Lightpole: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:Lipole close up.jpg|right|200px|thumb|And I go, "Yeah, baby, 'cause I'm the evil Io bomb-bat what bombs on Io!"]]
[[File:Lightpole close up.jpg|right|upright=1.5|thumb|And I go, "Yeah, baby, 'cause I'm the evil Io bomb-bat what bombs on Io!"]]
:''Lipoles are [[Alien|aliens]] in the [[Generation 1|Generation 1]] continuity family.''
 
'''Lipoles''' are flying, bat-like creatures, though they can furl their wings and walk.  They live in smoldering craters on [[Jupiter|Jupiter]]'s moon of [[Io|Io]].  Their saliva is acidic and they eat metal.  When threatened, they can [[Transformation|transform]] into explosive missiles and fling themselves at predators.
 
{{-}}


'''Lightpoles''' (aka '''lipoles''') are flying, bat-like creatures, though they can furl their wings and walk. They live in smoldering craters on [[Jupiter]]'s moon of [[Io]]. Their saliva is acidic and they eat metal. When threatened, they can [[Transformation|transform]] into explosive missiles and fling themselves at predators.


==Fiction==
==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon===
===''The Transformers'' cartoon===
[[Image:FFOD4 Autobots lipoles.JPG|left|200px|thumb|"I'm Batman."  "No, I'm Batman."  "I'm Batman!"  "No! I'm Batman!"]]
[[File:FFOD4 Autobots lightpoles.JPG|left|upright=1.1|thumb|"I'm [[Batman]]." "No, I'm Batman." "I'm Batman!" "No! I'm Batman!"]]
[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] and [[Wheelie|Wheelie]] crashed on Io while bringing [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[Transformation cog|transformation cog]] to [[Earth|Earth]]. As they awaited rescue, two glowing, acid-dripping lipoles emerged from a crater with wings furled. One picked up a piece of metal and devoured it for a light snack. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}}
[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] and [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] crashed on Io while bringing [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[Transformation cog (biology)|transformation cog]] to [[Earth]]. As they awaited rescue, two glowing, acid-dripping lightpoles emerged from a crater with wings furled. One picked up a piece of metal and devoured it for a light snack. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}}
 
 
[[Image:Lipoloe missiles from Five Faces of Darkness.jpg|right|200px|thumb|It's not silly!  Really!  Bees do this in real life!]]
Shortly thereafter, a swarm of lipoles attacked them.  Without weapons, Blurr and Wheelie attempted to flee, though Wheelie wasn't fast enough to keep out of their talons. [[Marissa Faireborn|Marissa Faireborn]] arrived to rescue the pair.  She landed and began to attack the swarm with a handgun.  Once faced with energy weapons, some of the swarm transformed into suicidal missile mode and destroyed her ship, leaving the Autobots and human stranded.  {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}}  


After a brief respite, additional lipoles continued to assault Blurr, Wheelie, and Marissa. Finally, [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] effortlessly rescued the trio from the creatures' ravenous clutches. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}
[[File:Lightpole missiles from Five Faces of Darkness.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|It's not silly! Really! Bees do this in real life!]]
{{-}}
Shortly thereafter, a swarm of lightpoles attacked them. Without weapons, Blurr and Wheelie attempted to flee, though Wheelie wasn't fast enough to keep out of their talons. [[Marissa Faireborn]] arrived to rescue the pair. She landed and began to attack the swarm with a handgun. Once faced with energy weapons, some of the swarm transformed into suicidal missile mode and destroyed her ship, leaving the Autobots and human stranded. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}}  


After a brief respite, additional lightpoles continued to assault Blurr, Wheelie, and Marissa. Finally, [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] effortlessly rescued the trio from the creatures' ravenous clutches. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}


==Trivia==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
[[Image:Lipoles and wheelie.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Composite panning shot]]
[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] noted that [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] was "a few lipoles short of a nest". {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac}}
* There is some indication that the animators misunderstood what the lipoles were supposed to be, or possibly even that the writer changed his mind  mid-stream.  In their first on-screen appearance at the end of "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3", two lipoles are shown crawling out of a crater behind Blurr and Wheelie, immediately followed by a screen-filling shot of one, wings furled, eating some scrap metal. The two shots give the impression of a monstrously huge, land-based menace... in sharp contrast to the lipoles' subsequent appearance as a flock of tiny, swarming creatures in the following episodes.
{{--}}
* Likewise, these first two Lipoles glow radioactively, and one drools smoldering acid saliva.  These traits are notably absent from the creatures' later appearances.
* Though the lipoles ''appear'' mechanical—their transition to missile-mode is even accompanied by the "Transformation" sound—Marissa Faireborne refers to them as "bags of protoplasm."
* The name "lipole" is never used in the story portion of the episodes.  It is only used in the recap section of "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5".


