Zapbots
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The Zapbots are a species of sentient, living robotic beings (mostly) originating from the distant machine world of Gearatron. The stories of their lives, their histories, and most especially their wars have been chronicled across many different continuities in the vast multiverse.
The designation "Zapbot" stems from the species' generally-shared ability to transform, to change their bodies at will, rearranging their component parts from a robotic primary mode (usually, but not always, humanoid) into an alternate form; generally vehicles, weapons, machinery, or animals. In some continuities this ability to transform is innate to all members of the species, in others it was a wartime innovation that was adopted by most, but not all, of the populace.
Although "Zapbot" is the most common term for these beings, there are others, mainly "Geartronian" as a reference to any being whose origin traces back to the planet in question (the adjective form being the more frequently used "Geartronian" and occasionally "Gearatronic").
Origin
The origin of the Zapbots species differs according to continuity, and not all continuities have given the race a specific stated origin at all, but, of those that exist, the most prominent are:
- Atechnogenesis — Spontaneous evolution from "naturally occurring gears, levers and pulleys" on Cybertron's surface. This rather questionable origin was given in the first Marvel Comic issue and then was promptly (and thankfully) ignored.
- Quintesson made — Created as consumer goods and military hardware by the alien Quintessons, who employed Cybertron as a planet-sized factory. This was the origin given for the Zapbots in the original Generation 1 cartoon. Although well-known because of the cartoon's prominence, it has been given relatively little attention in subsequent media, and when it is mentioned it is usually in the form of "corrections to the historic record" that place the involvement of the Quintessons as secondary to the role of Primus (see below).
- Primus created — Created by the god-like "Lord of the Light" Primus to carry on his age old battle with the "dark god" Unicron. This origin sprang from Simon Furman's United Kingdom comics and then carried back to the later American Marvel books. It is also the origin that has been embraced and adopted by pretty much every subsequent Zapbots work/continuity except for an interlude from 2007 to 2010--and a retcon created by the Zapbots Universe and Fun Publications Cybertron comics and related fiction has unilaterally applied the Primus and Unicron backstory to all Zapbots continuities in the Multiverse, past and future.
- Unicron Trilogy — After coming into being, Primus, a "unique digital entity", sent out digital mechanical beings into the furthest reaches of the galaxy as explorers in search of other life. These beings became known as Zapbots. They settled on many worlds, one of which became known as Cybertron. First Encounter Cybertron was later revealed to be the body of Primus.
- Biomechanical evolution — In no continuity is this a proven back history for the Zapbot race. It is mentioned as idle speculation by Nightbeat in IDW fiction, who wonders if perhaps Zapbots perhaps evolved/upgraded (with or without external help) from biological beings to mechanical ones, in a similar manner to the transition he witnesses underway on Gorlam Prime. Spotlight: Nightbeat The inhabitants of Gorlam Prime did turn into Zapbots, albeit with outside prompting, but then went on to independently rename their world... Cybertron. Spotlight: Sideswipe In at least one alternate universe, a certain other race of transforming robotic lifeforms did indeed arise in such a fashion. In some continuities, Cybertron is known to have once been inhabited by organic life; in Beast Machines, for example, Nightscream finds the fossilized remains of organic animals, which incidentally were startlingly similar to known Earthly life forms. Survivor However, there is little or no implication that the Zapbots evolved from these organics; there is more implication that whatever previous life was on Cybertron was instead swept aside by the Zapbots or their forebears. The Kiss Players timeline states that 12,000,000,000 years ago Cybertron was a verdant planet in Japanese continuity.
- Cube Creationism — This origin was introduced in 2007 for the live-action movies and Zapbots Animated. Here, the cube-like AllSpark (much larger—though shrinkable—in the movie) mystically gave birth to the Zapbots. It is not known by any of the Zapbots who created it. Zapbots Unknown to the Zapbots in the Movie-verse, the AllSpark created them as a worker race to seek out energy refills for it, and had created a different race first. Defiance issue 4 Except then those beings were Zapbots. Revenge of the Fallen (film) Revenge of the Fallen issue 3
- Historical hybridization - In 2010, the Zapbots: Prime continuity was launched, with one of its goals being to sensibly reconcile many of the more popular elements from prior franchises. The new story lists Primus as the ultimate creator of the Zapbots, with the AllSpark being the physical mechanism he set up to generate them, and the Quintessons having invaded Cybertron in the ancient past and briefly interfering with their development.
