Dualor (Armada)
| This article is about the Armada Mini-Con. For the Dark of the Moon Mini-Con, see Dualor (DOTM). |
- Dualor is a Mini-Con from the Armada portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.
The leader of the Destruction Mini-Con Team, Dualor might very well be one of the most dangerous Mini-Cons ever. Not so much for his physical attributes, which are admittedly impressive. But Dualor is a staunch believer in Mini-Con independence, loathing all "bulks", be they Decepticon or Autobot. He will lie, coerce, bully, and flat-out kidnap others into his cause. And there is nothing he's not willing to sacrifice... even other Mini-Cons, whether they signed up for his vision of how things should be or not. If innocents must suffer and die for his cause, well, so be it.
People like this need watching. Preferably from a distance, behind a barrier of some kind.
Fiction
Toy pack-in comics
Starscream and the Destruction Mini-Con Team were sent to destroy a satellite dish that could have helped detect Megatron. While they succeeded at destroying the dish, the Destruction Team were tied up. Armada Volume 2
Armada cartoon
Dualor was apparently recovered by the Decepticons behind-the-scenes after Starscream first acquired the power of the Star Saber, in the midst of several victories by Megatron's forces. Conspiracy
On a later mission, Megatron gathered Dualor and a number of other Mini-Cons to help him in a scheme against Optimus Prime. Prime managed to win the Mini-Cons loyalty, however, by absorbing their missile fire without resistance or fighting back. Moved by his actions, Dualor and the others turned on Megatron and accompanied Optimus back to Autobot headquarters. Vow
Dualor and the Mini-Cons all chose to willingly follow the Autobots into space aboard the Axalon, fighting alongside them against the Decepticons. Dualor was the last Mini-Con to volunteer, but apparently he just wasn't paying attention. Depart
Dreamwave Armada comic
When Megatron took over Cyber City, he took a peek in one of the Mini-Con containers. Dualor (along with Buzzsaw and Blackout) looked up, and Dualor begged him that the Mini-Cons would do anything so long as Megatron didn't harm them. Two seconds later, the Mini-Con escape ship blasted off, leaving Dualor trapped with Megatron along with the other handful of Mini-Cons the Decepticons had brought with them. Armada #2
After the Mini-Con escape craft crashed on Earth's moon, Dualor (who had MAGICALLY changed places!) found himself in a position of power among his disoriented peer, which he used to have a concealed Mini-Con Moonbase built. He used the constant threat of future Decepticon aggression to build a stable, regimented society which he ruled with his fellow members of the Destruction Team, Buzzsaw and Drill Bit. When the Mini-Cons on Earth awakened one million years later, Dualor was prepared to take drastic action to de-escalate the situation. He sent an ark to Earth, hypnotizing and drawing many of the planet's Mini-Cons to him via an override signal. Armada #8
The Mini-Con Moonbase was prepared for any possible Decepticon invasion, with massive ammunition stockpiles. Dualor's colleagues were less keen on the idea of fighting the Autobots, but Dualor feared that the Autobots had grown too dependent on Mini-Con augmentation to be trusted. He secretly placed the Autobots' human ally Rad (who had stowed away on the ark) in an orbital mine to dissuade Optimus Prime's approach. Armada #9
Leader-1 subsequently attacked Dualor and his teammates in order to take over the fortress's control center in a bid to destroy Megatron. The attempt was unsuccessful, but resulted in the incapacitated Destruction Team falling into Megatron's clutches. Armada #11
Megatron discovered the Destruction Team had installed a feedback failsafe to prevent them from being used against their will again, but Dualor was willing to make a deal: They'd give Megatron pure, unfettered power with no afterburn in exchange for a bigger say in what was going on around there. Megatron accepted, then designated Cyclonus to use the power-up instead of himself.
Predictably, Dualor lied—that unfettered power could cause serious damage to a Transformer, if the Destruction Team so wanted. While on mission in Alaska, they did this with Cyclonus; the very second Thrust happily reminisced about capturing and hurting Mini-Cons on Cybertron, the Destruction Team overloaded Cyclonus and caused him to attack his comrade. Fire & Ice Overheating and driven crazy(er), the Decepticon was heavily damaged in his own rampage. For this, Megatron consigned the trio to the Punishment Cube, used for disciplining naughty Mini-Cons. (He also mused that he knew they'd betray him, and yet, he still made a deal with them that could have given them the chance to overload him...) Armada #13
Dualor and his teammates Buzz Saw and Drill Bit were not among the Decepticon Mini-Cons released for the final battle with Unicron. Megatron was vague on their fate, simply saying that the Decepticons were "better off without them". The End
Panini Armada comic
Back on Cybertron, Dualor had enough of the Decepticons' reign of terror and thought up a plan. Calling together various other Mini-Cons at the Mini-Con Emergency Bunker, he revealed that he sought to lure Megatron to Autobot Command HQ, then blow it up with magno-web charges. Sure, some Autobots would be lost in the process, but there are always casualties in war. The plan went smoothly at first, but just before Dualor detonated the explosives, the Autobots suddenly evacuated. This caught Megatron's attention before he could enter the base's perimeter, and he was unharmed when the building exploded. Dualor was furious: he knew that someone had ruined everything by leaking information to the Autobots, and promised that the traitor would pay dearly. Counter-Strike!
