Cyber Planet Key
From Transformers Wiki
Eons ago, four Cyber Planet Keys were scattered across the universe on various planets. Each key is a portion of Primus's lifeforce, and if gathered together and plugged into the Omega Lock, they can be used to awaken and restore him.
Contents |
Fiction
Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity
Cybertron cartoon
The four Cyber Planet Keys were gifts from Primus to his creations. Created during the age following the first defeat of Unicron, the goal of the keys was to spread Primus's essence to other fledgling planets and reformat them into "mirror images of Cybertron." The keys were loaded aboard four starships—the Atlantis, the Ogygia, the Hyperborea and the Lemuria—and transported across the galaxy to four worlds selected to become Cybertronian colonies: Earth, Velocitron, Jungle Planet and Gigantion, respectively. The intent was to connect the four colonized worlds via a gigantic, universe-spanning space bridge, but for unknown reasons, the plan was never fulfilled: the planets were never reformatted, and the bridge was never constructed, leaving the four colonies stranded on their new worlds. As the eons rolled by, the colonies evolved in their own ways, with tales of their lost homeworld of Cybertron passing into legend. The Keys on both Velocitron and Jungle Planet would each become ingrained in their planet's culture, as the "Planet Cup" and the "Beast Totem" respectively. The Key of Earth was hidden away by Evac at the North Pole. Fallen Balance Retreat The Cyber Key of Gigantion was used to supersize the planet and its inhabitants to give the physical edge over the advanced technology of the invading Planet X. Challenge
In the year 2030, Primus' plan to contain the spark of Unicron with a sun was shattered when the star collapsed in upon itself, creating a massive black hole that threatened the entire universe. Balancing Act, Pt 5 So badly drained was Primus' power that he was rendered dormant, requiring the power of the Cyber Planet Keys to reactivate himself. Aware of this, the ancient Transformer Vector Prime traveled to Cybertron and charged Optimus Prime's Autobots with recovering the four lost artifacts. Unfortunately, Vector Prime's map to the location of the keys was stolen by Megatron, and a race began to locate them before the Decepticons did. Fallen
The Velocitron Key was the first to be discovered, Rush with the Jungle Planet being located soon afterwards. Search
As the Autobots on Earth dispatched their comrades to search for the keys on the colony worlds, they retrieved the Keys' focusing device, the Omega Lock aboard the starship Atlantis. Ship Soon afterwards Hot Shot won the Velocitron championship for the Cyber Key. When it was brought to Earth and reunited with the Omega Lock, the Lock sent out an energy pulse that reacted with the Keys on Jungle Planet and Earth. Champion Ignorant of Earth's connection to Cybertron, the Autobots searched the Arctic but failed to find any hints about the Key. Ice
After Optimus Prime had defeated Scourge, the Autobots inserted the Jungle Planet's Key into the Lock. This surge of power temporarily awoke Primus' higher functions and caused another reaction from Earth's Cyber Key, sending the Autobots back to the North Pole. There they found Starscream who awakened the Ancient Decepticons, Trap and launched an open invasion for Earth's Cyber Key. While trying to fight the invasion, the Autobots befriended Evac who revealed the Key's existence to them. Invasion When the Autobots decided to abandon Earth, Evac retrieved the Key from its resting point but ran afoul of Starscream who managed to steal the Omega Lock and the three Keys. Retreat
With the three Keys, Starscream began siphoning away a portion of Primus' power. Revelation The Autobots managed to reclaim the Lock and Keys, bringing them to Cybertron, where Optimus substituted the missing Key with the Matrix of Leadership, allowing Primus to transform to robot mode. Cybertron Despite the Matrix's power, the deity revealed he needed the fourth Key, directing them to Gigantion so they could retrieve it for him. Balance
In the inner sanctum of Gigantion, the Key was found aboard the Lemuria. Though it was nearly claimed by Starscream, Landmine was ultimately able to secure it for the Autobots when he used its power to temporarily become a giant himself. Optimus Before the Autobots returned to the main universe however, the Lock and Keys were stolen by Megatron — now reformatted into Galvatron by leeching power from Gigantion's Key shortly after he'd arrived on the colony. Showdown
