Stunticons

The Stunticons are fictional characters from the Transformers storyline. They are a group of Decepticons feared for their rude and nasty behavior as all as their capability to do death-defying vehicular stunts and wreak havoc on the streets. They combine to form a powerful giant robot called Menasor (Pentacar or Ultrax in Italy). They were called Stuntrons in Japan and Cascadicons in France. They were introduced into the Transformers toyline in late 1985 and were sold as a Menasor gift set, and then sold separately in 1986 in most department stores (e.g., Toys R' Us, Sears, Target, Kay-Bee Toys).[1] Their enemies are the Aerialbots.[2] The Stunticons were mistakenly billed as Autobots when their toys were released in Italy.

Transformers: Generation 1

Menasor
Decepticon
Information
Sub-group Stunticons, Combiners
Function Super Warrior
Rank 5
Motto "Leave no Autobot uncrushed."
Alternate modes 5 Decepticons, Futuristic recreational vehicle, Cab over engine semi truck
Series Transformers: Generation 1
Transformers: Classics
Transformers: Titanium
English voice actor Roger C. Carmel (1st voice)
Regis Cordic (2nd voice)
Japanese voice actor Kōji Totani

The combined form of the group of five Decepticons known as Menasor. He is immensely powerful, capable of delivering a punch with the force of 140 tons. He uses Motormaster's cyclone gun to blow through Autobot barriers and carries a silver ionizer sword with a charge of 50,000 volts. However, owing to the massively conflicting personalities of his component parts - and even more significantly the hatred Breakdown, Drag Strip, Wildrider and Dead End have for their leader Motormaster - he is the most unstable of the Gestalt Transformers. He would be the ultimate Decepticon weapon were it not for the conflict within him.

Members

The team leader.
He transforms into a Kenworth K100 Aerodyne sleeper tractor-trailer.
He forms the torso and thighs of Menasor.
He frequently uses his bulk and strength to crash into other vehicles and even buildings.
He seeks to destroy Optimus Prime in order to claim the title "King of the Road".
However, he seems to be at a disadvantage considering one confrontation ended with himself and Optimus Prime ramming each other head on in vehicle mode and the Decepticon was severely damaged while the Autobot came out unscathed.
He is hated and feared by the other Stunticons.
Voiced by Roger C. Carmel.
He transforms in to a 1976 Tyrrell P34 Formula One car.
He forms the right arm of Menasor.
Obsessed with competition, will not hesitate to cheat in order to win.
Voiced by Ron Gans.
He transforms into a Porsche 928 car.
He forms the left arm of Menasor.
He is a pessimist and a fatalist who sees little point in continuing the Autobot-Decepticon war, as everyone is going to die anyway.
Voiced by Philip L. Clarke.
He transforms into a mid-1980s Lamborghini Countach, car.
He forms the right lower leg of Menasor.
He is a paranoid robot who thinks everybody—even inanimate Earth cars—is staring at him.
His vibrations from his engine can cause mechanical breakdowns in nearby vehicles.
Voiced by Alan Oppenheimer.
He transforms into a 1970s Ferrari 308 GTB car.
He forms the left lower leg of Menasor.
He is a reckless driver who intentionally pays no attention to traffic laws or road safety.
His principal fear is quiet.
Voiced by Terence McGovern.

Marvel Comics

Through Soundwave, Megatron was able to tap into the Creation Matrix as Optimus Prime gave life to the Aerialbots, simultaneously giving life to the Stunticons. They battled the Aerialbots and then played a lesser role in the series as more characters were introduced.[3]

They were featured in issue #22, Heavy Traffic, where they battle the Aerialbots as well as Circuit Breaker and RAAT troops.[4]

Motormaster appeared in issue #41 "Totaled!" He was among the Decepticon forces that attacked the Autobots on the moon.[5]

Menasor originally appeared in the U.K. Marvel Transformers comics in a very odd way - as part of a dream sequence. In previous stories, Optimus Prime had transferred part of the Matrix of Leadership to Buster Witwicky. During a mission, Soundwave detected this and used one of Bombshell's cerebro-shells to tap into his mind. Buster's vision showed the future of the Transformer race - the combiners. Menasor and Bruticus battled and lost to Defensor and Superion with Shockwave and Prime looking on. This set the wheels in motion for more combiner teams on both sides.

