Cryotek (RID)
| This article is about the Robots in Disguise toy used in Beast Era fiction. For the TransTech counterpart who runs a bar, see Cryotek (TransTech). |
- Cryotek is a Predacon from the Beast Era and Universe series. His toy, however, was released under the Robots in Disguise banner.
Cryotek is a gangster in Cybertron's dangerous criminal underworld. A supply manager who served the Decepticon general Deathsaurus as the Great War came to a close, he doublecrossed his boss by leading a team of Predacon rebels against him, earning him amnesty during the following peace.
Once a brilliant engineer, he turned his talents to crime, and advancing technologies that were outlawed. He developed bodyframes that, though quite powerful and weapon-laden, qualified as legal for construction or research. His own "cryo-tank" form was as powerful as a Predacon could manage without special government clearance. With his bodyguards Dirge, Buzzbomb, and Backslash, Cryotek ran a tight organization that skirted the law, embarrassing the Maximal Command Security Force, who could never dig up any evidence against him. [1]
Ironically, Cryotek's claim to fame would be his protégé, the rogue Predacon who would be called Megatron. Cryotek's greatest ideas would be co-opted by his former student, including technology for spark extractors and even his plan for the theft of the Golden Disk. If there's one thing Cryotek's pride cannot stand, it's his own failures.
Chro can often be seen perching on his shoulder.
Fiction
Theft of the Golden Disk
- Voice actor: Brad Venable
After gloating about his genius plan to steal data revealing the location of a sacred Maximal artifact, the Golden Disk, he dispatched his star pupil Megatron to carry it out. He reminded Megatron that only Cryotek was allowed to decrypt the data.
Cryotek was no fool, however, and knew that Megatron would betray him sooner or later. He alerted the authorities to Megatron's heist, expecting his protégé would take the fall. Though when Dirge returned with the data storage box, it was empty, save for a Maximal security homing bug. Megatron had doublecrossed him! Cryotek pled for his lawyer as the Maximal Command Security Force infiltrated his secret lair. Theft of the Golden Disk
Universe: Featuring the Wreckers
When Megatron returned from his timelost exile on Earth, Cryotek offered to rid him of his hated beast mode, wishing to take the powerful dragon form for himself. This process, however, left Cryotek disabled for some while. Upon his recovery, he discovered that Megatron had stolen his research and conquered Cybertron.[2]
Considered an outlaw among his own kind, and with Cybertron overrun with Vehicons, Cryotek exiled himself to New Quintessa, where he began a business partnership with Derodomontatus and the rest of the Quintesson race. Using the Oracle shell program that the Quintessons had used to manipulate Vector Sigma since eons ago, Cryotek and Derodomontatus manipulated several groups of survivors of Megatron's virus into running various fool's errands. One of these groups, the Mutants, were instructed by the Oracle to journey to New Quintessa itself. A trap was waiting for the Mutants, and they were devoured by Sharkticons while Cryotek and Derodomontatus watched. The Quintesson was amused, but Cryotek, striking him, reminded Derodomontatus of his race's incompetence and hubris.
Secretly, Cryotek suspected that Vector Sigma's true voice would break out through their deceptions, and so he placed Cyclonus into another of the surviving groups, the Wreckers. The Wreckers traveled to Archa Nine, Cyclonus double-crossed them, and Cryotek had the object of his desire, the Divine Light, delivered to him. Betrayal
Toys
Robots in Disguise
- Cryotek (Ultra, 2001)
- Cryotek, a redeco of Transmetal 2 Megatron in blue, teal, and purple chrome, was a Target exclusive in 2001. It transforms from a robot into a cyborg-like dragon and can launch a missile from the top of his robot head. It also has a third "dragster" mode which is best forgotten. The toy has different wing claws from Megatron, a slight retool for unknown reasons.
- Both this mold and Tigerhawk's mold share a gimmick that was dropped before release—a cockpit bubble where a tiny "spark figure" would have piloted the character. Hasbro dropped the concept due to it junking around with the Transformers mythos; it was feared buyers would mistake the "spark figures" as humanoid pilots for a non-sentient transforming robot, a la Diaclone, instead of being representations of the spark essence of a living, breathing Transformer. The cockpit bubbles remain on both toys (and their redecos). The "USA Edition" (a limited Japanese release) of the toy includes the "spark figure".
Trivia
- The name "Cryotek" was first used by a hero from Hasbro's mid-Eighties action figure line Visionaries.
- Cryotek first debuted in an eBay auction by a seller with zero feedback, packaged inside a Beast Wars Transmetals 2 Megatron box. One of the largest flame wars the fandom had ever seen erupted over this early sample as fans argued over whether the toy was merely an easy Photoshop job or if it were a real production piece.[3] Even when a buyer received the "blue Megatron" from the seller and confirmed that it was, in fact, blue, claims of fraud were not silenced. It wasn't until BotCon 2001, where a few copies of this early mispackaged sample were seen in person and its authenticity (and name) confirmed by 3H did the fandom finally simmer down.
- Cryotek will eat your dreams.[4]
- Cryotek's CGI model in "Theft of the Golden Disc" is based on Energon Shockblast with a new head. His voice was patterned after actor Sydney Greenstreet.
Notes
- ↑ Much of Cryotek's prehistory comes from his Theft of the Golden Disk profile available to fan club members.
- ↑ Cryotek's bio at BotCon.com
- ↑ alt.toys.transformers - "blue bw tm2 megatron on ebay"
- ↑ It's true!
