Editing Mini-Con

{{factions|minicon|{{factions/icons|custom=PotP-MicronusPrime.png|cSize=30px|cLink=Micronus Prime}}|unicron}}
{{disambig3|Minicon}}
[[File:Minicon symbol.png|upright=1.4|thumb|Intentionally designed to look like the letter "M", the Mini-Con symbol is also reflected in the design of Unicron's helmet.]]

'''Mini-Cons''' (aka '''Minicons''') are a race of small [[Transformer]]s. Like the [[Micromaster]]s they resemble, Mini-Cons are roughly human-sized—quite small compared to most [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s—but while the Micromasters deliberately downsized into smaller bodies to conserve fuel, the naturally diminutive Mini-Cons overflow with energy. Most Mini-Cons possess the ability to impart a portion of this power on larger Cybertronians, granting them extra abilities or greatly increasing their strength through a process known as [[Powerlinx]]ing.

Various stories have connected these mystical abilities to the influence of various godly beings: across the ''Transformers'' [[multiverse]], different continuities have depicted them as the children of [[Unicron]], the [[Last Autobot]], or [[Micronus Prime]]. Regardless of their origins, however, their abilities make them useful allies and valuable partners—valuable to the point where different factions have come into conflict over these deceptively powerful beings.

{{bigquote|Our presence is a '''catalyst''' for war. It follows us around like a bad smell.|[[Leader-1 (Armada)|Leader-1]]|''[[Transformers: Armada (Dreamwave)|Transformers: Armada]]'' [[Dreamwave Armada issue 9|#9]]}}

==Conceptual history==
[[File:Metamorphcontact.JPG|thumb|left|250px]]

Mini-Cons debuted as the signature [[gimmick]] of the ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' franchise and in doing so resurrected the "micro [[play pattern]]" that began with the [[Micromaster]]s and [[Mini-Cassette]]s from the original ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|The Transformers]]'' toyline. Compared to these predecessors, however, the Mini-Cons sported increased articulation, a wide variety of [[alternate mode]]s, and relatively complex transformation schemes, with some even able to [[combiner|combine]] into an accessory or a larger super robot. Each Mini-Con figure included a [[Powerlinx]] port, a [[5 mm post|5mm]] round peg-slot that allowed them to connect to a larger toy and, in most cases, activate a spring-loaded play feature.

While every piece of tie-in ''Armada'' fiction featured Mini-Cons in some capacity, individual stories offered radically different portrayals of the Mini-Cons and their role in the conflict. The ''Armada'' cartoon initially portrayed them as artificial "smart tools" who communicated using [[R2-D2]]-style bleeps and bloops, occasionally manifested supernatural powers, and later revealed that [[Unicron]] had deliberately created them to deliberately agitate the raging Autobot-Decepticon war. [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]]'s ''[[Linkage (comic)|Linkage]]'' manga, a midquel set around the same time as the ''Armada'' television show, substantially expounded upon their biology and psychology, and explained various developments in the cartoon by introducing new concepts like [[Digital Entity Frame]]s and the eponymous [[Linkage (dimension)|Linkage dimension]]. [[Dreamwave Productions]]' [[Transformers: Armada (Dreamwave)|''Armada'' comic]], on the other hand, merely depicted the Mini-Cons as an ordinary Cybertronian subgroup unconnected to Unicron. Unlike their cartoon counterparts, these Mini-Cons were fully articulate beings who resented their role in the war, to the point where extremists like [[Dualor (Armada)|Dualor]] renounced both factions in the name of Mini-Con independence. 

[[File:11MicronusPrime.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]

Although ''Armada'''s early storylines—which generally focussed on capturing small, colourful characters with limited vocabularies—drew [[Pokeformers|unfavourable comparisons]] from cynical members of the adult fandom, the concept proved a smash hit with the target audience, and Hasbro and Takara extended the gimmick into both ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]''. After that, however, Mini-Cons faded into the background; promotional material from the [[Live-action film series|live-action films]] identified a number of small Decepticons like [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]] as Mini-Cons, and the vaguely film-adjacent ''[[Power Core Combiners]]'' line featured Mini-Cons who could become either weapons or armor for their larger partners. From this point on, most stories dropped the conceit that Mini-Cons were a third faction unto themselves; like Micromasters before them, Mini-Con was used merely to describe their abilities rather than a factional designation.

Although some subsequent stories batted around other origins for the Mini-Cons that never caught on, it would be the launch of the [[Aligned continuity family]] in [[2010]] that pushed the Mini-Cons back into the forefront. As per the [[Binder of Revelation]] created to underpin the endeavour, the  Mini-Cons were a diminutive race of Cybertronians who inhabited the planet's [[Moonbase One|two]] [[Moonbase Two|moons]]. In a notable departure from what had come before, Hasbro backported the term to apply to basically ''all'' small Transformers, including characters like [[Ratbat (WFC)|Ratbat]] and [[Frenzy (WFC)|Frenzy]]. The Aligned continuity would go on to introduce a new origin story for the Mini-Cons that would carry forward into the next decade and largely eclipse ''Armada's'' Unicron mythology: 2013's ''[[Transformers: The Covenant of Primus|The Covenant of Primus]]'' introduced [[Micronus Prime]], a member of the [[Thirteen]] and the first Mini-Con. Comments from Hasbro representatives at the time clarified that, in this continuity, all Mini-Cons were his descendants. 2015's ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2015 cartoon)|Robots in Disguise]]'' cartoon featured a number of new Mini-Con characters; carrying on from [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]]'s relationship with [[Laserbeak (WFC)|Laserbeak]] in the ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' cartoon, the show used the pre-existing term "[[Deployer (WFC)|Deployer]]" to describe those Cybertronians who formed a partnership with one or more Mini-Cons, and later "[[Weaponizer (RID)|Weaponizer]]" in reference to a different group of Mini-Cons who transformed into weapons for their partners to wield. 

With the end of the Aligned continuity in 2020 and the subsequent rise of heavily-[[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]]-focused media like the ''[[War for Cybertron Trilogy (franchise)|War for Cybertron Trilogy]]'', franchise, Mini-Cons again fell by the wayside after Hasbro shifted back to marketing small characters as Micromasters and Mini-Cassettes. As a result, it remains to be seen if 2022's ''[[Transformers: Legacy|Legacy]]'' toyline will feature their return to coincide with the release of other "[[Unicron Trilogy continuity family|Unicron Trilogy]]" characters like [[Metroplex (Cybertron)|Metroplex]].

{{--}}

==Powerlinx==
{{Main|Powerlinx}}
[[File:HotShotPowerlinx.gif|thumb|left|250px]]

Across the [[Unicron Trilogy continuity family|Unicron Trilogy]], all Mini-Cons possess the ability to [[Powerlinx]] with other forms of technology—including both sentient [[Transformer]]s and mundane machines—and instantly reconfigure their physical construction by sharing their own supernatural power. In this way, a Mini-Con for instance, modify ordinary cars into jet-powered assault vehicles, or upgrade Transformers with new weapons or additional functions. The Mini-Con is not required in order to activate these weapons again, but linking to a Mini-Con again simply enhances their firepower. 

The Japanese ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Legends of the Microns]]'' dub called the phenomenon "Evolution", and had Autobots call out the phrase when they Powerlinxed. This has caused some confusion in the Armada viewing audience due to dub issues and the downplaying of the "Evolution" theme, although the term was used twice in the American series by Megatron.

Other [[continuity family|continuity families]] have offered alternate interpretations of the process. Many of the Mini-Cons who have appeared in "[[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]]"-based stories appear to lack the ability entirely; in the [[Aligned continuity family|"Aligned" continuity family]], meanwhile, Mini-Cons can voluntarily interlock with larger Transformers but require genetic augmentation to access the ability to share their energy with their partners.

{{--}}

==Fiction==
===Unicron Trilogy continuity family===

====Dreamwave ''Armada'' continuity====
[[File:Armada3-wooooosh.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The ultimate friends to the boys and girls.]]

Mini-Cons were a second race of Transformer whose diminutive proportions and physical fragility led to Cybertronians treating them as second-class citizens. Despite their lowly status on pre-war Cybertron, each Mini-Con can naturally tap into a unique extradimensional power source, but most, naturally wary of this seemingly unlimited power, have installed inhibitors designed to prevent them from accessing this ability. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye: Transformers: Armada|More than Meets the Eye #3}}

In the years before the Autobot-Decepticon war, the Mini-Cons inhabited a designated Mini-Con Sector on Cybertron and divided that sector into a number of loose, largely autonomous "villages". However, this isolation left them open to attack when [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] led his Decepticons on capture raids. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 1|Dreamwave Armada #1}}  Through experimentation on Mini-Con prisoners, the Decepticons used an ancient technological process to forcibly rewire their prisoners so that they could [[Powerlinx]] with them against their will. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye: Transformers: Armada|More than Meets the Eye #3}} Fleeing the Decepticon advance, a small group of Mini-Cons escaped to the planet's abandoned [[Garbage Disposal District]] salvaged [[Exodus (Armada)|a junked ship]] with the intent of rescuing as many Mini-Cons as they could. As Megatron and his army used their new slaves to conquer [[Cyber City]], [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]], [[Jetstorm (Armada)|Jetstorm]], [[Runway (Armada)|Runway]], and [[Sonar (Armada)|Sonar]] led a raid on Megatron's primary prison complex, freed as many Mini-Cons as they could, and escaped Cybertron. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 2|Armada #2}}

[[File:Armada11-moonbasedestroyed.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Y'know, Megatron, most people just bring a gift basket when they come over.]]