Menasor made his U.S. Marvel debut a short time later, battling the Aerialbots over the damaged Skids. This was complicated by the presence of the unstable Circuit Breaker and RAAT. To discredit their opponents, the Stunticons actually protected Skids, then formed Menasor to battle the Aerialbots, who'd formed Superion, but were attacked by Circuit Breaker, allowing Menasor to easily beat his foe. He did not appear again save a brief appearance in the UK comics' Legacy of Unicron arc, where he was used by Soundwave to break through the doors of Shockwave's citadel to try to save him (unsuccessfully) from Death's Head, Cyclonus and Scourge.

In the U.K. Earthforce storyline, Wildrider was killed by Megatron.

Breakdown makes an appearance in the Decepticon forces under the command of Megatron in issue #7 of the Marvel Generation 2 comic series, in a story called "New Dawn." Megatron leads his Decepticons against Jhiaxus' second generation Cybertronians near the moon of Tykos. The Decepticons are defeated and Megatron left injured, presumed dead, but swearing revenge.[6]

Animated series

When the Decepticons failed to steal a super fuel from the Autobots because they used their land vehicles modes to maximum advantage, Megatron hatched a plan to counterattack the Autobots by creating a team of Decepticon super-cars for more power on the road. They started by stealing five Earth vehicles. The first vehicle stolen was a yellow 6-wheeled Tyrrell P34 Formula One car during a race. Next were a maroon Porsche 928, and a black Kenworth K100 Aerodyne tractor-trailer with a 2nd level sleeper. Later, two more cars showed up: a white Lamborghini Countach, and a dark grey Ferrari 308. The cars were soon converted to Decepticons. Megatron tested out the new robots' abilities on the roads and then through the woods. Rumble stated "Incredible, not even the Autobots can do that kind of stunt driving!" Megatron replied "Stunt driving? Yesss. Behold, the Stunticons!" The Aerialbots were soon built by the Autobots as a countermeasure to the Stunticons. With their ability to survive head-on collisions with just about anything they were dangerous foes. In their first encounter with the Autobots they all but defeated them until the arrival of the Aerialbots. The two teams battled, first individually then in their combined modes of Menasor and Superion, with Menasor only being defeated through the intervention of Omega Supreme.[7]

The Stunticons remained part of Megatron's Earthbound forces after this, and were involved in many of his schemes. They kidnapped Perceptor to find the cure to a plague of Cosmic Rust; after curing the Decepticons Megatron predictably double-crossed the Autobots and sent the Stunticons to prevent the Autobots from acquiring the cure themselves, leading to another battle between Menasor and Superion, which Menasor lost. During a "smash and grab" mission to acquire parts for Megatron's latest super-weapon, the Stunticons' transformations proved instrumental in causing confusion among the humans. Until revealing themselves as Decepticon warriors, their acts of vehicular terrorism led uninformed humans to believe they were Autobots (also seen by humans as "driverless cars"). The Autobots used this misinformation to their advantage by capturing and disguising themselves as the real Stunticons (Optimus Prime as Motormaster, Jazz as Dead End, Mirage as Drag Strip, Windcharger as Wildrider, and Sideswipe as Breakdown), fooling even Megatron. This caused much confusion for the Decepticons, especially when the real Stunticons (as Menasor) returned and the Autobots were able to merge into Menasor (due to Windcharger's magnetic ability and Mirage's illusion ability). The real one quickly made short work of the fake, but the weapon was destroyed. They were next seen sabotaging a European road race (with human and Autobot participants) to gain a rare metal, driving most of the participants off the road and merging into Menasor to finish off the survivors. They were defeated when one of the humans drove his car right into Menasor, distracting him long enough for the Autobots to escape. They were instrumental in defeating Bruticus when Starscream attempted to seize power, after they realized Starscream would not stop with destroying just Megatron.

