Fool's Energon

That new Surge tastes great!

Invented by Quickmix on Cybertron, Fool's Energon supposedly saps the strength of a Transformer, leaving them physically weaker than normal. In actuality, it's a placebo, being nothing more than standard energon with an altered color and a foul taste.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

As a condition of his continued freedom of movement following his trial on Luna 2, Megatron was forced to refuel using only Fool's Energon Predestination: A Beginner's Guide which he found less than palatable. Towards Peace

After Trailcutter got blind drunk in Swerve's he decided to break into the Lost Light's medibay to steal Megatron's personal stash of energon, not knowing that it was tainted. As a punishment, Megatron permanently reactivated his fuel intake moderation chip so that he would never be able to get drunk again and promoted him to head of security aboard the Lost Light. Words Hang in the Air

Following a sudden violent episode from Megatron, Velocity expressed concerns that the Fool's Energon was the cause, as chemo-sedatives were known to cause mood shifts, stress, and in extreme cases, total personality alteration. How Bright Their Frail Deeds

When a handful of the Lost Light crew, including Megatron, were marooned on the Necrobot's home planet and faced with certain death against an alliance of Decepticons lead by the Decepticon Justice Division, Ratchet was forced to admit to Megatron that there was in fact no such thing as Fool's Energon. Megatron's innards had been so severely mangled by Shockwave's machinations that a genuine sedative chemical would have proved fatal, thus Fool's Energon was concocted as a means of judging whether or not the former Decepticon would stick by his newly found ideals should he stop taking it. This revealed Megatron's weakened state was in fact psychosomatic, merely believing he had lost his previous strength. Rage, Rage

Notes

• Its name derives from [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Pyrite|{{#if:Fool's Gold|Fool's Gold|Pyrite}}]], a common type of iron sulfide that looks like gold but isn't.