Headmaster (Transformers)
Encyclopedia
Headmasters are a sub-group of characters from the Transformers
meta-series, distinguished by their ability to detach their heads when transforming into their alternate modes, with the heads then transforming themselves into a humanoid form. However, this concept was taken in several different directions across the different Transformers universes.
toyline established that the Headmasters were Autobot
s and Decepticon
s who had been partnered and bonded with members of a race of organic beings named Nebulons. The toys included:
1987 Autobots
1987 Decepticons
1988 Autobots
1988 Decepticons
The details of the binary-bonding process have never been fully explained. As the end result, though, the human or Nebulan is able to wear a special armor, which gives him/her a telepathic
link with the Transformer, and also allows him/her to transform into a mechanical object that can be used by the Transformer. In the latest IDW Publishing
version, the transforming technology is built into the Nebulans themselves.
When connected with each other, the human or Nebulan and the Transformer essentially share a single mind and can work together seamlessly, but when separated from each other, both retain their individual minds and bodies. This allows for greater cooperation, and with twice the experience, a better understanding of possible combat or other dangerous situations. The binary-bonding process does not damage the body of either party, and both parties are able to carry on with their normal lives, but it does generate a permanent, irreversible bond between their minds. However, the Headmaster component can find themselves with increased strength.
The process does have a few weaknesses. Some partnerships on both sides suffer from issues partners have with one another. For example, Vorath is a scientist
while his Decepticon partner, Mindwipe is a believer in the supernatural
, leading the two to bicker over conflicting ideologies. Also, headless Transformers can be stuck in vehicle mode when the Headmaster component is separated.
Most of the organic creatures that underwent the binary-bonding process in the Transformers
TV series and comic were Nebulans. The most notable exception is the human Spike Witwicky, who is binary-bonded to Cerebros, who is in turn part of Fortress Maximus. In the TV show, Spike's son Daniel was also binary-bonded to the female Autobot Arcee
, but neither Daniel nor Arcee ever appeared in the American comic. (In the American Transformers: Headmasters mini-series, an Autobot resembling Arcee in convertible mode was shown in an Autobot convoy, but never identified as her.)
named the Hive, consisting of ten Nebulans and their leader, Lord Zarak, who held the planet under their sway with mighty war machines that they could control with their thoughts, even as their disused bodies withered away. Fearful and distrustful of machines as a result, a group of Nebulon rebel
s led by Gort immediately captured the Autobots upon their arrival and almost executed them, until an attack by the Decepticons proved that they were on the same side. Consequently, the group decided to utilise a theory previously developed by Brainstorm - the partnership of Transformers, with their size and power, with the minds of the Nebulons. Chromedome, Brainstorm, Hardhead and Highbrow disconnected their heads, and Spike Witwicky used Brainstorm's designs to modify them into exosuits which the rebel officers then donned, becoming Headmasters. Additionally, in order to save the life of Spike's son, Daniel, who had been mortally wounded by Snapdragon, Arcee too underwent the process, becoming bonded to the boy.
With the battle superiority of the Autobot Headmasters evident, the Decepticons were forced to flee during the next battle. The Hive, however, had been observing events, and used their machines to bring the Decepticons to them, where they struck the same deal. The heads of the animal Transformers were offered up to the Hive, who turned them into exosuits, once again giving themselves strong bodies. Lord Zarak, meanwhile, used the process to modify the Hive's entire subterranean city to a colossal super robot that he dubbed Scorponok. With Scorponok's power, the Decepticons obtained the Plasma Energy Chamber key and returned to Cybertron.
Spike, meanwhile, had concocted a plan to counter Scorponok's power. The remaining Autobot, Cerebros - a pacifist who refused to undergo the Headmaster process - had located the city that had formerly belonged to the Hive, before they developed their mental powers and went underground. Using the Hive's machines, Spike reconstructed the city, Cerebros, and himself into another new super robot - the mighty Fortress Maximus. Spike became Cerebros's Headmaster partner, and Cerebros in turn then transformed into Maximus's head. Arriving on Cybertron, Maximus and Scorponok battled as the Plasma Energy Chamber threatened to overload Earth's sun. Spike and the Nebulans were able to save the planet, however, by draining off the excess solar energy and re-energising Cybertron
, restoring its golden age.
As this marked the end of the American Transformers series, the 1988 characters never appeared in animated form in the U.S. except in toy commercials.
, however, the concept of Headmasters was taken in a different direction. With America's mere three episode fourth season (The Rebirth) months away, Takara decided to continue the Transformers series on their own with the 35-episode anime
, Transformers: The Headmasters
.
In this version of events, there are no Nebulans involved. Millions of years ago, during the wars on Cybertron, many Autobots fled the planet to escape the conflict. One such group was a collection of diminutive Transformers, led by the robot called Fortress (the Japanese equivalent of Cerebros), who eventually settled on the planet Master. However, Master proved to be a world of harsh environment, and so, in order to survive, the small Transformers constructed larger, lifeless bodies called Transtectors, and modified their forms so that they could transform into heads, in order to attach to and control the Transtectors. Chromedome, Brainstorm, Hardhead, Highbrow, Weirdwolf, Mindwipe, and Skullcruncher underwent this process, but soon the latter three turned to the side of evil under the leadership of Scorponok (Lord Zarak), who made contact with Galvatron
, and joined with him in his renewed attack on Cybertron in 2011.
Using the power of the mighty weapon, the Master Sword, Fortress is able to combine with the Headmasters' battle ship, Maximus, to form Fortress Maximus. Scorponok also had a massive Transtector constructed for himself, dubbed Mega Zarak (Scorponok), harnessing the plasma energy released from the destruction of Cybertron he had engineered to power it.
With a cry of "Head On!", the Headmasters attach to their Transtectors, meters in their chest displaying their energy readings. They possess incredible amounts of energy within their bodies, which can be used in various ways - by swapping from Transtector to Transtector with their fellows, in a process called "Cross Head On!" they can summon up this energy to recharge themselves, and by linking hands in a ring, their energies can be united together into one mighty force and unleashed in numerous ways, such as force bolts, recharging beams, or as an aura that surrounds them, allowing them to spin in a destructive circle.