While Megatron and the Decepticons used their monopoly on the remaining Mini-Cons to run amok, the ''Exodus'' suffered a debilitating engine failure that ended with the ship breaking apart—half the ship crash-landed on ancient Earth and scattered dormant Mini-Cons across the planet, while the other half landed on the Moon. One million years later, [[Rad White]] and his friends discovered the crashed starship and inadvertently tripped the ship's restoration protocols, which alerted the Autobots and Decepticons on Cybertron to the location of the remaining Mini-Cons. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 3|Armada #3}} When the Autobots and Decepticons arrived on Earth to find the Mini-Cons, Sparkplug and a number of recently reactivated Mini-Cons made the decision to Powerlinx with the Autobots to defeat the Decepticons, but made it clear that this alliance had to be a two-way partnership: if the Autobots treated them like slaves, they'd walk. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 5|Armada #5}}

Not all Mini-Cons willingly fell in with the Autobots, however: some, like the [[Land Military Mini-Con Team|Land Military Team]], remained free agents who openly distrusted both the Autobots and Decepticons. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 7|Armada #7}} Others took the concept of Mini-Con independence to its logical extreme: marooned on the Moon with a small group of Mini-Cons who'd survived the crash, [[Dualor (Armada)|Dualor]] took command of the group and spent the next million years establishing a concealed [[Mini-Con Moonbase]]; ostensibly a place where Mini-Cons could live freely. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 9|Armada #9}} The reactivation of the Earthbound Mini-Cons prompted Dualor to forcibly de-escalate the situation by sending a specialized "[[Mini-Con Ark]]" to Earth, which hypnotized the Mini-Cons and brought them back to Dualor's lunar fortress. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 8|Armada #8}} Despite his attempts to convince [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]], [[Leader-1 (Armada)|Leader-1]], and [[Runway (Armada)|Runway]] of his good intentions, Sparkplug felt that the paranoid, abusive Dualor would force them to join his cause, just as the Autobots and Decepticons had. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 9|Armada #9}} 

Although Dualor's followers successfully repelled the first Decepticon incursion, a full-scale assault ended with the destruction of their moonbase; while many Mini-Cons boarded escape pods to Earth, Dualor, [[Buzzsaw (Armada)|Buzzsaw]], and [[Drill Bit (Armada)|Drill Bit]] fell into a triumphant Megatron's clutches. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 11|Armada #11}} However, thanks to a cleverly integrated failsafe program, they were able to prevent Megatron from using their power against their will and allowed Dualor to strike a deal: they'd help him in exchange for a degree of leadership. {{storylink|Fire & Ice}} After their combined power drove Cyclonus insane, Megatron mused that he knew that the Mini-Cons would betray him as he retrieved them. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 13|Armada #13}}

[[File:Mini-cons.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Gotta catch 'em all!]]

Fleeing the advance of a dimension-hopping [[Unicron]], the Mini-Con [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] abandoned his native universe aboard a [[null-reality pod]] in the hopes of finding another dimension that could stand up to the planet-eater. He brought with him the [[Mini-Con Matrix]], an artifact into which all the Mini-Cons of his universe had placed their spark essences. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 13|Armada #13}} Upon arriving, he immediately set up a beacon which attracted the attention of [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s alike. [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] and [[Mirage (Armada)|Mirage]] arrived first but were shot down by [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]], who attempted to claim Over-Run for himself, seeing him merely as another Mini-Con to be used for battle and not realizing his origins. {{storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4}} After realizing Over-Run's true nature, he joined the Autobots as they tried to locate Optimus Prime, who'd been cast adrift in the [[multiverse]] by Over-Run's arrival. Upon rallying Sparkplug and a number of other Mini-Cons to break into the Decepticon's base and retrieve the pod, the Mini-Cons transported themselves to [[Primax 703.09 Gamma|another dimension]] and rescued Optimus and Jetfire moments before Unicron destroyed that reality's Cybertron. The Mini-Con Matrix powered up all five of their forms, allowing Optimus Prime and Jetfire to combine, while the Mini-Cons linked with them, and together they blasted Unicron hard enough to make him notice them before warping back to their universe. {{storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 4 of 4}}

After bringing together all of [[Earth]]'s Mini-Cons, Over-Run led them through a space bridge portal to Cybertron, where they channeled all of their spark essences through the Mini-Con Matrix and destroyed Unicron. {{storylink|The End (Armada)|The End}}

====Cartoon continuity====
[[File:Prehistory-MiniCons.jpg|thumb|left|250px|It's time to battle, for a battle, 'till you drop.]]

Mini-Cons are unique "digital entities": while other Cybertronians comprised of [[living metal]] derive life and sentience from their individual [[spark]]s, Mini-Cons are entirely comprised of a unique form of self-sustaining energy known as a "[[Digital Entity Frame]]", Part soul, part genome, this inexhaustible power source dictates a Mini-Con's programming and physical appearance and allows them to physically alter an object's molecular structure or [[Powerlinx]] with larger Transformers. {{storylink|Linkage Part 7}} If needed, a Mini-Con can enter a unique form of low-power [[stasis lock|stasis]] by dissipating their physical forms and converting back into pure energy stored within a tiny, nearly-indestructible "[[Mini-Con storage panel|storage panel]]". {{storylink|Prehistory}}

All Mini-Cons possess a "[[Servility Program]]" that compels them to imprint upon the "[[bulk]]" who activates them and obey their new partner, no matter how cruelly they might be treated. {{storylink|Linkage Part 5}} Although all Mini-Cons are creations of Unicron, "free" Mini-Cons who have developed the capacity for thought and free will are connected through a metaphysical dimension known as the [[Linkage (dimension)|Linkage]]. Without a physical form to ground them in the material world, they will diffuse into the sea of consciousness. The [[Master Key]] acts as a final failsafe; should a Mini-Con deviate from their original programming by connecting to the Linkage, they will lose access to their full power.  {{storylink|Linkage Part 7}}

Although the vast majority of Mini-Cons spoke an indecipherable binary language, {{storylink|Force of Habit}} Mini-Cons can choose to form a mental link with other beings to allow for a more direct medium of communication. {{storylink|Linkage Part 2}}

{{--}}

=====''Armada'' cartoon=====
[[File:Drift-MiniConBirth.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]

Unicron created the Mini-Cons from his own cells, mindless drones who would agitate and amplify the civil war raging on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. Once unleashed on Cybertron, the [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s would battle for control of these power-enhancing "smart tools"; the negative psychic energy unleashed by the rampant death and destruction would indirectly fuel Unicron; once he'd gathered enough power, the Mini-Cons would incapacitate their partners and Unicron would fully awaken to consume Cybertron and eliminate his biggest obstacle to devouring all of existence. {{storylink|Origin}} Unicron invested a large portion of his power into three Mini-Con teams who combined into weapons: the [[Star Saber (Armada)|Star Saber]], the [[Skyboom (Armada)|Skyboom Shield]], and the [[Requiem Blaster (Armada)|Requiem Blaster]]. This not only made them weapons of unimaginable power and potent sources of energy, but also the key to awakening Unicron from his hibernation. {{storylink|Portent}}

A number of other Mini-Cons displayed unusual powers: some could [[combiner|combine]] to form a larger robot, {{storylink|Comrade}}, others could Powerlinx with and control inanimate machines like [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s trailer, {{storylink|Jungle}}, and one, [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]], displayed the ability to manipulate time. Through this ability, three [[human]] children from the future--[[Rad White]], [[Carlos Lopez]] and [[Alexis Thi Dang]]--were sent to the Mini-Cons' birthing chamber inside [[Unicron]] just seconds before the small robots emerged from their pods. As the Mini-Cons had been designed to form mental bonds with other life forms, Rad's contact with a newborn High Wire caused the newborn race to develop free will, empathy, and the capacity for self-determination. {{storylink|Drift (episode)|Drift}}

[[File:Street action team.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Catch you, catch me.]]

At some point after this, the Mini-Cons emerged on Cybertron in the midst of the Autobot-Decepticon civil war. The Decepticons quickly discovered the power offered by Powerlinxing and began enslaving every Mini-Con they encountered; in response, a group of Mini-Cons [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]] formed an alliance with the heroic Autobots and willingly shared their power with their partners. As the war dragged on, both sides realized the Mini-Cons had become the centerpiece of their conflict, and an agreement was made: the Mini-Cons would receive a [[Exodus (Armada)|ship]] that would let them leave Cybertron and find a new home somewhere else in the universe. To make the trip, the majority of Mini-Cons converted themselves into storage panels, leaving only a skeleton crew to pilot and maintin their ship. However, when the ''Exodus'' launched, the Decepticons ambushed the ship in an attempt to claim all the Mini-Cons, but the Autobots provided enough cover fire for the ship to safely warp out of Cybertronian space. {{storylink|Prehistory}} Unfortunately, the Decepticon attack and strain of passing through multiple [[warp gate]]s damaged the ship and sent it and its cargo drifting aimlessly through space for many millions of years. Finally, the ''Exodus'' finally collided with [[Earth]]'s [[Moon (moon)|moon]] and broke apart. As half of the ship fell into Earth's atmosphere, emergency systems fired Mini-Con panels in every direction and scattered them across the planet. {{storylink|First Encounter}}

While most of the Mini-Cons remined hidden over the intervening millennia, an advanced ancient culture discovered the three Mini-Cons who formed the Star Saber; when they unleashed its power during a war with another nation, the energies unleashed sunk their city beneath the sea and gave rise to the legend of [[Atlantis]]. {{storylink|Ruin}} Another civilization in the [[Sahara]] discovered [[Bonecrusher (Armada)|Bonecrusher]]'s panel and built a temple around it. {{storylink|Palace}}

[[File:Origin-Unicrons.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Everybody Polkamon!]]

