Combiner
From Transformers Wiki
A combiner (sometimes capitalized, sometimes not) is a group of Transformers that assemble and combine their bodies into a single machine, or that composite machine itself. Most combiners form a larger Super Robot with its own unique personality (a character in its own right), but other varieties of combiner exist, forming vehicles, weapons, or other items. Combiners tend to be considerably larger and more powerful than the average Transformer, equivalent to strategic-grade weapons.
A fundamental disadvantage to the combination process is that fusing five or six minds together dilutes the strength of their individual thoughts. As such, most combiner robots suffer from miniscule intelligence and occasionally insanity. However, there are a few combiners whose components specialize in synchronizing their thoughts and producing a stable combiner.
There are a number of combiner-related terms that can be easy to mix up, partially because some of them are used interchangeably. Additionally, most of them have no formal definition and thus may be used differently by different fans. Consequently, most of the discussion which follows should not be taken as the word of Primus, but as a rough description of common usage.
Terms for combiners
Combiner: As above, a member of a group of Transformers who assemble into a composite form. Also refers to that composite form itself. This is the most general term for all combining Transformers, and the most common term that has been used by Hasbro in an official capacity, starting with the Micromaster Combiners from 1990 (with the exception of the more limited "special teams" and a recent official use of the term "gestalt"), having even appeared with its own logo on the 2001 Robots in Disguise toyline packaging.
Gestalt: Generally only a "big robot" combiner with an emergent personality, but usage is imprecise. The term was coined by fans, and there was never consensus on how broadly it could be applied; for example, if Squawkbox would fall under the category or not. The term was and remains quite popular in the fandom, and it eventually gained official use as well. It's unclear when or how it first arose, but it is commonly understood to refer to gestalt psychology, wherein the word roughly means a thing that is greater than or different from the sum of its parts. (For more on its origin and meaning, see Notes.) It remained firmly in realm of fanon for years, though its appearance in some Energon design sketches showed that the term had caught on with Hasbro designers. Then in 2007, "gestalt" made its first official appearance in the bio of the Titanium Series Menasor toy, followed in the same year by the Spotlight: Optimus Prime comic (referring to Monstructor), and again in 2009 in the "First (and Second) in Flight" comic wherein Perceptor describes Jetfire's & Jetstorm's combination into Safeguard as a sort of "gestalt powerlink".
Scramble City combiner: A specific type of Generation 1 giant gestalt that follows the five-member design featured in the Japanese Scramble City toyline. The team leader is larger than the other members and forms the main body of the combiner, while the others are smaller and form the limbs. The limbs are interchangeable, although there is always a generally-accepted “normal” formation. Further, the limbs are interchangeable from one Scramble City-style combiner to another, making for a large number of bizarre combinations. (See Abomenaticus, Autobot Super Scramble, Comperian, Decepticon Super Scramble, and Scramble 7.) Limbs are also able to attach to and augment Metroplex & Metrotitan (see "Notes" below). Note that this term is purely descriptive rather than being a proper name.
Special Team: A synonym for Scramble City-style combiner. When the Scramble City toys were marketed in Europe they were referred to as Special Teams, and the term even appeared in the UK comic book series. The term was used in some marketing materials in the US, such as packing lists for the toy case assortments, but never appeared in US fiction until the Ultimate Guide was published in 2004. It was also used as the name for a Target exclusive five-pack of redecos of Cybertron Legends toys released under the Universe banner, "Special Team Leaders". Ironically, none of these toys were actually combiners—the term simply referred to the characters, since the redecos were homages to the leaders of Generation 1 combiner teams, four of which were Scramble City-style combiners.
Super Robot: A robot which is formed through the combination of two or more Transformers. Powered-up robot modes composed of only one Transformer who combines with some of their own accessories are often also referred to as Super Robots, such as Powermaster Optimus Prime or the incarnations of Prime from Robots in Disguise and all three Unicron Trilogy series. It is probably safe to informally refer to any such mode as a Super Robot (thus including, say, G1 Ultra Magnus and Energon Landmine). Note that this means Super Robots are not always combiners and do not have to have their own personality. Rather, Super Robot and combiner are two different categories of Transformer which sometimes overlap. A one-robot Super Robot may also be referred to as that robot's Super Mode.
Fusilateral quintrocombiner: Coined by Simon Furman in issue 9 of the Generation 2 comic to refer to the Combaticons. It presumably is meant to refer to all the Scramble City-style teams except possibly the Seacons, as their combined forms consist of six robots (not five, so they could possibly be fusilateral hexocombiners I guess...). It may also apply to the Predacons, but it doesn't matter because nobody uses this term anyway.
Amalgam model: Yet another obscure term for combiners first used by Simon Furman via Wheeljack in the "Devastation Derby!" story in the UK comic books.
Types of combiner
As mentioned above, most combiners form a super robot. However, there are many other types of combining in the Transformers multiverse.
In the Energon franchise, most of the Autobot characters were able to combine with each other in pairs much like Victory's Multiforce. These combined forms can probably be considered Super Robots. The combined form was simply controlled by whichever Autobot was "on top". Make whatever jokes you will.
Generation 1 contains many examples of combined alternate modes, including Reflector, Dreadwing, Big Powered, the Battlestar, and the Double Targetmasters.
The Micromaster Combiners are made up of Transformers whose altmodes combine into vehicles, with one partner being the front and another the rear. The combined forms do not have specific names. Thanks to the generic peg-and-socket connection method used, any two Micromaster combiners can be linked (though some such as the dump truck/space shuttle combo may attract comment). These altmode combiners should not be confused with the Micromaster "Sixcombiners", six-robot teams who combine to form a Super Robot.
