Editing Alpha Trion/Generation 1

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{{disambig3|Alpha Trion}}
:''Alpha Trion is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:Alphatrionkhanna.jpg|right|228px|thumb|If Alpha Trion were a Decepticon, you KNOW he would stroke his beard while contemplating conquest. You know it.]]
'''Alpha Trion''' is one of the oldest living Transformers, and with that age comes a nuanced understanding of his race and their place within the universe. In his youth, he went by the name '''A3''', and in this time, he helped lead the enslaved Cybertronians in their rebellion against their cruel masters, the [[Quintesson]]s. As a result, he was instrumental in first establishing [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] as an independent planet.

In his older years, he has found a comfortable role in serving as advisor to other Transformers. Though not taking part in the battles of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], he is firmly on the side of the Autobots, serving as a mentor and guide, especially to [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Elita One]]. He is an enigmatic old robot, though he is known to be the guardian of [[Vector Sigma]] and the custodian of its [[Key to Vector Sigma|circuit key]]. His sage-like manner paints him in almost a mystic tone, and possible connections between Alpha Trion, [[Primus]], and the history of Cybertron itself have boosted him into legendary status.

{{note| In 2010 Hasbro introduced a [[retcon]] naming Alpha Trion as a member of the [[Thirteen|Thirteen original Transformers]], and thus a likely [[Multiversal singularity|multiversal singularity]] (meaning, basically, that all Alpha Trions in the [[multiverse]] would be the same individual). Due to the lengthy histories many of these incarnations (especially this one) had prior to the retcon we have opted to leave their pages as separate entities, and merely note the retcon on each individual page. For the Alpha Trion that is definitively one of the 13 see: [[Alpha Trion (Prime)]]}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
''Voice actors:'' [[John Stephenson]] (English), [[Corey Burton]] (English, "[[War Dawn]]"), [[Tony Pope]] (English, "[[Forever Is a Long Time Coming]]"), [[Osamu Saka]] (Japanese), [[Toshio Ishii]] (Japanese, "War Dawn"), [[Hiroshi Naka]] (Japanese, ''The Rebirth'' only), [[Wolfgang Mascher]] (German, Season 3 & 4)

[[Image:YoungA3.jpg|left|thumb|Silverbolt never misses a chance to check out A3's rugged mustache.]]
11 million years ago, a mechanoid named A3 was part of the [[Autobot Rebellion|rebellion]] against the [[Quintesson]]s on a [[Cybertron (planet)|factory world]], creating a device called the [[Coda Remote]] that would stop their [[Dark Guardian]]s. Due to a timerift created by Quintessons from the future, he was briefly pulled from his position in the [[Empty Lands]] into the year 2006. Fortunately, his partner [[Beta (G1)|Beta]] managed to start the rebellion as scheduled, and A3 was soon returned by future [[Autobot]]s to fulfill his role in Cybertronian history. {{storylink|Forever Is a Long Time Coming}}

[[Image:Alphatrionagesbackwards.jpg|right|thumb|He grew a beard, picked up the Matrix, shaved his beard, and then built Optimus, apparently.]]
Years later, he would be given the [[Matrix of Leadership]] by the dying [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]], but Alpha Trion himself did not become Autobot leader. It would sit in his possession, unused, until the coming of the next Autobot leader. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}} In the meantime, Alpha Trion developed plans to rebuild Autobots to better combat the escalating [[Decepticon]] menace.

The next Autobot leader would actually come to ''him'' when a [[Aerialbot (G1)|group of time-travelers]] lugged a dying youth named Orion Pax to his repair center. Reluctant at first, Alpha Trion sensed a strong spirit in Orion Pax, and decided to rebuild him entirely... into [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]]. When Prime asked if Alpha Trion could rebuild his fallen girlfriend Ariel as well, Alpha Trion agreed, and mused that [[Elita One]] would be a good name for a female warrior. {{storylink|War Dawn}}

[[Image:AlphaTrion.jpg|left|thumb|"Yes, she is a girl."]]

