Unicron is a fictional villain from the ''
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...
'' media franchise. Designed by
Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film ''
The Transformers: The Movie'' and has since reappeared in ''
Transformers: Armada'', ''
Transformers: Energon'', ''
Transformers: Cybertron'', ''
Transformers: Prime'', ''
Transformers Prime Beast Hunters: Predacons Rising'', ''
Transformers: The Last Knight'', ''
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'', and
Atari
Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
's 2004
''Transformers'' video game. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions; he is also able to
transform into a giant planet. Unicron's origin has expanded over the years from simply being a large robot to being a god of chaos who devours realities. He often employs the help of
Decepticon
The Decepticons are a fictional faction of sentient robots in the ''Transformers'' multimedia franchise. Serving as the main antagonists in the franchise, their goals include conquering their fictional homeworld planet Cybertron, defeating ...
s in his work, and in some stories is considered part of the origin of the Decepticon forces.
Fictional character biography
According to the Transformers lore, before the dawn of time, Order and Chaos exist within an extra-dimensional entity known as The One. To explore the fledgling universe, he creates the astral being known as Unicron, and then subdivides him, creating his twin, Primus.
Physical dimensions
Unicron's size is never specified in any canon materials, aside from the vague term "planet size". In ''The Transformers: The Movie'', Unicron's height appears to be anywhere from several kilometers (as when handling
Galvatron
Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a villainou ...
) to several hundred kilometers (as when attacking and destroying Lithone and Cybertron's moons, and attacking Cybertron). A planet-mode diameter of has been suggested and robot-mode dimensions can follow from that estimate, provided that there is no change in size (compression or expansion) common among so many Transformers. One scene in the movie shows
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
driving out of one of Unicron's eyes, just small enough to fit through them, though in another scene the
Quintesson
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform i ...
ship
Hot Rod
Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...
arrived in is tiny compared with the eye. Unicron is also small enough to stand on Cybertron's surface.
Animated series
''The Transformers: The Movie''
The character Unicron first appears in the opening scene of 1986's ''
The Transformers: The Movie'', immediately making clear his goal by consuming the small world of Lithone. Subsequently, when the Decepticons
Megatron
Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a villaino ...
,
Skywarp,
Thundercracker, and the
Insecticons
This article shows a list of characters from ''The Transformers'' television series that aired during the debut of the American and Japanese Transformers media franchise from 1984 to 1991.
Autobots
The Autobots (also known as Cybertrons in Jap ...
are set adrift in space and left to die following a furious battle with the
Autobot
The Autobots are a fictional faction of sentient robots in the ''Transformers'' multimedia franchise. The Autobots are living robots from the planet Cybertron who, like most Transformers, are each imbued with a unique "life force" known as a " ...
s, Unicron appears before them and offers Megatron a deal: in exchange for a new body, and new troops, Megatron will destroy the Autobot
Matrix of Leadership, the only thing that can stand in Unicron's way. Thus, Unicron rebuilds Megatron into a new and more powerful body and rechristens him
Galvatron
Megatron is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, a villainou ...
. He then uses the battered bodies of the other Decepticons and creates Scourge, the Sweeps and
Cyclonus. Unicron also gives Galvatron a vessel, and Galvatron begins to carry out his assigned task, although he is loath to do so. When Galvatron shows any signs of opposition to Unicron's will, Unicron inflicts agonizing torture in his mind to coerce him into obedience.
Following Unicron's consumption of Cybertron's two moons, Galvatron obtains the Matrix from
Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus is a fictional character from the ''Transformers'' franchise. Ultra Magnus is based on the Diaclone figure Powered Convoy, which is a modified version of the preexisting Battle Convoy figure. He is usually depicted as a car carrie ...
, believing he can use it to bring Unicron under his control. Attempting to open the Matrix to intimidate Unicron, Galvatron only prompts his transformation into robot mode and is swallowed by the planet-eater. Unicron lays waste to Cybertron, halted briefly when the young Autobot rookie,
Hot Rod
Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimized for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and ma ...
