User:Locoman/Sandbox/Protoform

TeH Nekkid AiRrazzer!1! L@@K

The protoform (aka proto-form or hatchling) is the base stage of Cybertronian life, a mass of raw living metal that surrounds a life-giving spark. To become a full-fledged Cybertronian, the protoform must adopt an alternate mode as part of their life cycle: in some universes, a new protoform might develop a "natural" alternate form based on the genetic instructions encoded within their sparks, but in most realities a protoform must first scan a suitable object, vehicle, or animal; upon selecting a suitable template, the protoform's elemental metals spontaneously reconfigure into a new configuration capable of transforming from a robot to alternate mode.

With the right technology, a Cybertronian can voluntarily shed their current alternate form and return to a protoform state. Additionally, Transformers can place their sparks in a newly created protoform in order to assume a new form, or to recreate their old one. This is one way of rapidly repairing even the most extreme damage, by virtue of totally replacing the body. In many, but not all, universes, a protoform represents the first stage of the Cybertronian life cycle, and in these realities Cybertronian reproduction revolves around the creation and activation of new protoforms. The societal and cultural importance of protoforms is such that, in some realities, Cybertronians have even used the term as a synonym for one's robot mode.

Conceptual history

The concept of protoforms has enjoyed a complicated history over the years, as different Transformers stories have drawn upon two very different implementations of the same core idea.

Protoforms first appeared in the first episode of the Beast Wars cartoon, when Optimus Primal made the decision to eject the Axalon's cargo of stasis pods into orbit. As the show was set on a distant, prehistoric planet far away from Cybertron, protoforms were the primary mechanism to introduce new characters, and, by extension, new toys; a stasis pod could simply fall from the heavens, scan a suitable alternate mode, and join the cast within the space of a single episode. Beast Wars treated protoforms as a prenatal stage akin to an embryo or fetus: helpless, extremely fragile, and apparently non-sentient beings that, while not "alive" in the same way as other Transformers, nevertheless carried both a living spark and the potential to grow into a full-fledged Cybertronian lifeform.

Neither the original Marvel comic nor the Sunbow cartoon had ever shown any kind of equivalent to the protoform process, and the Beast Wars show itself never elaborated on where the technology came from. As a result, various stories and some quasi-official texts have attempted to bridge the gap between the end of the Great War and the subsequent post-war transition to Maximals and Predacons by explaining the origins of protoform technology and its role in the Great Upgrade. Some stories have tied the technology back to pre-existing Transformers concepts such as the Swarm, but the most notable of these pseudocanonical stories is Beast Wars story editor Larry DiTillio's explanation, as published in the Japanese Beast Wars Universe guidebook: in his mind, protoform technology was created by the alien Vok and deliberately introduced to Cybertron so that the descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons could take more active role in galactic affairs, <ref>"In order to make Transformers the ideal mechanical life forms,the Vok created protoforms. The G1 Transformers investigated the protoforms and understood that they were a new form of Transformers and that they awaited birth via the fusion of a robot form and a beast form. However, the mechanical planet Cybertron did not have animal life forms, and so the only way to activate the protoforms was to bring animals to Cybertron or to drop the protoforms themselves on another planet. [...] the Maximals and Predacons were smaller and [more] compact, and thus able to have equal footing with other races. Furthermore, with the transformation into biological life forms (which was previously impossible), they were better able to interact with other races. Thusly, Cybertron was able to fulfill the destiny of being protectors and friends of the galaxy (this being the ideal form of a mechanical life form, according to the Vok)—Beast Wars Universe.</ref> although this explanation has not been canonized in any official sources and remains firmly within the realm of authorial intent. Other comments by both Larry DiTillio and Bob Forward alluded to mysterious “Matrix” and “Pit” facilities responsible for constructing Maximal and Predacon protoforms; in 2007, these were canonized through Ben Yee, who wrote them into the short story "The Razor's Edge" and IDW Publishing's Beast Wars Sourcebook.

