Transtector

A transtector (トランステクター toransutekutā) is a non-sentient Transformer body controlled by a smaller being.

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Headmasters cartoon and manga

Head sold separately.

During the wars on Cybertron millions of years ago, many Transformers evacuated the planet to escape the conflict. The Mystery of Planet Master One ship's worth of refugees, diminutive robots led by Fortress, crash landed on the planet Master, where hazardous environmental conditions caused the deaths of the majority of the group over the years. The need for survival fostered several technological advances, not least of all the invention of larger, stronger bodies called transtectors, that would allow them to better endure the hardships of Master. The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery Select members of the group underwent rigorous training to advance their physical and mental condition and master the art of transformation, and then connected to these transtectors as heads, becoming the Headmasters. The Master Sword Is in Danger!! Some of the Headmasters, led by Scorponok, later rebelled against Fortress's leadership and were exiled from Master, joining up with Galvatron's Decepticons. The Mystery of Planet Master Scorponok later usurped Galvatron's leadership and arranged for the construction of a gigantic city-sized transtector for himself, so to combat Fortress's own Battleship Maximus. Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears

In connecting to the transtectors—with a shout of "Head On!"—the smaller Cybertronians become fully linked to them, to the extent that they are extensions of their own body. They can, however, exchange transtectors with their fellow Headmasters through a procedure called the "Cross Head On", which allows them to move from transtector to transtector for various purposes—be it to exploit the different ability levels of each transtector for a given situation, to swap or combine their personal energy supplies to recharge or supercharge themselves, The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery or, in one instance, for something so mundane as the relay of information across the battlefield. Battle for Defense of the False Planet In transforming to vehicle mode, the Headmasters utilise a process known as the "Transform Dash", the precise powers of which are unclear.

Super-God Masterforce cartoon

After the Decepticons were repelled from Earth at the conclusion of Scorponok's campaign, the war continued to rage in space, where the advanced technology from Master formed the backbone of the conflict. Learning of the possibility of Decepticon activity brewing on Earth, but with limited means of getting there themselves, the Autobots yielded a new leap in technology, developing Master-Braces that would allow human beings to combine with transtectors. Dispatched to Earth aboard a transport ship, the shipment of transtectors was intercepted by the Decepticon Pretenders, The Headmasters Now!! who stole three of the devices. The remaining transtectors made it into Autobot hands and were used to create the Headmaster Juniors, while the Decepticons did the same for their side with their stolen ones. Birth! Headmaster Jrs

A different, more mysterious breed of transtector would later come to be involved in the Masterforce War. Constructed in a region of space known as G Nebula 89, these eight transtectors—one of which was intended for use by Optimus Prime—apparently originated in the form of featureless black rocks, and were stolen by the alien entity Devil Z as part of his plan to create the ultimate super-robot lifeform. Devil Z scattered the Transtectors across Earth, where they lay in hiding for years, absorbing the planet's Chōkon Power. Shūta and Grand's Masterforce Super-Secrets! Devil Z's plan then came to fruition when he came into contact with a couple, Mega and Giga, who merged with the largest transtector, adding a human soul to it, creating Overlord, a super-powerful lifeform known as a Godmaster. They were then charged with creating a "Masterforce", bonding other humans with the scattered transtectors to create more Godmasters.

Some of the transtectors retained their form as black rocks, while others took on vehicular forms through unexplained means. The transtectors that bonded to Hydra and Buster had apparently already taken form as jets when they merged with them; Super Warriors - The Godmaster Brothers likewise, the one which bonded to Ginrai was already in the form of a truck cab when he encountered it. A Hero Is Chosen - His Name Is Ginrai Ginrai's trailer, however, remained a black rock until he uncovered it at a mountain construction site, Friend or Foe!? The True Form of the Monster!! as did the transtectors belonging to Ranger and Lightfoot—while the latter's was actually mined as ore and used to build the car that became Lightfoot's transtector, Lightfoot: A Dramatic Encounter Ranger's spontaneously took vehicular form when he bonded with it. An Enemy? The Third Godmaster, Ranger The stories behind Road King Assemble! The Four Godmaster Gunmen and Doubleclouder's transtectors are unknown. Appearance!! The Final Godmaster

Hydra and Buster were later permanently bonded to their transtectors as true robotic beings by Devil Z, Battle to the Death!! God Ginrai VS Darkwings Reborn while the other Decepticons and Doubleclouder were forcibly removed from their transtectors by the villain, who used his Devil Power to bring the transtectors to life on their own. Autobots! Desperate Attack!! The Autobot transtectors, on the other hand, attained a state of true life through their combination with their human partners, which was severed with the destruction of Devil Z, leaving the now-living transtectors to leave Earth and join the larger war raging in space. A Battle... and Then...

