Manta Ray (G2)
| This article is about the Generation 2 Autobot. For the Beast Wars Predacon, see Manta Ray (BW). |
- Manta Ray is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Brave to the point of foolishness, Manta Ray is an intrepid aquatic warrior. Luckily, his prodigious speed gets him out of most scrapes—and when that doesn't work, he has his deadly roto-prop weapon to fall back on!
Fiction
Marvel Generation 2 comic
Like the rest of the Rotor Force, Manta Ray was originally one of Megatron's next generation of Decepticons, animated by the stolen power of the Creation Matrix. He first saw combat on Tykos, when the Decepticons raided a Rheanimum gas mine. New Dawn
When the Decepticons allied with the Autobots to combat the Cybertronian Empire, Manta Ray later joined the other Decepticons in rescuing their new allies from Cybertronian attack on Ethos. Escalation!
Manta Ray's allegiance began to shift during the course of the alliance, as the youthful Transformer's innate likability won over his new allies. He and Leadfoot earned Tracks' praise for their swift and skillful blading during the initial sortie. Manta Ray later impressed Grimlock, of all bots, with another quick save. Manta Ray was quick to return Grimlock's respect, but their mutual admiration society caused Razorclaw to doubt the young Decepticon's loyalty. Total War!
When the war against the Cybertronians turned into a battle for survival against the Swarm, Manta Ray joined the survivors in preparing a makeshift defense point. Manning the perimeter defenses, Manta Ray ignored Razorclaw's order to fire, instead waiting for Grimlock's direction. This almost cost him his life, but Leadfoot decapitated Razorclaw before the Predacon could kill him. A Rage in Heaven!
TransTech
Manta Ray was one of countless "offworlders" residing in Axiom Nexus. Gone Too Far
IDW Generation 1 comics
Manta Ray was among the first responders to Nemesis Prime's attack on Garrus-9. He and Drench fell victim to the corrupted Prime's touch of death. Spotlight: Doubledealer
Wings Universe
Manta Ray was one of the "second generation" Transformers created on Earth in the 21st century, who joined the Autobots after conflict broke out among the new robots. Stationed at Autobot City in 2010, he had to be towed into battle as the Autobots "Roll Out!" for Switzerland. (Seriously, even Seaspray has a hover mode for land.) Keenly aware of the absurdity of his alternate mode, Manta Ray commented during battle how they were fighting Sharkticons and still his alt mode was of no use. He and Leadfoot were sent to fight Ransack and Powerdive on the roof over the building's turbines. They were all exposed to forestonite gas and developed strange new powers. Generation 2: Redux
Not trusting these strange new powers, Cliffjumper made Manta Ray demonstrate his power to project energy loops on Decepticon dummy targets alongside a number of other Autobots. A Flash Forward, Part 2
Toys
Generation 2
- Manta Ray (Rotor Force, 1994)
- Accessories: Engine, 2 "flying" rotors
- Among the first of the totally-new molds designed for Generation 2, Manta Ray transforms into a twin-pontoon racing boat. His rear fan engine block is a manually-wound spinner that launches his flying disc into the air. He graciously came with two in case you lost one. This assembly becomes a hand-held weapon for robot mode.
Notes
- Pre-production samples of Manta Ray had a yellow head, as seen in the Rotor Force's cross-sell. Though the yellow head design also showed up in the Generation 2 comics, it never made it into mass production.
- In the Generation 2 comics, each faction had different symbols lining their speech bubbles—Decepticons had triangles, Autobots had rectangles, while Dinobots were slightly in-between. To indicate his changing loyalties, Manta Ray began with triangle boxes, switched to Dinobot-style boxes when he made the decision to listen to Grimlock instead of Razorclaw, and finally had full Autobot boxes in the end.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Manta Ray (マンタレイ Manta Rei)
- UK: Piranha
