Warp gate: Difference between revisions

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===Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity===
===Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity===
====''Armada'' cartoon====
====''Armada'' cartoon====
{{main|Cybertron-Unicron warp gate}}
[[File:PrehistoryMetamorphosis armada spacebridge.jpg|left|thumb|225px|The earliest incarnation of the space bridge saw travelers enter a communal transwarp portal, then individually materialize at their location.]]
[[File:Arm47 cybertronunicron warpgate.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|You do not want to go in there, seriously.]]
Warp gates were the primary means of transport utilized by the Autobots and Decepticons when they came to Earth to search for the long-lost Mini-Cons. The technology did not require an exit portal to be constructed at the desired location in order to function; the Transformers simply stepped into a large circular portal on Cybertron, and individually materialized on Earth. {{storylink|First Encounter}} The system was delicate; when [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]] unexpectedly entered the space bridge moments after [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and his team had departed through it, he wound up emerging in an entirely different region of Earth. {{storylink|Prehistory}}
The '''Unicron-Cybertron warp gate''' is a concealed warp gate linking the lower levels of Cybertron to the nethermost regions of [[Unicron]]. It is used by Unicron's minions to pass covertly from Cybertron to Unicron without giving away the Devourer of Worlds' super-secret hidden location. (''Psst!'' He's disguised as one of Cybertron's moons!)


The gate is situated in the middle of a corridor in a seldom-traveled section of Cybertron which was long ago converted into a "fused organic" state. The gate is invisible until you make physical contact with it, and unless you knew it was there, it would be all too easy to stumble through it and find yourself stranded in the bowels of Unicron, surrounded by deadly [[bot-spider]]s.
While on Earth, both factions used short-range warp technology to get from place to place, which allow them to travel to any point on Earth, and even to its moon. {{storylink|Metamorphosis (Armada)|Metamorphosis}} This version of the tech featured an automatic recall, which allowed a traveller to warp themselves back to base when the time came. {{storylink|Base}} Comparatively, the interstellar warp technology did not apparently posessess this "recall" feature; in order to return to their homeworld, the Autobots and Decepticons had to construct spacecraft to ferry them there. {{storylink|Threaten}} {{storylink|Depart}} Once back on Cybertron, they discovered a [[Cybertron-Unicron warp gate|secret subterranean warp gate]] on the planet that linked Cybertron to the monster planet [[Unicron]]. {{storylink|Portent}} After [[Unicron]] was defeated, [[Hot Shot (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Hot Shot]] and [[Jetfire (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Jetfire]] returned the Autobots' human friends to Earth via warp gate. Evidently, this time, they had someone standing by on Cybertron to reopen the gate, allowing them to return to their planet the same way minutes later. {{Storylink|Mortal Combat}}
 
It is strongly implied that the gate is unidirectional (Cybertron-to-Unicron),<ref>Despite the dangers Starscream and company encounter through the gate in "[[Portent]]", none of them attempts to pass back through it, instead fighting their way up through many layers of Unicron's defenses.</ref><ref>Before stepping through the gate in "[[Union]]", Rad comments that this is a one-way trip.</ref> though circumstantial evidence favors Unicron's minions being able to reverse its function to return to Cybertron.
 
The fused-organic section of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] where the gate is located is notably atypical, and its transformation is likely a result of slow "leakage" through the gate over a long period of time. Though the gate's exact age is unclear, at least one lifeform (the [[bot-spider]]) seems to have migrated through it over the years. The warp gate may date from the original transportation of the [[Mini-Con]]s to Cybertron 4 million years ago.<ref>The Mini-Con birthing chamber was the same location (apparently inside Unicron, not Cybertron) where the Autobots were cocooned in the alternate timeline of the unawakened Mini-Cons in "[[Drift (episode)|Drift]]."</ref>
 
While pursuing [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]], [[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and several others passed through the Cybertron-Unicron warp gate and had to fight their way up to Unicron's surface to escape. {{storylink|Portent}}
 
The Autobots subsequently blocked the warp gate with a large rock, either to prevent its use or merely to prevent people from accidentally wandering through it. When [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]] and the [[Street Action Mini-Con Team|Street Action Team]] realized their presence was needed to aid [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (who had traveled to Unicron by more conventional means), the Autobot [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] unblocked the entrance, allowing them and the humans [[Rad White|Rad]], [[Carlos Lopez|Carlos]], [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]], [[Billy (Armada)|Billy]] and [[Fred (Armada)|Fred]] to travel to Unicron's interior. {{storylink|Union}}


====''Cybertron'' cartoon====
====''Cybertron'' cartoon====

Revision as of 18:54, 19 January 2021

There is nothing wrong with your TV set. We control the vertical. We control the horizontal...

