Vehicon (BM)

Mindless. Obedient. Radioactive.

The Vehicons are Megatron's personal army, a legion of military Transformers that allowed him to conquer planet Cybertron and protect his one-robot empire from all threats. They pack lots of firepower and travel and attack en masse.

The overwhelming majority of Vehicons are unliving drones with no innate sapience or spark. Each Vehicon drone is usually controlled either directly by Megatron, or by a single sapient Vehicon General of the same (or similar) design. After the loss of Tankor and Jetstorm, their respective drones are apparently controlled by other generals.

Vehicon drones are generally blindly obedient, with no sense of self-preservation. On rare occasions, various drones have appeared to use emotive body language, shaking in apparent fear or pleading (wordlessly) not to be shot. On one occasion a Tank Drone was seen to vocalize with Tankor's voice.

Drone types

• Tank Drones, led by Tankor
• Cycle Drones, led by Thrust
• Aero Drones, led by Jetstorm
• Copter Drones, led by Obsidian
• Artillery Drones, led by Strika
• Mole Drones
• "Chase-model drones", led by Mirage
• Stealth Drones, led by Spy Streak
• Quake's drones
• Blastcharge's drones
• Demolition Drones, including Scavenger, also led by Tankor
• Scrapmetal Drones, led by Inferno

Fiction

Beast Wars cartoon continuity

Beast Machines cartoon

This time, Tron isn't taking any prisoners!

The Vehicons first appeared on Cybertron in the wake of the virus that devastated the planet's population. Forbidden Fruit Megatron created factories to recycle the discarded body shells of captured Transformers into more Vehicons; Revelations Part I: Discovery in this way, his army fed on its own success. Soon the planet was cleared of all Transformers except for Vehicons, who then patrolled its empty streets and skies.

The drones attacked Optimus Primal's crew of Maximals when they crash-landed on the conquered planet, disabling them with gas canisters containing a transformation virus. Revelations Part II: Descent and continued to harass them in the wake of the Maximals' reformatting. The Reformatting When this failed to destroy the techorganic Maximals, Megatron commissioned his first three Vehicon Generals to oppose his old foes. Fires of the Past

Even the three generals would ultimately prove ineffective against the Maximals. Tankor eventually betrayed Megatron and was destroyed. End of the Line Jetstorm was reformatted by the Maximals, and reverted to his original Silverbolt persona. In Darkest Knight Thrust, by contrast, remained loyal to the end.

With his initial plan having met with failure, Megatron summoned up two more generals, and two new drone types as well. Sparkwar Pt. I: The Strike They did well, but Cheetor didn't like them so he shot 'em into space. Endgame Pt. II: When Legends Fall

3H comics

Centuries after the Great War, Cyclonus was caught up in the Predacon Megatron's attack on all Cybertron. Despite Megatron's attempts to implant his spark within a Vehicon body, Cyclonus retained his own mind and managed to escape with the desire to restore the glorious Decepticon empire. Cyclonus had already been seduced by Cryotek's ambitions when he joined the Wreckers in an attack where a horde of Vehicon drones, led by three all-new Vehicon Generals, were unable to stop them from stealing an Autobot shuttle and blowing up the spaceport. Departure

Mirage attacked Primal Prime's newly arrived team of Maximals. He plunged Apelinq into the same transwarp portal that the team had come through. He was destroyed in transit. Apelinq's War Journals

Waspscream continuity

In Primax 208.06 Zeta, Inferno and Scorponok were captured by Waspscream's forces and brought back to Cybertron aboard a stolen shuttle from the Ark. By the time that they reached Cybertron, however, they realized that Megatron had broken free and already taken over the planet. Megatron offered his two former lackeys a chance to serve him again, and Inferno, overjoyed at the prospect of aiding his queen, accepted. With a new Vehicon body, he became a Vehicon General in command of Scrapmetal Drones. This upgrade removed most of his madness, but not his loyalty to his beloved queen. After Obsidian killed Megatron and seized control of Cybertron, Inferno swore revenge and defected, joining up with Waspscream's technorganic Predacons. Along with Obisidan and their universe's incarnation of Tankor, Inferno was abducted by Unicron. Try as Unicron might, Inferno couldn't be broken, seeking only to destroy the two traitors to his colony, and was thus imprisoned in the Cauldron. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/16 After he was liberated by Optimus Primal, he joined the Children of Primus in the Universe War, and wound up fighting alongside a similarly redeemed alternate-universe incarnation of himself. BotCon 2006 Inferno toy bio

2001 Robots in Disguise continuity family

2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon

After Sky-Byte took the credit for capturing Optimus Prime, Slapper exclaimed "What are we? Vehicon drones?" Sideburn's Obsession

Ask Vector Prime

Just like in many Primax realities, a Spark War ensued in the future of Viron 102.0 Beta, caused by a quantum duplicate Megatron from Primax 496.22 Alpha and his army of Vehicons. Mirage was one of the victims of this war. However, he used the Genetronic Translink System to control a Vehicon body even while his spark was in enemy hands. After the defeat of Megatron, Mirage traveled back in time to guide the Protector against Cryotek. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/30

Beast Wars: Uprising

Violent terrorist Lio Convoy, seen here clearly resisting lawful arrest by enforcement droids.

