Nucleon (substance)
Nucleon is an incredibly powerful energy source capable of being used as fuel by Transformers and other mechanoid life forms, but though it can give great strength and power and has even revived the nonfunctional, it often has terrible side effects. Nucleon is said to affect no two types of mechanoid the same. One very common effect for Transformers is the loss of transformation ability. The Action Masters resulted from injudicious use of this mysterious, dangerous substance.
Nucleon appears as a funky liquid with a dangerous glow. It looks like fun, and seems to help, but don't be a fool! Listen to your momma and stay off the stuff!
Fiction
Toy packaging blurb
According to the toy packaging Optimus Prime went searching for new energy sources and, within the heart of a black hole discovered Nucleon: a miracle fuel that made Transformers stronger, faster, and more alive, but cost them the ability to transform. Soon the Decepticons stole the technology and created Action Masters of their own.
This story was later referenced with the Japanese release of Nucleon Quest Super Convoy, a black repaint of Powermaster Optimus Prime who was given the backstory of being Prime specially outfitted for this trip into the black hole.
Marvel Comics continuity
Grimlock heard about a risky new miracle fuel on the planet Hydrus Four. Against orders he stole the non-functioning bodies of his fellow Dinobots and headed there to find out. Eye of the Storm What he discovered was a ruined world filled with creepy, obsessive, rotting zombie-like beings warning him that it was all because of Nucleon. Being Grimlock, he then went ahead and used the fuel anyway, first on himself and then to revive his fallen teammates. The Pri¢e of Life!
Grimlock soon found parts of his body inexplicably seizing up, and began to fear that he should have listened to the creepy dying robots after all. ...All This and Civil War 2 After returning to the Ark Grimlock used the Nucleon to repair all the damaged Transformers in the ship's medical bay, including Prowl, Skids, Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Blaster, Wheeljack, Ratchet, and also Megatron, whom he didn't know was there. The Void! Following the Transformers' battle with Unicron, Grimlock froze up entirely. It was then that Hi-Q (in the process of merging with Optimus Prime) saw with "Powermaster eyes" that Grimlock wasn't malfunctioning, but changing. He used his Powermaster abilities to speed up the process and Grimlock burst forth in his new, more-powerful Action Master form. Still Life!
Meanwhile, Hi-Q's own mental merger with Prime was also accelerated by his contact with Nucleon. Soon afterward, the Last Autobot re-created Hi-Q as Optimus Prime in a new possibly nontransformable body. End of the Road! Another Time and Place
Classics
Shortly after being revived with nucleon, Swoop was caught in an explosion at a Nucleon processing factory and even more severely mutated. The Autobot Mini-Cons stepped in and were able to get that reaction under control but Swoop himself was transformed into a (very powerful) Mini-Con by the Nucleon. Mini-Con Swoop's bio
Dreamwave Armada comic
The null-reality pods from Over-Run's home dimension were powered by impacted Nucleon power cells. Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4
Force of Habit
The melee weapons known as nucleon shock gauntlets are probably powered by nucleon. Force of Habit
TransTech
According to Scattorshot, nucleon is a controlled substance in Axiom Nexus. Cheetor was unconcerned when it was pointed out that Jackpot had this contraband, as Jackpot did not get the Nucleon in this universe. Instead, his body could create nucleon all on its own, by somehow processing and converting normal energon into nucleon. Gone Too Far
Nucleon's status as a contraband didn't stop Bulletbike from getting his hands on some regardless, by lethally mugging a "lowtech". He then used the hyposyringe full of nucleon as a weapon against Ego, with the injection arresting the constant transformation Ego's body was designed to rely on, and causing him to become paralyzed and subsequently at the mercy of Bulletbike's murderous intentions. I, Lowtech
Movie (2007)
Titan Magazines
Nucleon is an energy source that Optimus Prime believes could save Earth from destruction, calming the techno-organic struggle that's tearing the world apart. However, the Autobots never dared mine it as a power source before due to its chimeral nature—it flips between calm to hideously volatile at random, and could just as easily blow Earth to pieces. Return to Cybertron: Part 2
It's also used by Stockade and his mates as a way of staying alive on the lifeless Cybertron, and it's turned Stockade a little... funny. Return to Cybertron: Part 1 It also got used as an energy source for the monstrous Unicron, though its volatile nature allowed for it to be used to stop him. After that battle, Stockade gave Optimus the remaining Nucleon so he could save Earth. Return to Cybertron: Part 4
Wings of Honor
A chunk of Hydrus Four containing a large crystal of Nucleon broke off from the planet and was sent hurtling through space towards Cybertron. When Gutcruncher, a Decepticon Warlord, got wind of the unknown power contained in the asteroid, he began preparations to try and seize it. The Cybertron Elite Guard also heard about the asteroid and Gutcruncher's mission, and Powerflash's Stealth Team was assigned to try and stop them. During the course of affairs, three Autobots and three Decepticons were exposed to the crystal's power. Despite gaining extraordinary power, they also lost the ability to transform. The crystal itself was destroyed soon after by Tap-Out. Sentinel Major later said that the shattered remains of the asteroid had begun raining down on Cybertron and they were keeping an eye out for any surviving pieces of crystal. A Team Effort
Notes
Foreign names
- Japanese: Nucleon (ニュークリオン nyūkurion)
