fortress Maximus's group of Autobots inevitably met up with the group of Earthbound Autobots led by [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. Unfortunately, Grimlock was difficult to deal with, and so their meetup somehow resulted in a battle for Autobot supremacy between Grimlock and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]]. Chromedome disembarked along with the rest of the ''[[Steelhaven]]'' crew to watch the fight. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

When the [[Micromaster]] [[Air Strike Patrol]] raided [[MacDill Air Force Base]], returned Autobot leader [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] led nearly all of the Autobots' forces to its rescue, including Chromedome. But when Optimus began to suspect fowl play from a third party, he ordered the Autobots to retreat back to the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] without him. At first they were hesitant to leave their leader behind, but Chromedome and the others eventually agreed. {{storylink|All the Familiar Faces!}}

[[Image:EyeoftheStorm-legquest.jpg|left|thumb|150px|And so Prime sez back, "Maybe if you were [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] [[Yesterday's Heroes!|I would care]]."]]

Soon it was learned that the vengeful chaos god [[Unicron]], their forgotten enemy, had learned the location of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and was headed there to destroy the Transformers' creator [[Primus]]. Since the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]] was the only thing that could destroy him, Optimus Prime sent teams to find it. However, the new Decepticon leader [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] returned with it instead, and Chromedome and the other Autobots on board fought the Matrix-possessed [[Pretender]]. The corporeal form of the Matrix's increasing evil influences grabbed Chromedome and tried to throw him at [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], but missed. Good for Blurr, but not so great for Chromedome. {{storylink|All Fall Down}} After Thunderwing was defeated (and unfortunately the Matrix as well), Chromedome was sent to [[Fixit (G1)|Fixit]] for repairs. He snarked to [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] that he'd had enough of the [[Matrix Quest]], and was ready for a "leg quest." Chromedome was still being repaired when Optimus Prime announced over the Ark's communications system that he was surrendering the Autobots to Scorponok's Decepticons in the desperate hope that it would encourage an alliance between them against Unicron. {{storylink|Eye of the Storm}}

Ultimately, the Transformers were transported to Cybertron to face Unicron. Like any very smart individual, he was last seen transforming into his car mode and driving away as fast as he absolutely could. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}
{{-}}

===''The Transformers'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Frank Welker]] (English), [[Kunihiko Yasui]] (Japanese), [[Franz Rudnick]] (German, ''The Rebirth, Part 1''), [[Bernd Simon]] (German, ''The Rebirth, Part 2 & 3'')

[[Image:Rebirth3_chromedome.jpg|right|thumb|225px|Chromedome eagerly awaits the cue to speak his one line in the entire series.]]

Chromedome was stationed on Cybertron in 2007 when the combined forces of the Decepticons attacked the planet with the intention of opening the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]]. Chromedome and his allies were able to steal back the key to the chamber, but not before a bolt of its energy was briefly released, hurling them and their shuttle across the galaxy. Eventually, the shuttle began to slow, as Chromedome noted its engines had finally burned out, but it still had enough momentum to lead it to crash on a nearby alien world. The Autobots survived the crash, but before long, they were captured by a cell of rebel natives, who mistook them for robotic agents of the planet's evil ruling council, the [[Hive (G1)|Hive]]. Imprisoned and facing execution by magnetic bombs, Chromedome kept his cool, calmly inquiring as to the name of the planet, and was given his answer by [[Duros]]: [[Nebulos]]. Before the rebels could destroy the Autobots, a squad of Decepticons arrived to steal back the Plasma Energy Chamber key, and although Chromedome helped repel them by hurling the magnetic bombs, the villains managed to abduct several of the Autobots. Chromedome, [[Brainstorm]], [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] and [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] tried to give chase, but found their way barred by the Hive's machines. Returning to the rebels' base, they learned the story behind the Hive and their machines, and decided to employ a theory devised by Brainstorm that would see the Nebulans bond with the Autobots as "Headmasters" to help defeat by the Decepticons and the Hive. The enthusiastic Chromedome was the first to volunteer for the process, and was bonded to rebel strategist Stylor. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 1}}

[[Image:Rebirth2_chromedome_and_stylor.jpg|left|thumb|210px|You know what they say about people who dress like their cars...]]

Chromedome and his fellow new-born Headmasters proceeded to smash their way through the Hive's machines and rescue their friends from the Decepticons; during the battle, Chromedome personally shot down [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. This defeat prompted the Hive and the Decepticons to join forces to become Headmasters and [[Targetmaster]]s themselves, and when they attacked once more, Chromedome and [[Crosshairs (G1)|Crosshairs]] found themselves no match for the [[Horrorcon]]s. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}}

With the key back in their hands, the Decepticons departed Nebulos and returned to Cybertron, which [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] then moved into Earth orbit, planning to destroy both worlds by opening the Plasma Energy Chamber and using its energy to explode the [[Sun]]. Chromedome and the Autobots followed them, but when [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] insisted that the Plasma Energy Chamber key ''not'' be destroyed (in accordance with the wishes of [[Vector Sigma]]), their Nebulan allies rebelled and ran off, leaving Chromedome and the other Headmasters stuck in vehicle form. Following their partners into the bowels of the Decepticon city-robot Scorponok, Chromedome and the Autobots were captured, but were thankfully saved by the arrival of [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] and his new creation, Fortress Maximus. Subsequently, the Plasma Energy Chamber was deactivated and the Decepticons were exiled to deep space, and with the [[Golden Age]] of Cybertron restored, Chromedome returned to Nebulos with the Headmasters and Targetmasters to help to eradicate every last trace of the Hive's evil from the planet. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}
{{-}}
====Wings Universe====
{{wingsnote}}
[[Image:FlashForward3-Headmasters.jpg|left|thumb|200px|]]
Following [[Hi-Q]]'s kidnapping, Chromedome turned out with Highbrow, Crosshairs and Brainstorm to brief [[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]]'s team. {{storylink|A Flash Forward, Part 3}}
{{-}}

===Japanese cartoon continuity===
{{note|In Japan, Chromedome is a small robot who transforms into a head and controls a larger, lifeless [[Transtector]] body. The Headmasters toyline referred to the small robot as "Chrome", with "Chromedome" being the name of the combined small robot/Transtector form, but this distinction of nomenclature is made in fiction only very rarely, with the character usually being referred to as "Chromedome" regardless of what form he takes.}}

====''The Headmasters'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hideyuki Hori]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Hmep8 chromedome and abel.jpg|left|thumb|225px|Oh, where is your silicon, baby?]]

Four million years ago, Chromedome and his friends [[Jack (Headmasters)|Jack]] and [[Abel]] were among a group of [[Cyberdroid|diminutive Cybertronians]] who departed Cybertron under the leadership of Fortress, seeking to escape the eternal war that had consumed the planet. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}} Alas, engine trouble caused their craft to crash-land on the planet Master, an inhospitable world whose murderous environments and wildly changeable atmospheric conditions threatened the lives of the Cybertronians almost as soon as they stepped off their ship and were caught in a desert of sinking sands. The need for survival fostered several technological advances, and the Cybertronians fought against the odds to make a life for themselves on the planet. {{storylink|The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery}} This relative peace was eventually disrupted, however, when a shadowy ninja able to transform into six different modes attacked an [[energon]] mining facility on the planet. Abel tried to drive him off, only for the ninja to brutally murder Abel and his militia group in front of Chromedome's eyes. As he cradled his friend's dead body, Chromedome felt hatred towards evil-doers for the first time in his life and vowed vengeance against the Decepticon. {{storylink|Terror! The Six Shadows}}

[[Image:Headmasters tf stuck.jpg|right|thumb|225px|A ''Body''master technology?..]]