Legends comic

In 2021, a blackball infestation caused many Autobots and Decepticon Headmasters to lose their transtectors and several others to convert their heads into Headmaster forms, placing them in need of transtectors as well. Knowing the expertise to create Transformers bodies existed in the Legends World, both sides traveled there and allied with the locals. Headmaster Chapter Prologue The Autobots joined forces with the Axalon Trading Company and got new transtectors courtesy of Rhinox, Bonus Edition Vol. 21 while the Decepticons relied on Tarantulas of Tera-Kura Co. Bonus Edition Vol. 22 Unbeknownst to the Decepticons at first, Tarantulas's animal-type transtectors were actually sentient beings. Bonus Edition Vol. 30 After Tarantulas was arrested, they had to look elsewhere: Mindwipe resurrected Devil Z and had him produce a transtector, Bonus Edition Vol. 34 while Soundblaster created one by using power of the Zodiac. Bonus Edition Vol. 36

The Autobots also continued creating transtectors at their factory in G Nebula 89, including one Triplemaster body built in an attempt to resurrect Optimus Prime. LG24 Shockwave & Cancer Prologue After this plan was abandoned, the transtector was sent to the Legends World where Ginrai claimed it and became a Godmaster again. Bonus Edition Vol. 35

Victory

The Brainmasters make use of transtectors, with small robots linking to larger robots (in this case, forming the face of the larger robot). The Brainmasters operate in reverse sequence from Headmasters, however, with the larger body being the "true" body which can download its consciousness to the smaller transtector for operations wherein a smaller-sized body is more useful. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/23 ^[1]

United EX

Both Power Core Combination and Eldedroid technologies were developed as an extension of transtector research and development. Hope for the Next Generation

Classics

Main article: Project Transtector

Wings Universe

Tornado noted the planet Master to be the home of small robots who became heads for larger bodies. Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur, 2014/04/03

By 2984, the Autobot Ginrai had gained a reputation as a legendary soldier, dating all the way back to the infamous "Transtector Incident". Apelinq's personal logs, 2014/06/19

Ask Vector Prime

In an unspecified reality, Wallbreaker and several of his Nebulon comrades discovered Master-Braces and bonded with Transtectors. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/11

2005 IDW continuity

"Sic 'em, Agnew!"

The Titan Master Infinitus used a large, lifeless robotic body to help disguise himself as "Sentinel Prime". White Heat Though his first body was destroyed beyond repair in his climatic duel with Megatron, Megatron Origin #4 Infinitus survived and went into hiding until he could build another false body for himself. Awakening four million years later, Sentinel Prime used his larger body to hold off the Autobots on Earth while his true self confronted Alpha Trion. White Light

Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

The term "transtector" referred to "Transtector Rigs"—the suits of cybernetic armor that allowed a binary-bonded organic to interface with their larger partners—and the headless mechanical bodies that they could link up with. A specific kind of Transtector, known as "Battle Transtectors", allowed a Headmaster in a Transtector Rig to link up with a mindless mechanical body and fight toe-to-toe with Cybertronians, but these were generally viewed as unreliable and prohibitively expensive. The Enigma of Combination

Minerva was originally a non-sentient Transtector until she somehow gained sentience and a cranial unit. Cobra/Con Fusion

Notes

• "Transtector" (トランステクター) is a portmanteau of "Transformer" (トランスフォーマー) and "protector" (プロテクター). "-tector" as a suffix is common in Japanese fiction for armor, shields, and protective items in general.
• Cogman in the The Last Knight toyline possesses a transtector, referred to as such by the toy design team.

References