They were not present at the battle of Autobot City, but were present on Chaar in the aftermath of Unicron's defeat, defeating a weakened Devastator as Menasor for an Energon Cube. They continued to appear sporadically throughout the third season. On one notable occasion they were able to force Rodimus Prime off the road during a race and steal the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. On another, they lost a fight to a one-armed Defensor shortly after the Protectobot First Aid ( the traditional left arm of Defensor) took a leave of absence.

The Stunticons appeared in the Japan exclusive Scramble City episode where they joined forces with the Combaticons to fight against the Aerialbots and the Protectobots. They could, like their nemeses Aerialbots, switch limbs for "stronger" attack, which wasn't seen in the series after this episode. This episode was included with commentary on 20th anniversary edition of Transformers: the Movie.

The Stunticons made sporadic appearances during the Headmasters series, first to be seen in the first episode, simply running away from Fortress Maxmus along with Predaking, Devastator, and Abominus, then in the second episode in an epic but short fight with his nemesis Superion, where he was defeated.

Although intended to be a complete direct-to-video series, 1990’s Japanese-exclusive Transformers: Zone series was canceled after only one episode, but that was still enough time for Menasor to make a return appearance. He was one of the nine great "Decepticon Generals" to serve under the mysterious insectoid being known as Violenjiger. The remaining generals were Devastator, King Poseidon, Bruticus, Predaking, Abominus, Trypticon, Overlord, and Black Zarak.

Manga

In the Transformers Manga #5 Galvatron and his Decepticons attacked the Prime Energy Tower. Galvatron ordered the Decepticons to form Menasor, Devastator and Bruticus and attack. Rodimus Prime counted this move by ordering in Superion, Omega Supreme, and Defensor. Galvatron then ordered in Predaking, knowing that Sky Lynx was elsewhere and couldn't counter them. Rodimus ordered the Omnibots to attack Predaking's legs. Tripping up the giant he fell into the other Decepticon giants, winning the day for the Autobots.[8]

Dreamwave Productions

The robots who became the Stunticons existed long before the Decepticons arrived on Earth. Motormaster in particular was a right-hand bot of Starscream's Predacon faction. Some time between the first and second War Within volumes, the team formed. At least Motormaster and Dead End later joined Starscream's Predacon faction.

In volume 3, Motormaster was responsible for the shooting and near destruction of Grimlock (while attempting to assassinate Ultra Magnus) before being blasted himself. The series was discontinued before it was completed.

The Stunticons then appeared in the second Generation 1 mini-series where Menasor was revived by Rumble and Frenzy. The Stunticons had been placed in stasis due to their dangerous unpredictability, especially merged as Menasor. When freed, they merged and went on a rampage killing the Omnibots, Roadbuster, Whirl, and damaging the Protectobots (combined as Defensor) before battling and being defeated by Ultra Magnus who used the fact the five Stunticons that make up Menasor were constantly at war with each other while merged. Ultra Magnus won the battle without transforming from truck mode once. With the closure of Dreamwave, the fate of the Stunticons is unknown.

Devil's Due Publishing

The Stunticons first appeared in the second G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers miniseries from Devil's Due. After Cobra Commander and Cobra, followed by G.I. Joe, had journeyed to Cybertron, weapons fire caused a critical malfunction in Teletran 3, causing numerous Autobots and Decepticons to become time-displaced. Among these were the Stunticons, who were dumped in 1930s Earth and reformatted into period cars. They were eventually defeated and returned to the present by a combined force of G.I. Joe and Cobra members, as well as another Transformer lost in that time - Optimus Prime.

The Stunticons would also appear in the third mini-series, being recruited by SerpentO.R, a human military-created cyborg with Megatron's memories, and would participate in the ambush that killed Bumblebee. Seen in group shots where Serpentor is gathering the Decepticon army, their next major role would be in the assault on Capital City, assisting Predaking and Piranacon in taking down Omega Supreme. Breakdown and the Seacon Nautilator were the ones assigned to guard the human captives, but Snake-Eyes used his ninja powers to take control of Breakdown and had him shoot Nautilator, freeing them. Razorclaw and Motormaster were the ones who stopped Prime's attack on Serpentor, beating him near death, but were then killed by the Cobra Commander-controlled Serpentor.

