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A transformation cog, also referred to as a transforming cog, transition cog, conversion cog, T-cog, or morphcore, is a component important to a Transformer's transformation and sometimes scanning.

Fiction

Generation 1 continuity family

The Transformers cartoon

Metroplex's cog was damaged in 2005 during the Decepticon siege of Autobot City, which explains why he did not transform to robot mode during the battle. Perceptor built a replacement cog and entrusted its delivery from Cybertron to Autobot City on Earth to Blurr and Wheelie. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1

After numerous setbacks, the cog was delivered just in time. As the city was under siege once again, Pipes quickly installed it, allowing Metroplex to fight off Trypticon. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5

Unicron required Trypticon's cog as part of his scheme to use Cybertron as his new body. Ghost in the Machine

Swindle stole Metroplex's cog, causing the Autobots to retaliate by stealing Trypticon's. Both factions hit upon the idea of using the captured cogs on their respective city warriors, an idea that was only partially successful. The Ultimate Weapon

2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity

While speeding to defend the Golden Disk from Predacon thieves, Nitrostreak was shot in the hood by one of the criminals, damaging his transformation cog. As he was also flipped on his roof by the blast, he was well and truly incapacitated for the moment. Dawn of Future's Past

2005 IDW continuity

Together with the spark and the brain module, the transformation cog (also known as the "morphcore") was part of the "Rossum's Trinity" principle of Cybertronian biology. Enough damage to one of the three would cause the other two to shut down, killing the Transformer in question. The Chaos of Warm Things By spinning the transformation cog just right and shutting down all safety valves, a Cybertronian could achieve instantaneous transformation, but doing this repeatedly would result in the cog breaking beyond repair. Omega's Conundrum

A sudden impact to the neural cluster could trigger the transformation cog in what was known as an involuntary mode spasm. Little Victories No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases A Spark Among Embers

Cybertronian mythology held the belief that, after the God War, Mortilus had reduced Adaptus to the first transformation cog, with the deity allowing future generations of Cybertronians to use him as a template for the organ. You, Me, and Other Revelations The God War

Tailgate broke his legs, internal clock and transformation cog from falling through the Mitteous Plateau. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

To "reject" Adaptus, the Militant Monoform Movement surgically removed their transformation cogs. Life After the Big Bang When Orion Pax found his colleague Springarm dead, his transformation cog was "still warm", allowing Orion to transform the dead body into its alternate mode. Chaos Theory Part 2

Megatron's transformation cog was shattered during the Battle for Hell's Point, leaving him stuck in gun mode for a whole two years. Chaos Theory Part 1

Pharma was forced to make a deal with the Decepticon Justice Division to harvest Delphi's patients of their transformation cogs in return for the facility's safety. How Ratchet Got His Hands Back

The Aequitas trials included morphcore harvests by renegade Autobots. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 Stalker and Snare took part in torturing prisoners via morphcore stimulation, which caused spasms of form-shifting against the victim's will. Snare's personnel evaluation As the Wreckers got more and more brutal, they sometimes applied inhibitor claws to prisoners with such force that they punctured their morphcores. Zero Point

When his unit was ambushed by Decepticons, Tracks was injured and couldn't transform due to a damaged transition cog. Spotlight: Jazz

Shockwave created an experimental weapon to override a Transformer's primary transformation cog and lock them in their alternate mode. Iguanus used it on Soundwave during a battle, forcing him to remain in his cassette deck mode for 25 years. Spotlight: Soundwave

In protest of the Autobot "occupation" of a peaceful Cybertron, a NAIL transformed repeatedly for weeks until his transformation cog wore out and he died. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It

Upon his integration of Nemesis's corpse into its body, Unicron was able to access the Titan's transformation cog and gain a robot mode. Stranger Eons Road's End

The Functionist Universe

In protest of the Functionist Council's tyrannical rule of Cybertron, a female protester removed her t-cog, set it on fire, and threw it at a Functionary. The Custom-Made Now

Of Masters and Mayhem

Punch possessed a one-in-a-trillion t-cog, one that allowed him to assume a second robot mode. The Truth We Make

