Master-Brace

Tell her you'd become a colossal robot warrior for her all over again.

Master-Braces(マスターブレスMasutāburesu) are (originally, at least) a product of the super-science of the planetMaster,created to allow human beings to connect toTranstectorsand effectively "become"Transformersthemselves.

Master-Braces take the form of a pair of shining, metallic bracelets, stored within spheres which split in two; once the human in question puts the bracelets upon their wrists, they will be unable to remove them. By crossing their arms, thereby touching the bracelets together, and shouting "Masterforce!" the human activates the bracelets; in a flash of light, their bodies are then transformed, infused withChōkon Powerthat enhances their strength, agility and reflexes and surrounded byMaster Suit,a suit of armor. Most importantly, an ill-defined holistic conversion of their bodily cells allows them to actually physically transform into heads (in the case of theHeadmaster Juniors) orengines(in the case ofGodmasters) and connect to and control Transtectors. On a more mundane level, Master-Braces also act as communicators, patching the wearers into their respective faction's communications frequencies.

Fiction

Super-God Masterforcecartoon

There are two distinct types of Master-Braces.

Thing-Ring, do your thing!

The first type introduced is that worn by the Headmaster Juniors. With nearly all the Autobots having leftEarthafter the defeat ofScorponok,rumblings of Decepticon activity starting up again on the planet prompted the lone group of Autobots remaining on Earth—Metalhawk'sPretenders—to contactChromedomeof the AutobotHeadmasters.They hoped to increase the presence of Autobots on Earth, but with thespace bridgehaving been destroyed, quick access to and from the planet was limited, prompting the need for another solution. That solution was the creation of Master-Braces, six pairs of silver bracelets that would allow human beings to connect to Headmaster Transtectors, thereby increasing the Autobot ranks on Earth without compromising their forces in space.

The Master-Braces and Transtectors were dispatched by Chromedome aboard a transport shuttle, but en route to Earth, the craft was attacked and half of its cargo was stolen by the Decepticon Pretenders. The remaining three were successfully received by the Autobots, and warehoused by their human ally,Professor Gō,until such time as it could be definitely confirmed that their use was necessary. A series of public attacks by the Decepticons convinced Metalhawk that the time had come, and he gave the Master-Braces and Transtectors to three human children that had become friends to the Autobots—Professor Gō's sonShūta,south-sea island princeCab,and daughter ofMont Parta's Japanese ambassadorMinerva.At the same time, the Decepticons abandoned their attempts to empower humansin other waysand created their own Headmaster Juniors with the stolen Master-Braces—former biker gang leaderWilder,orphan martial artistCancer,and street thugBullhorn.Birth! Headmaster Jrs

Best gashapon ever!

The second type of Master-Braces are those worn by the Godmasters (referred to on one occasion as "God-Braces" ). These golden bracelets are infinitely more mysterious, which is par for the course, given that they are tied into the complicated origins of the Godmaster Transtectors. "God-Braces" debuted with the introduction of the Decepticon Godmasters,HydraandBuster;Super Warriors - The Godmaster Brothersthey had been given their Master-Braces and Transtectors byGigaandMega,who were also Godmasters, and had in turn been giventheirbracelets by the alien super-energy being and self-styled Decepticon "god,"Devil Z.Super Ginrai Gets Blown Away in the Desert!?Not long thereafter, a Japanese trucker namedGinraidiscovered a sphere holding a pair of Autobot Master-Braces in the glove compartment of a truck he had just rented. Donning the bracelets, he decided they didn't suit him, but was distressed to discover that he could not remove them. It was at that point that the Autobot PretenderDiver,in his human identity, discovered Ginrai wrestling with the bracelets in his cab; shocked to see the Autobotinsigniaglowing on their surface, he had Ginrai take him back to the rental shop he got the truck from. Along the way, they were attacked by Hydra and Buster, and Ginrai discovered that he was a Godmaster, and that the truck was his Transtector.A Hero Is Chosen - His Name Is Ginrai

A short time later, while still deliberating over whether or not to join the Autobots, Ginrai discovered three additional sets of Master-Braces in his glovebox—scans performed on them at the Autobot base proved that they were definitely Godmaster bracelets when the sheer amount of power they contained caused the scanner to explode.A Strange Friendship: Cancer and MinervaAfter making a televised appeal, Ginrai successfully located the three owners, who were all recruited to the Autobots—automotive engineering company heirLightfoot,Lightfoot: A Dramatic EncounterCanadian forest patrolmanRanger,An Enemy? The Third Godmaster, Rangerand Grand Prix championRoad King.Assemble! The Four Godmaster GunmenOne more Godmaster was later revealed,Doubleclouder,who possessed a unique pair of Master-Braces—one Autobot, one Decepticon. Depending on which bracelet was atop the other when they were crossed, he could adopt either an Autobot robot form, or a Decepticon falcon form.Appearance!! The Final GodmasterAfter briefly dallying with the Decepticons, he sided with the Autobots.Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes

Bastardforce.