Prior to 2005, Headmasters was only available in its original format in the East, with Laserdisc
and DVD
releases. Most fans who had seen the series did so through the infamous "Singapore dubs" - an atrociously bad English
-dubbed version of the show from Hong Kong
, found airing in Asia
in the early 1990s. It was bootlegged many times over to be spread around. In a world first, UK
-based DVD company, Metrodome Distribution Ltd released the entire series on DVD on 26 September 2005, in a dual-language format, featuring the original Japanese
audio with new English
subtitle
s, and the "Singapore dub", complete with commentary on the opening trilogy by long time fan and TF authority Chris McFeely (fan commentaries having become an easy and fairly informative pastime of recent region 2 cartoon box set releases). The DVD
disks were also formatted in region 0, allowing more people the possibility of owning the series for the first time. It was also recently announced that the series will be released on DVD in North America by Shout Factory on July 5, 2011.
In Masterforce, the Headmasters are not small robots, but actually human beings who don a suit of armour and combine with a Transtector, given the new title of "Headmaster Jr."'s. Consequently, as they do not represent their American counterparts, they are known by completely different names - Nightbeat is Minerva, Siren is Go Shooter, Hosehead is Cab, Fangry is Wilder
, Horri-Bull is Bullhorn and Squeezeplay is Cancer, each of them a human teenager recruited by the Autobots or Decepticons in the battle. Additionally, Fortress Maximus's younger brother, Grand Maximus (exclusive to Japan
) makes an appearance in the series, with his Headmaster component, Grand, possessing a Pretender
shell. Also appearing is another Japanese exclusive, Black Zarak - a brainwashed Zarak with a rebuilt Transtector.
and chose to abandon Cybertron. The Autobots travelled to the peaceful world of Nebulos, a pacifistic paradise where war
and weapon
s were obsolete. However, the sudden arrival of the Autobots and the Nebulans' fears about their goals and the danger they posed threw Nebulos's society into chaos. Nebulan leader Galen Kord was willing to give the Autobots a chance to present their case, but his fellow council member, Lord Zarak, was not, and engineered events to make it appear as though Blurr
had attacked the Nebulans. Reactivating some of the planets' ancient weapons of war, Galen attacked the Autobots, but Fortress Maximus refused to fight back. The disarmament of the Autobots proved insufficient to prove their intentions, and so, in a (somewhat grotesque) show of good faith, Fortress Maximus gave the Nebulans the most he had to give - his own head, which he tore from his shoulders and threw to the ground. Following his lead, Chromedome, Brainstorm, Hardhead and Highbrow did the same - and won Galen over.
Lord Zarak, however, was not. In an attempt to have the Autobots removed from the planet, his forces contacted Cybertron, calling to Nebulos a contingent of Decepticons led by Scorponok. Galen's group attempted to remote-control the decapitated Autobot bodies themselves, but when that met with failure, Arcana and Fortress Maximus worked together to create a process called "Binary-bonding" - the engineering of the Nebulan's bodies into transforming cybernetic forms, allowing them to transform into heads and become masters of the Autobots' bodies. Thus, the Headmasters were born, and they defeated Scorponok's Decepticons soundly, forcing them into an alliance with Lord Zarak and his forces, becoming Headmasters themselves. The Autobot Headmasters were defeated and captured, but Lord Zarak slowly began to feel the malicious, robotic emotions of Scorponok overtaking his mind, worsening with each combination. In a final attempt to save his planet before the inhumanity overcame him, he freed Galen and the other Nebulans, who then followed a distress signal emanating from the Autobots on Earth. The Decepticons pursued them, leaving Nebulos, as Zarak had wished.
In transit to Earth aboard their starship, the Steelhaven, Brainstorm, Chromedome and Galen disassembled and reconstructed Fortress Maximus to increase his fighting power. Now, an additional Autobot drone, Cerebros, had been incorporated into his design - rather than directly forming Maximus's head, as he had done before, Galen became Cerebros's head, and Cerebros formed that of Maximus. However, soon after their arrival on Earth, the Headmasters were pulled into another battle with the Decepticons inside Mount Saint Hillary, the volcano that had formerly housed the Ark
, where Galen was killed by an avalanche while saving the life of Spike Witwicky. Using Galen's helmet, Spike took control of Fortress Maximus and routed the Decepticons, after which he accepted the other Headmasters' offer to binary bond him to Fortress Maximus, taking Galen's place in the combination, in order to save his brother, Buster, who had been captured by the Decepticons.
While Fortress Maximus's team joined with the other Earthbound Autobots, Zarak bolstered his forces with the addition of Fangry, Squeezeplay and Horri-Bull, although it was never clearly established where these Decepticons or Nebulans came from. It would be some time before the Autobot counterparts to this trio were introduced, and even when they were, no indication was given that they had undergone the Headmasters process. In the UK comics, however, they were indeed shown to be Headmasters.
Fortress Maximus eventually succeeded in saving Buster during the battle for the power of the Underbase, and Spike chose to give up the role, returning his armour and helmet to Optimus Prime and leaving Maximus's body stored on the Ark. However, when he came under attack from the Decepticon Pretender Beasts, Snarler and Carnivac, it became apparent that he and Maximus had bonded more deeply than anyone had realised, as his body arrived to combine with Spike and fend off the Pretenders. Despite this, Spike chose to return Maximus's body to the Ark, where it remained until the craft was crashed in 1991 by the Autobot medic, Ratchet, during the clash between Megatron and Galvatron. Spike was drawn to the crash site by Fortress Maximus's mental urging, and recombined with him once again to battle the deranged Galvatron, eventually defeating him by burying him in ice.
contact with their bodies while the Nebulans controlled them. This idea was not brought up again, however, though it was apparent that in the case of Lord Zarak, the process had affected his mind, as Scorponok's personality became to affect his own.
