Action Master

Action Masters are a subgroup from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Alive! Alive! Alive!

Transformers who use Nucleon as a fuel source lose their transformation ability due to the fact that their figure alteration systems get converted into energy storage reactors. However, through this process, Action Masters become harder, better, faster, stronger and more alive. They have equipped themselves with transformable partners and vehicles to aid them in battle.

A few Action Masters managed to retain (or possibly regain) the ability to transform; they are known as Action Master Elites.

Action Masters are among the few Transformers to feature Power Plans on the packaging, in addition to the more traditional Tech Spec and bio.

Alt-modes are for wimps!Kick-Off's in denial, Last Stand of the Wreckers #1

Fiction

Toy packaging blurb

Optimus Prime went searching for new energy sources and, within the heart of a black hole discovered Nucleon: a miracle fuel that made Transformers stronger, faster, and more alive, but cost them the ability to transform. Soon the Decepticons stole the technology and created Action Masters of their own, with Magmatrynon alloy being used for the construction of exo-suits.

This story was later referenced with the Japanese release of Nucleon Quest Super Convoy, a black repaint of Powermaster Optimus Prime who was given the backstory of being Prime specially outfitted for this trip into the black hole.

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

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

Grimlock heard about a risky new miracle fuel on the planet Hydrus Four. Against orders he stole the non-functioning bodies of his fellow Dinobots and headed there to find out. Eye of the Storm What he discovered was a ruined world filled with creepy, obsessive, rotting zombie-like beings warning him that it was all because of Nucleon. Being Grimlock, he then went ahead and used the fuel anyway, first on himself and then to revive his fallen teammates. The Pri¢e of Life!

Grimlock soon found parts of his body inexplicably seizing up, and began to fear that he should have listened to the creepy dying robots after all. ...All This and Civil War 2 After returning to the Ark Grimlock used the Nucleon to repair all the damaged Autobots in the ship's medical bay (as well as Megatron, whom he didn't know was there). The Void! Following the Transformers' battle with Unicron, Grimlock froze up entirely. It was then that Hi-Q (in the process of merging with Optimus Prime) saw with "Powermaster eyes" that Grimlock wasn't malfunctioning, but changing. He used his Powermaster abilities to speed up the process and Grimlock burst forth in his new, more-powerful Action Master form. Still Life!

Meanwhile, Hi-Q's own mental merger with Prime was also accelerated by his contact with Nucleon. Soon afterward, the Last Autobot re-created Hi-Q as Optimus Prime in a new body. End of the Road!

Another Time & Place

As time progressed more and more Autobots, including Prime, Sludge, Snarl and Swoop, also succumbed to mode-lock. Prowl and Slag were among the few that could still transform, but they had doubts that this would remain much longer. Hearing rumours of further developments on Hydrus Four, Grimlock led the Dinobots there to see if a cure could be found. Amidst a Decepticon ambush, he discovered a new version of Nucleon that lacked the side effects of the original and restored the ability to transform. Another Time & Place

Transformers Comic-Magazin

The Decepticons on Earth had a team of Action Masters. These sinister types had the power to combine into ground stations, super-heavy vehicles and air units! Transforming Robots in Action: The Case of Optimus Prime

Classics

Classics continues from the Marvel US series, and does not include the UK stories or any subsequently published stories.

Snarl was an Action Master.

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Optimus and Megatron's pre-G2 bodies share a striking similarity to their Action Master toys. Likewise Optimus Prime has been documented as searching out a New Energy source called Nucleon that's located within a black hole. Finally, Optimus Prime's Action Master was sold with New Years Convoy, and described as the intermediate form between Prime's various G2 Bodies. G-2

2005 IDW continuity

In the 2005 IDW continuity, nucleon does not appear to affect ability to transform. Life After the Big Bang Cybertronian Homesick Blues The Permanent Revolution However, some Cybertronians had their transformation cogs removed for medical, political or religious reasons, and were known as monoformers. Life After the Big Bang Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots

2019 IDW continuity

After the starship Iron Hope crash-landed far from Cybertron, the surviving crew—who would come to be known as the "Iron Hope Hundred"—were forced to subsist on nucleon, rendering them permanently mode locked. Survivors of the disaster included Treadshot, who was locked in robot mode, and Catgut, who was locked in a quadrupedal form. All Fall Down

Reception and legacy

I DEFINITELY like my transformers to transform. Down with the action masters.Josh Freeman Frankel, 25 February 1994, alt.toys.transformers

The Action Master toyline, depicting the obvious oxymoron of "Transformers who don't transform," generated initial ire ("BLASPHEMY!") from some fans. This was magnified as Action Masters were released in the final year of the original Transformers toy line in the US. When Transformers was summarily canceled in North America, some fans blamed the gimmick for the death of the franchise (despite the wide variety of other factors that doubtlessly were involved).

One aspect Action Masters is notable for, however, is the mass reintroduction of "classic" characters. New toys for old characters was not a theme the original toy line visited very often–in fact, Bumblebee's re-imaged Throttlebot form Goldbug released in 1987, 1988's Powermaster Optimus Prime and the Classic Pretenders from 1989 were the only notable exceptions. In other words, to have a single sub-line with so many recurring favorites was, at the time, a novelty. In addition, the classic characters were designed to resemble their cartoon counterparts more closely. For much of the Season 1 and 2 cast, the original figures having been designed years before they were stylized and simplified for the cartoon, these Action Masters were the closest likenesses of their fiction representations ever. Notably the first television commercial for the Action Masters featured a segment where the animated character models dissolved into film of the actual toys, suggesting that "show accuracy" was Hasbro's intended marketing strategy for the line.