In the year [[2010]], Rad, Carlos, and Alexis discovered the wreckage of the ''Exodus'' buried beneath [[Lincoln, Nebraska]] and inadvertently activated a beacon that summoned both the Autobots and Decepticon to Earth in search of the newly-reactivated Mini-Con panels. {{storylink|First Encounter}} {{storylink|Prehistory}} The two factions hunted Mini-Con after Mini-Con, but the three Mini-Con weapons eventually ended up in the hands of the Decepticons thanks to Unicron's servant [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]] and the conflicted loyalties of [[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Starscream]]. {{storylink|Crack (episode)|Crack}} They'd be used to power the Decepticon's planet-destroying [[Hydra Cannon]], which was only prevented from destroying Earth by Optimus Prime's sacrifice {{storylink| Threaten}}{{storylink|Crisis (Armada)|Crisis}} By pooling their power with the [[Matrix of Leadership]], the Autobot-allied Mini-Cons were capable of restoring Optimus to life. {{storylink|Miracle}}

When the Autobot and Decepticons found themselves under assault by Unicron's minion [[Nemesis Prime (Armada)|Nemesis Prime]], the assembled Mini-Cons used their powers as a group to restore and empower their larger partners. {{storylink|Puppet}} When their creator finally reared his head to assault Cybertron, the Mini-Cons would merge into [[Unicron of Light|a giant doppelganger]] to face him. {{storylink|Union}} However, Unicron was able to temporarily reset the Mini-Cons and return them to their original mindless states, although the deep connection between the Rad and his Mini-Con friend High Wire permanently broke Unicron's hold over them. {{storylink|Origin}}

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=====''Linkage'' comic=====
[[File:Arm-art Linkage01-UnderAttack.jpg|thumb|left|300px|]]

When humanity interfered with the newly-born Mini-Cons at the moment of their creation and granted them something akin to a soul, not ''all'' the Mini-Cons were freed. A small number of Mini-Cons remained loyal to their creator and made it their mission to hunt down their "renegade" brethren—specially programmed [[Fixer Bug]]s forcibly Powerlinxed with their victims and cut them off from the Linkage by overwriting their core programming and reducing them back to a storage panel form. Once reactivated and released, the "new" Mini-Con would once again be a slave to Unicron. {{storylink|Linkage Part 5}}

In the modern day, Unicron loyalists [[Midship]] and [[Top Gear]] travelled to Earth to capture and reprogram the Mini-Cons recently loosed upon the planet. After forcibly recruiting [[Tailslide]] to their side, the trio pursued the recently-reacitvated [[Super Stunt Team]], who'd recently taken shelter with the [[human]] [[Stella Holley]] after using their powers to hastily reconfigure her car into a weapon. {{storylink|Linkage Part 2}} In between trying to elude their Unicronian brethren activating other Mini-Cons, [[Redline]] began searching for a way to truly free his people, inspired by a vision of "the terrible one" while freeing [[Twirl (Armada)|Twirl]]'s spirit from the Linkage, he turned his attention to finding a way to unlock the [[Master Key]]: when Mini-Cons gained sentience and free will, Unicron's failsafe would activate and "lock away" much of their power. {{storylink|Linkage Part 8}} 

[[File:Arm-art Linkage13-City.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]

Thanks to obtaining scans of the Unicron-allied Mini-Cons, Redline devised an "evolution" device that would allow them to finally unlock the Master Key programming, break their Servility Programs, and awaken their true abilities. {{storylink|Linkage Part 9}} However, as they prepared for this momentous leap forward, the [[Aqua Raider Team]] unleashed the murderous, [[Doomstone]]-enhanced [[Ravenus]] on the free Mini-Cons; using his enhanced [[Powerlinx]] abilities, he forcibly Powerlinxed witih [[Twirl (Armada)|Twirl]] and [[Servo (Armada)|Servo]] with the intent of using this link to unleash the Doomstone's negative psychic energy into the Linkage and permanently return the Mini-Cons to their original state by destroying the Linkage. {{storylink|Linkage Part 10}} The upgraded Mini-Cons, now growing in number as the Master Key spread to all "free" Mini-Cons through the Linkage, used their new powers to reverse the mutations and return Ravenus to his original form, as well as safely remove the Doomstone from his body. Following this, the remaining Mini-Cons on Earth departed to meet up with the Autobots as they prepared for their battle against Unicron. {{storylink|Linkage Part 12}}

After Unicron's destruction, all of the Mini-Cons created [[Mini-Con city|a city]] somewhere on Earth, safe from the machinations of Unicron or the Decepticons, and extended an invitation to their friend Stella to join them. {{storylink|Linkage Part 13}}
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=====''Cloud''=====
The existence of [[Mini-Con]]s as a great source of power was not known to the denizens of the [[Cloud World]] till the [[Starscream (Cloud)|Starscream]] of that world forced a pursuit into the [[spacetime]] known as 15-MD. The native [[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Starscream]] of that spacetime was seeking a Mini-Con when the Cloud Worlders arrived, and so Cloud Starscream joined his counterpart to find the Mini-Con in some [[South America]]n ruins. {{storylink|Encounter}} In the resulting battle that ensued between [[Optimus Prime (Cloud)|Optimus Prime]], [[Brawn (Cloud)|Brawn]], and the two Starscreams, the [[Mini-Con storage panel]] was destroyed by Cloud Starscream, angering everybody else involved. {{storylink|Hammer (Cloud)|Hammer}} However, the soul of the Mini-Con within the panel—[[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]]—was able to contact [[SARA]], and the Cloud World entity was able to tap into the power of the Mini-Cons through incorporating this soul within her. Using the Mini-Cons' energy as a form of "[[spacetime energy]]", SARA was able to return all of the visitors to their home reality. {{storylink|Return}}

=====''Energon'' cartoon=====

Ten years after Unicron's defeat, most of the Mini-Cons had left Earth, although the [[Street Action Mini-Con Team|Street Action Team]] remained active in [[Ocean City]]. {{storylink|Cybertron City (episode)|Cybertron City}} Later, the [[Energon Saber|Energon Saber Mini-Con Team]] fled [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Tidal Wave]] and [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]]'s attack on [[Mars City]], and used their combined form to great effect as [[Kicker Jones|Kicker]] 's private weapon. {{storylink|Megatron's Sword}}

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=====''Cybertron'' cartoon=====
{{note|[[Fun Publications]] fiction has linked the ''Cybertron'' Mini-Cons, who otherwise had no real origin story in the cartoon, to the original group from ''Armada'' by implying that an ancestral population of Mini-Cons migrated to planets like [[Gigantion]], [[Jungle Planet (colony)|Jungle Planet]], and [[Velocitron]] along with full-sized Cybertronian colonists. However, this does not fully line up with the fiction, as the Mini-Cons in ''Armada'' are explicitly shown appearing during the Autobot-Decepticon war, long after the collapse of the galactic [[space bridge]]s.}}

[[File:Scourge-BudMiniCons.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Aloha e komo mai.]]

During the war against the forces of [[Planet X (Cybertron)|Planet X]], the citizens of [[Gigantion]] used their [[Cyber Planet Key]] to grow to colossal sizes and emerged triumphant. However, the sudden size discrepancy left them unable to interact with many of the computers and delicate machines they utilized. Thus, the Mini-Cons who’d arrived with the original colonists found a new role as “little detail” workers who assisted their larger companions with the delicate tasks and intricate work they could no longer perform as they toiled away on their endless construction projects. As a result of these unique selective pressures, future generations of Mini-Cons would convergently evolve a brain structure similar to a [[human]]’s, which offered an increased capacity for creative thought and lateral thinking. {{storylink|Scourge (episode)|Scourge}} As on Cybertron, individual Cybertronians could Powerlinx and formed symbiotic partnerships with their larger comrades. {{storylink|Giant}}

The citizens of Gigantion built an entire Mini-Con scaled city to house these smaller workers in-between construction projects; to accommodate the unique, human-like needs of its citizens, it featured ample greenery, playgrounds, museums, and even an amusement park. In time, however, this city, like all the other cities created by the citizens of Gigantion, would be quietly abandoned and sealed over millennia. {{storylink|Scourge (episode)|Scourge}}

During the [[Unicron Singularity]] crisis, [[Vector Prime]] brought [[Safeguard (Cybertron)|Safeguard]] and the [[Recon Mini-Con Team]] to Earth, where they quickly befriended the human children [[Coby Hansen|Coby]], [[Bud Hansen|Bud]], and [[Lori Jiménez|Lori]]. {{storylink|Fallen (episode)|Fallen}} When the search for the four Cyber Planet Keys brought Optimus Prime and his allies to Gigantion, several Mini-Cons accompanied Bud to the lower levels of their homeworld, where [[Jolt (Cybertron)|Jolt]] taught his human friend their history. {{storylink|Scourge (episode)|Scourge}}

After reaching the ''[[Lemuria (Cybertron)|Lemuria]]'' at the core of Giant Planet, Gigantion leader [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] was forced to fight the renegade [[Menasor (Cybertron)|Menasor]]. Their battle ended when their respective Mini-Cons [[Drill Bit (Cybertron)|Drill Bit]] and [[Heavy Load (Cybertron)|Heavy Load]] leapt in the way and forced the pair to come to a peaceful resolution. {{storylink|Optimus (episode)|Optimus}} After [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]’s final defeat, a number of Mini-Cons, both Cybertron and Gigantion, took part in the ceremony that marked the rebirth of the long-abandoned [[space bridge]] project. {{storylink|Beginning}}

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=====''Cybertron'' comic=====
[[File:RevelationsPart5-MiniConCivilWar.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]

By the time of the [[Unicron Singularity]] crisis, most of the Mini-Cons living on Cybertron had relocated to Cybertron's moons, where they established a number of self-sufficient colonies under the governance of an appointed [[Mini-Con Council of Sages|Council of Sages]] who desired independence from both the Autobots and Decepticons. As the Singularity threatened to consume Cybertron and its myriad satellites, Council member [[Anti-Blaze]] began work on a self-sufficent evacuation fleet that would take every Mini-Con to the [[S-K System]]... only for [[Thrust (Cybertron)|Thrust]], agent of a group of Mini-Con insurgents, to destroy six stellar cycles of work in an hour. This opening salvo heralded the beginning of the [[Mini-Con Civil War]] between Anti-Blaze's independents and a group of malcontents led by the [[Sky Terror Mini-Con Team]] and abetted by the [[Decepticon]]s. Although Anti-Blaze quickly marshalled a fighting force and pushed the rebels back into a neighbouring asteroid field, {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 11|Anti-Blaze, Scythe, & Checkpoint's profile in Club magazine #11}} rumours of a Decepticon superweapon prompted Anti-Blaze to swallow his pride and contact Cybertron for help. {{storylink|Revelations Part 4}} 