When the scientists of Master made their next quantum leap of technology with the creation of larger, lifeless Transformer bodies called [[Transtector]]s, Chromedome and many of his comrades underwent rigorous physical and mental training to master the art of [[transformation]], learning to transform into heads that connected to the Transtectors, placing them under their control. While Jack unfortunately washed out of the program, {{storylink|Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)}} Chromedome was one of ten warriors who became one of these elite "Headmasters" (even if he ''did'' have a little trouble getting his Transtector to transform the first time out). Unfortunately, half their number soon rebelled against Fortress's leadership, siding against him with a traitor named [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], who soon forged an alliance with the Decepticon leader, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

{{note|The events of the ''Great Transformer War'' manga occur at this point.}}

[[Image:Hmep2_chromedome.jpg|left|thumb|225px|Perspective by [[Pat Lee]].]]

In the year 2011, when Galvatron launched his latest attack on Cybertron with the added power of his new Decepticon Headmasters, Chromedome and his fellow Autobot Headmasters traveled to the planet to help their comrades defend their homeworld. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} Making a dramatic entrance in the middle of the conflict, Chromedome grappled with [[Weirdwolf]] and helped [[Brainstorm]] thwart [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]]'s hypnotism, before Fortress's Battleship Maximus forced the Decepticon off. The Autobot Headmasters then formally introduced themselves to Cybertron's Autobots, and Chromedome proposed that they accompany [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] to Earth to help him search for the missing [[Matrix of Leadership]], needed to stabilize the malfunctioning [[Vector Sigma]]. [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] argued against the notion, and he and Chromedome immediately started fighting, so Hot Rod sidelined them for the moment and headed to Earth with [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] instead. Blaster perished during the search, and the emotionally shaken Wheelie told Chromedome they were now counting on him and the Headmasters. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}} Chromedome's team quickly joined Hot Rod on Earth and held off the Decepticon Headmasters while Hot Rod recovered the Matrix. Together, the group returned to Cybertron, where Hot Rod used the Matrix to become [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] once more, but he was unable to stabilize Vector Sigma in time, forcing [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] to sacrifice his life to do so. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

When the Decepticons unveiled their newest invention, the [[Madmachine]], Chromedome's plan to attack [[Chaar]] directly was shot down. He and the Headmasters then acted like a bunch of insensitive pricks to the Autobot Cassettes, who were still mourning the loss of Blaster, but pulled their heads out of their butts when Blaster was resurrected as Twincast. They then helped the [[Throttlebot]]s defend Cybertron against the Madmachine, destroying the evil device. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}} A little later, Chromedome and Hardhead hunted down a stowaway on Battleship Maximus, only for it to turn out to be [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]] and Wheelie. With the two youngsters at their side, Chromedome and the Headmasters then went on to help liberate the planet [[Beast (planet)|Beast]] from Decepticon control. {{storylink|Rebellion on Planet Beast}} Daniel was also instrumental in destroying the Decepticons' metal-warping meteor [[Metamorphose]], and Chromedome and the Headmasters helped hold the Decepticon forces off so the boy could complete his task. {{storylink|Approach of the Demon Meteorite}}

[[Image:Hmep7_chromedome_crossheadon.jpg|right|thumb|225px|Chromehead or Harddome?]]

Investigating word of a Decepticon attack on the planet [[Praum]], Chromedome and the Autobot Headmasters found themselves caught in a trap sprung by their old enemy Scorponok. Trapped in a subterranean chamber with the planet's endless desert sands pouring in on top of them, the Headmasters recalled their early days on Master, and decided to try their head-swapping "[[Head Formation|Cross-Head On]]" technique to boost their power and free themselves. Chromedome ''meant'' to switch heads with Highbrow, but accidentally wound up on top of Hardhead's Transtector instead. Nevertheless, the idea worked, and the freed Headmasters took the fight to the Decepticons, with Chromedome pummelling Galvatron himself. {{storylink|The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery}}

[[Image:Hmep8_chromedome_ninjastar.jpg|left|thumb|225px]]

After a sextet of mysterious blackmailers threatened six nations on Earth, the Headmasters staked out [[New York City]], where Chromedome took offense to his team-mates comparing the Statue of Liberty's looks to [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]'s. Hop-scotching around the globe trying and failing to keep up with the blackmailers, the Headmasters were at the end of their rope, and subsequently began fighting with the [[Trainbot]]s when they found out they taken Daniel and Wheelie shopping in Japan. Chromedome had the decency to feel like a jerk when Daniel got upset at the fight, and calmed down long enough to apologise. Looking at a ninja star Daniel had bought in Japan, Chromedome was suddenly reminded of the shadowy ninja's visit to Master years beforehand. Realizing that they were not dealing with six blackmailers, but with that selfsame six-changing ninja, Chromedome and the Headmasters made peace with the Trainbots and worked together to stop the mysterious mech and uncover his true identity: the Decepticon ninja commander, [[Sixshot]]! Sixshot was able to escape justice, but the long-standing desire Chromedome had for revenge over Abel's murder had been reawakened in the Headmaster's heart. {{storylink|Terror! The Six Shadows}}

[[Image:Hm10_chromedome_telepathy.jpg|right|thumb|A little known fact is Chromedome's Autobot symbol on his chest is ALSO his weak point. How do you think he found out Scorponok's?]]

Chromedome and Hardhead were investigating the Decepticons' movements on Earth when the villains' assembled forces staged a massive attack on Cybertron in order to obtain the new alloy, [[cybertonuron]], that had been developed by Vector Sigma. The duo headed straight to Cybertron and regrouped with their allies, launching into battle with the Decepticon Headmasters. During the fight, however, their enemies mysteriously pulled out, {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} so the Headmasters split up to hunt them down. After locating the Decepticons, Chromedome used his Headmaster powers to telepathically summon his allies to his side so they could keep Weirdwolf and [[Skullcruncher]] busy while he chased Mindwipe through Cybertron's subterranean tunnels. Chromedome caught up to Mindwipe in Vector Sigma's chamber, where the Decepticon hypnotist revealed he was planting bombs that would destroy the planet. All attempts to remove the bombs failed, forcing Chromedome to return to the surface and sound the alarm. The Transformers all withdrew from Cybertron, which was then devastated when the bombs exploded. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

[[Image:Hm11_chromedome_arcee_dance.jpg|left|thumb|225px]]

Despite this sad turn of events, punctuated by the departure of Rodimus Prime and the appointment of Fotress as leader in his place, the Autobots pressed on, and even held a party to announce the successful completion of the [[Sol 1]] satellite, a joint venture between the Autobots and [[human]]ity, during which Chromedome danced with Arcee. It wasn't all good news, however: Chromedome and the Headmasters failed to prevent Sol 1 from falling into Decepticon hands, and were forced to destroy it rather than let their enemies keep it. {{storylink|The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok}} Chromedome's team was at least able to get one in the win column when they helped saved a South American village from a Decepticon-instigated volcanic eruption. Chromedome was given a necklace by village girl [[Alyssa]] as thanks. {{storylink|The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts}} Later, Chromedome joined in the defence of [[San Francisco]] when the city was attacked by the Decepticons with [[Buridanka|a giant carnivorous plant]]. {{storylink|Head On!! Fortress Maximus}}

When Spike, Daniel, Wheelie and the Trainbots uncovered a Decepticon plot to destroy [[Mars (planet)|Mars]], Chromedome and the Headmasters headed straight to the red planet to aid them. After defeating [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] and rescuing Daniel and Wheelie, however, the Headmasters were caught in a trap and used as bait to lure Battleship Maximus into position so it could be immobilized. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger}} Chromedome's team fought on against the Decepticon Headmasters and the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]], but when Scorponok arrived with his new ultimate weapon—a gigantic Transtector of his own—the fight was lost. Although Chromedome and the Autobots were able to escape, Mars was destroyed by Scorponok's [[plasma energy]] bombs. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears}}

[[Image:Hmep16_chromedome_wobbles.jpg|right|thumb|225px|Chromedome fails miserably at the Souja Boy dance.]]