Only a few years afterwards, the Beast Wars II television show introduced a new spin on the concept: under certain circumstances, a Cybertronian could shed their current alternate mode and revert back to a protoform-like state, a gelatinous mass of liquid metal that tie-in Beast Wars II media identified as a "combatant", and it was this take on the idea that ultimately formed the basis for the next significant spin on the concept. During the development of the 2007 Transformers film, designers and concept artists resurrected the term "protoform" to describe a very different concept. Rather than a mindless baby Transformer, these protoforms were something akin to a Cybertronian's base form, a skeletal robot capable of adopting a cometary "transition form" for short-distance interplanetary travel. Ancillary media explained that Cybertronians could adopt or discard alternate modes at will, or voluntarily return to a protoform state.

It was also around this time that different sources began using the term "protoform", or "proto-form" as a synonym for a Cybertronian's robot mode, alongside "alt-form"--although this technically began with 2007's Ghosts of Yesterday prequel novel, the terminology came into vogue in 2010's Exodus novel and its sequels. Notably, Exodus also attempts to use the words as a synonym for transformation itself, by describing characters "proto-forming" or "alt-forming". This odd choice of terminology may have represented an early, if heavy-handed, attempt to write around Hasbro's decision to avoid words like "robot" and "transform" in an attempt to prevent the Transformers brand from becoming a [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}genericized trademark|{{#if:||genericized trademark}}]], although the term never caught on and has largely fallen out of use.

In the years since, different works of Transformers fiction have ping-ponged between different interpretations of protoforms. Some stories, such as Transformers Animated, hew closer to how Beast Wars depicted the technology; others, such as IDW's first Transformers comic universe have chosen to depict protoforms with at least some modicum of sapience. As the closest canonical equivalent to a Transformer child, many stories have alluded to their existence as a quick bit of storytelling shorthand--these kinds of throwaway gags have given rise to things like protoform orphanages, protoform hospitals, and the occasional pop culture spoof ("[[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Do you know where your children are?|{{#if:Do you know where your protoforms are?|Do you know where your protoforms are?|Do you know where your children are?}}]]" <ref>Around Cybertron #9</ref>) All this said, however, not all contemporary stories have established protoforms as a canonical phase of the Cybertronian life cycle. Some works, such as IDW's rebooted Transformers universe, have established a different interpretation on Cybertronian childhood, and many others have simply never tackled the question. More recently, EarthSpark is the first cartoon since Beast Wars in which protoforms have played a significant role, and hybridize traits from both major interpretations of the technology: while they are newborn children, they are also fully-functional Cybertronians, who scan an alternate mode as part of their maturation process.

Fiction

Generation 1 continuity family

Beast Wars cartoon continuity

Beast Wars cartoon

Six canisters washed ashore on a golden beach, and new and powerful legends were—wait, wrong franchise!

All Maximals and Predacons began life as protoforms, a mass of semi-solid nanites around a spark. <ref name=BWU>Page 99, Beast Wars: Transformers Glossary, Beast Wars Universe ISBN 978-4766938005</ref> As newborn Cybertronians without alternate modes, they were extremely vulnerable--without a protective beast mode, ambient environmental hazards such as energon radiation could fatally extinguish their spark; The Spark additionally, any kind of physical trauma sustained during the protoform stage could cause the protoform to emerge with scrambled datatrax, Fallen Comrades or even life-threatening physical deformities. Transmutate

On long-range science missions, such as the one undertaken by the crew of the Maximal starship Axalon, protoforms were housed within individual stasis pods. These capsules held the protoform in a protective form of stasis lock that shielded them from the elements, and could accomplish a controlled orbital descent; additionally, they housed a built-in DNA scanner that would allow the protoform to adopt a suitable beast mode. However, Maximal stasis pods were also vulnerable to sabotage--installing a shell program before the stasis pod selected its alternate mode Spider's Game

At some point after the end of the Great War, Maximal scientists studied Starscream's immortal spark and attempted to replicate the anomaly for their own purposes. The end result was the murderous Protoform X, a highly unusual protoform who was ultimately captured, sentenced to exile, and loaded aboard the Axalon. Bad Spark However, when the Axalon was shot down over prehistoric Earth, Optimus Primal ordered his crew to eject the protoforms into space, where they would remain for some time. Beast Wars (Part 1) A while later, when the first stasis pod crashed to the ground, Dinobot was able to use a laser link to activate the pod's DNA scanner, allowing it to scan for compatible life-forms and reformat the protoform inside into Tigatron. Fallen Comrades