Following the Mini-Cons' escape from Cybertron, Dualor and his team ended up on Earth's moon. They woke up one (or four) million years later, and constructed their own hideout out of some wreckage from their ship. One day, the Destruction Team found Cyclonus crashed on the moon, and Dualor decided to enact a little revenge on the Decepticons. He and the others power-linked with the Decepticon, granting him extreme power and taking control of his body. Using the bulk, they then assaulted the Decepticons' moonbase, blowing big holes in it and clashing with Megatron. They defeated him, but before they could finish him off, their power-links were severed by Starscream's sonic destabiliser. Dualor and his teammates escaped back to their hideout, where Starscream later contacted them and offered them a deal... Dawn of Destruction!
Toys
Armada
- Destruction Mini-Con Team (Basic, 2002/2003)
- Japanese ID number: MM-04
- Japanese release date: December 27
- Dualor transforms into an anti-aircraft tank similar to a Gepard. He features a gear-wheel system that causes his tank-mode cannons to pom-pom back and forth when he is rolled in vehicle mode. He can also be attached to the underside of the Armada Cyclonus mold, interacting with the Decepticon’s gear-wheel rotor system.
- Sandstorm & Cannon with Destruction Micron (Multi-pack, 2002)
- ID number: MS-04
- Release date: December 27
- In Japan, the Destruction Team was available both as an individual Team, and in a multi-pack with Cyclonus and Crumplezone.
- Destruction Microns X-Dimension (Basic, 2003)
- ID number: MM-09
- Release date: December 27
- Part of the X-Dimension Micron series, a limited-edition (yet still standard retail) redeco of the Destruction Team was released in Japan. The entire team was given an orange, light grey and dark grey color scheme.
- Duster Undergrove Edition (Mini-Con, 2003)
- Exclusive to Ito Yokaido stores in Japan, one member of the "Undergrove Edition" Destruction Team was given at random to customers who bought Micron Legend product in January (or until they ran out of them).
- Duster White Micron (Mini-Con, 2003)
- Release date: April 26
- As part of the "Golden Week" holiday, Japanese "TF Station" affiliate stores gave out solid-white versions of the Destruction Team at a limit of one per customer. These pieces were made with the intent of being "paint your own" versions.
- Duster Space Galaxy Edition (Mini-Con pack-in, 2003)
- In May, JUSCO stores in Japan got in special versions of Convoy Super Mode that contained one member of the "Space Galaxy Edition" Destruction Team per box... but the bonus Mini-Cons were blind-packed inside the boxes. As such, this version of the Team is among the most expensive of the promotional Mini-Cons on the secondary market.
- Road Wrecker Mini-Con Team (Basic, 2003)
- Late in the Armada line, a redeco of the Destruction Team was put out under a new Team name (but as the same individual characters). This version is primarily green with gray parts.
- Blurr with Incinerator and Bonus Mini-Con (Bonus pack, 2003)
- Sideways with Rook & Crosswise and Bonus Mini-Con (Bonus pack, 2003)
- In November of 2003, US Toys "R" Us stores had special bonus pack Max-Con (Deluxe) toys, which came with a single bonus Mini-Con attached to the card over their sticker, for less than the price as a normal Max-Con during Toys "R" Us' post-Thanksgiving-day sale. Each of the Destruction Team Mini-Cons could come packaged with either Blurr or Sideways.
Energon
- Road Wrecker Mini-Con Team & Night Attack Mini-Con Team
- An unaltered version of the Road Wrecker Team was released as part of an Energon-series "Mini-Con 6-pack" with the Night Attack Mini-Con Team.
Notes
- The name "Dualor" shows up as one of the sponsor-labels on Alternators Decepticharge.
- A team of Mini-Cons based on the Destruction Team, but with different colors, appear in the first two issues of Dreamwave's Armada comic, but they are apparently not supposed to be the real Destruction Team. This trio was left behind on Cybertron when everyone else escaped, and were never seen again.
- In regards to the Dualor and the Destruction Team's ambiguous fate in the Armada comic, Simon Furman has said in the letters page of "Multiplicity, Pt. 3" that it can be assumed that Megatron strapped them to a rocket and fired them into the sun.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Duster (ダスター Dasutā)
