Transformer clothing

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Beat Tracy

One way that non-Transformer species seem to have influenced Cybertronian culture is the relatively rare occurrence of Transformers wearing clothing.

Capes

Optimus and Megatron: Slaves to Fashion

From time to time, some high-ranked Cybertronians tend to wear capes. Presumably, they are a symbol of office, as only generals, commanders, and other such leaders have been seen sporting them. Exactly what material these capes are made from is unknown, but one presumes that Earth-style fabrics are likely extremely rare on Cybertron (which could make the capes even more special, considering).

• Generation 1 Optimus Prime and Generation 1 Megatron wore capes while serving as the leaders of the Cybertron Alliance. Prime's was purple (the Decepticon color), while Megatron's was red (the Autobot color). Whether this was a symbol of high office or just a desire to look pretty is unknown.

• Generation 1 Starscream wore a cape, large shoulder pads, and a crown at his coronation as Decepticon leader. The crown alone survived Galvatron's blast, only to be crushed under his feet.

• The Nine Great Demon Generals mostly wore capes (except Trypticon, who wore a Batman-like cowl) in the Zone story pages.

• The members of the Convoy Council wear capes, too.

• Armada Scavenger wore a large, body-obscuring cloak when he first arrived on Earth.

• Tidal Wave, or at least a computer simulation's version of him, wore a cloak to conceal his identity before a battle.Distribution

• Great Convoy is a cape. Seriously.

Trenchcoats

You better accept the terms, or...

Quite a few characters have been depicted wearing trenchcoats, mostly when involved in detective work or similarly secretive activity.

• Generation 1 Nightbeat is often seen wearing a trenchcoat and fedora, due to their connection with detective fiction. He pulls it off pretty well, actually.
• The Micromaster Air Strike Patrol wore trenchcoats and fedoras while trying to pass as human professional wrestlers. Interestingly enough, these coats somehow obscured large physical protrusions on their bodies (jet intakes, wings, etc.). The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!

Ponchos

¿Como estas?

• The Jointron brothers have been shown wearing ponchos and sombreros, as well as using mariachi-style guitars and maracas. This is both hilarious and racist.

• Transformers Animated Lockdown wore a "Space Poncho" when he showed up on the remains of the Nemesis in reference to the Man With No Name from the spaghetti western A Fistful of Dollars. A Fistful of Energon

Pretenders

No, really, thanks. I got to go now.

• Most of the Pretender toys have clothing molded onto their Pretender shells. Naturally, it's only pretend clothing, being part of the Transformers' shells (which themselves might be considered a form of clothing).
• In the TV commercial for the Pretenders, the human Pretenders can take off these clothes and reveal the muscle of the outer shells.
• In Super-God Masterforce, human Pretenders wear clothes in their everyday lives as normal humans.
• Cloudburst also wears normal clothing in Marvel Comics continuity. Recipe for Disaster!
• In Revenge of the Fallen, the Pretender Alice conceals her lady-bits with clothing. When she transforms into her robot mode, her clothes appear to fold away in the same manner as her simulated skin. She did however show the ability to alter the appearance of her clothing.

Headwear

This didn't happen. This didn't happen. This didn't happen.

A cap-like helmet

• Starscream wore a crown during his coronation in The Transformers: The Movie.

• Grimlock wore a crown during his tenure as Autobot leader in the Marvel Comics continuity

• Cohrada wears his father's hat in Beast Wars Neo manga.

• In the Dreamwave Generation One continuity, Bumblebee wore a removable face-mask that resembled the face of his original toy. The War Within issue 6 He was later shown to have integrated a similar mask into his head proper. Skyfire Brawn was also shown to wear a removable face-mask that resembled his toy's face. Night of the Combaticons

• During the Dark Ages, Jetfire sported a face-mask resembling his original toy, which was later upgraded into a fully removable helmet that he wore along with detachable armor. Skyfire He would also wear a helmet (based on that of his Classics toy) during the events of Stormbringer.

• In "Dawn of Future's Past", Rattrap is seen wearing a removable cap-like helmet.

• Another Starscream wore a crown very much like G1 Starscream's after stealing power from Primus to grow to giant size.

• Bulkhead wore a beret while indulging in his artistic tendencies. He was probably trying to be like human artists though.

• Back in the dim and distant past on Cybertron, it was revealed that Megatron's "bucket-head" is in fact a helmet, presumably a hangover from his mining days. After his first kill in the deathmatches at the Forge, Megatron removed his helmet to reveal a crest of hair-like panels underneath, while the crowd cheered him on. Megatron Origin issue 2

• Later, Orion Pax was seen (in a cameo) at Bumper's funeral having removed his head/helmet as a mark of respect, along with his unnamed albino twin. Megatron Origin issue 3

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File:LiveActionJazz-Skywarp01.jpg

Robot dancing!?

