White Gallant Convoy is a Warrior of the Seven Lights from the Precursor World portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

"You don't get it... I'm not my original character White Gallant Convoy! I'm the actual Star Convoy, trapped in the real world!"

White Gallant Convoy (ホワイト勇敢なる司令官 (コンボイ) Howaito Yūkannaru Konboi, lit. "Gallant Commander White")^[1] is the leader of the White Order of the Primus Vanguard and bearer of the White Matrix. Based out of the icy White Planet, he's primarily concerned with public safety in its chilly cities. Just don't point out that he looks, talks and acts a whole lot like Star Convoy. He might get existential and do something rash.

When things get rough, he can combine with Prowl, Groove, Rook, and Streetwise to upgrade himself into White Convoy Grand Prime (ホワイト司令官 (コンボイ)合体 (グランド)元帥 (プライム) Howaito Konboi Gurando Puraimu, lit. "Commander Combination Marshal White").^[1]

Fiction

Precursor World

WHITE

Chosen to bear the White Matrix and lead the White Order in their defense of the universe of White Star Power, White Gallant Convoy fought in the Primus Vanguard's final battle against their ancient enemy the Specters for the fate of their multiverse. When Blue Big Convoy reported in that he had managed to obliterate a squad of Specters by hitting them with the full power of his Blue Matrix, Gallant was struck with an idea: they could defeat the Specters once and for all by unleashing their Star Powers, previously a preciously guarded resource, all at once! After a brief but urgent debate he managed to get the rest of Vanguard command on board, and joined with them to eradicate the Specters by unleashing all seven Star Powers at once, which had the side effect of knitting their multiverse into a single, multicolored world.

Gallant attended a subsequent conference of Primus Vanguard command to discuss the new threat of the Vok, where he presented his findings with the White Matrix that their enemy appeared to have come from the future. After Primus resolved to scry into said future to gather intelligence on their foes, Gallant loitered in the hallways of Vanguard headquarters with Purple Wicked Convoy and Yellow Splendid Convoy, remarking that he found Primus's absence of late concerning as they gossiped about what he could have seen. Shortly thereafter, Primus burst into the hallway to their collective shock, exclaiming that his pet Primacron had escaped and rambling about how he needed all of their Matrices immediately so that he could end the universe. An alarmed Gallant left with his comrades as the Vanguard commanders left Primus to ravings and returned to their respective planets, save an impassive Blue. Finale Prelude

White Gallant Convoy drove through a town on the White Planet one morning, on his way to the White Order base enjoying greeting the citizens and the pleasant snowy air. Pleased with how well he and the other White Warriors had been protecting public order, he wasn't too concerned when Prowl informed him that two interdimensional interlopers were doing battle on the Blue Planet. Watching the battle between Star Convoy and Super Megatron, he marvelled at the Autobot leader's own gallantry as Prowl commented on his physical resemblance to Gallant. With Primus having apparently spoken of a coming visitor from the "next world", Gallant came to the conclusion that Star Convoy was following Gallant's own motto of freedom being the right of all sentient beings because he was the reincarnation of Gallant! He gravely noted then that in order for Star Convoy to be born, he would inevitably have to die... God Neptune comic 2

A few hours later, Gallant and the rest of his order received a telepathic message from Primus, warning that the Blue Order had been destroyed, and that Megatron would soon be on his way to steal the other repositories of Star Power from the Vanguard. Gallant would then be informed of an attack on the White Planet, though rather than Megatron, it was a giant turtle: an Angolmois Energy-empowered Halfshell. Halfshell defeated the White Order and stole the White Matrix, empowering God Neptune to the level of a true god. God Neptune comic 1

Gallant wasn't out of action yet, however, and flew into space to take on the combiner in his Grand Prime mode. As he rocketed towards God Neptune, restrained by the other Primus Vanguard commanders, he telepathically contacted Star Convoy, leaving the future to him. At the last second, however, God Neptune was able to break free and swing his Neptune Sword, bisecting Gallant. Gallant still wasn't defeated, having hidden his spark inside the Neptune Sword, copying a trick from Blue. Speaking to a morose Halfshell through the blade, he revealed that he now understood that Halfshell had merely been doing the dirty work of an unseen foe to revive his fallen crew, and encouraged him to do the right thing, leading Halfshell to cut the now-evolved Megatron Omega in half. God Neptune comic 2

White Megatron sought to take White Gallant Convoy's position as representative of the White Light, but he and his cadre of like-minded Megatrons were defeated. Much later, Drift would come to represent the White in Magna Convoy's Primus Vanguard. Finale

Toys

Combiner Wars

One retool is all it takes to give a perfectly good mold anxiety.

