Snow Cat (Energon)

Snow Cat is aDecepticonfrom theEnergonportion of theUnicron Trilogy continuity family.

So now we've gone from asking "Did this guy become Cyclonus?"to" Did Cyclonus become this guy? "Life is weird sometimes.

Snow Catis a powerful Decepticon who can overcome any environment. He transforms into an all-terrain vehicle and has given his Decepticon allies a strategic advantage in battle on many occasions. Though unruly at times, Snow Cat has proven to be one ofMegatron'smost valued warriors. His insane fighting tactics are feared by his enemies, and sometimes, his allies.^[1]

Fiction

Energoncomic

Snow Cat was located in asmall townin the Yukon, under the command ofScorponok.He busied himself in sabotagingBase Unit 1so that theEnergonit'd produce would rerouted to feedUnicron.A band ofOmniconsstumbled upon his base, but he managed to quickly disable and capture them. Snow Cat then rigged the Omnicons to aSpark Rewriter,a device that would brainwash them into obedient Decepticons. However, the Omnicons learned the value of teamwork thanks to the shared-hallucination-induced disembodied advice-giving head ofOver-Run,broke free, and fled out into the open. Snow Cat gave chase, and held them at a disadvantage, seeing as he was better equipped for the snowy environment. But the Omnicons discovered an underground pocket of natural gas, and detonated it at the right moment to knock Snow Cat silly. Snow Cat was then captured and brought toHot Shot.Omni-Potent

Much later, Snow Cat was one of several Decepticons who attempted to "sneak" intoOcean Cityand steal the data for the Autobots'Omega Supreme prototype.He rushed into the dark hangar, smacked into a scaffolding like a big dumb doof, and was chased out by security. Megatron didn't buy Snow Cat's recounting of how his daring and skill was thwarted by a "sub sea earthquake" for one second.Perspective

The Omnicons' experience in fighting Snow Cat was instrumental in defeating a ghostly Starscream, who was invulnerable to conventional attacks. By pooling their minds together, as they had learned in their encounter with Snow Cat, they were able to drain the Energon from Starscream, reverting him to a material being once more.Armageddon Part 2

Toys

Energon

• Snow Cat(Combat Class,2004)

• Accessories:2 missiles
• Known designers:Aaron Archer(Hasbro),Takio Ejima(Takara)

Released in the second full wave of Hasbro'sEnergonCombat Class toys (aka "Deluxes" ), Snow Cat transforms into aG.I. Joe"Snow Cat" SAM half-track^[2]cast in primarily white and light blue plastics, with clear and burgundy for accents. In vehicle mode, the front wheel-hubs and side-skirts can be lowered to form skis for the vehicle to travel on, while the sideskirt-skis fold down from his feet in robot mode to allow him to "ski". He has one non-functional Mini-Con port on his left arm, which is on a small swiveling panel that swaps to the right side in vehicle mode. This is one of the most frequently lost pieces for second-hand figures.

He features twin spring-loaded missile launchers available to him in both modes; in robot mode, they end up as a back-mounted over-shoulder assembly. His missiles are cast in the same clear blue plastic as his windshield with the front ends painted gold. This makes them lookawesomein flight. There are also two5 mm post-holes on each missile launcher. Unusually for Transformers of this era, he has a visible cockpit interior with a partially frosted windshield and working windshield wiper, further homaging theG.I. Joetoy he was designed after.

Snow Cat's vehicle mode features no physical means of securing its back end together beyond the luck of friction in the waist swivel meant for transformation and against his stored feet, both of which are highly prone to failure. Due to this, simply picking him up in this mode is likely to result in the bottom half of the back end swinging out of place, especially if the skis are deployed. Although mis-transforming the ski-based side panels diagonally in vehicle mode can offer some assistance to hold the vehicle mode together, it is by no means secure, and for obvious reasons is of no help in ski mode. Snow Cat also does not include the ski poles seen in the cartoon, although in a pinch his missiles can be loosely held to simulate them. Snow Cat's instructions also configure the folded-up skis mounted on his angles onto the side of his shins rather than the back as they appear in the cartoon. While the back skis can be folded in back to be show-accurate, doing so drastically reduces the already-low range of motion in his knees due to obstruction. The skis do not secure regardless of where they are placed, and are highly prone to falling out of place, as are the front skis.

• More information on Snow Cat at TFU.info
• Additional information and comparison images at YoJoe

Notes

• With Snow Cat (andMirage,Beachcomber,etc.), the apparent struggle betweenHasbro's intentions andTakara's decisions came to a head. Numerous toys intended to be new characters had been turned into powered-up versions of existing characters when portrayed in the cartoon. And so it was with Snow Cat, who was shown to be a rebuiltCyclonuswhen he debuted in the cartoon. Hasbro had intended the toy to be a new character, however, and either did not have time to change his bio, or else decided to proceed as planned regardless. Similarly,Energoncomic authorSimon Furmanhas stated he wrote Snow Cat as a unique individual unrelated to Cyclonus. And so, Snow Cat represents both Cyclonusanda new, separate character.

References