Puzzler
- Puzzler is a Renegade combiner from the GoBots continuity family.
Puzzler is the combined form of the GoBots:
- Zig Zag, the blue Nissan 300ZX
- Crossword, the orange Porsche 930T
- Pocket, the yellow Lamborghini Countach
- Rube, the black Mercedes 300SL
- Jigsaw, the Toyota Celica XX police car
- Tic Tac, the red Chevrolet Corvette
Fiction
Renegade Rhetoric
Puzzler was formed in response to the Guardians' use of the combiner, Courageous. Cy-Kill commandeered Earth vehicles—stylish Earth vehicles!—and modified them to be able to combine. They did well in battle until their control unit shorted out. Cy-Kill decided to use living machines next time. Renegade Rhetoric (1), 2015/10/16
Utilizing stolen sparks positronic energy matrices obtained in Axiom Nexus, Cy-Kill revived the Puzzler project with living machines. Puzzler menaced the Guardians several times, but was ultimately defeated each time by Guardian ingenuity. Renegade Rhetoric (2), 2015/10/17 Notably, Rube went rogue and teamed up with a human in a get-rich-quick scheme that predictably backfired. Renegade Rhetoric (2), 2016/01/25 Puzzler was ultimately defeated by the Guardians on Quartex. Renegade Rhetoric (2), 2016/02/05
Interest in the missing six sparks in Axiom Nexus, stoked by the ambitious Directorate-General Starscream to distract the population from other concerns, prompted the creation of the #savethesix movement. Rook vowed to discover their true identities. Rook - Axiom Nexus News, 2016/03/03
Timelines
Vector Prime noted Puzzler to be a sparkless drone in Gargent 984.08 Alpha. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/27
Road Ranger confused Tracks for Tic-Tac (though he had trouble remembering the Renegade's name). High Noon
Ask Vector Prime
To be part of his Thirteen Great Demon Generals, Bio Ranger Iga collected Puzzler's components from Gargent 1184.10 Gamma and permanently fused them into Puzzler. While the individual components didn't take kindly to the process, Puzzler swore loyalty to Iga for his continued and unbroken existence. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/27
When Sideways and Gong tuned a Gargent universe into a Primax universe, the Puzzler team replaced the Constructicons during the events of the Unicron War. After Zero dumped the body of Megatron out of Astrotrain and declared himself leader of the combined Renegade / Decepticon forces, Tic Tac put forward Puzzler as an alternative candidate. Their combined form was neutralized by Dr. Go's shrink ray. They got over their disappointment well enough to play horns at Zero's coronation. Later, Pocket and Jigsaw menaced Nick and A.J., but were thwarted by the ability of the humans' exosuits to transform. Echoes and Fragments
Notes
- Puzzler's story as recounted by Cy-Kill was originally told in the Challenge of the GoBots episode, "Auto-Madic".
- Jim Sorenson planned to gradually reveal the original identities of the 6 components of Puzzler in the fiction, similar to Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]] slowly revealing who the Vehicon Generals were (which Puzzler's plot is a nod to), and having six stolen sparks was meant to give the heroes a motive to track Puzzler down.[1]