Later, when Spike had his revelation, the more familiar Headmaster concept came into play - the idea of two minds inhabiting one body, as Fortress Maximus's voice spoke within Spike's head and could urge him into actions. Although this was utilized by Bob Budiansky
at the end of his run, it was in fact consistently how Simon Furman
had portrayed the Headmasters in the UK comics, and carried the idea over into the US comics when he began to write them. Furman's first Headmasters story, "Worlds Apart", even seemed to reconcile the two contradictory ideas - that the process was intended to create a singular mind, but had malfunctioned, leaving two minds in one body with the Nebulan in ultimate control.
Interestingly, however, Furman would also take Scorponok and Lord Zarak in a different direction. Where with other Transformers, he clearly kept the Nebulan and Transformer minds distinct, in the case of Scorponok, Lord Zarak's personality appeared to eventually completely supplant Scorponok's own - although he would refer to himself as Scorponok, in his private thoughts, he considered himself only to be Zarak. This led to the fears and doubts which eventually resulted in his alliance with Optimus Prime, and, in his attempt at redemption, he attacked Unicron
with his bare hands and was melted by the chaos-bringer's fire breath.
story Decepticons at the Pole by John Grant
.
Hosehead was among the Autobots featured in the 1988 book and audio adventure Autobot Hostage by Ladybird books.
, they would give another version of the origin of the Headmaster process. Here, it was begun by the renegade Decepticon Scorponok and his unscrupulous Nebulan industrialist ally Mo Zarak. Here the Headmaster technology was actually built into the Nebulan bodies, allowing them to combine with the Transformers. However, the plot was stopped by Autobot law enforcement officer Ultra Magnus
. A blast from Scorponok's scorpion mode destroyed much of the facility and badly injured Zarak (who seemed to have undergone the procedure himself). Scorponok was then shot in the head by Magnus but managed to flee.
During the main G1 series The Transformers: Escalation
hints appeared that the shadowy organisation called the Machination were not all they appeared. During the series, they captured Sunstreaker
and the human Hunter, completing some sort of surgery on them. It was revealed near the end of the series that not only was a mysterious, badly-damaged Decepticon behind it all, but that they had made numerous headless copies of Sunstreaker's body. In issue #2 of The Transformers: Devastation
the extent of their plan was revealed, as an army of Sunstreaker clones pursued Wheeljack
and Hot Rod. These clones displayed the ability to remove their own heads - who then transformed into humans. These Headmasters are more like piloted drones, controlled by their human "heads" and guided by the memories of the real Sunstreaker, rather than the fully bonded Headmasters in other continuities. When Sunstreaker helps Hunter turn into a real Headmaster after his surgery, it is accomplished via an iron maiden
like chamber. The extent to which Hunter is altered is unclear, but he displays vastly improved strength, easily able to smash an adult human through a door and into the wall behind with one punch. It was also revealed that Scorponok, now reduced to a damaged head, has been guiding the Machination. In doing so, he has turned Abraham Dante, one of the human leaders of the Machination, into a Headmaster version of himself, combining with a recreated version of Scorponok's own body.
, safety regulations meant that the toy could not be released, but his involvement in the animated series remained, where his name was changed to that of his predecessor, Fortress Maximus (with the Headmaster components, The Emissary and Cerebros). The term "Headmaster" was even used in the show.
the figure known as Overload
was identified as a Headmaster, whose head was formed by the Mini-Con
, Roll-Out. However, although Overload is featured briefly in the animated series, this aspect of the character was not touched upon. He did appear more prominently in the Dreamwave comic book series.
Similarly, the Armada toy Sideways featured two Mini-Cons, Rook and Crosswise
which could each transform into heads (however, Sideways had a standard head, thus he was not a true Headmaster).
. Although he did not feature in the animated series, the second Headmaster-style toy of the line did - Omega Supreme (although Omega Supreme, like Sideways, has a permanent head).
at the city's power plant for the purpose of extorting $700 billion from the city. Masterson was going to set it off either way, destroying Sumdac Systems and using the threat of a future disaster to convince the government to buy his Headmaster units to prevent. The meltdown is stopped, and Bulkhead's body is retrieved, but Masterson escapes.
Headmaster next appears in "Return of the Headmaster", where he steals Sentinel Prime's body. He is defeated by Optimus Prime, but his employer, Porter C. Powell (who controlled Sumdac Industries in Prof. Sumdac's absence), manages to keep him out of prison.
In "A Bridge Too Close", a stolen Headmaster unit is used by Megatron to threaten Bulkhead into helping the Decepticons construct their Space Bridge
. The unit is later used by Prof. Sumdac to take control of Starscream's body in order to destroy Megatron and his space bridge. (Ironically, he does this just as Starscream was about to do the same thing!) Not knowing how to control the Decepticon, Sumdac abandons both Starscream's body and the Headmaster unit.
In the season 3 "Transwarped" special, Prof. Sumdac regains control of his company and immediately fires Masterson. In retaliation, Masterson finds his Headmaster unit attached to Starscream's body and attacks Prof. Sumdac. Optimus Prime stops him by tricking him into transforming Starscream's body. The transformation causes the Headmaster unit to pop off of the body, and Masterson is finally taken in by the police.
In "Three's A Crowd", the recovered unit is exposed to an Allspark fragment that fuses it with a forklift, creating Dirt Boss.
incorporated the Headmaster concept into a transforming Buzz Lightyear
figure in their Transformers: Disney-Pixar Label
line. The figure's alternate mode is a spaceship designed similarly to the original Buzz Lightyear toy packaging seen in Toy Story
. A miniature Buzz Lightyear pilot figure forms the head. During transformation, once the head is attached, the lower torso and wings extend while the Space Ranger badge on the chest pops up.
