How a Transformer Transforms was never really nailed down before, but TFONE reintroduces a semi obscure concept in that Transformation is controlled by a Cog, and without it, one canât Transform.
How a Transformer changes form in older material was never really clear, and frankly the cartoon writers didnât particularly care. Theyâre space robots that turn into cars, animals and objects, how much more complicated can you make it?
Most instances regarding how a robot Transforms in the 80âs cartoon referred to loose ideas about special circuits, or quirky by products of Transformation such as âDinosaur Transform Staticâ unique to dinosaur type Transformers, but otherwise nothing too specific. The cartoon would later on make a point that the Autobotsâ ancestors invented Transforming as a stealth tactic during one of the various prehistoric wars prior to Megatronâs time, though there was no mention of specific inventions to do so.
Cogs were brought up as a plot device post movie, ⌠but there was a catch. The original T-Cogs were limited to Metroplex and Trypticon, special gizmos that allowed THEM to Transform to Robot Mode, with a few episodes devoted to both factions stealing the other MetroTitanâs Cog to get a leg up in a fight. Unicron also required the Cog of one of the giants to facilitate his recreation, implying he too needed one to Transform. The cartoon seems to suggest the Cogs were unique to the giant Transformers, but that the Cogs werenât entirely cross compatible, leaving Metroplex and Trypticon stuck in half way modes if they used each otherâs.
Action Masters famously robbed Transformers of the ability to change, as the miracle fuel Nucleon changed their âFigure Alteration Systemsâ into âEnergy Storage Reactorsâ. No mention of Cogs yet again, but retroactively it could mean a Cog is mutated by Nucleon into a tank to store Nucleon.
How Transforming was controlled was revisited in Beast Wars, where Maximals and Predacons used onboard computers to automate the process. Beast Machines would return to the idea of Transforming being a process that is learned, with the now Techno-Organic Maximals devoid of onboard computers needed to find a meditation still point to convert from Beast to Robot.
Presumably, thinking of it retroactively again, techno organic Maximals have no Cogs, while Vehicons likely still do. Theyâre shown to still have onboard computers anyway. Coincidentally, earlier Japanese media would also mirror Beast Machines, where young Transformers that migrated to Planet Master hadnât learned to Transform yet, and through rigorous training and technological advancement, learned and evolved a new way to Transform in Headmaster technology to adapt to Masterâs harsh terrain.
Indeed most media was content to ignore Cogs being a component, as the older stuff never really used it anyway on regular Transformers. James Robertsâ Proto-MTMTE fan fiction would introduce a separate concept called a âMorph Coreâ, a cluster of nerves connected to the brain module that controlled Transforming, and while the IDW comics would recycle the name, it still referred to the Cog in the end. It wasnât until Aligned that concepts started getting streamlined, with the idea of a Cog controlling conversion being revisited there.
Today, via Aligned, all Transformers require Cogs to change form. As part of an initiative to make Transformers into more obvious living organism like us, rather than just space robots, the Cog is ⌠somewhat confusingly referred to as a biological organ rather than a piece of machinery. How that differs from other body parts that are implied to be mechanical in nature anyway I have no idea, but the point is the Cogs are treated as special, they control Transformation and the ability to Scan new Vehicle or Beast Modes, and canât simply be rebuilt from scratch if lost or damaged. If a Transformer looses one, another Transformer has to donate theirs like a human would donate a kidney to another. TFP would famously depict this where Bumblebee and Starscream would loose their Cogs as part of a scheme by the human terrorist organization MECH, who required a Cog to build their own Transformer. T-Cogs, as a biological component, mean that all Transformersâ genetic code constrains the schematics for a T-Cog, as Starscream would learn when his Clones all could still Transform when he couldnât. Starscream would later harvest a Cog from a dead Clone to replace his own, though with how often Megatron bragged about Decepticon science, I imagine they had the power to build a functional Cog from scratch anyway.
MTMTE era IDW would have their own spin on the matter, where Cogs had a religious and political bent, being connected to religious figures in Amalgamous Prime and Adaptus, but also many Action Master type TFs, now âMonoformersâ would reject their Cogs for political reasons due to Functionism. A one off Decepticon was so repulsed by Transforming, he was whittled down into a base form lacking kibble, and made other Transformers wear mode locks so they wouldnât compulsively Transform in front of him.
As an aside, thereâs moments like this that makes me wonder if Roberts genuinely hated Transforming. So much lore centered around how intrinsic Transforming is to Cybertron culturally, and yet hardly anyone Transformed on his stories that it was routinely used as a running gag⌠You canât tell me thatâs not a little unusual for a Transformer fan.
RBA would also introduce an off shoot of the Cog, a Mul-T-Cog that allows the wearer to assume three Vehicle Modes, but not all at once, as the user needed to make a wise choice on which form to use on a mission. Japanese media also has the âSuper Transform Cogâ, but as of writing, we donât know exactly what that is.
TFONE would mostly go back to the mechanical nature of the Cogs, no real mention of biology, but retain that all Transformers have them upon activation. The Miner class had theirs removed before becoming online, creating a simple to understand Cogless vs Cog social structure where those who canât Transform not having many rights or job opportunities under Sentinel, mirroring IDW and obscure Aligned concepts.
Also kind of ironically mirroring IDW, Sentinel, despite The Fallenâs Cog, never actually Transforms into Vehicle Mode, going back to that clunky idea of Transforming being intrinsic but having some who donât even try.
Orion, Elita, D-16, and B-127 all got Cogs of Primes, donated by Alpha Trion from Prima, Alchemist, Onyx and Micronus, and later on Megatronus, with Cogs being restored to the Miners by Optimus. Where these Cogs come from isnât clear, though my assumption is Sentinel kept the Cogs of the Miners in storage for some reason, and they came out of storage to their rightful owners once the Matrix was restored. Thereâs a popular theory the four having ancient Prime Cogs might give them special powers, though nothing has been officially stated. Itâs said in TFONE in particular that the Cogs unlock the built in potential of a Transformer, which we see with how Optimus and Megatron evolve as they gained their Vehicle Modes, though at the same time, upon getting Megatronusâ Cog, Megatron does appear to evolve further, so itâs a bit unclear if this is his genetic potential or if Megatronus Primeâs influence took over. Optimus similarly only displays certain attributes like his Axe when he gets Zetaâs Matrix, so weâll have to wait and see if this gets played up at all in story or in toy form. I still say a better Mini-Con like version of the Prime Master gimmick would be cool for a further TFONE toy line. Like an Onyx Prime Cog that unlocks a Dragon Cannon on Megatronâs arm for example or Optimus sprouting Primaâs sword when Prima Primeâs Cog is plugged in. Admittedly Iâm kinda surprised Action Masters havenât been revived through the Cogless in toys, like having a drill accessory that becomes a dinosaur buddy for Orion or a jet pack that becomes Laserbeak for D-16. Hint, hint, Hasbro.
There are complaints off and on how relying on a single Cog for Transforming is limiting and kinda stupid, but Transformers is inherently nothing but dumb fun so it still kinda works! Theyâre still robots at the end of the day so having a gizmo that directly controls it makes sense. Itâs just funny to me that it took largely until recently to come up with that based on an obscure plot device from the cartoon for Metroplex.