2019 IDW continuity

The original Transformation Cog was one of the fourteen Artifacts of the Primes. Sea of Rust I

In the era prior to the Great War, Spinister's slice thieves harvested transformation cogs to sell on the galactic black market. Storm Horizon Part 1

Last Bot Standing

When Riotgear was low on biofuel, he required Override to give him a good kick in the cog to get him into robot mode. Though she felt that they weren't close enough for her to keep doing it. Last Bot Standing #2

Transformers Roleplaying Game

A Transformer's transformation cog controls the transformation from robot to alternate form and vice versa. Damage to the transformation cog can cause a Cybertronian to become stuck in one form, and some Transformers may have their cogs surgically removed. Young Transformers without an alternate mode may choose to have their T-cog imprint on a suitable form. Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook

Transformation cogs can be modified from a basic "N-state" configuration into a "C-state", which allows a Cybertronian to shift between robot, alternate mode, and combiner component. Thus, while all Transformers possess the potential for combination, few will ever actually go on to become a combiner component. This universal potentiality dates back to the very earliest Cybertronians; indeed, Cybertronian historical records document a number of early precursors to the modern binary bonding process, which date back to at least the Battle of Aegiax. The Enigma of Combination

Aligned continuity family

The Covenant of Primus

The very first Transformation Cog belonged to Amalgamous Prime. The artifact allowed its holder to take any shape or form its wielder desired. It would eventually become the template for the simplified T-cogs incorporated into the physiologies of all Cybertronians. When the first Cybertronians emerged from the Well of All Sparks, Alpha Trion decided not to inform the Cybertronian race about their ability to transform.

When the first Quintessons arrived on Cybertron, they brought with them the "gift" of transformation; they secretly reactivated the dormant organ inside Cybertronians but claimed that Quintesson technology was responsible for this ability. Toward the end of the Quintesson reign of Cybertron, Orion Pax and his friend Jazz kidnapped the newly born Silverbolt from the Well; with the help of Ratchet and Cogwheel they learned that T-cogs didn't require Quintesson interference to function properly. This revelation led to the beginnings of the rebellion that brought the Age of Wrath to an end.

After Cybertron's Golden Age, Mercury and her displaced fleet of Neutronian refugees discovered Amalgamous's original Transformation Cog orbiting a black hole. The refugees brought the artifact aboard the ship, but the mysterious energies the Transformation Cog emitted had the unexpected side effect of altering the crew, granting them advanced shapeshifting abilities and the power to combine with one another into an infinite amount of forms. Even so, Mercury and her new Mutacons set out to find Amalgamous Prime, hoping that he could undo the change before the Mutacons permanently merged into a single being. The Covenant of Primus

Transformers: War for Cybertron

In order to prevent Iacon's destruction at the hands of the battle station Trypticon, Air Raid proposed that his team blast Trypticon's conversion cog, forcing him back into robot mode and hopefully ending the chaos. The cog was blasted to bits and Trypticon was unable to maintain his station mode. Unfortunately, this had the slightly troublesome effect of dumping a heavily armed, very angry giant Decepticon onto Cybertron instead. Transformers: War for Cybertron

Prime cartoon

Look at your T-cog, now back to me...

T-cogs are bio-mechanisms that enable Transformers to scan alternate modes, transform, and operate integrated weapon systems. Transformer organs such as these are beyond Ratchet's ability to construct.

Requiring a part for the robot they were building, MECH ambushed Bumblebee and stole his T-cog. Unfortunately when they attempted to install it into their robot, it failed to work, as it required energon to function properly. Operation Bumblebee, Part 1

It worked better once they got some energon, but it was badly damaged when Bumblebee attempted to take it back. Despite the damage, Ratchet was able to repair it enough that Bumblebee regained the ability to transform. To make up for their loss, MECH stole Starscream's T-cog instead. Operation Bumblebee, Part 2

Now armed with greater knowledge about Cybertronian biology and Starscream's T-cog, MECH was able to create Nemesis Prime before Optimus defeated it Nemesis Prime and the US military confiscated it. Grill

Starscream later tried to install a T-cog he took from his clone aboard the Harbinger but was interrupted. Triangulation Knock Out later performed the operation to restore his T-cog to him. Regeneration

EarthSpark cartoon

When Elita-1 was explaining alternate modes to Jawbreaker, she explained the transformation cog to him. Though she warned him not to mention the cog to G.H.O.S.T. Outtakes

One film

Take the staff in your hand, Moses. With it, you shall do My wonders.

