The Insecticon Syndrome

This article is about the relative relationship in Transformer race.

Throughout the Transformers multiverse are many Transformers who consider themselves family and refer to each other as such. The most common case is when two Transformers regard each other as siblings: "brothers" (e.g. G1 Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, or Robots In Disguise's Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus) or "sisters" (Roulette and Shadow Striker).

Given that Transformers are not organic life and do not reproduce sexually, the origin, distinction, and exact meaning of many of these terms is frequently unclear.

Possible Explanations

The Doublemint Twins they're not.

The Dreamwave More than Meets the Eye Guide provides a partial possible answer. According to the guide, when a spark naturally splits as it's being introduced to a protoform, it creates two robots who are "brothers" such as Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. When such a spark division is artificially induced, the less balanced and self-reliant pair created are referred to as "clones". (This definition of "brother" may or may not apply to RID Prime and Magnus, whose brotherhood was said to result from the special circumstance of having been created simultaneously by Alpha Trion).

However, the "Beast Era" widened the issue of reproduction with Rattrap referring to his "great-aunt" Arcee and in general the practice of Maximals and Predacons referring to the Autobots and Decepticons as their respective "ancestors", as well as themselves as being their "descendants", implying a direct genetic (for want of a better term) lineage. Various sources of debatable canonicity suggest that Optimus Primal is specifically descended from Optimus Prime, usually through the phrase "his ancestor Optimus Prime" (though the events of Optimal Situation seem to prove that all Maximals could reasonably consider Optimus Prime their ancestor). In the absence of sexual reproduction, the use and meaning of these genealogical references is difficult to explain. One possible explanation might be a situation such as when Airazor is brought to life in Beast Wars. Her spark and protoform are heavily damaged, and Cheetor allows some of his parts to be used as replacements while Rhinox guides the procedure. To compare to humans, this is something like assisting with childbirth and donating blood or organs. It is unlikely that this happened enough to cause "descendants" as they are described, however.

Other family designations exist as well. Wheelie has "parents" who were lost in his crash on Quintessa, according to some background material. The Mini-Con Twirl very specifically calls Falcia her "mother" (which Falcia hates) and seems to treat Redline like a father, since the two's spark frame energies went into constructing her physical form. In the Armada cartoon, Side Swipe refers to Hot Shot as his brother after Hot Shot saves his life, indicating at least an understanding of the concept. The Unicron Trilogy universe has also used the term "cousin" for certain Transformers on occasion. The Japanese Generation 1 Victory manga features Decepticon wives and children. Even the live-action movie features an Optimus and Megatron who are brothers, and it is mentioned in the related Nintendo DS game that Megatron "took the spark" of their father.

Notable siblings

G1/Beast Era

• Sideswipe and Sunstreaker
• Frenzy and Rumble
• Topspin and Twin Twist
• Blaster, Karmen and Toaster
• Decibel and Legout
• Fortress Maximus and Grand Maximus in Japanese G1 continuity.
• Leozack and Lyzack
• Sixliner and Sixtrain
• Roulette and Shadow Striker
• Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus in Dreamwave G1 continuity.
• Clamp Down and Deep Cover
• BW 2 Galvatron and Megastorm
• DJ, Motor Arm and Gimlet

Car Robot/Robots in Disguise

• Fire Convoy and God Magnus
• Wildride, Mach Alert and Speedbreaker
• Gas Skunk, Guildo and Gushar (Only in the toy catalogs)

Unicron Trilogy

• Jetfire and Overcast
• Landmine and Landquake
• Shockblast and Six Shot
• Superion Maximus and his brother
• Signal Flare and Offshoot
• Hardtop and Swindle
• Undermine and Repugnus

Parents and children

Stammy, eat your roast carrot before it becomes cold.

• Optimus Prime may have a mother..
• Quickswitch is Sixshot's son.
• Speeder is the son of Dai Atlas.
• Lio Junior is the “son” of Lio Convoy.
• Stampy and his parents.
• Cohrada and his father.
• Longrack and his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-gran......, too many to be listed.

Cousins

Unicron Trilogy

• Skywarp and Starscream
• Swindle and Zapmaster
• Bulkhead and Quickstrike
• Overhaul and Brushguard

Other relatives

• Rattrap calls Arcee his "great-aunt".
• Artfire and Fire Convoy are relatives.

See also

• Familial relationships

Footnote

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