Warp gates are teleportation devices which generate spatial portals that allow users to traverse vast distances in the blink of an eye. Similar in concept to the Decepticons' space bridge technology, warp gates were (usually) created through the alliance of the Autobots and humankind.

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Battle of the Star Gate

Warp gate technology began life as the Trigger, a huge manned space station developed in the late 1990s by the allied forces of the Autobots and the American government using Cybertronian technology. First Conflict

The Transformers cartoon

By 2005, warp gate technology had been refined down to a single, flat portal, through which travelers could simply fly, requiring no vehicle or launch mechanism to make the trip. Numerous gates were installed through the galaxy to facilitate interstellar travel, including one at the fringes of Earth's Solar System, beyond Pluto. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3

Informed of the existence of the Earth Defense Command space platform, Galvatron led his forces through a warp gate in the vicinity of Thrull, to emerge through the Pluto gate and attack the station. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3 The Quintessons placed a warp gate in the Angarrix sector, and used it to abduct Sky Lynx, ensnaring him with an energy beam and dragging him through the gate. The Quintesson Journal Upon usurping leadership of the Decepticons, Scourge led them through "warp gate 09-A" to launch an attack on Earth. The Burden Hardest to Bear

Marvel Generation 2 comic

Grimlock's squad of Autobots were equipped with "personal warp gates" while chasing down the cyberformers from the Cybertronian Empire. War Without End!

Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity

Armada cartoon

The earliest incarnation of the space bridge saw travelers enter a communal transwarp portal, then individually materialize at their location.

Warp gates were the primary means of transport utilized by the Autobots and Decepticons when they came to Earth to search for the long-lost Mini-Cons. The technology did not require an exit portal to be constructed at the desired location in order to function; the Transformers simply stepped into a large circular portal on Cybertron, and individually materialized on Earth. First Encounter The system was delicate; when Smokescreen unexpectedly entered the space bridge moments after Optimus Prime and his team had departed through it, he wound up emerging in an entirely different region of Earth. Prehistory

While on Earth, both factions used short-range warp technology to get from place to place, which allow them to travel to any point on Earth, and even to its moon. Metamorphosis This version of the tech featured an automatic recall, which allowed a traveller to warp themselves back to base when the time came. Base Comparatively, the interstellar warp technology did not apparently posessess this "recall" feature; in order to return to their homeworld, the Autobots and Decepticons had to construct spacecraft to ferry them there. Threaten Depart Once back on Cybertron, they discovered a secret subterranean warp gate on the planet that linked Cybertron to the monster planet Unicron. Portent After Unicron was defeated, Hot Shot and Jetfire returned the Autobots' human friends to Earth via warp gate. Evidently, this time, they had someone standing by on Cybertron to reopen the gate, allowing them to return to their planet the same way minutes later. Mortal Combat

Cybertron cartoon

Main article: Dimension gate

Vector Prime possessed the ability to open Dimension gates by slicing the fabric of space/time open with his sword, Rhisling, first doing so to send Landmine to Earth in the opening days of the Unicron Singularity crisis. Fallen He would later be responsible for creating the gates that would send the Autobots the colony worlds of Velocitron and the Jungle Planet—in concert with Optimus Prime, whose Matrix of Leadership helped stabilize the gateways—and was generally on hand to generate a gate whenever the Autobots needed one. Landmine Search Vector Prime's gates had the appearance of a glowing green slash-mark in the air itself, which, when stabilized by the Matrix, widened to reveal a view of the target location on the other side of the gate's rippling surface.

Megatron, empowered by the Armor of Unicron, was also capable of creating dimension gates, although his could apparently only lead into and out of his fire dimension, requiring that it be used as a stopover on any trips the Decepticons made. Fallen These circular portals resembled swirling vortexes of flame; extinguishing these flames would result in the portal closing. Critical

In one dramatic instance, Vector Prime opened one of his dimension gates across one of Megatron's, and their interaction caused the fire dimension to collapse in on itself. Cybertron

Timelines

After suffering a disastrous failure on Combatron, Brushguard asked Megatron to open a dimensional portal for his stranded team, but Megatron angrily refused and told them to wait for a decacycle for rescue by conventional space travel. Force of Habit

Beast Wars: Uprising

In 13 SCA (or 1997), the Autobots helped the humans build their first warp gate at the edge of the solar system, allowing humanity to colonize other planets. Micro-Aggressions

Notes

Foreign names

  • Japanese: Warp gate (ワープゲート wāpu gēto)

References