While Blackarachnia was in her protoform state, Tarantulas was able to install a Predacon shell program that turned her into a Predacon. Double Jeopardy On a later occasion, Rhinox worked frantically to save another protoform and the spark it contained, ultimately succeeding and bringing forth Airazor. The Spark Another attempt on Tarantulas's part to create a third spider Predacon failed when it turned out that the stasis pod had already scanned a life form, and metamorphosed the protoform into Inferno. Spider's Game

The destruction of the Vok Planet Buster knocked the remaining stasis pods out of orbit and caused them to violently crash-land on Earth. Many of the protoforms who emerged showed signs of exposure to the mutagenic transwarp energy released by the destruction of the alien artifact; this, combined with damage sustained to their pods as a result of their violent crash-landing, caused many of them to emerge with partially or fully Transmetallized bodies. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1) Two such stasis pods with malfunctioning DNA scanners reformatted their protoforms into Fuzors; a third contained a blank protoform with no spark. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1) Rhinox was able to bring back Optimus Primal from the dead using the blank protoform, which resurrected him in a new Transmetal body. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2) Some time later, Protoform X also turned up in a nearby swamp, and Megatron was able to turn him into a Predacon named "Rampage". Bad Spark Another stasis pod crashed in a tectonically-active area, and damage sustained to the pod resulted in its systems twisting the protoform within into the disfigured and ultimately short-lived Transmutate. Transmutate

As part of a grand experiment, Megatron combined a blank protoform with a fragment of Rampage's immortal spark and the mysterious Transmetal driver to create a monstrous Transmetal 2 clone of Dinobot. Feral Scream Part 1

Beast Machines cartoon

As part of the Quantum Cycle Upgrade, DNA scanners were directly integrated into Cybertronians and the stasis pods required to activate new protoforms became obsolete. Survivor

2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity

"I'm melting! Oh, what a world, what a world!"

Protoform technology has its roots in the transmatter experiments conducted by Cicadacon and the other members of the Tripredacus Council in the twilight of the Great War between the Autobots, Decepticons, and their successors. This volatile mixture combined Cybertronian matter with Swarm energy and Unicron's ability to instantly reformat Cybertronians into new bodies; when applied to their test subjects, the Tripredacus Council discovered that it dissolved them into a "quantum state" and reshaped them into a "purer" form fashioned after the first generation of Cybertronian life. From their secret base inside Unicron's head, the Tripredacus Council detonated a transmatter bomb that would rain the substance across the planet and wipe the slate clean by instantly transmuting everyone on the planet into a primordial shape. However, the passing Axalon wound up deflecting the brunt of the blast, and the bomb only wound up affecting a small handful of Cybertronians. To cover for their embarrassing failure, the Tripredacus Council explained the incident away as a dead man's switch released by the recently deceased Galvatron, and the victorious Maximal government wound up taking custody of the afflicted Cybertronians. A negotiated amnesty let the true masterminds behind the attack walk free, and the Tripredacus Council began experimenting with transmatter-based weaponry, confident that they'd taken the first step towards the prophesied day when "all would become one". Dawn of the Predacus

In the years that followed the end of the Great War and the ratification of the Pax Cybertronia, resource shortages prompted both sides to adopt protoform technology, a cheap and convenient method of creating new Cybertronians in a post-war world. Beast Wars Sourcebook Sophisticated nanotechnology allowed protoforms to directly integrate organic material into their physical construction through a process known as "nano-regeneration". The Gathering #1 Both "sparked" and "blank" protoforms were mass-produced in "Matrix" and "Pit" facilities, which respectively manufactured Maximals and Predacons; some surviving Autobots and Decepticons, most prominently Ravage, Prowl, Silverbolt, and Ironhide, downsized into protoform-based bodies to better guide the developing post-war civilization. Beast Wars Sourcebook

Tasked by the Tripredacus Council with apprehending Megatron in where Ravage had failed, Magmatron made a secret plan to gather an army by reprogramming the remaining protoforms from the Axalon into Predacons via a shell code in an activation signal sent to each pod by a transmitter array. After the protoforms had each scanned a compatible lifeform template, their protomatter began to coalesce, their sparks integrated, and their reanimator plugs fired. However, this plan was only partially successful as undercover Maximal Razorbeast sabotaged the shell signal to allow some of the protoforms to retain their Maximal allegiance. The Gathering #1 Later, Magmatron's team recovered Ravage's intact spark and implanted it into a blank protoform, which had already been affected by the Transmetal driver. The Gathering #2

After the Beast Wars ended, the Vok revived Airazor by giving her spark a new, Transmetal body by utilizing a blank protoform. Beast Wars Sourcebook #1

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Beast Wars II cartoon

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Sadly not a jar of delicious raspberry jam.

