Lightpole
- Lipoles are aliens from the Generation 1 continuity family and the Animated continuity family.'
Lipoles are flying, bat-like creatures, though they can furl their wings and walk. They live in smoldering craters on Jupiter's moon of Io. Their saliva is acidic and they eat metal. When threatened, they can transform into explosive missiles and fling themselves at predators.
Fiction
Generation 1 cartoon
Blurr and Wheelie crashed on Io while bringing Metroplex's transformation cog to Earth. As they awaited rescue, two glowing, acid-dripping lipoles emerged from a crater with wings furled. One picked up a piece of metal and devoured it for a light snack. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3
Shortly thereafter, a swarm of lipoles attacked them. Without weapons, Blurr and Wheelie attempted to flee, though Wheelie wasn't fast enough to keep out of their talons. Marissa Faireborn arrived to rescue the pair. She landed and began to attack the swarm with a handgun. Once faced with energy weapons, some of the swarm transformed into suicidal missile mode and destroyed her ship, leaving the Autobots and human stranded. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4
After a brief respite, additional lipoles continued to assault Blurr, Wheelie, and Marissa. Finally, Sky Lynx effortlessly rescued the trio from the creatures' ravenous clutches. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5
Animated cartoon
Starscream notes that Megatron is "a few lipoles short of a nest."The AllSpark Almanac
Notes
- There is some indication that the animators misunderstood what the lipoles were supposed to be, or possibly even that the writer changed his mind mid-stream. In their first on-screen appearance at the end of "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3", two lipoles are shown crawling out of a crater behind Blurr and Wheelie, immediately followed by a screen-filling shot of one, wings furled, eating some scrap metal. The two shots give the impression of a monstrously huge, land-based menace... in sharp contrast to the lipoles' subsequent appearance as a flock of tiny, swarming creatures in the following episodes.
- Likewise, these first two Lipoles glow radioactively, and one drools smoldering acid saliva. These traits are notably absent from the creatures' later appearances.
- Though the lipoles appear mechanical—their transition to missile-mode is even accompanied by the "Transformation" sound—Marissa Faireborne refers to them as "bags of protoplasm."
- The name "lipole" is never used in the story portion of the episodes. It is only used in the recap section of "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5".
