Perceptor (Prime)

The name or term "Perceptor" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Perceptor (disambiguation).

Perceptor is an Autobot from the Aligned continuity family.

"I collect spores, mold, and fungus."

Perceptor is a dedicated astronomer and physicist, one of the most brilliant scientists ever produced by Cybertron, and he is not interested at all in the mystical or supernatural. Much of the technology used by the other Autobots was due to his discoveries. There's a paradox named after him, presumably one he theorized. Distant and antisocial, Perceptor speaks with a bluntness befitting a scientist.

Fiction

The Covenant of Primus

Perceptor emerged from the Well of All Sparks prior to the Great Cataclysm. As he and his fellow Cybertronians hid in the bowels of Cybertron to avoid the solar storms, they talked about the possible causes of the Cataclysm. A learned 'bot named Azimuth talked about star charts and celestial bodies, and Perceptor's friends formed together into a group known as the Patterners as they emerged from the darkness. They began a laborious project of recording celestial information on the surface of the planet in massive pattern designs, hoping this information could be preserved for future generations to prevent another Cataclysm. The Covenant of Primus

IDW Aligned comics

Before the Great Exodus took place, Iacon was relentlessly attacked by waves of Decepticons, but Perceptor reported to Optimus Prime that they were unable to breach Autobot defenses. Later that day he let Grimlock know that an encrypted message had arrived for him. Good Intentions

Aligned novels

After passing through the unstable space bridge, Perceptor and the Autobots aboard the Ark found themselves in the vicinity of a Cybertronian colony world called Velocitron. They located it in part thanks to a mysterious starmap projected outwards from Optimus Prime's chest by the Matrix itself. As a scientist, Perceptor had difficulty with the concept of a mythical artifact guiding their movements, but Velocitron proved to be real enough. He was part of Optimus Prime's initial landing team, who made contact with the planet's rulers, Override and Ransack. It was a time of great stress between Velocitron's rulers, and the Autobots' arrival from mythical Cybertron only exacerbated the situation. The planet's sun was unstable, and the speed-oriented engineers of the world had little scientific background in astronomy. Perceptor assisted the Velocitronians with their studies of the star, and successfully reactivated the planet's Space Bridge, reopening the world to interstellar travel.

The next leg of their journey through the Space Bridge brought the Autobots to fabled Junkion, a world composed entirely of space junk. Sabotage brought down the Ark shortly after their arrival, and Optimus Prime tasked Perceptor with getting things up and running again. He also performed an exploratory check on Junkion's four Space Bridge nexii, and determined that one was indeed still in working order. (The one indicated by the Matrix, but of course Perceptor made his own observations first.) Perceptor's work proved valuable, and the Ark was able to regain flight even amidst the arrival of the Nemesis and the chaos created by the unearthed Requiem Blaster. After the battle over Junkion ended, Perceptor updated Optimus Prime on the status of the planet and the ships involved in the skirmish. The Ark then set a new course for the Allspark itself. Exiles

Perceptor reported to Optimus Prime on the Ark when the Matrix led them to Aquatron. He joined the main Autobot force when it touched down on the planet, making contact with the Curator and his Aquatronians. Perceptor was greatly intrigued by the parallel evolution seen on the planet compared to Cybertron, and was eager to perform tests on their ultra-refined energon supplies. The scientific curiosity overcame his caution-circuits though. The Curator was revealed as a Quintesson with a grudge millions of years old against the Cybertronians, and Perceptor was among the Autobots who were captured and forced to face trial on ridiculous trumped up charges. The Autobots and Decepticons escaped during the trial and met up with their comrades aboard the Ark and Nemesis to fend off the Sharkticon hordes and ultimately escape the planet. Retribution

Prime cartoon

Perceptor was mentioned during one of Bulkhead's ramblings, saying that the Synthetic Energon formula disproved Perceptor's paradox. T.M.I.

Transformers: The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe

Perceptor acted as the Autobots' Science Director. The Ultimate Pop-Up Universe

2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Following the restoration of Cybertron from the Great War, Perceptor was one of the many Autobots blacklisted by the new High Council for being a supporter of Optimus Prime. Enemy of My Enemy

Games

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Perceptor is not a playable character in the campaign of Fall of Cybertron. However, he is available to play as in one of the Escalation maps and he is in multiplayer if the Havoc DLC pack is downloaded.

Voice actor: Jim Ward (English)

As the Ark was readied for launch, Perceptor was ordered by Optimus Prime to execute Technological Directive 8-4-Beta-1, bringing back online Teletraan sub terminals in any hospitable locales. Perceptor also was put in charge of the task of shutting down Autobot City in preparation. Unfortunately Grimlock abandoned his post, allowing the Decepticons to attack through the unguarded sector, and leaving Perceptor with the problem of powering the city back up again to reactivate the defenses. To make things worse, he and his team in the nerve center were under siege from the Decepticon forces. After Optimus Prime and Warpath came to their aid, Perceptor and Optimus decided to try using some of the energon from the Ark to report the defenses, so while Perceptor coordinated from the nerve center, Optimus set about rerouting the energon flows. Working together, they were able to get some guns online, but exhausted the available energon. A short time later Optimus managed to awaken Metroplex to chase off the rest of the Decepticons though, and Perceptor was later aboard the Ark as it launched. Fall of Cybertron

Perceptor also appears as a playable character in the Escalation map, 'Ancients'. He fights alongside Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, and Jazz. He is the team's Medic, with a heal beam that can be used to revive an injured teammate and replenish their health.

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark

Console

Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark

3DS

Perceptor appears in the Rise of the Dark Spark game for Nintendo 3DS as a support unit. Equipping him allows all Cybertron Autobots with the Hack ability to have an increased effectiveness.

Rise of the Dark Spark

Notes

• Perceptor is categorized as a Titan in Fall of Cybertron's multiplayer due to his Cybertronian Tank mode, meaning he (hilariously) towers over both Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus in online play.
• Similar to Soundwave, this version of Perceptor has two alternate modes; his original Microscope form (despite the fact he had yet to be exposed to such an Earth-based device) and a Tank Mode. Perceptor's shoulder-mounted scope serves as both the scope of his microscope form as well as the cannon to his tank form. Also like Soundwave, only his vehicle-based form is available for the player's use.

Foreign names

• Russian: Microscope (Микроскоп Mikroskop)