The Unicron Trilogy's Mini-Cons brought to the fiction combined weapon modes, like the Star Saber & Vorpal Saber swords, Requiem Blaster cannon, and Skyboom shield.
The Power Core Combiners use a different type of combining method. Instead of using 5 robots, the combined final robot is formed by one "Commander" type robot, and 4 different drones that form the arms and legs.
Not combiners
Not all cases of multiple things attaching to each other are combiners. As mentioned above, many Super Robots—which are formed through a conglomeration of parts—are not combiners. Energon Landmine, for example.
A similar case can be found in Transformers who have two or more "components" which combine into a single entity. G1 Sky Lynx has lynx and dino-bird components, G1 Omega Supreme has tank, base, and rocket components, and Magmatron has three dinosaur components. However, all of these components are considered to be "part of" the overall Transformer, even through they can act independently. The Duocons are another case of this sort. All of these examples are not combiners because there is only one Transformer involved in each of them, regardless of how many bodies that Transformer may simultaneously operate. Such robots are occasionally referred to as "Reverse Combiners" within the fandom.
(Confusing things further are the comics which treated Sky Lynx and the Duocons as triple changers, able to transform between the combined mode and the ones for individual components without any parts separating off.)
Sometimes a smaller Transformer will attach to and enhance a larger Transformer in some way. This is the case when Mini-Cons powerlink with bulks, as well as with binary-bonded partners like Headmasters, Powermasters/Godmasters, Kiss Players, and Breastforce members. Although these examples do include more than one Transformer (or a Transformer and a fleshling), they are not considered "combiners". The simplest justification for this is that, in these cases, the "combined" form is almost exactly the same in appearance as the non-combined form.
And sometimes things just combine for no real reason at all. Just deal with it. We hate it, oh God yes, but there it is. We're sorry.
Fiction
Generation 1 continuity family
Marvel The Transformers comics
The Constructicons were designed and built by Shockwave as the first combiner team. They were given life through Creation Matrix energy stored in Optimus Prime's head. The Constructicons had considerable difficulty coordinating together as Devastator in their first mission. The Next Best Thing to Being There!
The Special Teams were first conceived within Buster Witwicky's mind shortly after the human had relinquished control of the Creation Matrix to Optimus Prime. Shockwave was able to view this data remotely and prepare for their development. Second Generation!
Optimus Prime assigned a secret project to the architect Grapple, Rock and Roll-Out! which was revealed as Omega Supreme, who was able to combine his rocket and tank modules into one mighty robot. This form of combination was considered inadequate next to the combination of the six Constructicon warriors, so the Autobots decided to learn how to utilize the more advanced technology. They staged an attack on a Decepticon coal mining base which drew out the Constructions. When they combined, Bumblebee was there recording their transformation pattern. Command Performances!
The combining Predacons were summoned to Earth from Cybertron by Megatron. Prey! The Predacons were again summoned to Earth by Shockwave. Gone but Not Forgotten! The Technobots were part of Fortress Maximus's crew and the Terrorcons were part of Scorponok's crew on Cybertron. They had the ability to combine. Headmasters The Seacons were combiners that were summoned from Cybertron to Earth by Shockwave. Enemy Action! They later came under the command of Ratbat. Club Con!
Darkwing and Dreadwind combined to form Dreadwing. They appeared to keep their individual personalities in their combined mode instead of merging their minds. People Power!
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
On Cybertron, the Constructicons were existing Transformers who were brainwashed by Megatron to become Decepticons. Megatron also adapted them with the ability to combine into Devastator to challenge Omega Supreme. Omega Supreme pursued the Constructicons for millions of years. The Secret of Omega Supreme In 1984, the Constructicons were (re?)created on Earth with the ability to combine to bolster the Decepticons' strength. Heavy Metal War
The Stunticons and Aerialbots were built from scratch and given personality by Vector Sigma. They were designed with the ability to combine. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2 Starscream installed the Combaticons' personality components into junked military vehicles. This brought the vehicles to life with the ability to combine. Starscream's Brigade The Protectobots became part of the Autobot forces on Earth and were able to combine. The Revenge of Bruticus
Years later, the Predacons appeared as combiners under the command of the Quintessons. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5 The combinable Terrorcons were part of Galvatron's troops. An intellectually enhanced Grimlock created the Technobots with the ability to combine. Grimlock's New Brain
Wings Universe
Combining technology was the brainchild of the Decepticon warlord Deathsaurus, Bruticus's Wings Universe profile who debuted the technology about nine million years ago on his new recruits, the Combaticons, giving them the ability to combine into Bruticus. The Coming Storm: Part 5 Later, Megatron defeated Deathsaurus to become sole leader of the Decepticons, stealing Deathsaurus's technology to augment his Constructicons with the ability to form Devastator. Battle Lines, Part 5
Deviations
After becoming the new Decepticon leader, Starscream was pressed into the service of Unicron bargaining that the Chaos Bringer bestow upon the power to combine with his inner circle. When Unicron attacked Cybertron, Optimus Prime attempted to use the Matrix of Leadership to destroy Unicron only to be met by Starscream – now calling himself "Megascream" – who combined with his troops and attempted to destroy Optimus. The Prime was saved by Hot Rod who teleported his leader away and opened the Matrix saving Cybertron while destroying himself and Megascream. Deviations
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
