Mini-Con
- Mini-Cons are a faction/type of Transformers. They exist in both the Unicron Trilogy and in the Classics portion of the Generation 1 continuity family
Mini-Cons are a race of small Transformers capable of powerlinking with a larger Transformer and to impart extra abilities or greatly increase their strength. They share some of their history with the planet Gigantion and may have links to the cosmic origins of Transformers. In some timelines they are creations of Unicron. Their minds are very similar to those of human children.
- Japanese term: Micron
- French-Canadian/Spanish term: Minimodus
Fiction
Universe: The Wreckers comics
Ramulus uses "Mini-Con" as a term of derision, implying that CatSCAN is timid or insufficiently assertive.
Unicron Trilogy
Animated continuity
Unicron created the Mini-Cons to be mindless tools, sent to Cybertron as an agitating element to the Transformers' civil war. The power-enhancing "smart tools" would be unleashed upon the populace, who would snap them up, bond with them, and the war would only get bloodier, as Unicron drank in the negative psychic energies from the death and destruction. Once he'd gathered the power he needed, the Mini-Cons would turn on their supposed masters, incapacitating them, and Unicron would fully awaken to devour the planet and all Transformers on it, eliminating his biggest obstacle to devouring all of existance.
But through a strange warp in space and time that no one really bothered to explain, three human children from the future -Rad, Carlos and Alexis- were sent to the Mini-Cons' birthing chamber on Cybertron just seconds before the small robots emerged from their pods. As the Mini-Cons had been designed to form mental bonds with other life forms, when Rad touched the Mini-Con who he knew from the future as High Wire, High Wire apparently formed his bond then, with Rad... and through the Mini-Cons' shared "soul dimension", the Linkage, sentience and free will spread throughout the Mini-Cons, forming "souls", and crippling Unicron's plans drastically.
Dreamwave comics continuity
Mini-Cons are a second race of Transformer, mostly living in designated sectors by themselves, which left them open to attack when Megatron led his Decepticons on capture raids. Mini-Cons are capable of adding their power (disproportionate to their size) to a Transformer with whom they Powerlinx. Mini-Cons are also capable of tapping an extradimensional energy source of unknown origin, but are wary of doing this, and most have inhibitors installed to prevent this from happening.
Over-Run, a Mini-Con refugee from another dimension led Cybertron's collected Mini-Cons in tapping that dimension's energies and channeling them into an attack on Unicron which left him stranded on the far fringes of space. After Unicron's defeat, most Mini-Cons re-established their villages in the Mini-Con sector. When Unicron appeared again 10 years later, no one went to fetch the Mini-Cons to battle Unicron again, so it seems likely the Mini-Cons connection to their extradimensional power source was severed.
There is no indication that Mini-Cons are related to Unicron in Dreamwave continuity.
Powerlinx and Evolution
Mini-cons have the special ability to actually evolve other machines. From transforming simple cars into jet-powered assault vehicles, to upgrading Transformers to have new weapons spring from their body. The nature of Powerlinking is emphasized more in the Japanese Micron Legend counterpart to Transformers Armada. Once powerlinked, the Autobot would call out "EVOLUTION!" and a portion of their body would literally reconfigure to become a new weapon. Afterwards, they retained this new ability without the powerlinking of the mini-con which granted it. Linking to that mini-con again simply enhances their firepower. The mini-con is not required in order to use the evolved weaponry afterwards. This has caused some confusion in the Armada viewing audience due to dub issues and the downplaying of the "Evolution" theme. Despite this, the term is used twice in the American series by Megatron.
Gigantion Mini-cons
The exact origin of the Gigantion mini-cons is debatable due to dubbing issues between Cybertron and Galaxy Force. Both fictions stated that they evolved after the fall of Planet X to handle smaller construction needs once the other Transformers become too big to do it. This would make the mini-cons a second generation, not exactly linked to those from the previous shows. The mini-cons on Gigantion are not shown to unlock any special powers through powerlinking with their partners.
The Fub Publications fiction seems to have linked these mini-cons to those of Armada, on the other hand, further linking them to Unicron. In Galaxy Force, they are stated to have existed since ancient times and controlled the larger Transformers, althouth this seems incorrect as Planet X fell in the 6th century(about 1400 years ago), hardly making those 'ancient times'. There are even ancient ruins discovered with inscriptions resembling the Micron Legend micron designs. The US dub contains these very same plot tidbits, making no mention of Unicron.
Both Galaxy Force and Cybertron contradict their own plot elements in this way. The only definitive origin offered is that of Fun Publications, which simply has them migrating to Gigantion with the Transformers carrying the Cyber Planet Key to Gigantion. This would also make them creations of Unicron.
Generation 1
Classics
Nothing much is known yet about the presence of the Mini-Cons in this porion of continuity, where they came from, or what significance they have.
Toys
This section talks about toys representing Mini-Cons in general. For toys representing specific Mini-Cons, see their individual pages.
Micron Legend
- Big green Unicron exclusive redeco thing
Attacktix
- Mini-Con (Booster, 2006)
- Attacktix ID number: TF01
- The first assortment of Transformers Attacktix figures included a "generic" Mini-Con, based on Skyboom. Available only in blind-packed 2-piece Booster Packs, the Mini-Con carries a launcher which fires a standard Attacktix missile. A "Rare" 10-point "Trooper"-class piece, its Special Power "Attackback" allows a free move and attack for any of your in-play Autobot pieces.
- Mini-Con (Booster, 2007)
- Attacktix ID number: TF03
- The Attacktix Mini-Con piece was redecoed for the second series' Booster Packs, though this time as a Decepticon-aligned piece. It features a color scheme not on any incarnation of the actual Sonar/Skyboom toy, but wouldn't that be neat? A 10-point "Trooper"-class piece, its Special Power "Attackback" allows a free move and attack for the listed piece, though what one is currently unknown (likely any in-play Decepticon, to counterpoint the Autobot-aligned Mini-Con's Attackback).
- This piece was later characterized as "Bunker-Buster" in the members-only portion of the Fun Publications Official Transformers Collectors' Club website.
- (Note: As of this update, series 2 has not been released yet.)
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