Cyclonus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity
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Read about the adventures of Cyclonus in the Generation 1 cartoon continuity.
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The Transformers cartoon
- Voice actor: Roger C. Carmel (English), Jack Angel (The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1 onward, English), Minoru Inaba (Japanese), Fumihiko Tachiki (Japanese, "The Rebirth"), Yao Huang (Chinese), Hans-Rainer Müller (German), Gerd Rigauer (German, The Movie TV dub), Willy Schäfer (German, Generation 2), Vicente Gil (Spain-Spanish), Carlos Agosti (Latin-American Spanish, "The Transformers: The Movie"), François Leccia (European French), Éric Etcheverry (European French, "Five Faces of Darkness", Parts 1 to 3), Unknown (European French, "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4"), Francis Lax (European French, "Surprise Party" & "Webworld"), Bruno Magne (European French, "The Dweller in the Depths" & "The Face of the Nijika"), Serge Bourrier (European French, "The Rebirth, Part 1"), Michel Barbey (European French, "The Rebirth", Parts 2 & 3), Antônio Patiño (Brazilian Portuguese)
In the year 2005, after an abortive attack on Autobot City, the evil Decepticons found it necessary to jettison excess weight from their craft to make it back to their homeworld of Cybertron. The injured and dying Decepticons were chosen to be ejected into the void of space, including the commander, Megatron, but when their bodies were recovered by the world-eater, Unicron, they were reborn as deadly new warriors in the service of the recreated Megatron, now known as Galvatron. Immediately following his creation, Cyclonus served as little more than Galvatron's personal ship and attack dog, carrying his leader to Starscream's coronation, into the battle in Autobot City and to the planet of Junk. He was also involved in attacking and crippling the shuttle of Hot Rod and Kup over Quintessa. The Transformers: The Movie
By 2006, Galvatron was believed dead and the Decepticons had retreated to the barren world of Chaar. Although Cyclonus and the Sweeps remained in relatively good condition, the other Decepticons degenerated quickly with only a meager supply of energon. Disgusted with how far the leaderless Decepticons had fallen as they eked out this miserable existence, Cyclonus resolved to locate Galvatron, daring even to enter Unicron's deactivated, disembodied head. By replaying the planet-eater's memory banks, Cyclonus traced Galvatron to the world of Thrull. Scourge's accelerated sight peeled back light-years of space and confirmed their fallen leader's presence. Returning to Chaar, Cyclonus asked his fellow Decepticons to give of their meager energon supplies in support of a quest to retrieve and revive Galvatron. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1
The Decepticons' need for a strong leader was driven home when two Autobots invaded Chaar, and the entire Decepticon army couldn't muster up enough energon or firepower to put up a decent fight. Cyclonus and the Sweeps made their way to Thrull after that to retrieve Galvatron. Unfortunately, once extricated from a pool of the planet's plasma-lava, Galvatron proved to have been driven insane from exposure to it and brutalized Cyclonus and the Sweeps before being talked down and returned to his position as leader. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2 Despite his lunacy, Galvatron was effective enough to destroy an entire space platform for Earth's defense system. Cyclonus brought him back to Chaar, only to find the Decepticons were missing, having forged an alliance with the Quintessons in their absence. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3 With Galvatron's permission, the alliance continued, and the Decepticons and Quintessons launched an all-out assault on Cybertron and Earth both. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4 The assault failed, and Cyclonus and the Decepticon were driven back to Chaar. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5
As 2006 settled in, Cyclonus was captured by a Quintesson scientist for study, along with Ultra Magnus, Wreck-Gar and Marissa Faireborn, but when the entire group was sucked through a black hole into a negative universe, they were forced to work together to escape; Cyclonus and Magnus developed a grudging respect for each other as warriors, but vowed that when they met again on the battlefield, it would be as enemies. The Killing Jar
