Cloning

"Clone" redirects here. For the Generation 1 subgroup, see Clone (subgroup).

"Do you love me, Clone Daddy?"

If you're an aspiring commander and you need an army fast, why not try cloning?

Transformer clones are created in a number of different ways, which sometimes blur the line between biological procreation and mechanical replication. Often, they involve the usage of protoforms and CNA, but some "clones" are created through surgery on pre-existing Transformers.

While one might expect clones to be physically identical to their progenitors, this is not always the case. Depending on the universe, clones sometimes sport different color schemes, radically different alternate modes, and, in a few notable cases, entirely different genders. Even the original Transformer Clones, Autobots Fastlane and Cloudraker, and Decepticons Pounce and Wingspan shared only their respective robot modes.

Fiction

Generation 1

Marvel The Transformers comics

A hapless Decepticon trooper was forced to become part of Project Re-Birth by Straxus, which rebuilt his body in the image of Megatron. Soon, another Megatron related his discovery of the hidden lab in Straxus's base where the trooper was surgically reconstructed into a replica of Megatron's own body, which was then possessed by Straxus... who had in turn been overwhelmed by a copy of Megatron's own memories and believed himself to be the original, to form a sort of Double Decker Taco of mind-control and body horror. Realizing the truth, the clone Megatron—who was barely clinging to sanity—chose to take his own life "rather than let Straxus win". Two Megatrons!

The Transformers cartoon

He spent ten long years to build a cloning machine, and now he's accomplished his wonderful dream!

The Insecticons possessed cloning abilities that allowed them to create clones of themselves using metallic debris. Using this, they were able to increase their numbers from three to potentially hundreds of thousands. A Plague of Insecticons The Decepticons attempted to use the Insecticon clones to produce energon by having the Insecticons ingest organic food, but the Insecticon clones were destroyed by Morphobots. Quest for Survival

Megatron created a perfect clone of Optimus Prime in an attempt to infiltrate and destroy the Autobots. He almost succeeded. He also created a clone of Starscream as part of a plan to make the Autobots think the Optimus clone was the real Optimus. A Prime Problem

By the year 2007, the Autobot and Decepticon Clones were active on Cybertron. The Rebirth, Part 1

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Transformer clones such as Pounce, Wingspan, Fastlane, and Cloudraker were created by artificially replicating the process that normally led to Transformer siblings and artificially splitting a spark as it was introduced to a protoform. These pairs were less well-balanced and more co-dependent than naturally occurring siblings. More than Meets the Eye

After the Great Shutdown, Shockwave began research into cloning. He developed several clones of prominent individuals, using technology he had gained when Megatron struck a deal with the Quintessons over the Aerospace Extermination Squadron. When Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus overthrew his regime, Shockwave's clones were not yet ready. The Battlechargers discovered his lab while looking for a CR chamber, finding several of the clones who had yet to be activated. However, the computers were processing the information that Shockwave had downloaded from Vector Sigma, spilling into whatever available memory it could find... including Sunstorm, a clone of Starscream. Night of the Combaticons

Descent into Evil

When Deathsaurus perfected the cloning process, the genetic matrices were all that he needed. Deathsaurus experimented on Dirge and Buzzclaw's genetic code, using their propensity for cloning to create the Virulent Clones in a lab on Ceti Alpha Seven.

Too bad Ricochet contaminated all of them. Descent into Evil

2005 IDW continuity

The Insecticons seem to have been created through some kind of cloning process. The process didn't appear to be very efficient, as only one in every thousand clones were sentient. The malformed rejects of the process went feral and became known as the Insecticon swarm. All Hail Megatron #7

After getting his hands on the remains of Thrust and Ramjet, G.B. Blackrock managed to reverse-engineer Transformer physiology and create the Seeker clones, an army of non-sentient Transformers built off the templates of the two coneheads. I Dream of Wires

Wings Universe

"You know when you make a copy of a copy, it's not as clear as the original?"

