Quintesson Judge (G1)
From Transformers Wiki
| The name or term "Judge" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, seeJudge (disambiguation). |
- The Quintesson Judge is a type ofQuintessonfrom theGeneration 1 continuity family.
Leaders of theQuintessonrace, theQuintesson Judgesdetermine the sentences of their unfortunate victims inQuintessa's courtrooms and serve as the face of their many business and war excursions.
| “ | All shall be judged. | ” |
—Quintesson Judge'sEarthrise[1]motto | ||
Contents |
Faces
A Quintesson Judge's most distinctive physical characteristic is its set of five rotating faces. Each face represents a different aspect of the Quintesson, and not only does their physical sequence vary, so do their meanings. The only face identified during the run of the originalTransformerscartoon was the "Face of Death", memorably called out directly by the narrator of theSecret Files of Teletraan II.
The script forThe Transformers: The Movie—the first appearance of the Quintessons—called for the other four faces to be "angry", "smiling", "grimacing", and "suspicious", and artistFloro Derydesigned the faces to represent these emotions. A spread in the January 1987 issue of Japan'sComic BomBomwould also reflect this intent, using mostly direct translations of the English descriptors—Shi( chết, "Death" ),Ikari( giận り, "Anger" ),Warai( cười い, "Laughter" ),Jūmen(渋 mặt, "Grimace" ), andUtagai( nghi い, "Suspicion" ). This would remain unknown to Western audiences until circa 2002, when fanAndrew Hallprovided a translation, identifying the faces as "Rage", "Laughter", "Bitterness", and "Doubt".
These newly translated designations were not prevalent in the fandom at the time, so when authorSimon Furmanpenned the 2004 book,Transformers: The Ultimate Guide,he invented his own names for the other four faces. While he struck lucky dubbing the "angry" face "Wrath", the others— "War", "Wisdom", and "Judgement" —have no connection to the actual intent behind the Quintessons' design.
In 2020, the Quintessons made their big comeback as part of theWar for Cybertron Trilogyfranchise. The instruction manual for the Quintesson Pit of Judgement multi-pack (seebelow) gave the "smiling" face the new name of "Wit", while using a mix of established names for the others; these names were reinforced by their use in theEarthrisecartoon,which was released a few months later.
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| The Moviescript | Death | Angry | Smiling | Grimacing | Suspicious |
| Fan translations | Rage | Laughter | Bitterness | Doubt | |
| The Ultimate Guide | Wrath | War | Wisdom | Judgement | |
| War for Cybertron | Wit | Doubt |
Fiction
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformerscartoon
Macrocosmic Seekers
TheSeekerwas a Quintesson Judge before he abandoned his race to become a being of pure information.A Treasure's True Worth
Legendscomic
A Judge and aProsecutorwere in contact with theMatrix,which was filled with the Quintessons' evil wisdom.Bonus Edition Vol. EX
A sole Judge from a time long before2021led a troop ofOverchargesto attack theLegends Worldthrough a portal. He was attacked by the diminutiveBlitzwingof 2021, but was thrown away by the Judge's attendant Overcharge. Blitzwing soon made his owntranstectorfrom a fallen Overcharge, and he was able to convince his past self, who was the Judge's Overcharge, to find his own identity. Fleeing Blitzwing back to his native time and place, the Judge declaredthe creatorsof the Legends World to be dangerous.Bonus Edition Vol. 59
The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformersmanga
A Judge loudly announced the emergence ofGilthorfromEarth's oceans.The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #4
Controverse
TheGalactic CourtassignedAdveraros,a Quintesson Judge, toPrimacron's trial onMillaath.Controverse
Kiss Players
Generations Selects Special Comic
The Quintessons would eventually break free of their dimensional prison thanks to theAngolmois EnergyonEarthand the unique properties ofDinobot Island.With one Judge leading several other Judges, aBailiff,and someAllicons,the Quintessons sought to subdue theDinobotsso they could sell theAutobotsto the highest bidder. The Dinobots resisted, so the lead Judge released aRecreatorthat recreatedPredakingto fight the Dinobots. However, the Dinobots were able to combine intoVolcanicus,and the Quintessons fled while the Dinobot combiner defeated Predaking.Volcanicus comic 1
MarvelThe Transformerscomics
LordKledjiandSevaxwere Quintesson Judges.Space Pirates!
