Perceptor (Armada)
| 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-allied Mini-Con combiner from the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.
Perceptor is made up of Grindor, Sureshock, and High Wire. Perceptor only uses his combined form when needed and seemingly has greater strength than the sum of his parts. Perceptor seems to lead the Mini-Cons in some instances, such as shaking hands with Prime and Megatron to show the Mini-Cons are willing to help fight Unicron.
Fiction
Cartoon continuity
Armada cartoon
- Voice actor: SFX, ?? (English), Akira Tomisaka (Japanese), Kustaa Kantelinen (Finnish)
The Street Action Team first combined into Perceptor on Earth upon hearing Rad's call for help in Big Canyon. Perceptor's blinding speed enabled him to overcome Megatron and Starscream long enough for the Autobots to regroup. Comrade The team combined to form Perceptor again to save the kids from a falling boulder in an underground palace. Perceptor and the kids were later saved and carried out of the sand pit by Hot Shot. Palace
Perceptor sensed a Mini-Con panel while he and his human friends were searching in an old subway. After punching out a ceiling tile hiding the panel, he was unable to reach it due to his body armor getting in the way. Underground In the underwater city, Perceptor was formed again to protect the kids, but was quickly overwhelmed by Leader-1 and Bonecrusher, allowing Megatron gain control of another Mini-Con. Ruin
Perceptor appeared in the battle footage Jetfire reviewed at base after joining the Autobots. Detection
When the kids awakened Sky Blast, the Mini-Con lashed out at them. The Street Action Mini-Con Team combined to fight back, but it soon became apparent that Sky Blast was merely frightened, and there was no need for Perceptor to fight.Desperate
Perceptor accompanied Optimus Prime to the Decepticon base, where he and Starscream tried to free Mini-Cons. He ran from Demolishor and was about to be blasted, but was saved by Hot Shot and Laserbeak. He then ran into Tidal Wave, but split up into his component 'bots before being crushed. Perceptor recombined to continue searching for Mini-Cons and came upon a number of them working on a spaceship. He attempted to convince his brethren to stop until Megatron showed up. Perceptor ran again but was chased and caught by the Decepticon leader. The Mini-Cons began to sing, causing a confused Megatron to set Perceptor down. Hot Shot then appeared and attacked Megatron while Perceptor motioned the Mini-Cons away from the battle. Rescue
When the Autobots said the kids couldn't come with them to Cybertron, Perceptor combined and emitted a noise that caused the other Mini-Cons to scramble and sit at controls of the spaceship. He then demanded the kids come with them. Depart
En route to Cybertron, Perceptor formed on top of the Axalon to signal the accompanying Mini-Cons. He helped assemble the Mini-Cons for Sparkplug, who combined their power with the Matrix in order to resurrect Optimus Prime. Miracle Puppet Once on Cybertron, the Street Action Team used a time loop somehow to give themselves enough time to form Perceptor and attack Thrust, preventing him from shooting Starscream with the Requiem Blaster. Drift After transporting to Cybertron's moon, Perceptor saved the kids from a series of tentacles but then had to be saved in turn by Hot Shot and Wheeljack. Portent
When the Autobots and Decepticons were formally aligning themselves for the fight against Unicron, Perceptor put his hands upon Optimus Prime's and Galvatron's as they were shaking. Alliance After Unicron's destruction, Perceptor accompanied the kids, Hot Shot and Jetfire back to Earth, where the component Mini-Cons bid farewell to their friends. Mortal Combat
Linkage
Perceptor and Sparkplug appeared as holograms to tell Redline and his group that they were leaving Earth for Cybertron with the Autobots. Linkage Part 12
Energon cartoon
Ten years later, Perceptor and his individual components were based at Ocean City, where their primary duties were washing cars and serving as a walking garage for Kicker Jones. Clearly, they were better off with the other kids. At Kicker's command, Perceptor disengaged Hire Wire to serve as his personal dirt bike. Cybertron City He later allowed Kicker to remove Sureshock from his body as well, before the boy left on a mission to Desert City. Scorpinok
Perceptor attended Optimus Prime's big meeting for discussing their plans against Unicron, now that Earth's safety was secured behind the energon grid. Rodimus Friend or Foe?
