Council of Autobot Elders

Pompous Windbags of the Round Table

The Council of Autobot Elders (also known as the High Council) was the ruling body of Cybertronian capital Iacon from before the Great War until several thousand years after the Ark's launch 4 million years ago.

Members of the Council hold the title of "High Councilor", though if they hold other titles (such as Emirate), they may choose to be addressed by that instead. The Council appears to be a sub-set of the larger body of Autobot Elders, and is tasked with much of the decision-making responsibility.

The Council of Autobot Elders administered the affairs of competing peaceful city-states, first under the theoretical oversight of the doddering Overlords, prior to his death, and later on their own. They ceased to be an active player in Cybertronian politics when the Decepticon Trannis defenestrated the council a few thousand years after the Ark's departure.

Members include:

• Traachon — General
• Xaaron — Chairman
• Tomaandi — Fool

Fiction

Marvel The Transformers comics

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

The council was deadlocked on taking any action relating to the Tarn-Vos war. Though Iacon was accepting refugees, Emirate Xaaron wanted General Traachon to send a peace-keeping force to intervene in the conflict. Traachon refused to let Iacon forces be drawn into a foreign conflict that did not involve them, and further suggested that it was in Iacon's best interests that the militant Vos and Tarn destroy one another. State Games

As the war expanded and pressed on Iacon's borders, Emirate Xaaron pleaded with High Councilor Traachon to use his right of veto and place the Autobots under military rather than Council control. Tomaandi opposed the move, insisting that Iacon's forces remain under the direct control of the Council. In the face of Tomaandi's stubbornness, Traachon relented and gave full control of their forces to Optimus Prime, who subsequently pushed the Decepticon forces back, retaking much of the conquered territory. And There Shall Come...a Leader!

Look at that giant disco ball! What is this, the War Within version of Dancitron?

When Autobot astronomers discovered that their planet was traveling towards a potentially lethal asteroid belt, Tomaandi presided over the meeting of Autobot Elders where Optimus Prime agreed to lead the mission to clear a path through the asteroids. This meeting resulted in the construction of the Ark. The Transformers The relationship between the Council of Autobot Elders and the (much larger) body of Autobot Elders seen here is unknown.

The Autobot scientist Flame proposed reviving Megatron's plan to convert Cybertron into a mobile spacecraft. Emirate Xaaron, chairman of the Council, felt the plan was too dangerous and spoke out against it strongly. Flame was cast out of the academy and denied funds to continue his research. When he succeeded in blowing himself up in Kalis, the Council traveled there to investigate his death in person. Legion of the Lost!

When the Ark was lost in space, the Council of Autobot Elders, led by High Councilor Traachon, attempted to once again take command of the disorganized Autobot army. As a result, the Decepticons conquered the rest of the planet, but were unable to breach Iacon's fortified defenses. After several thousand years of this deadlock the new Decepticon leader Trannis gave up on capturing Iacon intact, and began to bombard the city. In an emergency meeting the council decided to surrender, except Xaaron, who fled. Trannis executed them for their trouble. Cybertron: The Middle Years!

Transformers '84

Even after Cybertron had been sent hurtling into interstellar space, the Council still considered Megatron an upstart who could be handled at their leisure, especially when faced with the Stellae Cimeterium, debating this with Optimus Prime, who continued to divert resources to the construction of the Ark. Eventually, Optimus revealed that, should a series of controlled explosions be detonated, Cybertron could slow down enough to be picked up by Ursa Major's gravity. Open to such an idea, Traachon asked why resources were still being wasted on the Ark only to receive no answer from Prime. '84 #0

Notes

• Stories are inconsistent on leadership of the Council; "The Middle Years!" explicitly notes Traachon as leader, while "Legion of the Lost!" refers to Xaaron as "chairman", although he is subservient to Traachon in another stories.

See also

• Maximal Elder
• Autobot Elder