Unicron

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Unicron is a recurring villain in the Transformers franchise, having been introduced in The Transformers: The Movie as the primary antagonist. His depiction varies between branches of the franchise; while he is often depicted as a massive Transformer with a planet alternate mode that devours worlds, different series feature him as either the creation of a mad scientist or an ancient evil that exists in opposition to Primus, creator of the Transformers.

History

Generation 1

Animated series

In The Transformers: The Movie Unicron first appears as a monstrous mechanical planet that devours the world of Lithone before setting his course for Cybertron. Apparently possessed of great powers of perception that extended far beyond his physical location, he soon learned of the death of Optimus Prime and the passage of the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus. He then intercepted Megatron and several other fallen Decepticons in space and recruited them to destroy the Matrix, naming it as the only thing that could stand in his way. He thus upgraded the villainous Transformers into his minions Galvatron, Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Sweeps, whom he followed to Cybertron where he consumed two of the planet's moons. He then reminded Galvatron of his mission, and would later punish the Decepticon leader again when Galvatron presumed that Magnus had perished.

Galvatron resented Unicron's control and quickly set out to free himself from Unicron's influence by seizing the Matrix for himself, only to find that he was unable to open it and unleash it's power. Enraged by his impudence, Unicron transformed into his massive robot mode and began attacking Cybertron, easily defeating the Decepticon defense forces and enduring the attacks of the arriving Autobots with little difficulty. Having swallowed Galvatron, he forced him to attack Hot Rod when the Autobot entered Unicron in search of the Matrix, but Hot Rod's ascension to the rank of Prime saw Galvatron's defeat and expulsion. The newly rechristened Rodimus Prime then opened the Matrix, unleashing a storm of energy that ripped Unicron's body apart, with only his head surviving the blast and going into orbit around Cybertron. In "The Five Faces of Darkness" Cyclonus and Scourge traveled to Unicron's head in order to learn what had become of Galvatron after his defeat, and were able to use Unicron's recorded surveillance to chart their leader's course.

Later, the ghostly Starscream approached Unicron for help in regaining a physical form, which Unicron agreed to in exchange for Starscream helping him regain his own. To that end, Starscream used various Decepticons to steal Metroplex's eyes and Trypticon's Transformation cog, before attempting to connect him to Cybertron so that Unicron could possess it as a new form. However, when Starscream's most recent host fled, he demanded that Unicron restore his body; Unicron did so only to be abandoned by his accomplice, though both of them were then blasted into space by explosives. The Decepticons and Autobots would visit Unicron's head again in "Grimlock's New Brain" in search of anti-electrons, but Grimlock was able to use Unicron's components to construct a new team, the Technobots. "Call of the Primitives" later revealed that Unicron had apparently been created by the alien scientist Primacron, who later unleashed a monstrous creature known as Tornedron to finish what Unicron had been unable to do.

Unicron didn't appear for the rest of the third season or in the short-lived "fourth" season of The Transformers, and he was also absent from Transformers: The Headmasters, Transformers: Super-God Masterforce, Transformers: Victory, and Transformers: Zone. However, he would be featured or mentioned in all of the Beast Wars animated series, with Starscream claiming that Unicron had destroyed him rather than Galvatron and the Vok later using his form as an avatar to communicate with Optimus Primal. Beast Machines also featured a passing mention of him, with Rattrap noting that he was undoubtedly the inspiration for Vehicon Megatron's Grand Mal flying fortress. Unicron himself featured in Beast Wars Second and Beast Wars Neo, where the competing teams of Maximals and Predacons were seeking canisters containing his scattered life energy. The latter series saw his eventual return due to the Blendtrons infusing most of his life energy into the body of Galvatron, and he finally succeeded in taking control of Cybertron before being repulsed by Big Convoy and his allies.

Marvel Comics

Unicron later featured in the Marvel Comics Transformers with an entirely different origin: here he was an ancient and powerful entity who existed in opposition to the noble Primus, creator of the Transformers. This Unicron had existed before the current universe and in fact had destroyed its predecessor along with numerous other beings like himself and Primus, but found Primus to be a match for him. As their battles endangered the universe, Primus tricked Unicron with a tactic that caused them both to become trapped within planetoids, with Primus shaping his into Cybertron while Unicron's became a world-devouring vessel of his evil. His history in the comics varies between US and UK versions; in the latter his domineering tactics led Galvatron to travel back in time in an effort to escape him, and his dismembered head later crashed on the planet Junkion which he took control of before his head was destroyed and his energies sealed with the Matrix of Leadership. Unicron later escaped briefly and attempted to turn Rodimus into his new body, but was defeated in a mental struggle with the Autobot leader.

In the US comics, Unicron learns of Primus' presence within Cybertron and moves to attack it, and to aid him in his efforts forcibly recruits a Galvatron from a possible future to serve as one of his minions. However, Primus was awakened by Emirate Xaaron, and together they fought against Unicron and were able to inspire a join Autobot-Decepticon attack against him, but Unicron was only defeated when Optimus Prime used the Matrix against him.