Aided by a dimension-hopping [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]], [[Ultra Magnus (RID)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Sentinel Maximus]], the remaining Autobots on Cybertron took the fight to the insurgents; the brief war came to a swift end shortly afterwards, when a reborn [[Unicron]] arrived on the battlefield and killed many of the rebel Mini-Cons while absorbing the life forces of their Decepticon partners. After Primus's reactivation and the subsequent closure of the Unicron Singularity, [[Alpha Trion (Energon)|Alpha Trion]] and [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] promised to assist Anti-Blaze in hunting down the remaining Mini-Con separatists. {{storylink|Revelations Part 6}}

{{--}}

=====''Timelines''=====
[[File:Astrotrain-CybComic.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]

A hidden arsenal on [[Combatron (planet)|Combatron]] housed many of the most dangerous weapons known to Cybertronians, including several Mini-Con storage panels. {{storylink|Force of Habit}}

The Powerlinx process involved a data transfer protocol; through this, a full-sized Cybertronian could obtain information from one or more Mini-Cons by linking with their data banks and reading their memories. The Powerlinx process could also prove extremely addictive, {{storylink|The Dark Heart of Sandokan}} to the point where some Cybertronians who'd completely succumbed to their addiction would force unwilling Mini-Cons to bond with them. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/18}} A few 'bots like [[Ultra Magnus (Energon)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Overload (Armada)|Overload]] would turn a mere partnership into a true symbiosis by undergoing a [[binary bonding]] process that physically merged the two together into a single shared robot form. {{storylink|Force of Habit}} {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/18}}

In the years after Unicron's second defeat, some Mini-Cons switched over to speaking [[Cybertronian Standard]] to facilitate communication with their larger partners, {{storylink|The Dark Heart of Sandokan}} although by this time some Cybertronians eschewed Mini-Cons and [[Energon star|energon chip]]s in favour of the more reliable [[Cyber Key]]s. {{storylink|Force of Habit}}

{{--}}

====Panini ''Armada'' comic====
[[File:CounterStrike MirageCaptured.jpg|thumb|right|300px|They'll trip you up, give you a flat tire, or make your socks go missing in the dryer.]]

The war on Cybertron began with a series of Decepticon raids upon the planet's Mini-Con villages. Decepticons found ways to forcibly re-engineer the Mini-Cons so that they would power-link with unwilling partners. Although the Autobots rose up to fight back, some Mini-Cons viewed both sides with distrust—on one occasion, the Mini-Con separatist Dualor engineered a phony crisis that would wipe out both Optimus Prime and Megatron, but [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]] warned Optimus of the ruse and foiled his plan. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 9|Counter-Strike!}} Eventually, Sparkplug and most of the remaining free Mini-Cons departed Cybertron aboard a spaceship, which later crashed on Earth's moon and scattered multiple Mini-Cons across Earth. {{storylink|First Encounter!}} 

In [[1959]], the United States military chanced across the [[Land Military Mini-Con Team]], who'd they found buried underneath [[Los Angeles]]. The top-secret [[Extra-Terrestrial Response Division]] made an effort to understand the aliens, and later used [[inhibitor clamp]]s to turn them into mindless weapons, but the trio overrode the clamps, went rogue, and escaped to the nearby town of [[Stillwater]] before the ETRD recaptured their assets, but not before the team passed along a message to local human [[Amos Hume]]. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 6|Blast from the Past!}} Fifty years later, Rad White and his friends chanced across the crashed spaceship and triggered a planetary reactivation beacon that reached Cybertron. {{storylink|First Encounter!}} 

[[File:FriendsAndFoes-MiniCons.jpg|thumb|left|300px|From the stars and the ancient past; they come to play, but they'll never last.]]

As the Autobots and Decepticons arrived to locate the lost Mini-Cons, Sparkplug and his allies initially declined to choose a side in the war, but later joined forces with Optimus and his troops. {{storylink|Friends and Foes!}} Despite the misgivings of both the humans and the Mini-Cons, Optimus Prime later decided to send the Mini-Cons back through a [[space bridge]] to Cybertron for safekeeping, but when they stood their ground against a Decepticon attack Optimus let them stay. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 4|No Way Back!}} Although Sparkplug, [[Longarm (Armada)|Longarm]], and [[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]] tried to free the Decepticon Mini-Cons, they found that Leader-1 and his compatriots were quite happy to serve the Decepticons. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 4|Into the Lions' Den}} Other Mini-Cons like the [[Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Armada)|Air Defense Mini-Con Team]] were quite happy to remain independent from the war, {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 5|Devices and Desires!}} but later found themselves captured by the ETRD and learned what had befallen their brethren in the Land Military Team. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 5|'We Are Not Alone!'}} The team eventually crashed an ETRD auction and rescued their fellow Mini-Cons with the assistance of Rad and Amos. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 7|Sale of the Century!}}

In the meantime, Optimus and his forces rescued a number of dormant Mini-Cons from Megatron on the moon. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 6|Between Two Worlds!}} [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] later tried to force the Air Defense team to form the mighty Star Sabre by deactivating their personality chips, but without their individual personalities to modulate the sword's power Starscream nearly lost control of his weapon.  {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 7|[The Two-Edged Blade!}} Later, Optimus pretended to surrender the Mini-Cons in exchange for amnesty; {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 8|Earthshaker!}}after his successful doublecross, the Mini-Cons adrift aboard a [[solar barge]] rescued themselves from [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]]. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 8|Lost in Space!}} Dualor and the other members of the [[Destruction Mini-Con Team]], seeking vengeance against ''all'' Cybertronians, Powerlinxed with Cyclonus and overrode his own motor functions until Starscream used a [[Sonic destabiliser]] to forcibly disengage the Powerlinx. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 9|Dawn of Destruction!}}

====Reader's Digest ''Armada'' novels====
Four million years ago, the Mini-Cons found themselves caught in the middle of the Autobot-Decepticon war, which came to a head when the Mini-Cons were gathered in a giant orbiting storage facility as the ultimate prize. However, after the destruction of Cybertron's moon, both sides called a truce and sent the Mini-Cons away aboard a starship. Tho keep the Mini-Cons from being used by other alien races, their ship included a [[warp gate]] that would teleport representatives from both the Autobots and Decepticons should the need arise. However, gathering the Mini-Cons together had an unexpected side effect; their collective intelligence grew, and they developed feelings of independence and solidarity. By the time that their ship crashed on the Moon, the Mini-Cons' existence became a half-forgotten legend amongst the other Transformers as war reignited between the two factions; when humans discovered the Mini-Cons, the warp gate brought Cybertronians to Earth to continue their battle. {{storylink|Transformers Armada: The Battle Begins|The Battle Begins}}

====''Transformers Legends'' anthology====
In one reality, many thousands of years after their return to Cybertron, the Mini-Cons remembered and honoured the generosity of their long-dead human friends by celebrating [[Halloween]]. {{storylink|Something Robotic This Way Comes}}

In another universe, the Mini-Con [[QuickFire]] brought his comatose partner [[Riptide (Armada)|Riptide]] to Earth to recover. While Riptide's body and mind healed, Quickfire, who transformed into Riptide's engine block, could remotely control his larger partner's alternate mode. {{storylink|Lonesome Diesel}}

====Ask Vector Prime====
In a unique variation of {{w|Batesian mimicry}}, a number of Mini-Cons have adopted the names of particularly powerful or dangerous Cybertronians in an attempt to intimidate those who might otherwise capture them. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/15}}

In universe [[Aurex 1104.30-DB Zeta]], [[Brian Jones|Dr. Jones]] reverse-engineered [[combiner]] technology and applied it to a number of Mini-Cons. The upgrade changed them into [[Micromaster]]s, an entirely new breed of Transformer; with six beings Powerlinxing together, they packed tremendous energy into a frame no larger than the average Cybertronian. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 31/7/2015}}

The Mini-Cons of [[Aurex 304.0 Epsilon]] were creations of [[Primacron]], and sparked a three-way war between the Autobots, Decepticons, and [[Omnicon]]s until [[Megazarak (Universe)|Megazarak]] and the [[Destructicon (RID)|Destructicon]]s invaded. From this conquest, Megazarak acquried [[Caliburn (Armada)|Caliburn]] as his personal Mini-Con. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/11}}

In [[Aurex 1104.30-JH Zeta]], time-travelling [[Maximal]]s and [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s fought the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]] for control of the Mini-Cons hidden on Earth. Although some Mini-Cons willingly joined forces with the Beast Warriors, others remained neutral. The conflict ended with [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]] and his followers rescuing all the Mini-Cons in [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s custody.  {{storylink|Source:Ask Vector Prime/Facebook#August 8, 2015|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/13}} Another parallel-universe iteration of the Beast Wars in [[Aurex 615.03 Epsilon]] had the Mini-Con crews of the ''[[Hyperion (Armada)|Hyperion]]'' and ''[[Doomsday]]'' journey to [[Alpha Quintesson|Alpha Q]]'s [[Alpha Q's universe|universe]] to provide reinforcements. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/23}}

[[Vector Prime]] observed the many similarities between Mini-Cons, [[Micromaster]]s, and [[Cyberdroid]]s, and noted that, due to [[Trans-dimensional harmonic resonance|trans-dimensional harmonic resonance]], a Mini-Con might have identical counterparts who belonged to one of these other groups in other universal clusters, while small Autobots like [[Minimus Ambus]] had Mini-Con, Micromaster, and Cyberdroid counterparts elsewhere in the [[multiverse]]. More than once, Vector opined that the distinction between the three subgroups boiled down to linguistics—in his opinion, different realities used different names to describe the same core concept. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/20}} {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/07}}

====Spacewarp's Log====
Early in her career, [[Spacewarp]] spent her time searching for a rumoured "lost tribe" of Mini-Cons who'd fled the war and established a colony somewhere in the vicinity of the planet [[Tasumo|Tasmos]]. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime|Spacewarp's Log (1), 2015/10/30}}

===Generation 1 continuity family===
====3H comics====
[[Ramulus]] sardonically compared the timid [[CatSCAN]] to an "apologetic Mini-Con". {{storylink|Betrayal}}

====''Classics''====
[[File:Lastautobotnewworld.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]

In the aftermath of [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]]'s devastating attack on Cybertron  in [[1991]], [[Hi-Q]] and a group of humans discovered the mythical [[Last Autobot]] and roused him from his slumber. Although the Last Autobot realized that his power would be needed elsewhere, he recognized that Cybertron had suffered severe damage and created a race of stewards who would gradually rebuild Cybertron and nurse the wounded world back to health. Using data acquired from the [[binary bonding|binary-bonded]] fusion of Hi-Q and the rebuilt [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s [[Action Master]] body, he created the Mini-Cons, and imbued each with a fragment of his own [[spark]] so that they could access his own formidable powers. [[Modus Prime]], the first Mini-Con created, became the leader of this new race. 