Fun Publications

Based on the Transformers: Classics toy line, the Timelines 2007 story is set 15 years after the end of the Marvel Comics story (ignoring all events of the Marvel UK and Generation 2 comics).

Although Menasor has yet to be depicted in the comics, he did have a toy made for the line, which was the basis for his form when he appeared in the Classicverse Lithograph sold of BotCon 2007. In this art he was depicted with Motormaster's head.

Drag Strip appears in At Fight's End working with Overkill, and Acid Storm against the Autobots Elita One, Springer and Snarl.

IDW Publications

The Stunticons made their first IDW Publishing appearance in issue 3 of The Transformers: Megatron Origin, appearing amongst Megatron's gathering of gladiators that would eventually become the Decepticons. In issue 4 Motormaster is run over by Sentinel Prime during the revolution in Kaon. The Stunticons appeared in Transformers: Primacy as a solo crew following Scorponok's usurpation of Megatron, however Thundercracker arranged a false heist to see if they had lost their edge, and invited them back into the Decepticon fold by revealing that Megatron had returned.

The Stunticons were later revealed to have been a part of the invasion force during the attempted conquering of Earth, but were scattered following the Decepticon's defeat. Breakdown attempted to find human fuels to convert into Energon, but was attacked and mode-locked in vehicle mode by Skywatch, and left to serve as Spike Witwicky's car. Dragstrip had joined up with other ragtag Decepticons who decided to work with Autobots led by Hot Rod in constructing a spacecraft to get them off Earth. Motormaster, Dead End and Wildrider were soon brought in as well, and Swindle convinced Rodimus to let them retrieve Breakdown as additional help, leading to Drag Strip and Wildrider attacking Spike. Soon Swindle turns on the Autobots by revealing he has just implemented the Stunticons with combiner technology, allowing them to form Menasor. However its instability makes Mensaor's individual component's personalities clash, allowing the Autbots to defeat them. Later the Stunticons were among the Decepticons preparing to head back to Cybertron via a space bridge, however Bumblebee's arrival resulted in them remaining behind to try and take him down, only to themselves be defeated.

A few years later on Cybertron, Wildrider left the group because of their defeat at Bumblebee's hand, and so Offroad was brought in to replace him, while Starscream had Blackjack infiltrate the Stunticons ranks as another new member. When Swindle revealed he possessed the Enigma of Combination (having been given it by Starscream), they used it to perfect their previously unstable combination, and so Swindle and Menasor attacked the colony of Caminus, believing they had plentiful resources. However Swindle realised that Starscream had set them up, and despite attempts to get the combiner to split apart, Menasor went into a rage, influenced by the temperament of Blackjack. He proceeded to cause chaos on Caminus until the Aerialbots arrived and combined into Superion, who managed to defeat the Stunticon combiner. The Stunticons were later freed and formed Menasor again, who tried to get back to Caminus, only to be confronted by Devastator. Soon they ended up in a four-way tussel with Superion and Defensor.

Video games

The Classic line appeared in Transformers Battle Circuit, a simple Flash-based video game on the Hasbro web site. In this one-on-one fighting game, you press the right and left arrow keys to try to overpower your opponent. In the game you can play Rodimus, Bumblebee, Grimlock, Jetfire, Starscream, Astrotrain, Trypticon or Menasor. Optimus Prime and Megatron each appear as the boss you must defeat to win the game.[9]