Experiments in combining were conducted both before and during the early phase of the civil war, in a process known as mass intellect. However, the combined forms suffered in that the stronger minds tended to drown out the weaker ones. Following the failure of the planetary engine turbines, the Constructicons turned their attention to the mass intellect process. They eventually developed a hyper vortex processor that managed to preserve the individuals minds in the combined whole. Testing the process on themselves, the Constructicons combined into Devastator. While the Constructicons were able to preserve their minds, Devastator was hampered by the need of all six Constructicons to agree on a course of action, which was usually destroy the Autobots. As a result, the combined intellects of the Constructicons did not translate to Devastator, who instead suffered serious mental disabilities. Despite this, Devastator's destructive capabilities greatly pleased Megatron, and he ordered the Constructicons to continue their experiments. Transformers: The Ultimate Guide
2005 IDW continuity
Combination between Cybertronians dated back to the era of the Thirteen Tribes in the primitive years preceding the First Cybertronian Civil War. During this time, Thirteen member Nexus Prime wielded the Enigma of Combination, an extremely powerful artifact that allowed two or more Cybertronians to combine with one another. When war swept the early Cybertron, Nexus used the Enigma to create the first Headmasters, linkages between humanoid Cybertronians and the bestial 'bots of his ally of Onyx Prime. The Mind Bomb Darklander warrior Galvatron, convinced of the innate "purity" of humanoid Cybertronians, The Crucible saw combination as a perversion that "rotted away the individual" OnoffON and slaughtered the Headmasters to the last 'bot in his campaign — a campaign that led him to Nexus Prime's castle. Galvatron easily killed the tribal leader and stole the Enigma from its owner; unable to destroy the artifact, he launched it into space in hopes that it would burn up in a nearby star. The Crucible
After the remaining Thirteen abandoned Cybertron, the planet came under the rule of Nova Major, who took the title of Nova Prime. As Nova's early idealism gave way to a twisted, fascistic imperialism, he sought to literally fulfill the prophecy of a time when "all were one" by recreating the technology as a tool of conquest, and instructed his chief theoretical scientist Jhiaxus to find a way to create a combiner without the Enigma. The Crucible
Jhiaxus's experiments eventually yielded a crude recreation of ancient combiner technology. Without the reality-warping power of the Enigma, the process was imperfect; Primus: All Good Things The Crucible this stunted form of combination relied on forcibly merging the bodies and minds of the 'bots involved in the combination. The first such combiner to be created using this process was to be the prototype for Jhiaxus's future endeavors; while the six volunteers who Jhiaxus had conscripted were able to successfully combine, the resultant personality was violently insane, dubbing itself "Monstructor" and rampaging through Crystal City until it was subdued and imprisoned by Omega Supreme. Spotlight: Optimus Prime Primus: All Good Things
Perhaps due to the spectacular failure of Monstructor, serious research into combiner technology was largely shelved as Cybertronian society developed and stagnated, though some groups continued to try to unlock the secret. The Crucible As the Great War began, however, Megatron sought to bolster his growing Decepticon army by creating a viable combiner. To this end, he recruited Shockwave, one of Jhiaxus's former students, to continue his master's research into the technology, though Shockwave warned him that the process might take millions of years. Shockwaves
Though true combination was still out of reach for the Cybertronian species, some individuals developed a safer form of combination where one or more robots could transform into part of an alternate mode — a mutation known as a "duocombiner". Patternism The Functionist Council represented a twelve-bot combiner team; their assembled alternate mode was the religious ornament known as the Key to Vector Sigma. Bad Moon Rising In some instances, a shared alternate mode might be attributed to an incredibly rare genetic condition known as a "branched spark," causing Transformers to be born with a twin sibling. Though incredibly rare on Cybertron, the Transformer colonists of the planet Devisiun evolved into a civilization of duocombiners. When the inhabitants of Devisiun made formal contact with Cybertronians, Vanquish was quick to point out that his people were not "true" combiners like Superion, although they seemed impressed by the technology. Windblade vol. 2 #6 If one Devisien died, the remaining partner could no longer transform. The Next Day, and the Next
At some point during the Great War, the Decepticons drafted five subjects to become the "Combicons," an experimental attempt at building a workable Decepticon combiner. Due to the humiliating process of having his alternate mode modified into a right leg, team member Ambulon defected to the Autobots and the project was abandoned. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases The Decepticon obsession with combiner technology became something of a joke amongst the Autobots during the war. The Waiting Game
When Monstructor escaped from his dimensional prison, he was apprehended by the Autobots Spotlight: Optimus Prime with his components being taken into custody in the hopes that they could be rehabilitated. Jetfire and the Technobots studied them with the goal of rehabilitating them, but the technology involved stymied Jetfire, who estimated it would take a lot more study before progress could be made. He didn't get the chance, however, since the "Monstructor Six" were soon captured by the Decepticon Secret Service. Spotlight: Arcee
Shockwave eventually abandoned the Decepticons in order to pursue his pet project, and just prior to the Surge, Bombshell followed up on Shockwave's combiner research and yielded the first Decepticon combiner in the form of Devastator. Devastator avoided the insanity inherent in Jhiaxus's combination method by using the already like-minded Constructicons and deliberately suppressing their individual personalities while combined, but was still slow and dim-witted. Before the Dawn Following Megatron's defeat, Scrapper was killed by Spike Witwicky of Skywatch; Scrapper the Constructicons were able to continue forming Devastator after they liberated their comrade's body from human custody, but the combiner suffered from a "dead leg." Kings