==Notes==
[[File:FFoD3 Lightpoles and wheelie.jpg|right|upright=1.8|thumb|Composite panning shot]]
* These creatures are only named on-screen once, by narrator [[Victor Caroli]] during the recap that plays at the start of "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5". Fans interpreted Caroli's reading of the name as the nonsense word "'''lipole'''", and that is how they were known for most of fandom history until the original script for "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5" surfaced, and revealed that the beasts are actually called "lightpoles". It's not immediately obvious from their appearance, but according to writer [[Flint Dille]]'s original script for Part 3, which eventually came to light in 2022, they are so named because they are meant to resemble "multi-armed glowing tadpoles, apparently composed of volcanic lava."
* When they appear in Part 3, the lightpoles are shown to be land-based creatures, but in Part 4, they have suddenly become flying creatures with bat wings. This confusion is the result of a scene that was cut from the episode, in which the lightpoles are shown to be able to reshape their fluid, lava bodies, sprouting wings to pursue the two fleeing Autobots. The script further describes how this control over their molecules is what allows them to perform their explosive kamikaze "dive bomb" attacks, detailing how they were meant to change colour from yellow to orange to reflect their now-explosive properties. This was completely changed for the finished episode, which instead depicts the lightpoles as orange throughout their on-screen appearances, and shows them actually transforming from bats into bombs, complete with the transformation sound effect. This makes them seem mechanical, rather than organic, which makes Marissa calling them "bags of protoplasm" feel off.


[[Category:Aliens]]
[[Category:Alien species]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Animated species]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Generation 1 cartoon species]]
[[Category:Robots]]

Latest revision as of 22:29, 2 September 2025

And I go, "Yeah, baby, 'cause I'm the evil Io bomb-bat what bombs on Io!"

Lightpoles (aka lipoles) are flying, bat-like creatures, though they can furl their wings and walk. They live in smoldering craters on Jupiter's moon of Io. Their saliva is acidic and they eat metal. When threatened, they can transform into explosive missiles and fling themselves at predators.

Fiction

[edit]

The Transformers cartoon

[edit]
"I'm Batman." "No, I'm Batman." "I'm Batman!" "No! I'm Batman!"

Blurr and Wheelie crashed on Io while bringing Metroplex's transformation cog to Earth. As they awaited rescue, two glowing, acid-dripping lightpoles emerged from a crater with wings furled. One picked up a piece of metal and devoured it for a light snack. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3

It's not silly! Really! Bees do this in real life!

Shortly thereafter, a swarm of lightpoles attacked them. Without weapons, Blurr and Wheelie attempted to flee, though Wheelie wasn't fast enough to keep out of their talons. Marissa Faireborn arrived to rescue the pair. She landed and began to attack the swarm with a handgun. Once faced with energy weapons, some of the swarm transformed into suicidal missile mode and destroyed her ship, leaving the Autobots and human stranded. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4

After a brief respite, additional lightpoles continued to assault Blurr, Wheelie, and Marissa. Finally, Sky Lynx effortlessly rescued the trio from the creatures' ravenous clutches. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5

Animated cartoon

[edit]

Starscream noted that Megatron was "a few lipoles short of a nest". The AllSpark Almanac

Notes

[edit]
Composite panning shot
  • These creatures are only named on-screen once, by narrator Victor Caroli during the recap that plays at the start of "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5". Fans interpreted Caroli's reading of the name as the nonsense word "lipole", and that is how they were known for most of fandom history until the original script for "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5" surfaced, and revealed that the beasts are actually called "lightpoles". It's not immediately obvious from their appearance, but according to writer Flint Dille's original script for Part 3, which eventually came to light in 2022, they are so named because they are meant to resemble "multi-armed glowing tadpoles, apparently composed of volcanic lava."
  • When they appear in Part 3, the lightpoles are shown to be land-based creatures, but in Part 4, they have suddenly become flying creatures with bat wings. This confusion is the result of a scene that was cut from the episode, in which the lightpoles are shown to be able to reshape their fluid, lava bodies, sprouting wings to pursue the two fleeing Autobots. The script further describes how this control over their molecules is what allows them to perform their explosive kamikaze "dive bomb" attacks, detailing how they were meant to change colour from yellow to orange to reflect their now-explosive properties. This was completely changed for the finished episode, which instead depicts the lightpoles as orange throughout their on-screen appearances, and shows them actually transforming from bats into bombs, complete with the transformation sound effect. This makes them seem mechanical, rather than organic, which makes Marissa calling them "bags of protoplasm" feel off.