Minerva


 * Minerva is a human and Autobot Headmaster Junior from the Masterforce portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.



Minerva (ミネルバ Mineruba) is a calm, easy-going and somewhat motherly young half-French girl who attends the International High School in Tokyo. Not a big fan of fighting, she prefers to aid those in danger, rescuing civilians caught in the crossfire of the Autobot/Decepticon war. Using her Masterbraces, she can instantly change into her armored form and transform into a head for her transtector. She is also a very talented dancer and medic.


 * English-Malay dub name: Nightbeat

Super-God Masterforce cartoon

 * Voice actress: Yuriko Yamamoto (Japanese)



Victory cartoon
The now-living transtector of Minerva, along with Wheeljack and Perceptor, aided in the revival of Ginrai as Victory Leo.

Super-God Masterforce

 * Minelba [sic] (Headmaster Junior, 1988)
 * Japanese ID number: C-303
 * Accessories: "Minerva" Headmaster pilot, seat/helmet, left & right small blasters, handgun


 * A redeco of Nightbeat (though which character came first in the design phase is up for debate), "Minelba"'s transtector body transforms into a Porsche 959 sports car with a medical rescue services deco. (The hinge on the roof even looks like a light-bar.)  The Headmaster pilot transforms from an armored human to the head, which then adds the car-seat as an outer helmet. In car mode, the robot's helmet-guns can mount on the hood, while the large hand-blaster can mount on the roof just behind the "light-bar".


 * Minerva Nightbeat (Headmaster Junior, 1988)
 * Accessories: "Minerva" Headmaster pilot, seat/helmet, left & right small blasters, handgun


 * The Minerva toy was released in the Hasbro Nightbeat's colors as part of a mail order offer in Japan. She cost 1800 yen and four robot points. It is unknown if this version of the toy came in a simple mailer box or in Hasbro packaging.

Merchandise



 * Minerva in robot mode was available in the second "Act" of Takara's Super Collection Figure line, a PVC-plastic mini-figure based on her animation model. Both a full-color and colorless-clear version were made, one of each in a case of twelve blind-packed PVCs.


 * A second Minerva SCF came out in Act-5 of the line, this time as an unarmored human in her school uniform. Available in both full-color and pewter-finish versions, she was packed in with the Metalhawk PVC, again one each per case of twelve.  Interestingly enough, this PVC is about the right size to display with the actual Minerva toy.

Trivia

 * Minerva's color scheme was used for the DVD-exclusive "Minerva Type" redeco of Cybertron Thunderblast... who was a Decepticon boat and nothing like Minerva in any way other than "female". She DID, however, look very much like the normal release of Override... who is MALE in Japan. Get it straight, Takara.


 * Minerva's name is consistently mis-anglicized as "Minelba" on every English instance of the name on Japanese packaging and bio material. There is essentially no difference between the "L" and "R" sounds in Japanese, and at the time it was standard practice to substitute "ba" for the "va" sound (though this has changed in later years).