Reformatting

Reformatting is a term for the wholesale upgrading of a Transformer into a new form granting them new power, minus the effort of going through the tedious business of Spark transplant, protoforming, or manual rebuilding. Most commonly this is carried out by a higher power or by a Cybertronian channeling a higher power, though on rare occasions it has been achieved by Cybertronians on their own. Reformatting is not limited to Transformers and can be applied to other forms of life, and even whole planets. In the case of planets, the change is known as mechaforming.

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

On Cybertron, this is considered porn

Unicron reformatted Megatron and some other Decepticons into Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps. Hot Rod was reformatted into Rodimus Prime by the power of the Matrix of Leadership. The Transformers: The Movie In the case of Rodimus, the reformatting only appeared to be in effect while he held the Matrix. Dark Awakening The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

Wings Universe

Wings Universe is based on the Generation 1 cartoon, but deviates from it in cosmetic ways and continuity points.

When Starscream stole the body of Cannonball, he instantly altered the pirate captain's body into a form resembling his old body. Tornado's Personal Journal

Beast Machines

After the Maximals returned to Cybertron and fell foul of Megatron's transformation virus, they were led to the Oracle by Optimus Primal. The Oracle reformatted them all into technorganic forms, becoming an amalgamation of technological and organic. The Reformatting Optimus himself was granted the ability to reformat other Transformers by channeling the Oracle's power. He first put it to use reformatting Nightscream into a technorganic bat. Forbidden Fruit Blackarachnia was able to trigger a total reformatting of Jetstorm by bringing him into prolonged contact with organic goo from Cybertron's core, combined with Rattrap's invention of a spark extractor combined with a DNA scanner. In Darkest Knight After a strange plant creature arrived on the planet, Primal realized it was a Transformer and reformatted it, revealing Botanica. Home Soil At the conclusion of the conflict, Primal and Megatron fell into Cybertron's organic core, which initiated the planet-wide reformat that left Cybertron a technorganic paradise.

Robots in Disguise cartoon

Megatron was reformatted into Galvatron after a failed attempt to seize the Orb of Sigma. He gained four new alternate modes and the power to drain energy from others. Peril from the Past

Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity

Armada cartoon

When Nemesis Prime was on the verge of killing Megatron, Starscream, Demolishor, Hot Shot, and Red Alert, the Mini-Cons sent Nemesis into the ground and released an energy wave that rejuvenated the Autobots and Decepticons and gave them new armor. Puppet

Cybertron cartoon

When Overhaul defended Snarl from a vicious attack by Scourge, the Cyber Planet Key of the Jungle Planet reformatted him into Leobreaker Detour

After Hot Shot, Red Alert and Scattorshot were mortally wounded by Megatron, the power of Primus reformatted them into the Cybertron Defense Team. Critical

After being critically wounded by a horde of Scrapmetal, Crumplezone was healed and reformatted by Megatron. Darkness

Energon comic

When Optimus Prime and the Autobots were about to be overwhelmed by Unicron's Four Horsemen, Optimus Prime communed with Sig-Omega, who granted the Autobots new forms and the Spark of Combination to stand against the Horsemen. What Lies Beneath, Part Two

Animated cartoon

When the techno-organic human/Transformer Sari Sumdac used her AllSpark Key on herself, her body changed from the size of an 8-year old human female into that of a teenage human female. Sari also gained the ability to "morph" into a battle mode. TransWarped

Shattered Glass

After Megatron was assassinated by Cyclonus, the newly reformed member of the Thirteen Nexus Prime resurrected Megatron as Galvatron. Reunification: Part 6

Prime cartoon

When Optimus Prime was on the verge of death, Smokescreen used the last of the energy remaining in the Forge of Solus Prime to save him, healing Optimus's grievous wounds and granting him a newer, more powerful body. Rebellion

Notes

• When the term was first introduced in Beast Machines, reformatting strictly referred to a process by which a Transformer's body is altered almost instantaneously from a mechanical to a technorganic form. In casual use among fans, the term is often applied more widely to any "instant" body change by some near omnipotent being, such as the Oracle, Unicron, or Primus. This usage was canonized by the glossary of the More Than Meets The Eye profiles books by Dreamwave Productions, which defined the term as "The process of upgrading or otherwise modifying an existing mechanical system or being. Can also be used to apply to other species/life forms."