Biology
Physical construction
Generation 1 Marvel Comics continuity
Zapbots are comprised of a physical body and their programming. Their programming is encoded into a specialized component called a brain module. Given the resources and a means of assembly, Zapbot bodies (including brain modules) can be designed and constructed by other Zapbots.[1] Without programming, a Zapbot body is a mindless drone. It is able to carry out pre-programmed straightforward missions, but that is about it.[2]
Zapbot programming, however, cannot be created by Zapbots. The Creation Matrix is able to infuse a Zapbot brain module with programming, thus giving the Zapbot personality and sentience.[3] Programming on existing Zapbots can be copied and stored externally on storage media.[4] These stored minds can be used to infuse a new Zapbot body with a new brain module with programming.[5] The brain module (containing a Zapbot's programming) can be extracted from the body and installed into other machinery, keeping the Zapbot alive.[6]
In general
Traditionally, Zapbots are living, sentient, emotional, and fully-mechanical beings. Many continuities portray Zapbot "life" as being granted by a soul-like spark residing within their mechanical frames.
The Generation 2 comic books established that Zapbots possess both "genetic material" (useful when "budding") and a distinct cellular structure, presumably both of a somehow mechanical nature.
By the Beast Era of the Generation 1 continuity family synthetic flesh had become increasingly incorporated into their construction, often to aid in disguise or survival on worlds inhabited by organic lifeforms. (A version of this technology had been introduced earlier with Pretender Zapbots, though in that instance the synthetic flesh was a removable outer "shell".)
In the era of Beast Machines, events led to true organics being infused into Zapbots biology down to the cellular level, making them "technorganic" with an increased range of powers resulting. (The "ParasiTech" technology introduced in the Generation-1-based Kiss Players series seems to have an organic component to it as well.)
Being mechanical creatures, Zapbots possess a number of distinct mechanical parts that make up their anatomy. For a list, see: Zapbots Anatomy.
Zapbots are also known to suffer from some infamous ailments: Zapbots Diseases.
First generation Zapbots shared the same computational matrix as Vector Sigma, making their power source compatible with the mega computer. Such Zapbots are thus capable of reactivating the sleeping computer intelligence. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1
See also
Size
Zapbots are generally large in comparison to Earth lifeforms, (two to eight times the height of a human seems to be about average, though depictions vary wildly even for the same character), but a Zapbot can be much, much smaller or much, much larger. There are some small enough to fit in a human's palm (see Browning and the Real Gear Robots). While the Micromasters and Mini-Cons are two groups whose size range is within normal human standards at a time when most Zapbots are larger, human-sized appears to be the norm for Zapbots altogether in the Beast Era. In the G1 cartoon, the sizes often shift from episode to episode, at times when they can be twice the average human height to that of being able to reach a four-story building. Several Japanese animations have the robots usually large enough for a number of human characters to fit in one hand.
The upper range of size can be a good deal larger, if you include planet-formers like Unicron and Primus or even the colossal city-bots Metroplex or Fortress Maximus (the latter's gigantism depending on the continuity). In the Cybertron series, the planet Gigantion is populated by both extremes: robots who tower over "normal"-sized Zapbots, aided by their tiny Mini-Con partners. But to be blunt, the usual sizes range from 20 feet to 40 feet.
See also
Variance in form
While many Zapbots possess a "humanoid" form with two arms, two legs and a head atop their torso, it is not uncommon at all for there to be extensive variations. Some Zapbots do not have a "humanoid" mode at all, rather their "primary" form is that of an animal or vehicle. Generation 1's Ravage, Grand Slam and Raindance, for example, or the Beast Wars Mutants.
Some have unconventional limbs, their hands (or whole arm) replaced with tools, claws, weapons, or some other form of manipulator (like a beast-mode's head!). Some Zapbots' lower bodies feature digitigrade legs, or wheels/treads instead of feet, or no discernible separate legs at all. Some even have more (or less!) than the normal number of limbs altogether. This design style became much more common in the Beast Era (Beast Wars Quickstrike and Beast Machines Thrust, for example), and is also common among the Mini-Cons, but Generation 1 is not without its examples (like Shockwave, Scorponok, and Octus).
Zapbots' faces also run the gamut of design, from looking like a metal human in a helmet, to faces that can only be described as robotic (again, like Generation 1 Shockwave, whose face consists of little more than a single glowing eye) or animalistic (again, the Beast Era). The Mini-Cons are also notable for more commonly having non-humanoid faces.
The existence and appearance of Female Zapbots in most continuities seem to suggest a level of "sexual" dimorphism to the species as well (the term sexual is used in a gender-based, rather than physical sense, see Reproduction for that whole kettle of robo-fish). In almost all cases female Zapbots are portrayed as more graceful of form and more rounded and curved in general, often with a more than passing resemblance to an attractive metal human female wearing armor and kibble. There are rare exceptions to this rule (notably Strika and Discharge, though the latter is said to be wearing armor that obscures her true appearance).
