Dion


 * Dion is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.



Dion and his best friend Orion Pax are earnest dock workers. His is a simple life of manual labor, and he does not give a second thought to the war that may be brewing around him. War's pretty cool, after all, especially if they involve those new-fangled flying robots. Maybe someday he'll get to meet them...?

Animated continuity

 * Voice actor: Corey Burton (US), ? (Japan)

Nine million years ago, near the end of Cybertron's Golden Age, it was Dion's job to haul energy and supplies in and out of the dock in which he and his best friend worked. There were murmurs of attacks from new, flying robots, but Dion didn't worry -- if a war were coming, that's what they had Guardian robots for.



Dion and Orion were honored to meet the leader of these enigmatic warriors, Megatron, until Megatron revealed his plan to rob their dock of its energon stockpiles. After Megatron struck down Orion Pax and Ariel, Orion's girlfriend, Dion tried to run, but was mowed down with another worker by attacking Decepticon warriors.

The time-traveling Aerialbots carried Orion Pax to Alpha Trion for repairs, and Dion's friend was rebuilt into Optimus Prime. Drones were sent back to retrieve Ariel, but Dion's ultimate fate is uncertain.

Who is Dion?


Orion Pax and Ariel were rebuilt into Optimus Prime and Elita One, respectively, so many fans have speculated that Dion was also rebuilt into a familiar character. However, there are no hints within the episode itself, other than Dion was Orion's best friend. Regardless, the fandom loves its patterns, and thus the most popular suggestions are Ironhide and Ultra Magnus.

Some think the debate is irrelevant, believing Dion most likely dead and inconsequential, and possibly a casualty that hit close to home in Optimus Prime's early years as Autobot leader. After all, no specific mention is made of him in the episode after he dies, but Ariel is mentioned repeatedly. Furthermore, writer David Wise did not intend for Ariel to be rebuilt as Elita One when writing War Dawn. Given this, it seems unlikely that he had any resurrectional plans in mind for Dion - although this gets into the realm of author intent.

(Plus, his name is pronounced as "Dyin'," which may have been an intentional clue.)



Ironhide
Ironhide could easily be Optimus Prime's oldest friend, and so he would seem like a good fit.

Ultra Magnus
Ultra Magnus is a popular suggestion because his cab turns into a white version of the original Optimus Prime body design, and it would stand to reason that if Alpha Trion rebuilt both of them at roughly the same time they would have similar designs. More, Optimus calls Magnus "old friend" when he passes the Matrix of Leadership to him (though, really, Prime calls everybody that).

To many, Ultra Magnus, being a large, powerful character with a latinate name in a leadership role, seems a fitting completion to a potential triumvirate of Optimus, Elita, and Magnus as the first modern Autobots built by Alpha Trion.

(It's particularly unlikely that the writer of the episode intended Dion to be Ultra Magnus, as several writers for the G1 cartoon have stated in interviews that they did not write any episodes with the upcoming movie and third season in mind.)

In later years, various hints and references in subsequent Transformers stories have implied that Dion was Ultra Magnus.


 * In the Robots in Disguise animated series, it's stated that Alpha Trion built both Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus, a likely nod to the original episode.


 * In the Dreamwave comics continuity, Ultra Magnus leads Security Team Dion, another nod.


 * In the IDW comics continuity a robot that is a hybrid of the "Orion Pax" and "Optronix" designs appears listening to Sentinel Prime's speech at the funeral of Bumper and Fastback. Standing with him are Elita One, Alpha Trion, and a white version of himself. This is clearly a reference to the proposed Orion Pax-Ariel-Dion/Optimus-Elita-Magnus identifications.


 * In the Dreamwave More Than Meets The Eye reference books it is mentioned in Alpha Trion's profile that he shares a "special bond" with both Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime This is possibly a hint that he rebuilt Ultra Magnus as well, given that his bond with Optimus began with him rebuilding him, and as a result Prime looked up to him as a father figure.

However, all of these easter eggs take place in different continuities from the animated series, so they are not directly relevant.

Huffer
Dion and Huffer share similar alt modes; Dion transforms into a Cybertronic truck and Huffer, like Optimus Prime, into a semi truck cab. Prime has even been known to entrust Huffer with towing his trailer when he was unable to do it himself. Also, they both have similar colour scheme, though Huffer's a bit small.

Generation 1

 * Orion Pax and Dion (E-Hobby, 2005)
 * Japanese ID number: 67


 * Dion is an extensively-painted redeco of the Mini Vehicle Wheelie, and came packaged with Orion Pax and Barrelroller. He transforms into a yellow and blue Cybertronic car.


 * It's worth noting that his windshield is cast in transparent plastic.