Furious after the destruction of Mars, Chromedome was determined to get revenge, despite Fortress's orders. He and Hardhead hid themselves in the Maximus's cargo hold in vehicle mode, and when the ship went on patrol on the fringes of Decepticon territory, the pair ejected and headed for Chaar on their own. Much to their irritation, however, Autobot deep-cover agent [[Punch (G1)|Punch]] had been given information on their movements, and fed it to Scorponok, who deployed the Decepticon Headmasters and [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] to intercept the pair and see them off. Subsequently, Chromedome joined in the Autobot attack on Scorponok's coronation on Earth's moon. {{storylink|Return of the Immortal Emperor}} Later, Chromedome helped deliver energy to the stricken world of [[Sandra (G1)|Sandra]] by abandoning his Transtector and leaving it to serve as a decoy while he and Hardhead took a small shuttlecraft to the planet. When the Decepticons attacked the planet, Chromedome and Hardhead, still in their small robot forms, used their diminutive size to win the battle by sneaking bombs onto Scorponok's Transtector. {{storylink|SOS from Planet Sandra}}

[[Image:Hmep18_chromedome_vs_sixshot.jpg|left|thumb|225px|Wildcat Rescue Force!]]

Chromedome joined the Headmasters and Trainbots in serving as bodyguards for Spike when he met with Galvatron to discuss the unlikely possibility of the Autobots and Decepticons working on energy research together. When a report from Punch revealed that the "Galvatron" Spike was talking with was actually an impostor, Chromedome had the Trainbots stage a diversion so he could burst in on the negotiations and reveal the deception. The false Galvatron was revealed to be Sixshot in disguise, and a fierce battle erupted between Chromedome and the ninja that ran all down the shoreline. Seeing through Sixshot's tricks, Chromedome wounded him and forced him to retreat. It was discovered that the Decepticons had staged the phoney negotiations to cover for their departure on an interplanetary energy quest, and Chromedome joined the Autobots in pursuing them aboard Battleship Maximus. {{storylink|Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever!!}}

[[Image:Hm19_chromedome_makk_energymoat.jpg|right|thumb|225px]]

On the Decepticons' trail through space, the Autobots discovered a ruined ship from [[Hive (planet)|Hive]] floating in space, victims of a Decepticon attack. Chromedome investigated the wreck and discovered [[Makku's father|a survivor]], but the alien did not live long, clinging to life just enough to give Chromedome [[Medal of Valour|a medallion]] to pass down to his son. As they drew closer to Hive, Battleship Maximus came under fire from the suspicious natives, and while Fortress insisted on showing non-resistance, Chromedome's fiery temper flared, and he headed down to the planet's surface on his own to try and speak with Hive's [[Queen Bee]]. On Hive, he met the soldier's son, [[Makku]], who helped him gain an audience with the queen and convince her that the Autobots were on their side. Of course, the Decepticons chose that moment to strike, and Chromedome was blasted into the energy moat around the queen's castle by Galvatron and Sixshot. Luckily, with Makku's help, Chromedome was able to absorb energy from the moat and leap back into the middle of the battle, joining with the other Headmasters in using the Maximus's "Master Shot" cannon to force the Decepticons off. {{storylink|Fight to the Death on Planet Hive!!}}

Shadowing the Decepticons on their way to their next target, the worlds of [[Twin Star]], Chromedome suggested attacking the Decepticons in the void of space. Brainstorm chided him for not thinking his actions through, and the pair started arguing, until Brainstorm's brains helped win the fight on Twin Star. {{storylink|Battle for Defense of the False Planet}} On their next stop, the planet [[Daros]], Chromedome's team used the Master Shot again to force the Decepticon off, but sadly not before the Decepticons killed a [[Beastformer]] named [[Tekna]]. In death, however, Tekna left them with a piece of microfilm supposedly containing coded information on Scorponok's weak spot. {{storylink|Find MegaZarak's Weak Spot!!}}

[[Image:Hm22_chromedome_repairs.jpg|left|thumb|225px|Head On! Neck Wrung!]]

While conducting exterior repairs on Battleship Maximus on the way to the planet [[Paradise]], Chromedome goofed pretty badly when he punched the ship's hull in frustration, jostling loose a few important components and sending them floating off into space. Although he was able to fix his mistake, the delay necessitated that Highbrow go on ahead to Paradise, where he was captured by the Decepticons. Once they made it to Paradise, the worried Chromedome led the Headmasters to Highbrow's rescue, and they performed the [[Head Formation]] to power up their team-mate. {{storylink|Head Formation of Friendship}} Soon after, Chromedome helped battle the Decepticons on [[Pirate Planet]]. {{storylink|Mystery of the Space Pirate Ship}}

With the Decepticons' energy raids done, the Headmasters to Athenia. Sadly, Chromedome's team was unable to prevent [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]]'s death at the hands of Sixshot on Earth, but they did arrive in time to deliver a ferocious Head Formation-powered beating to the six-changer. Chromedome's hatred of the ninja only grew. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus Dies!!}} Magnus's death only galvanized the Decepticons into more aggressive action, and the Autobots were spread thin fighting back. Chromedome and his team followed Galvatron to [[Alaska]], where they used information from Punch to pinpoint his weak spot—his head—and defeat him, entombing him in ice using the power of the Head Formation. {{storylink|The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg}}

[[Image:IRiskMyLifeForEarth-Letgoofme.jpg|right|thumb|225px|So many inappropriate caption choices, so little space.]]

Galvatron's demise allowed Scorponok to take leadership of the Decepticons, and he initiated a plan to destroy the Earth by simultaneously erupting every volcano on the [[Pacific Ring of Fire]]. When Spike realized what they were planning, Chromedome escorted him to Earth to present his findings, only for [[Autobot City]] to come under attack by [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] and Sixshot. Consumed with rage, Chromedome rushed to engage Sixshot, and the unprotected Spike was wounded by Trypticon. The Trainbots and [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] forced the Decepticons off, but Chromedome was consumed with guilt and anger. He started blaming everyone else, including Fortress, claiming it never would have happened if he had allowed them to take out the Decepticons' Earth base, and in his frenzy, tried to leave for Earth to take care of it himself. Restrained by Hardhead, Chromedome was consigned to Athenia by Fortress, deemed incapable of leading due to his emotional statue. While the other Headmasters headed to Earth to engage the Decepticons on the Kamchatka Peninsula, Chromedome turned his attention to the coded information left to them by Tekna. With Daniel and Wheelie's help, Chromedome was finally able to decode the microfilm and identify Scorponok's weak spot, and raced to Earth to pass it on to Fortress. With Chromedome's information, Fortress was able to defeat Scorponok, and force him and the Decepticons off the Earth. {{storylink|I Risk My Life for Earth}}

[[Image:Hm27_chromedome_hardhead_cross_head_on.jpg|left|thumb|225px| Head Off!]]