3H comics
Derodomontatus,BetrayalHeirodyus,andBrinnwere Judges.Wreckers: Finale Part II
2005 IDW continuity
Pentiuswas a Judge-type Quintesson who described himself as a fellow "king without a throne" toMegatron,who proceeded to enslave him.Faces of DarknessHe would push Megatron towards evil, which led to the Quintesson Judge's death. Megatron would take Pentius'sSpark,Preyplacing it withinTrypticonBelly of the Beast.The consciousness of Pentius would survive within the spark, manipulating Megatron.Primacy #3The light of theMatrix of Leadershipwould burn away Pentius's spark, destroying the last remnants of the evil Quintesson from the universe.Primacy #4
War for Cybertron Trilogycontinuity
War for Cybertron Trilogymarketing material
TheQuintessonswere one of the few unforeseen dangers ahead of the Autobots and Decepticons in their race for theAllSpark.The Judge's function served as a Galactic Marauder. Their primary objective was to decide who is worthy and who shall suffer, and their primary weapons were theAlliconguards anddrone army.Earthrisewebpage[1]
War for Cybertron Trilogycartoon
Deseeuswas a Quintesson Judge who claimed to be unlike the rest of his oppressive and cruel race. Claiming himself "Deseeus the Renegade, Breaker of Shackles", Deseeus would come into contact with theAutobots,with the faces of Wisdom and Wrath vying for "consensus". The Face of Wrath would take matters into its own hands,cutting off its other facesso it could show the Autobots how "they dealt with the innocent". Yikes.Earthrise episode 2
Deseeus was presumably killed when theFool's Fortunewarpdrive exploded during a fight.Earthrise episode 6
Energon Universe
The Quintesson Judge assigneda Prosecutorto take aQuintesson Scorpiato the fighting pits of the planetDominus.
When the Prosecutor returned, it was in the possession of theSkuxxoid,a financial partner of the species, who hoped to sell the Prosecutor back to the Judge. Furious about the Scorpia's destruction and the initial attempt to sell the Prosecutor toCybertron,the Judge ordered the Prosectuor be taken away and the Skuxxoid prepared for a trail. Before the alien was taken away, he managed to save his skin by mentioning that he had a ship made fromZertonianmetals.Void Rivals #5
Delivered the craft, the Judge ordered it taken to a laboratory to be scanned for any hints that could lead them toZertonia.Void Rivals #6
When summoned to the laboratory by theQuintesson Scientist,the Judge was informed that one of the ship's alloys dated back to ancient Cybertron, the Scientist theorizing that "Zertonia" might be connected toZerta Trion.As speaking that name had long since been forbidden, the Judge promptly executed the Scientist on the spot.Void Rivals #9
Toys
War for Cybertron: Earthrise
- Quintesson Judge(Voyager Class,2020)
- Hasbro ID number:WFC-E22
- TakaraTomy ID number:ER EX-08
- TakaraTomy release date:August 29,2020
- Accessories:Blaster, cage, throne, levitation beam
- Known designers:Ken Christiansen(concept artist)
- Released in the third and final wave ofEarthriseVoyagers, the first-ever official Quintesson Judge toy features a trigger on his "back" that activates a spring-loaded face-spinning gimmick, with the Death, Wisdom, and Wrath faces featuring opening jaws. (The Wrath and Doubt face come detached in the package, requiring owners to clip them into their respective sides, with Wrath reported by many owners to be quite a challenge to attach correctly.) The order of the faces matches the arrangement fromThe Transformers: The Movie,with Wisdom and Wit surrounding Death, which is slightly different from that used in the cartoon, which flanked Death with Wrath and Doubt.
- To replicate the ability of the Judge to levitate, the figure also includes a transparent "levitation beam", which pegs onto the included throne via a5 mm post-hole, then attaches to the Judge's underside via a clip; sadly it does not function as an effects part. Promotional renders color the beam in translucent yellow, but on the finalized figure, it is instead sculpted in clear plastic and is therefore uncolored.
- The lower body's five soft-plastic tentacles are on swivel joints to raise and lower, and each has three 3mm effects pegs designed to accommodateWar for Cybertronblast effects parts. Using these pegs, the Quintesson can "hold" its blaster accessory, and the tentacles can also be pegged into specifically-positioned holes on the Judge's body to better "aim" the weapon forward. If one so wishes, the blaster can also be plugged into one of two ports underneath the throne for... sneakier judgement passing.
- Because it has to transform intosomething,the Judge converts viapartforminginto a tower with a prison cage in 16 steps. The top of the tower and the cage do not actually attach to the base; they only balance on it. The cage and the tower are large enough to fit aBattle Master(or other similarly-sized figures). Additionally, the cage also has two ports into which the blaster can be fitted. One on the top, as well as another in its interior. The latter might be preferable as a form of storage if one is wary of misplacing the blaster, as it is a small accessory that does not peg well onto the figure's tentacles. The throne/platform and the panel under the Death face haveA.I.R. Lock Systemramp connections, allowing it to connect to ramps from other compatible toys, notably the Quintesson-alliedSlitherfang.
