Bot a Day: Daily Drawings

Swoop and Grimlock combine to form this multi-limbed monstrosity: Mega-Dinobot. That combination feature is really the only reflection that these two Dinobots are part of the Energon line.  

Joining yesterday's Grimlock as the sole Dinobot representatives in Energon is trusty Swoop, the classic pterosaur design upgraded for the 21st century with large booster rockets on his back. He can combine with Grimlock to form Mega-Dinobot.

 Another classic G1 character given new life in Energon is Grimlock , leader of the Dinobots. In the case of the Energon series, there really wasn't much of a Dinobot team to lead -- a scant two Dinobots could be counted in the Autobot ranks. Part of this is because these two Dinobots were not intended to be part of the Energon line, but rather releases in the concurrent Universe line. They became late additions to Energon despite not having many of the play features present in the line. They did, though, have the ability to combine which we'll get into over the coming days.

Another cl assic name reassigned to a new Energon character, Beachcomber is a redeco of yesterday's Cliffjumper , complete with electronic sounds and spring-loaded launchers. He has a blue, white and yellow finish. In some stories, he's an energized, upgraded version of Cliffjumper, and elsewhere, he's his own separate character. Thus, he warrants his own drawing whereas I'm skipping straight-up redecos of the same character for now. Beachcomber came out in 2004.

A name that dates back to the original launch of the Transformers, this incarnation of Cliffjumper is much larger than his mini-car original from 1984 or the Mini-Con version from 2003 . He turns into a baja buggy type vehicle of futuristic design, and features electronic sound and spring-loaded missiles. Cliffjumper can Powerlinx-combine with other figures of similar scale to make a two-bot combiner. He was available in 2004. 

Jetfire's Energon incarnation is smaller than in Armada edition, but this all-new design is still pretty hefty, and works best interacting and combining with similarly-scaled "Mega"-class bots. Jetfire turns into a spaceworthy aircraft, a shuttle equipped with permanent boosters to lift him free of gravity. His US edition packs electronic sounds to accompany his transformation. He was available in 2004.

A bit of a throwback to the Armada line due to being a straight-up redeco of Scavenger , Treadbolt is a large motorized bulldozer toy packed with a Mini-con jeep, Hound. Treadbolt was a late addition to bulk out the Energon line, and thus appeared in no fiction (no comics or animated appearances). It was only later lore that established that she was a female Autobot. 

The classic character gets a name homage, if not exactly a character homage -- unlike G1 Ironhide , Energon Ironhide is a young rookie 'bot, far from the creaky old-timer from '84. He's eager and prone to hero-worship. He turns into a blue pickup truck, loaded with all sorts of tech-looking cargo that sits atop his shoulders in robot mode. In the toy, this the source of electronic sound features.

Kicker is a rare example of a featured human character who gets his own toy in the Transformers line. In Energon, Kicker is a 16 year old cyclist who is paired with Highwire, the Autobot dirtbike who is now retooled from his previous Mini-Con incarnation to be in scale with his rider figure. In a convoluted bit of toy history, Kicker is inspired by a modern Microman figure, and the Microman toyline was an antecedent of the original MicroChange toys in Japan that would form a major part of the early Transformers line. There was a version of Kicker released in Japan that is different from the Hasbro US edition, illustrated here, based on modern G.I.Joe designs.

Roadblock is a redeco of Inferno, though now he's tooled to be crane rather than a firetruck, making him an Energon-homage to G1 Autobot Grapple . In some incarnations, he's quite literally meant to be the same 'bot as Inferno, while in others he's a separate character. He was released in 2004.  

Tow-Line is another Energon Autobot who is an homage to the earlier lines. As a van, he takes inspiration from Ratchet and Ironhide, what with a big portion of his boxy vehicular body becoming a mobile platform / battle station. Some of his detailing resembles that of Skids as well. 

Though his name is an homage to an Omnibo t, Downshift's design is clearly a reference to the classic Autobot mad scientist, Wheeljack . Homages such as this were common in the year of Energon , as it coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Transformers brand. Downshift turns into a somewhat generic sports car, with similar colors as the Lancia Stratos of his G1 inspiration. He was available starting in 2004.

An homage to a classic character , Rodimus isn't t he leader as he was in Generation One , but he's still a notable Autobot in the Energon ranks, what with Optimus still in the picture. This incarnation of Rodimus turns into a long-nosed semi truck of non-specific, futuristic design and has his unmistakable livery of red and yellow flames. He was available starting in 2004. 

The classic Autobot name of Prowl is rolled out once more for Energon, now belonging to a security officer serving under Rodimus. He turns into a Cybertronic Formula-1 racer... police car? I guess it chases down criminal Formula-1 racers. 

A very boxy bot, this is Inferno, a classic name repurposed for a new character in Energon . He turns into a Cybertronic fire truck, and has the Powerlinx gimmick that lets him merge with another Autobot of a similar scale to create a two-bot combiner. 

Hot Shot, a major character in the Armada series , returns in a new format for Energon . He now turns into an Aston Martin Vanquish and has an all new body design. Leaning into the Energon gimmick, Hot Shot has "Powerlinx" ability, which in Energon means he can connect to similar toys of the same size. Hot Shot can transform into either an upper or lower torso, and then connect with an opposite Powerlinx-enabled figure, becoming a combiner of two. He was available in 2004. 