, crashes a
Quintesson
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform i ...
spacecraft through his eye. Finding Hot Rod inside Unicron's body, Galvatron suggests an alliance against their common enemy. However, Unicron inflicts his mental torture upon Galvatron, forcing him to fight Hot Rod. Hot Rod seizes the Matrix from Galvatron during the fight and becomes Rodimus Prime. Rodimus throws Galvatron into space, freeing him from Unicron's mind-control. Rodimus opens the Matrix within Unicron, destroying his body, leaving only his head, which becomes a moon of Cybertron.
Unicron was voiced by
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
.
The third season of ''The Transformers'' animated series continues Unicron's story where the movie left off, as the planet-eater's deactivated head settles into orbit around Cybertron. His head is visited by Cyclonus, who accesses the memory bank to discern the fate of Galvatron. Later, the ghost of the deceased Decepticon
Starscream
Starscream is a character in the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the second-in-command of the Decepticons, a villainous faction of alien robots that s ...
reactivates Unicron's head and enters into a bargain with him, performing three labors in exchange for the restoration of his body. Starscream (inhabiting and controlling Scourge's body) gathers for Unicron
Metroplex's eyes (breaking one and replacing it with one from
Trypticon) and Trypticon's transformation cog. He begins to connect his head to Cybertron, which would become Unicron's new body. Starscream demands that Unicron restore his own body so that he can complete the required connections. Once Unicron does so, Starscream double-crosses him and refuses to finish the job. Unicron's head is subsequently blown off into space by an explosion instigated by the Autobots.
Later, when searching for a new supply of positrons (anti-electrons), the Decepticons venture to Unicron's head, where Cyclonus and Scourge accidentally awake the slumbering demi-god. At the same time,
Grimlock constructs the
Technobots from pieces of Unicron's head, and one of their number,
Strafe
Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons.
Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...
, severs enough of Unicron's neural connections to shut him back down.
Although Unicron himself does not appear again, his origin in the animated series is later revealed. Unicron was created near the beginning of the universe by the diminutive genius known as Primacron, who intended for him to devour all life in the universe, leaving a blank slate that Primacron could use as he saw fit. However, Unicron turned upon Primacron, deciding that ''he'' would rule the universe and subsequently set out to achieve that goal.
Unicron trilogy
Unicron would appear in ''Transformers Armada'', voiced by Mark Acheson. In episode 23, several of the human allies discover Sideways within their computers, and attempt to stop him, but not before learning that his accomplice was Unicron within the mainframe acting as a failsafe. The final season depicts Unicron as the main antagonist. Called the ''Unicron Battles'', the Transformers Earth groups return to Cybertron. The humans learn Unicron had made the Minicons to take control of Cybertron, but the Minicons revolted and become part of the Transformers' own civil war.
Unicron appears in the sequel series ''
Transformers: Energon'', set 10 years after the Unicron Battles.
The autobots successfully destroy Unicron, but Unicron manages to place his consciousness within Megatron. In the final episode, Megatron is corrupted by Unicron, leading to another confrontation with Optimus Supreme. Around this time, Primus, Unicron's sibling, creates an energon sun and attempts to trap Unicron's soul with it. Both he and Megatron are destroyed for good, and the energon sun recreates Alpha's planets that were destroyed long ago.
''Aligned'' continuity
In the ''
Transformers: Prime'' storyline, Unicron (voiced by
John Noble
John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his roles as Denethor in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003), and Dr. Walter Bishop in the Fox science fiction series '' Fringe'' (2008–2013). ...
) is the source of Dark Energon, a poisonous and corruptive form of Energon with the ability to revive the dead - albeit in a mindless, zombie-like "Terrorcon" state - also known by the name "the blood of Unicron". Unicron is believed to represent the Anti-Spark (most likely a counterpart of the AllSpark).