With the Decepticons gone from Earth, the Autobots set about removing all traces of their evil from the planet. Chromedome and Hardhead were charged with removing the plasma bombs planted along the Ring of Fire, and things were going well until a volcanic tremor caused Chromedome to drop one of the bombs, setting off its timer. Switching heads with Hardhead to boost their strength and courage, the pair ran through the waves of magma and collapsing rock walls, successfully getting the bombs to the surface so Battleship Maximus could take them into space. The intention was to let the bombs detonate harmlessly in the void, but on the way to jettison them, the Maximus encountered a ship from Master containing a group of refugees, pursued by a team of Decepticons. A newly-arrived team of elite Autobots—[[Pointblank]], [[Crosshairs (G1)|Crosshairs]] and [[Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot]]—set out to rescue the Master refugees, when the bombs detonated, causing a plasma explosion that fused the refugees and the Autobots and Decepticons together, creating the [[Targetmaster]]s. {{storylink|Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)}} Chromedome took an immediate and strong dislike to Pointblank, who considered the Headmasters weak and undisciplined.

[[Image:Hm28_chromedome_shoots_jack.jpg|right|thumb|225px| "You broke my heart Jack...you broke my heart..."]]

Learning from the Master refugees that Scorponok's Decepticons had returned to Master and were causing chaos there, Chromedome returned to his adopted homeworld with the Autobots to help defend the natives. Soon after his arrival, he was reunited with his old friend Jack, who at first pretended like he did not know him: The sight of the successful Headmaster that Chromedome had become reminded him of how he had failed in the same pursuit. Chromedome wouldn't stand for his friend's guff, telling him that just because he was a Headmaster, it didn't mean he was better than Jack, whose incredible scientific mind had helped create Battleship Maximus and the [[Master Sword]]. Jack apologised and welcomed Chromedome properly, but after they parted ways, Sixshot struck, impersonating Chromedome and kidnapping Jack so that the Decepticons could torture information on the composition of the Master Sword out of him. Jack refused to give them any information, so instead, the villains planted a bomb in his body and Mindwipe hypnotised him to walk into Battleship Maximus. The horrified Chromedome was forced to shoot Jack to stop him, and the bomb detonated, taking his life. His hatred of Sixshot burning stronger than ever, Chromedome blasted off the ninja's arms, and was set to pursue him until Pointblank held him back. In the wake of the battle, Chromedome and Pointblank confronted each other, mutually concluding that they didn't ''like'' each other, but they respected one another, and would fight together in the future. {{storylink|Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)}}

[[Image:Hm29_chromedome_daniel_rescue_wheelie.jpg|left|thumb|225px]]

Having failed to pry information on the Master Sword from Jack, the Decepticons kidnapped Wheelie in order to ransom him for the data they needed to construct a weapon to counter it. Although Chromedome and Daniel snuck into Scorponok's Transtector and rescued Wheelie, the fight broke out over the data disk, and the Decepticons were able to make off with it. Chromedome, Wheelie and Daniel were charged with cleaning Battleship Maximus for their breach of the rules. {{storylink|The Master Sword Is in Danger!!}} Using the stolen data, Scorponok created the [[Zarak Shield]], despite Chromedome and his allies' attempts to stop them. {{storylink|The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide}}

[[Image:Hm31_pointblank_decks_chromedome.jpg|right|thumb|225px]]

While discussing what the Autobots' next step should be, Chromedome opposed the Targetmasters' plan of luring the Decepticons into space, believing that they might lose them, and advocating a hard strike now before they left Master. The Targetmaters dismissed his plan out of hand, prompting an angry Chromedome to go off on his own an set up a meeting with the young warriors of Master, led by [[Kirk]]. He soon brought the other Headmasters in to join the effort, and together, they formulated a plan that involved luring the Decepticons into the confines of a nearby cloudy mountain range. The plan went wrong, however, when Scorponok emerged from beneath the planet's surface right in the middle of a city, and many of the young warriors died in the disorganized response. Chromedome was forced to call the warriors off, and to make matters worse, Fortress's Master Sword was bested by the Zarak Shield. The victorious Decepticons departed Master, heading back to Earth, while Pointblank punched some sense into Chromedome, blaming him for the entire debacle. {{storylink|Operation: Destroy the Decepticons}}

[[Image:Hm32_chromedome_sixshot_daniel.jpg|left|thumb|225px|"Stop, don't hurt Uncle Sixshot! He's so stylized and cool!"]]

The Autobots quickly gave chase, catching up to the Decepticons in space, but the battle that resulted led to Sixshot and Daniel being stranded on the barren planet [[Daira]]. The Autobots were able to track them down after a while, but Chromedome was unconvinced by Daniel's claims that Sixshot was a noble warrior who had protected him. {{storylink|My Friend Sixshot!}} Soon after, when Scorponok had to set down in the asteroid belt for repairs, the Autobots caught up another battle broke out. Sixshot decided to settle their rivalry once and for all, and challenged Chromedome to a climactic one-on-one duel on the asteroid [[Juno]]. Chromedome accepted the challenge, refusing to listen to the protestations of Fortress or Daniel, and even punching Brainstorm when he offered to fight as his second, taking it as a slight to his abilities. Ironically, it was Pointblank who supported Chromedome's decision, understanding his feelings because he had been brash and impassioned in his own youth. The pair's fated duel began, but before long, Daniel got in the middle of the fight and tried to stop his two friends from killing each other. A definite outcome was denied Chromedome, however, when bombs Scorponok had planted on the asteroid in an effort to destroy Sixshot began to detonate, forcing the combatants to break off their battle. {{storylink|Duel on the Asteroid}}

[[Image:Hm35_chromedome_hardhead_hypnotised.jpg|right|thumb|225px]]

Thanks to the delay caused by Chromedome's duel, the Decepticons beat the Autobots back to Earth, and began causing chaos, erecting energy-discharging "[[Death Tower]]s" composed from [[crysmagnetal]] around the planet. Upon landing, Chromedome and the Autobots had to rush off to rescue the human victims of a plane crash caused by the Decepticons, which included Daniel's parents. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)}} After trying and failing to stop the erection of another Death Tower in [[Egypt]], Chromedome and the assembled Autobot army followed the Decepticons to the North Pole for a final mighty battle. During the fight, Chromedome and Hardhead were hit by Mindwipe's hypnotism, but were saved by Twincast and his cassettes. With the Death Towers creating a field of energy that was threatening to tear the Earth apart, Chromedome and the Headmasters joined in Head Formation, hoping to channel their energy into Fortress Maximus and give him the strength to destroy Scorponok and the crysmagnetal. Their own energies were not enough, but at Daniel's suggestion, they expanded their formation to include the assembled Autobot forces. Thus combined in "Final Formation", they provided Fortress with the energy he needed, and the Earth was saved.

