Photon cannon
A photon cannon is a powerful ranged weapon often found mounted on a vehicle or battle platform, though smaller hand-held versions are not unknown.
Fiction
[edit]Marvel The Transformers comics
[edit]Counterpunch was armed with a photon cannon that could emit a high-density stream of circuit-scrambling energy. Punch/Counterpunch's Universe profile Rewind was incapable of remembering useful information, such as the recommended way of disarming a photon-cannon drone. Rewind's Universe profile
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
[edit]Both Bugly's robot and Pretender modes were armed with photon cannons. Bugly's More than Meets the Eye profile Chop Shop carried a photon cannon and disrupter spear in robot mode. Chop Shop's More than Meets the Eye profile Erector's crane could transform into a battle station armed with a photon cannon and anti-aircraft battery. Erector's More than Meets the Eye profile Sights transformed into a photon cannon that greatly amplified the power of Jackpot's own weapon. Jackpot's More than Meets the Eye profile The Attack Copter was armed with a rotary photon cannon which Over-Run could also carry separately. Over-Run's More than Meets the Eye profile Counterpunch's photon cannon was designed to destroy a target's circuity, tearing them apart internally. Punch/Counterpunch's More than Meets the Eye profile
TransTech
[edit]Trapped in an alternate dimension by a space bridge accident and being threatened by an angry mob for the apparent assassination of Gutcruncher, Jackpot wished he hadn't left Sights back on Cybertron, as a bird who could transform into a photon cannon could be really handy. Later, when cornered by their accusers, Hubcap boasted that he could prove Gutcruncher was killed by Black Shadow with a maser cannon, tricking the Pretender into revealing that he carried photon cannons. As Gutcruncher was indeed killed by a photon charge rather than a maser pulse, Dirge led the Malignus revolutionaries in taking their revenge on the assassin. Gone Too Far
War for Cybertron Trilogy marketing material
[edit]The Photon cannon was one of Airazor's weapons and powers. Kingdom webpage<ref>Kingdom webpage</ref>
Toys
[edit]The Transformers
[edit]
- Chop Shop (Deluxe Insecticon, 1985)
- Accessories: photon cannon, vibro-spear
- The Transformers Chop Shop came with a brown gun, identified in his instructions and packaging bio as a photon cannon.
- Punch-Counterpunch (Doublespy, 1987)
- Accessories: twin mortar launcher, photon cannon
- Counterpunch came with a black gun, identified in his instructions and bio as a photon cannon.
- Scorponok (Headmaster, 1987)
- Accessories: Lord Zarak Headmaster unit, helmet, Scorponok's anti-gravity gun, gun guard, Scorponok's shield, Fasttrack, Fasttrack's 2 guns, 2 ramps, 4 dual photon cannons, 4 antenna, 2 leg shields, 1 claw arm, 1 side gun arm and 1 elevator.
- As identified in his instructions, Scorponok came with four gray double-barrelled photon cannons, although his packaging bio contrarily seems to refer to these weapons as twin pulse blasters and goes on to mention a semi-autonomous armored interceptor with dual photon cannons, apparently referring to Fasttrack.
- Erector (Micromaster Transport, 1989/1990)
- Accessories: crane trailer
- According to his packaging bio, Erector's crane transforms into a battle station armed with a devastating photon cannon.
- Off-Road Cycle with Axer (Action Blaster Vehicle, 1990)
- Accessories: 2 missiles, side-car, cannon, seat rest
- Axer's Turbo Cycle transforms into an artillery piece armed with two photon cannons, as detailed in his packaging bio.
- Jackpot with Sights (Action Master, 1990)
- Accessories: Sights partner, heat induced photon rifle
- Jackpot's partner Sights transforms and combines with his photon rifle to form a hand-held photon cannon.
- Armored Convoy with Optimus Prime (Action Master, 1990)
- Accessories: trailer, 2 laser guns, 4 blaster cannons, 2 Energon exhaust stacks, photon bazooka
- According to his packaging bio, Optimus Prime's Armored Convoy is armed with a long-range photon cannon. However, the toy's instructions do not make any reference to a photon cannon, instead Prime's hand-held weapon is labelled as a photon bazooka and the Armored Convoy's main cannon emplacement is given the waaay cooler name of galactic pulverizer gun.
Beast Wars
[edit]
- Airazor (Basic Class, 1997)
- Accessories: photon cannon
- Airazor came with a yellow gun (identified as a photon cannon on her packaging bio) that fits underneath her tail in beast mode and can either be held or attached beneath either of her forearms in robot mode.
War for Cybertron: Siege
[edit]
- Firedrive (Battle Master, 2019)
- Accessories: Cannon, 2 Fire Blast effects
- Firedrive is a new mold which transforms from robot to "Duo-Charge Electrostatic Photon Cannon". As a part of the C.O.M.B.A.T. System, he includes two "Fire Blast" effect pieces that can be used to simulate his photon cannon mode firing.
- This toy was also used to represent Shaoshao Li and redecoed to make Fracas (who also transformed into a photon cannon) along with Nightstick, Pinpointer, and Singe (who did not).
Merchandise
[edit]Transformers Trading Card Game
[edit]
- Private Firedrive, Ground Command-Artillery/Duo-Charge Electrostatic Photon Cannon (2019)
- Wave 3: War for Cybertron: Siege I
- If Private Firedrive's Health drops to zero, this card is flipped to the Upgrade side, becoming the Duo-Charge Electrostatic Photon Cannon, and equipped in the Weapons slot of another character on the player's side of the battlefield.
Notes
[edit]- Chop Shop's unpublished Marvel Universe profile<ref>Chop Shop's unpublished Universe profile on Disciples of Boltax</ref> confirmed that he would have carried a photon cannon in that continuity.
- The Attack Copter's rotary photon cannon was only named as such in Over-Run's Dreamwave More than Meets the Eye profile. In the toy's instructions it was generically labelled as a laser cannon and in the accompanying packaging bio it was somewhat bizarrely called a rotary photon pulse button.