Over the intervening millennia, Alpha Trion's two greatest creations, whether by design or coincidence, forgot their relationship to the ancient Autobot. Five million years after his creation, Optimus Prime was lost when his spacecraft crash-landed on prehistoric Earth, but Alpha Trion kept in contact with Elita One, acting as a sagely advisor to her team of [[Female Autobots]] as they spent the following four million years stealing [[energon]] from [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]. Eventually, in the Earth year 1985, Shockwave caught the Female Autobots in the act and tracked them back to their headquarters, prompting Elita One to consult with Alpha Trion on a course of action. Trion suggested they move their headquarters, telling Elita to scout for a new location alone, but in the event that she encountered the Decepticons, warned her not to use her life-draining time-freezing power. Alas, Elita was captured, and used by the Decepticons to lure Optimus Prime into a trap. To save her beloved's life, Elita used her fatal power, and the Autobot leader was forced to track Alpha Trion to [[Alpha Trion's base‎|his secret base]] in hopes that he could save her. Alpha Trion repaired her to the best of his ability, but revealed to Optimus Prime that only Prime could save Elita by interfacing to her with his power filter. An astonished Optimus Prime stated that only his creator could know that! {{storylink|The Search for Alpha Trion}}

[[Image:Ktvs prime and trion.jpg|right|thumb]]

A short time later, while he was looking for a [[10.2 ultra-drill|misplaced tool]], Alpha Trion was attacked in his workshop by Megatron and his Decepticons, who demanded that he hand over the [[Key to Vector Sigma]]. Trion pled ignorance, but Megatron knew better, and the elderly Autobot was soon overpowered while the Decepticons made off with the key. Alpha Trion was rescued from the chunk of metal the Decepticons left him stuck in by Optimus Prime and the Autobots, and after his injuries were repaired by [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], he journeyed with them into Cybertron's depths, leading the way to Vector Sigma's chamber. Their way, however, was barred by [[Centurion droid]]s that Megatron used the Key to command, and Alpha Trion helped reactivate some discarded worker robots to fight the droids off. The droids had done their job, however, and prevented the Autobots from reaching Megatron before he used Vector Sigma to bring his newest Decepticons, the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to life. To combat these new land-based Decepticons, Optimus Prime hit on the idea of creating some new aerial Autobots, and Alpha Trion set to work reconstructing some Cybertronian aircraft. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}} When the work was done, Alpha Trion professed that he had another key to Vector Sigma "on him," and he would use it to reactivate the computer so that it could bring the jets to life. His "key," however, was his own life force: as a first generation product of Vector Sigma, his computation matrix could interface with the computer and bring it back online, at the cost of his own continued existence. Optimus Prime tried to stop him, but Alpha Trion refused to listen, reminding Prime that he was his creator and insisting that the jets were more important that he was. Prime relented, and Alpha Trion merged with Vector Sigma, which activated and brought the new [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] to life. Before Prime and the Autobots departed for Earth, Alpha Trion spoke to them through Vector Sigma, warning them of a fact merging with the computer had revealed to him: on Earth, the Key to Vector Sigma had even greater power. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}} 

Many years later, when the [[Hate Plague]] was raging throughout the universe in the year 2006, Optimus Prime entered the Matrix to consult the ancient Autobots within on a possible cure. Alpha Trion was the first Prime spoke to, but he had no information to give, save a warning that Prime should take care on his journey into the Matrix, lest he be unable to return. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

The following year, after the Decepticons stole the [[Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber]], Optimus Prime used the Matrix to reactivate Vector Sigma so that he could converse with Alpha Trion, hoping that the old sage knew something more about what was going on. Alpha Trion revealed to Prime that Vector Sigma had ''allowed'' [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] to become aware of the key's existence, as the chamber was key to the dawning of a new [[Golden Age]] for Cybertron... as was the merging of an [[Cerebros (G1)|Autobot]]'s life with that of a [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|human]]'s. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}}

====''The Headmasters'' cartoon====
{{note|The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in the Japanese timeline as described above, except that the events of 2006 take place instead in 2010, and "The Rebirth" does not occur. Japanese continuity inserts many additional stories into the timeline, only one of which features Alpha Trion.}}