Using the Keys, Galvatron planned to accelerate total event collapse only to be defeated by the planet leaders. In a spiteful rage, the Decepticon let the Lock fall into the black hole, the gravity fluctuations ripping the Keys free. As each planet leader collected their Key, Optimus retrieved the Lock, with all five items returning to Primus and restoring his full power. Once Primus had closed the black hole, he transformed back into Cybertron with the returned Keys now making it a world that incorporated aspects of all four colonies. End
Timelines
From the Autobot flagship Iron Hope, Ultra Magnus sent out six scout ships in search of clues leading to the discovery of the Cyber Planet Keys. Longrack's party landed on Combatron and began to look for active Cyber Keys among the numerous remains of dead Transformers who perished in an old battle there. The hope was that the energy signature to the Cyber Key would be a clue to the location of a Cyber Planet Key. They did not have much luck with that. Force of Habit
TransTech
When Bulletbike attempted to pilfer a Jungle Planet Cyber Planet Key from Ego's office, the key emitted a primal roar of countless voices, severe heat as from a hunter's breath, and it bit Bulletbike. He chose not to mess with the key. I, Lowtech
United
Optimus Primal's hoverboard utilized a Cyber Planet Key. United Optimus Primal toy bio
Wings Universe
Cyber Planet Keys were used as a form of currency for Cybertronians, alongside Energon stars and coins. Cannonball paid Flamewar a substantial sum with these items in order to have her join his Star Seekers on an energy raid. Hoist the Flag
Ask Vector Prime
The Unicron of Viron 704.08 Gamma used a Cyber Planet Key to merge his consciousness with his native Planet X. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/28
Beast Wars: Uprising
Cyber planet keys were a currency on post-Great War Cybertron. They were emblazed with the images of deceased famous Autobots and Decepticons, Identity Politics such as Ironhide, Shockwave, Starscream (worth 25 pieces), Prowl (50) and Soundwave (100). Soundwaves were especially seen as a sign of wealth. Not All Megatrons
Key specifics
Powers
The precise nature of interplay between the Cyber Planet Keys, the planets themselves, and the Transformers living on them is ill-defined at best. Vector Prime stated that the keys could "turn any planet into a mirror-image of Cybertron." Fallen Obviously, this never happened, and it is unclear if the keys had any influence on the distintly different forms the planets or the Transformer societies would take on, or if conversely, the keys came to embody the different evolutionary paths the planets and societies naturally took. The only definite similarity between all the keys is that tapping into their power can alter a Transformer's physical form. Overhaul used the power of the Jungle Planet Key to become Leobreaker, Starscream used the combined power of the Earth, Velocitron and Jungle Planet Keys to become a skyscraper-sized giant, and Megatron used the Gigantion Key to transform himself into Galvatron.
The Cyber Planet Keys imbue the inhabitants of their worlds with "Cyber Key Powers"—the ability to call on a small fragment of the power of Primus to unlock some new power or weapon. The Autobots were unaware of this ability until Vector Prime displayed his Cyber Key Power and awoke their own abilities. How the Decepticons acquired the ability remains unknown-although Megatron's Armor of Unicron may have generated their Keys. Conversely, the inhabitants of the colony worlds were aware of their Cyber Key Powers by the time the Cybertronian Transformers met them.
Most of the Autobots and Decepticons hailing from Cybertron call upon the power of Primus himself from their home planet, rather than from one of the four keys, but some of them come to be connected enough to the new worlds that they visit that, like the inhabitants of those worlds, they draw power from those planets' Cyber Planet Keys. Notably, a Transformer does not have to be on the planet in question to summon their Cyber Key Power.
The Four Keys
The Cyber Planet Key of the Speed Planet took the form of the Planet Cup, the ultimate trophy to be won in the planet's speed-obsessed and race-centered society. Ownership of the Cup denotes the world's leader; claiming the key also makes one the leader of Velocitron. Red in color, it is decorated with the symbol of a speedometer needle. In addition to the inhabitants of Velocitron, Hot Shot also derives his Cyber Key Power from this key.