Chasing the Autobots through space, Cyclonus and his great leader ran them down on an abandoned funeral barge floating in the void. The Decepticons pursued the Autobots into the vessel, but were taken completely by surprise by the sudden appearance of the dead Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. Galvatron was injured in battle, and Cyclonus had to provide him with support. The loyal lieutenant was willing to fight on against Prime, but when the Sweeps abandoned the barge in fear, Cyclonus was forced to choose the better part of valor and leave as well, carrying Galvatron with him. Dark Awakening
Some time later, outnumbered and fleeing from the Aerialbots, Cyclonus and Scourge took refuge inside a vortex, which transported them to the pacifistic, energy-rich planet of Paradron, which had been settled by Cybertronian refugees. Naturally, the duo immediately conquered the planet and summoned Galvatron and the other Decepticons there; the plan was ultimately foiled by the Autobots, but at the cost of Paradron itself, which was destroyed. Fight or Flee
Cyclonus and Galvatron met up with Octane in Carbombya, where they briefly adapted the local oil into a more powerful form of energon before the Autobots chased them out of the country. Thief in the Night After Octane fled the Decepticons and started working as a free trader with the Junkions and even the Autobots, Cyclonus and the Sweeps infiltrated Cybertronian air space to deal with the traitor. They chased him into the abandoned Decepticon mausoleum below the planet's surface. Cyclonus marveled at Scourge's pathetic leadership ability when he couldn't even order ONE Sweep to enter the mausoleum ahead of them. He borrowed half a page from Galvatron's book and only threatened to kill a Sweep if they didn't get moving. Cyclonus's hunt was interrupted by the arrival of Starscream's ghost, who possessed the Decepticon saboteur for his own ends. The next thing Cyclonus knew, it was hours later and he was at the base of Galvatron's throne, having just been blasted by his leader. Starscream's Ghost
On another occasion, Cyclonus clashed with Ultra Magnus aboard the Autobot records asteroid with the fate of Daniel Witwicky in the balance. Surprise Party
Sometime later, Starscream's ghost returned and possessed Scourge, causing him to fire wildly. Cyclonus tried to convince Galvatron his fellow warrior was not a traitor, but only malfunctioning. Then Scourge/Starscream shot Galvatron dead center in the chest, and chaos ensued. The Decepticons were a step behind Starscream over the next few hours as he stole one of Trypticon's (invisible) eyes, then Astrotrain, then finally Trypticon himself in a mad scavenger hunt orchestrated by Unicron. Their weapons temporarily neutralized after trying to recover Trypticon, Cyclonus and the Decepticons began limping away from Cybertron when they saw Starscream tumbling uncontrollably through space. Cyclonus rightly questioned how a ghost could tumble uncontrollably anywhere, but Galvatron was just glad his particle cannon was working again, and he started taking potshots at the flying figure. Ghost in the Machine
When Astrotrain reported to Galvatron that the Junkions were shooting at anyone in their airspace, even Autobots, Cyclonus saw opportunity. Although Galvatron couldn't care less about Junkions, Cyclonus investigated further for the good of the Decepticon cause, for the Autobots would lose a valuable ally if the Junkions had indeed turned against them. His personal analysis, however, did nothing to raise Galvatron's interest, only his rage. Cyclonus followed orders and ceased bothering his leader with the details, but still chose to pursue the matter with the Sweeps. The Big Broadcast of 2006
Cyclonus was alerted to a mysterious Quintesson signal by Predaking. He and the Sweeps rendezvoused with Predaking at the source, only to find Sky Lynx and the Autobots competing with them in their pursuit. They managed to recover the Quintesson journal that was the source of the signal, and they learned it had key information that would be beneficial to peace talks the Autobots were overseeing. Cyclonus and the Decepticons tried to stop the Autobots from orchestrating a cease fire between the warring worlds, but failed. The Quintesson Journal
Later, Cyclonus was among the Transformers turned into an energy vampire by the Trans-Organic Dweller, thrown to the beast by Galvatron to delay his own fate—though at least with Cyclonus he hesitated for a moment before fleeing, almost repentant for his action. Hours later, after the Autobots saved him from an eternal unlife as an energy vampire, Cyclonus reconnected with Galvatron. Out of all the Decepticons in history, only Cyclonus could deliver his relief at Galvatron's safety with such genuine feeling and without a trace of sarcasm. The Dweller in the Depths