Perceptor was part of the crew of the Miranda II. Go for Unicron! He was occasionally seen standing on the bridge doing absolutely nothing of consequence. Survival Instincts Perceptor was apparently stationed somewhere else after that, because he arrived via warp gate with Arcee and the Omnicons to join up with Kicker and the Miranda II at the mouth of Alpha Q's rift in space. Ripped Up Space
Cybertron comic
The Street Action Team quickly grew tired of the fame that they had cultivated throughout their battles among their Mini-Con peers. They often appeared as Perceptor during their public appearances to avoid further discomfort when made to speak to their admirers. Seeking respite from all of this attention, the team answered Anti-Blaze's call to fight back against Mini-Con insurgents attacking his colony. Street Action Team's profile
Perceptor worked alongside the Mini-Con Council of Sages in the debris field where they made their home after the Powerlinx Battles. Rebels, spurred on by Megatron and Unicron, threatened the peace in the Mini-Con settlements, and so Perceptor's allies reached out to the Autobots for assistance. Revelations Part 4 Perceptor fought his way through the Mini-Con rebels, and soon battled Unicron's enforcer Soundwave as well. Revelations Part 5 After Primus's transformation brought an end to hostilities, Perceptor joined Sentinel Maximus and his comrades in pursuing Unicron through space. Revelations Part 6
Panini Armada comics
When Starscream tried to capture the Street Action Team, they surprised their human friends by merging into Perceptor and fighting back. Unfortunately, the larger Transformer was armed with the Star Sabre, and would've beaten Perceptor into a pulp if his weapon hadn't suddenly gone out of control. The Two-Edged Blade!
Reader's Digest Armada novels
Perceptor's components were the first Mini-Cons awakened on Earth. Their awakening triggered a mechanism within the remains of the Mini-Cons' ship, which teleported both Autobot and Decepticon combatants to Earth. In order to prevent Megatron from harming the children they had recently befriended, and Optimus Prime who was making every effort to keep the Mini-Cons out of Decepticon hands, the Street Action Mini-Con Team combined into Perceptor, and erected an impenetrable force field. Megatron was forced to retreat, and Perceptor transformed back into his component pieces to return with the children to their home town. The Battle Begins
Energon comic
When the Terrorcons began assaulting Earth cities, the Street Action Team volunteered to fight them off, and combined into Perceptor to stand a better chance against the larger enemies. Multiplicity, Pt. 2 The combiner was assigned to Jetfire's team, which was defending Los Angeles from hordes of Insecticons. Multiplicity, Pt. 3 The outnumbered Autobots soon began running low on energy, and Perceptor was forced to improvise a more effective way to fight. By messing with the Insecticons' primitive neural net, he confused many of the Terrorcons into fighting among themselves, but this only got him so far. By the time Rad White showed up to power the Autobots up with energon gas, Perceptor had split into his component Mini-Cons. Multiplicity, Pt. 4
Later, Perceptor and Jetfire stood guard over Earth as they calculated the time until Unicron reached Cybertron. Jetfire hoped to receive some signal from Optimus Prime, trapped in the belly of the beast, but Perceptor warned him that the changes of Prime's survival under those conditions were slim. Armageddon Part 1 Perceptor needn't have worried—Optimus persevered inside of Unicron and got out a message warning the Autobots of energon raids on other planets. Perceptor quickly alerted Jetfire when Prime's message came in, giving the Autobots time to mobilize. Armageddon Part 4
Mini Mayhem!
In a celebration of the Transformers brand, Perceptor showed up as one of the Mini-Con representatives for the "Unicron Trilogy" era of the franchise. Mini Mayhem!
Universe comic
Hailing from Aurex 604.24 Gamma, the Street Action Team which constituted Perceptor was enslaved by the Sunstorm of Aurex 105.15 Gamma during the Universe War. After that Sunstorm was killed by a resurrected Galvatron, Perceptor fled. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/06
When Unicron attempted to recruit more Transformers for his evil ends, several were deflected to an icy planetoid by a device created by the Child of Primus scientist, Rhinox. The Chaos-Bringer's agents dispatched Perceptor with his fellow Minions of Unicron Reptilion, Sunstorm, and Ruination to retrieve the lost recruits before the Children of Primus could. The Children joined forces with the Autobots Unicron had attempted to capture, however, driving off Perceptor and the Minions. Voice Actor Drama
Toys
Armada
- Street Action Team (Basic, 2002/2003)
- Japanese ID number: MM-01
- The Street Action team could combine with Sureshock becoming the legs, Grindor the arms and torso. And High Wire? He'll form the head.
- In this form, Perceptor has several points of articulation, including full shoulder movement, spreadable legs (but not by much), and head articulation limited by aesthetics more than anything else, as his head is on a swivel hinge, which in turn is connected to a post that extends behind his main body into High Wire. The post itself is on a ball joint. You can articulate his head in all sorts of directions if you don't mind it looking like it's not attached properly to his body.