Other Decepticons sought to emulate the successful combination of the Constructicons, and in the years following the Surge some Decepticon groups would experiment with the technology. Both the Stunticons Enemies of the System and Predacons The Iron Klaw would acquire black market combiner technology (the former having acquired it through Swindle), but in both cases their efforts proved unsuccessful. Though the Stunticons got as far as forming Menasor, they were unable to properly unify their minds and collapsed shortly after forming. Earthworks The Predacons didn't even get as far as combining; according to Kup, this failure was due to the rowdy group's inability to agree on anything. The Iron Klaw
The next breakthrough in combiner technology came in the final battle of the Great War after the villainous entity D-Void harnessed a mysterious energy emitted by Cybertron's core; using the powers of the planet itself, the creature managed to suppress the individual wills of Galvatron, his Sweeps, and the entirety of Megatron's Decepticon army, creating a monstrous creature under the D-Void's direct control. Kings
Inspired by this power, Megatron learned to manipulate the very same energy, which discombobulated the sensors of individual Cybertronians who strayed too far from the outskirts of Iacon. When the Aerialbots ventured into the Cybertronian wilderness, they experienced a different effect: unnatural conflicts developed between them, and the group became increasingly aggressive until they spontaneously combined into Superion; this reaction was speculated to be a CNA-level defense mechanism against the hostile signal. Dinobot Hunt Night and the City
At the same time, Bombshell and the Decepticon leadership had secretly taken control of the Autobot strategist Prowl, retrofitting his quarters into "The Black Room", where they could improve further on combiner technology. Having recovered the five surviving Constructicons, Bombshell upgraded them into a new, modular design, one capable of accepting any compatible Transformer, and used Prowl as a guinea pig to form a Devastator under the control of Bombshell's cerebro-shells. Before the Dawn When Bombshell died, Prowl's mind reawoke, and, united by their shared hatred of Spike Witwicky, a Prowl-centric Devastator personality emerged from the combiner. This new Devastator ran amok and grievously injured the recently formed Superion until he was defeated. Plan for Everything When Megatron then tried to trigger his own Devastator combination with the Constructicons, the Autobots stopped him. Heavy Is the Head
The Constructicons began to see Prowl as a kindred spirit, and allied themselves with the Autobots in order to remain with him. Second Exodus Prowl soon became the de facto leader of the Constructicons, and tactically deployed Devastator on several occasions. Black Planet Detonation Boulevard I Dream of Wires OnoffON Though powerful, the Constructicons began slowly losing their individual quirks and finishing one another's sentences, while Prowl suffered energon "nosebleeds" after every combination session The Mind Bomb and occasionally called his Constructicon teammates "Scrapper". I Dream of Wires Even after he lost his place in the combination, Prowl stated that his experiences as Devastator meant that he no longer saw the Decepticons as enemies, but as a part of him. Now and On Earth
Monstructor resurfaced after the Chaos war, once more serving under Jhiaxus and Bludgeon. The combiner prototype opposed Orion Pax and his allies on several occasions until Shockwave was finally defeated. Syndromica (1) Syndromica (2) The Becoming Black Planet ...And the Damage Done
The dramatic upswing of combiner activity across the galaxy had the side effect of sparking an unofficial combiner arms race. Worried about the destructive potential combiner posed, Cybertronian ruler Starscream ordered a team of scientists to repair the damaged Superion so that he could have a combiner of his own, incorporating Powerglide and Alpha Bravo as replacements. Repairs was hastened by the recovery of the lost Enigma of Combination; using it, Wheeljack was able to quickly return Superion to full functionality. The World of Tomorrow
Superion's return coincided with the restoration of Metroplex's space bridge and a potential alliance with the lost colony of Caminus. Hoping to rule the planet as part of an empire, Starscream's ambitions set in motion the brief but destructive "Combiner Wars," a series of battles on Cybertron and Caminus that saw the Enigma change hands numerous times, creating several new combiners. Combatants included Superion, a rebuilt Menasor, First Contact Defensor, formed from the loosely affiliated "Protectobots", Mistakes and Mayhem a new version of Devastator that incorporated Starscream's lackey Scoop in place of Prowl, and Optimus Maximus. You, Me, and the Universe Ultimately, Optimus Maximus, Superion, and Defensor emerged triumphant after a fight that spanned the galaxy, with both Menasor and Devastator knocked back into their component 'bots. Optimus Maximus willingly split himself apart in the aftermath so that Prowl could be arrested. All That Remains
After the formation of the Council of Worlds, Arcee tried to steal the Enigma of Combination, sparking in motion a chain of events that led to six visiting Torchbearers accidentally merging into the powerful Victorion. An Uneventful Night
Combiners created by the Enigma, although not markedly more intelligent than combiners created by other means, were far more mentally stable, and displayed unusual powers such as the ability to split their bodies apart or even fire their limbs as rocket-powered projectiles. The Sum and Its Parts Defensor, an Enigma combiner, was even able to substitute Ambulon as a replacement limb without any special modifications; this didn't last long, as he was killed by Star Saber shortly afterwards. Journey's End
Unlike other combiners, where a single, strong-willed 'bot could dominate the emergent personality, Enigma combiners relied on the joined minds of their components merging into a balanced mental entity, and failure to do so relied in the combiner becoming paralyzed by indecision. All That Remains Defensor and Superion both showed an unwillingness to split into their components, which worried Optimus Prime. Prowl referred to their new gestalt modes as the team's new "normal form", and noted that it was difficult for combiner teams to stay separate. You, Me, and the Universe After his arrest, Prowl taunted Optimus Prime, arguing that since they had formed Optimus Maximus together, a part of Prowl would always exist in Prime's mind. Now and On Earth
When Optimus Prime annexed Earth, he brought Superion and Victorion to assist him. However, the Enigma of Combination had, thanks to the machinations of Garrison Blackrock, "infected" all of Earth's computer devices and thus turned the planet itself into one big Enigma that Galvatron could control, creating Galvatronus and Sky Reign in the process. It's Beginning To And Back Again Superion sacrificed his life to undo the process, effectively "killing" himself by incorporating a part of the Enigma's code into his mind and permanently separating. As Above...So Below
