CR chamber
The CR Chamber is a device for medical treatment or adding new alt modes to the Transformers of various factions.
It is not a torture chamber.
It is Waspinator's best friend.
The abbreviation "CR" varied from continuities as the following shows:
- Beast Wars: Creation/Restoration[1][2]
- Dreamwave: Cryonic Regeneration[3]
- IDW: Cryogenic Regeneration[4]
Fiction
Beast Wars
The CR Chamber, commonly also called the Restoration Chamber, first made its appearance in this series. Both the Maximals and Predacons had their own versions of the devices in their respective ships. The Maximal chamber was an enclosed pod that the Transformer would sit in to be repaired, while the Predacons' Restoration Chamber was more of a dunk tank that the broken parts of the damaged robot would be unceremoniously dropped into on a tray. Megatron appears to have a modified CR tank that he commonly relaxes in like a sort of hot tub, and even has a rubber ducky to go with it. Nobody dares ask him why.
The inclusion of the CR Chamber in Beast Wars was a necessary writer's invention, as the smaller cast on both sides needed a reliable explanation for the way they recovered from the massive amounts of damage that either side's members often took, including being dismembered, decapitated, crushed, and in at least one instance, almost completely incinerated.
Despite this marvel, there were still instances of Transformers being unable to be repaired, such as when Terrorsaur and Scorponok sank into hot lava never to be seen again, or when Optimus Primal's original body was vaporized in an explosion. The CR Chamber also cannot restore a spark that has been extinguished, such as Dinobot completely burning himself out. Also, the relevant parts of the Transformer in question must be collected and loaded into the Chamber—if the parts are unable to be retrieved, or nobody cares enough to collect their parts, the Transformer remains broken and essentially "dead".
Dreamwave comics continuity
Shockwave ordered that some of Megatron's earth-based Decepticons spend the trip back to Cybertron in the CR chambers in order to heal their battle wounds and download the principles of Shockwave's new world order into their processors. Starscream called it brainwashing. Transformers: War and Peace #1
Ultra Magnus has a habit of getting into battles with his fellow Autobots and then sending them to the CR chambers for repairs, namely Trailbreaker Transformers: War and Peace #2 and the Dinobots Transformers: War and Peace #5
IDW comics continuity
Cryogenic regeneration, commonly referred to as CR, is a technology used by Autobots to recover from traumatic injuries. The process most commonly involves the total submersion of an Autobot in a liquid-filled tank for unknown periods of time. The more extensive the injury, the longer the period of regeneration required.
Beachcomber spent time in a CR chamber after a cerebro-shell inside his processor burned itself out during a failed assassination attempt on Blaster. Perceptor was uncertain of the likelihood of Beachcomber's recovery due to the severity of the damage. Spotlight: Blaster
Stranded on a primitive planet, Wheelie lost his left arm during an encounter with a chaosteros. After retrieving the arm in a rather unpleasant spot, Wheelie lamented the absence of a CR chamber and had to reattach the arm himself. Spotlight: Wheelie
In order to protect the Dynobots from high levels of energon on the surface of Earth, Slag used the CR chambers aboard the Skyfire to grow the synthetic equivalent of mammalian flesh. The Dynobots then took on the robotic forms of dinosaurs wrapped in this flesh and went down to the surface to kick Shockwave's skidplate. Spotlight: Shockwave
During an intense battle in the countryside of Brasnya, Megatron punched into Optimus Prime's chest and nearly crushed his spark casing. After Megatron retreated, Prime commented that he would need "CR time" in order to recover from that specific injury. Escalation #6
Sunstreaker was placed in cryogenic regeneration by Ratchet in order to repair damage done after Scorponok shot him through the chest, and also to repair changes made to his physiology from Scorponok's Headmaster process. Maximum Dinobots #5
References
- ↑ Beast Wars Universe. Note that it is labeled as "C/R Chamber" in the book.
- ↑ There is also a similar device named "C/R Tank" for Predacons. (Which is itself sometimes called a CR Chamber, as in "The Trigger, Part 1".)
- ↑ CR Chamber/Stasis Pod article in More Than Meets The Eye #8
- ↑ Spotlight: Shockwave