- Like allEarthrisetoys, the inside of the back of the Judge's package includes an exclusive clip-and-save piece of a larger star map. Also in the box is a thin red piece of transparent plastic with which to read the star map. The Judge's piece of the map contains the labeled location of the planet "QUINTESSA".Like mostEarthrisefigures from wave 2 onward, however, it is misprinted, and overlays the "decodable" red graphics from the map piece included withEarthriseStarscreamon top of the details unique to the Judge's piece.
- The Judge was originally supposed to be released in the second wave, but was pushed back to the third for unknown reasons, with Starscream taking his place in wave 2 cases. In Japan, the Quintesson Judge was released as aTakaraTomy Mallexclusive.
- The cage accessory wasrepurposedas theRecreatorin theGenerations Selects Special Comic.
War for Cybertron Trilogy
- Quintesson Pit of Judgement(Multi-pack, 2020)
- Accessories:Blaster, cage, throne, levitation beam
- Known designers:Ken Christiansen(concept artist),Mario CarreiroandAJ Piejko-Brown(packaging)
- A redeco of theEarthriseQuintesson Judge is the centerpiece of this box set of toys, presenting the "trial" ofKranixduringThe Transformers: The Movie.The overall coloration is generally brighter, with some faces getting fairly extensive color changes. The tentacles are now bright green, the levitation beam clear-blue, and the throne base gray (as opposed to the stock photography's bright blue). Thankfully, all five faces come pre-attached, saving a lot of hassle and hurt digits.
- This set also includes theQuintesson Bailiff,a new-decoSharkticon,and mini-figures of theQuintesson ProsecutorandKranix.The packaging interior forms a diorama of the "courtroom", with poor Kranix on a gangplank over the Sharkticon pit with the Judge hovering above.
- This set was announced to the public before the "standard" version of the Judge was released, and was first made available for people who attended the Hasbro Fans Expo inHong Kongand preordered the set. It was later made aHasbro PulseCon 2020exclusivein the United States and Canada (except for Quebec), available to Premium members onSeptember 232020, then opened up to all members onthe 24th,where it sold out, went to pre-orders for more, then sold out of pre-orders within a few short hours despite a (stated) 1-per-customer limit.
Merchandise
ReAction
- Quintesson(2023)
- Accessories:Repair tool
- Released in the sixth wave ofSuper7's line of multi-property 3.75-inch "retro" action figures,ReActionQuintesson is a non-converting figure of a Quintesson Judge. It does feature face-turning articulation, though that joint is notably tighter than the connection between the body and the clear-red "energy beam" stand. Unusual forReActionfigures, its four tentacles are actually on balljoints, though their range of motion is pretty limited. Two of these tentacles end in loops, enabling him to hold the "repair tool" theJudge carriesin "The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2".
- As with all releases in theReActiontoyline, Quintesson comes packaged on a small cardback that emulates the nostalgic packaging style ofKenner'sStar Warsaction figures from the late 1970s to early '80s.
Notes
- In their first appearance inThe Transformers: The Movie,the two speaking Quintessons are voiced byRegis Cordic(who plays the judge) andRoger C. Carmel(the prosecutor). These two actors then became the primary recurring voices of the Quintessons in the third season of the cartoon, usually playing judges, withJack Angelnormally serving as a third in episodes where more than two speaking roles were required. InAKOM-animated episodes, Cordic's Quintesson (usually designated "Quintesson #1" in scripts) would commonly speak from the Face of Doubt, while Carmel's ( "Quintesson #2" ) used the Face of Laughter; Angel's intermittently-appearing third Quintesson would most often use the Face of Death, but animation errors, and Quintesson face-rotating meant that these were notabsoluterules. InToeiepisodes, judges usually spoke from the Face of Death regardless of actor, and prosecutors got more screen time, with Cordic, as the "lead" Quintesson actor, voicing most of them. Numerous guest actors also played assorted "guest" Quintesson roles in various episodes.
- Bizarrely, the Quintesson Judges depicted inThe Transformers: The Movieare actually inaccurate to their character models. The Quintessons in the film have the faces of Wisdom and Wit on either side of Death, while the actual model has Wrath and Doubt in those respective places. Season 3 of the cartoon gets this right. TheEarthrise/War for Cybertron Trilogytoys' mold replicates the film's orientation.
Foreign names
- Japanese:Itsutsu-gao(5つ nhan, "five-faced" ),hanji( phán sự, "judge" ),saibankan( trọng tài quan, "judge" ),Quintesson Judge(クインテッサンジャッジKuintessan Jajji)
