Unicron
Encyclopedia
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 able to transform into a mechanical planet
. Unicron's origin has expanded over the years from simply being a large robot to being a god of chaos who devours realities. He often employs the help of Decepticons in his work, and in some stories is considered part of the origin of the Decepticon forces.
The Transformers: The Movie
The character Unicron first appeared in the opening scene of 1986's The Transformers: The Movie
, immediately making clear his driving goal by consuming the small world of Lithone in the year 2005. Subsequently, when the battered bodies of Decepticon leader Megatron and several of his troops were set adrift in space by Starscream
following a furious battle with the Autobot
s, Unicron appeared before them and offered Megatron a deal: in exchange for a new body, and new troops, Megatron would destroy the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, the only thing that could stand in Unicron's way. Thus, Megatron became Galvatron
, and began to carry out his assigned task, although he was loath to do so. When Galvatron showed any signs of opposition to Unicron's will, Unicron inflicted agonizing torture on his servant, even from a great distance, to coerce him into obedience. Following Unicron's consumption of Cybertron
's two moons, Galvatron successfully obtained the Matrix from Ultra Magnus
, believing he could use it to bring Unicron under his control. Attempting to open the Matrix to intimidate Unicron, Galvatron only prompted his transformation into robot mode, and was swallowed by the planet-eater. Unicron proceeded to lay waste to Cybertron, halted briefly when the young Autobot, Hot Rod, crashed a Quintesson
spacecraft through his eye. Finding Hot Rod inside Unicron's body, Galvatron suggested an alliance against their common enemy. However, Unicron inflicted his mental torture upon Galvatron, forcing him to fight Hot Rod. Hot Rod took the Matrix from Galvatron during the battle, and became Rodimus Prime. Rodimus threw Galvatron into space, freeing the Decepticon from Unicron's mind-control, and opened the Matrix within Unicron, destroying his body, leaving only his head, which became a moon of Cybertron.
, the lord of light. Unicron awoke to find himself surrounded by another universe, and simply began to destroy it again.
He and Primus clashed many times, the force of their battles wiping out the very life Primus had been created to protect. To stop this physical destruction, Primus shifted the battle to the astral plane, where he fared little better, forcing himself into what seemed to be a sacrifice play - in shifting the battle back to the physical universe without time to properly generate their energy forms, Primus entrapped both himself and Unicron in two barren asteroids. But this was not the end of Unicron - over the eons, he learned to psionically shape his asteroid, and transformed it into a metallic planet, and then again into a gargantuan robot. Primus, fearing that to follow suit by forming himself in a similar manner would simply pick up the conflict where it had left off, sought an alternative way to defend the universe against the threat of Unicron by turning his asteroid into Cybertron
; a planet that he populated with robotic beings that, like Unicron, could alter their forms. And thus were born the Transformers.
Unicron's slightly convoluted comic tenure began in the United Kingdom
's exclusive Transformers comic series, which interspliced its own original stories with reprinted American material. Jumping at the chance to work with a new cast of characters not involved in the American comics, writer Simon Furman
decided to cannibalize the best elements of the movie and work them into his stories, creating a future universe based on the movie's events, but different from the cartoon. In the first use of this timeline, in the mega-serial, Target: 2006, Galvatron travelled back in time in an attempt to escape the control of Unicron, but Unicron was able to ensnare the minds of three Autobots - Hot Rod, Kup
and Blurr
- and send them back in time after him to foil his plot. Though Unicron's role in the story itself was suitably minor, it offered the first glimpse of his greater mental power.
In the UK comics' version of post-movie events, Unicron's head did not enter Cybertron's orbit, and instead crash-landed on the Planet of Junk. Still active, Unicron used his vast mental powers to enslave the minds of the Junkion natives, who set about rebuilding his body. Cyclonus
, Scourge
and the bounty hunter, Death's Head
, also fell prey to him, and he used them to exacerbate the stalemated war on Cybertron to keep the Autobots busy, so that they would not learn of his impending resurrection. When Death's Head fought back against Unicron's mental control, however, Unicron rewarded his temerity by revealing the comic book version of his origin. Death's Head then aided Rodimus Prime, projecting his mind into Unicron's where they battle, until Unicron's head was destroyed by explosives, and his essence was sealed within the Matrix. Rodimus and several other future Autobots subsequently traveled back in time to 1989 and participated in the "Time Wars", but when they attempted to return to their own time afterward, they discovered that disruptions to the timestream had erased their future, and replaced it with one where the Decepticons ruled Cybertron. In this dark future, Unicron's essence emerged from the Matrix and briefly took over Rodimus Prime, before he was thwarted by the removal of the Matrix from Rodimus's body. In 2010, however, Unicron attempted this again and succeeded, controlling Rodimus's body and reshaping it into his own image, before being defeated by Rodimus's own force of will.
In 1987, Simon Furman began writing the US
Transformers series in addition to the UK comics, and immediately set in motion an epic Unicron-themed story. Unicron soon made his presence known to the Transformers much earlier than 2005.
A battle between the Autobot Classic Pretenders
and the Decepticons' Mayhem Attack Squad at the centre of Cybertron had the unfortunate side effect of waking the slumbering Primus, who was struck by a stray laser blast and awoke with a scream. Although he immediately sank back into slumber, Primus's scream echoed throughout the universe, to the fringes of known space where Unicron heard it. Now aware of his old enemy's location, Unicron immediately headed towards Cybertron, but, seeking a herald to sow chaos in his name ahead of his coming, used his formidable powers to send three agents - Hook, Line and Sinker, forward in time to an alternate future version of 2009. In this timeline, Unicron had succeeded in consuming Cybertron in the year 2005, and Galvatron and the Decepticons ruled Earth. This timeline's version of Galvatron was pulled back to 1990 by Hook, Line and Sinker and press-ganged into Unicron's service, but, like his predecessors, turned on his master by forcing Emirate Xaaron to awaken Primus in hopes of destroying Unicron. Primus possessed Xaaron's form and attempted to hold off Unicron, but he was weak, and his attack was a ruse, leading to his own destruction, which in turn (along with a direct attack by Galvatron) succeeded in galvanising the Autobots and Decepticons to attack Unicron together. Ultimately, they did little damage, and many Transformers died, before Optimus Prime was able to use the Matrix to destroy Unicron, exploding his body from within.
. Unicron proved to be Welles' final role, as he died a few days after completing work on the project; rumors persist that Welles did not complete recording of all his lines, and that Leonard Nimoy
filled in for him, but the film's voice director Wally Burr
and actress Susan Blu
refute the claim. There were two early attempts to produce Unicron toys for the Transformers toyline, featuring voice clips from Welles himself, but the results never made it to production. It was not until 2003 that a production Unicron toy was made. For the 20th anniversary of the original movie, Diamond Select released an eight and a half inch tall statue of Unicron and Rodimus Prime.
The third season of the Transformers animated series continued Unicron's story from where the movie left off, as the planet-eater's deactivated head settled into orbit around Cybertron
, a grisly monument to the moons he had destroyed. His head was soon visited by Cyclonus
, who accessed the memory bank to discern the fate of Galvatron, who had been hurled from Unicron through space by Rodimus Prime. Some time later (Episode 81: "Ghost in the Machine"), the ghost of deceased Decepticon Starscream
reactivated Unicron's head and entered into a bargain with him, performing three labors in exchange for the restoration of his body. Starscream (inhabiting and controlling Scourge
's body) gathered for Unicron Metroplex
's eyes (breaking one and replacing it with one from Trypticon
) and Trypticon's transformation cog, and then began connecting his head to Cybertron, which would become Unicron's new body. Starscream demanded that Unicron restore his own body so that he could complete the required connections; but once Unicron had done so, Starscream, somewhat predictably, double-crossed him and refused to finish the job. Unicron's head was subsequently blown off into space by an explosion instigated by the Autobots.
Later, when searching for a new supply of positrons (anti-electrons), the Decepticons ventured to Unicron's head, where Cyclonus and Scourge accidentally awoke the slumbering demi-god. At the same time, Grimlock
- who had gained super-intelligence through an infusion of anti-electrons - had constructed from pieces of Unicron's head the Technobots
, and one of their number, Strafe, severed enough of Unicron's neural connections to shut him back down.
Although Unicron himself did not appear again, his origin in the animated series was later revealed. Unicron was created near the beginning of the universe by the diminutive genius known as Primacron, who intended for him to devour all life in the universe, leaving a blank slate that Primacron could use as he saw fit. However, Unicron turned upon Primacron, deciding that he would rule the universe and subsequently setting out to achieve that goal.
Unicron's head was seen one last time as Primacron's new creation had crippled Cybertron. This time the head looked very old and almost stone-like, underlining that Unicron was finally dead.
When the Generation 2 animated series was aired, animated bits of the film with Unicron in it were edited into the episode "More Than Meets The Eye Part 1."
Although the real Unicron did not make any appearances in 1996's CGI animated series, Beast Wars
, his legend held strong. Starscream's ghost spun a lie that claimed Unicron had destroyed him (Unicron's planet mode was seen in Starscream
's fabricated flashback), and when the mysterious alien race known as the Vok
directly communicated with Maximal
leader Optimus Primal
, they searched his mind for an image that he would fear and respect, found Unicron and took his form. Later, in Season 3 of Beast Wars, it was revealed that Tarantulas
had attempted to destroy both Autobots and Decepticons in the Ark
, as he and the Tripredacus Council were descended from a different lineage than Autobot or Decepticon, and would hence inherit Cybertron all to themselves. Although never directly stated, it is implied that the ancestor of Tarantulas and the Council is in fact Unicron; Megatron refers to Tarantulas as "Unicron's spawn" in the Beast Wars episode "Nemesis Part 1". In Episode 16 of Beast Machines
, Rattrap called Megatron's floating head a tribute to Unicron.
Conversely, Unicron played a large role in the two Japanese-exclusive animated Beast Wars series, Beast Wars II
and Beast Wars Neo
. Following the events of The Transformers: The Movie and Unicron's demise, the Angolmois energy that gave Unicron life was left sealed within planet Gaia (a future version of Earth). When the war on this planet between the forces of Maximal leader LioConvoy
and Predacon
leader Galvatron (a different individual bearing the same name as Unicron's original creation) culminated in the explosion of Galvatron's Nemesis battle fortress, the resultant energy surge revived Unicron's consciousness. Seeking to complete his resurrection, he created the Blentrons to gather the Angolmois Capsules his life-energy was now sealed in, and then proceeded to possess the lifeless body of Galvatron as a temporary host. After gathering the capsules, Unicron attempted to make Cybertron his new body, but was finally defeated by Maximal commander Big Convoy and his Matrix Cannon.
As with his original incarnation, there was a failed attempt to make Unicron into a toy for the Beast Wars Neo line, and although regarded as quite impressive, the prototype - which, notably, does not resemble Unicron from the Beast Wars Neo series at all - did not make it into the production.
In contrast to his major roles in the Marvel comics, the cancellation of the Dreamwave
Transformers comics meant that Unicron would play a much lesser role in events. His presence was first hinted at in the second "War Within" arc, where the Fallen
enlisted the Chaos
Trinity
(Bludgeon
, Bugly
and Mindwipe
) to capture a number of Transformers (Grimlock
, Blitzwing
, Jetfire
and Hot Spot) for an arcane ritual to summon the Fallen's Master. It failed, due to a combined strike by Prowl
's Autobots and Shockwave's
Decepticons, with the Fallen being killed by Primus
himself.