[[Image:AlphaTrionGhost.jpg|right|thumb|Alpha Trion's Spooooooky Ghost]]
In the year 2011, one year after Optimus Prime released the energy of the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, Vector Sigma began to destabilize as a result. Optimus Prime voyaged into the planet's depths to try and bring the computer back under control, but the mission seemed doomed to failure, as he did not have the Matrix to help him. While the other Autobots searched Earth for the Matrix, which had been hidden away to recharge, the spectral form of Alpha Trion appeared to Optimus Prime to help lead him through the many dangers blocking the path to Vector Sigma's chamber. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}} When they finally reached their goal, however, it turned out the Decepticons had beaten them there. [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] was not far behind, with the recovered Matrix in his grasp, and when the young Autobot arrived, Alpha Trion instructed him to hold the talisman aloft. Trion's ethereal form flowed into the Matrix, completing its recharging process and transforming Hot Rod back into Rodimus Prime, who joined Optimus in thrashing the Decepticons. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}
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===''Universe'' comic===
[[Image:DepartureBetrayal-AlphaTrion.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Alpha Trion was various lions for all of two seconds, in one person's mind.]]
Alpha Trion was seemingly resurrected and/or reformatted as a lion by the [[Oracle (BM)|Oracle]] to guide [[Primal Prime]] and his [[Wrecker]] in much the same way as he aided many previous Autobot leaders. {{storylink|Departure}} It is unclear whether this new form ever existed physically; its only appearance was as a vision in Primal Prime's head. {{storylink|Betrayal}}

[[Image:Alphatrionuniverse.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He said he was reformatted into a beast mode, but he was lyin'.]]
However, he did not make an appearance after this enigmatic reintroduction until [[Unicron]] posed a new threat to the balance of the multiverse. Alpha Trion, though technically still merged with [[Primus]]/[[Vector Sigma]]/Whatever, was again in his original body (but now with a cape!). He/they pulled Cybertron's greatest hero, [[Optimus Primal]], back from the dead in order to rescue recently abducted Cybertronians from the center of the Chaos Bringer. {{storylink|Abduction}} 

When Primal succeeded at this monumental task, {{storylink|Escape (Universe)|Escape}} he confronted the [[Maximal Elder]]s with one of his overblown speeches and was thrown in jail. Alpha Trion sent [[Snarl (BM)|Snarl]] to stage a small rescue of his own, and Primal was returned to the center of Cybertron. Here, Alpha Trion presented Primal with a window into the past, present, and future of the [[Allspark]], from which he could pluck any warrior, whether they be living or dead. Primal chose [[Depth Charge (BW)|Depthcharge]] and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]], the former of whom rejected Primal's calling. Alpha Trion quieted Primal's disappointment, letting Depthcharge go, expecting him to return of his own accord. To take his place, Alpha Trion pulled [[Omega Prime]] from a [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Viron]] universe. {{storylink|Homecoming (issue)|Homecoming}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
[[Image:Alphatriondw.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Most people kill their prizes before hanging them on their wall. Shockwave is not most people.]]
Eons ago, Alpha Trion kept watch over the Transformers when Primus entered his eternal sleep to hide Cybertron from Unicron. However, a nomadic alien race eventually conquered Cybertron, and Alpha Trion was forced into hiding. Thousands of Transformers were slaughtered, and Alpha Trion was unable to act. {{storylink|Transformers: The Ultimate Guide}} Alpha Trion performed actions that would make him known as the savior of his race. {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}}

Alpha Trion was attached to the supercomputer Vector Sigma, and was its caretaker from the [[Golden Age]] to the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. He was considered the only Transformer capable of accessing all of the computer's functions. In his position, he disagreed with the [[Council of Ancients]]' esoteric mysticism, wishing to make the Transformers' place in the cosmos more known. {{Storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye #8}} Despite this, he was a secret guiding force behind the Council and its selection of Primes. He was fond of [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], both with whom he had a special bond. {{Storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye #1}}

After the [[Great Shutdown]], [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] was awakened. Soon after, he met [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], who somehow led the [[Decepticon]] to Alpha Trion. Alpha Trion was incapacitated and hung on a wall in Shockwave's laboratory for analysis, to assist Shockwave in his attempt to control Vector Sigma. The ancient Cybertronian constantly foiled his attempts to analyze him; nevertheless, Shockwave swore that the savior of their race would become its "greatest destroyer". {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}} As Shockwave's plans reached fruition, the last remaining "ancient program" for him to decode was Alpha Trion. However, Shockwave's machinations were foiled by his apparent and untimely demise. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}