When a group of Decepticons, tired of being beaten and abused by the deranged Galvatron, confronted Cyclonus and demanded that he do something about the situation, Cyclonus was so short on options that he accepted the advice of a Quintesson and tricked Galvatron into accompanying him to the therapeutic mental institution on planet Torkulon. It pained Cyclonus to see his leader so demented as each attempted therapy met with failure, but when the Torkuli attempted to cure Galvatron by removing the damaged part of his mind, thereby leaving him a vegetable, Cyclonus sprang into action, only to be restrained. Patched into the sentient network of the planet, rather than be cured, Galvatron infected the world itself with his madness and freed himself, decimating the planet, and decided to turn his attention back to fighting the Autobots, rather than dwell on Cyclonus's deception. Webworld
While in Europe, Cyclonus and the Decepticons made contact with several human terrorists and unscrupulous mercenaries. They even hired out human mechanics to work on Trypticon and oversee his repairs. Okay, fine. But when Cyclonus ran across Spike and Daniel Witwicky wandering around inside Trypticon, shouldn't he have recognized them?! Apparently, all flesh-creatures DO look alike to the Decepticons. The Ultimate Weapon
In a scheme to utilize anti-electrons against the Autobots, the Decepticons were forced to raid Unicron's head for an additional supply of the substance. Scourge and Cyclonus performed the recovery operation while Galvatron and the Terrorcons kept their Autobot pursuers busy. They had only just returned with the flask, however, when Scattershot and the new Technobots arrived, destroying the anti-electrons and routing the Decepticon invaders. Grimlock's New Brain
Cyclonus and Soundwave were at Galvatron's side during a heavy battle with the Autobots, along with Trypticon, the Sweeps, and an assortment of Predacons and Terrorcons. The battle was going relatively well until more than half of Galvatron's forces suddenly responded to a mysterious call that only Primitives could hear. Galvatron was enraged at Trypticon and the others for abandoning the field of battle, and so Cyclonus took off after them with his leader and Soundwave. They didn't get far, however, before the energy-absorbing Tornedron struck them down in the middle of space. Only after the Primitives defeated Tornedron's creator were Cyclonus and the others restored to life. Call of the Primitives
Later still, he, along with a group of Autobots and Quintessons, was transported into a region of space cordoned off by the Quintessons, landing on the planet Zamojin. There, Cyclonus aided the Quintessons in acquiring Perceptor's universal emulator in order to repair their systems and return to normal space. He demonstrated a working knowledge of psychology and mob mentality when he prodded the Zamojins into trying to execute their prisoner, the Autobot Blurr. The Face of the Nijika
Cyclonus participated in a major Decepticon attack on Japan. When they were repulsed by the Autobots, he returned to Chaar with Galvatron. The rear guard, Stunticons Wildrider and Dead End, miraculously managed to steal the Matrix of Leadership from an unconscious Rodimus Prime. After Galvatron was unable to unleash its power himself, he tossed the bauble away as if it were nothing. Scourge seized the opportunity to take the Matrix's power for himself and attempted to take over the Decepticons. Cyclonus refused to bow to anyone but Galvatron, and so was blasted down along with his leader. They eventually recovered and traveled to Earth after Scourge and the Decepticon army. They found Scourge shortly after Hot Rod reclaimed the Matrix from him. Galvatron was... not happy. The Burden Hardest to Bear
When the Hate Plague swept the galaxy, Cyclonus was infected and seemed to take leadership of the afflicted Decepticons, tracking Galvatron and a group of Autobots into the depths of Chaar and spreading the infection to several of them. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1 The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2
In 2007, Cyclonus participated in the massive Decepticon attack on Autobot City, which culminated in the theft of the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber. When the chamber was then opened, the energy released blasted the key and a group of Autobots across the galaxy to the planet Nebulos, and Cyclonus and Scourge led a team of Decepticons in pursuit, attacking and capturing several of the Autobots. The Rebirth, Part 1 To battle them, the remaining Autobots combined with a group of Nebulan rebels into "Headmasters" and bested them in combat. Having learned of this fusion of Transformer and Nebulan, the Hive, the evil ruling council of Nebulos, approached the Decepticons to repeat the process, but Cyclonus argued them down to taking the heads of only the animal mode Decepticons, and merely the weapons of the others.
