Perceptor (Armada)

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This article is about . For other uses of "Perceptor", see Perceptor (disambiguation)|The name or term "Perceptor" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Perceptor (disambiguation).}}
Perceptor is an Autobot-allied Mini-Con combiner from the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.
Rumblebee.

Perceptor can be best described as the virtues of teamwork personified. This is no surprise when taking into consideration his components’ personalities; the members of the Street Action Mini-Con Team are among the most positive, team-oriented ‘bots that one is likely to find anywhere in the universe. Perceptor naturally, then, endeavors to break boundaries and stimulate success wherever he travels – and he is often successful in these quests. Perceptor has helped to broker (temporary) peace between the Autobots and Decepticons, operates as a sort of figurehead of the Mini-Con race, and is so in-tune with his constituent parts that he can telepathically communicate with other beings across space, regardless of language barriers.

Perceptor only comes online if deemed necessary by the Street Action Mini-Con Team, which is largely only in the most extreme of circumstances. While physically impressive and undoubtedly powerful, Perceptor’s components chafe at the thought of unnecessary combat. Couple this with the Decepticons’ fierce desire to possess the Mini-Con gestalt, and it makes sense why High Wire and his team reserve their combined mode for only the most dire of situations.

{{#if:Perceptor's bio quote from the Transformers: Energon Official Guidebook.|
“ Teamwork is the key to victory! ”
{{#if:Perceptor's bio quote from the Transformers: Energon Official Guidebook.|

—Perceptor's bio quote from the Transformers: Energon Official Guidebook.{{#if:|, {{{3}}}}}

}}

}}

Fiction

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Cartoon continuity

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Armada cartoon

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Voice actor: SFX, Terry Klassen (English), Akira Tomisaka (Japanese){{#if: Kustaa Kantelinen (Finnish)|, Kustaa Kantelinen (Finnish)}}

The Street Action Team first combined into Perceptor on Earth upon hearing Rad's call for help in Big Canyon. Perceptor's blinding speed enabled him to overcome Megatron and Starscream long enough for the Autobots to regroup. Comrade The team combined to form Perceptor again to save the kids from a falling boulder in an underground palace. Perceptor and the kids were later saved and carried out of the sand pit by Hot Shot. Palace

Perceptor sensed a Mini-Con panel while he and his human friends were searching in an old subway. After punching out a ceiling tile hiding the panel, he was unable to reach it due to his body armor getting in the way. Underground In the underwater city, Perceptor was formed again to protect the kids, but was quickly overwhelmed by Leader-1 and Bonecrusher, allowing Megatron gain control of another Mini-Con. Ruin

Perceptor appeared in the battle footage Jetfire reviewed at base after joining the Autobots. Detection

When the kids awakened Sky Blast, the Mini-Con lashed out at them. The Street Action Mini-Con Team combined to fight back, but it soon became apparent that Sky Blast was merely frightened, and there was no need for Perceptor to fight.Desperate

Perceptor accompanied Optimus Prime to the Decepticon base, where he and Starscream tried to free Mini-Cons. He ran from Demolishor and was about to be blasted, but was saved by Hot Shot and Laserbeak. He then ran into Tidal Wave, but split up into his component 'bots before being crushed. Perceptor recombined to continue searching for Mini-Cons and came upon a number of them working on a spaceship. He attempted to convince his brethren to stop until Megatron showed up. Perceptor ran again but was chased and caught by the Decepticon leader. The Mini-Cons began to sing, causing a confused Megatron to set Perceptor down. Hot Shot then appeared and attacked Megatron while Perceptor motioned the Mini-Cons away from the battle. Rescue

When the Autobots said the kids couldn't come with them to Cybertron, Perceptor combined and emitted a noise that caused the other Mini-Cons to scramble and sit at controls of the spaceship. He then demanded the kids come with them. Depart

En route to Cybertron, Perceptor formed on top of the Axalon to signal the accompanying Mini-Cons. He helped assemble the Mini-Cons for Sparkplug, who combined their power with the Matrix in order to resurrect Optimus Prime. Miracle Puppet Once on Cybertron, the Street Action Team used a time loop somehow to give themselves enough time to form Perceptor and attack Thrust, preventing him from shooting Starscream with the Requiem Blaster. Drift After transporting to Cybertron's moon, Perceptor saved the kids from a series of tentacles but then had to be saved in turn by Hot Shot and Wheeljack. Portent