Over the next fifteen years, the Mini-Cons worked to repair Cybertron, in anticipation of the day when all Cybertronians could return home; in addition to rebuilding the planet's infrastructure, the Mini-Cons waged a brutal extermination campaign against the [[Demon]]s and [[Mutant (G1)|Mutant]]s who dwelt in the planet's labyrinthine underlevels. However, as their work neared completion, a number of Mini-Cons began questioning their appointed roles after one Mini-Con, [[Broadside (Classics)|Broadside]], discovered the Decepticon philosophy; after more than a decade of waging war against Primus's discarded experiments, he grew fearful that Primus would cast ''them'' aside too. In the name of preserving the world they'd built for Mini-Cons and Mini-Cons alone, Broadside orchestrated the assassination of Modus Prime, silenced anyone who'd seen the crime, and lied about a fabricated "madness plague" to justify the quarantine of Cybertron. However, news of Broadside's role in the murder soon spread, and before long Cybertron collapsed back into a new civil war between Broadside's rogue faction and the loyalists. {{storylink|The New World}}

{{--}}

====Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity====
[[File:LegendsVol19-Groundshaker.jpg|thumb|left|250px]]
The Mini-Cons of this universe are a sub-set of the diminutive [[Micromaster]]s. When most of the Micromaster population fell under the command of [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] to found their own civilization on [[Micro|Planet Micro]], some elected to remain with the Autobots to help them continue the war. These little 'bots partnered up with larger Transformers, adopting weapon and equipment [[alternate mode]]s (in addition to their vehicular forms) which their partners could wield. Like the Mini-Cons from other universes, they provide their partners with a power-up by connecting to them when in weapon mode. Some of the earliest known include [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] and [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]'s partners [[Groundshaker (Legends)|Groundshaker]] and [[Phaser (G1)|Phaser]]. {{storylink|Transformers 2015 Tailgate/G1 Mini-Con Chapter|Tailgate/G1 Mini-Con Chapter}} 

Evidence suggests that Mini-Cons would persist into the [[Beast Era]]: the enigmatic [[Wedge Shape]], as well as several of the combatants involved in the "[[Micron Booster#Micron Booster Ver. 4: Endless Battle—Eternal Prisoner|Eternal Prisoner]]" conflict, professed [[Maximal]] and [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] allegiances. {{storylink|Micron Booster|Micron Booster Ver. 4}} Additionally, Mini-Con [[Dragoyell]] took part in the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]]. {{storylink|Dragoyell|Dragoyell's bio}}
{{--}}

====2005 IDW continuity====
[[File:ThePermanentRevolution-toocooltoenunciate.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]

After the conclusion of the [[First Cybertronian Civil War]], [[Micronus Prime]] left Cybertron aboard the [[Titan (group)|Titan]] [[Prion (Titan)|Prion]] and together they colonized a [[Prion (planet)|distant world]]. {{storylink|White Heat}} Using the [[Hot spot (phenomenon)|hot spot]] within his body, Prion birthed a civilization of Mini-Cons. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}} Approximately seven million years ago, Micronus left the colony to fend for itself while he retreated into a unique sub-atomic realm known as [[Microspace]]. {{storylink|Crisis Intervention}}

In the 21st century, the peaceful planet met its end when the robo-phobic [[Black Block Consortia]] discovered and promptly sterilized the planet. The sole survivor, a female four-changer named [[Nickel]], joined up with the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] when they chanced across the ruined world a few days after the attack. {{storylink|The Permanent Revolution}}

When the Transformers first encountered the [[Stentarian]] species, they mistook the tiny [[Ammonite]]s for miniature Decepticons, and [[Brainstorm (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Brainstorm]] nicknamed them "Minicons". {{storylink|Little Victories}}

===Fun Publications ''Shattered Glass'' continuity===
[[Sideswipe (SG)|Sideswipe]] referred to his Micromaster partner [[Whisper (SG)|Whisper]] as his "Mini-Con", short for "mini-Decepticon". {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 25|Whisper's profile in Club magazine #25}}

{{--}}

===Live-action film series===
[[File:HeavyweightvsAutotrooper-CMW.jpg|thumb|left|250px]]

Mini-Cons are a mysterious group of small Transformers. Known Mini-Cons include [[Longarm (Movie Mini-Con)|Longarm]],  [[Scalpel (ROTF)|Scalpel]], [[Frenzy (Movie)|Frenzy]], [[Chopster]], and [[Bomb-Burst (PCC)|Bomb-Burst]].

In a reality where [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] won the battle of [[Chicago]], he recruited a trio of Mini-Cons that included [[Boombox]], Scalpel, and [[Heavyweight]]. {{storylink|Cybertron's Most Wanted}} The whole lot of them were transported to [[Axiom Nexus]] when Megatron plummeted off a space bridge after a battle against [[Hot Rod (DOTM)|Rodimus Prime]]. Though Heavyweight and the other Mini-Cons were identified by the TransTechs, they overlooked Megatron himself, believing his truck mode to simply be a derelict heap. {{storylink|Megatron (Movie)#TransTech|BotCon 2015 Megatron bio card}}

{{--}}

===''Power Core Combiners''===
[[Commander (PCC)|Commander]]s had the ability to combine with Mini-Cons, which powered up their abilities in vaguely defined ways.<ref>[[Smolder (PCC)|Smolder]]'s bio, [[Sledge (PCC)|Sledge]]'s bio, [[Heavytread (PCC)|Heavytread]]'s bio, and [[Salvage (Movie)|Salvage]]'s bio.</ref> Some power ups are given more specific descriptions: [[Huffer (PCC)|Huffer]] became faster, stronger, and smarter; [[Searchlight (PCC)|Searchlight]] got extended operational duration; [[Leadfoot (PCC)|Leadfoot]] became invisible to sensors; and [[Darkstream]] received enhanced maneuverability.<ref>See respective toy bios.</ref>

{{--}}

===''Animated''===
[[File:TheStunticonJob-Mini-Cons.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]

The Autobots used Mini-Cons to guard high-security prison facilities like [[Trypticon Prison]] in [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]. {{storylink|The Stunti-Con Job}} Although Mini-Cons were supposedly loyal to the Autobot regime, a few cynics like [[Sideswipe (Animated)|Sideswipe]] had their doubts. {{storylink|The AllSpark Almanac Addendum}}


{{--}}

===Aligned continuity family===
[[File:Deployer DarknessRising3.jpg|thumb|left|250px]]

'''Mini-Cons''' (sometimes spelled '''Minicons''') are a race of small, human-sized Transformers who inhabit Cybertron's two moons. {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus|Exodus}} Descendants of [[Micronus Prime]], the first Mini-Con,<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/conventions-15/botcon-2011-hasbro-story-building-panel-172316/ TFW coverage of Botcon 2011 Hasbro Story Building Panel]</ref> they come in a great variety of shapes; though some adopt humanoid forms, others possess animalistic [[beast mode]]s instead.

In these realities, the majority of Mini-Cons do not Powerlinx with larger Transformers, and only Mini-Cons who have been specifically altered at the [[CNA|genetic level]] can utilize a variation of this power. Instead, Mini-Cons who form partnerships with the Autobots or Decepticons adopt specialized [[alternate mode]]s that allow them to interlock with their larger partners to form an additional layer of armor. These specialized "[[Deployer (WFC)|Deployer]]s", as they are known, can be summoned into action by their larger partner, whereupon they detach and transform back into their robot configurations. By the time of Cybertron's restoration following the end of the war, such Mini-Cons are subdivided into three groups: Autobot "buzzsaws," Decepticon "torpedoes," and unaligned "Cyclones," who have spherical alternate modes. {{storylink|Knock, Knock!}}

{{--}}

====Aligned novels====
Although some Cybertronians displayed prejudice against Minicons—[[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] despised them, while [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Orion Pax]] associated them with distrust—they nevertheless had a political presence in the pre-war era, with representative [[Ratbat (WFC)|Ratbat]] serving on the planet's [[Autobot High Council|High Council]]. Minicons could choose to communicate with other Cybertronians, but while conducting espionage or sabotage missions they usually communicated via a series of tightly coded electronic pulses. 

During the buildup to the planet's Great War, the nascent Decepticon movement made extensive use of Minicons in various terrorist acts: thirty-six Decepticon-allied Minicons bombed the [[Six Lasers Over Cybertron]] amusement park, and another destroyed [[Fort Scyk]]. A number of Mini-Cons  attended the fateful meeting of the [[Autobot High Council|High Council]] that saw Orion Pax promoted to the rank of [[Prime (rank)|Prime]].

When war broke out in earnest, a pair of Autobot-allied Minicon saboteurs stole the secrets of Decepticon [[combiner]] technology, which allowed the Autobots to create [[Defensor (WFC)|Defensor]]. Multiple Decepticon Minicons served aboard the [[Trypticon (WFC)|Trypticon]] facility during the final battle before the exodus to [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus|Exodus}}

====Cartoon continuity====
=====''Prime'' cartoon=====
[[File:DeusExMachina AMT-Party.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Did you bring hummus?]]