Consequently, Cyclonus became a Targetmaster, as his handgun was converted into an exo-suit for the Hive member Nightstick, giving them enhanced targeting abilities and firepower. The Rebirth, Part 2 Reclaiming the chamber key with their superior powers, the Decepticons headed back to Cybertron aboard the giant robot Scorponok, where Cyclonus attempted to convince the disgusted Galvatron of the benefits of being bonded to the Nebulans. The Autobots soon arrived back on Cybertron and invaded Scorponok, only to be captured by the Decepticons and almost executed by Cyclonus before being saved by Spike Witwicky and Fortress Maximus. The Decepticons' plan was subsequently thwarted by Spike and the Nebulans, and they were sent spiraling off through space aboard Scorponok by a tendril of plasma energy. The Rebirth, Part 3
Japanese cartoon continuity
Macrocosmic Seekers
When the Decepticons intercepted an Autobot transmission detailing the acquisition of a "great treasure", Galvatron led Cyclonus and Scourge on a raid to intercept Rodimus Prime's ship. The Autobot vessel was brought down, and under heavy weapons-fire, Kup, Wreck-Gar, and Scrapheap fled the battleground. Cyclonus and Scourge pursued them, but were unable to hault the Junkions' progress as they would swap places as vehicle and rider every time they took a hit. Unending Battle The battle was interrupted by the appearance of the Seeker, who abducted all of the combatants into his crystalline spaceship. Cyclonus, alongside Scourge, Galvatron, and Rodimus, were put into suspended animation by the Seeker. A Treasure Lost These four transformers intrigued the Seeker, as they had undergone "miraculous" reformattings; Rodimus due to the Matrix of Leadership, and the three Decepticons due to the power of Unicron. Using his advanced technology, the Seeker turned back his captives' internal clocks, and held them in time at the very moment of their reformatting, intending to perpetually keep them in this state as items in his collection. Eternal Moment Rodimus was rescued by Junkheap, and in the conflict that followed, stray shots freed Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Scourge from their stasis as well. However, all three were caught in between their former and current identities, leaving them quite confused. Despite his transitional state, Galvatron managed to put a halt to the Seeker's attacks. The group then mobilized to make their escape. Time to Move Though the Seeker resumed his assault in short order, Cyclonus found out that he and the others trapped in a transitional state benefited from increased strength and firepower. Additionally, the teleportation powers he had as Skywarp were restored. He put it to good use fighting back against their captor alongside the Autobots. The Seeker's ship sustained enough damage that Cyclonus was able to spot the Decepticons' and Autobots' ship outside. The Seeker went offline soon afterwards. Those Who Resist With the energy of the Seeker's experiment depleted, Cyclonus reverted to his normal state. Upon discovering that the Autobots' treasure was an old piece of armor of Optimus Prime, purely sentimental in value, Galvatron sounded a retreat. The Decepticons left without provoking further conflict. A Treasure's True Worth
Generations Selects Special Comic (1)
Cyclonus was present when the Quintessons first lent the Terrorcons to the Decepticon cause. Abominus comic 1
In 2011, Cyclonus was involved in the battle against the reforming Unicron Super Megatron comic 1 before he was banished to the Triple Z Point. Finale
The Headmasters cartoon
- Voice actor: Tomomichi Nishimura (Japanese), John Culkin (English, Omni Productions dub)
Cyclonus and Scourge continued to make token appearances when the new Headmaster warriors arrived to dominate the Cybertronian war. Cyclonus fought alongside Galvatron on Cybertron against Optimus Prime, Jazz, and the Dinobots. The Mystery of Planet Master Cyclonus seemed rather threatened by the arrival of Galvatron's new lieutenant, Sixshot. Cyclonus and Scourge somehow managed to beat Optimus Prime to the Vector Sigma supercomputer, and battled him at the planet's core. Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime
Cyclonus felt discouraged when Galvatron declared all his troops were bumbling incompetents, without making a special exception for Cyclonus. The Four-Million-Year-Old Veil of Mystery Later, when Sixshot attempted to extort energy from six countries using each of his six modes, Scourge and Cyclonus completely botched his scheme when they failed to realize that he was behind it and attacked him with Trypticon. Terror! The Six Shadows After Galvatron vanished during Cybertron's destruction, and the unfamiliar Scorponok took over as Emperor of Destruction, Cyclonus and Scourge felt even less secure in their positions. When Soundblaster proudly sucked up to Scorponok, reporting on a new energy-absorbing satellite named Sol 1 set for launch, Cyclonus vowed to steal the satellite in order to gain favor in Scorponok's eyes. Joined by Scourge and Predaking, he attacked the launch pad, but was repelled by Raiden and the Headmasters. Brainstorm did some aerial dogfighting with Cyclonus, and the Decepticons were forced to leave empty-handed. The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok
Scourge and Cyclonus were concerned that Scorponok's latest series of attacks on Earth were more likely to destroy the planet than allow the Decepticons to gather energy. Scorponok told to them that the awe-inspiring plasma energy was released from Cybertron in its destruction. The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts In his next scheme, Scorponok explained to the duo that he planned to detonate a series of bombs to destroy the planet Mars, and harvest the plasma energy its destruction would surely generate. Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger Cyclonus was present for the unveiling of Scorponok's new super transtector on Mars. Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears
Later, Cyclonus and Scourge made arrangements for Scorponok's official society debut as leader of the Decepticons. The Autobots attacked during the proceedings on Earth's moon, but all combatants were interrupted by the triumphant return of Galvatron. Cyclonus was quick to redirect his boot-licking towards his old commander, as Scorponok's leadership was immediately overruled. Return of the Immortal Emperor Cyclonus and Scourge would later field an SOS call from the planet Sandra, and reported their findings to Galvatron. SOS from Planet Sandra
Presumably left behind on Earth while Galvatron plundered the cosmos for energon, Cyclonus and Scourge were not seen for many months. After he returned, Galvatron heaped praise on Sixshot, telling Cyclonus and Scourge that they could learn a thing or two from the Ninja Commander. Grumbling to themselves, the duo noticed Counterpunch acting shifty, but were too caught up in their own problems to think too much about it. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg
Unite Warriors
Ten years after Galvatron's defeat and icy entombment, Cyclonus visited the site of his leader's downfall. There, he began to posit that Galvatron's "Grand Galvatron" body might be what the Decepticons needed to turn the tide of war. Grand Galvatron Chapter Galvatron II's ghost fooled Cyclonus into thinking he was his master, Ruination Chapter, Part One and channeled the power of his vengeful thoughts to reformat Cyclonus into a new body. Cyclonus's new form housed Galvatron's soul, which conversed with his underling via a head housed in his torso. Cyclonus ventured out into deep space to Unicron's remains, which Galvatron explained they would use to finally implement his "Grand Galvatron" scheme. But the crippled god objected to being used towards this purpose, and instead offered to summon vengeful 'bots from across the multiverse to join and become Galvatron's new body. Galvatron accepted, and Cyclonus combined with Breakdown, Roller, Thrust, and a partially re-materialized Starscream into Galvatron's new body. Grand Galvatron Chapter
Cyclonus brought the group to Thrull, where he had them bathe in lava to train their bodies while telling them of a plan to properly resurrect Galvatron. Special Training in the Lava Baths of Planet Thrull!
