Duocon
From Transformers Wiki
- The Duocons are a Decepticon subgroup from the Generation 1 continuity family.
The Duocons, Battletrap and Flywheels, are unique in that their robot modes are (usually) formed from the combination of two separate vehicles that have no other transformation.
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Fiction
Marvel Comics continuity
Marvel The Transformers comics
The Duocons were part of Scorponok's army of Decepticons on Cybertron and travelled with him to the planet Nebulos, following their Autobot enemies. Broken Glass! Later, every Decepticon on the planet left Nebulos in pursuit of the Autobots to planet Earth. Brothers in Armor!!
Flywheels and Battletrap were Decepticon troopers stationed in Tyrest on Cybertron. Flywheels was knocked out of the air, captured by Ultra Magnus and the Sparkler Mini-Bots and taken to Kalis, where they were beset by zombies. City of Fear! With the situation desperate, Magnus allowed Flywheels to return to the Decepticons to bring in reinforcements against the zombie horde. Legion of the Lost! He was as good as his word and returned with Trypticon to save the day. Meltdown! Later, Flywheels and Battletrap joined the Mayhem Attack Squad in time for their disastrous assault on Galvatron and Megatron. They both apparently died during that battle. Time Wars
Battletrap was among Bludgeon's troops in the days after the coming of Unicron. He got bashed around by Optimus Prime on Klo, but didn't die. End of the Road!
Marvel Generation 2 comic
Battletrap took a beating during an encounter with the latter-generation Cybertronians, and Starscream helped him off the battlefield. New Dawn
The Headmasters cartoon
The Duocons were under the command of Scorponok, who first sent them into battle when the Autobots and Decepticons were fighting over a disk containing data on the Master Sword. Their separate vehicle forms overwhelmed the Autobot Targetmasters, and Battletrap eventually made off with the disk. The Master Sword Is in Danger!! Shortly afterwards, the Duocons helped defend Scorponok as he used the data to create the Zarak Shield. The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide Battletrap later participated in a battle on the planet Master, concealing himself in a cloud while blasting away at Kirk and his troops. Operation: Destroy the Decepticons
Scorponok later ordered the Duocons to plant a bomb on the asteroid Juno, so that he could destroy the Autobot Chromedome and the insubordinate Sixshot during their duel on the asteroid. Duel on the Asteroid The Duocons participated in the final battle against the Autobots in the Arctic, during which Battletrap almost stomped Wheelie and Daniel Witwicky to death only to be fired upon by Sixshot. When it looked like Scorponok was going to destroy the Earth, the Duocons fled into space to watch the results from afar. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
Shockwave experimented to create a Transformer with more than one alternate mode. While he eventually succeeded with the Triple Changers, an early step in the process resulted in the Duocons—a failure due to their consciousness being split between two vehicles. More than Meets the Eye
2005 IDW continuity
Ask Vector Prime
Vector Prime noted that Duocons such as Overlord possessed mitotic sparks. Ask Vector Prime, The Complete AllSpark Almanac
TransTech
Axiom Nexus News journalist Rook noted that one of Axiom Nexus's most infamous Parallel Killers, Overlord, was a Duocon, as were most of the multiverse's iterations of Battletrap. Rook - Axiom Nexus News: Investigative Journalist
Commercial appearances
The Duocons' appearance on the battlefield caught the Autobots by surprise when they first thought that a jet was about to crash into a tank, only for the two vehicles to transform into one robot! The element of surprise quickly wore off, however, and Flywheels had to contend with Rodimus Prime pouncing on him. Duocons and Throttlebots commercial
Toys
The Transformers
- Duocons (1987)
- Known designers: Takashi Matsuda (TakaraTomy)
- The Duocons were sold in small boxed packages. They share a semi-autotransform feature. Transformation begins by lining up the tab and slot on the underside of their aerial component with the corresponding slot and tab on top of the ground component. With the two parts lined up, pushing the aircraft down causes the tabs on both parts to trip a catch in the other, releasing the springs that keep the components folded up. The aircraft essentially folds in half over the "legs" that form from part of the rear of the ground component to form the robot.
- Transformation from robot to vehicles lacks any kind of automatic action. The halves of the robot are pulled apart and the nose of the aircraft is realigned with the fuselage and the leg/torso is folded down to the rear of the ground vehicle, with the moving parts being held by the spring-loaded catches.
- The Duocons suffer from a complete lack of useful articulation.