Alpha Trion's last days were recorded to be deep within Cybertron, preparing the Transformers and Cybertron for their darkest hour. {{Storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye #1}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:Historyofcybertron.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Trukk... and munky?]]
When [[Serpentor|Serpent O.R.]] downloaded some of [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]'s memories, he saw Alpha Trion and his role in the [[Cybertronian Civil Wars#G1 cartoon continuity|rebellion]] against the [[Quintesson]]s. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 1|The Art of War #1}}
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===IDW Generation 1 comics===
[[Image:MO3 EOOPAT funeral.jpg|left|thumb|250px]]
Alpha Trion attended the funerals of [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]], accompanied by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Orion Pax]], [[Elita One]], and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}}

Several million [[units of time|meta-cycles]] later, Alpha Trion found himself the last Transformer on Cybertron, working to restore the planet after it had been rendered virtually uninhabitable by normal Transformers. The isolation evidently did not do the wise old Autobot any good, as he seemed to have more than a few screws loose and had become tremendously self-aggrandizing by the year 2010.

[[Image:Ironing Out the Details Alpha Trion.jpg|right|thumb|Metal beards are ridiculous! But ''cloth'' beards are super okay.]]
Operating out of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], Trion spent "dozens of meta-cycles" processing the corrosive elements out of Cybertron's atmosphere, slowly making it habitable again, but was still faced with the problem of the monstrous [[Insecticon swarm]] that had overrun the planet. Requiring the toughest of the tough to obliterate the swarm, Alpha Trion selected [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] to do the job. That Ironhide was across the galaxy on Earth mattered little: Ironhide would eventually die some day, Trion rationalized, and so he built a duplicate body on Cybertron into which he could implant Ironhide's spark and memories once he passed on and returned to the "[[Allspark|core]]". With Vector Sigma having been essentially erased in the event that devastated Cybertron, this took Alpha Trion years and pushed his skills to their limit, but once Ironhide died on Earth in 2010, the ancient Autobot's grand work was complete, and Ironhide returned to life on Cybertron in the new body constructed for him. {{storylink|Any Old Iron}}

Ironhide awoke in confusion, his memories incomplete due to damage he had suffered millions of years beforehand that had disrupted his link to the core, and wandered Cybertron's wastes until Alpha Trion dispatched his [[Scamper|page]] to bring the befuddled warrior to the city-mode Metroplex. Alpha Trion took umbrage at the fact Ironhide had never heard of his ancient greatness, and revealed his incredible powers over his own electromagnetic aura by using it to control Ironhide's actions when the ornery Autobot started to get a little rough. Ironhide further tested Trion's patience when he ignored his cautions and ventured out to track down the near-dead [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (even if Sunstreaker ''had'' heard of him). Finally, Trion relented to Ironhide's constant questioning and explained the reason he had brought him back online: to exterminate the swarm. {{storylink|Ironing Out the Details}} While Ironhide took out of most of the swarm in a brutal battle, Trion busied himself repairing Sunstreaker. After Ironhide returned, Trion announced that he and Metroplex were leaving Cybertron for parts unknown while Ironhide mopped up the remaining Insecticons. Infuriated by the old 'bots condescending attitude, Ironhide slugged him one, but Alpha Trion let it slide, putting Ironhide in his place by telling him he was just a small playing piece in a very large game. Before departing, however, Alpha Trion softened, congratulating Ironhide on saving the entire planet. After all, the only other Autobot would could make that claim... was he. {{storylink|Any Old Iron}}

Millions of years after the end of the Great War, Alpha Trion lived on a prosperous [[Gorlam Prime]], telling young Transformers the history of their race and their struggles. His closest friend at this time was an aged Ironhide, who Alpha frequently comforted as Ironhide struggled to find his place in the new civilization. {{storylink|Pax Cybertronia (issue)|Pax Cybertronia}}

===''Wings Universe''===
{{note|The Wings Universe is largely derived from the original cartoon continuity, with a few minor differences such as character body-types. Alpha Trion's appearance in the flashbacks of "[[War Dawn]]" occurs amidst the following stories.}}