The team attacked Cybertron in the form of Grand Galvatron, only to be split apart by Trailbreaker. Cyclonus and the rest made their way to Vector Sigma's chamber before re-combining to do battle with Sky Reign. Sky Reign Chapter With the arrival of Megaempress, the rest of the team fled, leaving Cyclonus and Galvatron at the empress' mercy as she threatened to enthrall them both. They were saved when a revived Optimus Prime took Megaempress and her soldiers on. Megatronia Chapter When Unicron himself showed up and tried to take Cybertron as his new body, Galvatron was angered and had Cyclonus attack the dark god, but he ended up blasted out of the sky and knocked unconscious. Ruination Chapter, Part One Galvatron II's spirit then left Cyclonus's body, but he remained able to combine and, after recovering, convinced the rest of the team to form Grand Galvatron once more and help defeat Unicron. After their victory, he went into space, plotting to restore the Decepticon army by becoming the next Galvatron. Ruination Chapter, Part Two
Legends comic
After Megatron crossed over into the Legends Universe, the local Waspinator filled his own Megatron on this new Megatron's life so far, including the time he was turned into Galvatron and gained Cyclonus as a soldier. Bonus Edition Vol. 13
Generations Selects Special Comic (2)
Under undisclosed circumstances, Cyclonus had reverted to being Skywarp by the Selector revolt of 2050. Volcanicus comic 1
TV Magazine comic continuity
The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers
Cyclonus took part in many of Galvatron's wacky schemes, including one involving a giant toothy spaceship that ate other spaceships and stole their energy. When Rodimus Prime infiltrated the ship, Cyclonus, Scourge and Galvatron swiftly ganged up on him. Rodimus, however, was clever enough to trick Galvatron into blasting a hole in the side of the ship, providing him with an escape. As Rodimus left, he dropped off a little "gift" for Cyclonus. Cyclonus was unable to recognize it as a bomb until it was too late. The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #1
He was also involved in the Decepticon siege on Feminia. He was forced to retreat with the rest of the Decepticons after Predaking was defeated by the Omnibots. The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #5
The Great Transformer War
Cyclonus stood by Galvatron's side as he commanded the captive scientist Doctor Dalton to improve Trypticon and their combiner warriors. However, when the Autobots came to rescue Dalton, Cyclonus was distracted watching the Combiners fight outside, allowing Blades to sneak in and free him. Cyclonus was then left with the unenviable task of breaking the news to Galvatron (and Galvatron didn't take it well). The Great Transformer War #1
After the resurrection of Optimus Prime, Cyclonus was seen getting trounced by Hot Rod in outer space. He and the other Decepticons fled, but it all turned out to be a diversionary tactic to divide the Autobot forces, making way for Galvatron's invasion of Cybertron. The Great Transformer War #3
Cybertron comic
Optimus Prime opening the Matrix of Leadership on a Hate Plague-infected Cyclonus, Galvatron, and Scourge was a highlight of Vector Prime's career as the guardian of spacetime. Vector Prime: In the Beginning
Rodimus vs. Cyclonus
Immediately upon his creation, Cyclonus felt shafted by both Unicron and the universe at large; he remembered that he had never been able to amount to anything in his past life, and noted that although his dark master had promised him an army to match Scourge's Sweeps, it never materialized. As such, as soon as Galvatron blew apart Ultra Magnus on the planet of Junk and acquired the Matrix, Cyclonus immediately pledged his allegiance to him, rather than maintain his loyalties to the Chaos Bringer.
Galvatron sent out his two minions to slaughter as many Autobots as they could, promising whichever one amassed the highest body-count a position as his second-in-command. To ensure he would win, Cyclonus planted a false trail for Scourge to follow into the Rayzor Nebula. He then happened upon a Quintesson ship carrying Hot Rod and his allies, and struck at the vessel. Though Cyclonus was making short work of the ship's defences, he was goaded into halting his assault when Hot Rod invoked the Challenge of Aria-Bellum; a one-on-one trial by combat. The two opponents met inside the ship's anterior propulsion silo and begun their duel in earnest. Cyclonus quickly gained the upper hand, until Hot Rod started playing into the Decepticon's insecurities, and tricked him into punching into a hot fuel rod, dazing him and allowing Hot Rod to knock his opponent away.