The Vehicons were the result of Galva Convoy's–or more accurately Lord Imperious Delirious's–plan to corrupt the energon matrix within the new-formed Maximal to create "Anti-Sparks", as a means of creating an army to wipe Cybertron absolutely clean of conflict by removing the sparks, free will and life of everyone on the planet.

The first three Vehicons were a jet, a tank, and a motorbike, who quickly displayed the ability to infect other Cybertronians with the means to make them into more Vehicons. The Builder Assembly, driven to desperation by being on the losing end of the Grand Uprising, thought the Vehicons were on their side, a weapon that would end the war on their terms. With a suggestion from Eject, a select group of Micromasters were injected with a slow-acting version of the Vehicon's nanites, disguised as a "combat upgrade", then left to be captured by the Resistance. Once inside, the virus turned them into more Vehicons, kicking off the Vehicon Apocalypse. Safe Spaces Derailment

The Vehicons quickly spread beyond their initial insertion points and assimilated a massive chunk of Cybertron's population as they went, before the Resistance marched on Iacon to stop them. Summoned to Iacon, Galva Convoy had his offspring assimilate the Builders, creating new drones (helicopters and artillery vehicles). The Resistance leader, Lio Convoy, led a strike to the Grand Mal, where Galva Convoy resided to try and end the nightmare. Galva Convoy was killed, but this only allowed Delirious to take direct control of the entire army... until he was destroyed by Rampage with a K-Bomb, which sent the Vehicons feral, and made them easy pickings. Derailment

In the chaos, however, the reborn Galvatron had managed to acquire three drones, and, after a deca-cycle of work refitting them, brought three new Vehicon Generals to life using the sparks of his cyberdroid assistants. The Inexorable March History records would later mention a Second Vehicon Apocalypse. Lio Convoy: Unity Through Tyranny

Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Vehicons were Sparkless warriors created by Megatron he conquered Cybertron using a paralyzing virus. The bodies of the fallen became raw materials for the Vehicons, mindless drones who relied on brute force and strength of numbers to crush their foes. Some Vehicons were created in factories, while others were created via a specific cyber-nano virus that could infect non-technorganic beings. All Vehicon sensors were incapable of detecting technorganic Cybertronians in their beast forms, although they could still recognize them on sight. Technorganic Secrets

Toys

Beast Machines

Blastcharge

Ultra Jetstorm

Scavenger

• Vehicons (1999-2000)
  • Blastcharge - Deluxe
  • Jetstorm - Deluxe and Ultra
    • Sonic Attack Jet - Deluxe
  • Mirage - Basic
  • Obsidian - Basic
  • Scavenger - Basic
  • Spy Streak - Basic
  • Strika - Deluxe
  • Tankor - Mega
    • Tank Drone - Basic
  • Thrust - Deluxe
    • Motorcycle Drone - Basic

The Vehicons made up fully one half of the Beast Machines toyline. They were the first new fully-vehicular Transformer toys since the end of Generation 2 in 1995, and the first to explore a Cybertronian aesthetic since Generation 1. Their vehicle forms are futuristic and military-themed. Most have a vehicle mode "head" analogue, allowing their vehicle form to look around. As robots, they sport unusually alien stylings and proportions. Some also sport unusual forms of locomotion, including legless hover modes and unicycle wheel bases. Most have a spark crystal located somewhere on their body.

Expanded Universe

• Cyclonus (Ultra, 2002)
  • Accessories: 2 missiles, 2 drone-missiles

Expanded Universe Cyclonus is a redeco of Beast Machines Ultra Jetstorm, replacing blue with lavender, purple and gray, and the yellows with red. His spark crystal was tampographed with a Decepticon sigil. He transforms into a Cybertronic fighter jet. His jet mode cockpit/neck is geared up with the pop-up gun turret on his back so that both turn in the same direction when moved. This turret has a light-up feature plus two spring-loaded missiles. Cyclonus has both a "normal" bipedal robot mode and a "flight robot mode" with pop-out thruster engines.