Following their defeat at the North Pole, the Decepticons were finally expelled from Earth, and the Autobots prepared to follow them. Chromedome assured Daniel that although the Autobots were leaving, the peace they had brought to the Earth was here to stay. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}
{{-}}

====''Kiss Players/15 Go! Go!''====
[[Image:KPBraveMax.jpg|right|thumb|100px]]
{{note|Chromedome's cameo appearance in ''Kiss Players'' is set shortly after his arrival on Master.}}

Slumped miserably on the barren surface of Master in their smallest robot forms, Chromedome, Fortress and Highbrow's attention was caught when a [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|time-travelling spaceship]] materialized over their heads and crashed nearby. By studying and reverse-engineering the technology found in this spaceship, Fortress and the scientists of Master invented Transtectors and the Headmaster process. {{storylink|Transformers: Kiss Players (radio drama)|Kiss Players radio drama #48}}/{{storylink|Sparkbots Volume 3}}

====''The Great Transformer War''====
[[Image:Hmmanga battered headmasters.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]
In the closing days of 2010, while significant Transformer battles were being waged on Earth and across space, Chromedome and his fellow Autobot Headmasters were active on the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]], battling their Decepticon counterparts. It seemed that their foes were able to escape them by leaping into a crevasse, but moments later, they came bursting out of the ground beneath the Autobots' feet. Chromedome and company, however, were able to use this to their advantage by sneaking away under cover of the dust cloud the villains' emergence had created. When the cloud cleared, the Decepticons realized they had been beating up each other, and were then promptly flattened as Chromedome and the Autobots ran them over in vehicle mode. The tide of battle turned suddenly with the arrival of the Decepticon ninja [[Sixshot]], who blasted Chromedome's team to cover the Decepticon Headmasters' escape. Informed by their leader [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]] that the Decepticons were heading for Cybertron, Chromedome and the other Headmasters set out after them aboard Fortress's Battleship Maximus, with Chromedome particularly excited at the prospect of meeting [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]]. {{storylink|The Great Transformer War issue 3|The Great Transformer War #3}}

====''The Headmasters'' comic====
[[Image:Hmmanga chromedome snatches bomb.jpg|thumb|300px]]
Shortly after Optimus Prime gave up his life to stabilize Vector Sigma, Chromedome and the Headmasters attended the unveiling of a [[Optimus Prime memorial|bronze statue]] dedicated to Prime's memory on Athenia. Chromedome spoke for the Headmasters, proclaiming Prime the greatest warrior that ever lived. The ceremony was then interrupted by the arrival of the Decepticons in Athenian space, and the Headmasters rocketed off in Battleship Maximus to intercept them. This, it turned out, was part of the Decepticons' plans, as they intended to hurl a bomb into the Maximus when the Headmasters exited it, but Chromedome moved too fast for the Decepticons, disconnecting from his Transtector and snatching the bomb out of Mindwipe's hands. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 1|The Headmasters #1}}

[[Image:Hmmanga_chromedome_hardhead_vines.jpg|left|thumb|225px]]

Responding to an SOS from their Beastformer comrades, Chromedome and the Autobot Headmasters headed to planet Beast and split up into two teams to search. Chromedome and Hardhead had the misfortune to stumble into the clutches of [[Reproganmar|some energy-draining vines]], but were cut free by [[Kane]], the Beastformers' human ally. Kane led them to the Decepticon camp, where Brainstorm and Highbrow had been taken prisoner, and proceeded to create a distraction that allowed the two captive Autobots to break free. Kane was then pursued by the Decepticon Headmasters, but Chromedome's team followed them, and took the villains out. {{storylink|Great Decisive Battle of Planet Beast!}}

Investigating news of a Decepticon attack on an energy plant in Alaska, Chromedome and the Headmasters were caught by surprise by the Decepticon Headmasters, and prevented from combining with their Transtectors. At first they were forced to flee from the Decepticons' bestial Transtectors, but soon, they were able to execute a "Southern Cross Jump" that carried them over the Decepticons' heads and allowed them to reconnect with their bodies. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 2|The Headmasters #2}} Later, Chromedome's team went to Earth with the Trainbots to look into reports of the Decepticons stealing energy under the sea, and foiled their plan by destroying their robot squid through teamwork. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 3|The Headmasters #3}} Unfortunately, they had less success when they tried to stop Sixshot from stealing a capsule of emergency food rations, as the Decepticon ninja disappeared in a flash of smoke. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 4|The Headmasters #4}}

[[Image:Hmmanga_charge_arrow.jpg|thumb|300px]]

On an unknown alien world, Chromedome and Daniel discovered the legendary weapon known as the "[[Charge Arrow]]", and Chromedome felt that with its power in his hands, he could become the greatest warrior in the universe. [[Apeface]] and [[Snapdragon (G1)|Snapdragon]] then attacked, and when Chromedome attempted to use the Charge Arrow on them, he discovered he was not worthy enough to control its fabled energies. Knocked unconscious by the Horrorcons' attack, Chromedome had a vision of his Transtector telling him that he was worthy, if only he believed it. Awakening to see the two Decepticons' advancing on Daniel, Chromedome sprang into action, and, fuelled by the need to save his friend, successfully fired the Charge Arrow, frying the Horrocons. When Daniel inquired if he regretted using up the one-shot weapon, Chromedome replied that a warrior is not defined by his weapon. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 5|The Headmasters #5}}

Chromedome and the Headmasters were handing out Christmas presents at a Japanese children's hospital when the Decepticon Headmasters attacked. Chromedome had the Trainbots get as many patients to safety as possible before he and the Headmasters unleashed their "Hell's Great Wheel" attack, sending their enemies whirling off into the sky. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 6|The Headmasters #6}} Not long after, on New Year's Day, Chromedome, Daniel and the Autobots' two newest Targetmasters, [[Ricochet (Headmasters)|Ricochet]] and [[Artfire (Headmasters)|Artfire]], responded to a raging fire in [[Shinjuku]]. They were suddenly attacked by the Decepticon Targetmasters, who had started the fire, and were unable to fight back because they were focused on saving lives. Once Fortress Maximus put out the fire by dumping water on it from above, however, Chromedome and his allies were freed up to turn all their firepower on the Decepticons, sending them packing. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 7|The Headmasters #7}}

[[Image:Hm manga8 master chrome hurricane.jpg|left|thumb|225px]]

Soon after the Decepticons' defeat at the North Pole, but before the Autobots' departed the planet, Chromedome gathered with Wheelie, Spike, Daniel and [[Carly]] to say goodbye. The tearful farewell was interrupted by the arrival of [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundblaster]], who had been ordered to stay behind on the planet by Scorponok. Chromedome attempted to attack him, but Soundblaster deployed [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]] to hold the Witwickys hostage and prevent Chromedome from making a move. It was Daniel who saved the day by leaping on Slugfest and covering his eyes, causing him to run into Overkill, and freeing up Chromedome to hurl Soundblaster over the horizon with his "Master Chrome Hurricane" technique. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 8|The Headmasters #8}}

====''Super-God Masterforce Master File''====
Following the expulsion of the Decepticons from Earth after the battle at the North Pole, the Transformers' war shifted into a series of space-based exchanges between the planet Athenia and Chaar known as the [[Master Wars]]. Chromedome and his fellow Headmasters had further training under the tutelage of Pointblank and the Targetmasters, and grew into mature warriors, who went on to help train the next generation of [[Autobot Master Warrior]]s.

With the space bridge destroyed, travel between Athenia and Earth became severely limited, and so, when news of a [[Devil Z|new Decepticon threat]] rising on Earth reached the Autobots in space from [[Metalhawk]] on Earth, it proved difficult to spare any troops. This need fostered another scientific leap: the scientists of Master developed the [[Master-Brace|Masterforce system]], which would allow human beings to bond with Transtectors and defend Earth while the Autobots continued to fight in space. Chromedome participated in the project, and arranged for six Transtectors and six sets of [[Master-Brace]]s to be sent to Earth on a transport ship. Unfortunately, the ship was intercepted by the Decepticons in transit, and half its cargo was stolen, leading to the birth of [[Headmaster Junior]]s on both the Autobot and Decepticon side. {{storylink|Master File No, 1}}

{{note|Following the end of the ''Headmasters'' franchise, Japanese cartoon continuity branches off in two separate directions. One version of the story is told through the ''[[Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Super-God Masterforce]]'' cartoon, the other is told through the ''Masterforce'' [[Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (manga)|manga]]. Chromedome plays much the same role in both, but gets up to a bit more in the manga.}}

====''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon====
[[Image:Mfep4_chromedomes_message.jpg|right|thumb|]]
:''Voice actor:'' [[Hideyuki Hori]] (Japanese)