All Cybertronians begin life as a protoform, a skeletal mass of partially formed circuits constructed from raw materials. Initially, these protoforms are contained inside stasis pods filled with a nutrient gel that protects and nurtures the developing protoform until it is imbued with a spark and brought to life. Protoforms can be manufactured according to a pre-planned design schematic, or simply allowed to grow into a natural shape after they are imbued with a spark.

Traditionally, new protoforms received sparks directly from the Matrix of Leadership. However, it is also possible to bring a protoform to life by attuning it to a specific energy wavelength and applying a large burst of concentrated energon to activate the new Transformer; during the Great War, this was the only method the Decepticons had to bring new warriors online, and the Autobots also resorted to the process after Optimus Prime and the crew of the Ark disappeared. For the most part, however, Cybertronians regarded this alternative method as wasteful and overly resource-consumptive. More than Meets the Eye #8

Cloning technology involved splitting a single spark in half, then implanting the two resultant sparks into cloning tubes that rebuilt the protoforms inside into a form determined by pre-programmed variables. More than Meets the Eye #8 As Cybertron recovered from the Great Shutdown, Shockwave experimented heavily with cloning technology, and his experiments led to the creation of individuals such as Sunstorm. Night of the Combaticons

Convicted criminals such as the Combaticons were reduced to a protoform state for storage in detention facilities like the Detention Banks in Quadrant Epsilon. Revelation

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

A traditional Cybertronian song features the lines "Protoform/ Protoform/ What will you be?" Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2

2005 IDW continuity

The ignition of new spark in a hot spot transmutes a small portion of the surrounding planetary strata into a warm mass of liquid "sentio metallico", which is harvested in a specific quantity determined by an equation. The Fecund Moon This newborn protoform begins as a simple three-dimensional shape, but within a matter of hours it begins growing into a robot by following the deep-coded genetic instructions encoded in their spark; it only takes a few hours for a protoform to to develop a head, limbs, facial features, and components relating to their natural alternate modes. Silent Light On average, it takes roughly two to five days for a protoform to complete their development and "cool" into a solid form capable of independent movement, This Machine Kills Fascists although some Cybertronians are known to have undergone a comparatively rapid development process to the point where they emerge from their hot spots as fully-formed Transformers. Post

Protoforms are generally formed in groups, or "batches", and an entity known as a "batch proto-initiator" may be responsible for either beginning the maturation process or nurturing the developing protoforms.Infiltration #3 A specialized medical professional known as a "blacksmith" might be called in to deal with specific abnormalities in the birthing process: on occasion, an unusually large spark might become stuck in its hot spot, Post, or a protoform might fail to read its natural instructions, whereupon the blacksmith would help the newborn along by sculpting its liquid metal into its natural, "god-given" shape. A World Misplaced If a protoform dies before its body can assume a shape, its remains occasionally crystallize into a unique snowflake-shaped mass of "widowed metal". A World Misplaced Widowed metal can accept a fresh spark, whereupon a blacksmith can reshape it into a fresh protoform--in this way did Anode resurrect the deceased Lug by implanting her residual spark into one such deposit of widowed metal. This Machine Kills Fascists

After a protoform cools, the young Cybertronian imprints upon its surroundings, and in doing so, develops the necessary synaptic connections to walk, talk, interact with others, and transform. Shining Armor #1 Cybertronians formed in this way are said to have been "forged". The Fecund Moon In ancient times, all Cybertronians were forged, and the Titans who left Cybertron to settle other planets carried hot spots within them to assist in the colonization of distant worlds. A 'Bot and Her City However, after the First Cybertronian Civil War, Cybertron's hot spots began going dark, and Nova Prime staved off a population crisis by introducing "constructed cold" Transformers, a generation of mass-produced Cybertronians created using the Matrix of Leadership and photonic crystals. The Fecund Moon However, at least some protoforms were brought online during the subsequent Great War between the Autobots and Decepticons, and were sometimes referred to as "warborn". Interiors

