Transformation

You put your right leg out...

Transformation (or Transform if you failed English class) is the process by which a Transformer alters his form between modes. It should not be confused with reformatting, a type of full-body upgrade.

The technical details of transformation, as well as the manner in which the art was introduced to the Transformers themselves, vary between continuities. When the issue is addressed at all, transformation is usually treated as an innovation from some point early in Cybertronian history rather than something that was literally always with them. The Transformers were, at the time of their genesis, simply Cybertronians -- mechanical life-forms -- and became "Transformers" only later. However, just as often in Transformers fiction the "origin" of transforming is simply not discussed.

In most continuities, transformation is not a trait limited to Cybertronians. Both sentient alien races (such as Junkions and some portrayals of the Lithonians) and animals (such as the lipoles on Jupiter's moon Io) exhibit the same ability. The Quintessons also incorporated transformation into some of their later creations including the Sharkticons, Allicons, and Overcharge drones. Some examples of transforming robotic aliens, however, can be traced to colonization in the distant past by Cybertronians. The G1 planet Paradron, as well as the main planets in the Cybertron franchise are examples of this.

Special transformation types

High-speed transformation

Some Transformers, specifically the Autobot Jumpstarters and the Decepticon Battlechargers, are specifically designed to transform much faster than ordinary Transformers, usually taking less than half of an Earth second to switch from robot to alt-mode or vice versa. How much this ability depends on physical versus mental capabilities is unknown. In the Dreamwave G1 continuity, Triple Changers were also stated to have unusually fast transformations (roughly twice the normal speed, whatever that is).

Multiple alternate modes

Robots with multiple transformations (Triple Changers, et al.) are a special case. Though there seems to be some aspect of natural aptitude at play in one's ability to master multiple forms (for example Dreamwave comics referred to a "genetic potential" within the sparks of such robots), and of course the special physical construction granting those forms, the balance of the matter seems to be one of training. Most Six Changers are said to have mastered their plethora of transformations through rigorous study. The largest number of modes exhibited by any single individual to date is RID Galvatron, who had ten.

Adaptable bodies

Some groups of Transformers such as the Go-Bots use a process similar to reformatting to more radically alter their forms while transforming. This ability to start with one robot and alternate form and transform easily to entirely different variations without extensive mechanical work comes from unique metals in the Go-Bots' bodies, and does not apply to most Transformers.

In the Movie continuity family, Bumblebee seems to demonstrate this ability in the prequel novel Transformers: Ghosts of Yesterday. He descends to the desert planet in his cometary Transition form and transforms to robot mode. Upon realizing he needs to travel quickly, Bumblebee transforms into a very basic four-wheeled all-terrain vehicle. The narration explains that he created this altmode from an internal memory database of vehicle forms. The entire process seems to take practically no time at all, as if he were just transforming into his alt-mode as all Transformers do. The narration does not imply that this ability is only possessed by Bumblebee, and indeed the movie suggests that all Transformers in this continuity can switch altmodes almost at will.

Transformation cogs

In the G1 animated series, the city Transformers Metroplex and Trypticon are both specifically stated to possess devices known as transformation cogs that somehow control their transformation processes, and are essential to allow them to transform at all. Such cogs are rarely mentioned elsewhere in the fiction -- even in other continuities -- so it is not clear if all Transformers require them, or Metroplex and Trypticon are special cases, perhaps because of their size. However, one other example is that Nitrostreak ("Unit One" of the Maximal Command Security Force) had his cog damaged in a firefight with Megatron's henchmen. Dawn of Future's Past Since this story takes place in an unknown Beast Wars setting, and the Beast Wars cartoon itself takes place in an amalgamated G1 universe, the larger significance of this event is up for debate.

Fiction

Optimus Prime: Lord of the Dance. I could watch this animation all day.

Generation One

Marvel comics

Unicron was the first Transformer, fashioning his metal prison into a robotic semblance of his original form. Primus, watching from a distance, was all like, "Oh snap, robots that turn into things? Why didn't I think of that?" and quickly trained his own children to do the same thing.