- Perceptor has little fist holes in each hand. By chance or design, these are the perfect size for holding Hot Shot's engine (Jolt's gun). He can hold it either one-handed or double-handed with ease.
- These molds were also used to make Universe Perceptor.
- Street Action Micron Anime Color (CD pack-in, 2003)
- These redecoes of the Street Action Team were available only with the CD single of the first Micron Legend theme song, "Transformer: Dream Again" by Psychic Lover. The toys were decoed to be more cartoon-accurate, which mostly affects Perceptor via his Grindor parts and his head, which are a brighter shade of blue.
- Arcee (Change Micron, 2003)
- Bank (Change Micron, 2003)
- Wheelie (Change Micron, 2003)
- Part of the first assortment of Kabaya Change Microns, these candy toy versions of the Street Action Team members are almost identical to the original toys, but were actually made using all-new molds. They were only available separately, making the assembly of Perceptor a bit harder. Each team member also came packed with a baggie of sugar-pellets.
- Magna Convoy DX Set (Multi-pack, 2003)
- This X-Dimension redeco of the Street Action Mini-Con Team was packaged only with the Toys "R" Us Japan exclusive Magna Convoy DX toy. Perceptor is done up mainly in red, black, and dark teal, with white and pink legs.
Energon
- Perceptor (Basic, 2004)
- Energon Perceptor is an all new mold, the combined form of Energon Sureshock (forming the torso and arms), Grindor (forming the legs) and High Wire (forming the head...again). He also has the same articulation, apart from the oddly backwards swiveling elbows. His head also swivels on a hinge not attached to the main torso. He features two Mini-Con ports on his arms.
- This mold-set was also used to make Frenzy/Heavy Metal and Windcharger.
Universe (2003)
- Sunstorm w/ Inferno & Street Action Mini-Con Team (Multi-pack, 2004)
- Perceptor is a redeco of the Armada Street Action Team/Perceptor molds, and is formed from High Wire (head), Grindor (torso and arms), and Sureshock (legs). He was only available in a multi-pack with Sunstorm and Inferno.
- Perceptor (Basic, 2005)
- Energon Perceptor was repackaged on a Universe-themed card and sold through discount chains in the U.S. like Big Lots!.
Cybertron
- Backblast vs Sureshock
- Blastcharge vs High Wire
- Scrap Iron vs Grindor
- Perceptor's Cybertron version is a redeco of his Energon form. He was not made available as a complete set; he could only be assembled by buying all three of the Street Action Team vs Deep Space Mini-Con Team two-packs. Since this assortment was the final wave of two-packs, they are somewhat harder to find than the other sets. Neither the Deep Space Mini-Con Team nor the Street Action Team were depicted in their combined form on the back of the packaging, only in the manual.
Merchandise
Super Collection Figure
- Bumble (2003)
- Act: 10
- Accessories: Stand
- A PVC figurine of Perceptor was made as part of the tenth "Act" of Takara's Super Collection Figure series. He was available in both full-color and pewter-finish versions, packed one each in every case of twelve blindpacked boxes.
- The Act 10 PVCs used a considerably softer plastic than the preceding nine Acts, which can make getting limbs pegged in difficult as the pegs may just squish. This problem can be even worse with the pewter versions, as the pegs may have a layer of paint on them applied before being pushed into the sockets, making them potentially easier to tear out should the pegs get stuck. Shaving the sockets down with a hobby knife can alleviate these problems somewhat.
Notes
- According to Aaron Archer at OTFCC 2004, he chose to name the Armada Mini-Con combiner robot "Perceptor" to honor the Takara employee who engineered the Street Action Team because that employee was also responsible for engineering the original Generation 1 Perceptor toy. It's likely this was Hideaki Yoke given his favorite Transformer is G1 Perceptor, but Archer did not specify at the time. Noted mecha designer Shinji Aramaki also worked on the original Perceptor, at the very least coming up with the initial concept, but given that he was long gone from Takara and directing the animated movie Appleseed in 2004, Archer probably didn't mean him.
- One of Perceptor's components, High Wire, is female, and yet the other two are male. Perceptor himself seems to be male. Depending on how things like sex, gender, and reproduction are supposed to work with Cybertronians, this may or may not be noteworthy.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Bumble (バンブル Banburu), Cliffjumper (Super Link, クリフジャンパー Kurifujanpā)
- Korean: Pigeon (피전 Pijeon)
- French: Perpetrator