Cyclonus was available exclusively at BotCon 2002.

Robots in Disguise (2001)

• Nightcruz / Mirage GT / Scavenger (Mega-level 3-pack, 2002)

A redeco of the Beast Machines Vehicon Mirage, Mirage GT transforms into a Cybertronic dragster similar in shape to an F-1 racer. In both modes he has pair of pressure-launch tailpipe-missiles; in car mode they attach to his spoiler, while in robot mode one as affixed to each arm. The small blaster weapon attached to his head can also be removed and used as a hand-held weapon. He was available only in a 3-pack with Nightcruz and Scavenger.

This set was released in Japan as a Toys"R"Us exclusive "USA Edition" set on July 31, 2002.

This mold was planned for use as a convention-exclusive version of Devcon, which was ultimately never made.

Universe (2003)

• Decepticons (2003-2005)
  • Nemesis Strika - Deluxe
  • Blastcharge - Deluxe
  • Tankor & Obsidian two-pack

A few Beast Machines Vehicon molds were repainted for the Universe line. However, they were labeled as Decepticons instead of Vehicons.

"Inferno, Burninate!"

• Inferno (Scout-class, 2006)
  • Accessories: Blade, key

This redeco of Scrapmetal was only available in the customization class at BotCon 2006, along with Rumble. Parts were provided, but the individuals taking the class had to assemble and paint the toy themselves. For those who wish to reproduce Inferno at home, the following Testors paint colors were used: Gin Green, Bright Blue, Camouflage Gray, Flat White, Cobalt Blue, Deep Pearlescent Purple, Medium Gray, Armored Steel, and Flat Black.

Inferno transforms into a four-legged "spider tank" with top-mounted cannon. Inserting a Cyber Key into the back end of the cannon swings a removable clear-plastic sawblade-sword from the main chamber of the cannon. In robot mode, the fists can be covered with the tank mode spikes, or a "pile driver".

This mold was also used to make the Cobybot.

Generations

"Tankor, smashing!"

• Tankor (Deluxe, 2014)
  • Series / Number: 02 / #015
  • Accessories: Missile

Part of the ninth wave of 2012-onwards Generations Deluxe Class toys, Thrilling 30 Tankor is a brand-new mold that is accurate to his cartoon appearance in robot mode. In both robot mode and tank mode, he has a firing missile that is launched when the cannon barrel is pulled back. Some versions of this figure have two left elbows, preventing him from transforming into vehicle mode. So much for quality control.

He comes with a copy of "No Exit: Dark Cybertron Chapter 6", which places its pages massively out of order.

Perhaps due to the numerous flaws with the toy and included comic, Tankor was one of the most common pegwarmers of the Thrilling 30 line, remaining on store shelves for years after its release.

• More information on Generations Tankor at TFU.info

Legends

• Tankor (Deluxe, 2014-11-29)
  • ID number: LG03

Legends Tankor is a redeco of Generations Tankor with some slight changes in hues and more silver paint. He comes with a leaflet featuring a character profile, tech specs, and Bonus Edition Vol. 3 of the Legends manga. It was unknown if this release had two left elbows plagued from the Hasbro release.

This figure doubles as the Tankor Drones.

Timelines

• Galva Convoy (Deluxe, 2015)
  • Accessories: Photon blaster, axe, Covenant of Primus

A redeco of Timelines Lio Convoy (itself a retool of Thrilling 30 Orion Pax), Galva Convoy was the customization class exclusive for BotCon 2015. He transforms from robot to Cybertronian truck mode, and includes an axe and blaster which can peg into his hands or vehicle sides via 5mm posts.

For those who completed their assembly of Galva Convoy in the class, an additional Covenant of Primus accessory was given to them, based on the tome's appearance in the Beast Wars cartoon, and an additional Matrix of Conquest accessory was raffled during the custom classes (seven winners on Wednesday, nine on Friday). These two items were both handcrafted by Japanese fan Myu, and the included written materials clarified that neither were endorsed by Hasbro. Pre-assembled Galva Convoys were also available for purchase, which did not include the figure's sticker sheet or additional accessories.

This mold was also used to make Nova Prime.

Notes

• According to Marty Isenberg, it was Bob Skir who came up with the idea of Vehicons as drones. Due to the expense of creating character designs, the first season of Beast Machines could feature only five Maximals and four Vehicons. This raised concerns that the heroes outnumbered the villains, undercutting the threat. Bob's simple but elegant solution was to reuse the design of the three Vehicon minions ad infinitum. Art by accident!^[1]

References