Around this time, the Combaticons sought to access the mind of brain-dead Swindle, who had previously claimed to have dirt on Starscream. To do so, Onslaught used the Enigma on all five to create Bruticus. The four Combaticons were unprepared for the experience, and their volatile emotional state caused Bruticus to rampage through Iacon. The Line Between Us As a result of the combination, Brawl caught a glimpse of Swindle's last memories, and, as a result, developed a pervasive fear of death. The Chosen One
After the Ore-13 crisis, the human dictator Count "Iron Klaw" von Rani was able to develop an alternate version of combination technology with the help of Garrison Kregier; by using a copy of the mysterious Talisman to improve on the Predacon's failed combination technology, he was able to instigate a proper combination, dubbing their combined form "Predaking.". Without access to the Enigma of Combination, he was forced to use the Talisman to suppress their individual minds and turn them into mindless drones under his control. When Snake-Eyes smashed the console that kept them docile, their argumentative personalities resurfaced and tore the combiner apart. The Iron Klaw Despite the apparent death of Razorclaw following their separation, Iron Klaw eventually managed to restore Predaking through unknown means, and used the seemingly unbrainwashed combiner to fight back the Maximal invasion of Earth. Ceremony
When Unicron invaded Cybertron, Elita One sought to deploy Victorion into the monster's innards only for her to be confronted by Monstructor who ripped Stormclash from the whole, breaking Victorion apart. Road's End When the battle had moved to Earth, Superion recombined, reforming the Earth Enigma. The energy allowed Slide to become Victorion's new limb, allowing the two Autobot combiners to defeat Monstructor. Ceremony
The Ammonites, a diminutive faction of robotic shapeshifters far more advanced than Cybertronians, were "omnicombinational": any Ammonite could combine with many others into a wide variety of forms, even mimicking Cybertronians. Little Victories
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe
To combat a G.I. Joe invasion, the Constructicons formed Devastator. In spite of being able to deter the initial invasion force, he was rammed by the Defiant, Targetmasters which killed Long Haul and seemingly ended Devastator Earth: R.I.P. until they got a replacement lower torso. The Rescuebots were also capable of combining into Defensor. Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #12
2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity
In the final days of the Great War, Tarantulas oversaw the creation of Predacus, a combiner formed from the members of the Tripredacus Council. Dawn of the Predacus The Autobots and Maximals retaliated by creating Magnaboss, uniting some of the most seasoned veterans of the war. Beast Wars Sourcebook Both Magnaboss and Predacus played vital roles in the last battle of the war that led to the signing of the Pax Cybertronia. Dawn of the Predacus
By the time of the Great Upgrade, combiner technology had been largely abandoned and dismissed as too energy-inefficient. The exception was the Tripredacus Council, who had apparently refined the technology to create Tripredacus. Beast Wars Sourcebook
Beast Wars: Uprising
Devastator was the only known Builder-era combiner to last until the era of the Maximals and Predacons. To remain mobile on the barren post-war Cybertron, the Constructicons downsized to Micromaster bodies, but by this time 2/3rds of Devastator's components had been replaced with Autobots. Micro-Aggressions Cultural Appropriation
When the Monster GoBots attempted to bait the Human Confederacy into destroying Cybertron, Devastator formed to beat back the invaders' combined form of Monsterous. Cultural Appropriation
During the Vehicon Apocalypse, Devastator formed again, this time alongside the combiner Magnaboss, to fight the Grand Mal. A beam from the Mal hit both combiners, and though Magnaboss survived the battle with only one component lost, three of Devastator's components perished. Derailment The Tripredacus Council stole technology from Magnaboss to allow themselves to combine into Tripredacus. They utilized their combined form to hunt down and slay Preditron before two of his three components were killed by Ser-Ket. Derailment
In the following era of peace, the surviving Constructicons auditioned for new members to resurrect Devastator as a force of construction, eventually accepting Wideload, Road Hauler and Steam Hammer into their ranks. The new Devastator was formed at their graduation ceremony, and the smarter, constructive-minded combiner was heralded as the champion of the Builders. The Inexorable March
Of Masters and Mayhem
Combiners were employed by both factions during the Great War. As the conflict continued with no end in sight, the Decepticon science division forged the Mayhem Attack Squad into a combiner, Thunder Mayhem. Their new weapon proved uncontrollable, defeating all the other combiners on the planet before it devastated the surface, driving the Cybertronian race to near-extinction. Thunder Mayhem eventually made its way off Cybertron, turning its destructive power on other planets. Deadly Aim Lively Pursuit
To avenge his home planet, Impactor created a combiner of his own, Wreckage, formed out of the Wreckers. The initial attempts at combination, despite cleaning up a Mecannibal nest, proved less than successful. Horrified by Wreckage's power, Alpha Bravo took it upon himself to kill the combiner by severing two of its limbs, killing Offroad and allowing himself to be killed shortly afterwards. Deadly Aim
Called back to Cybertron, the Wreckers found a replacement component in Bluestreak, along with incorporating Impactor into Wreckage. The markedly more stable Wreckage proved himself by defeating the Teklaans who sought to claim Cybertron as their own. Lively Pursuit
Catching up with Thunder Mayhem on the planet Earth, Wreckage, thanks to a beam of energy fired by the superhuman Elizabeth, managed to force his foe to decombine by destroying the Matrix of Malice. Finale
Prime Wars Trilogy cartoons
Near the end of the Great War, many new Combiners were created by the Enigma of Combination. These new Combiners began battling one another and laying waste to their surroundings in a conflict known as the Combiner Wars, which continued for decades after the Great War had concluded.