But Cyclonus then revealed he had no intentions of honoring the Challenger of Aria-Bellum, and prepared to resume his attack on the ship... only for Scourge to turn up, miffed at having been led astray. As the two Decepticons squabbled, the Autobots made their escape, disallowing either from scoring any kills whatsoever. Rodimus vs. Cyclonus
Wings Universe
Following the rebirth of Cybertron's Golden Age, Galvatron led Cyclonus and the majority of his troops out into deep space, leaving behind their home planet. The Autobots gave chase, and the Cybertronian Civil War moved to new frontiers. Generation 2: Redux
In 2010, Cyclonus and Scourge led the Sweeps in an attack on an Autobot shuttle. Unfortunately, they neglected to plan for the raw fury that accompanied interrupting the Dinobots' story time. Wings of Honor
At the signing of the Pax Cybertronia in 2013, Scourge noted that the currently offline Galvatron would probably not be happy to learn of the treaty; Scourge planned to have Cyclonus inform Galvatron if Galvatron ever recovered. A Common Foe
Ask Vector Prime
In one version of the Unicron War wherein Gong and Sideways mixed in GoBots, Fracture replaced Cyclonus as Galvatron's warrior created by Unicron. Echoes and Fragments
Notes
- When asked about Cyclonus's design in an online interview, Floro Dery's reply was, "Cyclonus was a small time demon."[1]
- In 2010, a set of Cyclonus's original color models (at right) drawn by Floro Dery for The Transformers: The Movie went up for sale on Heritage Auctions, sold from Ron Friedman's collection of Sunbow materials. In contrast to his final model by Toei and his toys, this early color model depicted him with pink, magenta, and cyan parts.
- There exists an earlier variant of Cyclonus's final cartoon model that features the goatee detail from the older models drawn by Floro Dery. Quite often in both the US cartoon and The Headmasters cartoon, Cyclonus would appear using this model for very brief instances.
- During The Transformers: The Movie, Cyclonus is shown to be huge in vehicle form, serving as a personal attack ship for Galvatron, despite being a normal-sized robot. In the cartoon's subsequent third season, however, Galvatron uses the Revenge and his own flight capabilities as his primary means of transport, and Cyclonus never shows such size-changing abilities again except in the episode "Starscream's Ghost".
- Cyclonus's voice in the Generation 1 cartoon is noticeably inconsistent. In some episodes (e.g. "The Big Broadcast of 2006") he speaks with a sinister, purring baritone. In others (the "Five Faces of Darkness" episodes) his voice takes on a comical, overly dramatic thespian quality. Sometimes he changes between the two within the same episode.
Who is Cyclonus?
| “ | I don't know who you are, or even who you used to be... and I don't care! | ” |
| —Hot Rod on Cyclonus's origins, "Rodimus vs. Cyclonus" | ||
When Unicron creates Cyclonus in The Transformers: The Movie, two Cyclonuses are present: In the foreground, the Insecticon Bombshell becomes one, while in the background, the Seeker Skywarp becomes another. While this is happening, Unicron declares, "Cyclonus—the warrior... and his armada." But clearly, one warrior does not an armada make. The reasoning behind the line can be seen in the script, which states that Cyclonus is supposed to have multiple identical duplicates like Scourge's Sweeps.[2] However, the idea didn't even survive the next cut; as the group boards their ship moments later, the second Cyclonus has been replaced with a third Sweep. And while the number of Sweeps would fluctuate constantly throughout the film and the rest of the series, Cyclonus was depicted as a unique individual (barring some animation errors in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5" and "The Quintesson Journal"). It was, essentially, as if the armada had never existed in the first place.
So which robot actually became Cyclonus? Bombshell or Skywarp? Bombshell is the most straightforward interpretation, as he is shown more prominently in the shot. This would mean Skywarp "really" became a Sweep. But some fans dislike that asymmetry; they believe that if Thundercracker, the blue jet from 1984, becomes Galvatron's blue spaceship lieutenant, then Skywarp, the purple(-accented) jet from 1984, "ought to" become Galvatron's purple spaceship lieutenant. (The cross-sell catalogs included with 1986 toys even replace Thundercracker and Skywarp with Cyclonus and Scourge in the "Decepticon Planes" section.) Another common judgment is that the loyal Cyclonus's personality fits better with Skywarp, as opposed to the frequently treacherous Bombshell. Moreover, the Sweeps' portrayal as inexplicably-endless cannon fodder jibes with the Insecticons' cloning ability, so it seems thematically appropriate for Bombshell to end up a Sweep alongside the established Shrapnel and Kickback. On the other hand, the fact that they were all intended to be dead at that point makes their former attributes questionably relevant.
Unhelpfully, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and the Insecticons all continue to appear in the film, with Shrapnel even being called for by name in a later scene of the finalized script. This seems to be a vestige of the early draft that did not feature Megatron being cast into space with other contemporary Decepticons; instead, a brawl in the Decepticon Hall of Heroes results in his body being destroyed and his "Life Spark" floating off into space. Several shrines in the Hall are broken, releasing the sparks in them as well; it is these sparks of long-dead Decepticons who are recreated by Unicron as Cyclonus and the rest.[3]
The final script only states that "other Decepticons" are turned into Galvatron's troops, but the storyboard of the scene is slightly more definitive: it shows Bombshell alone (labeled with his name) being recreated, then a shot of Cyclonus with some unidentified, vaguely Cyclonus-like robots behind him. Cyclonus's Transformers Universe bio, the only other contemporary source, states that he is made from "parts of dead Decepticons" (note plural).[4] This would later be echoed in his Heroes of Cybertron and 2008 Universe bios.[5]
Some modern attempts have been made to clear the matter up, with conflicting results. As mentioned elsewhere, in 2001 the Universe: Featuring the Wreckers comic stars Cyclonus and Skywarp side by side in the future. The 2007 conclusion of that storyline contains an exchange between the two wherein Cyclonus says that Skywarp had once been his "Armada". Skywarp retorts that he had always disliked Cyclonus, even when Cyclonus had been "a bug". Also, in 2006 IDW published a comic-book adaptation of the movie that puts Unicron's "Cyclonus—the warrior" speech-bubble on top of the Bombshell-Cyclonus, while "and his armada!" is seen over the Skywarp-Cyclonus.
Released in 2003, Madman Entertainment's Australian DVD release of the movie contains character bios that declare Cyclonus to have been Skywarp. These bios are also included in the 2005 Metrodome UK DVD release. The 2006 Sony release of the film features a lenticular cover showing Skywarp being replaced with Cyclonus, next to Megatron being replaced with Galvatron. The AllSpark Almanac Addendum has a piece of Cybertronix that is an Ask Vector Prime question asking who Cyclonus was created from. Vector Prime gives the answer that it "varies by universe". A short cowritten by Flint Dille tackles the debate head-on, putting forth the bold claim that they both became Cyclonus.
Hasbro itself leaned onto the confusion with the promotional text for Cyclonus's War for Cybertron: Kingdom toy, which describes his movie origins as "when Bombshell/Skywarp/both/neither were reformatted into the second-in-command of Galvatron".
The Japanese side of things is mostly consistent in considering Cyclonus to be an evolution of Skywarp. The 2011 story, "Macrocosmic Seekers", tells of several characters regressing to a state somewhere between their post-movie forms and their original bodies. This restores old powers, such as Cyclonus being able to teleport like Skywarp. The extended biography for Masterpiece MP-52+SW Skywarp, released in 2021, outright states Skywarp became Cyclonus and retained his loyalty after his transformation. The one known divergence is Cyclonus's profile in the 2003 cartoon-based video game stating that he was built from Bombshell.
