Phoenix (G1)
- Phoenix is an Autobot Pretender from the Super-God Masterforce portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Phoenix is a member of the Autobot Pretender team led by Metalhawk, who crash-landed on Earth during the Stone Age while pursuing a group of Decepticon Pretenders through the solar system. When the Decepticons used their Pretender powers to take on the forms of monsters and terrorized early Man, Phoenix and his allies responded in kind, adopting the forms of human beings and battling their enemies down through the ages. After inspiring many Earthly legends with their clashes over the years, Phoenix and the Autobots finally triumphed and sealed the Decepticons away, then elected to remain on Earth, living their human lives and guiding the evolution of human society and culture.
If there's one thing that distinguishes Phoenix from his fellow Autobots, it's the fact that he never gets to really do much of anything. As the team's communications officer, he is well suited to the job he has in his human guise—that of a telecommunications engineer at a German airstrip—but as the only Autobot based in Europe, simple geography often makes him the odd 'bot out when his teammates are busy battling the Decepticons across Japan and America. The other Autobots are probably grateful for this on occasion, given Phoenix's annoying tendency to lecture them on the minutiae of his code-breaking hobby, but they're never sad to see him tear into the battlefield with his powerful Snake Rod whip, with which he can create powerful jet-streams.
- English/Malay dub name: Cloudburst
- Russian TV dub name: Liven (Ливень, "Downpour")
Fiction
Super-God Masterforce cartoon
- Voice actor: Masato Hirano (Japanese)
When the Decepticon Pretenders were liberated from their imprisonment by the alien Devil Z, Phoenix was quick to come to the aid of his leader, Metalhawk, when the villains attacked a Japanese city. Phoenix engaged Blood in a dogfight while fellow Pretenders Lander and Diver took on the other Decepticons, freeing up Metalhawk to dispatch the Seacons the villains had brought with them. Without their Seacon backup, the Decepticons fled. Rise Up!! Pretenders
Phoenix later joined with Metalhawk and Diver in thwarting a Decepticon plot to convert the inhabitants of the Karin Islands into Destroids, Terror! The Decepticons' Manhunt but that didn't stop the fiends from trying again with passengers captured from jumbo jets. The Autobots were tipped off to the scheme when a kidnap attempt went wrong, and the plane carrying the Japanese ambassador from the Republic of Mont Porte crashed in Corsica. After helping to suppress a Destroid attack in Rome, Phoenix and Metalhawk posed as government investigators and served as bodyguards to the ambassador, accompanying him on his flight on to Japan. Unsurprisingly, Blood attacked the jet in-flight, and Phoenix and Metalhawk engaged in aerial combat, beating him back and then carrying the crippled plane to safety on their backs. Kidnapping!? The Targeted Jumbo Jet
Shortly after the Autobots' human allies Shūta Gō, Cab and Minerva were transformed into Headmaster Juniors, Phoenix alerted the heroes to an attack on a nearby city by Decepticons, and then teamed up Metalhawk to battle Blood once more. Birth! Headmaster Jrs Then, after a mission to Africa to foil a Decepticon plot to terrorize the continent's wildlife, Panic! Protect the Wild Animals!! Phoenix returned to his human work, but things didn't stay calm for long when news filtered in of two jets travelling over London at unearthly speeds. Phoenix informed Metalhawk of this strange news, and the jets were soon revealed to be the newest Decepticon warriors, the Godmaster brothers Hydra and Buster. Metalhawk and Lander fared poorly in their battle with the powerful new Decepticons, but thankfully, the arrival of Phoenix and Diver forced the sinister siblings to retreat. Super Warriors - The Godmaster Brothers Phoenix participated in the rematch with the evil brothers on Viscas Island A Fierce Battle!! The Autobots Are in Trouble and later joined with the Autobots in backing up the Autobots' first Godmaster, Ginrai, when he engaged the brothers in battle. Ginrai: God On of Rage!!
Phoenix was part of the mission to rescue Diver and a group of captive children from the clutches of the Decepticons, Heroism!! The Birth of Super Ginrai but the duties of his human life kept him from participating in the search for the remaining Godmasters. An Enemy? The Third Godmaster, Ranger Nonetheless, the search proved successful, and Phoenix joined with Ginrai and the other Pretenders in celebrating the recruitment of three new Autobot Godmasters, supporting Metalhawk's decision to step down as leader and appoint Ginrai in his place. The Autobot Warrior, Sixknight?!