In the mid-19th century, the colony of Caminus loaded a collection of protoforms onto a ship for reasons unknown. Ignorant of the hatred that their Cybertronian ancestors had incurred, the ship unknowingly entered the Gray Area where a Galactic Council warship shot it down. The Space Knight Rom investigated the wreckage and successfully rescued the last surviving protoform from the ship, which grew into the Space Knight Stardrive. Shining Armor #1

In his role as the "Grand Architect", Adaptus and his subordinates experimented on Cybertronian biology, and a crashed P-6 Worldsweeper on Clemency held a number of congealed protoforms. Rules of Disengagement Several years later, a mass of Scraplets attempted to sneak onto the Lost Light by disguising themselves as a newborn protoform, although Nautica was able to deal with the infestation before anyone was injured. Silent Light

Even after the end of the Great War and the restoration of Cybertron, it would take several years before planetary hot spots began re-igniting. The Dinobots, Sandstorm, and Trypticon successfully rescued a cargo of newborn sparks from Bludgeon, who had harvested them from the Alyon hot spot; to protect these new lives, Trypticon submerged himself in Cybertron's crust and allowed the sparks to draw upon his own metal for sustenance. From this newly-created sea of sentio metallico came the first post-war generation of Cybertronian protoforms. Salvation Over the coming weeks, the new Cybertronians began developing into their adult proportions; The Dead Come Home, Part 1 to protect these new lives from Starscream's political machinations, Trypticon became Earth's Cybertronian embassy on the Council of Worlds, which placed them under the de facto protection of Optimus Prime. The Dead Come Home, Part 2

During "Onyx Prime's" invasion of Cybertron and his subsequent unmasking as a time-traveling Shockwave, Trypticon generated a spacebridge to Earth to protect his protoforms, exactly as Shockwave had predicted. The Hallowing Not long after arriving on Earth, Trypticon joined the battle against Unicron, after first unloading his complement of protoforms and as-yet undeveloped sparks to protect them. Ceremony While Trypticon perished in the battle, the protoforms he had nursed survived in Little Cybertron, where they grew up alongside human children and Elonian refugees. Post

Classics

Scylla, Autolauncher, and Autojetter were stored as protoforms in stasis pods aboard the Graviton but were ejected when the ship crashed on Earth of an alternate universe. The Autobots tried to retrieve the stasis pods, but Megatron beat the Autobots and converted the trio into Decepticons. Shattered Expectations

Beast Wars: Uprising

At some point during the Great War, the Vector Sigma supercomputer responsible for creating new Cybertronians was destroyed. When the war ended, Cerebros turned to the triumphant Human Confederacy in the hopes that their advanced civilization could grant his dying race some kind of future; in return, he obtained an energon matrix, which the Builder Assembly used to manufacture millions of protoforms. Head Games Their creations, the Maximals and Predacons, became known as "proto-formers" or the "proto-races" as a way of distinguishing them from the archaic "Builders", who did not use protoforms to reproduce. Broken Windshields By the time of the Grand Uprising, the Builders kept the remaining protoforms under heavy guard inside the Grand Mal. Four years into the war, there were but one hundred and seventeen protoforms left, two-thirds of which were blanks.

During Megatron's attempts to graft mechanimal physiology onto Cybertronian anatomy, his collaborator Leatherhide reasoned that testing the process on a new protoform would be easier than attempting to reconfigure a fully-developed Cybertronian. Megatron hired the eccentric Bisk to break into the Grand Mal and grab one; Leatherhide's prediction proved correct, and the creation of Formikon allowed the pair to refine the process and learn how to safely convert other Cybertronians into mechanimal-based beast modes. Not All Megatrons

Wings Universe

During a news broadcast, Bishop asked his viewers if [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Do you know where your children are?|{{#if:they knew where their protoforms were|they knew where their protoforms were|Do you know where your children are?}}]]. Around Cybertron #9

Protoform technology remained in use many centuries after the Great Transformation and the reformatting of Cybertron into a technorganic utopia; when Apelinq was a protoform, he was told stories about Alpha Trizer’s previous adventures. Land Powered's King Atlas for Protoforms was a prominent 30th-century reference text. Apelinq's personal logs