- The connection points make vehicles interchangeable, allowing you to create Battlewheels and Flytrap (no, not the garbage truck). This has never been acknowledged in fiction or their packaging, and one can only imagine what effect such a swap might have on their psyches.
Timelines
- Cybertron's Most Wanted (2015)
- Timelines Battletrap is a blue and gray retool of Thrilling 30 Voyager Class Springer, a Triple Changer who transforms into both an armored car and a helicopter. His helicopter rotors detach to transform into a sword that is held by his hands via 5 mm post, and can store underneath his car mode. He also comes with a dual missile launcher that fires its two missiles in succession via a two-step pressure launch. The launcher features a jointed 5mm handle to allow it to pivot, and can mount underneath the helicopter cockpit. He has two 5mm ports on his back, the sword hilt has an additional post, and the launcher has additional ports at the top and bottom. Battletrap also has a new head.
- The original version of this mold was redecoed into Cloud Hot Rodimus, and extensively retooled into Thrilling 30 Sandstorm. It also served as the basis of the non-toy Beast Wars: Uprising incarnations of Dynobot and Grimlock.
- Battletrap was available exclusively in a five-figure box set, packaged with Packrat, Shattered Glass Stepper, Megatron, and Oilmaster.
| Generations mold: Springer | ||
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Version 1:
Version 2:
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Titans Return
- A retool of Titans Return Terri-Bull, Skytread (presumably renamed for trademark reasons) is a small robot who can transform into a Flywheels head that is compatible with any Deluxe-or-larger Titans Return figure. He is packaged with a small vehicle accessory redecoed from Terri-Bull's, which can form a tank for Skytread to ride in robot mode, a 5 mm gun for larger figures to wield, or combine with Skytread to form a jet. Due to the sculpt of the head mode face, it can be difficult to get Skytread himself in and out of the jet configuration.
- As with Terri-Bull, the upper portion of Skytread's legs has been installed backwards. Due to this, his legs have a problem folding down in head mode due to their tolerance if not fixed.
- This toy also doubles as the separate Beast Wars: Uprising character Skytread. It was re-issued along with Nightbeat for the fourth wave of Titan Masters alongside Shuffler and Repugnus, which unfortunately became prominent shelfwarmers.
| Titans Return mold: Terri-Bull | ||
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Titan Master:
Accessory:
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Legends
- Released as a Wonder Festival 2017 exclusive, this Headmaster version of "Flywheel" is a repaint of the Titans Return mold above, without the vehicle accessory, and features extensive paint apps. Unlike the Hasbro release, this Flywheel features correctly assembled legs.
- Flywheel was released along with Grimlock, Chromedome, Hardhead, Gong, and Brainstorm.
| Titans Return mold: Terri-Bull | ||
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Titan Master:
Accessory:
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Power of the Primes
- Part of the second wave of Power of the Primes Legends Class figures, Battletrap has been split into two new characters: Battleslash and Roadtrap. While Battleslash transforms from robot to helicopter and back, Roadtrap transforms from robot to SUV and back. The two new toys combine into an almost-deluxe sized figure, with far superior articulation to the original Duocon.
- However, he has lost the sweet shoulder guns.
War for Cybertron: Siege
- Skytread (Deluxe Class, 2019)
- ID number: TBA
- Japanese ID number: SG-11
- Japanese release date: TBA
- Accessories: Two blasters
- Siege Skytread consists of a jet and Cybertronian tank which can transform and combine to form his robot mode. He includes two blasters compatible with the C.O.M.B.A.T. System, which form his tank barrels in vehicle mode. Unlike his fellow Duocon Power of the Primes Battletrap, Skytread's components do not have their own robot modes.
- In an undocumented feature, Skytread's connection points are compatible with Power of the Primes Battletrap's, allowing you to mix and match to create Battletread and Skytrap.
Notes
- It's often speculated that Battletrap and Flywheels' names were mistakenly swapped during production, as the rollers of tank treads are not generally thought of as wheels.
- The Last Knight Leader Class Dragonstorm and Power of the Primes Dreadwing were both dubbed by Hasbro to be Duocons, most likely due to them being two-bot combiners. The same goes for Overlord.
- IDW 2005 Genericons Sonic and Boom function similarly to Duocons, though inverted. The two possess individual robot modes, but must combine to form a single alternate mode, similar to the Micromaster Combiners.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Two-in-One (ツーインワン Tsū in Wan), Doubletron (ダブルトロン Daburutoron)
- Mandarin: Èr-Hé-Yī Zhànshì (China, 二合一战士, "Two-in-One Fighter")
