Alternate mode
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the non-robot mode of a Transformer. For the line of super-deformed Transformers toys, seeAlt-Modes. |
Analternate mode(commonly shortened to "altmode","alt mode",or"alt-mode",also known as a"trans-form","transform","changeform",or"alt-form"[1]) is a term used to describe aTransformer's non-robot form, whether it be vehicle, animal, or otherwise. Various more specific terms are also sometimes used—vehicle mode ( "v. mode"), gun mode, tank mode, etc.
Some Transformers don't have a humanoid form, so in those special cases, the altmode is perceived to be the mode which is more geared towards utility or disguise while theirrobot modeis the one geared more towards interaction with other Transformers. For example, for the G1 charactersLaserbeakandRavage,their animal forms are their primary mode, and the cassettes their alternate modes. EvenGrand SlamandRaindance,who transform from cassettes to vehicles, would be thought of as having a cassette alternate mode, as their vehicle forms—while not humanoid or animalistic—are at least self-mobile.
Transformers with more than two modes are usually considered to have multiple altmodes. (Punch/Counterpunch,on the other hand, has one altmode and two robot modes.)
In the cartoon episode "The Killing Jar",the Quintesson scientist refers to the Quintesson guard's transformation as his alternate mode, the first such use of this term in the official fiction.
The earliest recorded use in the fandom of the shortened term "alt mode" is analt.toys.transformerspost from March 1994.[2]From the context, it appears that the term was already understood by fans at that time, as the post's author does not explain what he means.
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Beast mode
Fiction
Generation 1 continuity family
When a Transformer takes on an alternate mode for the purpose of disguise, they aremimickingthat form, they don't actuallybecomewhat that form represents. They are "robots in disguise". To accomplish this, they physically alter their forms, and when necessary, usehologramsto help maintain the disguise illusion, especially when battle damage or lack of a driver might otherwise give them away.[3]
The Transformerscartoon
After theArkwas reactivated in1984,Teletraan Irebuilt all the Autobots and Decepticons with terrestrial alternate modes.More than Meets the Eye, Part 1
Optimus Primereversed the polarity of his windshield to clear his vision during a bad thunderstorm, indicating he sees out of his windows.The Ultimate Doom, Part 2
Marvel Comics continuity
Getawaylost complete vision in his right headlights and partial vision in his left headlights during theArmornecking Incident.Getaway'sUniverseprofile
2005 IDW continuity
According to legend, alternate modes came about afterPrimusdecreed that every Cybertronian should provide for their brethren and blessed his creations with secondary forms.You, Me, and Other Revelations
In Forged Cybertronians, alt-modes develop naturally during the protoform stage.Silent LightShining Armor #1The Dead Come Home, Part 2In those Constructed Cold, the alt-mode is determined by the pre-built nature of the chassis.StetYour First MistakeSome Cybertronians developed an irrational attachment to their current alternate mode, a condition known asmode attachment,and resisted upgrades to or changing their alternate modes even if circumstances merited it.Spotlight: KupOmega's ConundrumSignal to Noise
Alternate modes have long been highly significant in Cybertronian society and politics. In the days of theThirteen,the various tribes were often (but not exclusively) defined by their alt-mode such asOnyx Prime's bestial tribe ofMaximals.Origin MythsAnother Mine
Following the departure of the survivingPrimesand the rise ofFunctionism,The Cruciblealternate modes determined one's position in society with common forms lowering your social class and rare ones elevating it.Post HocTheFunctionist Councilpainted themselves as interpreters of Primus' will, decreeing that everyone's alternate form was chosen by god to meet specific needs. They cultivated a stigma against certain alternate modes being employed in certain fields such as tanks being medics or microscopes being miners.Births, Deaths, and Interventions
Bestial Cybertronians were considered among the lowest-ranked individuals and suffered extreme limitations.SoundwavesRelinquishment Clinicssprung up, allowing the rich to 'borrow' another body so they could enjoy another alt mode, with flying forms being among the most popular.Post HocA brave few likeWhirlwere able to convince the Functionists to let them do a job that had nothing to do with what they transformed into, although this frequently led to underhanded retribution.InteriorsAnother group of Cybertronians, known as theMilitant Monoform Movementrejected their alternate modes via the surgical removal of theirtransformation cogs.This condition resulted in them being victims ofshapism.Life After the Big Bang
The iron grip of Functionism waned duringZeta Prime's reign but the prejudice against certain alt-modes was still strong enough to blacklist some people for jobs such asJetfirebeing banned from the sciences due to his aerial alternate mode.A Lonely Pillar on the PlainThe Next Day, and the Next