Transformers (toy line)
The is a line of toys produced by the American toy company Hasbro. The Transformers toyline was created from toy molds mostly produced by Japanese company Takara in the toylines Diaclone and Microman. Other toy molds from other companies such as Bandai were used as well...
meta-series, distinguished by their ability to detach their heads when transforming into their alternate modes, with the heads then transforming themselves into a humanoid form. However, this concept was taken in several different directions across the different Transformers universes.
Transformers: Generation 1
The AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
toyline established that the Headmasters were Autobot
Autobot
Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...
s and Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
s who had been partnered and bonded with members of a race of organic beings named Nebulons. The toys included:
1987 Autobots
- Fortress MaximusFortress MaximusFortress Maximus is the name of several fictional characters from several of the various Transformers universes. Fortress Maximus appeared in the season 4 finale of the US Transformers animated series voiced by Stephen Keener. He was one of the stars of the Japanese Transformers: Headmasters...
He transforms into a city / battle station with Cerebros and Spike Witwicky. - Brainstorm
He transforms into a jetJet aircraftA jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
with Arcana. - Chromedome
He transforms into a carČarČar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...
with Stylor. - HardheadHardhead (Transformers)Hardhead is the name of two fictional characters in the Transformers universes. The first is a stubborn Autobot tank, the second a simple minded Predacon dinosaur.- Transformers: Generation 1 :...
He transforms into a tankTankA tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
with Duros. - HighbrowHighbrow (Transformers)-Transformers: Generation 1:Highbrow is an Autobot Headmaster who turns into a helicopter. His partner is the Nebulan Gort. Highbrow considers himself above warfare and prefers to talk out differences, and is a bit of a snob...
He transforms into a helicopterHelicopterA helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
with Gort.
1987 Decepticons
- ScorponokScorponokScorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...
He transforms into a city / scorpionScorpionScorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
with Lord Zarak. - MindwipeMindwipe (Transformers)Mindwipe is the name of two fictional characters in the Transformers toy line and fictional series by Hasbro. Both are Decepticons.-Transformers: Generation 1:Mindwipe is a Decepticon Headmaster who transforms into a bat....
He transforms into a batBatBats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
with Vorath. - SkullcruncherSkullcruncherSkullcruncher is a fictional character from the Transformers series. He is a Decepticon Headmaster who turns into a robotic alligator.-Marvel Comics:...
He transforms into a alligatorAlligatorAn alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
with Grax. - Weirdwolf
He transforms into a wolf with Monzo. - Apeface
He transforms into a jet / gorillaGorillaGorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
with Spasma. - Snapdragon
He transforms into a jet / dinosaurDinosaurDinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
with Krunk.
1988 Autobots
- HoseheadHoseheadHosehead is a character of the Transformers toyline and television series. He is an Autobot Headmaster and transforms into a fire engine. He should not be confused with the character Cab, who is based on the same toy, but portrayed as a completely different character in the Masterforce anime...
He transforms into a fire truck with Lug. - NightbeatNightbeat (Transformers)-Transformers: Generation 1:Nightbeat is described as a tough, street-hardened detective who is not above resorting to dirty tricks in order to further his investigations...
He transforms into a car with Muzzle. - Siren
He transforms into a car with Quig.
1988 Decepticons
- Fangry
He transforms into a wolf-monster with Brisko. - Horri-Bull
He transforms into a bullBullBull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
-monster with Kreb. - Squeezeplay
He transforms into a snakeSnakeSnakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
-monster with Lokos.
He strongly resembles the kaiju OrgaOrgais the main antagonist in Godzilla 2000.Before becoming Orga, the Millennian dwelt within its spaceship, awakened from its slumber at the bottom of the ocean by searchlights...
.
Binary-bonding
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
link with the Transformer, and also allows him/her to transform into a mechanical object that can be used by the Transformer. In the latest IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
version, the transforming technology is built into the Nebulans themselves.
When connected with each other, the human or Nebulan and the Transformer essentially share a single mind and can work together seamlessly, but when separated from each other, both retain their individual minds and bodies. This allows for greater cooperation, and with twice the experience, a better understanding of possible combat or other dangerous situations. The binary-bonding process does not damage the body of either party, and both parties are able to carry on with their normal lives, but it does generate a permanent, irreversible bond between their minds. However, the Headmaster component can find themselves with increased strength.
The process does have a few weaknesses. Some partnerships on both sides suffer from issues partners have with one another. For example, Vorath is a scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
while his Decepticon partner, Mindwipe is a believer in the supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
, leading the two to bicker over conflicting ideologies. Also, headless Transformers can be stuck in vehicle mode when the Headmaster component is separated.
Most of the organic creatures that underwent the binary-bonding process in the Transformers
The Transformers (TV series)
The Transformers is an animated television series depicting a war among giant robots who could transform into vehicles, other objects and animal-like forms. Written and recorded in America, the series was animated in Japan and South Korea...
TV series and comic were Nebulans. The most notable exception is the human Spike Witwicky, who is binary-bonded to Cerebros, who is in turn part of Fortress Maximus. In the TV show, Spike's son Daniel was also binary-bonded to the female Autobot Arcee
Arcee
Arcee is the name of a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. She is a female Autobot, usually pink in color. Being the most famous of the Female Transformers, she has two primary forms...
, but neither Daniel nor Arcee ever appeared in the American comic. (In the American Transformers: Headmasters mini-series, an Autobot resembling Arcee in convertible mode was shown in an Autobot convoy, but never identified as her.)
The Rebirth
In America, the introduction of the Headmasters took place in a three-part episode titled The Rebirth, which comprised the entirety of the show's fourth and final season. Here, in the battle to obtain the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, two groups of Autobots and Decepticons wound up on the alien world of Nebulos. Nebulos was ruled by a dictatorshipDictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
named the Hive, consisting of ten Nebulans and their leader, Lord Zarak, who held the planet under their sway with mighty war machines that they could control with their thoughts, even as their disused bodies withered away. Fearful and distrustful of machines as a result, a group of Nebulon rebel
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
s led by Gort immediately captured the Autobots upon their arrival and almost executed them, until an attack by the Decepticons proved that they were on the same side. Consequently, the group decided to utilise a theory previously developed by Brainstorm - the partnership of Transformers, with their size and power, with the minds of the Nebulons. Chromedome, Brainstorm, Hardhead and Highbrow disconnected their heads, and Spike Witwicky used Brainstorm's designs to modify them into exosuits which the rebel officers then donned, becoming Headmasters. Additionally, in order to save the life of Spike's son, Daniel, who had been mortally wounded by Snapdragon, Arcee too underwent the process, becoming bonded to the boy.
With the battle superiority of the Autobot Headmasters evident, the Decepticons were forced to flee during the next battle. The Hive, however, had been observing events, and used their machines to bring the Decepticons to them, where they struck the same deal. The heads of the animal Transformers were offered up to the Hive, who turned them into exosuits, once again giving themselves strong bodies. Lord Zarak, meanwhile, used the process to modify the Hive's entire subterranean city to a colossal super robot that he dubbed Scorponok. With Scorponok's power, the Decepticons obtained the Plasma Energy Chamber key and returned to Cybertron.
Spike, meanwhile, had concocted a plan to counter Scorponok's power. The remaining Autobot, Cerebros - a pacifist who refused to undergo the Headmaster process - had located the city that had formerly belonged to the Hive, before they developed their mental powers and went underground. Using the Hive's machines, Spike reconstructed the city, Cerebros, and himself into another new super robot - the mighty Fortress Maximus. Spike became Cerebros's Headmaster partner, and Cerebros in turn then transformed into Maximus's head. Arriving on Cybertron, Maximus and Scorponok battled as the Plasma Energy Chamber threatened to overload Earth's sun. Spike and the Nebulans were able to save the planet, however, by draining off the excess solar energy and re-energising Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
, restoring its golden age.
As this marked the end of the American Transformers series, the 1988 characters never appeared in animated form in the U.S. except in toy commercials.
Transformers: The Headmasters
In JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, however, the concept of Headmasters was taken in a different direction. With America's mere three episode fourth season (The Rebirth) months away, Takara decided to continue the Transformers series on their own with the 35-episode anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, Transformers: The Headmasters
Transformers: The Headmasters
is a Japanese anime television series.-Development:Inititally, Takara, the Japanese producers of the Transformers toyline, imported the American Transformers cartoon series from 1985 to 1986...
.
In this version of events, there are no Nebulans involved. Millions of years ago, during the wars on Cybertron, many Autobots fled the planet to escape the conflict. One such group was a collection of diminutive Transformers, led by the robot called Fortress (the Japanese equivalent of Cerebros), who eventually settled on the planet Master. However, Master proved to be a world of harsh environment, and so, in order to survive, the small Transformers constructed larger, lifeless bodies called Transtectors, and modified their forms so that they could transform into heads, in order to attach to and control the Transtectors. Chromedome, Brainstorm, Hardhead, Highbrow, Weirdwolf, Mindwipe, and Skullcruncher underwent this process, but soon the latter three turned to the side of evil under the leadership of Scorponok (Lord Zarak), who made contact with Galvatron
Galvatron
Galvatron is the name of several fictional Transformers, most often the recreated version of Megatron, the Decepticon leader. He was voiced by Leonard Nimoy in the 1986 Transformers movie, and then by Frank Welker in season 3 and 4 of the animated television series. Since then, other Transformers...
, and joined with him in his renewed attack on Cybertron in 2011.
Using the power of the mighty weapon, the Master Sword, Fortress is able to combine with the Headmasters' battle ship, Maximus, to form Fortress Maximus. Scorponok also had a massive Transtector constructed for himself, dubbed Mega Zarak (Scorponok), harnessing the plasma energy released from the destruction of Cybertron he had engineered to power it.
With a cry of "Head On!", the Headmasters attach to their Transtectors, meters in their chest displaying their energy readings. They possess incredible amounts of energy within their bodies, which can be used in various ways - by swapping from Transtector to Transtector with their fellows, in a process called "Cross Head On!" they can summon up this energy to recharge themselves, and by linking hands in a ring, their energies can be united together into one mighty force and unleashed in numerous ways, such as force bolts, recharging beams, or as an aura that surrounds them, allowing them to spin in a destructive circle.
Prior to 2005, Headmasters was only available in its original format in the East, with Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
releases. Most fans who had seen the series did so through the infamous "Singapore dubs" - an atrociously bad English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-dubbed version of the show from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, found airing in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
in the early 1990s. It was bootlegged many times over to be spread around. In a world first, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based DVD company, Metrodome Distribution Ltd released the entire series on DVD on 26 September 2005, in a dual-language format, featuring the original Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
audio with new English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
subtitle
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...
s, and the "Singapore dub", complete with commentary on the opening trilogy by long time fan and TF authority Chris McFeely (fan commentaries having become an easy and fairly informative pastime of recent region 2 cartoon box set releases). The DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
disks were also formatted in region 0, allowing more people the possibility of owning the series for the first time. It was also recently announced that the series will be released on DVD in North America by Shout Factory on July 5, 2011.
Super God Masterforce
The Japanese did not stop with Headmasters, and introduced their versions of the 1988 Headmasters in the following series, Transformers: Super God Masterforce. However, these proved to be even more different from their American counterparts than the previous year's characters.In Masterforce, the Headmasters are not small robots, but actually human beings who don a suit of armour and combine with a Transtector, given the new title of "Headmaster Jr."'s. Consequently, as they do not represent their American counterparts, they are known by completely different names - Nightbeat is Minerva, Siren is Go Shooter, Hosehead is Cab, Fangry is Wilder
Wilder (Transformers)
Wilder is a fictional character from the Transformers universes. He is a Decepticon Headmaster tracker who turns into a winged wolf-monster. He shouldn't be confused with Fangry, looks identical, but is a separate character.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, Horri-Bull is Bullhorn and Squeezeplay is Cancer, each of them a human teenager recruited by the Autobots or Decepticons in the battle. Additionally, Fortress Maximus's younger brother, Grand Maximus (exclusive to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) makes an appearance in the series, with his Headmaster component, Grand, possessing a Pretender
Pretenders (Transformers)
Pretenders is a subline within the Transformers toy line, introduced in 1988. The concept behind the toy was that the Transformers were capable of disguising their robotic forms through the use of synthetic organic outer shells.-Cloudburst:...
shell. Also appearing is another Japanese exclusive, Black Zarak - a brainwashed Zarak with a rebuilt Transtector.
Marvel Comics
In this incarnation of the Headmasters story, the Autobot Headmasters were originally part of a group led by Fortress Maximus, who had grown tired of the civil warCivil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
and chose to abandon Cybertron. The Autobots travelled to the peaceful world of Nebulos, a pacifistic paradise where war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
and weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
s were obsolete. However, the sudden arrival of the Autobots and the Nebulans' fears about their goals and the danger they posed threw Nebulos's society into chaos. Nebulan leader Galen Kord was willing to give the Autobots a chance to present their case, but his fellow council member, Lord Zarak, was not, and engineered events to make it appear as though Blurr
Blurr
Blurr is the name given to five different fictional characters in the Transformers universes. He frequently appears as a blue Autobot who transforms into a swift car...
had attacked the Nebulans. Reactivating some of the planets' ancient weapons of war, Galen attacked the Autobots, but Fortress Maximus refused to fight back. The disarmament of the Autobots proved insufficient to prove their intentions, and so, in a (somewhat grotesque) show of good faith, Fortress Maximus gave the Nebulans the most he had to give - his own head, which he tore from his shoulders and threw to the ground. Following his lead, Chromedome, Brainstorm, Hardhead and Highbrow did the same - and won Galen over.
Lord Zarak, however, was not. In an attempt to have the Autobots removed from the planet, his forces contacted Cybertron, calling to Nebulos a contingent of Decepticons led by Scorponok. Galen's group attempted to remote-control the decapitated Autobot bodies themselves, but when that met with failure, Arcana and Fortress Maximus worked together to create a process called "Binary-bonding" - the engineering of the Nebulan's bodies into transforming cybernetic forms, allowing them to transform into heads and become masters of the Autobots' bodies. Thus, the Headmasters were born, and they defeated Scorponok's Decepticons soundly, forcing them into an alliance with Lord Zarak and his forces, becoming Headmasters themselves. The Autobot Headmasters were defeated and captured, but Lord Zarak slowly began to feel the malicious, robotic emotions of Scorponok overtaking his mind, worsening with each combination. In a final attempt to save his planet before the inhumanity overcame him, he freed Galen and the other Nebulans, who then followed a distress signal emanating from the Autobots on Earth. The Decepticons pursued them, leaving Nebulos, as Zarak had wished.
In transit to Earth aboard their starship, the Steelhaven, Brainstorm, Chromedome and Galen disassembled and reconstructed Fortress Maximus to increase his fighting power. Now, an additional Autobot drone, Cerebros, had been incorporated into his design - rather than directly forming Maximus's head, as he had done before, Galen became Cerebros's head, and Cerebros formed that of Maximus. However, soon after their arrival on Earth, the Headmasters were pulled into another battle with the Decepticons inside Mount Saint Hillary, the volcano that had formerly housed the Ark
Ark (Transformers)
The Ark is an Autobot spacecraft in the Transformers Universe. It has appeared as a central fixture of the Transformers storyline ever since its creation, as the Autobots main method of transport to Earth and as a base once they arrive....
, where Galen was killed by an avalanche while saving the life of Spike Witwicky. Using Galen's helmet, Spike took control of Fortress Maximus and routed the Decepticons, after which he accepted the other Headmasters' offer to binary bond him to Fortress Maximus, taking Galen's place in the combination, in order to save his brother, Buster, who had been captured by the Decepticons.
While Fortress Maximus's team joined with the other Earthbound Autobots, Zarak bolstered his forces with the addition of Fangry, Squeezeplay and Horri-Bull, although it was never clearly established where these Decepticons or Nebulans came from. It would be some time before the Autobot counterparts to this trio were introduced, and even when they were, no indication was given that they had undergone the Headmasters process. In the UK comics, however, they were indeed shown to be Headmasters.
Fortress Maximus eventually succeeded in saving Buster during the battle for the power of the Underbase, and Spike chose to give up the role, returning his armour and helmet to Optimus Prime and leaving Maximus's body stored on the Ark. However, when he came under attack from the Decepticon Pretender Beasts, Snarler and Carnivac, it became apparent that he and Maximus had bonded more deeply than anyone had realised, as his body arrived to combine with Spike and fend off the Pretenders. Despite this, Spike chose to return Maximus's body to the Ark, where it remained until the craft was crashed in 1991 by the Autobot medic, Ratchet, during the clash between Megatron and Galvatron. Spike was drawn to the crash site by Fortress Maximus's mental urging, and recombined with him once again to battle the deranged Galvatron, eventually defeating him by burying him in ice.
Evolution of the Headmaster Concept
The Headmaster concept underwent a substantial evolution as the Marvel Comics progressed. As originally presented, the Autobots' minds were almost entirely supplanted - it was solely the Nebulans who possessed control of the Autobots' bodies, with the only notable difference being that they referred to each other by their Autobot names when combined. It is even implied that the original Autobot heads are not involved in the Bindary-bonding process, possessing only radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
contact with their bodies while the Nebulans controlled them. This idea was not brought up again, however, though it was apparent that in the case of Lord Zarak, the process had affected his mind, as Scorponok's personality became to affect his own.