After giving the Transtectors to the three human children, [[Shūta Gō|Shūta]], [[Cab]] and [[Minerva (Masterforce)|Minerva]], transforming them into the Autobots' new Headmaster Junior warriors, Metalhawk informed them of Chromedome's role in their new powers. Shūta had heard his [[Professor Gō|father]] speak of Chromedome before and expressed a desire to meet him, so Metalhawk played a recorded message that Chromedome had sent them. Evidently recorded in the middle of battle, the short but sweet missive had Chromedome inform them that fighting was only worsening out in space, and that he hoped they would all fight their hardest on Earth as well. The Headmasters Juniors all thought Chromedome was cool, and vowed not to let him down. {{storylink|Birth! Headmaster Jrs}}
{{-}}
====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic====
Cajoled by Shūta, Cab and Minerva into allowing them to become Headmaster Juniors, Metalhawk explained to them the origins of the Transtectors and Master-Braces, and Chromedome's role in the process, before giving them to the kids. {{storylink|Headmaster Jrs Are Born}}

[[Image:Mfmanga raiden chromedome scramble7.jpg|left|thumb|350px]]

The Headmaster Juniors later got a chance to meet Chromedome in person when they and Ginrai were brought by the Trainbots to Athenia, so that Ginrai could be appointed [[Supreme Commander]] of all Autobots. After the ceremony, Fortress headed back to Master, and Chromedome was left in charge of Athenia, only for the Decepticons to attack during the night. Chromedome was quick into battle, but he and [[Raiden]] were cut down by a blast from the Decepticon combiner [[Scramble 7]] even quicker. Ginrai was able to end the threat, but the battle only proved that the Decepticons on Earth had joined forces with the Decepticons in space, and so the Autobots elected to do the same to better combat their enemies. {{storylink|The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops}} Soon after, when the space-based Decepticon commander [[Scorponok (G1)|BlackZarak]] began heading for Earth, Chromedome, his fellow Headmasters, Raiden and [[Grand Maximus]] all gave chase. Chromedome was no match for the mighty Decepticon, however, and was beaten back, unable to stop his advance on the planet. As soon as BlackZarak reached Earth, however, Ginrai was able to trick both him and the Earth-based Decepticon leader [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] into injuring each other, and Chromedome and his allies cheered for Ginrai's success. {{storylink|God Ginrai's Amazing Super-God Combination!}}
{{-}}

===''United''===
Like the other Headmasters and Targetmasters, Chromedome was fine when a [[nano-virus]] struck the Autobots at [[Autobot City]], incapacitating them. Because of their immunity, a team made up of him, [[Ricochet (Headmasters)|Ricochet]], [[Artfire (Headmasters)|Artfire]] and [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] were sent to Nebulos to recover an antidote crafted by the Nebulan scientist [[Zella]].

As the team arrived on Nebulos, an army of Decepticons led by [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]] erupted from an inter-dimensional portal and attacked them, revealing that the nano-virus was part of a larger plot to draw out the Headmasters and Targetmasters and steal their Nebulan partners. By concentrating their fire on Straxus, Chromedome, Artfire and Kup defeated him and drove the Decepticons away, allowing Autobots to gather the antidote and cure their comrades. {{storylink|The Fierce Fighting on Planet Nebulos}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[Image:MTMTE9 early Chromedome.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
Before the [[Great War (G1)|war]], during the days of the [[Clampdown]], Chromedome (then under a different name) was a mechaforensic scientist in the police force. The poor bugger was nicknamed "Unlucky" because he had to work with [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], the most anal, full-autopsy loving officer of all time. Chromedome had a strong interest in mnemosurgery, the science of hacking into Transformer minds and "reading" their memories, and was fascinated by the conspiracy theories of [[the Institute]].

Chromedome and Prowl investigated the assassination of [[Sherma|Senator Sherma]] and backtracked his whereabouts to the posh [[Translucentica Heights]]. Unfortunately, the killer had struck again before they arrived! {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} Chromedome to attempted to chase down a suspect, who perished in a fiery crash. Their discovery of a second killer was of equally limited help, and the pair investigated a nearby [[Relinquishment Clinic]] under which they found a secret facility Chromedome believed to be the Institute. The evidence they found helped uncover a bomb plot. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}}

After the group came up with a counter-plan, Chromedome borrowed a replica [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] from [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]]. At Prowl's insistence, Orion left Chromedome out of the main part of the plan, instead assigning him with [[Roller (G1)|Roller]] to guard Pax's [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|senator friend]] at a safehouse. Unfortunate the safehouse was attacked by Senate thugs, and by the senator had already been taken by the time Pax dug Chromedome out of the rubble. He led Pax to the Institute he had found earlier, only to find it deserted. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

By the time the war had started, Chromedome had become a mnemosurgeon. His unique talents were required quite often, to the point that he began to resent them and became cynical over their use. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} Many things he had to do during wartime were things that, in hindsight, he would regret. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}} Eventually, Chromedome was on the verge of suicide due to the immense burden of his abilities and the terrible side-effects they had on his own mental health. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} It was then, at his lowest point, that he went to a Relinquishment Clinic to end it and, and found [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] searching fruitlessly for [[Dominus Ambus]]. {{storylink|Before & After}} He formed a deep friendship with the diminutive archivist. Chromedome credited Rewind's optimism and caring nature as having saved his life, and the two were nearly inseparable since. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} Indeed, [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] has been known to claim them as being "closer than [[Rack'n'Ruin]]" {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} and Rewind had named Chromedome as his [[Conjunx Endura]]. {{storylink|Before & After}}

[[Image:Brainstorm Chromedome infodump.jpg|thumb|left|250px|]]
Chromedome was stationed at [[Kimia Facility]] when [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and the [[Sweep]]s invaded. {{storylink|Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}} He survived and managed to escape before the facility's destruction, leaving in an escape pod together with Brainstorm and a number of other Autobots. They were soon rescued by, as he put it, [[Arcee (G1)|a psychopath in pink armor]], and made a joke at Swerve's expense. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}}

As Arcee told the survivors about [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] and [[D-Void]]'s master plan to bring the [[Dead Universe]] into the actual universe, Chromedome and Brainstorm felt a bit overwhelmed by the massive "info dump" and wondered if other species ever had to worry about saving the universe. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

[[Image:Chromedome Prowl Liars.jpg|right|thumb|300px|He's so frustrated, he grew a visor!]]
Weeks later, after D-Void's threat had ended and Cybertron had been reborn, Chromedome chose to join the crew of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' alongside Rewind. His old comrade Prowl was quite upset with his decision, noting that Chromedome was "gifted" and his talents were still required on Cybertron. But Chromedome felt that he'd done his part already and frustratedly tried to explain but stopped when he realized Prowl just wouldn't understand. He and Rewind left, leaving Prowl to fume alone in his office. On launch day, Chromedome, Rewind, and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] were headed to the ''Lost Light'', with Chromedome verbally jabbing at Rewind's impractical [[Alternate mode|alt mode]] along the way. A fight between [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] and [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] crossed their paths as well as [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]], who had just escaped being trapped underground for six million years. Chromedome helped him out of the hole he had created, and Tailgate fainted when he saw that his escape had accidentally injured Whirl. Chromedome and the rest decided to take Whirl and Tailgate aboard ''Lost Light'' for repairs. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}