Jhiaxus utilized personality components, forestonite, Nebulan technology, and schematics from Quantum Laboratories to create a "second generation" of unified Cybertronians—a clone squadron of both Autobots and Decepticons. A Flash Forward, Part 3 Presumably using the same techniques, he went on to create an entire clone army, which incorporated reborn copies of some of Cybertron's greatest military tacticians. The commander of this army was Megaplex, a heavily conditioned clone of Megatron. Termination

Jhiaxus's clone army cut a path through the galaxy as part of their push to conquer Cybertron, in a conflict known as the Machine Wars. Although they managed to kill Optimus Prime, Jhiaxus's forces were ultimately halted at Cybertron by the combined forces of Obsidian and Strika, ending the Great War. A Common Foe

2019 IDW continuity

Upon his return to Cybertron, the corrupted warmonger Exarchon brought with him a wealth of exotic knowledge beyond the limitations of Cybertronian science, including cloning technology. Together with his co-conspirator Shockwave, the pair developed a means of harvesting living metal from the fabric of Cybertron and combining it with refined energon to create living Cybertronian bodies. Escape Part Three Together, Exarchon and Shockwave worked to develop the technology, and their experiments eventually yielded Soundblaster, a clone of Soundwave. Lord of Misrule: Sea of Rust I As the War of the Threefold Spark began, the pair worked with Skywarp in the hopes that they could create a clone army of teleporting warriors. Escape Part Three However, the process remained imperfect; clones either possessed weakened "demi-sparks" War's End Part Four or no sparks at all. Escape Part Three Additionally, the cloning process couldn't replicate the rare genetic quirks that gave certain Transformers their unique abilities, but despite these drawbacks the massive army of Skywarp clones gave Exarchon's armies a decisive air advantage for some time. Escape Part Three During the war, the Insecticons approached Shockwave in the hopes he would make a clone army of their own. Shockwave examined the trio and discovered they were more than viable for cloning, but hid this information from them. Escape Part Two

As the war wound down, most of Exarchon's clones were exterminated by purpose-built hunters like the Seekers, Escape Part Three and Nominus Prime outlawed any further cloning experiments. Test Flight I

Many centuries later, Megatron brought Shockwave into the fold, the ambitious scientist began constructing a new army of Insecticon clones using parts sourced from Soundblaster's connections to the galactic black market. Storm Horizon Part 3 Wary of what the increasingly-ravenous Insecticons would do with a clone army at their disposal, Shockwave kept them at arm's length and deliberately hid news of his clone army from them. Escape Part Two Finally, however, Bombshell and the other Insecticons broke ranks and stole a load of cloning equipment from Shockwave's lab, which they used to create their own clone army, though these cruder clones lacked the ability to transform. Escape Part Four These Insecticon clones menaced Cybertron for some time until the Autobots were able to reprogram them to feed upon the encroaching rust worms and end two threats to the planet at once. End of Time

War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon

Soundblaster was a clone of Soundwave. Considered a failure by his Decepticon creators, he broke away and formed a group of Mercenaries. His origins remained a touchy subject for him. Siege episode 5

Precursor World

Convobat and Megalligator, originally named C-6 and D-6 respectively, were clones created by the Straxus twins. They were designed to integrate organic aspects into the Transformer race, as well as to act as assassins and general troops for their creators. Legends Convobat bio Convobat was created using the residual spark energy of Blue Big Convoy that was contained within the Matrix Sword. Cybertron Magna Convoy prequel comic The twins also created several other clones, three of whom combined to form Bruticus. Cybertron Convobat

Beast Wars

He doesn't know how to quit his ex-lieutenant.

Megatron made a habit out of cloning his his former lieutenant Dinobot. The wholly organic Clone One was an early attempt, grown from a sample of Dinobot's beast mode tissue. Double Dinobot A second clone that incorporated Transmetal technology, failed after its intended spark failed to graft. Beast Wars Sourcebook 1 Megatron persevered, creating an army of Cyber-Raptors that incorporated Transmetal 2 technology. Cutting Edge

Finally, Megatron's plans came to fruition with Dinobot II. This clone was built off of a blank protoform and another sample of Dinobot's tissue, energized by the Transmetal driver. Feral Scream Part 1

Unicron Trilogy

Force of Habit

The Decepticlones were among the many weapons utilized by the natives of war-torn Combatron, with a Decepticlone-creating scanner buried in one of the planet's doomsday vaults. Hundreds of years later, that scanner was accidentally discovered by a small group of Decepticons. Using Buzzsaw, Swindle, and Runamuck as templates, the Decepticons soon mustered an army of Decepticlones, which Brushguard planned to use to scour the galaxy for the lost Cyber Planet Keys. He first used them to down a group of Autobots who had found Combatron just as they had, but the scanner was soon destroyed by the Mini-Con Skysickle, and most of the Decepticlones were destroyed when the Autobot Armorhide flew the Spanner into the arsenal. Force of Habit

Spacewarp's Log

The Clonemasters of Tharkoros II were capable of cloning just about anything, even Transformers. One of their more notable creations was a clone of Spacewarp, which was ultimately defeated by the genuine article. Spacewarp's Log (1), 2015/10/31

Star Wars Transformers

The Galactic Republic was known to utilize clone troopers. Unsurprisingly, the conflict which they were created for became known as the Clone Wars. They controlled battlesuits which transformed into a wide variety of war machines, although it's not clear if these were also cloned from a template.