Later, when Spike had his revelation, the more familiar Headmaster concept came into play - the idea of two minds inhabiting one body, as Fortress Maximus's voice spoke within Spike's head and could urge him into actions. Although this was utilized by Bob Budiansky
Bob Budiansky
Bob Budiansky is an American comic book writer, editor, and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel's Transformers comic. He also created the Marvel character Sleepwalker and wrote all 33 issues of that comic.-Career:...
at the end of his run, it was in fact consistently how Simon Furman
Simon Furman
Simon Christopher Francis Furman is a comic book writer, particularly associated with of a number of notable Transformers comics for Marvel UK, Marvel US, Dreamwave, and most recently, IDW...
had portrayed the Headmasters in the UK comics, and carried the idea over into the US comics when he began to write them. Furman's first Headmasters story, "Worlds Apart", even seemed to reconcile the two contradictory ideas - that the process was intended to create a singular mind, but had malfunctioned, leaving two minds in one body with the Nebulan in ultimate control.
Interestingly, however, Furman would also take Scorponok and Lord Zarak in a different direction. Where with other Transformers, he clearly kept the Nebulan and Transformer minds distinct, in the case of Scorponok, Lord Zarak's personality appeared to eventually completely supplant Scorponok's own - although he would refer to himself as Scorponok, in his private thoughts, he considered himself only to be Zarak. This led to the fears and doubts which eventually resulted in his alliance with Optimus Prime, and, in his attempt at redemption, he attacked Unicron
Unicron
Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...
with his bare hands and was melted by the chaos-bringer's fire breath.
Books
Skullcruncher appeared in the 1988 Ladybird BooksLadybird Books
Ladybird Books is a London-based publishing company, trading as a stand-alone imprint within the Penguin Group of companies. The Ladybird imprint publishes mass-market children's books.-History:...
story Decepticons at the Pole by John Grant
John Grant (children's author)
John Grant is a Scottish author and illustrator, possibly best known as the author of the Littlenose series of children's stories, which he read on the BBC's Jackanory in 55 programmes from 1968 to 1986....
.
Hosehead was among the Autobots featured in the 1988 book and audio adventure Autobot Hostage by Ladybird books.
IDW Publishing
When the Transformers licence passed to IDW PublishingIDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
, they would give another version of the origin of the Headmaster process. Here, it was begun by the renegade Decepticon Scorponok and his unscrupulous Nebulan industrialist ally Mo Zarak. Here the Headmaster technology was actually built into the Nebulan bodies, allowing them to combine with the Transformers. However, the plot was stopped by Autobot law enforcement officer Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers storylines.-Transformers: Generation 1:The greatest Transformer of them all. A commander could want no finer a soldier than Ultra Magnus...
. A blast from Scorponok's scorpion mode destroyed much of the facility and badly injured Zarak (who seemed to have undergone the procedure himself). Scorponok was then shot in the head by Magnus but managed to flee.
During the main G1 series The Transformers: Escalation
The Transformers: Escalation
The Transformers: Escalation is a six-issue comic book mini-series, published by IDW Publishing, based on the Transformers and following on from The Transformers: Infiltration. The series launched in November 2006 and ended in April 2007....
hints appeared that the shadowy organisation called the Machination were not all they appeared. During the series, they captured Sunstreaker
Sunstreaker
Sunstreaker is the name of two fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. The first is one of the main Autobot cars from the original Transformers series...
and the human Hunter, completing some sort of surgery on them. It was revealed near the end of the series that not only was a mysterious, badly-damaged Decepticon behind it all, but that they had made numerous headless copies of Sunstreaker's body. In issue #2 of The Transformers: Devastation
The Transformers: Devastation
The Transformers: Devastation is a six-issue comic book miniseries, published by IDW Publishing, based on the Transformers and following on from The Transformers: Escalation. Issue 1 of Devastation was released on October 3, 2007, with issue 2 following on the 24th of October and was published...
the extent of their plan was revealed, as an army of Sunstreaker clones pursued Wheeljack
Wheeljack
Wheeljack is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Wheeljack is the mechanical engineer and scientist of the Autobots in the Transformers television and comic series based on the popular toy line produced by Takara and Hasbro. His...
and Hot Rod. These clones displayed the ability to remove their own heads - who then transformed into humans. These Headmasters are more like piloted drones, controlled by their human "heads" and guided by the memories of the real Sunstreaker, rather than the fully bonded Headmasters in other continuities. When Sunstreaker helps Hunter turn into a real Headmaster after his surgery, it is accomplished via an iron maiden
Iron maiden (torture device)
An iron maiden is a torture device, consisting of an iron cabinet, with a hinged front, sufficiently tall to enclose a human being. It usually has a small closeable opening so that the torturer can interrogate the victim and torture or kill a person by piercing the body with sharp objects , while...
like chamber. The extent to which Hunter is altered is unclear, but he displays vastly improved strength, easily able to smash an adult human through a door and into the wall behind with one punch. It was also revealed that Scorponok, now reduced to a damaged head, has been guiding the Machination. In doing so, he has turned Abraham Dante, one of the human leaders of the Machination, into a Headmaster version of himself, combining with a recreated version of Scorponok's own body.
Transformers: Robots in Disguise
In the 2000 Japanese line, Transformers: Car Robots, Fortress Maximus's toy was repainted and released as a new character named Brave Maximus (with the Headmaster components, Brave and Plasma), and was the main focus of the final arc of the animated series. When the series was then imported to the US as Transformers: Robots in DisguiseTransformers: Robots in Disguise
Transformers: Robots in Disguise, known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime television series and serves as a self-contained universe separate from any of the other existing Transformers universes...
, safety regulations meant that the toy could not be released, but his involvement in the animated series remained, where his name was changed to that of his predecessor, Fortress Maximus (with the Headmaster components, The Emissary and Cerebros). The term "Headmaster" was even used in the show.