{{note|The Arms Micron backstory was told specifically in reference to the "partner" Microns packed in with larger toys, but it is assumed that it holds true for all toys called "Arms Microns" regardless of release type.}}

A new group of Mini-Cons were created on [[Earth]] when the planet's energon infused the Transformers' weapons with life and the power to transform. These new robots became known as the [[Arms Micron]]s. {{storylink|Arms Micron Theater}}

{{--}}

=====2015 ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon=====
[[File:HuntingSeason Mini-Cons.jpg|thumb|left|300px]]

During the Great War, Decepticon scientists captured and genetically modified seven Mini-Cons into "[[Weaponizer (RID)|Weaponizer]]s", an aberrant group of Mini-Cons who could transform into weapons and override the motor functions of the Transformers who Powerlinxed with them. Anyone who could Powerlinx with all seven at once would become even stronger than even a [[Prime (rank)|Prime]]. {{storylink|Mini-Con Madness (RID)|Mini-Con Madness}} {{storylink|Worthy}} The project was incomplete when Megatron dissolved the Decepticons, and [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] discovered their stasis-locked bodies in the depths of [[Darkmount (Cybertron)|Darkmount]] while fleeing [[Skylynx (Prime)|Skylynx]] and [[Darksteel (Prime)|Darksteel]]. Before he could turn them to his own ends, however, the Weaponizers escaped and fell in with the [[Scavenger (RID 2015)|Scavengers]] to take them somewhere off Cybertron before Starscream could find them. {{storylink|Mini-Con Madness (RID)|Mini-Con Madness}}

Another group of Mini-Cons, known as [[Caretaker Mini-Con|Caretaker]]s, appear to have been mass-produced through some unknown process.  While some members of this group, including those found aboard a wrecked spaceship from the Great War, acted like pre-programmed [[drone]]s, {{storylink|Deep Trouble (RID)|Deep Trouble}} the [[Autobot High Council]] considered them self-sufficient to the point where they could autonomously run large prison ships such as the ''[[Alchemor (RID)|Alchemor]]''. Some of these Caretakers, most prominently [[Fixit (RID)|Fixit]], possessed the capability for free will and independent thought, but reverted to a mindless "sentry mode" when [[Denny Clay]] tampered with his internal workings. {{storylink|The Trouble with Fixit}} When the ''Alchemor'' crashed on Earth, the freed Decepticon prisoners revolted and enslaved the Mini-Cons. When the [[Bee Team (RID)|Bee Team]] arrived to take the ship, they joined in overthrowing their captors and eventually returned to Cybertron. {{storylink|Decepticon Island (Part 1)}} {{storylink|Decepticon Island (Part 2)}}

[[File:MightyBigTrouble-Weaponizers.jpg|thumb|right|300px]]

Shortly after this, the Weaponizers arrived on Earth, pursued by Starscream and a number of rogue agents; after clashing with the Scavengers a few times, the Weaponizers sided with the Autobots. Starscream attempted to merge with the Mini-Cons, only for it to fail because [[Tricerashot]] was missing, but even after obtaining the power of all seven Fixit was able to activate a signal and separate [[Aerobolt]]. Aerobolt Powerlinxed with Optimus, and gave the Autobot leader the last boost of power he needed to destory the super-powered Starscream. Afterwards, Aerobolt and his fellow Mini-Cons left Earth aboard the Scavenger's sub-orbital ship to find a new planet where they could live in peace. {{storylink|Worthy}}

The [[Autobot High Council|Cybertronian High Council]] experimented on the Mini-Cons [[Stuntwing]], [[Trickout]], [[Goldgear]], and [[Hi-Test (RID)|Hi-Test]]; in addition to erasing their memories, they also received the power to upgrade Transformers through Powerlinxing and open [[GroundBridge]]s to the [[Shadowzone (dimension)|Shadowzone]] in order to assist Soundwave in his escape. {{storylink|Collateral Damage}}

{{--}}

=====''Rescue Bots'' cartoon=====
[[File:TheNeedForSpeed Bounce.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Back against the wall, you gonna give it your all.]]

After escaping the prison ship ''[[Alchemor (RID)|Alchemor]]'', the rogue Mini-Con [[Bounce]] fled through the [[Bee Team (RID)|Bee Team]]'s [[GroundBridge]] and made a mess of [[Griffin Rock]] until [[Blurr (Prime)|Blurr]] and [[Sideswipe (RID)|Sideswipe]] recaptured him. {{storylink|The Need for Speed}}

{{--}}

===''TransTech''===
The first dimensionally-displaced Mini-Cons to arrive in the city of [[Axiom Nexus]] were misidentified as [[Micromaster]]s until the discovery of the [[Aurex]] cluster. {{storylink|Rook - Axiom Nexus News: Investigative Journalist|Rook - Axiom Nexus News, 2015/05/09}} During the "Mass Reemergence", numerous [[Mini-Con]]s in the Aurex Cluster suddenly appeared on the [[Transcendent Technomorph]]s' scanners. These Mini-Cons became pawns in the Autobot-Decepticon war and eventually attracted [[Unicron]], who sought to use them to make himself more powerful. Howeve,r the Mini-Cons combined their power to single-handedly defeat Unicron, and an unlikely peace prevailed when the Mini-Cons demanded to be left alone. The [[Transcendent Technomorph]] [[Heinrad (TransTech)|Heinrad]] emerged into this Aurex universe and offered the Mini-Cons a choice: stay and help the Autobot-Decepticon war effort, or leave to live in peace in [[Axiom Nexus]]. Most chose the latter option. {{storylink|Rook - Axiom Nexus News: Investigative Journalist|Rook - Axiom Nexus News, 2015/05/09}}

Upon arriving in Axiom Nexus, many Mini-Cons who hailed from "Alpha" universal clusters, where Mini-Cons spoke their own unique language, failed the [[Ambus Test]] used to gauge the sentience of mechanical beings. Eventually, the Mini-Con [[Sprite]], native of a "Gamma" universe in which Mini-Cons spoke intelligibly, campaigned for increased awareness of Mini-Con rights. Thanks to her efforts, the Ambus Test was subsequently phased out and replaced with the more inclusive [[Turtler Test]]. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/16}}

==Toys==
[[File:Armada Blackout toy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Blackout Powerlinxing with Demolishor]]
:Mini-Con toys debuted as the signature element of the ''Armada'' franchise, bringing the "micro [[play pattern]]" back to ''Transformers'' after many years' absence. Much like ''Armada'' itself, the Mini-Cons proved to be a smash hit with fans and kids, and Hasbro scrambled to include them in the subsequent franchises.

:Most Mini-Cons stand around 2" tall, roughly the same size as their [[Micromaster]] predecessors. Most Mini-Cons are considerably more complex, as well; unlike Micromasters, there's no single dominant transformation scheme. With dozens of molds, Mini-Cons cover a wide range of articulation, size, [[alternate mode]]s, and complexity. Aesthetically, their facial designs tend toward the unorthodox.

:Each Mini-Con includes one or more [[Powerlinx]] ports somewhere on their body, a [[5 mm post|5mm]] round peg-slot that allows them to be attached to any "[[Bulk]]" figure with a corresponding Powerlinx peg. These pegs were standard-issue on the larger, original-mold ''Armada'' toys, where at least one such peg could be used to activate various gimmicks on each large figure. Toys from subsequent franchises have featured Powerlinx pegs only as a static feature. Due to the center-peg of the Powerlinx port, they are incompatible with normal 5mm posts. Later Mini-Cons (starting with the ''[[Power Core Combiners]]'' series) would sometimes have 5mm holes without the "signature" center-peg.

{{note|Because of the overwhelming number of Mini-Con redecos—we're talking well into the hundreds—the following list is of unique first-use ''molds'' only.}}

===''Armada''===
{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="20%" valign="top"|<u>'''3-pack team molds'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Adventure Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Dune Runner (Armada)|Dune Runner]] (dune buggy), [[Iceberg]] (snowcat), [[Ransack (Armada)|Ransack]] (jeep)}}
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Armada)|Air Defense Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Jetstorm (Armada)|Jetstorm]] (Concorde jet), [[Runway (Armada)|Runway]] (supersonic bomber), [[Sonar (Armada)|Sonar]] (space shuttle)}}
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Air Military Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Gunbarrel (Armada)|Gunbarrel]] (cargo jet), [[Terradive (Armada)|Terradive]] (recon jet), [[Thunderwing (Armada)|Thunderwing]] (stealth bomber)}}
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Destruction Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Buzzsaw (Armada)|Buzzsaw]] (excavator), [[Drill Bit (Armada)|Drill Bit]] (mining vehicle), [[Dualor (Armada)|Dualor]] (tank)}}
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Emergency Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Firebot (Armada)|Firebot]] (fire engine), [[Makeshift (Armada)|Makeshift]] (VTOL plane), [[Prowl (Armada)|Prowl]] (police cruiser)}}
|
|width="40%" valign="top"|<br>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Land Military Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Bonecrusher (Armada)|Bonecrusher]] (missile transport), [[Knock Out (Armada)|Knock Out]] (armored personnel carrier), [[Wreckage (Armada)|Wreckage]] (tracked missile platform)}}
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Race Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Dirt Boss (Armada)|Dirt Boss]] (rally SUV), [[Downshift (Armada)|Downshift]] (Le Mans racer), [[Mirage (Armada)|Mirage]] (Indy racer)}}
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Sea Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Oceanglide]] (solar-powered boat), [[Stormcloud (Armada)|Stormcloud]] (speedboat), [[Waterlog (Armada)|Waterlog]] (hovercraft)}}
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Space Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Astroscope]] (space station), [[Payload (Armada)|Payload]] (rocket transporter), [[Sky Blast (Armada)|Sky Blast]] (rocket)}}
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Street Action Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Grindor (Armada)|Grindor]] (skateboard), [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]] (dirtbike), [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] (motor scooter)}}
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Street Speed Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Backtrack (Armada)|Backtrack]] (sportscar), [[Oval]] (sportscar), [[Spiral]] (sportscar)}}
|[[File:Armada airmilitaryteam toys.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Air Military Mini-Con Team]]
</ul>
|}