After the ''Lost Light'' suffered a premature [[quantum jump]] and ended up halfway across the galaxy, forty Autobots were sucked out of a hull breach and sent plummeting to the surface of a nearby planetoid. Once the ship had landed there, Chromedome, Rewind, and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] aided in the recovery of missing crew members, pulling the stowaway Cyclonus from a lake. Later, Chromedome and others came across [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], who had also crash-landed on the planet and was being pursued by some unknown sword-carrying robots. After Chromedome removed the "fiddly" [[inhibitor claw]] attached to Skids, the long thought-dead Autobot sprung into action and defeated his one remaining pursuer, much to the amazement of the others. Later, Chromedome was present when Rodimus addressed the crew. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}}

[[Image:Chromedome mnemosurgery ChaosOfWarmThings.jpg|left|thumb|300px|]]
When a [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]] was thought to have been let loose aboard the ''Lost Light'', Rodimus asked Chromedome to use his abilities to help identify it. Despite Rewind's reservations, Chromedome complied, hacking into [[Shock]]'s mind to see the deceased Autobot's last memories. They did indeed tell of a violent attack by a Sparkeater, and Chromedome recoiled in pain and collapsed. After Chromedome recovered, he described the Sparkeater's appearance to the others. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} After the Sparkeater business had been resolved, Chromedome enjoyed a drink with Rewind and a tipsy Skids in [[Swerve's bar|Swerve's new bar]]. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}} Curious about Skids' ever-present handgun (and the mental block which seemingly kept Skids from remembering it), Chromedome swiped the gun at the bar and turned it over to Brainstorm for analysis. {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement}}

Days later, over another round of drinks, Chromedome demonstrated his talent of being able to identify someone by the sound of their transformation alone. He offered some sympathy to Tailgate over the latter's studying under Ultra Magnus and displayed disgust when Tailgate mentioned trying to invite Cyclonus over to the table. However, the casual atmosphere came to a violent end when a mentally-disturbed Fortress Maximus entered the bar and abruptly shot [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] at pointblank range. {{storylink|Interiors}}

Chromedome later checked in with Brainstorm to find out what was up with Skids' gun. Brainstorm managed to blow the thing up while examining it, but also named it a "[[Binary Gun]]" after recognizing it could only hold two cartridges. He also noted that its engineering seemed to indicate that the gun came from "[[The Institute]]". {{storylink|Rules of Disengagement}}
[[Image:Chromedome mnemosurgery MTMTEAnnual2012.jpg|right|thumb|250px|]]
Chromedome suffered a brief bout of false recall, where he re-experienced the memory of [[Skyfall (G1)|Skyfall]]'s death- one of the unpleasant side-effects of his mnemosurgeries. He attended Tailgate's Autobot initiation ceremony, and he, Rewind, and Brainstorm placed bets with [[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] as to how long it would take for Rodimus to say "[['Til all are one]]" in his speech. After representatives of the [[Galactic Council]] showed up, Chromedome was among the Autobots teleported to the surface of [[Theophany]] to explore the ruins of [[Crystal City]], which had been subject to some unknown siege and left desolate. They discovered an inert [[Metrotitan (body-type)|Metrotitan]] under the city, and Rodimus ordered Chromedome to hack into the giant's [[brain module]] and read its memories, hoping to discover what happened to Crystal City. While preparing to do so, Chromedome and Skids had a brief chat about their similar outlooks on life and its larger meaning. With a disapproving Rewind looking on, Chromedome hacked into the Metrotitan's memory, and discovered it was still alive. Chromedome collapsed in pain, images torn from the Metrotitan's brain reverberating through his mind, as the giant woke with a start and fired an eye-blast that struck the Galactic Council's ship in orbit. Once recovered, Chromedome explained that the Metrotitan was attempting to will its [[spark]] to leave its body, having barely any power left and being totally paralyzed. Chromedome wanted to attempt to re-enter the Metrotitan's mind, as the glimpses he caught indicated that its memories contained much of the information that they were seeking. With the Galactic Council's troops bearing down on them and the ''Lost Light'' under attack, Rodimus chose to set the Metrotitan free instead of pillaging its mind. After some of its mass was shrunk by Brainstorm, the Metrotitan had enough power to teleport the Autobots back to their ship, and the ''Lost Light'' quantum-jumped to safety. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

Days later Skids, inspired by his discussion with Chromedome in Crystal City, wanted to let the mnemosurgeon unlock his missing memories. Chromedome admitted that he himself was curious about the mystery of Skids' past and agreed to do it. After hacking into Skids' mind, Chromedome discovered the memories of the year prior to Skids' joining the crew of the ''Lost Light'' had been replaced by an imperative to escape. Chromedome dug deeper and found the erased memories still locked inside Skids' head, but once he caught a glimpse of them, he quickly withdrew. Chromedome told Skids that the buried memories were so horrifying and traumatic that it was better for everyone, Skids himself included, that they never resurface. Skids reluctantly agreed, but asked Chromedome about a piece of music he kept hearing in his head. Chromedome admitted that he heard it in there too, identified it as "[[The Empyrean Suite]]", and prayed that Skids would never come to understand its significance. {{storylink|Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|Who's Afraid of the DJD?}}

In order to restore the recovering [[Rung]]'s mind, Chromedome and others were assembled by Rewind to tell a story from the Clampdown era. Chromedome explained to the others that the story would help reestablish critical neural connections in Rung's brain. He started off the story, but he and Rewind got briefly distracted trying to figure out how many times Prowl had flipped a table over in their presence. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} By the end of the story, the ship's alarms were sounding, and Chromedome scrambled for battle stations with the others. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

As they headed to [[Temptoria]] in the ''[[Leading Light]]'', Chromedome and Rewind argued over something Rewind had done. Though Chromedome enthusiastically took part in the battle on Temptoria against a small force of Decepticons, when he returned to the shuttle, he found that Rewind had been gravely injured in an explosion. Back on the ''Lost Light'', [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] talked Chromedome into performing a jumpstart on Rewind to save the smaller 'Bot's spark. The procedure failed, as Chromedome's own spark was "low yield". Sent to his quarters to recharge, Chromedome heard a voice through his door offering to show him what was [[Overlord (Masterforce)|in the basement]], however before he could answer, First Aid contacted him with the news that Whirl had allowed his spark to be used to save Rewind. A happy reunion ensued. {{storylink|Before & After}}
{{-}}

==Commercial appearances==
[[Image:Commercial_chromedome_removes_head.jpg|left|thumb]]

*In the commercial for the ''[[The Transformers: Headmasters|Headmasters]]'' comic book, Chromedome is seen arriving on Nebulos with the other Autobots and surrendering to the native Nebulons, before removing his head (see [[#Notes|notes]]) and allowing one to fuse with it. In-keeping with Western fiction's tendency to overlook Chromedome, he then proceeds to vanish from the commercial, as the other three Autobot Headmasters get all the screen time.
*In the Autobot Headmasters commercial, Stylor boards Chromedome, and along with the other Headmasters, they speed out of their hangar onto a roadway, where the Decepticon Headmasters are running straight for them. Chromedome gets the spotlight as he transforms to robot mode, and a fight breaks out, during which Chromedome grapples with Weirdwolf.
*A stone sculpture of Chromedome appeared in the Decepticon Headmasters commercial, where it was savaged by Weirdwolf as part of his training.
{{--}}

==Games==
===''Transformers: The Headmasters''===
When the Decepticons kidnapped his fellow Autobots, Chromedome was left alone to rescue his teammates and stand against the forces of evil. He fought his way through many foes on three separate planets, rescuing [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]], [[Brainstorm]], [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] and [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] before they all joined [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] in the finale battle against [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. {{storylink|Transformers: The Headmasters (video game)|Transformers: The Headmasters}}

{{Note|Chromedome is the only Autobot available for play from the beginning of the game. Other characters become available as the game progresses.}}

===''The Transformers'' (PS2)===
:''Voice actor:''

====Autobot story====
{{Note|Chromedome was available as a playable character in the Autobot campaign during the second playthrough.}}

====Decepticon story====
As the Decepticons searched a recently unearthed dig site for the [[Gem of Mystery]], they were confronted by Chromedome. Chromedome was soon defeated by the Decepticons, but taunted them with the knowledge that they couldn't proceed further without the proper key.

