Na-Nu Na-Nu.

A stasis pod is used to store a Transformer protoform newborn until it has its spark installed, is given programming, and is formatted into a functional adult Transformer. The protoform is sealed safely inside the stasis pod, supported by nothing more than a lubricating fluid. In normal use, an exploration ship will carry several stasis pods, seed a planet with them, and the stasis pods would scan for native forms and birth new Transformer life.

If the stasis pod is damaged, the spark of the protoform may be extinguished, turning it into a lifeless "blank" protoforms. One such blank protoform was used by Rhinox to restore Optimus Primal to life; Megatron used another blank to create Dinobot II.

Because a stasis pod's life support functions are so efficient, they can also be used to transport adult Transformers, usually for long-distance travel. With modification they can act as personal space ships, but require a transwarp cell to travel greater distances. They have also been used to carry sentenced criminals into exile.

Fiction

Generation 1 continuity family

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Kup caught Grimlock trying to remove Snarl (and the other Dinobots) from the stasis pods on the Ark, where they'd been since they were 'killed' by Starscream. Kup told Grimlock that Snarl would die if removed from the stasis pod. Grimlock promptly knocked Kup out and stole the Dinobots anyway. Eye of the Storm

When Grimlock returned to the Ark he ordered Sludge to pump Nucleon into the stasis pods and revive the fallen Autobots—not knowing that Megatron was one of the dead hidden in the pods. The Void! (US) When Shockwave and Starscream took over the Ark, Megatron finally busted out of the stasis pod, alive again—only to come face-to-face with the stow-away Galvatron. Exodus! Ratchet revived as well, spewing out of his stasis pod covered in purple goo. A Savage Circle

Classics

The Graviton had three stasis pods aboard containing the protoforms of experimental Autobots Scylla, Autolauncher, and Autojetter. Unfortunately, all three pods were ejected when the Graviton was pulled into Primax -408.24 Epsilon and crashed on prehistoric Earth. Megatron beat the Autobots to the pods and reformatted the three 'bots into Decepticons. Shattered Expectations

Beast Wars cartoon continuity

Beast Wars cartoon

After he was contained, Protoform X was forced into a stasis pod. The pod was entrusted to the science vessel Axalon with instructions that it be deposited on some barren moon. Bad Spark

After the Axalon suffered damage to the stasis hold during the firefight with Megatron's ship, Optimus ordered the stasis pods launched into a stable orbit. The pods were all expelled from the back of the ship and ended up orbiting the strange planet the Axalon subsequently crashed on. Beast Wars (Part 1) The orbit of one pod decayed enough that it fell out of orbit, landing in the northern sector. After Dinobot used a laser link to activate the pod, the protoform inside became Tigatron, who watched the Maximals and Predacons fight over the pod before he picked a side. Fallen Comrades Another pod landed in an icy region only to be spirited away by Waspinator, with Tarantulas turned the occupant into a new Predacon, Blackarachnia. Double Jeopardy

A third pod was clipped by space debris and descended to the ground, landing in Grid Vega (or possibly Grid Scavos). The damage to the pod meant that it was unable to complete the process of scanning a new form, endangering its occupant, and Rhinox set about repairing it with the use of Cheetor's locking chip. The repairs eventually allowed the pod to scan a new form for Airazor. The Spark The next pod to fall out of orbit landed in Grid Halex where it scanned an ant for its occupant's beast mode only for Tarantulas to arrive and begin reprogramming the protoform. When Inferno emerged, with his personality dominated by his ant form, Tarantulas attempted to make off with the pod for use in his plan to escape the planet, but Inferno, who regarded it as his colony, gave chase. The pod was destroyed by Tigatron, who believed that Tarantulas intended to plunder its technological secrets. Spider's Game

As it became obvious that the aliens were coming to the planet, Tarantulas calculated when the next stasis pod would land, but it was too distant for his purposes. Instead, he and Blackarachnia broke into the Axalon and began modifying a spare stasis pod with a stolen transwarp cell. Meanwhile, the energies unleashed by the revealing of the Planet Buster also disrupted the orbits of the other stasis pods, causing them to head downwards. Other Voices, Part 1 The work was completed by Blackarachnia, who was promptly caught by the Maximals. Optimus Primal commandeered the makeshift escape pod and flew it into the Planet Buster. Though he intended to eject before the detonation, Megatron had other plans, and Optimus was destroyed with the pod. Other Voices, Part 2