He would make his first mainstream appearance in volume 3, issue 1 of the main Generation One series, seemingly summoned by Shockwave at the end of the previous volume. Here it is revealed that he had dispatched Scourge at the head of a huge armada of Sweeps
to search the galaxy for Cybertron. Scourge
located it, but was shot in the back and deactivated by Shockwave, who used analysis of his body to create the Triple Changer
s. Unicron then destroyed Lithone, before beginning to journey to Earth. Dreamwave went bankrupt and the next issue was never released. Writer Chris Sarracini has indicated that he would have followed through on the Unicron storyline, and also would have had the Dreamwave version of Cyclonus rescue Scourge from US government study.
would meet with the cult Cobra-La
and discover they had allied themselves with Unicron. One of Optimus Prime
's visions of the future showed Mindbender and Unicron as a coming threat - a prophecy that came to pass in the fourth crossover "Black Horizon".
Apparently banished from his world thousands of years ago, Unicron travelled the galaxy, devouring planets to quench his hunger and taking their populations as slaves to maintain his inner body works. However, when attacking the seemingly primitive and defenseless Earth, Unicron ran into trouble. A strange set of non-human creatures
opposed Unicron, threatening to attack him with a metal devouring organic spore. Before the two sides could annihilate each other, an agreement was reached favouring both parties. The creatures would go into hiding, allowing humanity to develop. Then, when they had reached a sufficient technological level to serve as slaves for Unicron's inner workings, the creatures would call Unicron. He would destroy humanity and they would inherit the human-free world he left behind. Thousands of years later the pact would be kept and the creatures, now calling themselves Cobra-La, would summon Unicron via a beacon. Attacking a pirate vessel on the outskirts of a solar system, Unicron then journeyed to Earth. Hailed as the "Doom Star" by terrified humans, Unicron transformed to robot mode and prepared to destroy humanity. However, he was thwarted when Cosmos
and Flint
traveled through his mouth into his body bearing the metal-eating spores of Cobra-La. Despite the best efforts of his "anti-bodies" (the Beastformers), they delivered the spores directly to his brain. Although he was not shown to be destroyed, he was last seen entering convulsions, indicating he would no longer be a threat. It was later mentioned his body was floating around Earth.
In this continuity, Unicron is thought of as the Transformers' equivalent of the "boogeyman". The revelation that Unicron had been banished from his home planet indicates a different origin from ones used for previous incarnations of Unicron.
had ruled out Unicron in the main IDW G1 series, this did not prevent him from using Unicron in his Beast Wars series. The series opened with a disembodied Magmatron
, trapped in temporal limbo by Razorbeast at the end of The Gathering, watching the annihilation of the future Cybertron by Shokaract and Unicron. Unicron himself appeared in spectral form in issue #2, dispatching Rartorata to Earth to stop an anomaly in the timestream (the disembodied Magmatron
) from interfering in the "ascending". Unicron planned to use Shokaract as a vessel through which to reemerge into the universe and destroy Cybertron. However, his plans were defeated when an unlikely alliance of Maximals and Predacons succeeded in battling his Heralds. While this was going on Ravage
transported Shokaract into Magmatron's limbo realm. Realising the truth of Unicron's intentions, Shokaract then killed himself.
seen in Beast Wars
alters the original G1 timeline
. His interference includes trapping all the Decepticons in a spacial rift, with the knowledge that Unicron would soon be attacking Cybertron. The plan was that the Autobots would have to face Unicron unaided, and the Decepticons would then be able to return and conquer whoever prevailed. As a result of these changes, the final showdown between Optimus Prime
and Megatron does not occur, and Prime does not die. With Megatron trapped in the rift, Unicron does not encounter the Decepticon leader, and therefore does not make the Faustian Pact
to reformat him into Galvatron
.
Through the events of the story, Optimus Prime learns that the Matrix can destroy Unicron, and he and Ultra Magnus
launch an assault on the giant. Within Unicron's body, Optimus Prime is severely damaged, and although not mortally, he passes the Matrix to Magnus, who completes the mission, and the pair escape as Unicron explodes.
Unicron Trilogy
Although Unicron had played a major role in the above-mentioned Japanese series, he had not been featured as a major player in American fiction for over a decade. That all changed with the advent of the three co-produced series Transformers: Armada
, Transformers: Energon
and Transformers: Cybertron
, which reintroduced Unicron to American audiences and finally rendered him in toy form, with the Mini-Con
partner Dead End. In reference to Unicron's key role in these three series, Hasbro's head of Transformers, Aaron Archer
, has collectively dubbed them "The Unicron Trilogy".
This incarnation of Unicron was never shown to physically consume planets in the same manner as his G1 predecessor, only to blast and absorb the remains. However, during his battle with Optimus Supreme, who had grown to Unicron's size, Unicron demonstrates that he had enough power to simply destroy a planet completely without consuming it. However, several references were made to consumption, so he may indeed perform the action. For example, in one of the mini-comic books packed in with the later Armada toys, Unicron is indeed illustrated literally eating an asteroid or moon whole. This Unicron was voiced by Mark Acheson
in the US, and by Katsumi Chō
in Japan.
Transformers: Armada
A primal force of evil from the beginning of time, his origins lost to the mists of history, the Armada universe's incarnation of Unicron was the embodiment of the darkness and hate that lurks in the hearts of all beings. Having been defeated by the Autobot warrior Omega Supreme
at some time in the ancient past of Cybertron, Unicron hid himself in plain sight of the Transformers, disguised as the planet's moon. In order to re-energise himself, Unicron implanted some of his own cells within Cybertron, where they grew and "hatched", giving birth to the diminutive race of robots called the Mini-Cons. It was Unicron's intent that these small robots would increase the ferocity of the Autobot/Decepticon war, allowing Unicron to feed off the hatred that the war fermented - but as a result of interference by human children, displaced in time from the 21st century, the Mini-Cons developed sentience, and fled Cybertron, crashing on Earth, where they lay dormant for a million years.
The subsequent awakening of the Mini-Cons once again increased the pace of the war, and to hasten the proceeding, Unicron created another being from his own body, Sideways, to serve as his agent for the purpose of constantly manipulating the events on Earth to keep the balance of power forever shifting, the ferocity of both sides constantly increasing. At the culmination of his plan, the Decepticons came into possession of all three Mini-Con weapons - the Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield and the Requiem Blaster - which Sideways and Thrust then stole and used to reactivate Unicron.
Shedding his lunar skin, Unicron transformed to robot mode and turned on Cybertron as the combined Autobot/Decepticon armada attempted in vain to stop him. Optimus Prime and Megatron (now Galvatron) entered his body with the human children, and Unicron addressed them through Sideways's form, absorbing all but Optimus into his collective consciousness and bringing the Mini-Cons back under his control. However, from within Unicron's mind, Rad was able to use his connection to High Wire to restore the Mini-Cons' individual minds, freeing the weapons and deactivating Unicron. With the danger apparently over, Galvatron challenged Prime to a final battle, but the hatred between the foes stirred Unicron to life again, and upon realizing this, Galvatron decides to sacrifice himself to make sure there will be no more hatred. Plunging himself into Unicron's maw and allowing Optimus to escape alive, Galvatron ended the hatred, and in a mighty flash, Unicron vanished without a trace although at the end of the series he was shown orbiting earth after the autobots dropped the kids off on earth
Transformers: Energon
However, Unicron's body was inactive, badly damaged from his previous battle, and ten years after Galvatron's sacrifice a former victim of Unicron chose to strike. Within Unicron's shell, the Spark of Alpha Q, ruler of Planet Q, which Unicron had consumed in the past, still existed, and from Unicron's body he created the Terrorcon
s to gather Energon, which he would use to regenerate all the worlds Unicron had devoured. However, Megatron's corpse and Spark remained within Unicron, and slowly siphoned off some of the gathered Energon, allowing him to be reborn in a new body through the unintentional actions of Scorponok
. Hunted by Megatron, Alpha-Q then jettisoned Unicron's head and escaped in it, while Megatron took over Unicron's body and continued to gather Energon in order to rebuild Unicron to use as his ultimate weapon. As the climax of this plan neared, a joint attack by Alpha-Q, the Autobots and their human allies saw all of Earth's Energon channeled into Unicron's head, which Alpha-Q then rammed into Unicron's body. The positively-charged Energon of Earth reacted with the negatively-charged Energon running through Unicron, tearing open a fissure in reality leading to a new area of space where planets Unicron consumed were recreated and sustained through the Energon radiated from Unicron's head, which had now become a glowing red sun.
Unicron's body, damaged once more, lay in the dark reaches near the fissure, and the Decepticons began to raid Alpha-Q's new planets for the Energon necessary to revive Unicron again. This time, they succeeded, and Megatron directed Unicron's body to retrieve his head, extinguishing the Energon Sun and killing Alpha-Q in the process. But the power of Unicron proved too much for Megatron to control, as Unicron began to take over Megatron's body. In the ensuing battle Unicron's body was successfully destroyed by super-powered Optimus Supreme with help of some of the other powered Autobots. Unicron's body was destroyed - but unbeknownst to anyone, he lived on in two forms: his minuscule Spark, and his consciousness, which lay buried in Megatron's mind. With quiet, subconscious nudgings, Unicron led Megatron to a massive reservoir of "Super Energon" beneath Cybertron's surface, which transformed him into Galvatron upon his first exposure. After a series of failed battles, Galvatron proceeded to expose himself to the Super Energon once again, and this time grew to a gigantic height. Unicron seized control of his body again for a new vessel and set out to rejoin with his Spark, but a Primus
-empowered Optimus Supreme engaged him in battle once more, and drew all of Unicron's consciousness out of Galvatron and sealed it within his own Spark. Enraged, Galvatron prepared to destroy Unicron's Spark, but it merged with him, enlarging him again, leading to another battle with Optimus Supreme, this time bolstered by the combined energy of all his troops' Sparks. Meanwhile, Primus merged with the Super Energon, creating a foundling sun which arrived at the site of the battle. Taking control of his body for a brief moment, Galvatron once again sacrificed himself in order to stop Unicron, plunging himself into the infant sun, which ignited and gave new life to Alpha-Q's worlds.
Transformers: Cybertron
With Unicron's destruction in Energon, the collapse of his body resulted in the creation of an enormous black hole
which, if left unchecked, would consume and destroy everything. This necessitated that the Autobots find the Omega Lock and the four Cyber Planet Keys to save Cybertron and the universe. Later, the Cybertron Transformers learned from Primus
himself that destroying Unicron resulted in an imbalance between good (Primus, who still existed) and evil (Unicron, who was gone); this imbalance factored into the creation of the black hole, known as the Unicron Singularity in American fiction or the Grand Black Hole in Japan. His scattered pieces was absorbed by Megatron giving Megatron dark powers and causing him to look like Unicron.
However, the Japanese equivalent, Galaxy Force, made several scattered references to Unicron, as the Japanese producers for the series decided not to have Galaxy Force follow on from the events of Micron Legend (the Japanese equivalent of Armada) and Super Link (the Japanese equivalent of Energon).
The toy of Unicron in the Cybertron
series is the size of a deluxe class Transformer toy and transforms into a Cybertronian tank instead of a planet. This portrayal of Unicron is consistent with his appearance in the Cybertron strip in the Hasbro Club Collector's comic where he is portrayed at around the same size as his foes Sentinel Maximus and Omega Prime
.
' Unicron Trilogy comics were cut short halfway through their Transformers: Energon series, they were able to establish a very important piece of information that would be used to shape Unicron's story in future fiction. The Armada comic established that its version of Unicron did not merely consume worlds and seek the destruction of the singular universe - it moved from universe to universe, throughout the entire multiverse, destroying entire realities and moving on to the next until all of causality and existence was completely obliterated.
His coming in the Armada comic universe was first foreshadowed when he pulled Optimus Prime into a parallel dimension where Cybertron had been devastated. In return, Unicron sent something into our universe - the near dead Optimus Prime
of the parallel universe, who warned them of Unicron's coming before dying. Subsequently Unicron sent his Heralds - alternates of the Generation 1 versions of Galvatron
, Scourge
, Thunderwing
, Dirge
and Bludgeon
- ahead to destroy those who could oppose him (including Megatron) and capture the Mini-Con Matrix.
Galvatron was eventually killed by Megatron using the Star Saber
, and the other Heralds were eventually destroyed in their captured Decepticon base by an explosion engineered by Jetfire
. Unaware of his Heralds' failure, Unicron now threatened to destroy Prime, but the Mini-Cons and Jetfire managed to rescue Prime, with the power of the Mini-Con Matrix upgrading them and combining them into their Powerlink
ed mode. They held off Unicron long enough to escape back to their universe. Unicron then came to the Armada universe himself, where he was attacked by a combined force of Autobots and Decepticons. They distracted him long enough for the Mini-Cons to access the power of the Mini-Con
Matrix and destroy the Chaos-Bringer. Here Unicron never even transformed to robot mode.
Unicron survived, but his body was crippled and he no longer had the power to transform or even move. He was forced to employ servants to do his bidding: Alpha Q and the Terrorcon
s, who were disgruntled former Decepticons upgraded by Unicron in return for harvesting enough Energon to repower him. While they attacked Earth, a rich source of Energon, Unicron sent his four Horsemen - Rhinox
, Airazor, Terrorsaur
and Cheetor
, absorbed by Unicron in the previous battle - against Cybertron, devastating much of it before being stopped by Optimus Prime. Many of the latter Energon stories were set inside Unicron himself as Megatron, whose Spark
had also survived the previous battle, attempted to convince Prime to resurrect him in a new body, with the planet eater seemingly unaware of their actions.
Alpha Q showed signs of rebelling against Unicron, and Prime prepared to fight back from inside Unicron. However, the series was canceled before these plot threads could come to fruition. Writer Simon Furman
revealed that a future storyline of the Energon comic would have included another attack by Unicron, had the series continued.
A new Unicron figure was released at the end of the Cybertron toy line as a Deluxe-class figure with a tank-like alternate mode. Although the character did not appear in Transformers; Cybertron or its Japanese equivalent Transformers: Galaxy Force, the Hasbro Club comic served to introduce this new version of the Chaos-Bringer. In this story, the black hole contains Unicron's essence and also links him simultaneously to all Cybertrons across the Multiverse giving him the potential to wipe out Primus in one fell swoop. This course is currently being held at bay by Transformers from across the Multiverse, usually consisting of characters derived from Convention and Club exclusives as well as Cybertron figures that play no role in the television series. In one issue, Soundwave
was dispatched to Cybertron after Ramjet
and Nemesis Prime
's failure. He tosses the Dead Matrix into the black hole, releasing Unicron's spark which quickly overtakes a nearby world, converting its inhabitants into savage maniacs. With the destruction of the planet his body is reborn as a normal sized Transformer.
When Unicron eventually attacked Cybertron in the midst of the chaos caused by a Mini-Con civil war, Sentinel Maximus and Omega Prime
fought him off with the help of their allies. In the end Unicron was driven off badly wounded again, this time by Primus himself.
Unicron appears in a flashback in The Coming Storm.
.
comics by 3H Enterprises, seemingly the same Unicron as seen in Armada. This time he was able to physically eat planets like his Generation 1 self. Set after Beast Wars and Beast Machines, and his defeat by the Wreckers
, he gathered Transformers from across different realities to create an army. These Transformers were forced to fight inside Unicron, where he feasted on both the excess Energon they gave off and the Sparks of the losers. In response to this, Primus
and Alpha Trion
resurrected and reformatted Optimus Primal
to lead the fight against the Unicron. After freeing Unicron's captives, the Chaos-Bringer gathered an army of his own, dubbed "the Decepticons", to fight against Primus, which was led by Razorclaw, an alternate version of Tigerhawk, and consisted of alternate versions of Obsidian
, Tankor
and Reptilion.
Although the end of Universe did not provide a proper conclusion to the storyline, the Cybertron Club Comic would offered a possible ending. It suggested that when Optimus Prime would have been called to another dimension to fight Unicron's heralds, he would have reflected back on the final battle between Primus' forces and Unicron's army - where Unicron would have suddenly disappeared, his existence ended by the black hole created by his defeat in Transformers: Energon.
storyline as the presumed source of Dark Energon (the substance is also referred to as the "Blood of Unicron"), a form of Energon said to revive the dead. Unicron is also believed to represent the Anti-Spark (most likely a counterpart of the Allspark. In the episode "One Shall Fall", Unicron makes a cameo.
Unicron finally appears in "One Shall Rise, Part 1", voiced by John Noble. As Optimus Prime relates, Primus and the original Thirteen Primes banished Unicron from Cybertron. But as the Chaos Bringer drifted through space, he formed with various minerals to become the planet Earth, rich with Dark Energon. During the season finale, Unicron awakens as a planetary alignment brings him out of slumber. Megatron tries pledging his loyalty to Unicron but is refused. Angry that Megatron did not finish off Optimus, the last of the Primes, Unicron decides to finish the Autobot leader himself. He appeared to Optimus in a transformer-sized stone form. Optimus attempted to plea for the humans whom evolved on Earth but Unicron dismissed them as parasites. After Optimus seemingly defeated him, more stone constructs of Unicron emerge, emphasizing that he is planet Earth and can manipulate it to his own ends.
Megatron, angry that Unicron rejected him, sides with the Autobots at the moment Unicron would finish Optimus. Using the ground bridge and with Megatron's direction, they enter Unicron at the Earth's core. Optimus uses the matrix of leadership to send Unicron back into slumber. When it's done the energy of the matrix is drained, and Optimus loses all memory since becoming a prime and obtaining the matrix. He recognizes Megatron by his earlier name, "Megatronis" and himself as "Orion Pax". They leave together to the Decepticon base.
This concept began with the release of a series of Transformers: Armada trading cards by Fleer
. The biography printed on Unicron's card presented him to be one of two heralds created by the Allspark to explore the newly-birthed universe. Inspired by his Marvel Comics origin, the other herald was Primus
, and the brothers set about this task, until they came upon a region of space teeming with pure Energon. Unicron wanted this power for himself, and cut Primus down before he could report it to the Allspark, casting his brother's body into the orbit of a nearby star. And so Unicron went on to become the engine of destruction that menaced the universe in recent years.
Not long after this, the publication of Transformers: The Ultimate Guide by Dorling Kindersley
cemented this notion. Writer Simon Furman incorporated the various aspects of the Dreamwave comics story, some elements of the Fleer storyline and his original Marvel Comics origin to create what is now essentially the "definitive" origin for Unicron. In this version of events, Unicron and Primus were again twin heralds, giant metal planetoids created by the "One", who were sent to explore the universe. But Unicron was an imperfect being and turned to evil, adapting his form to transform into a giant robot. To battle him, The One gave Primus this power also, but Primus opted to remain in planet mode, and passed the transforming abilities on to thirteen robots that he created from himself; the first Transformers. One of the thirteen turned on Primus and sided with Unicron, however, and the war culminated in a battle that saw Unicron and this traitor, the "Fallen
", sucked through a black hole into another universe.
This new origin is part of the G1 timeline laid down by the Ultimate Guide, which is apparently being taken as the "official" G1 timeline for future projects that require it. This means that there is only one Unicron who has travelled from universe to universe across all the assorted Transformers continuities. This interpretation of the character is evidenced by the parallel universe spanning Transformers: Universe
toyline and convention-exclusive comic books — in which the singular Unicron captured Transformers from various alternate realities and pitted them against each other, feeding off the energies released — and the Transformers: Cybertron comic strip in the Transformers Collectors' Club fan magazine, which depicts Unicron's actions in the various realities in a chronological order and claims that Cybertron is the stable heart of the Multiverse.
The idea of a singular Unicron and Primus remains the official take on the subject, despite any contradictions in other official Transformers fiction.
). A planet-mode diameter of 1000 km has been suggested and robot-mode dimensions would follow from that estimate, provided that there is no change in size (compression or expansion) common among so many Transformers. In fact, one scene in the movie shows Jazz driving out of one of Unicron's eyes, just small enough to fit through them, though in another scene the Quintesson ship Hot Rod arrived is tiny compared with the eye. Unicron is also small enough to stand on Cybertron's surface. In season 3, it is shown that the eyes from Metroplex
and Trypticon
(both city-sized Transformers) are the perfect size to use as replacement parts when Unicron orders the ghost of Starscream to steal them. However later in the episode when Trypticon moves Unicron's head, the head is larger than Trypticon's entire body. (Note: However, the eyes could be only small components for his Optic Sensors to be reformed and/ or completed.) In the storyline "The Ultimate Doom", Cybertron appeared to be smaller than Earth's own moon (and by extension, this would indicate Lithone would be too small to be a planet), making Unicron's dimensions in the cartoon harder to define.
The comic version of Unicron may be far larger. In the first issue of Marvel Comics
Generation One Transformers comic, Cybertron is said to be around the size of Saturn
(which has a diameter of roughly 120,000 km at the equator
). As Unicron's planet mode is seen to be as large as Cybertron (if not larger) in the comics, this would suggest a diameter of 120,000+ km. The Dreamwave equivalent of Unicron may be the same size, as the Cybertron of the Dreamwave universe was also said to be the size of Saturn.
In the Transformers: Cybertron comics, the tank version of Unicron is only the same size as an average Transformer, and is shorter than the Autobots Sentinel Maximus and Omega Prime
, whom he fought.
The Transformers Prime iteration of Unicron depicts him as the center of Earth, making him a planet with sustainable life, though it has not been seen if Unicron wishes to consume other planets like his other incarnations.
Transformers universes
is an entertainment franchise. It began with the Hasbro Transformers toy line, centered on two factions of warring alien robots which are called the Autobots and the Decepticons...
and toyline. Created by Floro Dery
Floro Dery
Floro Dery is a Filipino illustrator best known for his works in the 1980s The Transformers TV series and was the visual creator of The Transformers: The Movie. He interpreted some of the toys' box art and created the models that would become the visual guidelines both for the comics book and the...
, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....
as the film's main antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also able to transform into a mechanical planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
. Unicron's origin has expanded over the years from simply being a large robot to being a god of chaos who devours realities. He often employs the help of Decepticons in his work, and in some stories is considered part of the origin of the Decepticon forces.
The Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....
The character Unicron first appeared in the opening scene of 1986's The Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....
, immediately making clear his driving goal by consuming the small world of Lithone in the year 2005. Subsequently, when the battered bodies of Decepticon leader Megatron and several of his troops were set adrift in space by Starscream
Starscream (Transformers)
Starscream is a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. He is one of the most prolific characters in the Transformers fictional work, appearing in almost all incarnations of the story. Starscream is usually portrayed with the same characterization...
following a furious battle with the 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, Unicron appeared before them and offered Megatron a deal: in exchange for a new body, and new troops, Megatron would destroy the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, the only thing that could stand in Unicron's way. Thus, Megatron became 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 began to carry out his assigned task, although he was loath to do so. When Galvatron showed any signs of opposition to Unicron's will, Unicron inflicted agonizing torture on his servant, even from a great distance, to coerce him into obedience. Following Unicron's consumption of 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...
's two moons, Galvatron successfully obtained the Matrix from 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...
, believing he could use it to bring Unicron under his control. Attempting to open the Matrix to intimidate Unicron, Galvatron only prompted his transformation into robot mode, and was swallowed by the planet-eater. Unicron proceeded to lay waste to Cybertron, halted briefly when the young Autobot, Hot Rod, crashed a Quintesson
Quintessons
Quintessons are fictional aliens from the Transformers universe. Within the TV series, they are the creators of the Transformers, although in most other fictional universes featuring the Transformers, they have no such status...
spacecraft through his eye. Finding Hot Rod inside Unicron's body, Galvatron suggested an alliance against their common enemy. However, Unicron inflicted his mental torture upon Galvatron, forcing him to fight Hot Rod. Hot Rod took the Matrix from Galvatron during the battle, and became Rodimus Prime. Rodimus threw Galvatron into space, freeing the Decepticon from Unicron's mind-control, and opened the Matrix within Unicron, destroying his body, leaving only his head, which became a moon of Cybertron.
Marvel Comics
Far more than a mere product of science, as in the cartoon, Unicron was a fallen god from before the universe existed, who sought the ultimate peace that would be granted by the destruction of all life. Amazingly, Unicron accomplished this task, wiping out all life, planets, stars and nebulae, even "the stuff of space itself" in the universe and leaving only nothingness and void. His lust for destruction finally sated, Unicron entered a deep sleep - but he had not been thorough enough. Tiny fragments of the old universe reacted with each other, and a new universe was born. As Unicron slept, the core of this new universe - somehow a sentient being - became aware of Unicron's threat and created a defender to battle his evil - PrimusPrimus (Transformers)
Primus is the "benevolent" godlike entity in the fictional Transformers comic universe who fought against the Chaos-Bringer Unicron. The Lord of the Light, Primus is the being who created the Transformers to help him defeat Unicron.-Primus and Unicron:...
, the lord of light. Unicron awoke to find himself surrounded by another universe, and simply began to destroy it again.
He and Primus clashed many times, the force of their battles wiping out the very life Primus had been created to protect. To stop this physical destruction, Primus shifted the battle to the astral plane, where he fared little better, forcing himself into what seemed to be a sacrifice play - in shifting the battle back to the physical universe without time to properly generate their energy forms, Primus entrapped both himself and Unicron in two barren asteroids. But this was not the end of Unicron - over the eons, he learned to psionically shape his asteroid, and transformed it into a metallic planet, and then again into a gargantuan robot. Primus, fearing that to follow suit by forming himself in a similar manner would simply pick up the conflict where it had left off, sought an alternative way to defend the universe against the threat of Unicron by turning his asteroid into 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...
; a planet that he populated with robotic beings that, like Unicron, could alter their forms. And thus were born the Transformers.
Unicron's slightly convoluted comic tenure began in the United Kingdom
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...
's exclusive Transformers comic series, which interspliced its own original stories with reprinted American material. Jumping at the chance to work with a new cast of characters not involved in the American comics, writer 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...
decided to cannibalize the best elements of the movie and work them into his stories, creating a future universe based on the movie's events, but different from the cartoon. In the first use of this timeline, in the mega-serial, Target: 2006, Galvatron travelled back in time in an attempt to escape the control of Unicron, but Unicron was able to ensnare the minds of three Autobots - Hot Rod, Kup
Kup
Kup is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universe. All are older Autobots who are members of the Elite Guard. Wired Magazine once nominated him as one 12 most ridiculous Transformers of all time...
and 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...
- and send them back in time after him to foil his plot. Though Unicron's role in the story itself was suitably minor, it offered the first glimpse of his greater mental power.
In the UK comics' version of post-movie events, Unicron's head did not enter Cybertron's orbit, and instead crash-landed on the Planet of Junk. Still active, Unicron used his vast mental powers to enslave the minds of the Junkion natives, who set about rebuilding his body. Cyclonus
Cyclonus
Cyclonus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:The tech spec from the box art of the Cyclonus toy describes him as a compassionless Decepticon air warrior and saboteur...
, Scourge
Scourge (Transformers)
Scourge is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. He first appeared as one of the central villains in the 1986 film The Transformers, voiced by Stan Jones. He also regularly appeared in the animated Transformers series and Transformers comic books. Since then other...
and the bounty hunter, Death's Head
Death's Head
Death's Head is a fictional comic book character, a robotic bounty hunter appearing in the books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Simon Furman and artist Geoff Senior for the company's Marvel UK imprint...
, also fell prey to him, and he used them to exacerbate the stalemated war on Cybertron to keep the Autobots busy, so that they would not learn of his impending resurrection. When Death's Head fought back against Unicron's mental control, however, Unicron rewarded his temerity by revealing the comic book version of his origin. Death's Head then aided Rodimus Prime, projecting his mind into Unicron's where they battle, until Unicron's head was destroyed by explosives, and his essence was sealed within the Matrix. Rodimus and several other future Autobots subsequently traveled back in time to 1989 and participated in the "Time Wars", but when they attempted to return to their own time afterward, they discovered that disruptions to the timestream had erased their future, and replaced it with one where the Decepticons ruled Cybertron. In this dark future, Unicron's essence emerged from the Matrix and briefly took over Rodimus Prime, before he was thwarted by the removal of the Matrix from Rodimus's body. In 2010, however, Unicron attempted this again and succeeded, controlling Rodimus's body and reshaping it into his own image, before being defeated by Rodimus's own force of will.
In 1987, Simon Furman began writing the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Transformers series in addition to the UK comics, and immediately set in motion an epic Unicron-themed story. Unicron soon made his presence known to the Transformers much earlier than 2005.
A battle between the Autobot Classic Pretenders
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:...
and the Decepticons' Mayhem Attack Squad at the centre of Cybertron had the unfortunate side effect of waking the slumbering Primus, who was struck by a stray laser blast and awoke with a scream. Although he immediately sank back into slumber, Primus's scream echoed throughout the universe, to the fringes of known space where Unicron heard it. Now aware of his old enemy's location, Unicron immediately headed towards Cybertron, but, seeking a herald to sow chaos in his name ahead of his coming, used his formidable powers to send three agents - Hook, Line and Sinker, forward in time to an alternate future version of 2009. In this timeline, Unicron had succeeded in consuming Cybertron in the year 2005, and Galvatron and the Decepticons ruled Earth. This timeline's version of Galvatron was pulled back to 1990 by Hook, Line and Sinker and press-ganged into Unicron's service, but, like his predecessors, turned on his master by forcing Emirate Xaaron to awaken Primus in hopes of destroying Unicron. Primus possessed Xaaron's form and attempted to hold off Unicron, but he was weak, and his attack was a ruse, leading to his own destruction, which in turn (along with a direct attack by Galvatron) succeeded in galvanising the Autobots and Decepticons to attack Unicron together. Ultimately, they did little damage, and many Transformers died, before Optimus Prime was able to use the Matrix to destroy Unicron, exploding his body from within.
Animated series
In The Transformers: The Movie, Unicron was voiced by Orson WellesOrson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. Unicron proved to be Welles' final role, as he died a few days after completing work on the project; rumors persist that Welles did not complete recording of all his lines, and that Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
filled in for him, but the film's voice director Wally Burr
Wally Burr
Wally Burr is an American voice actor and director. He was best known as the voice director for the Generation 1 cartoon and The Transformers: The Movie. Aside from voicing some incidental characters, he has also filled in roles for regular voice actors who were unavailable for taping. He is also...
and actress Susan Blu
Susan Blu
Susan Maria Blu , sometimes credited as Sue Blu, is an American voice actress, voice director, and casting director in American and Canadian cinema and television...
refute the claim. There were two early attempts to produce Unicron toys for the Transformers toyline, featuring voice clips from Welles himself, but the results never made it to production. It was not until 2003 that a production Unicron toy was made. For the 20th anniversary of the original movie, Diamond Select released an eight and a half inch tall statue of Unicron and Rodimus Prime.
The third season of the Transformers animated series continued Unicron's story from where the movie left off, as the planet-eater's deactivated head settled into orbit around 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...
, a grisly monument to the moons he had destroyed. His head was soon visited by Cyclonus
Cyclonus
Cyclonus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:The tech spec from the box art of the Cyclonus toy describes him as a compassionless Decepticon air warrior and saboteur...
, who accessed the memory bank to discern the fate of Galvatron, who had been hurled from Unicron through space by Rodimus Prime. Some time later (Episode 81: "Ghost in the Machine"), the ghost of deceased Decepticon Starscream
Starscream (Transformers)
Starscream is a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. He is one of the most prolific characters in the Transformers fictional work, appearing in almost all incarnations of the story. Starscream is usually portrayed with the same characterization...
reactivated Unicron's head and entered into a bargain with him, performing three labors in exchange for the restoration of his body. Starscream (inhabiting and controlling Scourge
Scourge (Transformers)
Scourge is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. He first appeared as one of the central villains in the 1986 film The Transformers, voiced by Stan Jones. He also regularly appeared in the animated Transformers series and Transformers comic books. Since then other...
's body) gathered for Unicron Metroplex
Metroplex (Transformers)
Metroplex is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series.-Transformers: Generation 1:Metroplex is capable of transforming into a battle station or a giant robot...
's eyes (breaking one and replacing it with one from Trypticon
Trypticon
Trypticon is a fictional character in the Transformers toyline.-Transformers: Generation 1:Trypticon is the Decepticons' principal command base. He has three modes: a city, a mobile battle station, and a Tyrannosaurus rex. In each mode, he has a variety of weapons...
) and Trypticon's transformation cog, and then began connecting his head to Cybertron, which would become Unicron's new body. Starscream demanded that Unicron restore his own body so that he could complete the required connections; but once Unicron had done so, Starscream, somewhat predictably, double-crossed him and refused to finish the job. Unicron's head was subsequently blown off into space by an explosion instigated by the Autobots.
Later, when searching for a new supply of positrons (anti-electrons), the Decepticons ventured to Unicron's head, where Cyclonus and Scourge accidentally awoke the slumbering demi-god. At the same time, Grimlock
Grimlock
Grimlock is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a tough leader who turns into a mechanical dinosaur...
- who had gained super-intelligence through an infusion of anti-electrons - had constructed from pieces of Unicron's head the Technobots
Technobots
The Technobots are a subgroup of five Autobots that transform into futuristic vehicles in the Transformers universe. Their counterparts are the Terrorcons.-Transformers: Generation 1:The five Technobots combine into Computron....
, and one of their number, Strafe, severed enough of Unicron's neural connections to shut him back down.
Although Unicron himself did not appear again, his origin in the animated series was later revealed. Unicron was created near the beginning of the universe by the diminutive genius known as Primacron, who intended for him to devour all life in the universe, leaving a blank slate that Primacron could use as he saw fit. However, Unicron turned upon Primacron, deciding that he would rule the universe and subsequently setting out to achieve that goal.
Unicron's head was seen one last time as Primacron's new creation had crippled Cybertron. This time the head looked very old and almost stone-like, underlining that Unicron was finally dead.
When the Generation 2 animated series was aired, animated bits of the film with Unicron in it were edited into the episode "More Than Meets The Eye Part 1."
Although the real Unicron did not make any appearances in 1996's CGI animated series, Beast Wars
Beast Wars
Transformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
, his legend held strong. Starscream's ghost spun a lie that claimed Unicron had destroyed him (Unicron's planet mode was seen in Starscream
Starscream (Transformers)
Starscream is a fictional character in the Transformers franchise. He is one of the most prolific characters in the Transformers fictional work, appearing in almost all incarnations of the story. Starscream is usually portrayed with the same characterization...
's fabricated flashback), and when the mysterious alien race known as the Vok
Vok
The Vok are a race of fictional aliens from the Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:In Transformers history, the Vok were mysterious and powerful aliens who had evolved beyond the corporeal world. Their base of operations—be it another planet, location in space, or entire dimension—is dubbed "Nexus...
directly communicated with Maximal
Maximal (Transformers)
Maximals are a faction in the Transformers series by Hasbro. They are generally depicted as respecting all life and following a path of peace before war. They follow the tenets of the Pax Cybertronia. The Maximals are opposed by the Predacons...
leader Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...
, they searched his mind for an image that he would fear and respect, found Unicron and took his form. Later, in Season 3 of Beast Wars, it was revealed that Tarantulas
Tarantulas (Transformers)
Tarantulas is a Predacon in theBeast Wars series who turns into a tarantula. Due to problems in trade-marking the name, later releases of the character were called Predacon Tarantulus by Hasbro.-Beast Wars:...
had attempted to destroy both Autobots and Decepticons in 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....
, as he and the Tripredacus Council were descended from a different lineage than Autobot or Decepticon, and would hence inherit Cybertron all to themselves. Although never directly stated, it is implied that the ancestor of Tarantulas and the Council is in fact Unicron; Megatron refers to Tarantulas as "Unicron's spawn" in the Beast Wars episode "Nemesis Part 1". In Episode 16 of Beast Machines
Beast Machines
Beast Machines is an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. Hasbro has the full distribution rights to the show as of 2011. It was a direct sequel to Beast Wars taking place within the continuity of the original Transformers series...
, Rattrap called Megatron's floating head a tribute to Unicron.
Conversely, Unicron played a large role in the two Japanese-exclusive animated Beast Wars series, Beast Wars II
Beast Wars II
refers to the 1998 Japanese Transformers television animated series, and the movie and toyline that resulted from it. While its position in the Transformers continuity has previously been unknown, the IDW Publishing comic book mini-series Beast Wars: The Gathering and comments from Transformers...
and Beast Wars Neo
Beast Wars Neo
Beast Wars Neo is a 1998 Japanese Transformers television animated series and toy line, and a sequel to Beast Wars II.-Plot:The series focuses on a battle between Maximal and Predacon factions for possession of an energy source called Angolmois. The lone "one-man army" Big Convoy is assigned the...
. Following the events of The Transformers: The Movie and Unicron's demise, the Angolmois energy that gave Unicron life was left sealed within planet Gaia (a future version of Earth). When the war on this planet between the forces of Maximal leader LioConvoy
Leo Prime
Leo Prime is a fictional character in the various Transformers universes. He is often referred to by his Japanese name Lio Convoy because his English name Leo Prime wasn't coined by Hasbro until 2006.-Beast Wars Second:...
and Predacon
Predacon (Transformers)
The Predacons usually refer to the name of several fictional Decepticon-like teams led by Megatron, however Transformers: Armada, Predacon is the name of a single character.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
leader Galvatron (a different individual bearing the same name as Unicron's original creation) culminated in the explosion of Galvatron's Nemesis battle fortress, the resultant energy surge revived Unicron's consciousness. Seeking to complete his resurrection, he created the Blentrons to gather the Angolmois Capsules his life-energy was now sealed in, and then proceeded to possess the lifeless body of Galvatron as a temporary host. After gathering the capsules, Unicron attempted to make Cybertron his new body, but was finally defeated by Maximal commander Big Convoy and his Matrix Cannon.
As with his original incarnation, there was a failed attempt to make Unicron into a toy for the Beast Wars Neo line, and although regarded as quite impressive, the prototype - which, notably, does not resemble Unicron from the Beast Wars Neo series at all - did not make it into the production.
Dreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions was a Canadian art design studio and comic book publisher founded in 1996 and is best known for their multiple Transformers comic book series...
Transformers comics meant that Unicron would play a much lesser role in events. His presence was first hinted at in the second "War Within" arc, where the Fallen
Fallen (Transformers)
The Fallen is a fictional character in the Transformers universes. According to Hasbro, he was formerly known as Megatronus Prime, and is a multiversal singularity, meaning that while he exists across the multiverse, he has no alternate-universe counterpart.-Character history:Although the Fallen's...
enlisted the Chaos
Chaos (cosmogony)
Chaos refers to the formless or void state preceding the creation of the universe or cosmos in the Greek creation myths, more specifically the initial "gap" created by the original separation of heaven and earth....
Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
(Bludgeon
Bludgeon (Transformers)
Bludgeon is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. For trademark reasons, he is now marketed by Hasbro as Decepticon Bludgeon. They are all Decepticon warriors who turn into tanks.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, Bugly
Bugly
Bugly is a fictional character from the various Transformers series. He is a Decepticon Pretender.-Transformers: Generation 1:Bugly is Decepticon Pretender, released as a toy in 1988...
and Mindwipe
Mindwipe
For the Transformers character, see Mindwipe .Mindwipe is a technique used in some science fiction scenarios, where the subject's memories and personality are erased and replaced by new memories and personality more useful to those who are carrying out the mindwiping, or to their area's...
) to capture a number of Transformers (Grimlock
Grimlock
Grimlock is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a tough leader who turns into a mechanical dinosaur...
, Blitzwing
Blitzwing
Blitzwing is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. He is always depicted as a Decepticon with two alternate forms, that of a jet and that of a tank...
, Jetfire
Jetfire
Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers universes. He is nearly always depicted as an Autobot with jet or space shuttle alternate mode.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
and Hot Spot) for an arcane ritual to summon the Fallen's Master. It failed, due to a combined strike by Prowl
Prowl (Transformers)
Prowl is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers series. "Prowl" is one of the most re-used American names in the assorted Transformers series, and its use has become almost synonymous with Autobots who possess a police car alternate mode...
's Autobots and Shockwave's
Shockwave (Transformers)
Shockwave is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series. Throughout his incarnations, he is usually distinguished by a laser cannon in lieu of one of his hands and his distinctive face, which is featureless save a single robotic eye...
Decepticons, with the Fallen being killed by Primus
Primus (Transformers)
Primus is the "benevolent" godlike entity in the fictional Transformers comic universe who fought against the Chaos-Bringer Unicron. The Lord of the Light, Primus is the being who created the Transformers to help him defeat Unicron.-Primus and Unicron:...
himself.
He would make his first mainstream appearance in volume 3, issue 1 of the main Generation One series, seemingly summoned by Shockwave at the end of the previous volume. Here it is revealed that he had dispatched Scourge at the head of a huge armada of Sweeps
Sweeps (Transformers)
The Sweeps are the names of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. They are often depicted as Heralds of Unicron.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
to search the galaxy for Cybertron. Scourge
Scourge
A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification on the back.-Description:...
located it, but was shot in the back and deactivated by Shockwave, who used analysis of his body to create the Triple Changer
Triple Changer
Triple Changers are Transformers that can transform from robot into two different alternative modes.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
s. Unicron then destroyed Lithone, before beginning to journey to Earth. Dreamwave went bankrupt and the next issue was never released. Writer Chris Sarracini has indicated that he would have followed through on the Unicron storyline, and also would have had the Dreamwave version of Cyclonus rescue Scourge from US government study.
Devil's Due Publishing
Unicron made a cameo appearance in the second G.I. Joe vs the Transformers crossover produced by Devil's Due. At the end of the arc Cobra operative Doctor MindbenderDoctor Mindbender
Dr. Mindbender is a fictional character from the 1980s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comics, and animated series. He is a scientist who works for the fictional terrorist organization Cobra.-Profile:...
would meet with the cult Cobra-La
Cobra-La
Cobra-La is a fictional civilization created by Hasbro for the military-themed toyline and TV series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Introduced to the public in G.I. Joe: The Movie and the 1987 series of action figures, Cobra-La was created as a reference to James Hilton's Lost Horizon, and the...
and discover they had allied themselves with Unicron. One of Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
's visions of the future showed Mindbender and Unicron as a coming threat - a prophecy that came to pass in the fourth crossover "Black Horizon".
Apparently banished from his world thousands of years ago, Unicron travelled the galaxy, devouring planets to quench his hunger and taking their populations as slaves to maintain his inner body works. However, when attacking the seemingly primitive and defenseless Earth, Unicron ran into trouble. A strange set of non-human creatures
Cobra-La
Cobra-La is a fictional civilization created by Hasbro for the military-themed toyline and TV series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Introduced to the public in G.I. Joe: The Movie and the 1987 series of action figures, Cobra-La was created as a reference to James Hilton's Lost Horizon, and the...
opposed Unicron, threatening to attack him with a metal devouring organic spore. Before the two sides could annihilate each other, an agreement was reached favouring both parties. The creatures would go into hiding, allowing humanity to develop. Then, when they had reached a sufficient technological level to serve as slaves for Unicron's inner workings, the creatures would call Unicron. He would destroy humanity and they would inherit the human-free world he left behind. Thousands of years later the pact would be kept and the creatures, now calling themselves Cobra-La, would summon Unicron via a beacon. Attacking a pirate vessel on the outskirts of a solar system, Unicron then journeyed to Earth. Hailed as the "Doom Star" by terrified humans, Unicron transformed to robot mode and prepared to destroy humanity. However, he was thwarted when Cosmos
Cosmos (Transformers)
Cosmos is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. He is sometimes referred to as "Autobot Cosmos" for trademark purposes.Wired Magazine once nominated him as one of the 12 most ridiculous Transformers of all time....
and Flint
Flint (G.I. Joe)
Flint is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero series. He was originally created as a character for the Sunbow cartoon series in 1984, and later introduced into the comic book and produced as an action figure in 1985.-Profile:...
traveled through his mouth into his body bearing the metal-eating spores of Cobra-La. Despite the best efforts of his "anti-bodies" (the Beastformers), they delivered the spores directly to his brain. Although he was not shown to be destroyed, he was last seen entering convulsions, indicating he would no longer be a threat. It was later mentioned his body was floating around Earth.
In this continuity, Unicron is thought of as the Transformers' equivalent of the "boogeyman". The revelation that Unicron had been banished from his home planet indicates a different origin from ones used for previous incarnations of Unicron.
IDW Publishing
While writer Simon FurmanSimon 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 ruled out Unicron in the main IDW G1 series, this did not prevent him from using Unicron in his Beast Wars series. The series opened with a disembodied Magmatron
Magmatron
Magmatron is a Transformers character who first appeared in the Japanese Beast Wars Neo series, was later released in the American Beast Machines Dinobots toy line, and most recently in official Beast Wars comic continuity.-Beast Wars Neo:...
, trapped in temporal limbo by Razorbeast at the end of The Gathering, watching the annihilation of the future Cybertron by Shokaract and Unicron. Unicron himself appeared in spectral form in issue #2, dispatching Rartorata to Earth to stop an anomaly in the timestream (the disembodied Magmatron
Magmatron
Magmatron is a Transformers character who first appeared in the Japanese Beast Wars Neo series, was later released in the American Beast Machines Dinobots toy line, and most recently in official Beast Wars comic continuity.-Beast Wars Neo:...
) from interfering in the "ascending". Unicron planned to use Shokaract as a vessel through which to reemerge into the universe and destroy Cybertron. However, his plans were defeated when an unlikely alliance of Maximals and Predacons succeeded in battling his Heralds. While this was going on Ravage
Ravage (Transformers)
Ravage is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Due to the inability to trademark the common word "ravage", he is sometimes called Battle Ravage, Command Ravage or Tripredacus Agent...
transported Shokaract into Magmatron's limbo realm. Realising the truth of Unicron's intentions, Shokaract then killed himself.
Binaltech
In the Binaltech saga, the future RavageRavage (Transformers)
Ravage is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Due to the inability to trademark the common word "ravage", he is sometimes called Battle Ravage, Command Ravage or Tripredacus Agent...
seen in Beast Wars
Beast Wars
Transformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
alters the original G1 timeline
The Transformers: The Movie
The Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....
. His interference includes trapping all the Decepticons in a spacial rift, with the knowledge that Unicron would soon be attacking Cybertron. The plan was that the Autobots would have to face Unicron unaided, and the Decepticons would then be able to return and conquer whoever prevailed. As a result of these changes, the final showdown between Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
and Megatron does not occur, and Prime does not die. With Megatron trapped in the rift, Unicron does not encounter the Decepticon leader, and therefore does not make the Faustian Pact
Deal with the Devil
Deal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
to reformat him into 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...
.
Through the events of the story, Optimus Prime learns that the Matrix can destroy Unicron, and he and 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...
launch an assault on the giant. Within Unicron's body, Optimus Prime is severely damaged, and although not mortally, he passes the Matrix to Magnus, who completes the mission, and the pair escape as Unicron explodes.
Unicron TrilogyUnicron TrilogyThe Unicron Trilogy is a series of television programs, comic books, and toy franchises in the Transformers maxi-series. It deals with the approach of the Transformer chaos-bringer Unicron and the aftermath of his destruction...
Although Unicron had played a major role in the above-mentioned Japanese series, he had not been featured as a major player in American fiction for over a decade. That all changed with the advent of the three co-produced series 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...
, Transformers: Energon
Transformers: 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...
and Transformers: Cybertron
Transformers: Cybertron
Transformers: Cybertron, known in Japan originally as , is the 2005-2007 Transformers toy line and animated series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara...
, which reintroduced Unicron to American audiences and finally rendered him in toy form, with 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...
partner Dead End. In reference to Unicron's key role in these three series, Hasbro's head of Transformers, Aaron Archer
Aaron Archer
Aaron C. Archer is a toy designer for the Hasbro toy company from 1995 onwards. Archer has worked on toy lines including Batman, Star Wars, and Alien Resurrection, amongst others. Archer's earliest Transformers work were designs for the later Beast Wars toys, including Transmetal 2 Megatron,...
, has collectively dubbed them "The Unicron Trilogy".
This incarnation of Unicron was never shown to physically consume planets in the same manner as his G1 predecessor, only to blast and absorb the remains. However, during his battle with Optimus Supreme, who had grown to Unicron's size, Unicron demonstrates that he had enough power to simply destroy a planet completely without consuming it. However, several references were made to consumption, so he may indeed perform the action. For example, in one of the mini-comic books packed in with the later Armada toys, Unicron is indeed illustrated literally eating an asteroid or moon whole. This Unicron was voiced by Mark Acheson
Mark Acheson
Mark Acheson is a Canadian actor, who works for the Ocean Group Company. He was the narrator in Transformers: Energon, and also voiced Unicron in Transformers: Armada, including the voice of Crumplezone in Transformers: Cybertron...
in the US, and by Katsumi Chō
Katsumi Cho
is a Japanese voice actor from Gunma Prefecture affiliated with the Seinenza Theater Company.-Television animation:*009-1 *Atashin'chi *The Boondocks is a Japanese voice actor from Gunma Prefecture affiliated with the Seinenza Theater Company.-Television animation:*009-1 (Iron Heart)*Atashin'chi...
in Japan.
Transformers: ArmadaTransformers: ArmadaTransformers: 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...
A primal force of evil from the beginning of time, his origins lost to the mists of history, the Armada universe's incarnation of Unicron was the embodiment of the darkness and hate that lurks in the hearts of all beings. Having been defeated by the Autobot warrior Omega SupremeOmega Supreme
Omega Supreme is the name of a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. He is always an Autobot and is often depicted as a gigantic transformer with vast strength and/or overwhelming firepower.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
at some time in the ancient past of Cybertron, Unicron hid himself in plain sight of the Transformers, disguised as the planet's moon. In order to re-energise himself, Unicron implanted some of his own cells within Cybertron, where they grew and "hatched", giving birth to the diminutive race of robots called the Mini-Cons. It was Unicron's intent that these small robots would increase the ferocity of the Autobot/Decepticon war, allowing Unicron to feed off the hatred that the war fermented - but as a result of interference by human children, displaced in time from the 21st century, the Mini-Cons developed sentience, and fled Cybertron, crashing on Earth, where they lay dormant for a million years.
The subsequent awakening of the Mini-Cons once again increased the pace of the war, and to hasten the proceeding, Unicron created another being from his own body, Sideways, to serve as his agent for the purpose of constantly manipulating the events on Earth to keep the balance of power forever shifting, the ferocity of both sides constantly increasing. At the culmination of his plan, the Decepticons came into possession of all three Mini-Con weapons - the Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield and the Requiem Blaster - which Sideways and Thrust then stole and used to reactivate Unicron.
Shedding his lunar skin, Unicron transformed to robot mode and turned on Cybertron as the combined Autobot/Decepticon armada attempted in vain to stop him. Optimus Prime and Megatron (now Galvatron) entered his body with the human children, and Unicron addressed them through Sideways's form, absorbing all but Optimus into his collective consciousness and bringing the Mini-Cons back under his control. However, from within Unicron's mind, Rad was able to use his connection to High Wire to restore the Mini-Cons' individual minds, freeing the weapons and deactivating Unicron. With the danger apparently over, Galvatron challenged Prime to a final battle, but the hatred between the foes stirred Unicron to life again, and upon realizing this, Galvatron decides to sacrifice himself to make sure there will be no more hatred. Plunging himself into Unicron's maw and allowing Optimus to escape alive, Galvatron ended the hatred, and in a mighty flash, Unicron vanished without a trace although at the end of the series he was shown orbiting earth after the autobots dropped the kids off on earth
Transformers: EnergonTransformers: EnergonTransformers: 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...
However, Unicron's body was inactive, badly damaged from his previous battle, and ten years after Galvatron's sacrifice a former victim of Unicron chose to strike. Within Unicron's shell, the Spark of Alpha Q, ruler of Planet Q, which Unicron had consumed in the past, still existed, and from Unicron's body he created the TerrorconTerrorcon
The name Terrorcons refers to several different groups in the Transformers toyline. They are referred to as Terrortrons in Japan.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
s to gather Energon, which he would use to regenerate all the worlds Unicron had devoured. However, Megatron's corpse and Spark remained within Unicron, and slowly siphoned off some of the gathered Energon, allowing him to be reborn in a new body through the unintentional actions of Scorponok
Scorponok
Scorponok is the name shared by several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All are Decepticons that turn into Scorpoins.- Transformers: Generation 1:...
. Hunted by Megatron, Alpha-Q then jettisoned Unicron's head and escaped in it, while Megatron took over Unicron's body and continued to gather Energon in order to rebuild Unicron to use as his ultimate weapon. As the climax of this plan neared, a joint attack by Alpha-Q, the Autobots and their human allies saw all of Earth's Energon channeled into Unicron's head, which Alpha-Q then rammed into Unicron's body. The positively-charged Energon of Earth reacted with the negatively-charged Energon running through Unicron, tearing open a fissure in reality leading to a new area of space where planets Unicron consumed were recreated and sustained through the Energon radiated from Unicron's head, which had now become a glowing red sun.
Unicron's body, damaged once more, lay in the dark reaches near the fissure, and the Decepticons began to raid Alpha-Q's new planets for the Energon necessary to revive Unicron again. This time, they succeeded, and Megatron directed Unicron's body to retrieve his head, extinguishing the Energon Sun and killing Alpha-Q in the process. But the power of Unicron proved too much for Megatron to control, as Unicron began to take over Megatron's body. In the ensuing battle Unicron's body was successfully destroyed by super-powered Optimus Supreme with help of some of the other powered Autobots. Unicron's body was destroyed - but unbeknownst to anyone, he lived on in two forms: his minuscule Spark, and his consciousness, which lay buried in Megatron's mind. With quiet, subconscious nudgings, Unicron led Megatron to a massive reservoir of "Super Energon" beneath Cybertron's surface, which transformed him into Galvatron upon his first exposure. After a series of failed battles, Galvatron proceeded to expose himself to the Super Energon once again, and this time grew to a gigantic height. Unicron seized control of his body again for a new vessel and set out to rejoin with his Spark, but a Primus
Primus (Transformers)
Primus is the "benevolent" godlike entity in the fictional Transformers comic universe who fought against the Chaos-Bringer Unicron. The Lord of the Light, Primus is the being who created the Transformers to help him defeat Unicron.-Primus and Unicron:...
-empowered Optimus Supreme engaged him in battle once more, and drew all of Unicron's consciousness out of Galvatron and sealed it within his own Spark. Enraged, Galvatron prepared to destroy Unicron's Spark, but it merged with him, enlarging him again, leading to another battle with Optimus Supreme, this time bolstered by the combined energy of all his troops' Sparks. Meanwhile, Primus merged with the Super Energon, creating a foundling sun which arrived at the site of the battle. Taking control of his body for a brief moment, Galvatron once again sacrificed himself in order to stop Unicron, plunging himself into the infant sun, which ignited and gave new life to Alpha-Q's worlds.
Transformers: CybertronTransformers: CybertronTransformers: Cybertron, known in Japan originally as , is the 2005-2007 Transformers toy line and animated series, another co-production between Hasbro and Takara...
With Unicron's destruction in Energon, the collapse of his body resulted in the creation of an enormous black holeBlack hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
which, if left unchecked, would consume and destroy everything. This necessitated that the Autobots find the Omega Lock and the four Cyber Planet Keys to save Cybertron and the universe. Later, the Cybertron Transformers learned from Primus
Primus (Transformers)
Primus is the "benevolent" godlike entity in the fictional Transformers comic universe who fought against the Chaos-Bringer Unicron. The Lord of the Light, Primus is the being who created the Transformers to help him defeat Unicron.-Primus and Unicron:...
himself that destroying Unicron resulted in an imbalance between good (Primus, who still existed) and evil (Unicron, who was gone); this imbalance factored into the creation of the black hole, known as the Unicron Singularity in American fiction or the Grand Black Hole in Japan. His scattered pieces was absorbed by Megatron giving Megatron dark powers and causing him to look like Unicron.
However, the Japanese equivalent, Galaxy Force, made several scattered references to Unicron, as the Japanese producers for the series decided not to have Galaxy Force follow on from the events of Micron Legend (the Japanese equivalent of Armada) and Super Link (the Japanese equivalent of Energon).
The toy of Unicron in the 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...
series is the size of a deluxe class Transformer toy and transforms into a Cybertronian tank instead of a planet. This portrayal of Unicron is consistent with his appearance in the Cybertron strip in the Hasbro Club Collector's comic where he is portrayed at around the same size as his foes Sentinel Maximus and Omega Prime
Omega Prime
Omega Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline. He is the combined form of Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus.-Transformers: Robots in Disguise:...
.
Dreamwave Productions
Although Dreamwave ProductionsDreamwave Productions
Dreamwave Productions was a Canadian art design studio and comic book publisher founded in 1996 and is best known for their multiple Transformers comic book series...
' Unicron Trilogy comics were cut short halfway through their Transformers: Energon series, they were able to establish a very important piece of information that would be used to shape Unicron's story in future fiction. The Armada comic established that its version of Unicron did not merely consume worlds and seek the destruction of the singular universe - it moved from universe to universe, throughout the entire multiverse, destroying entire realities and moving on to the next until all of causality and existence was completely obliterated.
His coming in the Armada comic universe was first foreshadowed when he pulled Optimus Prime into a parallel dimension where Cybertron had been devastated. In return, Unicron sent something into our universe - the near dead Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime
Optimus Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers franchise. Prime is the leader of the autobots, a faction of transforming robots from the planet Cybertron. The autobots are constantly waging war against a rival faction of transforming robots called Decepticons...
of the parallel universe, who warned them of Unicron's coming before dying. Subsequently Unicron sent his Heralds - alternates of the Generation 1 versions of 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...
, Scourge
Scourge (Transformers)
Scourge is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. He first appeared as one of the central villains in the 1986 film The Transformers, voiced by Stan Jones. He also regularly appeared in the animated Transformers series and Transformers comic books. Since then other...
, Thunderwing
Thunderwing
Thunderwing is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers series. Introduced in 1989, he was a major villain in the Marvel Comics Transformers series. Although Thunderwing was created after the US Transformers television series ended, the character of Black Shadow did appear in...
, Dirge
Dirge (Transformers)
Dirge is the name of several different fictional characters from the Transformers series. He was first introduced in 1985 as a villain in the Transformers series, appearing in the comic book by Marvel Comics and voiced by Bud Davis in the animated television series. Since then the name Dirge was...
and Bludgeon
Bludgeon (Transformers)
Bludgeon is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. For trademark reasons, he is now marketed by Hasbro as Decepticon Bludgeon. They are all Decepticon warriors who turn into tanks.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
- ahead to destroy those who could oppose him (including Megatron) and capture the Mini-Con Matrix.
Galvatron was eventually killed by Megatron using the Star Saber
Star Saber
Star Saber is the name of several fictional characters and also a legendary weapon in the Transformers toyline. He is the protagonist in the Japanese exclusive series Transformers: Victory.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, and the other Heralds were eventually destroyed in their captured Decepticon base by an explosion engineered by Jetfire
Jetfire
Jetfire is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers universes. He is nearly always depicted as an Autobot with jet or space shuttle alternate mode.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
. Unaware of his Heralds' failure, Unicron now threatened to destroy Prime, but the Mini-Cons and Jetfire managed to rescue Prime, with the power of the Mini-Con Matrix upgrading them and combining them into their Powerlink
Powerlink
Powerlink is a term from Transformers Armada and Transformers Energon that refers to a combination between two or more Transformers, or a Transformer and a robotic object.-Transformers: Armada:...
ed mode. They held off Unicron long enough to escape back to their universe. Unicron then came to the Armada universe himself, where he was attacked by a combined force of Autobots and Decepticons. They distracted him long enough for the Mini-Cons to access the power of 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...
Matrix and destroy the Chaos-Bringer. Here Unicron never even transformed to robot mode.
Unicron survived, but his body was crippled and he no longer had the power to transform or even move. He was forced to employ servants to do his bidding: Alpha Q and the Terrorcon
Terrorcon
The name Terrorcons refers to several different groups in the Transformers toyline. They are referred to as Terrortrons in Japan.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
s, who were disgruntled former Decepticons upgraded by Unicron in return for harvesting enough Energon to repower him. While they attacked Earth, a rich source of Energon, Unicron sent his four Horsemen - Rhinox
Rhinox
Rhinox is the name of three fictional characters from various Transformers universes.-Beast Wars:Rhinox's character in the Beast Wars television series is very different from how the toy was depicted. As one of the first year toys, the toy of Rhinox was created before the television series came...
, Airazor, Terrorsaur
Terrorsaur
Terrorsaur is the name of several fictional characters from the world of Transformers universes.Terror-Saur is an amalgamate of terror and saur .-Beast Wars:...
and Cheetor
Cheetor
Cheetor is several fictional characters from various Transformers universes.- Beast Wars :Cheetor's original tech spec indicated he was a seasoned and confident warrior always in search of battle with the Predacons, seemingly in contrast to his youthful and impulsive portrayal in the original show...
, absorbed by Unicron in the previous battle - against Cybertron, devastating much of it before being stopped by Optimus Prime. Many of the latter Energon stories were set inside Unicron himself as Megatron, whose Spark
Spark (Transformers)
Spark can refer to several objects in the fictional Transformers universe. A spark is usually the "soul" of a Transformer. It is also the name of several Transformers characters. An AllSpark is a term for two different objects within the Transformers media franchise. In the Beast Machines...
had also survived the previous battle, attempted to convince Prime to resurrect him in a new body, with the planet eater seemingly unaware of their actions.
Alpha Q showed signs of rebelling against Unicron, and Prime prepared to fight back from inside Unicron. However, the series was canceled before these plot threads could come to fruition. Writer 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...
revealed that a future storyline of the Energon comic would have included another attack by Unicron, had the series continued.
Fun Publications
The Transformers club comic has further developed Unicron's story for the Cybertron era, attempting to fill in the plot holes. Clarification states that Primus' chosen task in Energon was to imprison and burn away Unicron's disembodied spark within a fledgling sun. This sun was the one that was born to save Alpha-Q's world. Unfortunately, Megatron's spark, also inside, interfered and the sun collapsed, trapping Unicron's spark inside (bridging it between other universes). The black hole was born, and Megatron was freed. He used pieces of Unicron to remake his body, as well as revive Starscream, his most loyal subject. The black hole itself has begun to devour space and time, unravelling historical events and building new ones. This is the reason for the "errors" in the Cybertron animated series, as it is following a constantly reshaping universe.A new Unicron figure was released at the end of the Cybertron toy line as a Deluxe-class figure with a tank-like alternate mode. Although the character did not appear in Transformers; Cybertron or its Japanese equivalent Transformers: Galaxy Force, the Hasbro Club comic served to introduce this new version of the Chaos-Bringer. In this story, the black hole contains Unicron's essence and also links him simultaneously to all Cybertrons across the Multiverse giving him the potential to wipe out Primus in one fell swoop. This course is currently being held at bay by Transformers from across the Multiverse, usually consisting of characters derived from Convention and Club exclusives as well as Cybertron figures that play no role in the television series. In one issue, Soundwave
Soundwave (Transformers)
Soundwave is the name of several characters in the various series Transformers series. His most famous disguise is that of a microcassette recorder and has an iconic voice done by a vocoder.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
was dispatched to Cybertron after Ramjet
Ramjet (Transformers)
Ramjet is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. All have been Decepticon aligned characters who turn into jets, usually white.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
and Nemesis Prime
Nemesis Prime
Nemesis Prime is the name of several fictional characters from the Transformers storyline. He is often depicted as an evil incarnation of Optimus Prime.-Transformers: Armada:...
's failure. He tosses the Dead Matrix into the black hole, releasing Unicron's spark which quickly overtakes a nearby world, converting its inhabitants into savage maniacs. With the destruction of the planet his body is reborn as a normal sized Transformer.
When Unicron eventually attacked Cybertron in the midst of the chaos caused by a Mini-Con civil war, Sentinel Maximus and Omega Prime
Omega Prime
Omega Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline. He is the combined form of Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus.-Transformers: Robots in Disguise:...
fought him off with the help of their allies. In the end Unicron was driven off badly wounded again, this time by Primus himself.
Unicron appears in a flashback in The Coming Storm.
Video games
Unicron is among the characters appearing in the 2004 Transformers video game for the Playstation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
.
3H Enterprises
Unicron again appeared as a character in the Transformers: UniverseTransformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
comics by 3H Enterprises, seemingly the same Unicron as seen in Armada. This time he was able to physically eat planets like his Generation 1 self. Set after Beast Wars and Beast Machines, and his defeat by the Wreckers
Wreckers (Transformers)
The Wreckers are a sub-team of Autobots in the fictional Transformers universe, functioning essentially as a commando unit. They are not derived from the Transformers toyline but rather are the creation of Marvel UK writer Simon Furman, who introduces the Wreckers in the story arc Target:2006...
, he gathered Transformers from across different realities to create an army. These Transformers were forced to fight inside Unicron, where he feasted on both the excess Energon they gave off and the Sparks of the losers. In response to this, Primus
Primus (Transformers)
Primus is the "benevolent" godlike entity in the fictional Transformers comic universe who fought against the Chaos-Bringer Unicron. The Lord of the Light, Primus is the being who created the Transformers to help him defeat Unicron.-Primus and Unicron:...
and Alpha Trion
Alpha Trion
Alpha Trion is a fictional character in the various Transformers universes. Alpha Trion is one of the Thirteen Primes, thus all his portrayals are considered to be the same individual. He is generally depicted as an ancient mechanoid with a link to Optimus Prime...
resurrected and reformatted Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...
to lead the fight against the Unicron. After freeing Unicron's captives, the Chaos-Bringer gathered an army of his own, dubbed "the Decepticons", to fight against Primus, which was led by Razorclaw, an alternate version of Tigerhawk, and consisted of alternate versions of Obsidian
Obsidian (Transformers)
Obsidian is the name given to several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes.-Beast Machines:Oddly Obsidian's tech specs have little or nothing to do with the character as seen on the show, instead being described as a simple drone-general attaché.His biography indicates that he...
, Tankor
Tankor
Tankor is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:This version of Tankor, initially called Octane, is the Decepticons' fueler, in charge of storing and distributing fuel among Decepticons with vehicle modes. He is characterized as...
and Reptilion.
Although the end of Universe did not provide a proper conclusion to the storyline, the Cybertron Club Comic would offered a possible ending. It suggested that when Optimus Prime would have been called to another dimension to fight Unicron's heralds, he would have reflected back on the final battle between Primus' forces and Unicron's army - where Unicron would have suddenly disappeared, his existence ended by the black hole created by his defeat in Transformers: Energon.
Transformers: Exodus
Unicron is mentioned a number of times in the novel Transformers: Exodus.Animated series
Unicron is so far mentioned in 2010 series Transformers: PrimeTransformers: Prime
Transformers: Prime, also known as Transformers: Prime –The Animated Series, is an American computer-animated television series based on the Transformers toy franchise by Hasbro. It airs on the The Hub in the United States...
storyline as the presumed source of Dark Energon (the substance is also referred to as the "Blood of Unicron"), a form of Energon said to revive the dead. Unicron is also believed to represent the Anti-Spark (most likely a counterpart of the Allspark. In the episode "One Shall Fall", Unicron makes a cameo.
Unicron finally appears in "One Shall Rise, Part 1", voiced by John Noble. As Optimus Prime relates, Primus and the original Thirteen Primes banished Unicron from Cybertron. But as the Chaos Bringer drifted through space, he formed with various minerals to become the planet Earth, rich with Dark Energon. During the season finale, Unicron awakens as a planetary alignment brings him out of slumber. Megatron tries pledging his loyalty to Unicron but is refused. Angry that Megatron did not finish off Optimus, the last of the Primes, Unicron decides to finish the Autobot leader himself. He appeared to Optimus in a transformer-sized stone form. Optimus attempted to plea for the humans whom evolved on Earth but Unicron dismissed them as parasites. After Optimus seemingly defeated him, more stone constructs of Unicron emerge, emphasizing that he is planet Earth and can manipulate it to his own ends.
Megatron, angry that Unicron rejected him, sides with the Autobots at the moment Unicron would finish Optimus. Using the ground bridge and with Megatron's direction, they enter Unicron at the Earth's core. Optimus uses the matrix of leadership to send Unicron back into slumber. When it's done the energy of the matrix is drained, and Optimus loses all memory since becoming a prime and obtaining the matrix. He recognizes Megatron by his earlier name, "Megatronis" and himself as "Orion Pax". They leave together to the Decepticon base.
Across the multiverse
Although many of the official television and comics appearance of Unicron appear to present separate and distinct incarnations of the character, some writers have presented an interpretation of the sources that ties all the versions of Unicron together into a single continuity. Likewise, Primus is also a "multiversal singularity", but while Unicron is limited in this ability, and can only exist in one reality at a time, travelling between them, Primus co-exists in all realities simultaneously.This concept began with the release of a series of Transformers: Armada trading cards by Fleer
Fleer
The Fleer Corporation, founded by Frank H. Fleer in 1885, was the first company to successfully manufacture bubblegum; it remained a family-owned enterprise until it was taken private in 1989....
. The biography printed on Unicron's card presented him to be one of two heralds created by the Allspark to explore the newly-birthed universe. Inspired by his Marvel Comics origin, the other herald was Primus
Primus (Transformers)
Primus is the "benevolent" godlike entity in the fictional Transformers comic universe who fought against the Chaos-Bringer Unicron. The Lord of the Light, Primus is the being who created the Transformers to help him defeat Unicron.-Primus and Unicron:...
, and the brothers set about this task, until they came upon a region of space teeming with pure Energon. Unicron wanted this power for himself, and cut Primus down before he could report it to the Allspark, casting his brother's body into the orbit of a nearby star. And so Unicron went on to become the engine of destruction that menaced the universe in recent years.
Not long after this, the publication of Transformers: The Ultimate Guide by Dorling Kindersley
Dorling Kindersley
Dorling Kindersley is an international publishing company specializing in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 51 languages. It is currently part of the Penguin Group....
cemented this notion. Writer Simon Furman incorporated the various aspects of the Dreamwave comics story, some elements of the Fleer storyline and his original Marvel Comics origin to create what is now essentially the "definitive" origin for Unicron. In this version of events, Unicron and Primus were again twin heralds, giant metal planetoids created by the "One", who were sent to explore the universe. But Unicron was an imperfect being and turned to evil, adapting his form to transform into a giant robot. To battle him, The One gave Primus this power also, but Primus opted to remain in planet mode, and passed the transforming abilities on to thirteen robots that he created from himself; the first Transformers. One of the thirteen turned on Primus and sided with Unicron, however, and the war culminated in a battle that saw Unicron and this traitor, the "Fallen
Fallen (Transformers)
The Fallen is a fictional character in the Transformers universes. According to Hasbro, he was formerly known as Megatronus Prime, and is a multiversal singularity, meaning that while he exists across the multiverse, he has no alternate-universe counterpart.-Character history:Although the Fallen's...
", sucked through a black hole into another universe.
This new origin is part of the G1 timeline laid down by the Ultimate Guide, which is apparently being taken as the "official" G1 timeline for future projects that require it. This means that there is only one Unicron who has travelled from universe to universe across all the assorted Transformers continuities. This interpretation of the character is evidenced by the parallel universe spanning Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe
Transformers: Universe is a line of toys that consists of re-painted and re-released toys from various Transformers lines of toys. For the comic book series see Transformers Universe .- Toy line :...
toyline and convention-exclusive comic books — in which the singular Unicron captured Transformers from various alternate realities and pitted them against each other, feeding off the energies released — and the Transformers: Cybertron comic strip in the Transformers Collectors' Club fan magazine, which depicts Unicron's actions in the various realities in a chronological order and claims that Cybertron is the stable heart of the Multiverse.
The idea of a singular Unicron and Primus remains the official take on the subject, despite any contradictions in other official Transformers fiction.
Physical dimensions
Unicron's size is never specified in any canon materials, aside from the vague term "planet size". In Transformers: The Movie, Unicron's height appears to be anywhere from several kilometers (as when handling Galvatron) to several hundred kilometers (as when attacking and destroying Lithone and Cybertron's moons, and attacking CybertronCybertron
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...
). A planet-mode diameter of 1000 km has been suggested and robot-mode dimensions would follow from that estimate, provided that there is no change in size (compression or expansion) common among so many Transformers. In fact, one scene in the movie shows Jazz driving out of one of Unicron's eyes, just small enough to fit through them, though in another scene the Quintesson ship Hot Rod arrived is tiny compared with the eye. Unicron is also small enough to stand on Cybertron's surface. In season 3, it is shown that the eyes from Metroplex
Metroplex (Transformers)
Metroplex is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers series.-Transformers: Generation 1:Metroplex is capable of transforming into a battle station or a giant robot...
and Trypticon
Trypticon
Trypticon is a fictional character in the Transformers toyline.-Transformers: Generation 1:Trypticon is the Decepticons' principal command base. He has three modes: a city, a mobile battle station, and a Tyrannosaurus rex. In each mode, he has a variety of weapons...
(both city-sized Transformers) are the perfect size to use as replacement parts when Unicron orders the ghost of Starscream to steal them. However later in the episode when Trypticon moves Unicron's head, the head is larger than Trypticon's entire body. (Note: However, the eyes could be only small components for his Optic Sensors to be reformed and/ or completed.) In the storyline "The Ultimate Doom", Cybertron appeared to be smaller than Earth's own moon (and by extension, this would indicate Lithone would be too small to be a planet), making Unicron's dimensions in the cartoon harder to define.
The comic version of Unicron may be far larger. In the first issue of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
Generation One Transformers comic, Cybertron is said to be around the size of Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
(which has a diameter of roughly 120,000 km at the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
). As Unicron's planet mode is seen to be as large as Cybertron (if not larger) in the comics, this would suggest a diameter of 120,000+ km. The Dreamwave equivalent of Unicron may be the same size, as the Cybertron of the Dreamwave universe was also said to be the size of Saturn.
In the Transformers: Cybertron comics, the tank version of Unicron is only the same size as an average Transformer, and is shorter than the Autobots Sentinel Maximus and Omega Prime
Omega Prime
Omega Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline. He is the combined form of Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus.-Transformers: Robots in Disguise:...
, whom he fought.
The Transformers Prime iteration of Unicron depicts him as the center of Earth, making him a planet with sustainable life, though it has not been seen if Unicron wishes to consume other planets like his other incarnations.
Toys
- Generation 1 Unicron (unreleased)
- A prototype was created for a Unicron toy as far back as 1986, but owing to cost concerns, it never made it into production.
- Beast Wars Neo Unicron (unreleased)
- A giant, top heavy Unicron toy with a "shell" type transformation intended for release in Japan circa 2000, which exists only as a prototype.
- Armada Unicron with Dead End (2003)
- The Armada figure came with its own Mini-Con, which transforms into a cannon-equipped 'moon' to Unicron's 'planet', looking very similar to the Death StarDeath StarThe Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
of Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
fame. At various points in production, Unicron's Mini-Con was originally going to be called Nebulon, the name of the homeworld of the HeadmasterHeadmaster (Transformers)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...
, TargetmasterTargetmasterTargetmaster is a subline of the Transformers toyline that include Nebulan sidekicks who can transform into the Transformers' weapons.-1987 Targetmasters:...
and PowermasterPowermastersPowermasters were a sub-group within the Transformers toyline in 1988. They were defined by the inclusion of a miniature figure which "unlocked the secret of the transformation"—in other words, the toy could not transform from vehicle mode to robot mode unless the figure was transformed into engine...
partners, and also Gobotron, the homeworld of the Transformers' competitive toyline in the 80's, the Go-BotsChallenge of the GoBotsChallenge of the GoBots is an American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera, based on the Gobots toy-line released from Tonka. Most of the toys were imported from the Japanese Machine Robo toy line. The show originally debuted in animated form as a five-part miniseries, which aired in...
. Designer Aaron Archer did not want such a historical action figure to be overshadowed by a Go-Bots pun, so the name was changed to Dead End, re-using a name of one of the original Stunticons. A multitude of these Mini-Cons were featured in the Armada cartoon, although they were portrayed simply as non-transforming internal defensive "laser pods," instead of actual Mini-Cons. - This toy was voted the 52nd top toy released in the last 10 years by ToyFareToyFareToyFare was a monthly comedy and collecting magazine published by Wizard Entertainment that focused on collectible action figures, busts, statues, and maquettes. It previewed new and upcoming lines and figures each month, as well as providing a price guide for toy lines, new and old...
magazine.
- Micron Legend Lucky Draw Unicron with Bug (2003)
- A green redeco of the Armada Unicron, limited to 10 units and given away as part of the Micron Legend Yearbook 2003 mail-in contest in Japan.
- Energon Unicron with Dead End (2004)
- A redeco of the Armada toy.
- Energon McDonalds Unicron (2004)
- Given away as a Happy MealHappy MealA "Happy Meal" is a meal specifically marketed at children, sold at the fast-food chain McDonald's since June 1979. A toy is typically included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a small box or paper bag with the McDonald's logo....
toy in Europe and Australia.
- Cybertron Deluxe Unicron (2005)
- A Deluxe size figure. The figure was packaged on a Decepticon cardback, and that the character's profile in the Transformers Collectors' Club magazine also included a Decepticon symbol. The actual story featuring the character, however, continued to present him as unaffiliated, serving only his own ends. In line with this, the toy lacks a faction symbol - a rare but not unheard of occurrence in the Transformers line, with examples including MicromastersMicromastersMicromasters is a Transformers subline composed of small figures that came packaged in groups and with bases that interacted with the figures. They were sold at the peak of Galoob's Micro Machines craze and were packaged in groups of four just like Micro Machines...
, the Generation 2 Go-Bots, Cybertron Safeguard, SDCC exclusive SkywarpSkywarpSkywarp is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers toy line. He is usually depicted as a black or purple Decepticon jet with teleportation powers.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
, and movie ArmorhideArmorhideArmorhide is the name of several fictional characters from various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Robots in Disguise:Dangar is sometimes also spelled 'Danger'. Armorhide's animated appearance in the TV series is based on the Takara version...
).
- Titanium 3 inch Unicron
- A three-inch tall Decepticon which doesn't transform. It is packaged holding one of Cybertron's moons.
- Robot Heroes Optimus Prime and Unicron
- Unicron is again sold as a Decepticon in this two-pack.
- Universe Unicron with Dead End (2008)
- A Toys "R" Us exclusive re-release of the Armada figure.
- Transformers 2010 Unicron (2010)
- A redeco and remold of the Armada Unicron figure was released in late 2010 as part of Takara TomyTakara Tomyis a Japanese toy, children's merchandise and entertainment company created from the March 2006 merger of two companies: Tomy and long-time rival, Takara...
's "Welcome to Transformers 2010" promotion, which celebrates the year in which the third season of The TransformersThe 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...
was set in Japan. Designed to resemble Unicron as seen in The Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The MovieThe Transformers: The Movie is a 1986 animated feature film based on the animated series of the same name. It was released in North America on August 8, 1986 and in the UK on December 5, 1986....
, pre-release photos issued by Takara Tomy show a new head and changes to the molding of the torso, as well as deco based on his movie appearance. He retains the Mini-Con partner.
- Generations 25th Anniversary Unicron (2011)
- The U.S. release of the 2010 Unicron redeco is an Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
exclusive to commemorate the 25th anniversary of The Transformers: The Movie. The included Dead End Mini-Con is renamed Kranix (after the last remaining inhabitant of the planet Lithone).