Jungle Planet's Cyber Planet Key is embodied in the Beast Totem, a dragon statue that rests in the throne room of Scourge's temple. The key is guarded by the leader of the Jungle Planet, who seemingly knows of the totem's true nature and is capable of revealing the true form of the key. Anyone seeking the key must defeat the planet leader in combat. This key is green, marked with a clawed paw print. Transformed into Leobreaker by this planet's key, Overhaul gained a new Cyber Key Power from it. Later on, his dark clone Nemesis Breaker would also use this style of Key to power up.
Unlike the other keys, Earth's Cyber Planet Key did not become lost or adopt a form that concealed it. Guarded throughout the years by Evac, it is blue and bears the image of a sunrise. It is hidden somewhere in the Arctic, in a location known only to the planet leader. Several of the Autobots and Decepticons from Cybertron drew their Cyber Key Powers from the Earth's key, including Landmine, Red Alert, Scattorshot, Thundercracker and Mudflap, as did the ancient Autobots and Decepticons who came to the planet ages ago.
During Gigantion's war with Planet X, the planet's inhabitants called upon its power to super-size their world, gaining the power necessary to drive back the armies of Planet X. Following this, as the Transformers of the planet began their cycle of constantly building new cities and layers, the key remained in the starship Lemuria, resting comfortably on the lowest level of the planet. This key is purple, bearing several gears as a symbol. Only the natives of Gigantion were seen using their Cyber Planet Key for power, although Optimus Prime briefly accessed Gigantion's power when borrowing Metroplex's axe in battle.
Toys
Cybertron
The toy packaging refers to all keys as Cyber Planet Keys. This differs from the cartoon which only refers to the four colony keys as Cyber Planet Keys, and the other, everyday keys as simply "Cyber Keys".
The four Cyber Planet Keys, as depicted in the cartoon, came with the following toys, who are the guardians of their respective planet's Key (or leader of the planet itself). They are distinguished from the more generic keys by the color of their borders-normal Cyber Keys have silver borders, while "true" Cyber Planet Keys had golden borders.
- Evac (Voyager Class, 2005)
- Japanese ID number: GC-18
- Accessories: 2 missiles, rotor blade, gold Earth-style Cyber Planet Key
- Known designers: Tim Bradley (concept artist)
- He came with a gold-bordered Earth-style Cyber Planet Key; the Hasbro release has the Key Code "v49u" on the back.
- Metroplex (Leader-Class, 2005)
- Japanese ID number: GC-23
- Accessories: "Sparkdrinker", gold Giant Planet Cyber Planet Key
- Known designers: Tim Bradley (concept artist)
- He comes with a gold-bordered Gigantion-style Cyber Planet Key with the Key Code "lm74" on the back.
- Override (Deluxe class, 2005)
- Japanese ID number: GC-10
- Accessories: Engine-blaster, Speed Planet Cyber Planet Key
- Known designers: Tim Bradley (concept artist)
- She came with a gold-bordered Velocitron-style Cyber Planet Key; the Hasbro release has the Key Code "dy7p" on the back.
- Scourge (Ultra, 2005)
- Japanese ID number: GD-07
- Accessories: Tail-axe, gold Jungle Planet Cyber Planet Key
- Known designers: Tim Bradley (concept artist)
- Scourge comes with a gold-bordered Jungle Planet Cyber Key, with the Key Code u2m8 tampographed on the back.
- Starscream (Supreme, 2005)
- Accessories: Missile, Crown of Leadership, Decepticon Cybertron Cyber Planet Key, Gold Earth Cyber Planet Key
- Known designers: Tim Bradley (concept artist)
- Starscream also comes with a gold-bordered Earth-style Cyber Planet Key, with the Key Code s5a3 tampographed on both keys.
Notes
- During the opening narration of the cartoon, when Prime mentions that the Autobots "must find the four Cyber Planet Keys before the Decepticons can use them for evil", the keys shown on screen are silver in colour, rather than gold. Also, the Giant Planet Key is replaced with an alternately coloured version of Vector Primes's key.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Planet Force (プラネットフォース Puranetto Fōsu), Cyber Planet Key (United, サイバープラネットキー Saibā Puranetto Kī)
- French: Clé planétaire ("planetary key")
- Spanish: Clave planetaria ("planetary key")
- Ukrainian: Kiber-planetnyy klyuch (Кібер-планетний ключ, "Cyber-planetary key")
External links
- Force Chip catalog (Japanese)
