Particle cannon

It runs on particles of crazy. Yep...we're doomed.

There have been a few Transformers with particle cannon weaponry. The most well known is Galvatron's primary weapon. It is attached to his right arm and is devastatingly powerful, as is to be expected from a weapon forged from the remains of Megatron's favoured fusion cannon, which itself could be combined with Megatron's stock and silencer to form a particle beam cannon.

Fiction

Marvel The Transformers comics

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

In the early days of the war on Cybertron, Steamhammer was armed with a particle accelerator cannon alongside his hammers when he went to brutalise some Neutralists in Yuss. It didn't help him, as the Magnificent Six shot him to pieces before he could even raise it to fire back. The Magnificent Six!

After an initial scuffle, when Megatron (or at least a clone of him) faced off against the time travelling usurper Galvatron he insisted that they fight fusion cannon against particle cannon. However, Galvatron went one further and transformed into space cannon mode, bringing a building down upon his (sort of) past self before talking him round into an alliance. Altered Image!

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Extra-strength CHOOM.

When the dying Megatron was found by Unicron, the monster planet pressed the Decepticon leader into his service, rebuilding him into Galvatron and turning the shattered remnants of his fusion cannon into a powerful particle cannon. For his first use of the weapon, Galvatron unleashed its full power on Starscream utterly disintegrating his traitorous second. When Galvatron tried to use the Matrix of Leadership to force Unicron into servitude, the planet eater transformed to robot mode and began physically attacking Cybertron prompting Galvatron to turn his cannon on his master. Unamused, Unicron swallowed Galvatron. Within the monster's innards, Galvatron fought against Hot Rod only to find his cannon was unable to pierce the Matrix's protection of the youth, only succeeding in blasting the talisman itself out of his hands. The Transformers: The Movie

When Galvatron was brought to Torkulon, his cannon was deactivated as the psychiatrists attempted to cure him only to learn Galvatron's insanity was an even greater weapon, one Torkulon's software simply could not defend against. Webworld

During an elaborate Quintesson trap to unleash the Dweller, Galvatron's cannon became separated from him and was used by Arcee to break down a door. The Dweller in the Depths

Galvatron suddenly empathizes with his own troops.

After a particularly vicious series of battles in Japan, Wildrider and Dead End had secured the Matrix of Leadership. Bringing it to Galvatron, the tyrant inserted it into his particle cannon as a power source only for the weapon to spew forth the departed spark ghosts of the Ancient Autobots who'd once borne the Matrix and demanded it be returned to Rodimus Prime. Galvatron promptly ejected the Matrix from his cannon thereafter, ordering that the talisman be destroyed. The Burden Hardest to Bear

When the Hate Plague spread across the galaxy, The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1 Galvatron's cannon proved his only defence against his maddened soldiers. When a resurrected Optimus Prime arrived, needing a heat impervious alloy to cure the Plague, Galvatron led them to it, using his cannon to block off their path from their pursuers. When it transpired the "cure" was merely Optimus coating himself with the metal, Galvatron turned on his old foe only to knocked down by Sky Lynx who seized the particle cannon and used it to force the Decepticon to load the metal into Optimus' trailer. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

Machine Wars artwork

After gaining control of the deceased body of Skyquake, Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/29 Starscream got back at Galvatron for killing him in 2005. Starscream then claimed the particle cannon as a trophy. Genesis: The Art of Transformers

2005 IDW continuity

Particle cannons were used by Skywatch as lethal countermeasures in their campaign against the Transformers. They were created by reverse-engineering Cybertronian weapon technology, A Rude Awakening likely provided to them by Swindle. A Second Chance at Eden

After Breakdown was captured by a team led by four crash suits, Spike Witwicky ordered the particle cannons on the supporting gunship armed in order to lure out any other Cybertronians in the area by giving the impression that Breakdown was about to be terminated. This worked, and oddly enough, Prowl attempted to come to the Decepticon's rescue, but was then disabled.

Later, particle cannons were used against the Autobots who attempted to rescue Prowl. Spotting one of the cannons being aimed at Hot Rod and Prowl, Ironhide hurled himself into the weapon's path, and died. ...For All Mankind

Kimia Facility transformed into a gigantic particle cannon. Numbers

War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon

When Galvatron travelled back in time to speak with Megatron, he fired his particle cannon to counter a blast from his past self's fusion cannon. Earthrise episode 5

Notes

• Galvatron's cannon was named as such in the UK comics, in which it was generally referred to as a particle (or particle-accelerator) cannon. His toy's instruction sheet names the weapon a "laser", which, according to the toy bio, "emits chemically-produced, direct-current electricity". The Marvel UK name seems to be taken partly as a reference to Megatron's fusion cannon and partly on the toy bio.
  • The 2008 Universe Galvatron toy has a firing particle cannon callout on the packaging, adding weight to that being the correct name of the weapon.
• As noted above, Galvatron's toy bio describes his cannon as a "laser which emits chemically produced direct-current electricity". While this is a rather strange thing for a laser to do, it is a neat pun on his name. A galvanic cell, named after Luigi Galvani, is a certain type of chemical voltage source. Though Galvatron's toy's batteries are not galvanic cells, they do produce DC electricity chemically, making his toy one of the more fiction-accurate in the Generation 1 line.
• Just as Megatron's fusion cannon was sometimes shown in commercials to have a handle, Galvatron's particle cannon had a trigger on at least one occasion. Galvatron apparently doesn't need to use the trigger; however, several times in season three, he behaved as if he was, holding his cannon with his fist vertically, rather than horizontally, while having one finger in front of the others... go figure.
• On one occasion, Galvatron demonstrated the ability to use his Particle Cannon as a means of self-propulsion in the vacuum of space. Notably, the Particle Cannon instead fired jet-like exhausted as opposed to energy whilst he did this.
• It is said the particle cannon is able to destroy metal life cell. It is unknown if it has any relation with the development of the Living-Metal-Destroying Cannon.
• Seemingly as a reference to his G1 counterpart's weapon, Age of Extinction concept art refers to Galvatron's arm cannon as both an "arm particle weapon" and an "arm partical weapon" (with the latter likely being a typo).
• Galvatron's bio on the War for Cybertron: Kingdom webpage refers to the Particle cannon as an "ultra fusion cannon".