In the post-Functionist era, alt-modes remained a touchy subject but people were now defined by their abilities more than their biology. It was now possible to freely change one's alt-mode usingCR chambers,regardless of their alternate mode of birth.Life After the Big BangOwing to the pan-galactic nature of theGreat War,new alternate modes were regularly adopted by combatants to better blend in on alien planets.InfilitrationSpotlight: NightbeatShining Armor #1
The Functionist Universe
In a timeline whereMegatronwas never born, the Functionists remained in control of Cybertron with alt-mode segregation growing ever stronger. Cybertronians from the lower rungs of society began attaching falsekibbleto themselves so they could pass themselves off as jets or microscopes and gain moreenergon.These people were dubbed thePretenders.The Custom-Made Now
Beast Wars: Uprising
The new generation of Cybertronians, theMaximalsandPredacons,inherited the vehicular alternate modes of their ancestors. The barren state of post-War Cybertron meant that they were victims to the energon supply lines of theBuilders.Alone TogetherHead GamesAfterMegatrondiscovered that themechanimalswere capable of metabolizing their own energon, he ordered his people to cast off their vehicle modes in favor of beast modes.Not All Megatrons
2019 IDW continuity
Cybertronians were not born with alternate modes,The World In Your Eyes Part Onehaving to scan them during their rearing. OnRubble's forty-second cycle of existence,Bumblebeeeducated him on alternate modes and brought several dummies for his protege to try only to find the youth's attention captured by theWinged Moon.Amused, Bumblebee pointed outLeviathan,herself having remained in her alternate mode for kilocycles. Before Rubble could tryscanningan alt,Windbladearrived telling Bumblebee to report to theSenatebuilding while she took Rubble home.The World In Your Eyes Part Three
Aligned continuity
Aligned novels
Scanning new alternate modes whenever the mood struck was not a privilege all Cybertronians enjoyed prior to the toppling of thecaste system,some in fact took pride in retaining only one alternate mode throughout their lifetime.Exodus
While onJunkion,Prowlbriefly considered scanning a new alternate mode to better cope with the rough terrain.Exiles
Fall of Cybertron
TheLightning Strike Coalition,formerly a collection of conventional war vehicles, were reformatted into alternate modes based onalien creaturesbyShockwave.Fall of Cybertron
Primecartoon
Upon awakening on Earth in the modern day,Skyquakedid not possess a vehicle mode. WhenWilliam Fowlerinvestigated the battle, the Decepticon scannedFowler's V-tol.Masters & StudentsThe same plane was later scanned by Skyquake's brotherDreadwingfor an Earth alternate mode.Loose CannonsA helicopter of Fowler's was likewise scanned byAirachnidas her new alternate mode.CrisscrossBy contrast,MegatronDarkness Rising, Part 1andShockwaveretained their Cybertronian alternate modes while on Earth.Scattered
After scanning an Earthly vehicle and reformatting accordingly,Smokescreenreferred to it as his "v. mode"New RecruitBeing revived by theForge of Solus PrimeresetOptimus Prime's alternate mode, forcing him to scan a new one.Project Predacon
2015Robots in Disguisecartoon
Soon after arriving back on Earth,Bumblebeerefused to allow the exposure of Cybertronian vehicles and madeStrongarmandSideswipescan Earth alternate modes. Bumblebee by contrast had retained his Earth mode even while on Cybertron.Pilot (Part 1)
EarthSparkcartoon
WhenMegatroncame toOptimus Primewith his desire to work with the Autobots, a skeptical Prime challenged his opposite to prove it by scanning a terrestrial alternate mode. Though resisting the idea at first, Megatron eventually scanned an Earth helicopter so he could evacuate human soldiers.Outtakes
TheTerranswere not born with alternate modes. WhileTwitchscanned hers largely by accident,Thrashscanned his after getting some inspiration fromMo Malto.Secret Legacy, Part 2
Later,Hashtagacquired her alt mode by scanning the first thing she saw when Twitch took her out in search of one... which just so happened to be aG.H.O.S.T.surveillance van.Hashtag: OopsNightshadelater acquired their alt mode from an owl statue and was able to use it to hold their own against the veteran DecepticonTarantulas.Missed ConnectionJawbreakerstruggled to decide on an alt-mode,Outtakesbut eventually scanned aStygimolochskeleton. According toElita-1,scanning a skeleton shouldn’t have worked the way it did, suggesting the Terrans may have different limitations that ordinary Cybertronians.A Stygi Situation
Toys
In addition to toys having altmodes sincebefore they were Transformers,there is a price point under theGenerationsbanner actuallynamed"Alt-Modes".Figures in this line-up change fromsuper deformedrobots, with largeplume-like Autobot or Decepticonfaction symbolsyou can flip up on top of their heads, into chibi v. modes with their robot heads still on top.[4]
Notes
Foreign names
- Japanese:Altmode(オルトモードOrutomōdo)
References
- ↑"Bot-form" and "alt-form" were used to describe a Transformer's two modes inTransformers: Exiles.
- ↑alt.toys.transformers, Fanfic: GoTP Plot Blurb!
- ↑This is true across allcontinuities.Hasbro Q&A/August 2009: Answers.
- ↑In Hand Images and Review for Transformers Alt Modes Toys from Seibertron