Dreamwave

In this continuity Unicron was opposed not only by Primus but by the Thirteen Primes, though one of them-Megatronus-sided with him against Primus before the pair were driven through a black hole. Megatronus would seek to awaken Primus so as to draw Unicron to him, but was thwarted and destroyed by his creator. Unicron would continue to search for Cybertron through his own devices, but this plotline was not seen through before Dreamwave went bankrupt.

3H Enterprises

Unicron would later return in Transformers: Universe, where his efforts to rebuild his body and restore his lost power led him to abduct Transformers from across the multiverse to either battle for his amusement or serve as his Decepticon minions.

BotCon/Fun Publications

Unicron also featured heavily in the Beast Wars related BotCon storyline Transformers: Reaching the Omega Point, in which it was revealed that much of his life force had apparently been transported through time to prehistoric Earth, where it was eventually found by the Predacon who became Shokaract. Fashioning the Matrix of Conquest to house it, Shokaract became a new embodiment of Unicron's power, seeking to conquer the entire universe. Fortunately, Primus had prepared for such an eventuality by creating the Covenant of Primus, a group of Transformers meant to face Unicron's evil in the battle known as Point Omega.

IDW Publishing

In Transformers: Dawn of the Predacus, Unicron's head is used as a base by the Tripredacus Council as they conduct experiments with transwarp and transmatter. Unicron would also feature in Beast Wars: The Ascending, in which he uses Shokaract as a host for his Angolmois energy with the intention of sacrificing the Predacon to enable his own return to physical form. However, he is thwarted by the efforts of an unlikely alliance of Maximals and Predacons, including Magmatron. Writer Simon Furman has stated that in the IDW Publishing main Transformers: Generation 1 inspired comics he has no intention of using Unicron, though the backstory of this series' Primus-a member of the Guiding Hand-states that he was created as a counterpart to an unknown being, which echoes the Unicron and Primus origin story.

Unicron also featured in Transformers: Deviations, a one shot comic that features an alternate version of the events of The Transformers: The Movie in which Optimus Prime killed Megatron rather than dying at his hands. As a result, Unicron consumed the battle-damaged Decepticons left to drift in space and later made an alliance with Starscream, whom he reformatted into Megascream. Megascream attacked the Autobots at Unicron's behest, but later rebelled when Unicron destroyed Moonbase One; Unicron was not shown to use mental powers to enforce Megascream's obedience as he had with Megatron. Unicron transformed and attacked Cybertron in the film, but was later destroyed along with Megascream's Combiner form after Hot Rod claimed the Matrix of Leadership from an injured Optimus and opened it, unleashing an explosion that consumed him and the two villains after Optimus was teleported to safety.

Unicron Trilogy

Animated series

In Transformers: Armada Unicron is the creator of the Mini-Cons and seeks to use their power to return to life after being inexplicably rendered dormant and becoming one of Cybertron's moons. His minion Sideways served as his primary agent in these efforts, and Unicron is eventually revived and seeks to destroy Cybertron. So great was his threat that Starscream sacrificed himslef in order to persuade the Decepticons to join the battle against him. However, he is challenged by an energy construct produced by the Mini-Cons, and eventually rendered dormant by the efforts of the unlikely alliance of Autobots, Decepticons, and humans. However, his reawakening is threatened when Galvatron challenges Optimus Prime to a final duel; in order to prevent him from feeding on their antagonism, Galvatron allows himself to be trapped within the depths of the monster planet.

Unicron's history is expanded in Transformers: Energon, where it is revealed that he has consumed many planets and trapped many of their inhabitants within his body. Having once fought Omega Supreme, he eventually consumed the planet of Alpha Q only to be caught in an explosion engineered by the original Scorponok that rendered him inactive. Eventually Alpha Q was reawakened within Unicron after Armada and began using the monster's powers for his own scheme, recreating the other fallen inhabitants of his planet as an army of Terrorcons that he dispatched to capture Energon. However, Galvatron-reassuming his old identity of Megatron-diverted some of the stolen Energon to his own reformatting, and soon seized control of Alpha Q's forces to revive Unicron for his own purposes. This plan wouldn't go smoothly, however, as Unicron's improving condition led him to rebel against Megatron's efforts to control him.

A confrontation between Unicron and the newly allied forces of the Autobots and Alpha Q resulted in a massive vortex being created that deposited Unicron's body and head-the former controlled by Megatron and the latter by Alpha Q-into a distant region of space, where Alpha Q began using the Energon he had collected and Unicron's head to recreate destroyed planets. Sadly, Megatron soon began stealing the Energon of these planets to complete Unicron's restoration, eventually destroying Alpha Q and recovering Unicron's head. Whole once more, Unicron began consuming Alpha Q's planets, with part of his essence possessing Shockblast until the Decepticon rebelled and Unicron destroyed him. The Autobots attempted to defeat Unicron but were outmached until Primus granted Optimus and Omega Supreme the power to become Optimus Supreme and grow to giant size, leading to a titanic battle. Unicron's body was soon completely destroyed, but his Spark was revealed to still exist and partially control Megatron; with the exception of a computer simulation in a filler episode, Megatron/Galvatron would serve as Unicron's physical form for the remainder of the series.