Three of the pods crashed down in a barren area. One of the three was destroyed. Aftermath The DNA scanners on the other two malfunctioned, giving the occupants hybrid "Fuzor" forms. The Maximals also found a stasis pod containing a blank. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1) They took it into the Axalon, and with some help from Rhinox, Optimus Primal's consciousness was able to implant itself in the protoform, restoring him to life. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2) Protoform X's stasis pod ended up in an unstable area rich in energon. It apparently survived the explosion of an energon deposit underneath it, and was later found intact but empty by Tarantulas, shortly before its occupant dismembered him. Bad Spark

A badly-malfunctioning stasis pod was accidentally uncovered. Its misformatted occupant, later dubbed Transmutate, destroyed it in the process of escaping. Transmutate Blackarachnia modified a stasis pod into a sort of flying sled, using a graviton generator supplied by Silverbolt. As the Maximals assaulted the Predacon ship with the help of Ravage, she made off on it. The Agenda (Part 1) The sled was destroyed in a mid-air collision with Waspinator. The Agenda (Part 2) Megatron got hold of another stasis pod containing a blank which he used to create Dinobot II. Feral Scream Part 1

Beast Machines cartoon

Nightscream states that they "junked all the stasis pods" in the Quantum Cycle Upgrade that gave all Transformers on Cybertron DNA scanners. It is likely stasis pods are no longer widely used. Survivor

3H comics

Packrat, a thief, was contained in a stasis pod.

After the end of the Beast Wars, the Vok used a defunct stasis pod left on Earth to give Airazor's spark a new body. Primeval Dawn Part 1

2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity

Magmatron and his crew of Predacons travelled to Earth during the Beast Wars, and used a Predacon Shell Program to turn all the unclaimed Stasis Pods into Predacons. The actions of Maximal spy Razorbeast resulted in some of the pods booting up Maximals instead. The Gathering issue 1

Magmatron would later use one of the last remaining Stasis Pods to revive Ravage. The Gathering issue 3

Dawn of Future's Past

A stasis pod containing Protoform X was transferred into the Axalon as cargo. Dawn of Future's Past

Beast Wars II cartoon

The Yukikaze had a number of stasis pods on board which the Maximals used to escape the ship as it crashed on Gaia. The New Forces Arrive!

Wings Universe

For further information, see: stasis hibernation pod

A number of Jhiaxus's clones were stored in stasis pods at his secondary lab. After Jhiaxus's death and the signing of the Pax Cybertronia, the Predacons looted as many stasis pods as possible to create a new army. A Common Foe Among the pods were four mysterious unexplained ones, though the mystery was dismissed after the Transformers who emerged from those pods quickly pledged allegiance to the Predacon cause. A Common Foe Wings Universe Tarantulas's profile

Beast Wars: Uprising

After she was captured by the authorities, Trans-Mutate was stuffed into a stasis pod by Bigmos and Windrazor for transport to the Garrus-16 penal colony. Perception

In order to implement the Beast Upgrade, the Darksyders had Packrat "acquire" a Stasis Pod. He eventually managed to find one on the Alchemor. It took the addition of an unformatted Protoform to the mix to make the upgrade successful. Not All Megatrons

The Darksyder gang used modified stasis pods, named Beast Pods to implement the Beast Upgrade across Cybertron. Cultural Appropriation

Of Masters and Mayhem

When Thunder Mayhem began its apocalyptic rampage, several Decepticons fled aboard starships, putting themselves in stasis pods, Fractyl among them. When his ship suffered damage, his stasis pod was set adrift, crash landing on the planet Chicxulania. The pod's computer informed the geochemist of the dangerous levels of energon radiation. As he commanded the pod to return him to stasis and reformat him with adequate protection, the Vespoids surrounded his pod. The natives opened the pod and claimed the Decepticon as their prisoner, the pod sending out a distress beacon when it was forced open.

