Metroplex (G1)


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



Metroplex is either the proper name for Autobot City or simply a region inside Autobot city itself. Either way, Metroplex is big. Crazy big. Or not. He isn't very talkative, but then, few cities are. He has a deep-seated rivalry with the gargantuan Decepticon, Trypticon.


 * Italian name: Guardian
 * Japanese name: Metroflex
 * French-Canadian name: Métroplex
 * Crackhead English-Malay dub name: Philip

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformer manga
Metroplex was constructed as part of the Autobots' "Scramble City" initiative to develop a powerful battle station. During the early stages of the project, however, when the Autobots were conducting an outdoor test of the unfinished city's transformation to mobile fortress mode, Astrotrain and Reflector were able to monitor the process. The information they acquired allowed Megatron to decipher whether or not Metroplex could stand up to Trypticon, who was first activated on a small island, but was duped into falling into the ocean by a giant hologram of robot-mode Metroplex by Hound.

Scramble City OVA
To complete the Scramble City project, the Autobots moved their operation to a secret underground cavern, but the Decepticons' spy cassettes located the subterranean base, and an all-out Decepticon attack was initiated. The Decepticon combiners dominated the fight, but the completed Metroplex was then launched and defeated them with one blast. However, as the Autobots celebrated their victory, the ocean nearby parted and Trypticon emerged for his first battle with Metroplex.

(Note: This battle, uh, never happened, because the second part of Scramble City never got made.)

American animated series

 * Voice actor: Bud Davis (US), Osamu Saka (Japan)

By 2005, Metroplex had been installed as a sub-section of the larger Autobot City, now the main base of operations for the Autobots on Earth. During the Decepticons' attack on the city, the transforming cog which allowed Metroplex to transform to robot mode was destroyed, preventing him from participating in the battle, although he was manually converted to battle station mode by the Autobots inhabiting him.

Following the defeat of Unicron and the Autobots' reclamation of Cybertron, Perceptor built a new cog, and entrusted its delivery to Blurr and Wheelie. While they were busy suffering numerous setbacks (including nearly getting killed by Galvatron and being stranded on Jupiter's moon Io), the immobile Metroplex was attacked by Trypticon, and was again manually transformed to battle station by his inhabitants in hopes of mounting some form of a defence. In the midst of the battle, the cog was safely delivered and installed by Pipes within Metroplex, who promptly transformed to robot mode, thrashed Trypticon, and hurled him into the ocean.

Although the Autobots figured this to be the end of Trypticon, in actuality, the saurian city survived and started stealing national monuments to pay off Octane's debt to Abdul Fakkadi. When dinosaur transform static was found at the crime scene, Metroplex and his subordinates questioned all the Autobots with dinosaur electrons in their circuits, but when Trypticon was finally revealed to be the culrpit, Metroplex battled him in Russia over the Kremlin. Unfortunately, Metroplex was then left holding the building, and the Soviets blamed the Autobots for the thefts and expelled them from the country. Fakkadi, however, summoned the Autobots to his country of Carbombya to help oust the Decepticons that had taken over, and Metroplex delivered another sound defeat to Trypticon, tossing him into the ocean yet again and returning the stolen buildings to their rightful place.

As part of his deal with Unicron to ensure their mutual resurrection, the ghost of Starscream possessed Scourge and invaded Metroplex, stealing the giant robot's optical units. Metroplex transformed to robot mode in the midst of the attack, and, discovering that he was blind, went into a maddened rage, firing upon all the Transformers in the vicinity before a photon charge placed in his head by Scourge detonated, knocking him out. After the villains' plan was foiled, new eyes were constructed for Metroplex.

After coming under attack from a Eurhythman sonic weapon,, transforming cog troubles returned to plague Metroplex when Swindle stole the component right out from under First Aid's nose. With Metroplex trapped in city mode, the Autobots retaliated by stealing Trypticon's cog and using it as a replacement; the Decepticons proceeded to use Metroplex's cog in place of Trypticon's, but the incompatability of the cogs in each of the giant robots led to an unsteady battle with both combatants partially transforming back and forth constantly. First Aid proceeded to enter Metroplex's body during the fight and aligned the cog properly, allowing Metroplex to fully transform and, yet again, fling Trypticon into a body of water.