Toys

A gift set featuring all five Stunticons.[10]
Menasor was sold in two forms, much like the other G1 combiners. Each Stunticon was sold separately (with parts to combine into Menasor included with Motormaster). Also, a gift set including all the Stunticons and parts for Menasor was also sold.
During the final part of the toyline, Hasbro had intended to release a Generation 2 redeco of the original Stunticons. However, because of attention redirected to the upcoming toyline Beast Wars: Transformers, the toys were never released; however a few packaged examples do exist. In April 2008, rare prototypes of these toys were sold on ebay and garnered bidding of over US$2,000.[11]
Menasor was repainted during the early nineties but was never released. Although the four Stunticon limbs eventually made it to the public in very limited numbers, Motormaster did not and therefore this Menasor was only seen on the reverse of the packaging to those toys. Menasor did not appear in any Generation 2 fiction.
The artwork to an unreleased toy named Menasor was revealed by website Iacon One, however no pictures of this toy was ever released to the public if this toy in fact actually existed. The artwork is clearly of a toy that would have been Thunderclash originating from Europe during 1992. Menasor is not known whether to be a completely new individual or an upgrade to the original character. The toy would have been released as part of the Universe (2003) toyline.
A redeco of Cybertron Legends Optimus Prime, given Motormaster's color scheme, and renamed Menasor.
A redeco of Titanium Rodimus Prime in Generation 1 Motormaster colors was produced exclusively for the San Diego Comic-Con in 2007. The toy's bio stated that it was indeed Generation 1 Menasor. "Experimental mechanics may have successfully unified the gestalt frame of Menasor into a whole physical creature, but no level of shell programming or kernel restructuring has been able to modify his fractured mind."[12]

Transformers: Cybertron

Menasor was the name to a Transformer from the fictional planet Gigantion, also known as the Giant Planet and transformed into a large scale drill. Unlike his G1 counterpart, Menasor is not composed of five robots, but is a sentient lifeform of his own and has a more lively personality. He is known as Moledive in Japan. Menasor is teamed up with his Mini-Con partner Heavy Load.

Transformers: Film Series

The Stunticons are a Decepticon subgroup from the Revenge of the Fallen portion of the live-action film continuity family. Here the Stunticons are a bunch of mass-produced Decepticon bodyforms. They can be found in urban areas, such as Shanghai. They appear in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - The Game (Xbox 360/Sony PS3/PC). This group of bodyforms consists of models named Stunticon Scout 1, Stunticon Scout 2, Gold Stunticon Scout 2, and Stunticon Sniper.

Shattered Glass

While Breakdown and Dead End appear in various stories, wiether they may or may not be Stunticons is not mentioned. In this universe, The Decepticons are good and the Autobots are evil, the same possibly goes for the "Stunticons".

Transformers: Animated

The Stunticons appear as an exclusive set for attendees of BotCon 2011, consisting of retools/redecos of Transformers Animated molds.[13][14]

The figures are as follows:

Just like the Constructicons who can't combine into Devastator like their Generation 1 counterparts, theses Stunticons lack the ability to combine into Menasor.

A failed clone of Optimus Prime named Toxitron is an ally and supporting character to the Stunticons. He can be considered the "sixth mysterious member" of the Stunticons. Toxitron is somewhat based off the DC Comics character Bizarro.

Transformers: Power Core Combiners

In the 2010 Transformers: Power Core Combiners toy line, the Stunticons are non-sentient drones that are led by Over-Run. These drones can combine with him to become a larger robot by forming his limbs.

Transformers: Prime

While not depicted officially as a team, various members of the Stunticons appear in Transformers: War for Cybertron. Breakdown appears as a playable character in War for Cybertron, while Dead End, Dragstrip, and Motormaster appear as unlockable characters in the Nintendo DS version. Breakdown, Drag Strip, and Dead End appear in the game's sequel, Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, for the multiplayer mode with the parts all being listed under the Infiltrator body-type.

Animated series

Additionally, Breakdown appears as a recurring character in Transformers: Prime, voiced by Adam Baldwin, while Dead End and Wildrider (both redecos of the Prime Wheeljack toy) appear as part of the toyline. Though the Stunticons are never mentioned as being a team in War for Cybertron, the Japanese bios for the Prime toyline's bios for Breakdown and Wildrider mention them as being part of a team called the Stunticons (スタンティコン Sutantikon) establishing the team does exist in this continuity, however the team's full rooster is yet to be revealed, as well as whether or not they possess the ability to combine into Menasor, like in previous incarnations. In Prime, Breakdown is shown to be partner with a new character named Knock Out, but whether or not he himself is a Stunticon, or just someone Breakdown partnered with after the Great War, is not revealed.