Fractyl was soon rescued by the Raptoricons, learning that they had modified their own pods to adopt protective beast modes. The ditress beacon also drew Impactor and Punch. Life Finds a Way

2021 Beast Wars comic

The Maximal starship Axalon was tasked to deliver its complement of stasis pods to H'nkshanaar-4. When it was reassigned to pursue the stolen Darksyde and wound up following it through time, the Axalon ejected its complement of stasis pods into orbit around a planet before both ships crashed. Savage Landing Part 1

When the Predacons invaded the Axalon, Tarantulas made his way to Theta Lab to try and upload a viral programming to the orbiting pods before Rattrap booted him out of the ship. Savage Landing Part 6

Tarantulas had managed to upload his program to Blackarachnia's stasis pod, causing her to emerge with a Predacon's personality. Managing to breach the Axalon before her spark read as a Predacon's, Pod Part 1 she made her way to Theta Lab and completed Tarantulas' work but only managed to transmit it to 51% of the orbiting pods before she was discovered by Rhinox and instead opted to call them all down. Pod Part 2

Programmed to touch down within 500 kliks of the Axalon, the pods made planetfall. While moping, Skold found one at the bottom of a lake. Carrying it out, the now unobstructed pod released Razorbeast into the world. Thicker Skin

Using knowledge they stole from Cheetor, the Vok reprogrammed nineteen of the fallen stasis pods into the "Children of the Vok". One pod crashed halfway through a cave wall and remained there to witness Megatron rematerializing after he'd been shunted forward in time. The End

2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Scourge's crew were stored as protoforms in stasis pods for their trip from Cybertron to Earth. After their ship crashed, they remained dormant until the ship was uncovered by the Predacons. Megatron stole the six stasis pods and took them to nearby McKinley Army Base, where the pods were forced to scan military vehicles while Megatron infused them with his own spark energy. The protoforms consequently emerged as Decepticons. The Decepticons

Cybertron cartoon

Crosswise sealed the Ancient Decepticons in stasis pods. In 2030, Starscream shattered the seal, opening the pods and recruiting the Decepticons as his new army. Trap

Animated cartoon

The bridge of Autobots' ship was equipped with six emergency stasis pods. Optimus Prime and his crew used them when the ship crashed into Lake Erie on Earth, and remained in stasis for 50 years. Transform and Roll Out

As clones of Omega Supreme, the Lugnut Supremes possessed the same six pods on their bridge. Endgame, Part I Endgame, Part II

Shattered Glass

The Ark and Nemesis used stasis pods as, essentially, escape pods. The crew utilized them when they were shot down over Earth. Do Over Soundwave's pod landed in Wyatt's Roadsideaganza, where it was found by Heatwave. Heatwave persuaded it to scan a nearby vehicle for Soundwave's new alternate mode, and Soundwave subsequently set it to explode. The Desert Heat!

Aligned continuity family

Rescue Bots cartoon

After their ship had sustained damage in meteor shower, Blurr and Salvage entered emergency stasis pods for some 10,000 odd years. The New Recruits

The Rescue Bots were hibernating in stasis pods when they got Optimus Prime's call to come to Earth. Family of Heroes After braving a forest fire, Blades spent an hour in a stasis pod to recover. Hotshots

The Rescue Bot Training Center had stasis pods which were larger than those from the Sigma, and were liquid filled. Heatwave, Chase and Boulder had to recover in them after being attacked by a baby energon eater. Uninvited Guest

Hello, Dad? I'm in jail!

2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Stasis pods, also referred to as stasis cells, were used by the Autobots to store Decepticon prisoners in cryo-stasis. The prisoner ship Alchemor contained a large number of Decepticons in stasis pods which were lost in the surrounding area when the Alchemor crashed on Earth. Fixit checked the area and found that the majority of the stasis cells had ruptured and their contents escaped. He still had one intact cell, though its cryo-stasis mechanism had failed. During the course of an ensuing fight against Underbite, Grimlock was able to stick his head out of the end of the tube and goad Underbite into breaking him free. Pilot (Part 1) Fixit succeeded in repairing a single stasis cell, which was later used to store Underbite after the Decepticon was recaptured. Pilot (Part 2)

One stasis pod was found by humans and taken to the Crown City Museum of Natural History and Sciences where scientists attempted to open it. Terrashock eventually broke free on his own, though luckily the museum had been cleared of humans in the interim. W.W.O.D.? Fixit was once almost crushed by a stack of falling stasis pods. As the Kospego Commands!