When the Autobots and Decepticons were formally aligning themselves for the fight against Unicron, Perceptor put his hands upon Optimus Prime's and Galvatron's as they were shaking. Alliance After Unicron's destruction, Perceptor accompanied the kids, Hot Shot and Jetfire back to Earth, where the component Mini-Cons bid farewell to their friends. Mortal Combat

Linkage

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Perceptor and Sparkplug appeared as holograms to tell Redline and his group that they were leaving Earth for Cybertron with the Autobots. Linkage Part 12

Energon cartoon

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"Working at the carwash."

Ten years later, Perceptor and his individual components were based at Ocean City, where their primary duties were washing cars and attending to Kicker Jones's transportation needs. At Kicker's command, Perceptor disengaged Hire Wire to serve as his personal dirt bike. Cybertron City He later allowed Kicker to remove Sureshock from his body as well, before the boy left on a mission to Desert City. Scorpinok

Perceptor attended Optimus Prime's big meeting for discussing their plans against Unicron, now that Earth's safety was secured behind the energon grid. Rodimus Friend or Foe?

Perceptor was part of the crew of the Miranda II, Go for Unicron! where he stood on the bridge during its voyage. Survival Instincts Perceptor was later elsewhere and arrived via warp gate with Arcee and the Omnicons to join up with Kicker and the Miranda II at the mouth of Alpha Q's rift in space. Ripped Up Space

Cybertron comic

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But you two are supposed to be good guys!

The Street Action Team quickly grew tired of the fame that they had cultivated throughout their battles among their Mini-Con peers. They often appeared as Perceptor during their public appearances to avoid further discomfort when made to speak to their admirers. Seeking respite from all of this attention, the team answered Anti-Blaze's call to fight back against Mini-Con insurgents attacking his colony. Street Action Team's profile

Perceptor worked alongside the Mini-Con Council of Sages in the debris field where they made their home after the Powerlinx Battles. Rebels, spurred on by Megatron and Unicron, threatened the peace in the Mini-Con settlements, and so Perceptor's allies reached out to the Autobots for assistance. Revelations Part 4 Perceptor fought his way through the Mini-Con rebels, and soon battled Unicron's enforcer Soundwave as well. Revelations Part 5 After Primus's transformation brought an end to hostilities, Perceptor joined Sentinel Maximus and his comrades in pursuing Unicron through space. Revelations Part 6


Panini Armada comics

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"...because we have no leg articulation..."

When Starscream tried to capture the Street Action Team, they surprised their human friends by merging into Perceptor and fighting back. Unfortunately, the larger Transformer was armed with the Star Sabre, and would've beaten Perceptor into a pulp if his weapon hadn't suddenly gone out of control. The Two-Edged Blade!

Reader's Digest Armada novels

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Perceptor's components were the first Mini-Cons awakened on Earth. Their awakening triggered a mechanism within the remains of the Mini-Cons' ship, which teleported both Autobot and Decepticon combatants to Earth. In order to prevent Megatron from harming the children they had recently befriended, and Optimus Prime who was making every effort to keep the Mini-Cons out of Decepticon hands, the Street Action Mini-Con Team combined into Perceptor, and erected an impenetrable force field. Megatron was forced to retreat, and Perceptor transformed back into his component pieces to return with the children to their home town. The Battle Begins

Energon comic

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Unicron will, ah, will destroy, uh, space.

When the Terrorcons began assaulting Earth cities, the Street Action Team volunteered to fight them off, and combined into Perceptor to stand a better chance against the larger enemies. Multiplicity, Pt. 2 The combiner was assigned to Jetfire's team, which was defending Los Angeles from hordes of Insecticons. Multiplicity, Pt. 3 The outnumbered Autobots soon began running low on energy, and Perceptor was forced to improvise a more effective way to fight. By messing with the Insecticons' primitive neural net, he confused many of the Terrorcons into fighting among themselves, but this only got him so far. By the time Rad White showed up to power the Autobots up with energon gas, Perceptor had split into his component Mini-Cons. Multiplicity, Pt. 4

Energon ceased publication before the story could conclude. The following would have taken place in unpublished issues.

