Transformers Armada: Race for the Mini-Con Robots
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 Hanging Tough. | |||||||||||||
| "Transformers Armada: Race for the Mini-Con Robots" | |||||||||||||
| Publisher | Reader's Digest Association Inc. | ||||||||||||
| Imprint | Reader's Digest Children's Books | ||||||||||||
| First published | February 26, 2003 | ||||||||||||
| Writer | Michael Teitelbaum | ||||||||||||
| Illustrator | DreamwaveStudios (interior pencils and cover painting) | ||||||||||||
| ISBN | 0-37944-0103-1 | ||||||||||||
| Page count | 64pp | ||||||||||||
The Autobots and Decepticons clash once more, and several Mini-Cons join both sides.
Synopsis
On the Moon, Megatron paced impatiently as his numerous soldiers modified the crashed remains of the Mini-Con ship into a base of operations. As Megatron ranted about the destruction of Earth and the Autobots, Cyclonus accidentally dropped one of his tools nearby, causing a metallic clink as it hit the ground. The two Decepticons dug up the source of the sound, a Mini-Con panel buried in the lunar dust. Claiming the Mini-Con as his own, Megatron sent electro-magnetic energy into the panel, activating it. A powerful bond between Mini-Con and bulk was instantly formed, and Megatron dubbed his new partner Leader-1. After testing the Mini-Con's power, Megatron turned to Cyclonus, and informed him that Starscream and Demolishor had been tasked to scan and catalog Earth vehicles in anticipation for the Decepticons' return to the planet. Now was the time to take on new alternate forms, and continue the quest for the Mini-Cons. After they assumed the shape of Earth's most powerful military vehicles, Megatron informed his troops that it was time to pay Optimus Prime a little visit...
Meanwhile, at the Cosmo Scope Research Center and Interstellar Observatory's school, Rad, Carlos and Alexis waited impatiently for classes to end. The Cosmo Kids soon bolted out to meet back with each other and their Mini-Cons, only to be met by Billy and Fred. The pair were skeptical about Rad's story that their new extreme sport vehicles were new models not yet in the catalogs, and decided to secretly follow them. The Cosmo Kids made their way back to the cave where Optimus Prime was setting up home base for the Autobots. High Wire activated the now-hidden entrance to the cave, granting his partner and his friends access to the remains of the Mini-Cons' ship. Though the ship was deserted, the Mini-Cons located Optimus Prime's energy signature in the nearby mountains, and the group left to meet up with the Autobot leader. They found him with two of his soldiers, overlooking a stretch of road as vehicles passed by. Farther behind, Billy and Fred reached the cave, only to find a wall of solid rock where the entrance once stood. Bewildered by the development, the pair turned back. As they left, Fred thought for a second he saw four giant robots in the distance, but when he and Billy looked again, they saw nothing but a few military vehicles.
As the children introduced themselves and their Mini-Cons to Optimus Prime's soldiers, a series of explosions coming from the base's direction informed them that the Decepticons had returned. With the kids and their Mini-Cons leading the way, the group headed back to base, and confronted Megatron. Megatron announced that he did not care about the children or any other inhabitants of planet Earth, but he would crush anyone who stood in his way of acquiring Mini-Cons. Optimus reiterated his stance on allowing the Mini-Cons to be used for Megatron's evil ambitions, and the two groups began to fight. The children and their Mini-Cons watched the battle from a nearby hiding spot. The Autobots found themselves on the losing side of the battle, prompting Optimus to assume his "Super Optimus Prime" form. Now a robot of titanic proportions, Optimus swatted Cyclonus and Starscream out of the sky like annoying insects.
Unwilling to forfeit, Megatron powerlinked with Leader-1. The two robots transformed together, Leader-1 becoming a giant cannon and Megatron, doubling in size, becoming an enormous tank. Megatron fired Leader-1 at Optimus, and though his shot missed by a wide margin, the shockwave and recoil from the blast was so powerful that it sent all combatants tumbling to the ground. Inadvertently, Megatron's blast had also started a rock slide, which headed towards the Cosmo Kids. Though the Mini-Cons weren't fast enough to get the children out of harm's way, Hot Shot's new sports car mode was. He rescued the children and their Mini-Cons. Once the rock slide was over, Hot Shot doubled back to help Optimus. As Hot Rod drove over the rubble, Alexis pointed out to him four Mini-Con panels that had been exposed by the terrain shift. Each of the children and Hot Shot grabbed a panel, with Hot Shot activating his immediately. The Mini-Con that emerged crackled with energy. Dubbing the new recruit "Jolt," Hot Shot powerlinked with him and resumed his course into battle. Nearing Red Alert, the panel in Carlos's possession activated in turn. This Mini-Con was dubbed "Longarm" by his new partner. Red Alert instructed the children to keep hold of the remaining panels while he and Hot Shot helped Optimus finish the fight.