When a message reached the Autobots on Earth from their old ally Grand Maximus, Phoenix held the fort at the Autobots' headquarters while Metalhawk, Lander and Diver headed out to meet with their friend in secret. Shūta came looking for the Pretenders to show them the Ginrai doll that Cab had carved from wood, but found only Phoenix, who said nothing of the meeting, but took the doll to show to Ginrai later. Grand Maximus, meanwhile, informed the other Pretenders of the approach of the Decepticon BlackZarak towards Earth, and he supplied them with the plans and materials necessary to construct a drone named "Godbomber", which would enable Ginrai to fly and fight in space and defeat BlackZarak before he reached the planet. The group returned to the base to inform Ginrai, and during the meeting, Phoenix livened the mood by whipping out the doll and making everyone laugh. Life? Death? Lightfoot Must Choose
Phoenix and the other Pretenders subsequently poured their attention into the construction of Godbomber, and despite various attempts by the Decepticons to stop them, successfully completed the drone. God Ginrai - Into the Sky!! Ginrai bonded with Godbomber and headed into space to battle BlackZarak, but Phoenix, like all the other Autobots, was unable to do anything but sit on Earth and wait for news until Ginrai emerged victorious. God Ginrai - Showdown on the Surface of the Moon.
Phoenix took a big step back from the front lines at this point, participating only in very occasional battles. He, Metalhawk and Diver were rather easily defeated when they attempted to stop Overlord's progress over the ocean towards Japan, BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space so he instead turned his efforts towards scanning Earth for Decepticon activity Crisis! The Day of the Downfall of Humanity and later battled the Decepticon Pretenders alongside his fellow Autobots Pretenders in Latin America. God Ginrai - Save Cancer!?
Phoenix played no hand in the final battle between the Autobots and Decepticons in the Alps, during which Ginrai successfully destroyed BlackZarak and Devil Z, inadvertently bringing the Transformers' Transtectors to life. The now-living Transtectors departed Earth to rejoin their respective factions in space, but Phoenix and the other Pretenders elected to remain on Earth and continue their lives there. A Battle... and Then...
Super-God Masterforce comic
Phoenix made his first appearance when Shūta, Cab and Minerva became Headmaster Juniors, presenting their Transtectors to them alongside Lander and Diver. Headmaster Jrs Are Born
When Diver discovered the first Autobot Godmaster, Ginrai, in America, and arranged for him to travel to Japan to meet the other Autobots, Phoenix elected not to make the trip, staying at the Ocean Research Institute with Diver and Lander. Enter on the Stage! The Name of the Savior Is Ginrai! He later joined with the other Autobots in racing to thwart a mysterious Decepticon scheme, only to be briefly bamboozled by holographic images of legendary Decepticons before Ginrai dealt with them. Burn, Super Soul! The New Commander Super Ginrai!
Phoenix and the other Pretenders dropped off the radar after this battle, appearing only briefly to monitor a two-pronged attack by the Decepticons against Earth. God Ginrai's Amazing Super-God Combination! Fortunately for all concerned, they returned to the front lines during Ginrai's final battle with the Decepticons, during which the Decepticon emperor, Devil Z, turned on his subordinates and attempted to absorb their Jinchōkon in order to transform himself into the ultimate lifeform. Phoenix and the Pretenders hurled themselves into the path of the villain's Jinchōkon-absorbing beam, saving Ginrai and the Decepticons from its effects, and remaining unharmed themselves, since, as true robots, they possessed no Jinchōkon of their own. Phoenix subsequently joined with all the other Autobots and Decepticons in combining their energies into the "Perfect Transform Attack", which destroyed Devil Z once and for all. With the alien's death, the humans were separated from their Transtectors, and the Transtectors themselves were brought to life as true super-robot lifeforms. While the new-born Transformers departed Earth to rejoin their respective factions in space, Phoenix elected to remain on Earth and continue his life there. The Birth of the Super Lifeforms
Toys
Super-God Masterforce
- Phoenix (Pretender, 1988)
- Japanese ID number: C-202
- Accessories: 2-piece Pretender shell, helmet, belt, "Snake Rod", "Wave Blaster"
- Phoenix's Pretender shell resembles a human in a red and grey armored space suit, armed with his blue "Snake Rod" whip and red "Wave Blaster". The shell's helmet and belt are also removable and are used to help "lock" the two halves of the shell together. The shell splits to reveal Phoenix's inner robot, which transforms into a red and black Cybertronic jet. The robot can wield the Wave Blaster in both modes
- The toy was released concurrently in Hasbro markets as Cloudburst, with no notable differences between the two.
- Too bad the toy doesn't feature Wolverine-style hair. Argh
