Transformers: Energon (toyline)

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Unicron Trilogy continuity family
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Following up on the highly successful Armada, the Energon toyline carried over a number of characters in new forms, and added many newcomers as well.

Overview

File:Hotshotenergontoy.jpg
Energon Hot Shot, a Deluxe Autobot.

The Energon line is dominated by the concept of combination, which pops up in numerous forms. Virtually every smaller toy came with an "Energon weapon", a clear-colored assortment of accessories, which could peg into one another to form larger weapons. The Combat and Mega Autobots can combine with one another in pairs (top and bottom, a source of endless jokes in the fandom), while the Command class combines with a vehicular accessory to form a larger "brute" mode. The line's first Mini-Cons were two teams that could combine. And three combiner teams in the spirit of the Scramble City gestalts dominated the line's later waves.

The Energon weapons formed another of the line's main concepts, as the battle for control of Energon dominated the cartoon storyline. The clear Energon weapons feature standardized 5mm pegs that all but a few figures can hold, and the weapons could be pegged together in almost infinite combinations.

File:Energon Cruellock toy.jpg
Cruellock, a Terrorcon.

A third concept was the Hyper-mode of the Decepticons, basically a series of flip- or fold-out weapons that could be deployed without the addition of Mini-Cons.

The line introduced two new ostensible factions, the Omnicons and Terrorcons, though in practice these were more subgroups of the Autobots and Decepticons, respectively. They filled the smallest price point left vacant by the Mini-Con 3-packs of Armada.

Nearly all alternate modes are futuristic vehicles or robotic animals. Robot modes are angular and mechanical-looking, continuing the G1-esque look started by Armada but refining it. Articulation rose almost to pre-Armada levels, and the complexity required by some of the combining gimmicks brought forth ingenious and complex designs, though sometimes at the expense of the overall appearance of the toy.

Initial waves of Energon included three redecos of Armada toys as new characters: Sideways as Rapid Run, Scavenger as Treadbolt, and Overload as Ultra Magnus. These toys were meant to "bulk up" the early line and did not ship long, making them -- particularly Ultra Magnus -- difficult to find at US retail.

As in the later Beast era, all new-mold figures have spark crystals to display their allegiance. As in Armada, most have at least a few Mini-Con hardpoints. Two Mini-Con teams were part of the line, with Hasbro stating that the runaway success of the Mini-Cons in Armada caught them by surprise, and that more would be forthcoming in future lines.

The line was notable for the fact stores MASSIVELY overordered initial waves of the line, leading to massive shelfwarming for the first two waves. The situation was so severe, Hasbro removed much of the older product from stores' inventory to get the Powerlinx Battles subline to shelves in time for the 2004 holiday season. Much of this early stock would reappear on store shelves in "buy one get one" bonus buys in VERY large numbers.

Homages

Energon was saturated with frequent and obvious Generation 1 references and homages, presumably intended as a celebration of the Transformers' 20th anniversary year. Among them are:

Scorponok, one of the line's many Generation 1 homages.

A somewhat less convincing case can be made for Megatron = Thunderwing, but really now, who cares about anything after 1986, right?

New characters

A recurring theme in Energon is that of old characters getting new bodies, often ones with only tangential relation to their former appearance. This has led to fan speculation that Hasbro originally intended these toys—specifically, Snowcat, Tidal Wave, and Demolishor—to be new characters, only to have that intent overridden by Takara and/or the producers of the cartoon, who made them into new versions of old characters.

The notion is not without precedent. Roadblock was treated by the cartoon as an upgraded Inferno—yet Hasbro issued a character bio which established him as a new and separate character.

Likewise, following in the footsteps of Armada redeco Thundercracker (who was cast as a powered-up Starscream by the cartoon), the redecos Landquake and Beachcomber were treated by the cartoon as powered-up versions of characters the molds were originally created for.

Autobots

Energon Class

Omnicons
The Basic-sized Omnicons and Terrorcons come with clear Energon weapons and 'Energon Chips' or 'Energon Stars' that can be attached over their spark crystals. Chips and weapons are red and pink for Omnicons and green and yellow for Terrorcons.

Air Team
The Air Team is one of three Scramble City-style combiners, in which four Basic-sized limbs join a Combat core. The Autobots had one such combiner; the Decepticons two. Each had a unique core design and two unique limbs. Each limb was recolored once to make the necessary four. The limb figures all came with add-on weapons and Energon Chips, cast in blue clear plastic, and these weapons formed the hands or feet of the combined robot.

Combine to form Superion Maximus.

Combat Class

Combat and Mega Autobots, besides transforming from vehicle to robot, can also become the top or bottom half of a 'Powerlinx' combination robot. While it was not widely advertised, the two size classes can freely inter-combine, with occasionally ludicrous results. The need to combine did compromise the articulation, stability, and appearance of many Autobot figures.

SWAT Team 2-Pack - K-Mart exclusive

Mega Class

Command Class

Command Autobots each include transforming accessories that form part of their vehicle modes; they can combine with these to form a 'Brute Mode'.

Leaders Class

Supreme Class

Roleplay

Decepticons

Energon Class

Terrorcons

Construction Team
A loose homage to the original Constructicons.

Combine to form Constructicon Maximus.

Destruction Team
A loose homage to the original Combaticons.

Combine to form Bruticus Maximus.

Combat Class

Mega Class

Command Class

Leaders Class

Role Play

Mini-Cons

Energon Saber

Perceptor

Miscellaneous

Leader 2-Pack - Toys 'R' Us exclusive

Unicron

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