On the Decepticons' side of the battlefield, Starscream and Demolishor helped Megatron right himself. The Decepticon leader told his troops not to worry about him however, but to finish off Optimus Prime instead. The two soldiers acknowledged Megatron's orders, and rejoined Cyclonus in the fray. But the Autobots' boosted power proved too much for them, and the Decepticons were sent back flying towards Megatron. Disgusted by his troops' incompetence, Megatron once more attempted an assault on Super Optimus Prime, only for the Autobot leader to bend Megatron's cannon as he fired, making Megatron's explosives shells fire upwards, and detonate harmlessly in mid-air. Realizing that the Decepticons were outmatched, Megatron ordered a retreat and warped away. Only Cyclonus lingered behind, feinting an attack towards the Autobots, only to veer towards the children at the last moment. Cyclonus grabbed the remaining Mini-Con panels from Rad and Alexis before vanishing.
Megatron, Starscream, Demolishor and Leader-1 rematerialized on the Moon, next the to Decepticon workers still busy with building the Decepticon headquarters. Embittered by yet another defeat, the Decepticons began to squabble. The in-fighting only stopped when Cyclonus materialized, brandishing the Mini-Con panels he had swiped. Starscream attempted to claim one of the Mini-Cons for himself, but Megatron objected. Congratulating the copter-bot, Megatron allowed Cyclonus to keep one of the Mini-Cons, while the other was given to Demolishor. Starscream fumed that an opportunity to gain power had passed him by, and vowed to himself to overthrow Megatron in the future. Cyclonus's Mini-Con was christened Crumplezone, whereas Demolishor's new partner was named Blackout.
Back on Earth, the children apologized profusely for allowing the Mini-Cons to fall into Decepticon hands. Optimus assured them that there was nothing they could have done, as Cyclonus had caught them all by surprise. Nonetheless, the children pleaded with Optimus to allow them to continue helping the Autobots in the ongoing conflict. Though it took some convincing, Optimus agreed to allow the children to continue aiding them, so long as they exercised caution. With that, the children and the Autobots bumped their fists together in a circle of friendship.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
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Notes
- This book contained collectible stickers for Grindor, High Wire, and Sureshock.
- The entire first chapter of the book recaps events from the previous book.
- The book also features a flip-animation gimmick; if one flips through the pages quickly, it creates the illusion that faction symbols zoom in and out at the top-right corner of the book, alternating between Autobot, Decepticon, and Mini-Con.
- Though not necessary for the process to take place, Transformers have a tendency to shout out "TRANSFORM!" when they change shape.
Trivia
- Leader-1 transforms into a machine-gun instead of a buggy. When he is combined with Megatron, he instead becomes an additional cannon for Megatron's tank mode. (!)
- Jolt transforms an over-sized hood ornament in the shape of a stylized lightning bolt instead of a helicopter. (!!)
- Longarm transforms into an additional arm for Red Alert instead of hook-crane truck. (!?!?)
- Neither Crumplezone's nor Blackout's alternate modes are described, however.
- There is a great deal of emphasis put on specific Mini-Con/bulk pairings being "destined" to be together.
Errors
- The aesthetic and workings of the Transformers brand seem to escape the author completely. The Transformers are continuously described as assuming their vehicle forms via a process more accurately described as "morphing" than "transforming." Though transformations were gleaned over so quickly in the previous installment that it wasn't very noticeable then, here Michael Teitelbaum goes to great length to describe the transformers shifting from one mode to the other. Needless to say, the transformations described do not match up to the characters' transformation schemes as they are portrayed by their toys and every other piece of media.
- However, the bizarre fashion in which the Autobots and Decepticons transform pale in comparison, when it comes to weirdness, to the description of Optimus assuming his "Super Optimus Prime" form:
- Though the text describes the Mini-Con panels to be small enough for the children to carry them easily, one illustration depicts them to be of significant size, even when compared to Cyclonus.
- On page 62, Optimus muses that the Autobots possess two Mini-Cons, and the Decepticons possess two Mini-Cons. However, Optimus should know that the Decepticons possess three Mini-Cons.