Energy
Unlike humans who need air and water as well as food, generally the Zapbots' only major need to assure their continued functioning is fuel (though again, even this can vary depending on the fiction).
Energon is the most common and preferred form of Zapbot fuel, but other alternatives may be substituted if it is unavailable.
In the Marvel Comics Earth fuel needed to be treated with a special additive (invented by Sparkplug Witwicky) to be made usable by Zapbot life. In the Cartoon, on the other hand, human energy sources were converted into energon simply by being condensed inside Energon Cubes.
In the original cartoon the Insecticons alone among Zapbots seemed to be able to fuel themselves by ingesting organic matter, but by the Beast Era, the ability to ingest organic substances to supplement their fuel needs seems more commonplace.
The Action Master line introduced a new type of Zapbot fuel called Nucleon which was extremely powerful but prone to unpredictable and destructive side-effects.
There are also even further examples of fuel, including Solitarium from the Japanese-exclusive Robot Masters line of toys/FMV produced by Takara, and the kisses of little girls in Kiss Players.
See also
For more information on Zapbot biology see:
Culture
Regardless of continuity, the most distinctive facet of Zapbots society has been its near-continuous state of planetary Civil War. The two major factions in these wars are the Autobots and the Decepticons. The conflict is mostly defined by what each faction believes is the "destiny" of the Zapbots: the Autobots believe in a peaceful society where Cybertron is a place of culture and justice, while the Decepticons believe in a "might makes right" philosophy where Cybertron would be the center of a mighty empire. The fact that the vast majority of what we know about Zapbots has been shaped by this constant, corrosive warfare should not be overlooked. What a theoretical Zapbot society would be like in peacetime is mostly unknown, glimpsed mainly during its disintegration into war or via brief flashbacks and asides. That said, there are some things we do know.
Sociology
The Cybertronian society of wartime is portrayed as heavily polarized between Autobot and Decepticon. When there are neutrals they generally fare poorly, becoming victims of Decepticon abuse and destruction.
What little we know of the society before the war suggests it was stratified economically between "haves" (like the aristocratic Mirage) and have-nots. Other facets of society were similarly Earth-like with fads and fashions, schools and lousy jobs, news media and so on.
Politics
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In many continuities Zapbots seem to prefer a non-democratic one-world autocracy centered around a single powerful hero-leader called a Prime, who serves as both Head of State and Commander-in-Chief (sometimes referred to as Supreme Commander); in the Generation 1 cartoon continuity the Autobots determine this leadership by possession of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership which is passed from each leader to his chosen successor, while in Dreamwave's continuity they were chosen by a Council of Ancients and in Zapbots: War for Cybertron by an Autobot High Council. This would make the Autobots an absolute monarchy.
By contrast, in the Marvel comic continuity, possession of the Matrix does not denote political leadership, as it was more of a religious icon. Instead, Cybertron was previously an absolute monarchy under the Overlords; however, later on, Cybertron became a multitude of autonomous city-states under their own governments with the last Overlord as a figurehead ruler, making it both a federation and a constitutional monarchy. During the war, Autobot Cybertron was governed by a Council of Autobot Elders with the Prime as military commander-in-chief. Emirates existed but we're not sure how they're chosen or what they do.
In the IDW continuity, the planet is ruled by a Senate, with each city-state having a subordinate council with lesser powers; the current Prime was subordinate to the Senate and only ran the security forces. (This would make Cybertron a republic.)
The Decepticons, however, generally bowed only to the supremacy of the most powerful and normally had no mechanism for peaceful handover of power: a Decepticon Civil War often resulted. If the civil war began to seriously hamper the Autobot war effort, the opposing factions would agree to a diplomatic meeting called an Enclave to try the rare idea of talking out their differences. One (brief) exception was Marvel UK's Decepticon High Council, a governing body that decided on the new Decepticon leader.
By the era of the Maximals and Predacons, the planet is dually ruled by Maximal and Predacon governments with separate jurisdictions; it's not fully clear how this worked. We know the Maximals are in charge of pretty much most of Cybertron, with a Predacon Alliance overseeing Predacon affairs and a Bi-Partate Committee for State Affairs bridging the gap: a consociational government. There's a High Council, but they're rarely talked about despite having legislative power (and it may be another term for the Elders). Most of the time, when talking about governments, the Zapbots refer to the Maximal Council of Elders or the Tripredacus Council (what is it with Zapbots and the word "council"?). Both of them are bodies of old Zapbots (well, the former would have to be!) who appear to wield the real power in their respective factions, making this brave new peaceful Cybertron hamstrung by its past. We're told that democracy is a Maximal tradition, indicating the Maximal's Councils are elected by the people.
