Photon (subgroup)

The Photons are a Decepticon subgroup from the cartoon portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Would you call them... light infantry?

The Photons are a Decepticon sub-faction led by Reflector. They all look identical, patterned after their leader.

Fiction

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Ken Sansom (English, "Divide and Conquer")

Being scared of the untested space bridge is actually pretty... bright of him.

Numerous robots sharing Reflector's design were present during the Decepticons' early activities on Earth, helping to pillage the planet's energy. More than Meets the Eye, Part 2 One such robot helped Starscream to load energon cubes onto a transport that would take them through the space bridge to Cybertron. When Rumble reminded Starscream that the transport required a driver, the unfortunate warrior was selected; he begged that he not be chosen, but his words fell on deaf ears as Starscream forcibly picked him up and dropped him into the transport craft. Fortunately, the robot's piloting skills allowed him to traverse the space bridge, and he safely arrived on Cybertron with his energon payload. Divide and Conquer

Some of these robots were later seen among Shockwave's forces on Cybertron. Two of them transported the wounded Doctor Arkeville to the medical bay at Starscream's order. Countdown to Extinction

Wings Universe

When Reflector joined Megatron's forces, the Photons went with him. A Team Effort

Timelines

Flash Sentry was a higher-ranked member of the Photons. During the Battle of Autobot City, Flash Sentry and most of the Photons went missing in action. BotCon 2016 Flash Sentry profile card

Notes

• The first season of the Generation 1 cartoon occasionally used Reflector's design for generic Decepticons whose identities were not singled out by scripts. The robot in "Divide and Conquer" was identified only as "Unnamed Decepticon" in the script, while the two in "Countdown to Extinction" were originally scripted as being the primitive Medicroids seen elsewhere in the episode. The Collectors' Club coined the name "Photons" to refer to these Reflector duplicates in 2010's "A Team Effort".

They don't obey the speed limit. They are the speed limit.

• The "watchdogs" featured in "The Ultimate Doom, Part 3" share Reflector's purple-and-grey colour scheme (right). Perhaps these Decepticon hovercars are the Cybertronian alternate modes of the Photons?
• It is unknown whether Scrapface, who shares a body-type with Reflector, is a Photon.