Transformers Animated

Cloning was a technology that had been around since the Great War. Shortly after the end of the war, Scalpel oversaw Operation: Doppelgänger a project commissioned by Megatron. Intended to create a copy of Perceptor from some stolen CNA, the experiment yielded Magnificus. The project was considered a failure, as Magnificus had no scientific interests. The AllSpark Almanac II

"But that wasn't enough, was it, Starscream?"
"No. I wanted more. I couldn't be happy with just one Starscream. I had to have two."

Using some of the protoforms aboard the Nemesis, Starscream created a horde of Starscream clones. A Fistful of Energon. Seven were given life using a tiny piece of Starscream's AllSpark fragment. Each took on a single aspect of the original's personality—cowardice, egomania, deception, flattery and something best left unexplored. A Bridge Too Close, Part I

Jetfire and Jetstorm are clones created by the Autobots from techniques learned from Starscream. Safeguard's toy bio

In the comic included with the toy, Jetfire and Jetstorm were not clones, but already existed as refinery bots. They were upgraded into fliers using Starscream's schematics. First (and Second) in Flight

Swindle apparently never could get the hang of cloning, but gave helmets to Sunstorm and Ramjet just to tell them apart. Decepticon Air Megatron would later use Starscream's cloning techniques to create clones of Omega Supreme, imprinted with Lugnut's personality to create the Lugnut Supremes. Endgame, Part I

After obtaining a couple of blank protoforms a sample of one of Starscream's clone's RNA, Swindle created two more Starscream clones. These ones embodied their progenitor's jealousy and greed, and Swindle realized he had created the "two most annoying bodyguards in the history of the universe". The AllSpark Almanac II

Aligned continuity family

Prime cartoon

Shockwave cloned all sorts of things! During the war, he successfully cloned a group of Predacons, a long-extinct species of Transformer, from the CNA he found in fossilized remains. The clones were sent to Earth to guard the Decepticon energon caches on the planet. Though they successfully destroyed an Autobot battalion stationed on Earth, they perished as they stood sentinel for Megatron to arrive. Project Predacon

The Harbinger contained a laboratory with five protoforms and all the information needed to achieve cloning. Starscream managed to find it, and immediately utilized its contents to create five Starscream clones. Armada

MECH created Nemesis Prime, a non-sentient clone of Optimus Prime, from schematics of the Autobot leader's body and parts acquired from their autopsy of Breakdown. Nemesis Prime

Shockwave later cloned Predaking, and brought him to Earth. Scattered Subsequent experiments yielded more Predacon clones, but the lab was destroyed before they could develop into adulthood. Evolution Following his return to Cybertron, Shockwave cloned Darksteel and Skylynx.Predacons Rising

Tales of the Beast Hunters

Hyperevolution Chambers were an essential part of the Predacon cloning process. Tales of the Beast Hunters Chapter 3

Cyberverse cartoon

Tarn described himself and the Decepticon supersoldiers as being "mindless clones" who were all identical to one another. The Perfect Decepticon

Games

Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)

Using a prototype cloning device based on transreplication technology, Ravage downloaded protoform cloning data from the ancient Decepticons, including their memories and personalities, planning to place the data into new protoform bodies once he returned to Predacon space. Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)

Transformers (PS2)

The Decepticons utilized legions of Decepticlones against the Autobots. To create Decepticlones, a special device scans a Transformer, then uses their base schematics to design a stripped-down drone. Large-scale Decepticlone production can be done in manufacturing plants, but there are also portable units that can assemble one Decepticlone at a time. Transformers

Transformers: War for Cybertron (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)

The defense systems in the Iacon Vaults could create a seemingly infinite number of energon clones of Zeta Prime. War for Cybertron

Notes

• Though not stated as such, the Shattered Glass continuity has a cloning process that is performed on Embers. The only known example was when Jazz and Ricochet were created. Though they were referred to as twins, this could still be seen as a crude means of cloning.
• Authorial intent was that the Prime Vehicons were essentially mass-produced clones, however this was not stated on-screen.

See also

• Reproduction
• Twin