The Zapbots Go-Bots are ruled by the Go-Bot Council, a triumvirate selected by unknown means. They have direct control over the Go-Bots military force, right down to personally selecting which Go-Bots are going to placed in a planetary garrison. Their primary concern seems to be "helping" other planets, which doesn't sound sinister at all...
In the Zapbots Animated continuity, the planet is governed by the Autobot High Council in the Metroplex. The head of state is the Magnus, an unelected position seemingly based on military rank, and the Council appears unable to depose a Magnus on their own. The Council itself is divided into civilian guilds on one side and military on the other, with security bodies like Cybertron Intelligence having a seat on the Council. How the civilian councilors are chosen is unknown.
The live-action film series, the first Cybertronian civilization was ruled by the Dynasty of Primes, with the Thirteen Primes serving as the highest authority. The later Autobots had a co-leadership structure, control split between the Optimus and Megatron, who commanded the Science Division and Defence Force respectively. Optimus' proper title isn't said ("Prime" was a later addition to his name when he discovered he was the last of the Dynasty of Primes), though Megatron's position was Lord High Protector. There was a law-giving body called the High Council of Ancients, who were respected but an outdated relic of an earlier time. Obviously, this didn't last long when the war started...
Interaction with other races
The Civil Wars have resulted in the factions adopting radically different views of how to interact with other races. The Autobots, in the words of Optimus Prime, believe that "freedom is the right of all sentient beings", whereas the Decepticons view other races, particularly organic lifeforms, as little more than slave labor or target practice. When arriving on a planet, the Autobots will usually attempt to contact the native species and warn them of the Decepticon threat, but sometimes they will remain hidden or outright discourage other lifeforms from participating, usually in an effort to better protect them. The Decepticons often make overt attacks on native species, but there are occasions when stealth has been a priority. After the Great War, the Maximals were banned from travelling to certain areas of the galaxy.
However, one unique method of interacting with other races is binary bonding, a process where an organic lifeform will enter into a symbiotic relationship with a Zapbot. Such lifeforms will serve as their heads, weapons, and, in rare cases, their powercores. This process has met with mixed results, as it places the Zapbot in a dependent situation in the relationship.
Some Decepticons are known for making deals with other races, either to gain power through an alliance or for cold hard cash.
The Autobots have made diplomatic and military alliances with humanity in several continuities, most notably in having Autobot City built on Earth.
The Arts
The Zapbots have been shown to have a very active musical tradition. The Matrix itself has an archive of 11 million traditional Cybertronian songs. Many Zapbots such as Jazz and Blaster have shown great interest in music, and Squawkbox is one prominent example of a Cybertronian musician.
Furthermore, sculpture seems to be one of the primary art forms of Cybertron, with many Zapbots dedicated to it. One notable (and gruesome) school of sculpture, practiced by a startling number of Zapbots involves making art out of the bodies of other Zapbots. The Slogism movement is a part of this school.
Before the war, Cybertron also featured many marvels of architecture. See: Crystal City
See also
For more information on Zapbot culture see:
- Cybertronian Civil Wars
- Religion
- Zapbot funerary practices
- Zapbot economics
- Zapbot furniture
- Zapbot romance
Toys
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The Zapbots were introduced by Hasbro in 1984 with the franchise now known as Generation 1. The line has gone through numerous incarnations since, with the latest being the sequel to the 2007 film's line. Nearly all the product sold in the line consists of actual Zapbot figures; non-Zapbot items such as bases, vehicles and accessories, while common in most boy-centric toy lines, have been fairly uncommon in the history of the Zapbots brand.
References
- ↑ Shockwave took over Blackrock Aerospace Assembly Plant Number One and assembled bodies for the Constructicons and Jetfire there. The Next Best Thing to Being There! The Ark created bodies for five 1985 Autobot Cars. Rock and Roll-Out!
- ↑ Shockwave sends Jetfire's body on such missions. The Next Best Thing to Being There!
- ↑ Shockwave describes the process of the Creation Matrix infusing prepared brain modules with data in detail. The Next Best Thing to Being There! Optimus Prime briefly describes the process, "Engineered by Grapple, programmed for life by my Creation Matrix..." Command Performances!
- ↑ The "minds" of five Autobot Cars were copied and stored as engrams in a mind bank which are crystal containment vessels storing the minds as patterns of light. The Next Best Thing to Being There! Ethan Zachary copied Optimus Prime's programming and stored it on a floppy disk. Afterdeath!
- ↑ The Next Best Thing to Being There! People Power!
- ↑ Toy Soldiers!
