Spychanger

Looks awfully familiar...

The Spy Changers are a group of mostly Autobots across several continuity families.

The Spy Changers are a special team of Autobot stealth ninjas. They have a number of special abilities: they can drive along almost any surface, turn invisible, and phase through solid objects.

The Spy Changers are:

• Hot Shot (leader)
• Crosswise
• Ironhide
• Mirage
• R.E.V.
• W.A.R.S.

Fiction

Robots in Disguise cartoon

Air Team, form Strato Fighter!

The six Spy Changers aided Optimus Prime on Earth in his battle against Megatron. Although they were highly intelligent, unfortunately, they weren't very strong in a head-on fight. (The comic relief trio of Gas Skunk, Slapper, and Dark Scream gave them trouble.)

When the Predacons stole a plutonium energy generator, T-AI called in the Spy Changers. Hot Shot, Crosswise and R.E.V. responded first, pursuing the Predacons onto the beach, where they were joined by the other three Spy Changers. The Predacons eventually escaped with a fake generator which the Spy Changers had swapped for the real one. Spychangers to the Rescue

After Optimus was captured and tortured by Megatron, the Spy Changers joined the Autobot Brothers in rescuing their leader and seeing off the Predacons. Sideburn's Obsession

Later, the team tried to protect a ruby from Predacon theft, and Mirage's failure to take a shot resulted in the Predacons escaping. When Mirage pretended to defect and led the Spy Changers to Megatron's Mega-Laser Cannon, the team destroyed the weapon using the Global Space Bridge. Mirage's Betrayal

The Spy Changers also took part in the International Grand Prix in an attempt to find Skid-Z and were blinded by Megatron a short time into the race. Skid Z's Choice On another occasion, the Spy Changers were called back to base to watch footage of various battles, but had to wrap up a fight with the Predacons first. Hope for the Future

Land Team, form Turbo Terrain Fighter!

The Spy Changers accompanied Optimus Prime to Montrose Island, where Predacon activity was causing the volcano there to become violent. They attempted to keep Scourge and Sky-Byte busy while Optimus went to use his blizzard storm on the volcano. When the volcano was ruptured and lava threatened the nearby resort, the Spy Changers used their Inferno Blast formation to divert its path. Volcano

Sent to stop the Decepticons from finding Fortress Maximus, the Spy Changers jumped out in front of the foe and were soundly trounced by Armorhide and Rollbar. Fortress Maximus

The Spy Changers took part in the ambush of the Decepticons after the Autobot base was discovered. Surprise Attack! After Galvatron's defeat, they celebrated by racing with Skid-Z. The Final Battle

Super Spy Changers catalog

With Ultra Magnus having departed Earth aboard Fortress Maximus, the Autobots were unable to call upon his power when a new menace suddenly arose to challenge them. In order to combat this threat, a plan was put into motion to upgrade the Spy Changers with Spark Engines, granting them Super Modes.

e-Hobby

The Trans-dimensional Go-Bots used their unique Transporter and Bio-mechanical technologies to help produce the newest generation of Transformers. The Spy Changers were among them.

This is probably a reference to the Generation 2 Go-Bots who share the same molds as the Spy Changers, but to our knowledge, the Spy Changers and the Generation 2 Go-Bots are from two distinct Universes, thus making the entire concept really, really confusing.

Toys

Robots in Disguise

Hot Shot

File:RID Mirage Toy.JPG

Clear Mirage

• Spy Changers (2001)

Spy Changers are small, 1:64-scale cars with axles designed in the style of "Matchbox" and "Hot Wheels" cars. The concept was first introduced in the Generation 2 toyline with the Go-Bots, but was greatly expanded with Robots in Disguise. The typical Spy Changers feature simple transformations with articulation limited to rotator joints at the shoulders. Most come with hand weapons.

Previously released molds

• Crosswise
• Hot Shot
• Ironhide
• Mirage
• R.E.V.
• W.A.R.S.

The first batch of Spy Changers were previously used molds from Generation 2. This group would undergo seemingly endless redecos and re-releases for several years.

Daytonus

Previously unreleased molds

• Daytonus & Side Burn
• Prowl 2 & Side Swipe

A second group of Spy Changer toys was created from four molds that were created for Generation 2 but never released. This group is notable for being able to store their hand weapons while in vehicle mode.

File:Spychanger Magnus.jpg

Ultra Magnus

New molds

• Ultra Magnus
• Optimus Prime
• X-Brawn vs. Scourge

A third group of Spy Changers were created from scratch, based on characters from the series who had larger toys. Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus, while still racetrack-compatible, are considerably larger than the typical Spy Changer toy.

Movie

• Optimus Prime (2007)

A redeco of Robots in Disguise Spy Changer Scourge as Movie Optimus Prime was released in Japan as a preorder exclusive for the Transformers DVD or HD-DVD.