Later, at [[ELTA]], Chromedome and [[Brainstorm]] joined forces to battle the Decepticons again, to no avail. {{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1toy_chromedome.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Chromedome''' w/ '''Stylor''' (1987)
** ''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-101'''
** ''Accessories:'' "Stylor" Headmaster driver, 2 laser guns

:Chromedome transforms into a brown, cream and red Cybertronic sports car. He is armed with two non-firing laser rifles which mount on his roof in vehicle mode, although the rifles must be removed in order to open the figure's hinged cockpit, in which his Headmaster partner Stylor can sit.

:In robot mode, like all Headmasters, Chromedome features a flip-down panel on his chest that covers a mini [[Tech Spec]] meter displaying ratings for Speed, Strength and Intelligence. The tumblers of this meter are activated when Stylor is transformed into head mode and inserted into Chromedome's neck socket. Chromedome's body can accommodate other Headmaster heads, and his meter will display different stats accordingly.

:A [[redeco]] of Chromedome as [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] was proposed during Generation 1, but never produced.

::*''[http://tfu.info/1987/Autobot/Chromedome/chromedome.htm More information on Chromedome at TFU.info]

===Transform Jr===
[[Image:Tfjr_chromedome.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Not to be confused with Chromedome Snr.]]
*'''Chromedome''' (1987)
** ''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-101'''
**''Accessories:'' 2-piece "Chrome" Headmaster unit, laser gun

:The ''Transform Jr'' version of Chromedome simplifies the original toy. The transformation scheme remains the same, but Chromedome's cockpit no longer opens, so his Headmaster unit has nowhere to store. Additionally, the Headmaster unit does not really ''transform'' into a head; you simply remove its legs and set them aside. Chromedome's [[Tech Spec]] meter lacks the functionality of the larger toy, featuring only a permanent, non-moving readout, and he also has only one gun instead of two. But on the very cool plus side, his hood is now made of [[die-cast]] metal!

::*''[http://www.cliffbee.com/reviews/chromedomejr.php More information on Transform Jr Chromedome at Cliffbee.com]''
{{-}}
*'''Cybertron Leader Set''' (1987)
**''Accessories:'' 2-piece Headmaster unit, laser gun
:The ''Transform Jr'' version of Chromedome was also sold in a two-pack with a vinyl figurine of [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys|Rodimus Prime]]. The set also included a small, die-cast metal figure of Metroplex.
{{-}}
[[Image:Transformjr hero set.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''3 Hero Set''' (1987)
**''Accessories:'' 2-piece Headmaster unit, laser gun

:''Transform Jr'' Chromedome was also available in a "Hero Set" alongside the ''Jr'' versions of Optimus Prime and Fortress Maximus.
{{-}}

==Merchandise==
===Transformers Caramel===
[[Image:Tfcaramel_chromedome.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Chromedome''' (1987)

:A soft-rubber figurine of Chromedome was available as part of [[Kabaya]]'s ''[[Transformers Caramel]]'' line of "[[candy toy]]s" in yellow, red or blue. Like all the figures from the ''Headmasters'' assortment, the figure was permanently attached to a flat base that had a rubber stamp of Chromedome's face and name on its underside.
{{-}}
===Transformers Choco===
[[Image:Tfchoco_chromedome.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Chromedome''' (1987)
**''Accessories:'' Head, "Chrome" Headmaster figure, laser gun

:Released as part of the ''Headmasters'' assortment of Kabaya's ''[[Transformers Choco]]'' line of small snap-together model kits, this solid-color Chromedome figure is a simplified version of the larger Chromedome toy, featuring only one laser gun, and lacking the Headmaster gimmick. His head does disconnect, but it doesn't transform; instead, he came with a small, non-poseable Chrome Headmaster figure. As with all the ''Transformers Choco'' figures, he was packaged with small candies similar to M&Ms called "Chocolate Dots".
{{-}}

===Transformers Gum===
[[Image:Transformersgum_chromedome.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Chromedome''' (1987)
**''Accessories:'' "Chrome" Headmaster unit, 2 laser guns

:Chromedome also had a presence in Kabaya's line of larger model kits, ''[[Transformers Gum]]''. ''Gum'' Chromedome is virtually identical to the original toy in all but height and color, standing at about four inches tall and cast in cream, black and red plastic. He retains all the features of the larger figure, including his transforming Headmaster unit, opening cockpit, and functioning Tech Spec meter. As a ''Transformers Gum'' kit, he featured no paint applications, but came with stickers for detail, and a piece of terrible gum.

::*''[http://bowbowdaijin.blog96.fc2.com/blog-entry-23.html More information on Transformer Gum Chromedome at a Japanese fansite]''
{{-}}

===TV Magazine coloring contest===
[[Image:Chromedome_trophy.jpg|right|thumb|"Puttin' the Chrome in Chromedome!"]]
*'''Chromedome trophy''' (1988)

:100 chromed silver Chromedome trophies, made out of Chromedome toys, were available as prizes in a coloring contest held by [[TV Magazine]] in their February 1988 issue. Entrants had to color in lineart of [[Pointblank]], but rather than operate on a simple first- and second-place system, the prizes were meted out using different criteria: entries displaying the "most skill" won a gold-chromed Optimus Prime trophy, while those entries showing off the "most imaginative" color schemes would win a Chromedome trophy.

::*''[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/778/37/ More information on the Chromedome trophy at TFPulp]
{{-}}

===Super Collection Figure===
[[Image:Scf_chromedome.jpg|right|thumb]]
*'''Chromedome''' (2001)
**''Accessories:'' Display stand

: A three-inch tall [[plastic|PVC]] figurine of Chromedome was available in the third ''Headmasters''-centric wave of Takara's ''[[Heroes of Cybertron|Super Collection Figure]]'' line. Like all the figures in the wave, it was available in both standard full color figure and colorless clear plastic versions, one of each of which was available in a standard case of twelve [[blindpacking|blindpacked]] figures. Additionally, in two out of every ten cases, the colored version of Chromedome came packaged with the left arm of the wave's collectable Fortress Maximus "build-a-figure".

::*''[http://tfu.info/2001/Cybertron/Chromedome/chromedome.htm More information on Super Collection Figure Chromedome at TFU.info]''
::*''[http://tfu.info/2001/Cybertron/ClearChromedome/chromedome.htm More information on clear Super Collection Figure Chromedome at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:G1ChromedomeOriginalHead.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Cheer up, Emo-Head.]]
* In the television [[commercial]] for [[Marvel Comics]]' ''[[The Transformers: Headmasters|Headmasters]]'' limited series, the Autobot and Decepticon Headmasters are shown having different head designs than the ones their Nebulan partners would later turn into. These designs were seemingly never used in any other piece of ''Transformers'' media. The models for most of them, however, turned up in the excellent ''[[Transformers Generations]]'' guidebook.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Chrome''' (クローム ''Kurōmu''), '''Chromedome''' (クロームドーム ''Kurōmudōmu'')
*''French:'' '''Chromedôme''' (Canada)
*''Italian:'' '''Duobot'''
*''Hungarian:'' '''Krómpáncél''' ("Chromearmor")
*''Russian:'' '''Chrom''' (Хром, "Chrome")

==External links==
*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Chromedome Chromedome's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce Autobots]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:United Autobots]]