As with many other changes to the Transformers brand, initial hostility towards Action Masters from the fandom eventually became less intense and diversified into a broad range of opinion. Some of the most in-demand vintage (and therefore expensive) Transformers toys are Action Masters, and new characters from this subgroup continue to appear in newer toy lines. For example:

• Double Punch started the trend with a new exclusive toy at BotCon Japan 1998. Another toy of Double Punch was produced for BotCon 2010.
• Axer showed up in the 2001 Robots in Disguise toyline. Another toy of Axer (as Axor) would be released in the Transformers 2010 toyline. This toy would, in turn, be redecoed to homage Circuit as a movie-universe character in the first Transformers Figure Subscription Service in 2013.
• Action Master Optimus Prime was reissued in Japan in 2002 as part of the "New Years Convoy" giftset.
• Armada Overload has design elements based on Rollout (with his Mini-Con companion actually named Rollout).
• Cybertron Smokescreen's colors are a partial homage to Rad.
• Banzai-Tron was an exclusive at BotCon 2009. Another Banzai-Tron (as Banzaitron) would be released in the Transformers 2010 toyline. Yet another would be part of the Alternity line in 2012.
• Gutcruncher was homaged with Sparkcrusher in 2009.
• Slicer (partially renamed into "Decepticon Slice") was an exclusive at BotCon 2010. Slicer was also homaged in the shared exclusive Dark Energon version of Wheeljack in Prime.
• Kick-Off was an exclusive at BotCon 2012.
• Soundwave's partner, Wingthing, recieved new toys in the Japanese Transformers Encore line in 2012, and again as a Masterpiece figure in 2017, and then in Selects in 2020.
• Jackpot was ported to Animated as part of the first Transformers Figure Subscription Service.
• Treadshot received a new figure as part of the Figure Subscription Service series 2.0 in 2014.
• Krok was featured in the Transformers Figure Subscription Service series 3.0 in 2015, and then received an additional new toy in Titans Return in 2017.
• The Collection Pack version of Shockwave in Combiner Wars bore the same color scheme as the Action Master.
• Rad's partner, Lionizer, received a new Battle Master mold in Siege and was redecoed in more accurate colors in a War for Cybertron Trilogy Battle 3-Pack as "Captive Lionizer".

In 2013, James Roberts could even say he'd have liked to see more Action Masters and they were "cool".

Toys

1990 (US)

Autobots

Mainframe

Autobot Action Master Figures

• Grimlock with Anti-tank cannon
• Jazz with Turbo Board
• Rad with Lionizer
• Rollout with Glitch
• Bumblebee with Heli-pack
• Blaster with Flight Pack
• Jackpot with Sights
• Mainframe with Push-Button
• Inferno with Hydro-Pack
• Snarl with Tyrannitron
• Skyfall with Top-Heavy
• Kick-Off with Turbo-Pack

Autobot Action Master Action Blasters

• Turbo Cycle with Prowl
• Attack Copter with Over-Run

Action Master Autobot Vehicles

• Turbo Racer with Wheeljack
• Attack Cruiser with Sprocket

Action Master Autobot Armored Convoy

• Armored Convoy with Optimus Prime

Decepticons

Decepticon Action Master Figures

• Soundwave with Wingthing
• Treadshot with Catgut
• Devastator with Scorpulator
• Krok with Gatoraider
• Shockwave with Fistfight
• Banzai-Tron with Razor-Sharp

Decepticon Action Master Action Blasters

• Off-Road Cycle with Axer
• Turbo Jet with Starscream

Action Master Decepticon Attack Vehicles

• Megatron's Neutro-Fusion Tank
• Gutcruncher's Stratotronic Jet

1991 (Europe)

The 1991 Action master figures (in a Disco Club)

Action Master figures

• Powerflash with Road Rocket
• Sideswipe with Vanguard
• Tracks with Basher
• Bombshell with Needler
• Charger with Fire Beast
• Take-Off with Screech

Action Master Exo-suits

• Circuit with Supersonic Racing Car
• Thundercracker with Solo Mission Jet Plane

Motorized Exo-Suit Action Masters

• Rumbler with 4WD All-Terrain Vehicle
• Slicer with 4WD Assault Vehicle

Action Master Elites

• Omega Spreem
• Windmill
• Double Punch
• Turbo Master

Notes

• It appears that the name "Action Masters" for this segment of the toy line was a very late decision: The 1990 Hasbro vendor catalog consistently refers to the toys simply as "Action Figures", with no mention of the term "Action Master". It also makes mention of a different back story wherein the Transformers give up the ability to transform to transfer these powers to their weapons and vehicles.
• In an interview with Transformers Collectors' Club, Simon Furman said that had the comic not ended at issue #80, Optimus Prime's return would not have come when it did. Additionally, Furman said that he hated the idea of using Action Master Prime at the time, and hoped that by the time Prime came back, this Action Master plot would be over—finished! Conclusion—the use of Optimus Prime in his Action Master version may very well have not occurred had the comic not ended when it did.
• Bob Budiansky's treatment for the Action Masters was printed in the Titan Books trade Transformers: Last Stand. Bob can't remember writing it.
• The Action Masters' weapon-handle pegs, being approximately 3 mm thick, are compatible with the "c joint" weapon mounting system used on many modern toys, such as the 2011 version of Cyberverse.
• With a few exceptions, the Action Masters utilized elastic-and-hook joints (similar to many G.I. Joe toys and the Laser Rods) in their hips. This gave them their signature wide range of motion, but it also made them somewhat floppy, and the elastic could harden and become brittle with age. Legless Action Masters are sadly common on the aftermarket.
• The Action Master name was brought back in 2020 by Takara Tomy for their release of Transformers: Cyberverse's Deluxe Class figures. Ironically, one of the big selling points for these figures is featuring far more involved transformations than the rest of the Cyberverse line!

Foreign names

• Italy: Super Azione ("Super Action")