Cyberdroid

Guess which one has a name.

ACyberdroid(セイバードロイドSeibādoroido) is a Cybertronian who has not mastered the art oftransformation,and is as yet unable to reconfigure their body into analternate mode.All known Cyberdroids are of diminutive stature compared to normal Cybertronians, standing at a height comparable to that of a tallhumanbeing, but it is not clear if this is a required characteristic to be classified as a Cyberdroid.

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Kiss Players

The forefathers of the planetParadron's pacifistic Autobot inhabitants, who had fledCybertronduring theFourth Great War,were apparently Cyberdroids, as were the young civilian Cybertronians who had not yet learned to transform and had likewise fled from the war to the planetMasterfour million years before the present.^[1]Transformers: Kiss Players Chronological Table

The Headmasterscartoon

Four million years ago, seeking to escape the unending war on Cybertron,Fortressled a group of Cyberdroids into space, seeking a new world they could call home. Unfortunately for them, they landed on the inhospitable planetMaster,where the hostile atmospheric conditions forced them to learn to transform in order to survive.

They all underwent the rigorous training of body and mind needed to master the art of transformation, and the most adept warriors learned to transform into heads which could attach to larger, lifeless bodies calledTranstectors.The Mystery of Planet MasterAfter these new-born "Headmasters"departed Master to rejoin the war on Cybertron in 2011, more of the Cyberdroids began training to become Headmasters, and became known as the"Autobot Master Warriors".

Later, when the Decepticons invaded planet Master, a group of refugee Cyberdroids fled the planet to acquire the help of the Autobots on Earth. They were caught in aplasma energyexplosion along with half-a-dozen Autobot and Decepticon warriors, and were fused to the wrists of the larger robots as weapons, becoming theTargetmasters.Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 1)

Micromaster

Not long after Fortress's Cyberdroids left Cybertron, theAutobotandDecepticonleaders,Optimus PrimeandMegatron,also departed the planet with their elite forces in a search for new sources of energy. They proceeded to crash-land on prehistoricEarth,and eventually, in the early 1980s, a group of Autobot Cyberdroids set out to search for their lost leader and theMatrix of Leadership.Struck by a dimensional shockwave, the Cyberdroids were teleported across the galaxy and found themselves on Earth, suddenly gifted with the power of transformation by the strange energy that had enveloped them. Additionally, several of their number had their minds warped by the shockwave, and became Decepticons, and these two factions of "Micromasters"began battling on Earth.A New Transformer Legend Begins!!Tailgate/G1 Mini-Con Chapter

Beast Wars: Uprising

The Transformers that would become Cyberdroids fled an earlier civil war seven million years ago, landing on a planet they colonized and namedRebirth.Over time, however, their brave new world devolved into an oligarchic dictatorship wherethe Optimus triumviraterestricted resources and rights "for your own good". When the Decepticons showed up, theMalignusinsurgency joined up with them for their assistance in overthrowing the Optimus.

The Cyberdroids became the new Headmaster, Targetmaster, andPowermasterpartners to larger Transformers, igniting a conflict that devastated the planet—which Galvatron renamed Master—but eventually drove the Autobots and Optimus out.A Brush With Infamy–PrologueSoon after that, Galvatron forced theHuman Confederacy's hands with hisGreat Pushand the humans halved the territory they allowed Cybertronians to possess. The Cyberdroids were forced to evacuate as Master was sterilized by theCTCF.Micro-AggressionsFurthermore, (nearly) all the Targetmasters were killed in theTargetmaster Extirpation,due to the concern that their unique ability to draw power fromSparkscould be weaponized.Trigger WarningsThe development ofMicromastertechnology owed something toThunderwing's studies of Cyberdroid physiology.^[2]Several Cyberdroids later upgraded to bulkier Micromaster bodies.DerailmentTrigger Warnings