Unicron's evil soon threatened to consume not only Galvatron but Optimus Prime, though the Autobot leader was eventually able to absorb much of it into himself and neutralize it with the aid of his fellow Autobots. Galvatron then set out to find Unicron's Spark in space, and found it along with the human Kicker Jones. Kicker had been about to destroy Unicron's Spark with his Energon Saber, until Primus revealed his plan to use Unicron's power for good. Primus then sent all of Cybertron's Super Energon to Unicron's Spark, intending to create a new sun for Alpha Q's planets; Unicron's Spark entered Galvatron, but was brought into contact with the Super Energon when the Decepticon leader regained control and refused to allow Unicron to dictate his destiny.

In Transformers: Cybertron the Energon sun later collapsed, with the imbalance created by the absence of Unicron's evil in opposition to Primus' good creating a cosmic instability that produced a massive black hole that threatened the entire universe. Galvatron-now Megatron once again-also somehow gained possession of "the armor of Unicron" and incorporated it into his new body.

Dreamwave

In the Armada and Energon comics from Dreamwave, Unicron was revealed to be an even greater menace than previously depicted. Like Primus and the Thirteen Primes he existed as a "Multiversal singularity," with only one Unicron existing for the entire multiverse; however, while Primus and his children were spread through various manifestations, Unicron was confined to a single physical form that moved from reality to reality destroying everything in his path. Among his exploits were sending versions of Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge among other Decepticons to attack

Fun Publications

In a follow up to the events of Universe, Unicron disappeared from that conflict as a result of the Unicron Singularity-Cybertron's black hole-within which he was trapped. This phenomenon began to rewrite the history of the Unicron Trilogy universe; of greater concern was that Unicron sought to return by dispatching Nemesis Prime, Ramjet, and Dark Scorponok to use the Dead Matrix and absorb Primus' power so it could be given to him. These three heralds were defeated by the combined efforts of Vector Prime, Sentinel Maximus, Omega Prime, and Over-Run, but Soundwave secured the Matrix and delivered it to the black hole, ushering in Unicron's return. His possession of a small planet resulted in a civil war among the inhabitants and his revival in a new body, in which he later confronted Maximus and Prime before being driven off by the threat of Primus.

An alternate version of the Unicron Trilogy played out involving Unicron's Universe abduction of an Armada version of Megatron. Having witnessed Unicron's evil beforehand, this Megatron did not require the sacrifice of Starscream to motivate him to join with the Autobots; Starscream thus lived to strengthen the Autobot-Decepticon alliance, which held together better than in the main timeline. Otherwise events evidently proceeded much as they had in the animated series, and Unicron was again trapped in a singularity.

Timelines

Robots in Disguise

Shattered Glass

Aligned Continuity

Toys

  • Unicron (unreleased)
An early Unicron figure was planned but never released.
  • Armada Unicron with Dead End (2003)
A new mold that comes with a Mini-Con figures; a Lucky Draw version in green, representing the Mini-Con construct featured in the anime, was released exclusively in Japan.
  • Energon Unicron with Dead End (2003)
A recolor of the original molds in black and orange.
  • Cybertron Unicron (2006)
A new mold in which Unicron's alternate form is a tank that somewhat resembles his planet form; was released in Japan in the Transformers: United line as Ark Unicron.
  • Universe Unicron (2008)
A rerelease of the Armada mold.
  • Generation 1 Reissue Unicron with Kranix (2010)
A redeco of the Armada mold intended to more closely resemble the Transformers: The Movie version.
  • Gaia Unicron (2012)
  • Nightmare Unicron (2013)

Abilities and Traits

Unicron is typically depicted as a massively powerful being with numerous abilities. In The Transformers: The Movie he is demonstrated as devouring planets and breaking down their elements and inhabitants to fuel himself, while also exerting a powerful gravitational force that draws all but the swiftest escapees back into his hungry maw. He is also virtually invulnerable, with the Matrix of Leadership being described as the only force capable of defeating him, and thus the only thing he fears in any regard. Unicron's powers also include the ability to manipulate matter and energy, such as drawing Megatron and several other fallen Decepticons to him and then reformatting them into new, more powerful bodies. He also demonstrates a psychic connection with such minions, which he uses to inflict pain upon Galvatron when the Decepticon leader disobeys him.

Upon transforming into robot mode Unicron gains in speed and mobility, as well as gaining the ability to unleash powerful energy blasts. These include eyebeams and a mouth blast in Generation 1 and a powerful chest cannon in the Unicron Trilogy. Even after most or all of his body is destroyed or rendered dormant he possesses power, such as granting Starscream a new body and reviving beings he'd previously consumed to serve as his minions.

A running trait in several series is Unicron's life force, which known alternatively by the names Angolmois, Dark Energon, and the Blood of Unicron. This substance is generally depicted as being corruptive, serving as both a narcotic and a strengthening agent among Cybertronians.

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