Of Masters and Mayhem

Long ago, an unknown alien race abducted a protoform from Cybertron and brought it to a hidden laboratory on the planet Chicxulania, where they attempted to hybridize the unborn Cybertronian with several alien technologies. This aggressive experimentation yielded Gnash, a malformed but extremely powerful Cybertronian who metabolized the planet's supplies of greenergon in lieu of regular energon. Life Finds a Way

2021 IDW Beast Wars comic

All Maximals and Predacons began as protoforms. Upon activating, new Cybertronians would typically imprint on the closest available Cybertronian and form a mentor-like parental bond. Thicker Skin

The starship Axalon was carrying a cargo of protoforms bound for H'nkshanaar-4 when it was pulled off course to pursue Megatron and a crew of Predacon separatists aboard the stolen Darksyde. When the two vessels entered unspace and emerged over a mysterous world, Optimus Primal made the decision to eject the ship's cargo into orbit until they could retrieve them. Savage Landing Part 1 Not long afterwards, Tarantulas successfully broke into the downed Axalon and used its facilities to upload a Predacon shell program, which triggered a delayed landing sequence and successfully converted roughly half of them into Predacons. Savage Landing Part 6

Over the next few days, stasis pods began landing across the planet. The Maximals and Predacons began searching for crashed stasis pods; new recruits included Blackarachnia, Pod Part 1 Razorbeast, Thicker Skin, and Powerhug. Skold's No Good, Very Bad Day Eventually, however, the increasingly-destructive Beast Wars drew the ire of the Vok, who began searching for a way to permanently end the conflict. To this end, the Vok Pakak probed Cheetor's mind and extracted the necessary information on how to reprogram a protoform. The Speedway of Central Consciousness Using this knowledge, the Vok gathered as many protoforms as they could find and; with the assistance of the traitorous Trarantulas, they reprogrammed them into loyal "Children of the Vok" who desired to live harmoniously with the paradise planet their creators had designed. Children of the Vok Following the final battle against the Maximals and Predacons and the destruction of the Vok, the remaining Children left to live peacefully in nature. The End

Robots in Disguise continuity

2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Autobots (and possibly Predacons) can change into a protoform state during long journeys, presumably to conserve energy. Attributes of an Autobot's original form remain in whatever new form the being takes. For instance, Scourge retained the ability to detect O-Parts.

A downside to the protoform process is that it leaves the Autobots vulnerable to tampering. Megatron was able to use his spark's energy to turn Autobot protoforms into malevolent entities. The Decepticons

Ask Vector Prime

The Jhiaxus of Viron 903.0 Beta created Thrust by implanting Waspinator's dimensionally-displaced spark into a blank protoform. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/09

Unicron Trilogy

Timelines

Buzzaw sardonically asked the other members of Cannonball's crew if they were a bunch of protoforms. The Dark Heart of Sandokan

Movie continuity

Live-action film series

Protoforms begin as "hatchlings", tiny, animalistic robots who develop inside sacs of nourishing energon. Revenge of the Fallen When a hatchling reaches a certain developmental stage, it is removed from its energon womb and subsists upon ordinary metals until it reaches its adult dimensions. Dark of the Moon

The protoforms of these realities are more than just a transitory developmental phase for Cybertronians—they are the base stage of all Cybertronian life, a frame by which a Transformer augments itself with weapons and components relating to its alternate mode. In the rare case they are not actively practicing their natural proclivity for disguise, Transformers shed their exo-structure and return to their protoform state, which can assume into an armored, cometary transition form capable of interstellar travel. Upon landing on a new world and transforming back into a protoform, the Transformer can begin searching for a new alternate form to scan; when one is chosen, the protoform draws on its own ultra-dense substance and any extraneous matter nearby to generate a new exostructure disguise. Transformers: The Movie Guide

"I gotta find some clothes!"