When the Hate Plague swept the universe, Rodimus Prime realized the danger that an infected Metroplex would pose, and reluctantly decided to deactivate him. Metroplex understood and agreed with his decision - it was not made clear is this action was temporary, or if it would permanently send Metroplex off-line.

(Note: Metroplex's relationship to Autobot City in the film and FFoD is ropey at best. He is not actually mentioned in the movie, and FFoD uses the terms "Autobot City" and "Metroplex" interchangeably, suggesting they are the same thing. This is somewhat supported by the appearance of elements of Metroplex's design appearing as part of the city in the movie, including its shift from orange to white as it transforms, and a turret that is quite blatantly Slammer. Designer Floro Dery has described how he created his own design for Autobot City, but was then instructed to add elements of the Metroplex toy to it - presumably, this is what caused the confusion, which was eventually straightened out when an establishing shot of Autobot City in Thief in the Night clearly presented Metroplex to be a smaller sub-section of the city.)

Marvel Comics continuity
Metroplex was built into the very fabric of Autobot City. He lay dormant underneath the city as a last line of defence. When the Quintessons successfully attacked and took control of Autobot city, Rodimus Prime, temporarily reverted back to Hot Rod managed to activate Metroplex. He was able to drive the Quintessons away but the city was largely gutted when he broke himself free making it something of a pyrrhic victory for the Autobots.

Dreamwave comics continuity
After deposing Shockwave on Cybertron, and leaving the planet in Ultra Magnus's command, Prowl and a large number of Autobots returned to Earth to begin construction on a vast complex known as Autobot City. Hound was seen projecting a hologram of Metroplex during construction, presumably as a blueprint.

Generation 1

 * Metroplex (Autobot City, 1986)
 * Japanese ID number: C-70




 * Metroplex transforms from a large robot to a multi-leveled "city" mainly for use with the smaller Generation 1 toys. This mode includes a service bay with launching mechanism, a helipad, and "parking" for six vehicles in whatever his legs fold out to be. He also has a third mobile battle station mode; a more compact wheeled form that incorporates his many weapons. Additionally, his weapons are all moulded with universal-sized pegs that allow them to attached in several different configurations and locations (for example, in the otherwise-pointless holes in his kneecaps in city mode). Metroplex came with Six-Gun, Slammer, and Scamper; the first two formed various parts of Metroplex's alternate modes.


 * Metroplex was apparently designed as part of the aborted Diaclone line, Jizai Gattai ("Free Combination"), given the high degree of interactivity he has with other toys confirmed as part of it - namely, the Aerialbots, Stunticons, Protectobots and Combaticons. Each of the smaller "limb" robot from these four groups (and those that came after using their basic design, like the Technobots, Terrorcons and Seacons) can plug into ports in Metroplex's shoulders and knees in robot mode, while the base modes of the four leaders - Silverbolt, Hot Spot, Motormaster, and Onslaught - can connect to him in city mode. While the former feature was included in the Hasbro instructions, the latter was omitted. The peg-size of Metroplex's weapons also allows them to be wielded by the leaders and super-robots these teams create.


 * As a third-year piece, Metroplex was one of several items to undergo "materials changing". Initial versions of Metroplex used rubber tires, and the fronts of his upper legs were fully-chromed silver. After a time, though, the tires were replaced with single-piece hard-plastic tires, and his legs changed to white plastic with a silver factory-applied sticker at the top. However, the plastic tire version also possessed a waist reinforced with two screw points instead of one, in an effort to prevent Metroplex literally snapping in half as so many of the original versions did due to a weak spot on the waist.


 * This mold was also used to make Metrotitan.

Trivia

 * In Transformers: The Game, the video game tie-in for the 2007 movie, a suburban mall was called the Metroplex Mall as a homage to the this character.