Quintesson

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This article is about the Generation 1 alien race. For their home planet which is called "Quintesson" in the Marvel Comic UK continuity, see Quintessa{{#switch:{{#sub:Quintessa|-1}} != .= ?= .

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The Quintessons are a race from the Generation 1 continuity family.
"Hahahaha—
—hahahahaha—
—–hahahahaha—
——hahahahahaha—
——–hahahahahaha!"

The Quintessons are a bizarre and ancient race, whose dark history and shadowy machinations are bound up with the history of the Transformers, with connections to both Primus and Unicron. They prefer subtle manipulation, scheming, and advanced technology over brute force, but if those don't work, they can fall back on the legion of deadly Sharkticons and Allicons at their command and a fleet of battle-ready spaceships as well. However, the Quintessons themselves have zero fighting abilities and are absolute cowards if they have nothing to hide behind. For example, they are seen to be powerless against a Sharkticon revolt.

Quintessons are also known by the adorable racial slur 'squids'.<ref>"Wreckers: Finale Part II"</ref>

[We] are Quintessons! Arrogance is our life’s blood, ambition is our food and drink, but most of all, hubris is the air we breathe!!{{#if:|{{{quote2}}}}}{{#if:Al-Badur dissin' his peeps"Wreckers: Finale Part II"|Al-Badur dissin' his peeps{{#if:"Wreckers: Finale Part II"|, "Wreckers: Finale Part II"|}}|}}
Deceivers! Betrayers! Five-faced slime of the nebula!{{#if:|{{{quote2}}}}}{{#if:Galvatron on the Quintessons"Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"|Galvatron on the Quintessons{{#if:"Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"|, "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"|}}|}}

Types of Quintessons

What? Death is for the guilty ones? You mean I've been doing this wrong the whole time?

The Quintessons appear to be mostly (if not entirely) mechanical beings. They come in several distinct forms, some of which are identified by their place in the Quintessons' bizarre court system.

The names given are, when possible, taken directly from the character model sheets.

Judges

The most prominent and famous type of Quintesson, as well as the apparent "leaders" of the race, are the Judges, also referred to as the Imperial Magistrates. Judges have inverted, egg-shaped bodies which float on a beam of energy and possess wiry tentacles for physical manipulation, but their most distinctive physical characteristics are their five rotating faces. Each face represents a different aspect of the Quintesson, though for four of the five faces, there are conflicting accounts as to what each represents.

The first names given above for the latter four faces come from Japanese Comic Bom Bom supplements. They are derived from the descriptions given of the faces in the original script for the movie—an "angry face," a "smiling face," a "grimacing face" and a "suspicious face"—and the faces were specifically designed by Floro Dery to represent these emotions. All the same, this information remained very little-known for a long time, leading to the second set of names being created for use in the 2004 publication, Transformers: The Ultimate Guide. The original names were also used for The Ark, published by IDW in 2007.

In the original animated series, the Judges were all of the same size and were rarely named. (Then again, it was rare for any Quintesson to get an individual name.) Conversely, in the Marvel Comics continuity, Judges vary in size, including the massive Kledji and the smaller Sevax. The order of the faces in the ring varies from Judge to Judge (if not from shot to shot, ahem).

Named Judges include:

Bailiffs

None Shall Pass!

These snout-nosed creatures were seen serving as guards in the Quintessons' court.

Executioners

File:QuintGate.gif
Pokey, pokey!

This breed of Quintesson was first seen throwing the switch that dropped the unfortunate Arblus into the Sharkticon pit. They have also been called "Gatekeepers".

Named executioners include:


Prosecutor

Prosecutor and the seldom-seen "wizened" variant.

This variety of Quintesson is the second-most common type, often seen in positions of authority. They have also been called "Inquisitors". In court, they are the ones who ask for the Judges' verdicts and occasionally let the defendants say something in their defense, for all it matters.

Named prosecutors include:


Scientist

Yes, I have a question.
I had to walk 15 miles in the snow to school! Uphill both ways!