The precise origins of Godmaster Master-Braces are undisclosed. Godmaster Transtectors were developed by the Transformers in a region of space known asG Nebula 89,but as they were never intended for humans to combine with, there seems to be little reason for Master-Braces to have been made to go along with them. It is known that Devil Z stole the Godmaster Transtectors and brought them to Earth with the intent of bonding them to humans, and he would later claim that he was responsible for forging the connection between humans and their Transtectors, so it is possible that the Godmaster bracelets were created by him. Such a train of thought, however, would require some hand-waving to explain why so many of them had Autobot insignias and bonded to humans sympathetic to the Autobot cause, when this was contrary to Devil Z's wishes. Similarly, it is never explained how three pairs of bracelets spontaneously appeared in Ginrai's glovebox when they had categorically not been there before—one might theorise that Devil Z arranged for them to be placed there, in order to flush out the remaining Godmasters, but that's unashamed speculation.

During the final stages of theMasterforce War,Devil Z transformed several Transtectors into independent, living robotic beings, severing their connection to their human partners and causing their Master-Braces to simply disappear from their wrists in a glimmer of light. Wilder, Cancer, Bullhorn, Doubleclouder, Mega and Giga were all forcibly parted from their Transtectors in this manner.Autobots! Desperate Attack!!He also fused Buster and Hydra with their transtectors permanently.Battle to the Death!! God Ginrai VS Darkwings RebornAdding credence to Devil Z's claim that he was responsible for creating the bond between human and Transtector, his death caused all the remaining Master-Braces to vanish from the wrists of their wearers—however, through their bond with humans, the Transtectors themselves continued to live on as true super-robot lifeforms.A Battle... and Then...

Legendscomic

The development of suits that would let humans control transtectors began with modifiedexosuitsthat could transform into heads. One such prototype was test piloted bySpike Witwickybefore the technology was perfected in the form of Master-Braces.Bonus Edition Vol. 54

Grandhad new Master-Braces produced at theG Nebula 89transtector factory and gave them to the Headmaster Juniors so that they could protect themselves in theLegends World.LG24 Shockwave & Cancer PrologueWhile probing the mysteries of Masterforce technology,Rewindgot his hands on the blueprints forNightbeat's Master-Braces and allowedAutobot Axalon Trading Companyto mass-produce them. Various natives of the Legends World used them to turn into Headmasters identical to Nightbeat, but the effect proved temporary and the braces stopped functioning after a while. Rewind concluded from the experiment that Master-Braces could only be used by human youths after all.Bonus Edition Vol. 28A new pair of braces were also produced for Ginrai in conjunction with his new transtector.Bonus Edition Vol. 35Godbomberwas identified as a form of Master-Brace technology, having been designed to bridge human and robotic life by connecting the three forms of Chōkon Power.Bonus Edition Vol. 42

A new type of Master-Brace was developed that granted humansTargetmastersuits, allowing them to transform into guns that fired Chōkon Power blasts. Users of these braces includedShaoshao LiBonus Edition Vol. 45andSue.Bonus Edition Vol. 46After being turned into a Targetmaster,White Lunewas granted such braces so that she could transform back into her original form at will.Late Xmas Present Chapter

Toys

Super-God Masterforce

Don it, and you'll become a Master Warrior!

• Headmaster-Braces—Goshooter(1988)

Roleplay toysfor the little robots born in the bodies of children, this pair of chromed silver bracelets was sold exclusively in Japan, as you might expect. The bracelets are of the Autobot variety and are presented as being Shūta's, their packaging decorated with images of him in his various forms. Sadly, no Decepticon versions were available—because it would have been totally cool to role-play as the socially-maladjusted leader of a disbanded biker gang. Thankfully for all involved, these onesareremovable. They are packaged with a role-play pin-on communicator.

• Godmaster-Braces—Ginrai(1988)

Just the same as the Headmaster-Braces, but in Godmaster gold, these bracelets are presented as Ginrai's.