Pretender

"Pretenders hide the Transformers inside."

Disguise has always been a key component of Transformer operations on other worlds. Pretenders attempt to take this concept to the next level. Pretenders are Transformers fitted with special external armor shells that can disguise their very nature as robots. Rather than hiding themselves as the machinery or vehicles of a world, Pretender Shells can allow a robot to take on the appearance of a native lifeform itself.

On top of their exploration and infiltration uses the shells can also function as powerful battle armor, aid in self-repair, and even function independently of their robot as a second combatant mentally controlled by their "wearer." The major drawback of the technology is that the core robot will feel whatever pain is inflicted on the shell, sometimes even more strongly than pain inflicted on the robot itself.

The most common style of Pretender is an inner robot with a single humanoid shell (usually resembling a monster for Decepticons or a human in battle armor for Autobots).

Marvel Generation 1 comics


Pretender technology was created by Lord Zarak to help his troops operate quasi-anonymously on an Earth that had become (partially due to his influence with the Z Foundation) openly and publicly hostile towards giant alien robots. The idea was that giant organic-looking alien monsters would somehow attract less attention. He was right.

This technology was stolen by Optimus Prime (at the time reduced to a computerized personality) and replicated by the Autobots. The Autobots fashioned their shells after humans, with the stated rationalization that the Decepticons were rather unobservant and wouldn't notice that these humans were many stories tall. He was right.

Super-God Masterforce cartoon
Eight thousand years ago, a starship containing the Autobot Pretenders Metalhawk, Lander, Diver and Phoenix pursued the Decepticon Pretenders Blood, Dauros and Gilmer to neolithic-era Earth, where they crashed. Using their Pretender abilities, the Autobots adopted the form of humans. They transformed the very structure of their bodies into an organic equivalent, shrinking down to normal human size to hide in plain sight among burgeoning humanity.

The Decepticon Pretenders, on the other hand, adopted the forms of monstrous creatures, becoming feared as demons by early man. After many battles, the Autobots succeeded in defeating their enemies and sealing them away - Blood in the pyramids of Egypt, Gilmer in the ruins of Atlantis, and Dauros beneath the Nazca Lines in Peru - for thousands of years.

Liberated in the near future by the mysterious Decepticon "god", Devil Z, the three Pretenders entered his service, and immediately began to draw the Autobot Pretenders out of hiding, before turning their attention to a series of plans to acquire energy and to disrupt one of the three Chokon Powers on Earth. After a string of failures, Devil Z supplanted them with his more powerful Godmaster minions, and although they would often participate in missions, their standing was downgraded and their regularity of appearance on the battlefield diminished. Eventually, they generally only served to supply comic relief, and departed Earth with the other surviving Decepticons when Devil Z was destroyed.

Along the way, the Autobots had been joined by Grand Maximus, who was not only a Pretender but a Headmaster.

Victory cartoon
Pretender technology had advanced to the point that the shells gained sentience, as seen in the shells of the Dinoforce, and could be employed simultaneously with the Transformers' robot modes.

Dreamwave Generation 1 comics
Pretender technology was originally developed as a form of additional body armour. Pretender shells can enhance their wearer’s physical strength and resistance to damage. More advanced shell designs could shrink down to human size and enable their wearer to blend into Earth society unnoticed.

It is possible that the Pretender technology was later adapted to develop the Maximal and Predacon beast modes.

IDW Generation 1 comics
The technology was the invention of the Decepticon Thunderwing, and used living tissue painfully culled from live (quite possibly unwilling) subjects to create a powerful symbiotic, living carapace. The goal of this technology was to allow Transformers to survive an impending environmental collapse on their home planet, Cybertron. Even Megatron rejected the concept as unnatural and repulsive. Both cases where the technology was implemented ended in disaster as the melding of the robot's mind with the shell was improperly aligned or hastily executed. Subject one, Thunderwing, became unfathomably powerful but totally insane and destructive. Subject two, Bludgeon, tried to rush the process and ended up comatose inside his new shell. It is unknown if research will continue further (but it seems rather unlikely given the moral issues and planetary-level threat posed by Thunderwing).

Of course, Jetfire of all bots decided that they needed the technology to penetrate the portal at the Benzuli Expanse. Optimus Prime was a little hesitant on the subject, but Jetfire managed to convince the Autobot leader. The Autobots selected for the process were Cloudburst, Landmine, Groundbreaker, and Waverider.

Shattered Expectations
Goldbug, Grimlock, and Jazz sneak into a Pretender laboratory. There are at least six Pretender shells, including four Classic Pretender Shells and two Double Pretender Shells.

Also, Dirge appears as a Pretender.

Pretenders
The basic Pretenders are the default: single robot with a single humanoid shell.


 * Blood
 * Bludgeon
 * Bomb-Burst
 * Bugly
 * Bumblebee
 * Cloudburst
 * Dauros
 * Diver
 * Doubleheader
 * Finback
 * Gilmer
 * Grand
 * Grimlock
 * Groundbreaker
 * Iguanus
 * Jazz
 * Lander
 * Landmine
 * Longtooth
 * Metalhawk
 * Octopunch
 * Phoenix
 * Pincher
 * Skullgrin
 * Sky High
 * Splashdown
 * Starscream
 * Stranglehold
 * Submarauder
 * Waverider

Pretender Beasts
The Pretender Beasts are Pretenders with quadrapedal Earth animal-based shells.


 * Carnivac
 * Catilla
 * Chainclaw
 * Snarler

Pretender Vehicles
The Pretender Vehicles are Pretenders whose shells are vehicles that transform into combat decks for their inner robots.


 * Gunrunner
 * Roadgrabber

Mega Pretenders
Both the inner robot and the humanoid shell of the Mega Pretenders transform and can combine their alternate modes into a larger vehicle.


 * Crossblades
 * Thunderwing
 * Vroom

Ultra Pretenders
The Ultra Pretenders are the ultimate: Pretenders whose outermost shell is a large vehicle that can transform into a combat deck for their inner robots. This outermost shell contains another secondary humanoid Pretender shell that is itself able to transform into a vehicle, and that can be piloted by its inner robot.


 * Roadblock
 * Skyhammer

Pretender Monsters
The Pretender Monsters are smaller pretenders with rubbery monster shells. Their inner robots can combine to form Monstructor.


 * Birdbrain
 * Bristleback
 * Icepick
 * Scowl
 * Slog
 * Wildfly

Crossformers
The Crossformers are the Takara counterpart to the Hasbro Mega Pretenders, the shells were remolded to be less organic.


 * Black Shadow
 * Blue Bacchus

Dinoforce
The Dinoforce possess cyborg dinosaur "Transalts" and can combine to form Dinoking.


 * Doryū
 * Gairyū
 * Gōryū
 * Kakuryū
 * Rairyū
 * Yokuryū

Double Pretenders (unreleased)
Prototypes for "Double Pretenders", two small robots in one shell, that splits into top and bottom at the waist, were designed but never put in production.


 * Unnamed ape duo.
 * Unnamed spider-bandito duo.

Note
Humanoid Pretenders' outer shells can be classified into three types at least. Human shells with thermostatic plating such as Cloudburst's are Space-Defense Pretender Shells. Monstrous humanoid shells like Bomb-Burst's are called Predator-Class Pretender Shells. While shells like Bludgeon's are Warrior-Grade Pretender Shells.