Scientists are somewhat similar to the Prosecutors in construction, though they feature more bulbous heads and bearded, somewhat-more-human faces.

Named scientists include:


Other types

My tentacles are on fire!

The Judges are not the only Quintessons to have multiple faces, though the only known exception is the three-faced scientist who was the primary creator of the Trans-Organics. One of his faces was grievously damaged, a scar left by the Dweller, which he covered with a mask.

This scientist instigated a plan to get the Decepticons to unwittingly release the trans-organics from their prisons deep within Cybertron so they would wipe out all Transformer life. The plan ultimately backfired; the Dweller killed the other trans-organics, and was launched into space by the Autobots... where it smashed into the scientist's ship, which was en-route to Cybertron. Presumably, the scientist finally met his end as the Dweller drained the energy from the ship and everyone within it. The Dweller in the Depths

"Game over, man! Game over!"

Security officers appear to have been an ancient model of Quintesson, and possibly the only kind with built-in offensive capabilities, some having one set of arm-tentacles replaced with over-sized blasters. These blasters availed them naught, however, against the Trans-Organic beasts. It is unknown if any of this model of Quintesson exist in "modern" times. The Dweller in the Depths

No one remembers we exist.

Non-bailiff, non-executioner Humanoid Quintessons are exceedingly rare. One accompanied Inquirata on his mission to use a Time Window to change Cybertron's history, stopping the slave revolt that drove the Quintessons off-planet. Forever Is a Long Time Coming

And then there's Mirdane. A rarity among Quintessons, in that he has a name, and that's it. He has only ever been mentioned by others, never seen, so what body type he has/had is unknown. Madman's Paradise Wreckers: Finale Part II

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

We Transformers have looked into the face of our creators... and seen the face of an enemy.{{#if:|{{{quote2}}}}}{{#if:Rodimus Prime"Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"|Rodimus Prime{{#if:"Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"|, "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"|}}|}}
Believe it or not, you really do have better chances in Texas.

In ages long past, a cold and emotionless race of aliens called the Quintessons created two lines of sentient robots on a planet-sized factory known as Cybertron. One was a line of robots designed for domestic duties and labor (known as Autobots), and the other was a line designed for military use (known as Decepticons). The Quintessons were exceptionally cruel to their creations, eventually leading to wide-spread rebellion, a rebellion started by the Autobot A3. Forced to flee the planet, the Quintessons eventually settled on the small, twisted planet of Quintessa, but fostered an undying hatred of all Transformers for millions of years. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4

In 2005, they were shown to capture prisoners for trial and feeding to their army of Sharkticons. The mock trials held by the Quintesson Court seemed to have no purpose at all (except maybe for the Quintessons' amusement), as defendants were still immediately fed to the ravenous Sharkticons even when the Judge determined them to be innocent. However, the Dinobots managed to rescue the pair of Autobots the Quintessons had captured. Worse, Grimlock inspired the Sharkticons to rebel... by stomping his foot on the ground and telling them to do so. The Transformers: The Movie

One year (or possibly five years, depending on whom you ask) after the defeat of Unicron, the Quintessons reappeared. They first sent a commando team of Sharkticons to abduct various Autobots (as well as Spike Witwicky, though that may have been unintentional). Upon capturing the 'bots, the Quintessons seemed more interested in interrogating their prisoners than feeding them to the Sharkticons. However, they eventually did find the captured Transformers to be guilty of the crime of... being Transformers. (Spike was guilty by association.) Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2

After Rodimus and the Aerialbots mounted a rescue for their captive friends, the Quintessons attempted to kill the would-be rescuers by destroying the entire planet of Quintessa. After this plan failed, the surviving Quintessons made an alliance with the newly revived Galvatron to attack Cybertron (in return for the fictional Decepticon Matrix of Leadership, which they made up because they needed to give him a reason not to kill them). Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3

The Quintessons betrayed Galvatron almost immediately after the battle had been won, toggling a switch which caused all Transformers the galaxy over literally to freeze where they stood. Luckily, Spike stopped the Quintessons before they had much of a chance to do anything. Despite their betrayal (and the fact that they almost killed him), Galvatron remained an ally (despite that he tried to kill them as well). Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5

