Classic Pretender
From Transformers Wiki
- The Pretender Classics are a cross-factional subgroup from the Generation 1 continuity family.
The Classic Pretenders, also known as Pretender Classics, are a group of four Transformers who got Pretender shells after already having been around for a long time. How this makes them different from all the other guys who got Pretender shells, we don't know.
Their shells are not only powerful additions to their arsenal, but have remarkable healing and repair abilities as well, making them capable of essentially resurrecting the dead.
Contents |
Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
Starscream had been destroyed, overloaded by the energies of the Underbase—but not before he had slaughtered scads of Autobots. While attempting to repair some of those Autobots, Ratchet was on the verge of despair at the enormity of the task. He was thus easily led into a trap by the Sports Car Patrol, who tricked him into traveling to Cybertron to utilize the advanced repair technology there. He took Jazz, Goldbug and Grimlock with him, intending to repair them. Back from the Dead
The journey was a trap set by Megatron, of course, and Ratchet's true patient was the fallen Starscream. By threatening to blow up the Ark, Megatron coerced Ratchet into reviving Starscream. He installed Starscream's remains into an advanced Pretender shell, and coordinated the process as the shell rebuilt and reanimated the fallen Decepticon. The Resurrection Gambit! While Megatron's back was turned, however, Ratchet did the same thing for his three Autobot comrades, installing them into three prototype shells that Megatron had rejected.
Once activated, Starscream was sent to Earth, where he nearly defeated an entire squad of Decepticons with his new Pretender shell's powers. He was only stopped by the fact that his enemies fought back; in particular, Hot Rod was able to exploit the inherent weakness of all Pretender shells, that damage done to the shell is felt by the owner.
Meanwhile, Grimlock, Jazz and Goldbug (the latter now restored to his Bumblebee appearance) were revived on Cybertron. All the Familiar Faces! With the help of their shells, they handily defeated Megatron's little squad of goons. Skin Deep
Despite its great power, Starscream's Pretender shell didn't do much to bolster his self-confidence, and he seems to have left it behind before long. Fallen Star!
The three Autobots and their shells provided a welcome boost in morale and firepower to the Autobot resistance's efforts on Cybertron; however, the trio planned to return to Earth to help Prime's beleaguered troops there. En route, a Decepticon attack caused the trio to be teleported to the center of Cybertron. Yesterday's Heroes! There, they found themselves under Decepticon attack. Despite their efforts, the battle awoke the long-slumbering Primus. Scorponok, meanwhile, declared to his troops that the shell and its treacherous owner would be a needed boost to the Earth-based Decepticons' depleted ranks, but he would be held on a short leash. Starscream overheard this and started plotting his own machinations. Primal Scream
In the wake of this catastrophe, the Pretender Classics were one of four teams of Autobots sent to search for the long-lost Creation Matrix, on the moon of VsQs. They used their shells to good advantage when they were attacked by Thunderwing's Decepticons; however, Thunderwing himself was unfazed by their efforts. He blasted a hole right through Bumblebee's shell, and eventually left the trio to deactivate under the moon's crushing gravity. Dark Creation They were ultimately rescued by the other Autobots, but their Pretender shells were not seen again. Eye of the Storm When Starscream snuck out of the Decepticon base to strike out on his own, he did not have his shell with him. All Fall Down
Transformers Comic-Magazin
In 1973, Powermaster Optimus Prime - A Robot, a Hero the Autobot Classic Pretenders were part of Crossblade's squad of Pretenders who helped to rescue an oil tanker captured by the Decepticons. A Big Day for Powermaster Optimus Prime Those events would later be observed via log recording by Autobots in the year 2008. Powermaster Optimus Prime - A Robot, a Hero
When the fiendish Megatron had stolen nuclear missiles and the Small Targetmasters proved unable to breach the Decepticon base, Optimus decided he needed to send in the big guns: he chose three of his most experienced Autobots and outfitted all of them with Pretender armour for the mission (even though the Classic Pretenders had already turned up). Bumblebee, Jazz, and Grimlock were told to prove themselves worthy of this honour and did, tearing through the Decepticon forces.
Starscream had been given a Pretender shell so he could kill Megatron's rival Shockwave, but proved unable to even defeat the Autobots! Megatron's Ultimatum
Shattered Expectations
The oppressive, evil Autobots discovered the four Pretender Classic shells sitting in tubes in a laboratory. The shells were part of a technology being developed by the heroic Decepticon insurgency, wot? Shattered Expectations
Commercial appearances
The three newly formed Autobot Classic Pretenders met up with Optimus Prime on a darkened city street. Prime hugged Jazz and Bumblebee, but no love for Grimlock.
Oh, and the eeeeevil Starscream was there, too.
Later, Bumblebee and Jazz managed to capture some Decepticon vehicles and drag them into the heart of the Autobot base... whereupon the Micromaster-controlled vehicles promptly transformed and started blasting the Autobots. Whoops. Commercial#1989
Toys
The Transformers
- Pretender Classics (1989)
- The four Pretender Classics toys are simplified re-imaginings of characters from the early years of Generation 1. Rendered entirely in plastic, they are designed to fit into a Pretender shell. Their standardized size means that while Grimlock got quite a bit smaller, Bumblebee actually grew a bit.
- The inner robots were repackaged and sold as Kmart exclusives under the subgroup name "Legends".
Notes
- Despite their having all-new toy designs, the Marvel Comics generally rendered the Pretender Classics' inner robot forms as unchanged from their original character models. This leads to some odd moments, such as Grimlock's shell holding a gun made from his dino mode tail... even though his tail is still permanently attached to his robot form.
- The toy packaging and catalogs refer to the subgroup as "Pretender Classics", while the commercials and the cover of US #60 label them as the "Classic Pretenders".
- Appropriately enough, the Classic Pretenders are one of only a few Generation 1 subgroups which have had all their members appear in the 2006 Classics line and its successors (pre-Combiner Wars, that is), and one of even fewer that manage it without reusing any pre-Classics molds. (They almost managed it just in Classics, but Jazz had to wait for Universe and Reveal the Shield.)