After betraying the Primes and taking control of Iacon City, Sentinel Prime began removing the transformation cogs from newborn Cybertronians before they went online, robbing them of their ability to transform and relegating them to worthless positions mining Energon in order to pay off his debts to the Quintessons, designating them as cogless. Unaware of this theft, the cogless were led to believe they were simply born without transformation cogs.

After rediscovering Alpha Trion on Cybertron's surface, Orion Pax, Elita-1, D-16, and B-127 had the transformation cogs of the fallen Primes implanted in them by the ancient warrior, restoring to them their innate transformation abilities and rebuilding their bodies into larger, more capable forms. After confronting Sentinel on his betrayal, D-16 learned that Sentinel had taken Megatronus Prime's cog for himself. Upon the tyrant's defeat, D-16 claimed Megatronus's cog, further enhancing his power and completing his transformation into Megatron. After Orion Pax had been granted the Matrix of Leadership and become Optimus Prime, energon began to freely flow across Cybertron, restoring the miners' transformation cogs. Transformers One

Toys

One

• Airachnid (1-Step Cog Changer, 2024)
• Bumblebee/B-127 (1-Step Cog Changer, 2024)
• Wheeljack (1-Step Cog Changer, 2024)
• Optimus Prime/Orion Pax (1-Step Cog Changer, 2024)
• Megatron/D-16 (1-Step Cog Changer, 2024)
• Sentinel Prime (1-Step Cog Changer, 2024)

All One 1-Step Cog Changers feature a slider in their torsos that reveals the namesake cog in their chest. After the cog panel clicks into place, it cannot be slid back down. Pushing the cog activates the spring-loaded transformation into the toy's alternate mode and hides the cog.

• Bumblebee/B-127 (Prime Changer, 2024)

One Prime Changer B-127 features a painted cog on his chest underneath a removable panel. The cog is a separate part that was glued on.

• Power Flip Optimus Prime (2024)

Upon transforming One Power Flip Optimus Prime from his Orion Pax mode into his Optimus Prime mode, the cog (called the "cog of conversion" by the toy's soundbox) flips onto his chest, over a blue LED. Ironically, in fiction, it is the Matrix of Leadership that turns Orion in Optimus, not the cog.

Merchandise

Yolopark

• B-127 Cog-less Mode (AMK Series, 2024)
• D-16 Cog-less Mode (AMK Series, 2024)
• Elita-1 Cog-less Mode (AMK Series, 2024)
• Orion Pax Cog-less Mode (AMK Series, 2024)

Each Yolopark One Cog-less Mode model kit has an unpainted cog accessory.

Notes

• In Generation 1-related fiction, damage to a transformation cog traps the Transformer in whatever mode they happen to be in (most often this is their alternate mode). In the Aligned continuity family's War For Cybertron, the destruction of his conversion cog instead forces Trypticon into robot mode.
• "Morphcore" was the term used in James Roberts' fan-novel Eugenesis for the piece of anatomy that controlled transformation; unlike a transformation cog, it was depicted as a cluster of nerves connected to the Cybertronian's brain. Between Last Stand of the Wreckers and More than Meets the Eye, Roberts was asked to stop using the word in favour of "transformation cog",^[1] presumably for brand synergy reasons.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Transform cog (トランスフォーム・コグ toransufōmu kogu), henkei cog (変形コグ)
• French: Noyau de transformation (Europe, "Transformation core", Generation 1 cartoon), Rouage de transformation (Canada, "Transformation cog", Generation 1 cartoon and One film), Cog de transformation (Europe, "Transformation cog", One)
• Hungarian: T-mag ("T-core", Prime cartoon)
• Italian: Ruota trasformatrice ("Transforming wheel", Generation 1)

References

See also

• Transformation paralysis
• Mode lock
• Suppressor (device)
• Transfixatron
• Transformation Lock Lens
• Transformation virus