Despite the loss of both Megatron and the AllSpark, The Fallen continued his plans to raise an army and ordered new Decepticon leader Starscream to oversee the spawning of this army. Without the AllSpark to provide fresh energon, the plan was failing, and the hatchlings began dying. Starscream's command came to an end when Soundwave resurrected Megatron; upon his return to the Nemesis, Megatron chastised his lieutenant for leaving him to die on Earth, but Starscream defended his actions by saying The Fallen had decreed the spawning of the new army, and in Megatron's absence, someone had to assume command. Starscream later presented the body of the hatchling to The Fallen to further emphasize the need to find more Energon, as the other hatchlings would die without it. Revenge of the Fallen

When many Decepticons arrived on Earth with The Fallen to claim the Sun, most did not bother assuming alternate modes, and remained in a protoform state. They assisted in attacking NEST forces in Egypt, where they were all killed in a firefight with the forces of NEST and the U.S. military. Revenge of the Fallen

Several years later, Megatron, Soundwave, and Starscream had relocated the bulk of the surviving hatchlings to their current base of operations in Namibia, where they fed them whatever minerals they could scrounge in their barren environment. Many more Decepticon protoforms were hidden on the Moon, and came to Earth via the space bridge activated by Sentinel Prime; while some of them adopted alternate modes shortly after arriving on Earth and besieging Chicago, several did not. Dark of the Moon

A group of Decepticon protoforms returned to Cybertron under the command of Quintessa and Megatron, and attempted to defend the former's control center, but were killed by the Autobots, backed up by the Transformers Reaction Force and the Knights of Iacon. The Last Knight

IDW movie comics

Before the war, after the AllSpark was rediscovered and used to revitalize Cybertron, some newborn hatchlings were being tended to by Flatline. Foundation #1 Later, a monster attacked the hatchlings and their protector Starscream, but they were rescued by Megatron and Shockwave. Foundation #2 Many years after the war broke out, when Optimus Prime broke into Megatron's citadel, he found Megatron surrounded by hatchlings. Megatron dared Optimus as to whether he would kill the defenseless young Transformers to get at him. Foundation #3 Optimus refused to succumb to this temptation and let the hungry hatchlings swarm over Megatron: when the Decepticon cast them off, he discovered his nemesis was gone. Foundation #4

Millennia later on Earth, Megatron relocated the hatchlings to Namibia, Africa. Rising Storm #2Rising Storm #4

Shattered Glass continuity family

Fun Publications Shattered Glass continuity

The Durax Hospital for Protoforms specialized in caring for injured protoforms before its untimely destruction. Around Cybertron #3 Blaster once stole thirty kilotons of energon from the Altihex Protoform Rehabilitation Complex, an orphanage for abandoned protoforms. Blitzwing Bop

IDW Shattered Glass comic

When the Autobots travelled to Earth for its Rarified Energon, they brought with them a supply of protoforms. Although Ratchet was initially unconvinced of the need for them, they proved their worth when he used a protoform to repair the critically damaged Bumblebee into Goldbug. Shattered Glass #4

Animated continuity family

Animated cartoon

"When I grow up, I wanna be a steam shovel!"

Protoforms are created from the "protomatter" mined from Cybertron's Sonic Canyons. The AllSpark Almanac II Traditionally, Autobot protoforms are stored in stasis pods that line the walls of the secret Matrix Chamber hidden in the dojo of their assigned protectors, the venerable Autobot Cyber-Ninja Corps. Five Servos of Doom There, they are exposed to the light of the Matrix Chamber until they are ready to receive a spark, either from the AllSpark or the Vector Sigma supercomputer. Prior to coming online, protoforms are placed into "moulds", pre-built robot shells, which their protomatter expands to fill. Endgame, Part I It is possible, however, to forego the use of a mould and place a spark in a protoform directly. Five Servos of Doom The same basic mould can be used for multiple protoforms, leading to similarities in body-type and transformation schemes; the 65356-9292-346 type is particularly popular and widely used. Autoboot Camp Where humans would describe themselves as being "born", Transformers are "protoformed". Additionally, "protoform" is sometimes used pejoratively in Cybertronian society as a mocking name for the young or inexperienced. Lost and Found

In the closing stages of the Great War, Cyber-Ninja sensei Yoketron revealed the Matrix Chamber and its legion of protoforms to his student Prowl, lamenting that while they should be Cybertron's next great generation, they would wind up being used as an army of last resort if Project Omega failed to bring the war to an end. Subsequently, while Prowl was absent on a quest to commune with the AllSpark, Lockdown, another former student of Yoketron's, attacked the dojo and stole nearly all of the protoforms for Megatron. Five Servos of Doom As luck would have it, Project Omega did succeed in ending the war, and when the Decepticons were exiled from the planet, they secretly took the stolen protoforms with them. However, without the AllSpark (which had been launched into space by the Autobots to keep it out of his clutches), Megatron had no means of bringing the protoforms to life, and so they remained in storage aboard the space cruiser Nemesis for millions of years. Endgame, Part I

My Meebas live inside this tube, we grow and change with help from you!