{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="40%" valign="top"|<u>'''Partner Mini-Con molds'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|[[Incinerator (Armada)|Incinerator]] (partner: [[Blurr (Armada)|Blurr]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Refute (Armada)|Refute]] (partner: [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Hoist]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]] (partner: [[Hot Shot (Armada)/toys|Hot Shot]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] (partner: [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/toys|Supercon Optimus Prime]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Nightbeat (Armada)|Nightbeat]] (partner: [[Side Swipe (Armada)|Side Swipe]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Liftor]] (partner: [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Rollout (Armada)|Rollout]] (partner: [[Overload (Armada)|Overload]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Longarm (Armada)|Longarm]] (partner: [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Rollbar (Armada)|Rollbar]] (partner: [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Comettor (Armada)|Comettor]] (partner: [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]] (partner: [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/toys|Super Optimus Prime]])}}
|
|width="40%" valign="top"|<br>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-d1|[[Crumplezone (Armada)|Crumplezone]] (partner: [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Blackout (Armada)|Blackout]] (partner: [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Inferno (Armada)|Inferno]] (partner: [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Wind Sheer (Armada)|Wind Sheer]] (partner: [[Wheeljack (Armada)|Wheeljack]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Thunderclash (Armada)|Thunderclash]] (partner: [[Skywarp (Armada)|Skywarp]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Swindle (Armada)|Swindle]] (partner: [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Leader-1 (Armada)|Leader-1]] (partner: [[Megatron (Armada)/toys|Megatron]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Ramjet (Armada)|Ramjet]] (partner: [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Tidal Wave]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Rook (Armada)|Rook]] and [[Crosswise (Armada)|Crosswise]] (partner: [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Dead End (Armada)|Dead End]] (partner: [[Unicron/toys|Unicron]])}}
|
[[File:Armada Leader1 toy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Leader-1, with wider hips than were entirely necessary.]]
</ul>
|}

===''Legends of the Microns''===
[[File:Armadatoy unicron of light.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Unicron of Light]]
*'''Hikari no Unicron''' (campaign prize item)
**''Accessories:'' Chest missile, 6 leg missiles

: The "[[Unicron of Light]]" toy is a [[redeco]] of ''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Unicron/toys|Unicron]] in an emerald, light green, blue, and white color-scheme. This Unicron was the prize for a lucky-draw contest in Japan.
{{-}}

===''Energon''===
{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="20%" valign="top"|<u>'''3-pack team molds'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Energon Saber]] Team''': [[Scattor (Energon)|Scattor]] (Concorde), [[Skyboom (Energon)|Skyboom]] (space shuttle), [[Wreckage (Energon)|Wreckage]] (supersonic bomber)}}
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Street Action Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Grindor (Armada)|Grindor]] (hoverboard), [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]] (motorbike), [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] (four-wheeler)}}
|[[File:Energon saber.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|The Energon Saber]]
</ul>
|}

{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="20%" valign="top"|<u>'''Other'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|Kicker/Highwire 2-pack}}
|[[File:Energon Kicker HighWire toy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Kicker with High Wire]]
</ul>
|}

===''Cybertron''===
{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="40%" valign="top"|<u>'''Partner Mini-Con molds'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|[[Drill Bit (Cybertron)|Drill Bit]] (partner: [[Metroplex (Cybertron)|Metroplex]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Stripmine]] (partner: [[Quickmix (Cybertron)|Quickmix]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Heavy Load (Cybertron)|Heavy Load]] (partner: [[Menasor (Cybertron)|Menasor]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Safeguard (Cybertron)|Safeguard]] (partner: [[Vector Prime]])}}
|
[[File:Cyb-toy HeavyLoad.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.4|Menasor's partner Heavy Load]]
</ul>
|}

{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="40%" valign="top"|<u>'''3-packs'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|'''[[Recon Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Jolt (Cybertron)|Jolt]] (helicopter), [[Six-Speed (Cybertron)|Six-Speed]] (LeMans race car), [[Reverb (Cybertron)|Reverb]] (pickup truck)}}
{{Bp-d1|'''[[Giant Planet Mini-Con Team]]''': [[Deepdive (Cybertron)|Deepdive]] (submarine), [[Longarm (Cybertron)|Longarm]] (double-crane truck), [[Overcast (Cybertron)|Overcast]] (military cargo plane)}}
|
[[File:Cyb-toy SixSpeed Kabaya.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.4|Kabaya Six-Speed]]
</ul>
|}

===''Classics''===
{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="20%" valign="top"|<u>'''3-packs'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-d1|'''[[Demolition Team]]''': [[Broadside (Classics)|Broadside]], [[Sledge (Classics)|Sledge]], [[Wideload (Classics)|Wideload]]}}
{{Bp-a1|'''[[Dinobot (Classics)|Dinobots]]''': [[Knockdown (Classics)|Knockdown]], [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]], [[Terrorsaur (Classics)|Terrorsaur]]}}
{{Bp-a1|'''[[Night Rescue Team]]''': [[Divebomb (Classics)|Divebomb]], [[Firebot (Classics)|Firebot]], [[Strongarm (Classics)|Strongarm]]}}
{{Bp-a1|'''[[Clear Skies Team]]''': [[Nightscream (Classics)|Nightscream]], [[Steel Wind]], [[Thunderwing (Classics)|Thunderwing]]}}
{{Bp-d1|'''[[Dirt Digger Team]]''': [[Dirt Rocket (Classics)|Dirt Rocket]], [[Grindor (Classics)|Grindor]], [[Oil Slick (Classics)|Oil Slick]]}}
{{Bp-d1|'''[[Predator Attack Team]]''': [[Dreadwing (Classics)|Dreadwing]], [[Overbite (Classics)|Overbite]], [[Snarl (Classics)|Snarl]]}}
|[[File:TFC Clear Sky.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Clear Skies Team]]
</ul>
|}
{{-}}

===''Star Wars Transformers''===
{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="20%" valign="top"|<u>'''Partner Mini-Cons'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
*[[TIE Fighter]]s (partner: [[Darth Vader]])
|[[File:SWTIE Fighter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|TIE Fighters]]
</ul>
|}
{{-}}

===''Universe'' (2008)===
{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="40%" valign="top"|<u>'''Partner Mini-Con molds'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|[[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]] (partner: [[Hot Shot (Armada)/toys#Universe .282008.29|Hot Shot]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Nightstick (G1)|Nightstick]] (partner: [[Cyclonus (G1)/toys|Cyclonus]])}}
|
[[File:UniverseHotShotJolt.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.4|Jolt with Hot Shot]]
</ul>
|}
{{note|Nightstick, despite being a [[Nebulan]] [[Targetmaster (technology)|Targetmaster]], is oddly identified as a Mini-Con on the "Battle in Space" packaging.}}
{{-}}

===''Power Core Combiners''===
{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="40%" valign="top"|<u>'''Partner Mini-Con molds'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-d1|[[Airlift (PCC)|Airlift]] (partner: [[Skyhammer (PCC)|Skyhammer]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Backwind]] (partner: [[Searchlight (PCC)|Searchlight]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Caliburst (PCC)|Caliburst]] (partner: [[Huffer (PCC)|Huffer]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Chainclaw (PCC)|Chainclaw]] (partner: [[Icepick (PCC)|Icepick]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Chopster]] (partner: [[Smolder (PCC)|Smolder]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Groundspike]] (partner: [[Heavytread (PCC)|Heavytread]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Pinpoint]] (partner: [[Leadfoot (PCC)|Leadfoot]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Throttler]] (partner: [[Sledge (PCC)|Sledge]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Waterlog (PCC)|Waterlog]] (partner: [[Undertow (PCC)|Undertow]])}}
|
[[File:PCC-toy Chopster.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Chopster (with Smolder)]]
</ul>
|}
{{-}}

===''Prime''===
{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="20%" valign="top"|<u>'''Mini-Cons'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-d1|[[Laserbeak (WFC)|Laserbeak]] (Partner: [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Ravage (WFC)|Ravage]] (Partner: [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]])}}
|[[File:Primetoy-HasbroTakaraTomy-Laserbeaks.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Laserbeak with Soundwave]]
</ul>
|}
{{note|Neither Laserbeak or Ravage were branded as Mini-Cons on-package, with Ravage instead being referred to as a "mini-figure".}}

{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="40%" valign="top"|<u>'''Arms Microns'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|[[Arc]] (Partner: [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Arcee Blade]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[B.B.]] (Partner: [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Baro]] (Partner: [[Skywarp (WFC)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (WFC)|Thundercracker]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[B.H.]] (Partner: [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Bido]] (Partner: [[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Bogu]] (Partner: [[Unicron]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Bulkhead Knuckle]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Bumblebee Sword]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[C.L.]] (Partner: [[Cliffjumper (WFC)|Cliffjumper]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Dado (Prime)|Dado]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Dago]] (Partner: [[Frenzy (WFC)|Frenzy]] and [[Rumble (WFC)|Rumble]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Dobo]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Giza (Prime)|Giza]] (Partner: [[Nemesis Prime (Prime)|Nemesis Prime]])}}
|
|width="20%" valign="top"|<br>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-d1|[[Gobu]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Gora]] (Partner: [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Guru]] (Partner: [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Hades]] (Partner: [[Megatron (WFC)|Darkness Megatron]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Ida]] (Partner: [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Igu]] (Partner: [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Iro]] (Partner: [[Ironhide (WFC)|Ironhide]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Jaze]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Jida]] (Partner: [[Cliffjumper (WFC)|Cliffjumper]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Jigu]] (Partner: [[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[L.P.]] (Partner: [[Lio Convoy]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Magi]] (Partner: [[Silas|Silas Breakdown]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Megatron Cannon]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Noji]] (Partner: [[Vehicon (Prime)|Jet Vehicon]])}}
|
|width="20%" valign="top"|<br>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|[[O.P.]] (Partner: [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Optimus Prime Blaster]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Ozu (Prime)|Ozu]] (Partner: [[Wildrider (Prime)|Wildrider]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Pral]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[R.A.]] (Partner: [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Ratchet Spanner]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[S.S.]] (Partner: [[Smokescreen (Prime)|Smokescreen]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Sise]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Sou]] (Partner: [[Swerve (Prime)|Swerve]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Ulma]] (Partner: [[Ultra Magnus (WFC)|Ultra Magnus]])}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Wheeljack Kunai]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Wuji]] (Partner: [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Zado]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Zori]] (Partner: [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]])}}
|[[File:Prime-toy OP.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|O.P.]]
</ul>
|}
{{-}}