• Battle Core Optimus Prime (Voyager Class, 2015)
  • 3 of 5: Optimus Maximus
  • Accessories: Two blasters (combine into large rifle)

"Battle Core Optimus Prime" is a white redeco and slight retool of the previous Combiner Wars Optimus figure. According to the Hasbro panel at BotCon 2015, his new head is based on Star Convoy.

The figure features newly redesigned hip ratchets to make both robot and combiner mode stable, which were also installed in both TakaraTomy's Motormaster, Grand Scourge, and a revision wave of Hasbro's Motormaster. The pegs that Legends Class Rodimus (or Blackjack) attaches to have also been slightly modified to provide a tighter fit, making the latter toy much less prone to falling out.

Battle Core Optimus Prime can combine with any Deluxe Class toy with the Combiner Wars-styled joint—but, of course, he is intended to be combined with Sunstreaker, Mirage, Prowl, and Ironhide to form Optimus Maximus. He can also combine with Unite Warriors Streetwise, Groove, Prowl, and Combiner Wars Rook to form White Convoy Grand Prime, as seen in the Generations Selects story promoting God Neptune. Grand Prime specifically uses the white Combiner hands and feet used in the Unite Warriors release of Superion.

Battle Core Optimus Prime comes packaged with a collector's card based on his packaging art. the prototype printed on the back of the box & the stock photos, and the CG model in the instructions had him possessing a single tampographed/stickered symbol on his left arm.

He and the last three waves of Combiner Wars Deluxe and Voyager figures later showed up in the U.S. at TJ Maxx at reduced prices.

• More information on Combiner Wars Battle Core Optimus Prime at TFU.info

Combiner Wars/Unite Warriors

Here to give Modulus a run for his money.

• Protectobot Rook (Deluxe Class, 2015)
• Battle Core Optimus Prime (Voyager Class, 2015)
• Superion (giftset, June 27, 2015)
• Guardian (giftset, December 12, 2015)
• Convoy Grand Prime (giftset, February 27, 2016)

• Known designers: John Warden and Shogo Hasui (Rook), Hisashi Yuki (Groove), Joe Kyde (deco, Rook)

White Gallant Convoy's super mode "White Convoy Grand Prime" is made up of Voyager Class Combiner Wars Battle Core Optimus Prime as the torso and four Deluxe Class figures as limbs: Combiner Wars Rook, Unite Warriors Prowl (exclusive to the Convoy Grand Prime box set), as well as Unite Warriors Streetwise and Groove (both exclusive to the Unite Warriors Guardian box set). Finally, the white hand/foot/gun accessories exclusive to Unite Warriors Superion make up the extremities to produce a comically expensive Combiner composed of three different TakaraTomy box sets and two Combiner Wars figures never released in Japan. As with the other Combiners in the line(s), any deluxe toy can become an arm or a leg, and each Deluxe figure's weapons can become hands or feet for the combined mode.

Battle Core Optimus Prime has the improved hip joints also featured on the second run of Motormaster. This allows for a more natural pose in robot mode, as well as a more stable combined mode.

Notes

• While the Combiner Wars Voyager Class Optimus mould is already a strong reference to the Energon incarnation of the character, Gallant is shown with a trailer that resembles Prime's in that series. Furthermore, that character's Japanese name was "Grand Convoy" (グランドコンボイ), which likely influenced the name of the Unite Warriors Convoy Grand Prime that this guy's combined form of White Convoy Grand Prime is named after.
• Despite existing before the concepts of Autobot and Decepticon, White Gallant Convoy is drawn with his toy's Autobot insignias. This is presumably due to the fact that the Autobot symbol itself was repurposed into the Vanguard's sigil in the original Precursor World e-HOBBY comics.

References