Later, Perceptor and Jetfire stood guard over Earth as they calculated the time until Unicron reached Cybertron. Jetfire hoped to receive some signal from Optimus Prime, trapped in the belly of the beast, but Perceptor warned him that the changes of Prime's survival under those conditions were slim. Armageddon Part 1 Perceptor needn't have worried—Optimus persevered inside of Unicron and got out a message warning the Autobots of energon raids on other planets. Perceptor quickly alerted Jetfire when Prime's message came in, giving the Autobots time to mobilize. Armageddon Part 4

Mini Mayhem!

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In a celebration of the Transformers brand, Perceptor showed up as one of the Mini-Con representatives for the "Unicron Trilogy" era of the franchise. Mini Mayhem!

Universe comic

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Hailing from Aurex 604.24 Gamma, the Street Action Team which constituted Perceptor was enslaved by the Sunstorm of Aurex 105.15 Gamma during the Universe War. After that Sunstorm was killed by a resurrected Galvatron, Perceptor fled. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/06

When Unicron attempted to recruit more Transformers for his evil ends, several were deflected to an icy planetoid by a device created by the Child of Primus scientist, Rhinox. The Chaos-Bringer's agents dispatched Perceptor with his fellow Minions of Unicron Reptilion, Sunstorm, and Ruination to retrieve the lost recruits before the Children of Primus could. The Children joined forces with the Autobots Unicron had attempted to capture, however, driving off Perceptor and the Minions. Voice Actor Drama

Toys

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Armada

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The only thing that I perceive is that my name doesn't really fit me at all!
  • Street Action Mini-Con Team (Mini-Con 3-pack, 2002)
Released in the first wave of Armada toys, the three members of the Street Action Mini-Con Team combine into the miniature super robot Perceptor. Sureshock forms the legs, Grindor forms the torso and arms, and High Wire forms the head and backpack.
Top: Original release, Bottom: Running Change.
He has little 3mm fist holes in each hand, enabling him to hold compatible accessories (like the engine/gun that came with Hot Shot and Jolt)
There was a running change made to both Grindor and Sureshock due to the flat plate making up one side of the combining port being prone to breakage. An additional rail was added and the associated part on Sureshock was flipped.


This is what happens when the kid-friendly characters go to a bank and get Joint energon.
  • CD Limited Edition Street Action Micron (CD pack-in, 2003)
These redecos of the Street Action Microns have been tweaked to make the three more cartoon-accurate; as far as the combined Bumble mode's changes go, this is mainly through the team's base plastics being much lighter than the originals.
This set was only available with the CD single of the first Legends of the Microns theme song, "Transformer: Dream Again" by Psychic Lover.
The team's official name has bounced a bit: the name listed above is what it's called on the packaging. Magazine solicitations called it the "Super Anime Color Edition Street Action Micron", while the "Micron Museum" portion of Takara's website called it the "Street Action Micron Anime Color (CD version)".


  • Arcee (Change Micron, 2003)
  • Change Micron ID number: 3
  • Bank (Change Micron, 2003)
  • Change Micron ID number: 2
  • Wheelie (Change Micron, 2003)
  • Change Micron ID number: 1
  • Release date: April ??, 2003
Part of the first Kabaya candy toy Change Micron assortment, each of the Street Action Microns were sold in individual boxes, packed with a small bag of fizzy ramune candy.
Each of these toys lack various bits of paint from the originals, and have slight color shade differences. But these toys are also actually a completely new mold-set, with various tiny detail differences from the Hasbro/Takara releases. These ever-so-slight tolerance differences mean the combined "Bumble" mode is a bit harder to put together as the parts need to be forced together a bit more.


SAki, EVen the MINI-Cons have abandoned meee.
  • Magna Convoy DX Set (Multi-pack, 2003)
Rather than being a normal retail release like the other Exdimensions redeco Microns, this version of the Street Action Microns was only available as part of the Japanese Toys"R"Us exclusive "Magna Convoy DX" set, which also included "Convoy Final Battle Coloration" (Powerlinx Optimus Prime) and "Ultra Magnus Special Clear Version" (a clear-red Overload).
This toy also doubles as the separate character Bumble.