===''Generations''===
{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="20%" valign="top"|<u>'''3-pack team molds'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-mc|'''[[Mini-Con Assault Team]]''': [[Heavytread (Generations)|Heavytread]], [[Runway (Generations)|Runway]], [[Windshear]]}}
|[[File:Generationstoy-TakaraTomy-Centuritron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Centuritron and the Mini-Con Assault Team]]
</ul>
|}
{{-}}

===''Robots in Disguise'' (2015)===
{{stub|All the new Minicon toys, plus partners/enemies must be included}}
{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="40%" valign="top"|<u>'''Individual Mini-Con molds'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|[[Aerobolt]]}}
{{Bp-a1d1|[[Bashbreaker]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Beastbox (RID)|Beastbox]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Back|Decepticon Back]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Anvil (RID)|Decepticon Anvil]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Bludgeon (RID 2015)|Decepticon Bludgeon]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Divebomb (RID)|Divebomb]]}}
{{Bp-a1d1|[[Dragonus]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Glacius]]}}
{{Bp-a1d1|[[Lancelon]]}}
|
|width="40%" valign="top"|<br>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-d1|[[Major Mayhem]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Ransack (RID Mini-Con)|Ransack]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Ratbat (WFC)|Ratbat]]}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Sandsting]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Sawback]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Sawtooth (RID)|Sawtooth]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Slipstream (RID)|Slipstream]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Tricerashot]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Velocirazor]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Windstrike]]}}
|
[[File:Slipstream RID 2015 toy.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Slipstream]]
</ul>
|}

{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="20%" valign="top"|<u>'''Partner Mini-Cons'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|[[Jetstorm (RID)|Jetstorm]] (Partner: [[Drift (RID)|Drift]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Airazor (RID)|Airazor]] (Partner: [[Fracture (RID)|Fracture]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Hammer (RID)|Decepticon Hammer]] (Partner: [[Crazybolt (RID)|Crazybolt]])}}
{{Bp-d1|[[Backtrack (RID)|Backtrack]] (Partner: [[Overload (RID)|Overload]])}}
|[[File:RID15-toy Backtrack.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Overload's partner Backtrack]]
</ul>
|}

{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="20%" valign="top"|<u>'''Other'''</u>
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|[[Fixit (RID)|Fixit]] (One Step Changer)}}
{{Bp-a1|Fixit (Legion Class)}}
|[[File:2015 RID One-Step Fixit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|One-Step Fixit]]
</ul>
|}

==Merchandise==
===''Attacktix''===
[[File:AttacktixMiniConS1.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Goooood.]]
*'''Mini-Con''' (Booster, 2006)

{{attacktix 
|ID=TF01
|faction=Autobot
|class=Trooper
|special=Attackback - 4/26 (15%) success ratio
|cost=10
|speed=4
|attacktype=Shooter (small missile)
}}
{{-}}

: The first assortment of Transformers ''[[Attacktix]]'' figures included a "generic" Mini-Con, based on [[Skyboom (Energon)|Skyboom]]. Each Mini-Con figure has 3 points of articulation, including waist and shoulders; however, their shoulders move together due to their gun. One of the shortest, most squat ''Attacktix'' figures, the Mini-Con is very stable despite its small base.

:Its Special Power, "Attackback", allows a free move and attack for any of your in-play Autobot pieces. Mini-Con is an excellent support figure for [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]], whose "Shootback" power allows up to three Mini-Cons to make a free attack.

{{-}}
[[File:AttackitxMiniConS2.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Eeeevil.]]
*'''Minicon''' (Booster, 2007)

{{attacktix 
|ID=TF03
|faction=Decepticon
|class=Trooper
|special=Attackback
|cost=10
|speed=4
|attacktype=Shooter (small missile)
}}
{{-}}

:An as-yet unreleased redeco of the ''Attacktix'' "Minicon" (''sic'') piece is set for the second series' Booster Packs, though this time as a Decepticon-aligned piece. It features a color scheme not on any incarnation of the actual [[Sonar (Armada)|Sonar]]/Skyboom toy, but wouldn't that be neat? The exact details of its Attackback special power are as yet unknown.

: This piece was later characterized as "[[Bunker-Buster]]" in the members-only portion of the [[Fun Publications]] [[Transformers Collectors' Club]] website.

{{canceledattacktix}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
*Why are they called Mini-Cons, with a "con" as in Decepticons? According to [[Aaron Archer]], the thought just didn't occur to Hasbro!<ref>"Mini-Bot was too generic, for sure... I don't think we thought of it that deep! The way you just described it, I don't think we realized that maybe we should have considered that nomenclature?"—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNgWvNmMJfE&t=1894s Aaron Archer on ''The Toy Armada'', 2021/12/14]</ref>
*During the ''[[Transformers: Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' line, the term "Mini-Con" was also the name of a [[size class]] which consisted of three-packs of small toys (which were also individually referred to as "Mini-Cons"). Other size classes from the ''Armada'' line were named "Super-Con", "Max-Con" and "Giga-Con". However, the name "Mini-Con" was the only one actually used in the corresponding fiction. In the toyline, it was ''also'' used for other small figures of the same size that were available as companion figures with the larger toys. Due to its use in fiction, the name was also carried over into subsequent lines such as ''[[Transformers: Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'', and was used as (part of) the name of a price point again in the ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' toyline, the "Mini-Con Class" consisting of two-packs. The later ''[[Transformers: Classics|Classics]]'' toyline returned to the original three-pack style.
* Perceptor, the Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield and the Requiem Blaster were the earliest Mini-Con products developed, with a common combining play-pattern, before the decision was made to pack an individual Mini-Con in with each larger robot.<ref>"The idea that they combined was an early idea, and I think they combined with almost those forms too! Takara had those in 2D concept when we were going over different things. Because we did the Requiem Blaster, the [Skyboom] Shield, Star Saber and Perceptor here—we did all those at the same time. We wanted to turn three of the Mini-Cons into a combining robot, and then that could be another type of protector for the kids as well."—[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow2iKv7DrL4&t=2217s Aaron Archer on ''The Toy Armada'', 2022/10/25]</ref> These toys ended up being split across the first three waves of the line.
* There have been a number of characters or toys that either have Powerlinx "catcher" ports but are not Mini-Cons, or are recolored from Mini-Con molds (often even having the molded-in faction symbol) but who are nonetheless, according to their associated bios or fiction, not actually Mini-Cons. These include ''[[Transformers: Universe (2003 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[Caliburn (Universe)|Caliburn]], ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'' [[Laserbeak (Cybertron)|Laserbeak]], and the [[Search and Destroy Robot]]. Conversely, the ''[[Transformers: Rescue Bots (franchise)|Rescue Bots]]'' [[Transformers: Rescue Bots (toyline)|toyline]] credits [[Servo (RB)|Servo]] as a Mini-Con, while in the actual television show he's merely referred to as a "Cybertronian Helper Bot".
* According to [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]], Hasbro and Takara's design departments originally conceived the [[Omnicon]]s and [[Terrorcon (Energon)|Terrorcons]] as being "evolved" forms of the ''Armada'' Mini-Cons. Takara's marketing department, the only people directly talking to [[We've]], completely ignored this, so the [[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|''Energon'' cartoon]] established an entirely different backstory for the group. <ref name="ichikawa">[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/43847f79db724831 "Wing Saber vs. Mega-Dinobot: A Lesson"], Hirofumi Ichikawa at alt.toys.transformers</ref> A vestige of this idea ''may'' have persisted into [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s ''[[Transformers: Energon (comic)|Energon]]'' comic, which depicts the Omnicons inhabiting the former Mini-Con villages, and features a scene in which the Mini-Con [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] describes them as the product of an artificially-induced "evolutionary step". However, the comic never explicitly confirms that they ''are'' evolved Mini-Cons, so draw your own conclusions. Fun Publications would later canonise the idea for the pack-in comics continuity with [[Armada Volume 5|''Armada'' Volume 5]].
* A proposed episode of ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]'''s [[Transformers Animated season 4|unproduced fourth season]] would've focused on the Mini-Cons, who nominally ran Trypticon Prison, running amok in [[Detroit]] after Megatron teleported the prison complex to [[Earth]].

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Micron''' (マイクロン ''Maikuron''), '''Mini-Con''' (ミニコン ''Minikon'')
*''Dutch:'' '''Miniteam'''
*''French:'' '''Minican''' (France, cartoon dub), '''Minimodus''' (Canada and France, toys)
*''Korean:'' '''Micron''' (마이크론 ''Maikeuron'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Mínǐ Jīn'gāng''' (迷你金刚, "Mini Vajra")
*''Spanish:'' '''Minimodus'''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Armada]]
[[Category:Attacktix]]
[[Category:Beast Wars species]]
[[Category:Classics species]]
[[Category:Cybertron species]]
[[Category:Energon franchise]]
[[Category:Factions]]
[[Category:Generation 1 factions]]
[[Category:Generation 1 subgroups]]
[[Category:Movie]]
[[Category:Gimmicks]]
[[Category:Mini-Cons| ]]
[[Category:Unicron]]
[[Category:Universe (2003)]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron subgroups]]