Cybertron Defense Team (Cybertron)

The Cybertron Defense Team is an Autobot sub-group in Cybertron portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.

WRECK AND-oh, sorry.

The Cybertron Defense Team is an elite heavily armed combat unit within the Autobot army. Answering directly to Optimus Prime, they are dispatched to take care of the toughest assignments that other, lesser equipped Autobots can't handle. Armed with courage, determination, and some of the most powerful weapons ever bolted onto a Transformer, the Cybertron Defense Team is a force to be reckoned with.

The group's members are:

Yo, Joe?

• Hot Shot
• Scattorshot
• Red Alert

Japanese name: Vanguard Team

Fiction

Cybertron cartoon

Three, it's a magic number

When Megatron returned to Earth seeking vengeance for Starscream's treacherous duplicity, Hot Shot, Red Alert and Scattorshot were tasked with keeping the powerful Decepticon leader busy while Optimus Prime assisted the other Autobots. Enraged by the humiliation of defeat at the hands of lesser beings, Megatron summoned the power of the Omega Lock to grant him a new weapon, the Death Machine Gun, which he used to swiftly mow down the three Autobots. Revelation

Severely damaged, the trio were transported by Colonel Franklin to a nearby US Air Force facility where technicians attempted to repair them. However, the damage was too severe, beyond repair, to the point of Red Alert giving up hope on himself and his friends. Encouraged by the children, the three Autobots recounted their memories since meeting their kids, their desire for revenge against Megatron, and their hopes of saving their home planet. Their words reached the ears of Primus, who bathed them in holy light, healing their wounds and allowing them to reformat into new, more powerful bodies, as the Cybertron Defense Team!

The "power of Primus/Omega Lock" explanation was added for the English-language dub of the show. In the original Japanese Galaxy Force version, the upgrade was simply a result of Burning Justice.

The new Autobot unit rushed back to the battlefield and soundly defeated the surprised Megatron and Scourge with their incredible firepower, then covered the other Autobots as Optimus Prime led them to Starscream's island. Critical

Toys

Cybertron

• Cybertron Defense Hot Shot (Deluxe Class, 2005)
• Cybertron Defense Red Alert (Ultra Class, 2005/2006)
• Cybertron Defense Scattorshot (Voyager Class, 2005/2006)

• 
  Hot Shot
• 
  Red Alert
• 
  Scattorshot

The "main" toys of the Cybertron Defense Team are all new molds for characters that already existed in the Cybertron franchise. Thematically, they are unified by transforming into military vehicles, sporting patriotic colors, and each possessing absolutely huge amounts of weaponry.

• Red Alert (Legends of Cybertron, 2006)

Uh...UNDER-compensation?

A much-simplified version of the Cybertron Defense Red Alert toy.

Trivia

• Apparently, it took Hasbro a long time to decide upon a Western name for the Vanguard Team. Early online retailer listings and bios posted on Hasbro.com featured the toys' names as "Hot Shot SWAT" and "Red Alert SWAT", and early batches of the Cybertron Defense Red Alert toy available at retail and from online stores were lacking the "Cybertron Defense" portion of the name on the packaging. However, the more widespread version with the full name was found within mere days of the original version's initial retail sighting, and Cybertron Defense Hot Shot and Cybertron Defense Scattorshot were available without any name variants.

• While Scattorshot and Red Alert both got upgraded in size (scout-class to voyager-class, and deluxe-class to ultra-class, respectively), Hot Shot apparently got the shaft.