Publication history
Fun Publications
When Unicron attacks Cybertron in the midst of the chaos caused by a Mini-Con civil war, Sentinel Maximus and
Omega Prime fight him off with the help of their allies. In the end Unicron is driven off, badly wounded, by Primus.
Unite Warriors
In conjunction with the Unite Warriors line,
Takara Tomy
(trade name, trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pi ...
released a comic detailing how the Galvatronus combiner came to be. Following his defeat at the conclusion of ''The Headmasters'', Galvatron's icy tomb is discovered by Cyclonus, whose body Galvatron modifies to accommodate his own head in the chest compartment. Seeking a more fitting form, Galvatron directs Cyclonus to approach the disembodied head of Unicron, who is convinced to help Galvatron attain a combiner form with Cyclonus as its core. To accomplish this, Unicron opens dimensional rifts in order to bring Curse Armada Thrust,
Zombie War Breakdown, and
Wandering Roller into their world. To Cyclonus' surprise,
Starscream
Starscream is a character in the ''Transformers'' media franchise produced by the American toy company Hasbro and the Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. He is the second-in-command of the Decepticons, a villainous faction of alien robots that s ...
makes an appearance, expressing interest in joining this new alliance. Unicron grants Starscream a new physical form, and Galvatron's head takes control of his new minions to take on his new form of Galvatronus.
Film series
Debuting in ''
Transformers: The Last Knight'', the six horns of Unicron began appearing out of the
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
in response to the approach of Cybertron. Unicron is noted by Quintessa to be another name for Earth, and Optimus Prime recognizes Unicron as Cybertron's ancient enemy. Quintessa plans to drain Unicron's energy to restore the damaged Cybertron, killing life on Earth in the process. Simmons later helps Burton locate an ancient book containing details about Unicron, noting that the center-point of Unicron's horns (during the era when all of the Earth's continents formed
Pangaea
Pangaea or Pangea ( ) was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous period approximately 335 mi ...
) is
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...
. Megatron and Quintessa begin draining energy from Unicron but are foiled, and later Quintessa (disguised as a human) approaches a scientist studying one of Unicron's horns to warn him not to touch the chaos-bringer and offers a way to kill him.
Unicron appears in the 2023 film ''
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts'', voiced by
Colman Domingo. In the film, he is a
planet
A planet is a large, Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets b ...
-eater who consumes them as fuel. Devouring the home planet of the Maximals, who escape with the Transwarp Key to Earth, he sends his
Terrorcon servants to find it. After the Terrorcons obtain the two halves of the key, Unicron emerges through a portal near Earth, intent on devouring the planet. However, Optimus Prime destroys the key, collapsing the portal and trapping Unicron in the other side.
Video games
Unicron is among the characters appearing in the 2004 ''
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...
'' video game for the
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
, and served as the main final boss in the game. Unicron begins attacking Cybertron, requiring the Autobots to collect enough Mini-cons to create a power-up mode for Optimus Prime. The player must chase Unicron as he orbits around Cybertron and enters his maw as he prepares to fire, blasting him with the Matrix Cannon until eventually Unicron is destroyed.
Unicron is mentioned a number of times in ''
Transformers: Prime The Game''. Eons ago, Unicron created Thunderwing to serve him and destroy the Matrix of Leadership. After Unicron's demise, a meteor of Dark Energon with Thunderwing sealed within crashes on Earth.
Optimus Prime comes across the meteor and finds Thunderwing who reveals that he is a minion of Unicron and his mission was to destroy the Matrix. Thunderwing seeks help from the Decepticons for the repairs needed. He fails thanks to the combined efforts of Prime and
Jack Darby and falls into a volcano.
Toys
* ''Armada'' Unicron with Dead End (2003)
:The ''Armada'' figure came with its own Mini-Con, which transforms into a cannon-equipped 'moon' to Unicron's 'planet', looking very similar to the
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of obliterating entire planets, and serves to enforce ...
of ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' fame. At various points in production, Unicron's Mini-Con was originally going to be called Nebulon, the name of the homeworld of the
Headmaster
A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school.
Role
While s ...
,
Targetmaster and Powermaster partners, and also Gobotron, the homeworld of the Transformers' competitive toyline in the 80's, the
''Go-Bots''. Designer Aaron Archer did not want such a historical action figure to be overshadowed by a Go-Bots pun, so the name was changed to
Dead End, re-using a name of one of the original
Stunticon
The Autobots are a fictional faction of sentient robots in the ''Transformers'' multimedia franchise. The Autobots are living robots from the planet Cybertron who, like most Transformers, are each imbued with a unique "life force" known as a " ...
s. A multitude of these Mini-Cons was featured in the ''Armada'' cartoon, although they were portrayed simply as non-transforming internal defensive "laser pods," instead of actual Mini-Cons.
:This toy was voted the 52nd top toy released in the last 10 years by ''
ToyFare'' magazine.
* ''Cybertron'' Deluxe Unicron (2005)
:A Deluxe size figure. The figure was packaged on a Decepticon cardback, and that the character's profile in the ''Transformers Collectors' Club'' magazine also included a Decepticon symbol. The actual story featuring the character, however, presents him as unaffiliated, serving only his own ends. In line with this, the toy lacks a faction symbol - a rare but not unheard of occurrence in the Transformers line, with examples including
Micromasters
MicroMasters programs are a series of online graduate level courses offered by universities through edX that one can take to develop standalone skills for career advancement or earn graduate level credentials.
First launched in September 2016 wit ...
, the
Generation 2 Go-Bots
GoBots is a line of transforming robot toys produced by Tonka from 1983 to 1987, similar to Hasbro's Transformers.
Although initially a separate and competing line of toys, Tonka's Gobots became the intellectual property of Hasbro after their b ...
, ''Cybertron'' Safeguard, SDCC exclusive
Skywarp, and movie
Armorhide.
* ''Titanium'' 3 inch Unicron
:A three-inch tall Decepticon which doesn't transform. It is packaged holding one of Cybertron's moons.
* ''Robot Heroes'' Optimus Prime and Unicron
:Unicron is sold as a Decepticon, one half of a two-pack.
* ''Transformers 2010'' Unicron (2010)
:A redeco and remold of the ''Armada'' Unicron figure was released in late 2010 as part of
Takara Tomy
(trade name, trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pi ...
's "Welcome to Transformers 2010" promotion, which celebrates the year in which
the third season of ''
The Transformers'' was set in Japan. Designed to resemble Unicron as seen in ''
The Transformers: The Movie'', pre-release photos issued by Takara Tomy show a new head and changes to the molding of the torso, as well as deco based on his movie appearance. He retains the Mini-Con partner.
* ''Generations'' 25th Anniversary Unicron (2011)
:The U.S. release of the 2010 Unicron redeco is an
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...
exclusive to commemorate the 25th anniversary of ''The Transformers: The Movie''. The included Dead End Mini-Con is renamed Kranix (after the last remaining inhabitant of the planet Lithone).
*''Transformers'' Siege War For Cybertron Unicron (2019)
:A 27-inch tall figure that weighs 19 pounds (8.6 kg), the tallest transformer to-date. From the ''
Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy'' series and the widest diameter of any transformers figure with 30 inches, a larger diameter than the previous record holder (
Fortress Maximus) by over 4 inches. It is sold with interchangeable chins, and can be switched between a smooth chin and a goatee-style chin, reminiscient of The Transformers: The Movie. The figure also comes with a custom stand as well as a mini ''
Decepticon
The Decepticons are a fictional faction of sentient robots in the ''Transformers'' multimedia franchise. Serving as the main antagonists in the franchise, their goals include conquering their fictional homeworld planet Cybertron, defeating ...
'' Galvatron figure.
References
External links
Beast Wars Neo Unicron Prototype*
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