Later plots by the Quintessons were no less nefarious. A rogue Quintesson scientist abducted three Transformers and a human for behavioral study, a scheme that nearly killed the entire group after they drifted into a black hole. The Killing Jar Later, the Quintessons revived the deceased Optimus Prime in an attempt to lure all the Autobots into a trap and destroy them with a supernova. However, the Quintessons did not count upon Hot Rod forcing Optimus Prime to overcome his programming, nor Optimus Prime's ability to sacrifice himself to save the Autobots. Dark Awakening Later still, the Quintessons attempted to rewrite history by preventing their loss of Cybertron (which nearly resulted in the very fabric of Time being destroyed). Forever Is a Long Time Coming

During the Hate Plague crisis, a single Quintesson was rescued from his infected Sharkticons by Sky Lynx, to restore life to the body of Optimus Prime. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1 The Quintesson mentioned that his race had gone into hiding in the farthest reaches of the galaxy. The lone Quintesson's help in restoring Optimus Prime and several other Autobots was vital in curing the galaxy of the Hate Plague, but his race was never heard from again. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

Macrocosmic Seekers

The Seeker, during the enslavement of Transformers, realized the potential for Transformer evolution and noted that rebellion was imminent. He was laughed at, but the Seeker got the last laugh when he left Cybertron before the rebellion and evolved beyond his Quintesson origins. A Treasure's True Worth

Kiss Players

Do cameos count as canon?

The Kiss Players Marissa Faireborn, Atari Hitotonari and Shaoshao Li, together with the Sparkbots Angela, Star Dust and Zangetsu, were traveling through time aboard Brave Maximus when the space fortress suddenly went out of control.

This is all kinds of crazy.

The six found themselves on a strange, alien world in the year 2011. With their ship ensnared, they were herded by Sharkticons to the Space Tribunal, where the Quintessons put them on trial for time-traveling without their permission.

When Shaoshao asked if being cute was a crime, the Quintessons threatened to charge her with contempt of court. Atari suggested using their Kiss Play abilities to transform into cute costumes and ask the "octopusses" nicely to let them go. But turning into a swimsuit-clad elementary school girl and asking the judge's permission to go to the potty only resulted in Atari and her friends being found "not guilty" and dropped into the Sharkticon pit below.

Rescued by Optimus Prime and Goldbug, they fled back to Brave Maximus and re-entered the time portal. Sucked into the maelstrom along with them, the Quintessons demanded that the process stop, saying that they were the last of their kind. But it was too late, and the aliens were trapped inside the hole in space-time.Kiss Players Position

Marvel Comics continuity

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

Like those creepy little pilotfish that swarm behind sharks, snapping at stray scraps, the Quintessons were vile enforcers for Unicron, savagely hunting down and picking off those who attempted to escape his maw. Transformers Universe

In 2008, Quintesson scientists realized that their planet, Quintesson (not Quintessa), was threatened with destruction by a time rift that was caused by Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge's time-traveling. The Big Broadcast of 2006 (UK framing sequence)

Desperate for their race to survive, they launched a surprise attack on Autobot City, capturing it for themselves. Most of the Autobots were deactivated, except for Rodimus Prime, who was outside the city at the time of the attack, and Rewind, Ramhorn and Steeljaw, who were hidden inside Blaster's cassette compartment.

Using Arcee as bait, the Quintessons captured the Creation Matrix from Rodimus, and he reverted to Hot Rod. Out of options, Hot Rod activated the core of Autobot City, a giant Autobot called Metroplex, who transformed and drove the Quintessons off but caused massive damage to the city in the process.

The Quintessons fled, but were ordered by Lord Kledji not to return to Quintesson, but to roam the stars instead to rebuild their forces and seek revenge on the Transformers, since their home planet was doomed beyond hope. How that went for them is unknown, but as they'd managed to cheese off most of the known metallic species by that point, it probably didn't go too well. Space Pirates!

Transformers in 3-D

A Quintesson sent two aliens to spy on the Autobots and Decepticons, and download the contents of their databases. The two aliens were puzzled, but the Quintesson remained cagy about what the data was for. The Test

Beast Machines

The Maximal Beast Rider Che was encased in a unique Quintessian[sic] alloy found in the lower levels of Cybertron.<ref>Che's packaging bio</ref>

Universe Featuring the Wreckers

Out on the arm of the Orion Cluster, New Quintessa sat awaiting the Mutant Beasts, Cybertronians without robot modes who had been dispatched by the Oracle of Vector Sigma to regain what they had lost. Icebird believed they were on a sacred mission; in truth, it was a fool's errand. The Quintesson Supreme Imperial Magistrate Derodomontatus fed the Mutants to the Sharkticons before continuing his discussions with the free trader, Cryotek. Plans proceeded apace, as both the Mutants and the Dinobots were dealt with by this deadly alliance, and Cryotek assured Derodomontatus that the last Cybertronian team, the Wreckers, would soon be extinguished as well. Betrayal

Disclosure



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The invasion of Cybertron soon began, and Snarl, Longhorn and Skydive spotted Quintessons herding mass hordes of Sharkticons towards the Cybertronian settlements.

The following is unofficial material for the intended script to the Wreckers #4, never published.

Derodomontatus cheered on the advancing troops with his fellow Quintessons, before proceeding with Cryotek and Cyclonus to complete his part of their bargain. The fighting intensified on the surface as Devcon and the Dinobots arrived, shortly before the Wreckers returned to Cybertron as well. Primal Prime and Apelinq led a contingent after Cryotek and the Quintessons deeper into Cybertron's core. They arrived in time to see Cryotek had successfully mutated himself into a god-like being with the power of the Divine Light. The Wreckers: Finale Part 1

And now, back to the official material.

Derodomontatus, realizing the extent to which Cryotek had now surpassed the Quintessons, begged the free trader to remember their contract and honor it. In response, Cryotek sent his pet Chro to rip the Quintesson's faces off.

As their Imperial Magistrate faced a hostile takeover beneath the planet's surface, the Quintesson troops on open ground found their advancement equally stymied. Expecting the newly reformatted Cybertron to be filled with docile and disoriented cattle, the Quintessons were ill-prepared for the resistance they faced from all corners of the globe and all sectors of the populace. In Ankmor, Judge Brinn's patrol were stalked by the Maximal techno-organic, Night Viper. In a deserted city, a contingent led by Overseer Rexian were overcome by Decepticons criminals recently restored to their bodies. Overseer Vashik and In-Saba Nur assaulted the new Predacon capitol of Darkmount with predictable results, as Lord Galvatron squashed them beneath his heel (Waspinator helped). Oh yes, and then there were Dinobots. Admiral Krahulik was prepared to initiate orbital bombardment from the Paradigm hovering over Polyhex before Strika and Obsidian brought down the Quintesson warships as well. The Quintessons began to retreat in hordes, returning to their landing ships and launching out into space...right into the path of the planetary defense systems, recently brought back on-line.

All in all, the invasion of Cybertron was an unmitigated disaster. Judge Heirodyus watched the annihilation from New Quintessa with a mixture of horror and smugness, silently congratulating himself for escaping the fate of his brothers. He hadn't. The Mutant Beasts Icebird and Poison Bite had survived their dip in the Sharkticon pools, and returned imbued with the light of Primus himself. Heirodyus and the Quintessons were soon wiped from the surface of New Quintessa. Icebird assumed control of the planet, spreading the techno-organic plant life made from Cybertron's reformatting, and teaching the Sharkticons the ways of peace. Wreckers: Finale Part II

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

The Quintessons were an alien race which appeared to conquer Cybertron at some point, but were driven off. However, they continued to maintain watch over Cybertron, eventually coming to manipulate the Council of Ancients. Megatron claimed this was the reason that he started the Great War. The Route of All Evil This did not, however, stop him from making a deal with the Quintessons, who provided him with the Aerospace Extermination Squadron and a bunch of Piranacons. Knowing Megatron and the Quintessons, both were planning to betray each other when the time was right. War Within: The Age of Wrath

Later, they prepped the Female Autobots for invading Cybertron. Generation One #11

Due to the bankruptcy of Dreamwave Productions, the story ended before the Quintesson plot could be revealed.