Sometimes, people on Earth wear clothing to look like various Transformers. Sometimes this is hot, sometimes this is sad.

Others

Hey, cover up! There are children watching!

Me Grimlock say it fun to learn! (Because knowledge is power!)

• In an early plan to trap the Decepticons, the Autobots had to run around in lab coats. It was very silly. More than Meets the Eye, Part 3

• Generation 1 Brawn made a seemingly metaphorical reference to footwear called proton boots.

• The magic of Christmas once made Optimus Prime dress up in a festive outfit. Obviously, the big guy is a little too open to suggestion. The same holds true for Grimlock, it seems.

• Generation 1 Grimlock is a king of fashion, at times wearing a crown, a bandana, an apron, a top hat and cane and... err...

• In Japan, Rumble and Frenzy once dressed in garb modeled after the hooded outfits worn by the Ku Klux Klan. While Westerners would find this to be in very, very poor taste, the Japanese have been known to be somewhat ignorant about the negative cultural impact the Klan represent. Villains with outfits modeled after the Klan have appeared in many Japanese children's shows, including the Japanese version of Gigantor. From their perspective, the Klan outfits just "look cool". Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 7

• The Convoy Council wear robes. They have their reasons, and they do not concern you.

• The exostructures of the members of Council of Ancients resemble robes. They also have their reasons.

• Armada Scavenger wore a cloak for his first few appearances for little reason other than the animators probably thought it looked cool.

• In his Unicron-created dream world, Armada Megatron wore a crimson sash around his shoulders. He was apparently the ruler of all Cybertron in his dream, so it was probably ceremonial.

• The Space Mini-Con Team and Sureshock have disguised themselves as humans using large, heavy jackets, coats, baseball caps, hats, sunglasses, and other items of clothing to try to blend in with other people in robot mode.

And yet, somehow not as ludicrous as the other Time Cop.

• Heinrad wears his Ruler of Time and Space agent's uniform. Return to Zero

• Six-Speed's curiosity about human clothing led him to examine the closets of his human friends Bud and Coby. However, his attempt to dress like a human basically amounted to putting random articles of clothing on his limbs, looking more ridiculous than clothing-wearing Transformers normally do. Which is kinda amazing.

• Transformers Animated Bumblebee wore a robe before his wrestling match with Colossus Rhodes, likely more to keep with human tradition than actual need. Total Meltdown

• Drift wore a full set of clothes that completely concealed his robot-ness. Spotlight: Drift

• The doctor, along with his european accent wears what appear to be glasses. They seem to be the lenses for his microscope mode. Revenge of the Fallen

Toys

• SCF Starscream (2002)

This highly articulated, non-transforming version of Starscream, part of the Japan-exclusive Super Collection Figures series, comes with removable shoulder pads and cloak. He also has a choice of normal head or a head with a crown.

• Cybertron Starscream (Supreme, 2005)

Supreme Starscream, a colossally upscaled version of the Cybertron line's Voyager-class Starscream toy, comes with a Decepticon "Crown of Leadership" obviously based on the one worn by the original Starscream in the 1986 movie.

• Star Wars Transformers Darth Vader/Death Star (2007)

The sole Supreme-class figure of the Star Wars Transformers toyline, this gigantic Darth Vader mech includes an actual cloth cape that can attach to the back of the figure in robot mode in order to more closely resemble Vader in the Star Wars movies.

• Masterpiece Grimlock (2009)
  • Japanese ID number: MP-8

Masterpiece Grimlock comes with an intelligence transfer helmet accessory, based upon the device Grimlock used to transfer his super-intelligence into Computron in "Grimlock's New Brain". He also comes with an apron and serving tray, to simulate the time he served drinks to alien diplomats in "Madman's Paradise". He was originally going to come with a crown commonly featured in the Marvel Comics as well, but that accessory was omitted.

Merchandise

• Starscream (2002)

Originally a chase figure in Japan, this remold of the regular figure includes a cape, newly molded limbs, and a head with the crown as seen in the movie.

• Coronation Starscream (Diamond Select, 2008)

Released by Diamond Select Toys in 2008, Coronation Starscream was an exclusive to on-line retailer Action Figure Xpress. He was sculpted by Mark Wong of Art Asylum and limited to 600 pieces. It features Starscream decked out in the royal crown, cape, and big honkin' shoulder pads he wore (albeit briefly) in The Transformers: The Movie.

See Also

• Christmas - Some Transformers will dress up for the holiday.
• Humanization

External link

• "Transformers that aren't nude" at Obscure Transformers