The Transformers Menagerie issue 4

« The Transformers Menagerie »
Publisher	Fun Publications
Published in	Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club #53
First published	October/November 2013
Script	Jim Sorenson
Art	various
Continuity	Wings Universe

Perceptor goes over the history of the Terrorcons.

Synopsis

Perceptor explains that like real animals, beast-mode Transformers have adapted to nearly every niche in Cybertronian warfare. Perhaps the best example of this being the Terrorcons, the first Primitives to use "Scramble City"-style combination. The Terrorcon's origin is not confirmed; reports showed they had worked with the Quintessons, indicating that they were the creations of said aliens, but earlier reports had shown them working under Galvatron. Whatever the case, the Terrorcons are fearsome warriors, based not on any real Earth or Cybertronian fauna, but rather the creatures of Earth's mythology. Their combined form, Abominus, is an extremely powerful engine of destruction, his beast-like mind incapable of anything more than basic thought. As a modular "Scramble City" combiner, Abominus has the ability to swap his limbs with those of other teams, but the mental fragility involved in even accomplishing standard combination makes this very rare. Even if that wasn't true, it's doubtful that the other combiner teams would allow such savage beasts to link with their minds.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons
Perceptor (1)	Cutthroat (holo-slide) (2) Hun-Gurrr (holo-slide) (3) Abominus (holo-slide) (4)

Notes

• Characters mentioned include: the Quintessons, Galvatron, Unicron, the Technobots, Brainstorm, the Combaticons, and the Stunticons.

Continuity notes

• The Terrorcons' origins were never seen in the cartoon; they first were seen in "Grimlock's New Brain" serving under Galvatron during his attempt to use anti-electrons against the Autobots, only to appear working for the Quintessons in their next appearance, "Money Is Everything", both of which are brought up here.
• Pereceptor cross-references a paper by Brainstorm entitled "Unicron's Essence in Autobot Laser Cores"; as seen in "Grimlock's New Brain", Grimlock brought the Technobots to life, without the use of Vector Sigma, instead using the decapitated head of Unicron.

Transformers references

• Perceptor describes the Terrorcons' way of combination as both "Scramble City"-type combination (a fan term derived from the subline of the Japanese The Transformers toyline in which the 5-man, limb swapping combiner teams were sold) and as a "fusilateral quintrocombiner" (a term from Marvel's Generation 2 issue #9). The idea that "Scramble City"-combiners can swap limbs is rarely seen in Western media, which Perceptor explains as the result of the mental link that combiners have not allowing for the further strain involved in swapping limbs.

Errors

• Hun-Gurrr's name is spelled "Hun-Grrr".