Some time in the 22nd century, a highly atypical foetus-like protoform somehow materialized on Earth in the laboratory of human scientist Isaac Sumdac. When Sumdac touched the protoform, it scanned his DNA and reconfigured itself into a techno-organic form resembling a human baby. Sumdac adopted the hybrid lifeform as his daughter, named her Sari, and raised her as his human daughter, never telling of her of her true origins. TransWarped

To forge a power base for himself, the treacherous Decepticon lieutenant Starscream set up a base in the crashed Nemesis, and used the protoforms in its hold create a clone army. A Fistful of Energon Starscream himself had previously died, but was being sustained through a sliver of the AllSpark wedged in his forehead, and so by breaking off tiny chips of it, he was able to give his clones--Skywarp, Slipstream, Sunstorm, Thundercracker, and Ramjet--the spark of life. A Bridge Too Close, Part I Later, Megatron followed Starscream's example by using three protoforms and three AllSpark fragments to create giant cross-breed clones of Lugnut and Omega Supreme, the Lugnut Supremes. While Megatron readied his new war machines, Starscream--who had by this point spent a protracted period of time as a decapitated head--used a protoform to create a new body for himself, but it didn't last long: to prevent Starscream from betraying him again, Megatron destroyed his new body, and all the remaining protoforms, save three. Endgame, Part I These three protoforms were then recovered by Optimus Prime's Autobots during their battle with the Lugnut Supremes. Sari believed that she was originally one of the protoforms who had been aboard the Nemesis, but her unusual shape and form while in protoform state, and the unanswered question of how she wound up in her father's lab, left the matter lacking in a definitive resolution. Endgame, Part II

Shattered Glass Animated

As with the main Animated universe, the evil genius Isaac Sumdac discovered a mysterious protoform in his lab. He touched it, and it absorbed his DNA to become his daughter Sari Sumdac. However, Sari was a violent being who proceeded to rip out Isaac's left eye before Isaac locked her in a cage and made her his personal slave for science experiments. BotCon 2011 attendee lithograph

Aligned continuity family

The Covenant of Primus

In the years that followed the Great Cataclysm, new protoforms arose from the Well of All Sparks, where they gradually scanned the world around them, developed a name, identity, and potential alternate mode for themselves, and finally emerged as a fully-formed robot. In this delicate prenatal phase, however, their minds could be corrupted and even stunted by outside forces, as was the case during the Age of Wrath, when the static, orderly society imposed by Quintesson occupiers caused young Cybertronians to emerge from the Well as dull, mindless robots without names, only numbers.

The end of Cybertron's Golden Age marked a second period of regression--the stultifying caste system imposed by the Cybertronian government meant that young protoforms would scan a dull, impoverished world and simply find nothing to aspire to. Senators like Soundwave found the trend concerning, and wondered if their own austerity measures had instigated a species-wide devolution into a race of mindless automatons. The Covenant of Primus

Aligned novels

Protoforms were created by the AllSpark in the Well of All Sparks. In the past, newborn protoforms engaged in a rite of passage where they would pass through the dangerous Underworld on their way to the Cybertronian surface, but by the era of the caste system, the custom had fallen out of favor. Instead, protoforms were harvested directly from the Well of All Sparks, where they would be taught to transform into their alternate mode and put straight to work. "Protoform" remained the standard name for one's robot mode. Transformers: Exodus

Prime cartoon

Five protoforms were stored in a laboratory aboard the Harbinger. When Starscream found them, he turned them into clones of himself. These clones, linked to Starscream's very spark and will, were sent on a mission to assassinate Megatron. Of the five, only one escaped, and was later killed by Starscream himself when it attempted to terminate him. Armada

TransTech

Despite their advanced technologies, the Transcendent Technomorphs of Axiom Nexus still began their lives as protoforms; Cheetor, for instance, had solving crimes since he was a protoform. Rook - Axiom Nexus News, 4/6/2015

When asked, Vector Prime pointed out that not all Cybertronians began their lives as protoforms; across the vast multiverse, Transformers could come into existence in a variety of ways. Ask Vector Prime, 9/3/2015

Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Bumblebee compared human children to protoforms. Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

References

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