Bot Shots

The Stunticons also have toys in the Bot Shots toyline, which consists of small robots who can easily turn into vehicle mode or vice versa in one step. All 5 Stunticons appear as homages to their Generation 1 incarnations, however Motormaster is renamed "Motorbreath" and Wildrider is renamed "Brake-Neck". Sold as a five-pack, the Stunticons consist of redecos of existing molds: Motorbreath from Megatron, Decepticon Dragstrip from Jazz, Brake-Neck from Topspin, Dead End from Leadfoot and Breakdown from Roadbuster. The new decos for the most part homage the Generation 1 Stunticons, with the exception of Motorbreath who is translucent purple rather than black and grey. According to the bio's on the package, The Stunticons are a group of Decepticon misfits, united by their car and truck alternate modes. All that is known so far is that the team was founded by Breakdown and that Dragstrip likes to find ways to compete with the other team members. In this incarnation, the toys don't combine into Menasor, but it is still unknown if they can or not within the fiction supporting Bot Shots, such as the online game.

Kre-O

In the Kre-O: Transformers toyline, Menasor is portrayed as a Decepticon warrior made up of the Stunticons Breakdown, Dead End, Drag Strip, and Motorbreath. As Kreon combiners only involve four components, Kre-O Brake-Neck (Wildrider) instead ended up as a Series 4 blind-bagged figure.

Combiner Wars

In conjunction with the Combiner Wars (Unite Warriors in Japan) line, Takara Tomy released a comic detailing how the Galvatronus combiner came to be. Following his defeat at the conclusion of The Headmasters, Galvatron's icy tomb was discovered by Cyclonus, whose body Galvatron modified to accommodate his own head in the chest compartment. Seeking a more fitting form, Galvatron directed Cyclonus to approach the disembodied head of Unicron, who was convinced to help Galvatron attain a combiner form with Cyclonus as its core. To accomplish this, Unicron used his power to open dimensional rifts in order to bring Curse Armada Thrust, "Zombie War" Breakdown, and Wandering Roller into their world. To Cyclonus' surprise, Starscream then made an appearance, expressing interest in joining this new alliance. Unicron promptly granted Starscream a new physical form, and Galvatron's head took control of his new minions to take on his new form of Grand Galvatron.[15]

Toys

A toy representing Breakdown's television appearance. This figure would later be remolded into BotCon 2015's Megatron.
A redeco of Combiner Wars Off Road in the colors of Prime Breakdown that acts as a limb in the Combiner Wars theme.

References

  1. ↑ Alvarez, J.E. (2001). The Unofficial Guide to Transformers 1980s Through 1990s Revised & Expanded 2nd Edition. Schiffer Publishing Ltd. p. 39. ISBN 0-7643-1364-9.
  2. ↑ FILM REVIEW: Boyhood dreams come true with Transformers, University Wire, July 6, 2007
  3. ↑ The Official Overstreet Comic Book Companion, 11th Edition, Page 257 by Robert M. Overstreet, 2010
  4. ↑ "Transformers" #22 (1987)
  5. ↑ "The Transformers #41 - Totaled! (Issue)". Comicvine.com. 1988-06-01. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  6. ↑ Seibertron.com
  7. ↑ "transformers episode 55 - the key to vector sigma 1 part 1". YouTube. 2007-12-25. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  8. ↑ "Transformers comics, cartoons, toys and everything else!". TFArchive. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  9. ↑ Entertainment/OnlineGames/GameSelect/Action Games/Transformers/Transformers Battle Circuit
  10. ↑ Hasbro.com - History
  11. ↑ Seibertron.com - Auction for Rare, Unreleased G2 Motormaster and More
  12. ↑ image
  13. ↑ TFW2005.com - BotCon 2011 Stunticons Group Shot and Motormaster's Head Sculpt
  14. ↑ "MTV Geek – MTV Geek! Exclusive: 2011 BotCon TF Animated Stunticon Set". Geek-news.mtv.com. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  15. ↑ http://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g4904810864769/

External links

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