On late 24th century Cybertron, Cyberdroid refugees played againstMaximalsandPredaconsin varioussporting eventsuntil theBuilder Assemblybanned them from the League and restricted them to the Micro Division to compete against Micromasters.Broken WindshieldsCyberdroidsHotwireandMonxoowned shady establishments inIacon.Trigger WarningsDeep inside the dormantFortress Maximus,the CyberdroidsGran,Plasma,andKordserved as controlling units.Head Games

Six years into theGrand Uprising,the majority of Maximals and Predacons had defected to theResistanceand the increasingly-desperate Builders started drafting Cyberdroids into the military to recoup their losses. Micromaster commanderErectorwasn't happy about that, not least because the new recruits couldn't transform into anything useful.Derailment

10,000 years later, the Cyberdroids were remembered as the "Titanmasters".Lio Convoy: Unity Through Tyranny

Ask Vector Prime

Vector Primenoted that when he thought about it, he could not think of any good reason for the distinction between Cyberdroid,Micromaster,andMini-Con.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/20He reiterated this sentiment when he pointed out that the Headmaster companion ofOmega Supreme(simply named "Omega" ) is considered a Mini-Con inhis native universes,but would also be considered either a Micromaster or even a Cyberdroid in some other universes.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/07When asked ifBrainmasterswere at all similar to Cyberdroids who bond with Transtectors, Vector clarified that while they were similar in size to Cyberdroids, Brainmasters were a different concept altogether.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/23He also noted thatMinimus Ambushas been known to exist as a Cyberdroid in some realities; one of which even saw him binary-bond toUltra Magnusas the firstBravemaster.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/15When asked aboutCaliburn,Vector mentioned thatPrimaxversions of himoften associated with the Cyberdroid namedDante.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/21He also noted that any number of Micromasters, Cyberdroids, or Mini-Cons probably have some kind of Micromaster counterpart within the myriad ofVironstreams.Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/25

Notes

• The term "Cyberdroid" (セイバードロイドSeibādoroido,lit. "Seiberdroid" ) was created for the small, non-transforming Cybertronians in theMicromasterstoryline. This article is adopting the position that it is retroactively applicable to the small, non-transforming Cybertronians from theHeadmastersanimated series, based on them being lumped together by the "Transformers: Kiss Players Chronological Table",which further added the original Autobot inhabitants of the planetParadronto the mix, as all three groups were civilian Autobots who left Cybertron to escape the war during roughly the same era.^[1]
• Up untilBeast Wars: Uprisingand theAsk Vector PrimeFacebook column in2015,the specific spelling of "Cyberdroid" had only been used in an unofficial capacity by fans, using "Cyber-" as an English approximation of the "Seiber-" part of the original "Seiberdroid" name based on how official Japanese sources have, historically, rendered the Japanese name of Cybertron (セイバートロンSeibātoron,lit. "Seibertron" ) in English as "Cybertron". The 2015 uses of "Cyberdroid" byFun Publicationsmarked the long-awaitedcanonizingof the English spelling.
• Beast Wars: UprisingauthorJim Sorensonhas statedthat in theUprisinguniverse, Cyberdroids play a similar role to historical Jews.^[3]
  In Builder society, Cyberdroids occupy a strange and uncomfortable niche. They're technically and LEGALLY Builders, which is really important in terms of the ability to own businesses, which Maximals and Predacons can't easily do. But socially they're viewed as outsiders. Maximals and Predacons, who make up the bulk of active society, don't count them as members. But Builders, who hold most of the wealth and political power, don't feel like they belong either. Micromasters are already looked down on for deigning to remain mobile, and they're basically the Builder military class. Cyberdroids, who have mostly turned to commerce, are distrusted on all sides. The closest example I can think of from history are the Jewish. There's also this added angle that Cyberdroids basically can't Transform into anything useful. Not much call for a free-floating head or engine, and the guns are all gone at this point, so their reputations suffer for that reason too.
  The parallels become even more clear when you realize that they'rerefugees driven from their homelandwho have experiencedsystemic annihilation.

References