After the ''[[Van De Graaff]]'' was shot down on [[Beta-Nine]], the proemial Alpha Unit of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] managed to retrieve its cargo. The [[Matrix of Leadership|mysterious item]] was then delivered by [[Magnum]] to its custodian, Alpha Trion. {{storylink|Wings of Honor}} 

Over the next ten years, the Decepticon insurrection became more fierce. Councilor Magnum continued to champion his Elite Guard, a series of strike teams dedicated to hunting down the [[Decepticon Warlord]]s to cut the many heads off the serpent. Councilor Alpha Trion, however, favored his own Prime Initiative, a general of sorts who would oversee the entire Autobot army as a unified force against the Decepticons. {{Storylink|The Coming Storm: Part 2}} 

Despite their political differences, Alpha Trion and Magnum worked together as the situation called for it. When a group of civilian scientists and historians needed demolitions assistance at a dig site in [[Median]], Alpha Trion requested the help of Magnum's Elite Guard for the job. Of course, he neglected to mention some of the finer points of the mission, but such is politics. {{storylink|Flames of Yesterday}}

After [[Dion]] and [[Magnum]] were injured in a Decepticon attack, they were taken to Alpha Trion. He was only able to save one of them, rebuilding the survivor into [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. As the war drained Cybertron's energy to dangerously low levels, Optimus left the planet on a mission to find more energy. Alpha Trion prepared stasis pods within which most of the remaining Autobot population would hibernate. As they placed the other Autobots in the pods, he warned [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] that remaining online during periods of low energy as he intended to do would greatly accelerate the aging process. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 6}}

==Toys==
===Unreleased===
[[Image:Alphalion.jpg|right|300px|thumb|You'll never own me.]]
A redeco of [[Snarl (BM)|''Beast Machines'' Snarl]] was planned as Alpha Trion for the [[BotCon|OTFCC]] ''[[Transformers: Universe (comic)|Wreckers]]'' storyline, but this concept never made it past the paint mock-up stage. 

A redecoed [[Lio Convoy]] was also considered by [[3H Productions|3H]] for Alpha Trion around the same time, and it was sort of this version that briefly appeared in the comic book (see above). Though the toy [[Prototype|mock-up]] used Snarl, 3H hoped they could finagle the use of the Lio Convoy mold. "Alpha Lion"'s wireframe appearance in [[Departure|''Wreckers'' #1]] used Lio Convoy's body, but Snarl's head, hopefully allowing 3H to fudge either way, should they come to a decision. They didn't!

{{canceledtoy}}
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==Merchandise==
===Super Collection Figure===
* '''Alpha Trin''' (2002)

: A three-inch-tall [[plastic|PVC]] figurine of Alpha Trion was available in "Act 8" of [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s ''[[Heroes of Cybertron|Super Collection Figure]]'' line. Like all the figures in the wave, it was available as both a standard full-color figure and a metallic-silver "pewter" version, one of each of which was available in a standard case of twelve [[blindpacking|blindpacked]] figures. Additionally, the pewter version of Alpha Trion came packaged with the left leg of the [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] collectible "build-a-figure".

: Alpha Trion was not among the ''Super Collection Figures'' brought over to the West for [[Hasbro]]'s ''[[Heroes of Cybertron]]'' line.

==Notes==
* Alpha Trion is one of the very few Cybertronians to show signs of aging and [[Facial hair|hair growth]].
* According to a note in Japan's ''[[Comic Bom Bom]]'' magazine, A3 was the first successful Cybertronian, [[A1]] and [[A2]] being failures. However, the presence of Cybertronians within the Matrix of Leadership older than Alpha Trion (as seen in "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2|The Return of Optimus Prime]]") makes the actual [[Canon|canonicity]] of this questionable.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Alpha Trin''' (アルファートリン ''Arufā Torin'')
*''Indonesian:'' '''Alpa Trion'''
*''Mandarin:'' '''Alpha Tellion''' (Taiwan, 阿法特利昂 ''Ā Fǎ Tè Lì Áng''), '''Tai Shifu''' (China, 鈦師傅, "Master Titanium")

==External links==
*[http://www.redshirt.co.uk/random/alpha-trion-vs-emirate-xaaron/ Horribly biased comparison of Alpha Trion and Emirate Xaaron]

[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Beast Machines Autobots]]
[[Category:Elderly Transformers]]
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[[Category:Ghosts]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]