The combined form of the Air Team is the Energon-equivalent of the classic Aerialbot combiner in several ways. The original "Scramble City" conceit that allowed different limbs to be swapped holds true for Superion Maximus, streamlined by the fact that there are only two different limb designs -- Treadshot and Windrazor share the same mold, while Sky Shadow and Terradrive are twins.  Unlike the G1 Superion, Superion Maximus did not come packed with add-ons for hands and feet; rather the combination involves leveraging the snap-on "Energon" weapons that each individual limb comes with. As a result, Superion Maximus really doesn't have much in the way of hands.  Superion Maximus' individual components were rolled out over 2004 and 2005, meaning it took a while to complete. In Japan, it was only available as a boxed set.

 Storm Jet is the leader of the Air Team, and turns into a Cybertronian jet reminiscent of an SR-71 Blackbird jet. He forms the core of the combined team, and is slightly larger than the other members of the team who form the limbs. In Japan, he was released as "Afterburner." He was available at retail in 2004.

Next in the Air team line up is Windrazor (released in Japan as Firebolt). He is a redeco of Treadshot, and thus turns into a F-22 Raptor-style advanced fighter plane. He was available at retail in 2004.

Terradive is a redeco of Sky Shadow, and thus turns into an A-10 Thunderbolt "tanksmasher" ground support plane. He has a blue finish. He was available in 2004. In Japan, he was released as "Skydive."

Next in the series of Aerial Team Autobots is Treadshot. There's some conjecture that his name was originally intended to go with the A-10 Thunderbolt, as it befits a "tanksmasher" type ground support plane far more than this design that turns into a F-22 Raptor-type jet. 

Today begins a run of Autobot Aerial Team members, sort of the Energon equivalent of the classic Aerialbots . First up is Sky Shadow, an Autobot who turns into an A-10 Thunderbolt tanksmasher ground assault plane. He was available at retail starting in 2004.  

The last of the Omnicons is a straight-up redeco of Signal Flare named Offshoot, said to be his twin brother. I've been avoiding redecos, except in the cases such as these where it's supposed to be a distinct character. Sharing the same design, Offshoot turns into a MASER half-track artillery truck, and has a variety of clear red plastic "Energon" accessories. Whereas his brother is mostly finished in blue, Offshoot is a mix of greens, browns and blues, making him look a bit more military-realistic. 

The classic animated heroine from Transformers the Movie (1986) gets an Energon toy incarnation as an Omnicon released in 2004. This is the first time Arcee would turn into a motorcycle, an alt-mode that would be repeated many time in the coming years. Arcee's transparent red plastic accessories turn from motorcycle parts into a large compound bow that she masters. 

The next Omnicon in the line is Signal Flare, a long range gunner and weapons specialist. He turns into a high tech, Cybertronian half-track artillery truck, with an enormous MASER cannon turret that becomes his arm in robot mode. His figure comes with a number of transparent red plastic additions -- shaped "Energon" weapons -- that can combine into a shield, or rotor blade, or other clever configurations. He was available in 2004.

Next among the Omnicons is Strongarm, who turns into a yellow, futuristic jeep. His is loaded with clear red plastic "Energon" powered accessories that can combine into larger weapons -- a crane arm that fits into the back of his jeep mode becomes an axe, for instance. First released in late 2003, he was re-released in 2004 as "Energon Strongarm," a blue redeco of his earlier form. Since the differences are mostly cosmetic, I won't bother with that illustration.

Beginning a run of Omnicons -- a subset of Autobots that were bigger than Mini-Cons, but not as big as the main Autobots in the line. One peculiarity of the Armada/Energon/Cybertron series is that "Con" was not instantly a bad guy suffix. So you could have an Omnicon that is an Autobot. First up is Skyblast, who turns into a Cybertronic jet. In his concurrent Japanese release, he went by the name "Airglide." 

The combination of the last two illustrations, Perceptor here wields the Energon Saber. Perceptor is made up of the redesigned Street Action Mini-Con Team ( Grindor, Sureshock and High Wire ). The sword is essentially a retool of the Star Saber, made up of Skyboom, Scattor and Wreckage .

The Street Action Mini-Con Team from Armada gets revisited, reformatted and rereleased a year later in Energon with all new designs. Grindor (left) is now a hoverboard. In the back is Sureshock, who now turns into a 4-wheel ATV. And High Wire is now a dirtbike. This trio also combines to create a larger 'bot, who will get another drawing. 

Starting the Transformers: Energon series today, the follow-up to the smash hit Transformers Armada:  line that brought the toyline back to the shelves in a big way. Aligning with the 20th anniversary of the brand, Energon drew a lot of attention, with an animated series supporting the line. Whereas Armada introduced a big new play element in Mini-Cons, Energon focused more on combination and clear plastic energon-based weapons and accessories. That's not to say there weren't Mini-Cons however. The first drawing is of the flying trio of Skyboom, Scattor and Wreckage, which are redecos and retoolings of the Air Defense Team , though they are intended to be new characters. The retooling adds details that turns formerly terrestrial aircraft shapes into high tech Cybertronian sci fi designs. Skyboom is a retool of Sonar, who now turns into a Cybertronian shuttle. Scattor is a retool of Jetstorm, who turns into a Cybertronian plane. And Wreckage has no relationship to the other Mini...