Victory Leo


 * Victory Leo is an Autobot from the Victory portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.



Victory Leo is a wild and powerful Autobot warrior who works alongside Star Saber.


 * (Note: Exactly who Victory Leo is depends on the continuity. See below.)

Victory animated series

 * Voice actor: Hiroshi Takemura (Japanese)

After the events of the Masterforce war on Earth, the Transtector formerly bonded to the human Ginrai - now having taken its human partner's name as its own, becoming known as Ginrai itself - joined with the Autobot forces in space, where he became good friends with Star Saber and his adopted human son, Jan Minakaze. Before long, Star Saber was appointed Supreme Commander of the Autobots, while Ginrai became commander of the Defense Force for Space Sector Two. Operating out of a base in the G Nebula, Ginrai's time was occupied battling the Decepticon forces under Overlord's control, so much so that Star Saber occasionally had to respond to emergencies in Sector Two, such as a Breastforce attack on planet Micro.

Feeling guilty over taking up Star Saber's time in such a manner, Ginrai was quick to come to his aid when he was lured into a trap on Earth by Decepticon Emperor of Destruction Deathsaurus. Confronting Deathsaurus in battle, Ginrai was struck by a blast from the villain's Living-Metal-Destroying Cannon and badly damaged. Despite the best medical efforts of Perceptor and Wheeljack, and Minerva Ginrai's body was left useless and immobile. Due to a slip by Perceptor, however, he learned of the existence of a reconstruction process conceived by Star Saber that would allow him to become a power-up for the Autobot leader. Star Saber refused to allow him to submit to the process, revolted at the notion of using his close friend's body in such a way, but Ginrai insisted. Perceptor and Wheeljack brought his life functions to an end, and then restored him to Star Saber's specifications as Victory Leo.

An unfortunate side-effect of the process left Victory Leo's mind and body unbalanced - immediately after his transformation, he began to run wild in his lion mode, displaying a more wild, feral nature than God Ginrai ever had, leaving Jan dismayed at the apparent loss of the being he had considered his friend. When Jan was trapped in a collapsed building as Victory Leo battled the Breastforce, however, his pleas for help reached Victory Leo, and some measure of balance returned to his mind, leading him to rescue Jan.

When Deathsaurus threatened the Earth with orbital missile strikes if the Autobots interfered in the Decepticons' energy-gathering raids, Victory Leo had to be forcibly held back by the Brainmasters to prevent him from attacking their enemies and dooming the planet. Star Saber came to the rescue with a new unification circuit implanted within his body - with this new component, he and Victory Leo could combine their bodies into Victory Saber. In the form of a combined jet, Victory Saber soared into space at a faster rate than Deathsaurus had predicted, and then in their combined robot form, destroyed the satellite controlling the missiles.

Despite his proven battle prowess, Victory Leo was still not entirely the being Ginrai had been, retaining a more violent, short-tempered personality which sometimes brought him into conflict with the other Autobots, who, in turn, did not trust him as much as they had Ginrai. When Breastforce member Leozack impersonated Star Saber, Victory Leo realized that something was wrong, but none of his team-mates believed him. Even when Victory Leo tried to stop Leozack from taking Victory Saber's combination information, the Autobots thought he was a traitor, until the real Star Saber showed up and Leozack was exposed, gaining Victory Leo his comrades trust.

When Deathsaurus finally succeeded in reactivating his colossal planet-destroying battle fortress, Victory Leo and Star Saber combined into Victory Saber took to space to try and stop the deadly craft, only to be knocked out by its weapons and crashed, unonsciousness, on its surface. Recovering as it transformed into its "Destroyer Mode," Victory Saber attacked again but was confronted by Breastforce combiner Liokaiser. At the same time, Jan arrived in his mobile mech with information that could destroy the fortress, and Victory Saber separated so that Star Saber could follow him into the fortress; Victory Leo took on Liokaiser and defeated him by hurling him into the fortress's cannon barrel. Jan then succeeded in beginning the fortress's destruction, and Deszaras, defeated by Star Saber, set the craft on collision course with Earth. Forming Victory Saber once again, the two heroes successfully destroyed the fortress and saved the planet.

Victory manga
Decidedly far removed from the anime, the Victory manga offers no connection between Victory Leo and Ginrai, presenting Victory Leo as having been created by Jan's parents from the element grunium. Just as Star Saber had taken care of Jan, Victory Leo had been occupied in another part of the galaxy taking care of Jan's sister Patty.

Victory

 * Victory Leo (1989)
 * Japanese ID number: C-327


 * Victory Leo transforms into a black, yellow and white winged lion robot, and also into a flying mode that's basically a block with wings sticking out of it. All three modes are dominated by the missile-firing V-Lock Rifle that rises from his back between his wings in alternate mode, or plugs into his hip in robot mode. The toy combines with Star Saber, sold separately, to become Victory Saber.


 * Victory Saber (1989)
 * Japanese ID number: C-328


 * Victory Leo was also available in a giftset with Star Saber. Their individual flight modes could be combined by plugging Victory Leo into the rear of Star Saber, and Victory Leo could then be disassembled and connected to Star Saber's robot. His legs and chest compressed into a pair of "platform boots" that connected to the base of Star Saber's feet, which his other components formed a winged backpack that aimed his twin cannons over Star Saber's shoulders. In this mode, Victory Saber could also wield the V-Lock Rifle.

Robot Masters

 * Victory Leo (2004)
 * Japanese ID number: RM-16


 * A smaller, simplified version of the Victory Leo toy, the Robot Masters version of the figure cuts out the flight mode and arms Victory Leo with a new yellow gun. It has stupid floppy legs.


 * Victory Saber (2004)
 * Japanese ID number: RM-17


 * Victory Leo was also available into a two-pack with the Robot Masters version of Star Saber, with whom he could still combine to form Victory Saber, both jet and robot modes. The two figures in this pack featured a more metallic paint job than their standard releases.


 * Victory Saber (eHobby exclusive, 2005)


 * An "evil recolor" of the Victory Saber two-pack completed with Decepticon symbols, this black, purple, teal and bronze redeco represents the two heroes in "optical camouflage" paintjobs for use on an undercover mission to investigate Decepticon dealings in the Middle East black market.