#cicadacon

Finished my vintage shelf. Not entirely happy with the setup, especially since I cant fit my 86 Trypticon in there. I am aware that the shattered glass bots and safeguard are not quite 20 years old yet but they'll hit that milestone in a little under 2 years. This is not all of my +20 year old transformers, just the ones I could neatly fit in here.

I love cicadas. 10/10 bug. Scream on you randy little buggers.

Officially Cicadacon was born among the first transformers, but in the wars that led up to the Great War, he sustained severe damage and had to rebuild himself heavily. For this, he turned his emotions off and apparently just never turned them back on. His memory was gone and he was a functionally new individual so he took a new name, and ended up joining the Decepticons. Then he was injured in Unicron's 2005 attack on Cybertron, which apparently juggled his memory and he became Cicadacon again and decided he hates both factions.

The part about Unicron is clearly cartoon continuity, but the rest (particularly description of Shockwave) feels like Marvel.

Circadian is a lot more niche and a stretch (which necessitates me having to create a reason for this), based on the myth that the Cicada (which is his eventual beast mode) sleeps for several years underground before finally emerging. The word Circadian itself, aside from alluding to Circadian rhythm (also related to sleep), refers to bodily 24-hour cycles that can maintain themselves even without a proper day and night to alert a person. 

The Cicada-theming is appropriate, because if you think about it... That’s the MO of the Tripredacus Council; Wait in hiding, under the radar, for who knows how long, as long as is necessary... Waiting for the perfect moment to finally emerge as their true selves. And ascribing this motif to Cicadacon in particular is additionally interest, because he resembles Megatron, doesn’t he?

The Doylist explanation is that the animators used Megatron’s pre-existing model to make Cicadacon; We know of a similar story for why Tigatron joined the cast as an altered Cheetor, rather than Wolfang. But coupled with Cicadacon even saying Megatron’s iconic “Yes” at one point, and...

I think there’s a fun relationship to create and explore here; Cicadacon is Megatron’s mentor, hence the similarity in appearance and verbal tic. But while Cicadacon stressed lying in wait for the right time, caution over aggression, Megatron was impatient. He was young and reckless and eager to prove himself and the Predacons as a whole, hence his out-of-line maneuver to steal the Golden Disk. We know he has a bit of a grudge against the Tripredacus Council for their perceived weakness, but giving Megatron a personal history with one of their members would be fun, no? 

Anyhow, what do you guys think? Circadian or Circuitcon? The latter requires a bit more of an explanation but also fits with Cicadacon’s beast motif and tactics, and is arguably more creative. But Circuitcon feels more straightforward and obvious, and I find myself saying it more often.

Dear Bestial Bountifier,

Indeed, I suppose that the time has come for me to share more tales about this incarnation of the Beast Wars. There is so much that could be said—from the time the assassin Waspinator felled Optimus Primal, forcing his upgrade into a new simian form, or how the nefarious Megatron unleashed a wave of cloned prehistoric monsters on the populace of Earth, or his successful duplication of the Matrix's power, creating the Matrix of Conquest—but your question specifically asks of the ultimate fate of this reality and its people, so I will endeavor to concentrate on that.

The climax of the conflict occurred in its third year, when Megatron upgraded his warriors with the Transmetal 2 technology developed by Primacron, assisted by the scientist Reptillion. This turned out to be a trap, designed to place the Predacons under Primacron's control. The Maximals developed their own version of the technology to match the Predacons', and in doing so, opened themselves up to Primacron's influence as well. It was only by tapping into the fundamental bestial nature of their alt modes that both sides were able to thwart Primacron and Reptillion's machinations, freeing themselves.

Primacron was not about to let himself be undone, however. He used the remains of Unicron's head—still floating in Cybertron's orbit—to create a fearsome weapon known as the Grand Mal, unleashing destruction across Cybertron and Earth alike. The situation grew more grave when Primacron used its abilities to take control of the then-long-dormant Fortress Maximus. Not even an alliance between Maximals and Predacons proved enough to stop this juggernaut, and it seemed that all was lost. It was only when Optimus Primal and Megatron combined the powers of their double matrices—upgrading themselves into Optimal Optimus and a new, Predacon incarnation of Galvatron—that they were able to bring an end to Primacron and Unicron's mutual legacy.

Tripredacus Council

Cicadacon:

Ramhorn:

Seaclamp: