You know you're in trouble when you make Robotix look cool
The Catharsians are a race of large, mechanical aliens who outwardly resemble the Transformers of Cybertron. Unlike Cybertronians, however, Catharsians are incapable of transformation; instead of sparks, they instead derive sentience from their "warm-wired" physiologies. Some Cybertronians look down on the Catharsians for their comparatively primitive construction, to the point where elitist Transformers dismiss them entirely as backwards barbarians, and the Catharsians have in turn developed a kind of species-wide inferiority complex brought about by constant comparisons between themselves and the more famous Cybertronians.
Although the Catharsians generally stay out of Cybertronian politics and remain a neutral party in the Autobot-Decepticon war, they are naturally curious about other robotic life-forms; consequently, many enterprising Catharsian traders have set up shop on remote worlds and orbital outposts, where they occasionally come into contact—or, just as often, conflict—with adventuring Transformers.
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Fiction[]
2005 IDW continuity[]
A group of Catharsians moved into the Howling Town on Troja Major, where they made a living extracting and selling the grief of other sentient species as a commodity. To this end, they hired other species to act as middlemen. An Axe to Break the IceCybertronians generally held them in low regard; Agonizer considered them to be naturally untrustworthy, An Axe to Break the Icewhile Nautica considered herself to be a "technological marvel" in comparison to Catharsian physiology. Chasing the Infinite
A Catharsian named Mengel had fallen in with the Grand Architect in his quest to build a better breed of Cybertronian, eventually developing a new variety of Transformer known as an "Infinite". Velocity and Nautica would later seek out Mengel for help regarding Nautica's deceased Amica Endura Skids, which led to Nautica losing all emotional connection that she had to Skids' memory. Chasing the Infinite
Games[]
Transformers Roleplaying Game[]
A group of Catharsians established the Omnicron Flotilla near Jupiter's moon of Io to monitor the planet's lightpole population, which eventually become a major rest stop and trading hub for alien species visiting Earth's Solar System. In time, however, the station's success attracted the attention of a Catharsian crime syndicate, who turned a profit by rigging simulated Cube matches. One group of Catharsian gangsters in the employ of the syndicate menaced the Junkion trader Rivetro until a team of Autobots intervened, while the Nebulan trader Warlond also had ties to their protection racket. The Time is Now
Notes[]
- The Catharsians obviously derive their name from the word "catharsis," the release of strong or repressed emotions.