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers continuity

When Serpent O.R. downloaded information on Cybertron's history from Soundwave's databanks, he saw the Quintessons create the transorganics and the Transformers. The Art of War #1

IDW Generation 1 continuity

An enigmatic Quintesson historian named Pentius was shipwrecked on Junkion for centuries until he was freed by Megatron, who needed a guide to get off the planet. Faces of Darkness During their time together, the Quintesson nurtured Megatron's evil ambitions in order to shape him into a true monster, though his motives for doing so were clouded in mystery. The Decepticon eventually killed Pentius to use his spark as fuel, but he was content with his death as it proved Megatron's training was complete. Prey

Some time after one of Shockwave's Regenesis missiles struck the planet LV-117, someone painted the Death face of a Quintesson judge on top of the Decepticon insignia adorning it. Syndromica (2) A strange inscription of a Quintesson judge was also present inside the ruins of some unknown ancient civilization on the planet. Through the cracks in the stone it was carved into, its eerie eyes glowed... Spotlight: Wheelie

When LV-117 was close to destruction, Wheelie and Varta planned to flee the planet on a familiar screw-shaped ship. Syndromica (2) After crashing the ship on LV-118, Wheelie claimed to have stolen it from someone, but didn't specify who. Out of the Silent Planet

Animated cartoon

300 million years ago, give or take, the Autobots, engaged in a major colonisation push, had border skirmishes with the Quintesson Pan Galactic Co-Prosperity Sphere. This conflict ended the Age of Expansion. The Autobot Commonwealth and the Co-Prosperity Sphere still border each other, as well as the Nebulon Republic. The AllSpark Almanac II

Swindle received his Sonic Jammer 3000 from the Quintessons. According to him, they are nice folks that give you a good deal and all the oil you can drink. Decepticon Air

Shattered Glass

Dude.
We are all one or we are all gone.{{#if:|{{{quote2}}}}}{{#if:AquariusShattered Glass|Aquarius{{#if:Shattered Glass|, Shattered Glass|}}|}}

This universe's Quintessons are an enigmatic and benevolent species holding sway over a large section of space known as the Quintesson Collective. They share technology and cooperate with many other species, whether organic, technorganic or mechanical, using culture as a unifying notion instead of evolutionary origins. They long ago perfected zero-point energy engines, food and parts replication technologies and advanced biomedics, allowing any individual to change features, organs and overall designs, eliminating such things as scarcity, and thus material value, "mortality" and even the concept of "species". These technological advances are shared and freely available to all those who join their "ultra-species".

The Quintessons usually rely on cautious observation before making first contact with other unenlightened peoples, demanding years of study and careful cultural guidance before even considering allowing membership into the Collective. They rarely use direct means to steer a culture onto the enlightened path, but have been known to occasionally take more direct action to protect their interests, doing the "dirty work" themselves. Shattered Glass

Aligned continuity

The Quintessons were small, organic, squid-like creatures. Physically frail, easily injured, and extremely cowardly, the Quintessons themselves were rarely seen, and did most of their dirty work through various proxies, willing or unwilling. When the Quintessons did need to expose themselves to further their own ends, they frequently encased themselves in mechanical suits styled after their various slave races, often claiming to be representatives of other races.

At some point after the creation of the first Transformers, Quintus Prime left Cybertron to seed other worlds in the universe with life, in the hopes that these various civilizations would one day contact Cybertron to form friendly alliances. One of his first creations were the Quintessons. So that didn't work out too well. The Covenant of Primus

The Quintessons developed interstellar travel before the Transformers, and eventually discovered Cybertron. As the first alien beings ever to make contact with the planet, their ships awed the young Cybertronian race. The Quintessons claimed to be benevolent entities sent to "uplift" the Cybertronians to join the galactic communities. The Quintessons soon taught the Cybertronians to assume alternate modes and rapidly guided their developing society, establishing rule of law and eventually a global order overseen by the Elite Guard member Sentinel Zeta Prime. In reality, the Quintessons aimed to slowly rob the Cybertronians of their individuality and sell them into slavery. To further this goal, they began implanting various Cybertronians, such as the Seekers, with cockpits. The Covenant of Primus Exodus The Quintessons organized other Cybertronians into working collectives and used their labor to advance secret projects of their own. Eventually, a resistance movement formed, and the Quintessons were defeated in a rebellion led by Sentinel Prime, who led Cybertron into a subsequent Golden Age. Traces of their rule, such as the cockpits implanted in many Cybertronians, would remain even as Cybertron slowly rid itself of their influence.

Generations later, Orion Pax claimed Sentinel and the High Council had enslaved Cybertron with the caste system instead of having it forced on them by the Quintessons. Exodus

Games

Transformers Legends

The Quintessons put Rodimus and Sergeant Kup on trial. Unfortunately Grimlock arrived and promptly turned the Sharkticons on their masters. Mockery of Justice Intending to disrupt the Galactic Games, the Quintessons allied with Slipstream and sent her in to cause trouble. The Galactic Games They also send Skuxxoids to the games to kidnap Ultra Magnus, Kup and Spike. Five Faces of Darkness: Part 1 When the trio were rescued post-sentencing by the other Autobots, the Quintessons destroyed their own home planet, Quintesson, in an attempt to eliminate them. The Quints then tried to enlist the help of the Decepticons to wipe out the Autobots, only for Galvatron to arrive and reclaim his troops. Five Faces of Darkness: Part 2 They soon struck an alliance with Galvatron and attacked Cybertron, with the end result that they activated an ancient device to deactivate all Transformers. After the device was destroyed by Spike, the Quintessons were forced to retreat. Five Faces of Darkness: Part 3

Notes

  • When asked about the Quintesson design in an interview, Floro Dery stated they were based on a cylindrical toy he designed at some point.<ref>http://transformersph.blogspot.com/2007/06/interview-with-floro-dery.html TransFormers Philippines: Interview With Floro Dery</ref>
  • Since the movie never explains what the characters are being charged with, and offers no logical progression to a verdict, it's usually interpreted that Quintesson justice simply operates on reverse terminology for the sake of humor—that the Quintessons say "innocent", but dohohoho, they're aliens, and to them, that means "guilty", so the accused is sentenced to death. This was certainly the assumption Simon Furman was working off of when he first used the Quintessons in the UK-only framing sequence of "The Big Broadcast of 2006" and had a Quintesson find an interrogator to be "innocent" of things which he is unambiguously guilty of. The 2014 novel Retribution also followed this path, with the note that "innocent" must "mean something different" to the aliens, as the characters on trial are indeed entirely guilty of what they are being accused of. What is consistently overlooked, however, is the one instance in all Transformers canon of the Quintessons actually finding someone guilty, which happens to Kup and Ultra Magnus in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2". And they are guilty of the charges put before them: being Autobots, the race who stole Cybertron from the Quintessons. While it may have started out that way at some point in the script process of the movie, the cartoon universe made clear very early on that Quintesson justice isn't supposed to operate on reverse terminology for humor's sake; the aliens know the difference between the two terms, and the trials are just trivial, for their own amusement, before they kill you anyway.
  • In a Q&A, Simon Furman said he considered making the Magnificence a Quintesson artifact but changed his mind.<ref>SIMON FURMAN - Q&A Nov/Dec 2008 at IDW Publishing Forums</ref>
  • The Animated Quintessons are just off-screen mentions, but as their empire's name is near-identical to Imperial Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, we can assume they're very nasty.

Foreign names

  • Japanese: Quintessa-seijin (クインテッサ星人, "Planet Quintessa People")
  • Italian: Quintessenziali ("Quintessentials")

References

<references/>

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