Transformers: Armada
In the 2002/2003 toyline, Transformers: ArmadaTransformers: Armada
Transformers: Armada, known in Japan as , is a Transformers animated series, comic series and toy line which ran from 2002–2003. It was originally scheduled for 2001, however was delayed until early-2002...
the figure known as Overload
Overload (Transformers)
Overload is the name of four different fictional character in the various Transformers universes. They are seemingly unrelated besides sharing a name.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
was identified as a Headmaster, whose head was formed by the Mini-Con
Mini-Con
Mini-Cons are a human-sized race and faction of power-enhancing transforming robots in the Transformers: Armada universe and its sequels, one of the assorted universes in Transformers fiction...
, Roll-Out. However, although Overload is featured briefly in the animated series, this aspect of the character was not touched upon. He did appear more prominently in the Dreamwave comic book series.
Similarly, the Armada toy Sideways featured two Mini-Cons, Rook and Crosswise
Crosswise
-Transformers: Robots in Disguise:Crosswise was the name of one of the Autobot Spy Changers. He is the science officer of the Spy Changers....
which could each transform into heads (however, Sideways had a standard head, thus he was not a true Headmaster).
Transformers: Energon
Armada Overload was also repainted and renamed as Ultra Magnus with Knock-Out, and re-released in the 2004/2005 toyline, Transformers: EnergonTransformers: Energon
Transformers: Energon, known in Japan as , is the 2004–2005 Transformers toyline, animated series and comic book series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara and a direct sequel to Transformers: Armada...
. Although he did not feature in the animated series, the second Headmaster-style toy of the line did - Omega Supreme (although Omega Supreme, like Sideways, has a permanent head).
Transformers Animated
In the series Transformers Animated, the Headmaster unit is a piloted mecha shaped like a giant robot head. It was developed by Sumdac Industries employee Henry Masterson for military purposes (which is against CEO Prof. Isaac Sumdac's company principles). The unit's main purpose is to commandeer a warbot during battle by severing the head and attaching itself to the warbot's body. It is also equipped with grenade, missile, and laser attacks, and features a transformation to physical body mode, or what is called its own backup system.Animated series
His first appearance is in the episode "Headmaster", wherein Masterson's demonstration of his technology, using it to take over a warbot, results in a missile being accidentally fired at Detroit. Prof. Isaac Sumdac, irate at the near-disaster, and insisting that his company does not manufacture weapons, fires Masterson on the spot. In retaliation, Masterson decides that since Sumdac refuses to make his Headmasters, he decided to form his own company to make them. Masterson steals Bulkhead's body, using it to attempt to set off a nuclear meltdownNuclear meltdown
Nuclear meltdown is an informal term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission...
at the city's power plant for the purpose of extorting $700 billion from the city. Masterson was going to set it off either way, destroying Sumdac Systems and using the threat of a future disaster to convince the government to buy his Headmaster units to prevent. The meltdown is stopped, and Bulkhead's body is retrieved, but Masterson escapes.
Headmaster next appears in "Return of the Headmaster", where he steals Sentinel Prime's body. He is defeated by Optimus Prime, but his employer, Porter C. Powell (who controlled Sumdac Industries in Prof. Sumdac's absence), manages to keep him out of prison.
In "A Bridge Too Close", a stolen Headmaster unit is used by Megatron to threaten Bulkhead into helping the Decepticons construct their Space Bridge
Space Bridge
In Marvel Comics' Transformers comic and cartoon, the Space Bridge is a device used by the Decepticons to travel between different planets, usually between Cybertron and Earth.-Generation One:...
. The unit is later used by Prof. Sumdac to take control of Starscream's body in order to destroy Megatron and his space bridge. (Ironically, he does this just as Starscream was about to do the same thing!) Not knowing how to control the Decepticon, Sumdac abandons both Starscream's body and the Headmaster unit.
In the season 3 "Transwarped" special, Prof. Sumdac regains control of his company and immediately fires Masterson. In retaliation, Masterson finds his Headmaster unit attached to Starscream's body and attacks Prof. Sumdac. Optimus Prime stops him by tricking him into transforming Starscream's body. The transformation causes the Headmaster unit to pop off of the body, and Masterson is finally taken in by the police.
In "Three's A Crowd", the recovered unit is exposed to an Allspark fragment that fuses it with a forklift, creating Dirt Boss.
Toys
- Animated Leader Class Bulkhead with Headmaster (2009)
- The Animated Leader Class Bulkhead toy comes with a hollow, non-transforming Headmaster unit. This unit fits on top of Bulkhead and all of Bulkhead's normally orange lights turn red, and an "Ownage! Total ownage!" sound effect plays. The unit also fits on all Leader class Animated toys - Megatron, Ultra Magnus and their redecos, but does not activate any additional features.
Transformers: Disney-Pixar Label
In 2010, Takara TomyTakara Tomy
is a Japanese toy, children's merchandise and entertainment company created from the March 2006 merger of two companies: Tomy and long-time rival, Takara...
incorporated the Headmaster concept into a transforming Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear is a character and the main deuteragonist of the Toy Story franchise. Buzz is a space ranger action figure and the co-leader of Andy's Room. He has also appeared in the movie Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins and the television series spin-off Buzz Lightyear of...
figure in their Transformers: Disney-Pixar Label
Transformers Label series
The Transformers Label series is a line of the Transformers series by Takara Tomy released exclusively in the Japanese market. The toys in this line consist of transforming robot figures with certain themes such as working electronic devices or crossover licenses with other brands and...
line. The figure's alternate mode is a spaceship designed similarly to the original Buzz Lightyear toy packaging seen in Toy Story
Toy Story
Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is Pixar's first feature film as well as the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI. The film was directed by John Lasseter and featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen...
. A miniature Buzz Lightyear pilot figure forms the head. During transformation, once the head is attached, the lower torso and wings extend while the Space Ranger badge on the chest pops up.
Toys
- Disney-Pixar Label Buzz Lightyear (2010)
- A Deluxe-sized figure of Buzz Lightyear that transforms into his spaceship, with his head becoming a small pilot figure.
- Disney-Pixar Label Buzz Lightyear (Cosmic Black Version) (2010)
- A black and silver redeco of the Buzz Lightyear figure.