2019 IDW continuity
During the War of the Threefold Spark, a group of Cybertronians seized the Enigma of Combination and used it to turn them into a combiner. As the group lacked any sense of unity however, their combined form was a savage beast, governed only by the basest impulses of its components. The combiner lumbered across Cybertron in search for energon before it was felled in Rivets Field, the Enigma being buried beneath the landscape. After the war's end, the Constructicons, assigned to clean up the area, found the Enigma which resonated with their own sense of unity and turned them into a combiner whose power the Constructicons used to quickly rebuild Iacon. Constructicons Rising, Part 1
When the combiner began exhibiting destructive tendencies, Wheeljack petitioned Nominus Prime to exile them to Mayalx. Constructicons Rising, Part 3 Found and manipulated by the Insecticons, the group recombined, dubbing their form "Devastator", and laid waste to the colony that they'd built. Constructicons Rising, Part 4
Transformers/Ghostbusters
When Gozer invaded Cybertron, the Decepticons turned their combiners against the invader only for the deity to overpower them. Seeing their ultimate weapons be defeated convinced Decepticon High Command, bar Megatron, that the battle was lost. Ghosts of Cybertron Part 2
Robots in Disguise (2001)
Combination was taken for granted and combiners were commonplace. (About half the characters are combiners, depending how you count.) No special explanation of their origin was offered.
One-robot combiners
- In the television show, Megatron/Galvatron was able to transform into his hand mode and then combine with his ship, the Megastar.
Two-robot combiners
- Optimus Prime is capable of combining with his brother Ultra Magnus to form Omega Prime.
Three-robot combiners
- Team Bullet Train, consisting of Midnight Express, Railspike, and Rapid Run, combine into Rail Racer. Their turned-to-evil counterparts Astrotrain, Steamhammer, and Loco combine into Dominus Trannis.
- Fortress Maximus is technically a three robot combination, although most of those robots could be considered drones. Cerebros and Emissary combine together to form Fortress Maximus's head, which connects to the body.
Four-robot combiners
- The Build Team (Wedge, Grimlock, Heavy Load, and Hightower) can combine into the robot Landfill. Their turned-to-evil counterparts Bonecrusher, Hightower, Long Haul, and Scavenger combine into Devastator.
- The Protection Team members (Hot Spot, Blades, First Aid, and Rook) can combine into Defensor.
Five-robot combiners
- The combined form of the Commandos is a being named Ruination. This combiner is controlled almost entirely by Mega-Octane, in order to be a more effective, coordinated being than most other combiners.
Unicron Trilogy
Armada cartoon
Optimus Prime could combine with his trailer to form a Super Mode robot. With this ability at his disposal, he beat the tar out of every Decepticon at least once. Then a new magic mushroom appeared: Jetfire. During a battle with the Decepticons, the Autobots were totally getting slagged by Megatron's new tactician Thrust and his 'henchman' Tidal Wave. Right when it seemed hopeless, a space shuttle fell from the sky and combined with Optimus to form Jet Optimus. Needless to say, Megatron was rather surprised. The Decepticons kept trying to beat the Autobots and miserably failed each time, frequently due to this new team-up, which also helped the Autobots survive and win the Unicron Battles. A third magic mushroom appeared late on in the series literally out of nowhere. Prime's new 'shroom, named Overload, formed a large pair of cannons on top of Super Optimus's shoulders. Overload's additional firepower, combined with the already impressive firepower of the Requiem Blaster, enabled Optimus to destroy the being known as Sideways.
The Decepticons were not without their own combiner; Tidal Wave was able to combine with Megatron to form additional armor and a back-mounted rocket pack. The only practical upshot of this is that Megatron could now fly, which came in handy from time to time.
The three Mini-Con companions of the humans Rad, Alexis and Carlos could band together to form Perceptor. There were three other Mini-Con combiner teams who could form the Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield, and the Requiem Blaster. A fourth weapon existed as a dark clone of the Star Saber, wielded by the evil Nemesis Prime.
Linkage comic
The non-flying members of the evil Speed Chaser Team could form the Magnawing aircraft to transport themselves around. Linkage Part 4
Energon
During this period, one couldn't swing a dead cybercat without hitting a combiner, as every Autobot, save for the Omnicons, was capable of merging with another, or with an augmenting portion of his vehicle mode. Then the three Maximus teams arrived, giving the Decepticons two five-part combiners and the Autobots one.
- For further information, see: Spark of Combination
Cybertron comic
The Deep Space Mini-Con Team could combine into the Umbral Blaster Revelations Part 5 while the Sky Terror Mini-Con Team could form the Chaos Saber.