Some accounts credit the development of transformation to Megatron and the Decepticons, with the Autobots later copying the technique. This, perhaps, implies that the potential for transformation instilled by Primus was dormant until Megatron realised it, or that it was forgotten and rediscovered at some point.

Animated series

Transformation was an Autobot innovation, developed during their first war with the Decepticons when it became apparent that they could not match their firepower and strength. The art of transformation allowed the Autobots to disguise their forms, thereby allowing for stealthy attacks on their enemies. This strategy met with great success, and the Decepticons were defeated, allowing the era of peacetime known as the Golden Age of Cybertron to settle in. The Decepticons subsequently adopted transformation technology themselves, coupled with robot-mode flight powers, and re-ignited the civil war. (See "War Dawn".)

Transformers generally seem able to shift modes at will, although in cases where they have suffered severe physical injuries, transformation is sometimes a strain. In one case, and one case only, a Transformer indicated that staying in his altmode was too energy consumptive, and had to revert to his robot mode: Warpath, when trapped in midieval England and low on fuel. Decepticon Raider... This problem seems to almost never come up, even in cases where Transformers are very low on energy, so its significance is unknown. Perhaps walking is simply more energy efficient than moving his tank treads.

Beast Wars and Beast Machines

Beast Wars-era Transformers have their transformation sequences controlled by the same onboard computers which manage a variety of other body functions, such as stasis lock. Transformation is triggered by a command to this computer, usually done by voice, but sometimes with a thought. These computers may have been a part of the Great Upgrade, and once activated they choreograph the shifting body parts, allowing the Transformer to continue to concentrate on other matters.

This advance implies that transformation may be a mentally rigorous task, at least in the sense that it requires a few seconds of concentration. Post-reformatting, the new technorganic forms granted to Cybertron's inhabitants lacked on-board computers, requiring them to re-learn the mental disciplines involved. It may be that a technorganic transformation is more difficult even than a traditional transformation, as the reformatted Maximals often reverted to their beast modes upon losing their concentration or emotional "center". This notion that the transformed state requires constant effort may be related to Warpath's statement about his tank mode consuming more energy (mentioned above).

Due to their technorganic nature, the Maximals of Beast Machines do not transform via any recognized mechanical process. Rather, in many cases their limbs actually change shape via an unknown means, presumably part and parcel of their new condition. One of the most prominent examples of this is Noble, who transforms between two extremely dissimilar and wholly organic forms.

The Noise

Technical Description

Transformation is often accompanied by a distinct noise--an 8hz pulse, repeated five times, with each pulse lasting a roughly equal amount of time, whose pitch can be represented by the absolute value of a declining (for alt-mode to robot mode) or increasing (for robot mode to alt-mode) sine wave. As a rule of thumb, the larger the robot, the deeper the pitch of the sound, and the longer the duration of the pulses. There is no general consensus as to what onomatopoeia should be used to represent this sound.

Continuity Locations

Within the early years of the G1 Cartoon, almost all transformations were accompanied by the noise in some manner, generally lasting the duration of the transformation sequence and being the only noise made by transformations. By the Beast Wars, however, most characters made more complicated mechanical-sounding noises when transforming. In spite of this, the rebuilt Ravage still made only the noise when transforming.

The noise was shown to similarly occur during televison commercials throughout late G1 and all the way through G2. It appeared in the first commercials for Beast Wars, featuring a CG clip of Optimus Primal (bat) vs Megatron (alligator) two-pak, but was dropped once the commercials started using footage from the Beast Wars cartoon.

The noise did not appear again until Robots in Disguise, where the noise was heard uniformly amongst all Transformers at the very beginning of transformation sequences, rather than lasting the duration of the transformation like in the past. It was heard similarly in Armada and Energon, but surprisingly, not in Cybertron.

In the 2007 movie, the noise could also be heard accompanying transformations, though at certain specific points of the transformation rather than the very beginning. The noise did not appear to match with any specific visible moving parts.

Function

At this time, neither the cause of the noise nor its relationship to a Transformer's ability to transform is known.

See Also

• Transformation (toys)
  
  
  From Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki, a Wikia wiki.