Energon

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"That's what your Mom said!"
  • Perceptor (Energon Class, 2004)
  • Takara name: Cliffjumper
  • Takara ID number: SC-09
  • Takara release date: February 26, 2004
  • Known designers: Takio Ejima (Takara){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}
Released in the second wave of Energon "Energon Class" toys, Perceptor is an all-new mold, the combined form of Energon Sureshock (forming the torso and arms), Grindor (forming the legs) and High Wire (forming the head again). He also has the same articulation, apart from the oddly backwards swiveling elbows. His head also swivels on a hinge not attached to the main torso. He features two Powerlinx ports on his arms.
The Takara Cliffjumper release uses a much darker, more red shade of paint, most noticeable on Grindor. The orange paint apps on Sureshock are also removed. There are additional red paint apps added to High-wire (eyes, shock absorbers). Perceptor's final toy notably differs in design when compared to the cartoon, due to his cartoon model being based on an early Takara sketch that featured a completely different design for Sureshock. In this preliminary design, Perceptor's arms would've had all four of Sureshock's wheels located on them.
This mold-set was also used to make Frenzy/Heavy Metal and Windcharger.


Universe (2003)

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  • Sunstorm with Inferno and Street Action Mini-Con Team (Multi-pack, 2004)
An evil redeco of the original Armada Street Action Mini-Con Team was included in a Walmart-exclusive Universe multi-pack. The team's orange plastic was changed to black, while the dark blue changed to dark green. The black plastic, pale-blue plastic, and paint operations stayed the same, however. The team was packed in with Sunstorm and Inferno.
Oddly, all photos on the card show the set in their respective molds' original Armada color schemes, seemingly due to an incredibly rushed production.


  • Perceptor (Basic Class, 2005)
Energon Perceptor got repackaged in Universe, with no changes to the contents within.
This set was largely sold at "discount" chains like Big Lots! and drug stores, part of the first wave/year of "Basic Class" repacks sold though these outlets.


Cybertron

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  • Blastcharge vs High Wire (Mini-Con 2-pack, 2006)
  • Backblast vs Sureshock (Mini-Con 2-pack, 2006)
  • Scrap Iron vs Grindor (Mini-Con 2-pack, 2006)
Perceptor's Cybertron version is a redeco of his Energon form. This time the team is done up in a bright, eye-catching "stunt show"-style deco.
He was not made available as a complete set; he could only be assembled by buying all three of the Street Action Mini-Con Team vs Deep Space Mini-Con Team two-packs. Since this assortment was the fourth and final wave of two-packs, they were somewhat harder to find than the other sets. Neither the Deep Space Mini-Con Team nor the Street Action Mini-Con Team were depicted in their combined form on the back of the packaging, only in the manual.


Merchandise

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Super Collection Figure

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  • Act: 10
  • Accessories: Stand
A 2-inch PVC figurine of Perceptor was made as part of the tenth "Act" of Takara's Super Collection Figure series. He was available in both full-color and pewter-finish versions, packed one each in every case of twelve blindpacked boxes.
The Act 10 PVCs use a considerably softer plastic than the preceding nine Acts, which can make getting limbs pegged in difficult as the pegs may just squish. This problem can be even worse with the pewter versions, as the pegs may have a layer of paint on them applied before being pushed into the sockets, making them potentially easier to tear out should the pegs get stuck. Shaving the sockets down with a hobby knife can alleviate these problems somewhat.

Notes

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  • According to Aaron Archer at OTFCC 2004, he chose to name the Armada Mini-Con combiner robot "Perceptor" to honor the Takara employee who engineered the Street Action Team because that employee was also responsible for engineering the original Generation 1 Perceptor toy. It's likely this was Hideaki Yoke given his favorite Transformer is G1 Perceptor, but Archer did not specify at the time. Noted mecha designer Shinji Aramaki also worked on the original Perceptor, at the very least coming up with the initial concept, but given that he was long gone from Takara and directing the animated movie Appleseed in 2004, Archer probably didn't mean him.

Foreign names

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  • Japanese: Bumble (バンブル Banburu),<ref>This is a reuse of Bumblebee's Japanese name.</ref> Cliffjumper (Super Link, クリフジャンパー Kurifujanpā)
  • Korean: Pigeon (피전 Pijeon)
  • French: Perpetrator
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  • Armada cartoon robot mode
    Armada cartoon robot mode

References

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