Cybertron cartoon
Optimus Prime and Wing Saber attempted to combine in the Chaar asteroid belt but failed so they gave up. United
Years later on the Jungle Planet, Optimus Prime and Leobraker spontaneously gained the ability to combine in the heat of battle. Savage Leobraker remained Optimus's power mushroom until Wing Saber returned whereupon he and Optimus managed to successfully combine. United
After coming back to life, Megatron created Nemesis Breaker so that he could combine with his minion to form "Dark Claw Mode". Darkness
Timelines
The Zephyr Blade Mini-Con Team could form the Pyro Saber, Andromeda - Axiom Nexus News, 2015/05/19 the Burning Rubber Mini-Con Team the Cosmotector, the Cosmic Exploration Team the Astro Blaster, and the Urban Protection Team Bumble. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/11
Animated cartoon continuity
Safeguard was an unexpected result from the flight technology stolen from Starscream, allowing the cocky fliers to synchronise together as a mighty robot, rather than a merging of two minds. They also combined into an “impressive” super jet. First (and Second) in Flight
Live-action film series
Experimental combiner technology was developed by the Decepticons for combat advantage and then used on the Constructicons who were able to form Devastator. Comfort was rather decidedly not on the top of the list of priorities and, as a result, the process was brutally painful to the Transformers involved, which also made the combiners fuse in a very aggressive and painful manner. The mental and physical torture involved left Devastator only interested in causing destruction.[1]
Knock Out hoped to undergo the "combination retrofit" process.[2]
The Tyran versions of the Aerialbots and the Combaticons could combine into Superion and Bruticus Maximus, respectively. Both combined forms had limited intelligence: Superion was seemingly incapable of any thoughts beyond "destroy Decepticons" and "protect innocents", while Bruticus Maximus, despite being both dumb and slow, could overwhelm almost any opponent his strength and nigh-impenetrable armor.[3] Even the mighty Optimus Prime was careful not to get blindsided by the immense might of Bruticus Maximus. Transformers Comic issue 2.3
Combiners were not limited to one combination scheme. Their final form could also vary.[4]
The Guardian Knights could combine into the mighty three-headed dragon known as Dragonstorm, whereas Quintessa's Infernocons could combine into the monstrous Infernocus. The Last Knight
Aligned continuity family
Combining was an art as old as Cybertron itself; the very first combiner, Nexus Prime, was also one of the Thirteen. Shockwave would eventually experiment with combination technology. Before the Great War, Shockwave experimented on the Combaticons during his time at Crystal City. Their combined form, the savage and uncontrollable Bruticus, was deemed too dangerous and was put in stasis for safety.
In Kaon, he created three combining Insecticons, which were torn apart by Megatron during a gladiatorial pitfight. During the war, the Combaticons were re-activated and opted to join the Decepticons, putting their nigh-unstoppable combined form to good use. Midway through the war, he perfected his experiments, creating the Constructicon combiner known as Devastator. Autobot saboteurs managed to steal and reverse-engineer combiner technology, and created Defensor, who battled Devastator to a standstill at the Tagan Heights. Exodus
The five Aerialbots aboard the Ark were combiners; their gestalt form of Superion was instrumental in rescuing both Autobots and Decepticons from the Quintesson-controlled Aquatron. Retribution
The Decepticon criminal Chop Shop was formed from five identical robots. Notably, he could function without all of his limbs in-place and could appropriate minicons like Fixit as replacement limbs. More than Meets the Eye
The Bee Team combined into one robot after getting caught in an explosion during their fight with Heatseeker, though none of them understood what was going on. King of the Hill (Part 2) The team experienced this phenomenon again during their battle with Dragstrip at a swamp. They didn't understand how to control it, and being combined had the strange effect of splitting Sideswipe into two individuals. Fixit deduced the radiation from the nuclear waste dump gave them this ability. The Great Divide Fixit's experiment to see how the Combiner was formed left Grimlock and Drift temporarily stuck, back to back. Get a Clue
All five Stunticons were able to combine into the powerful (though unintelligent) Menasor. The inability of Menasor's components to agree on...anything allowed the Autobots time to form Ultra Bee who eventually felled the Stunticon combiner. Combine and Conquer Twice. Moon Breaker
To combat Soundwave, the Bee Team attempted to form Ultra Bee but found themselves unable to complete the combination without Drift. Collateral Damage
Cyclonus and his troops were able to combine into Galvatronus. They attempted to use their combined form to defeat the Bee Team only to be met with Ultra Bee. Nonetheless, the Decepticon combiner proved stronger than his Autobot counterpart until Cyberwarp's hesitations allowed Ultra Bee to triumph. Freedom Fighters
Crash Combiners
Crash Combining was the act of two bots becoming one by crashing into each other. Dragstrip and Wildbreak demonstrated the ability to do this, when they became Dragbreak to evade capture from the Bee Team. Bee Cool Fixit began experimenting with combining, only to fail. Get a Clue However, he would later succeed and turn Sideswipe and Grimlock into a Crash Combiner. Out of the ShadowsHeatseeker and Slashmark also display this power as Heatmark.
Combiner list
| Combiners with two members |
|
|
|
 |
Combiners formed by main bodies with power-up partners
|
 |
| Combiners with three or more members (non-Scramble City-type) |   | |||||||
|
| Triple Combination combiners |  |
| Scramble City-type combiners |
 |
| Official mix-n-match Scramble City-type combiners |
 |
Micromaster-type combiners
|
|
|
 |
| Mini-Con combiners |  |
Maximus-type Powerlinx combiners
|
 |
| "Omnicombinational" Stentarian combiners |  |
Unused concepts
Combiners were a very popular idea during the "Generation 1" toyline and as such there are loads of scrapped combiner designs that never got past the drawing board. Among them were:
- A Scramble City-style dinosaur combiner. The body is a T. rex, while the limbs are a pterodactyl (right arm), Ankylosaurus (left leg), Dimetrodon (left arm), and Styracosaurus (right leg)[8]
- A decidedly goofy organic insect combiner composed of a stag beetle (right leg), another beetle (left leg), grasshopper (left arm), fly (right arm), and a cockroach body.[9]
- A cybernetic beast combiner that did not form a robot, but rather a large cybernetic monster. It is formed from a cyber bat, mole, stag beetle, and a couple of fish things.[9]
- A fifteen (!) vehicle Micromaster combiner where the only attached parts not contained by the component robots were the large robot fists. This combiner consists of three uniformly colored teams (in a similar fashion to the vehicular Voltron of the same time period):
- Air team (blue) — two jets, two helicopters, a space shuttle.
- Construction team (green) — a hauler, a bulldozer, a steam shovel, a tank (don't ask), a missile carrier (don't ask).