After taking over the scrapyard, Steeljaw attempted to open the stasis pods only to be foiled. Lockout

By the time Bulkhead arrived back on Earth, the Bee Team had run out of stasis pods. Sick as a Bot

Rescue Bots Academy cartoon

One of the recruits' stasis pods was removed for cleaning, though the recruits assumed it meant one of them was going to be expelled from the academy. Five into Four Hoist was required to spend some time recuperating in a stasis pod so his arm could heal, however he kept leaving it early to help the other recruits and therefore didn't properly heal until he did so. Little Bot Peep After a strenuous mission in space, the teachers used the stasis pods in the Sigma and the recruits were required to pilot the ship back to Earth. Space Case

Cyberverse cartoon

During Cybertron's Age of Expansion, the War Titans carried large-scale stasis bays so they could transport Cybertron's conquering armies to other worlds. The Citizen

The Ark was equipped with a stasis bay for its crew to use. When the ship began running low on energon, the crew took to the pods at Optimus Prime's order only for the AllSpark to be detected a second after they entered stasis. The Journey Operated by Teletraan-1, the Ark arrived over Earth only to suffer damage on entry. Teletraan reactivated Grimlock to deal with this only for the pressure change created by a hull breach to toss him around the stasis bay, jarring loose several stasis pods. Grimlock tried to save Bumblebee's pod only to lose his grip, sending both hurtling down to the prehistoric world. King of the Dinosaurs

Bumblebee's pod crashed in the Himalayas where he lived for a while with a tribe of friendly goats. When Windblade arrived on Earth, she sought out the pod, believing the Ark would be nearby, but found nothing. Whiteout

When the Ark was found, Teletraan-X deactivated the stasis pods, bringing the slumbering crew back to life in time to see the Decepticon fleet invade Earth. Eruption

EarthSpark cartoon

At the end of the Great War, Megatron shoved Shockwave into a stasis pod. Years later, when the Spacebridge Memorial Park had been erected, the stasis pod failed, freeing Shockwave. Warzone

Games

Transformers: Fall of Cybertron

Stasis pods, some of which contained damaged warriors, were loaded onto the Ark. Fall of Cybertron

Transformers: Devastation

The Proudstar featured uniquely-designed six-sided pods representative of the Colonnade of Cybertron's six cultural axioms. They served as containment units and stasis pods for the various crew members and Insecticons. While the Autobots explored, many of the Insecticons broke free of their pods and attacked the intruders. As a result of the carnage after the Plasma Core ruptured, one of the pods broke open, awakening its occupant Nova Prime from stasis. Transformers: Devastation

Toys

Kre-O

amogus

• Bumblebee Disc Demolishor (2015)
• Optimus Prime Beast Blaster (2015)
• Sideswipe Roadway Rundown (2015)
• Strongarm Capture Cruiser (2015)
• Underbite Jetpack Takedown (2015)

Each of the Kre-O Robots in Disguise (2015) building sets comes with a differently colored "capture pod" - a box that will snap shut using rubber bands. The pods works with most Kreons except for some of them with huge kibble pieces hanging on them.

Robots in Disguise (2015)

New from Bionicle.

• Decepticon Island Showdown (2-pack, 2016)

This 2-pack comes with a Stasis Pod accessory, and it needs to be assembled if taken out from the package. The pod had enough cavity to place any Deluxe/Warrior Class-sized figures, if one doesn't have huge shoulder/back/arm/leg/car kibble.

Merchandise

Dickie Toys

• Capture Pod Track Set (2016)
  • Accessories: Launcher, Track, Ramp, Capture Pod, stand

A Stasis pod accessory is available in this set.

Notes

• The Marvel comics versions of the stasis pods are called "Life Support Pods" enough that it seems the two terms are interchangeable in this continuity.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Pod (ポッド poddo)