- Street team (red) — two cars, a motorcycle, a formula racer, a jeep.[10]
- A simpler dinosaur combiner composed of a pterodactyl, a not-really-a-Stegosaurus, and a T. rex with a very large head. The three combine into a dinosaur thing similar to Magmatron's combined dino mode. It shares many visual characteristics with Tomy's relatively simple robot designs.[10]
- A five vehicle combiner (evidently not Scramble City-style in nature) composed of a steam engine (right arm), steam boat (torso), car (right leg), truck (left leg), and plane (left arm).
- A base consisting mostly of ramps and a hollow tower in the center that combined with 14 non-transforming cars and vans. Two vehicles make up each limb, with three crammed in the chest, two for feet, and one that slides into the tower's gun platform to form the head. The ramps would then act as an exoskeleton to contain all of the components.[11]
- A robot formed from a truck cab and four cars with no robot modes that each have flip out weapon arrays. This may qualify more as a conventional "super robot" than a standard combiner, but we may never know.[12]
- A "Duocon" (or rather, "Triocon", in this case) style robot formed by three cars. One car splits in half to form the arms, another splits for the legs, and a third folds in half to reveal the robot head and connect it all together.[12]
- A Concorde jet that split into two robots, where the front portion's robot can pop out three wheels and a spare cockpit to give it a land mode. Presumably the larger rear robot could do the same.[13]
- Two military convoy "trains", one good, one evil, of six vehicles each hooked together that combine along the lines of Devastator but with loads more guns. The robot core is formed by a tractor trailer that leads either convoy, the good one being long nosed, the evil one being flat, each with trailers that open up into small cannon platforms usable by the five smaller robots. Said trailers also become their respective combined form's handgun. The other five members each have a specific large weapon such as a missile rack or chaingun that they can also use in robot mode.[14]
Notes
- Gestalt, a German word which literally means 'form' or 'shape', in this context refers to the psychological concept, namely 'something which is more or greater than the sum of its parts', e.g. a table being more than the timber it's made out of. The origin of "gestalt" as a fan-term is unknown; the earliest documented use is in 1998, when it was already in common parlance.[15] Intriguingly, however, the Robots in Time series of novels published in 1993-94 prominently feature a "gestalt robot" who could split into six smaller autonomous robots, each with a different personality. If this actually inspired some Transformers fan searching for a good word to use, there is no evidence of it, but the publishing timeframe is conspicuously close to the opaque early days of the online fandom.
- Generation 1 Devastator and Raiden are the only combiners from the Diaclone toyline.
- Scramble City-type combiners were initially designed to be a sub-line of Diaclone called Jizai Gattai ("Free Combination"). This goes along with their ability to interact with and attach to Metroplex and Metrotitan, the designs of which were also originally intended for the Diaclone line.
- Six of the seven released Generation 1 Scramble City-type combiners were apparently released in themed pairs, themes usually further reinforced by their team members' tech spec bios to some extent.
- Aerialbots (air vehicles) and Stunticons (ground vehicles) - this could be seen as an inversion of the typical "Autobot car, Decepticon planes" archetype
- Protectobots (rescue vehicles) and Combaticons (offensive vehicles... and a space shuttle)
- Technobots (futuristic vehicles) and Terrorcons (fantastical beasts)
- The Seacons are the odd men out, but the above-mentioned unreleased dinosaur Scramble City-style combiner may have been an intended adversary.
- Scramble City-type combiners are infamous for their murky establishment as to nominal limb assignments among team members. Due to the fact any robot can form either an arm or a leg, the franchise as a whole very rarely enforces a "standard" combination setup to a particular Scramble City combiner.
- In fact, there are 24 different limb configuration combinations for each "Scramble City" combiner robot.
- Combiners—or, perhaps more appropriately, gestalts—are almost always much larger than their components would suggest; examples from almost any incarnation of the franchise that includes them show combiners that tower over regular or even large Transformers even when the individual team members are smaller than average. Perhaps the most egregious example, the Dreamwave G1 comics present Devastator as almost absurdly huge. After engaging and defeating Superion, he holds one of the latter's component members in his hand, his robot mode proportionally no larger than a doll.
- The 2005 IDW continuity mentions mass displacement when the—again, immense—size of Devastator is brought up, and in this case the example is even more notable because one of the components of this incarnation of Devastator is Prowl, whose own head physically grows into the combined mode's head.
- Mae Catt expressed a desire to feature combiners in Cyberverse. However, they were ultimately excluded due to budget reasons.[16]
Foreign names
- Mandarin: Hétǐjīngāng (合體金剛, "Combination Vajra")
Footnotes
- ↑ Devastator's Battle Bio at Hasbro.com
- ↑ Knock Out's toy bio.
- ↑ Superion and Bruticus Maximus's toy bios.
- ↑ Hasbro's answer to Unicron.com as part of the October 2009 Q&A.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 With extra "limb" robot used as weapon.
- ↑ Sixtrain was redecoed and retooled from Sixliner.
- ↑ Universe Rail Racer uses the same deco as Takara's 2003 redecoed "reissue" of Sixtrain.
- ↑ Transformers Generations (guidebook), p22
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Transformers Generations (guidebook), p99
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Transformers Generations (guidebook), p108
- ↑ Transformers Generations 2009 Vol. 2, p79
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Transformers Generations 2009 Vol. 2, p80
- ↑ Transformers Generations 2009 Vol. 2, p81
- ↑ Transformers Generations 2009 Vol. 2, p83
- ↑ Earliest known alt.toys.transformers post using "gestalt"
- ↑ "Transformers: Cyberverse – Mae Catt Q&A Session (Unedited Edition)"
