Manta Ray (G2)

Manta Ray is an Autobot from the Generation 2 portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Lost all his neon green AND got pinkeye going through international customs? Typical.

Brave to the point of foolishness, Manta Ray (aka Marinemaster and Piranha) is an intrepid aquatic warrior. Luckily, his prodigious speed gets him out of most scrapes—and when that doesn't work, he has his deadly roto-prop weapon to fall back on!

Fiction

Marvel Generation 2 comic

Leadfoot's head isn't normally part of his character model.

Like the rest of the Rotor Force, Manta Ray was originally one of Megatron's next generation of Decepticons, animated by the stolen power of the Creation Matrix. He first saw combat on Tykos, when the Decepticons raided a Rheanimum gas mine. New Dawn

When the Decepticons allied with the Autobots to combat the Cybertronian Empire, Manta Ray later joined the other Decepticons in rescuing their new allies from Cybertronian attack on Ethos. Escalation!

Manta Ray's rotor-related puns may be awful, but he's young. Cut him some slack.

Manta Ray's allegiance began to shift during the course of the alliance, as the youthful Transformer's innate likability won over his new allies. He and Leadfoot earned Tracks' praise for their swift and skillful blading during the initial sortie. Total War! Manta Ray later impressed Grimlock, of all bots, with another quick save. Manta Ray was quick to return Grimlock's respect, but their mutual admiration society caused Razorclaw to doubt the young Decepticon's loyalty. Tales of Earth Part Seven

As the battle continued, Manta Ray, Grimlock, and Razorclaw stopped for a moment to witness a mushroom cloud from a great distance as the Twilight nuked San Francisco. Tales of Earth Part Eight When the war against the Cybertronians then turned into a battle for survival against the Swarm, Manta Ray joined the survivors in preparing a makeshift defense point. Manning the perimeter defenses, Manta Ray ignored Razorclaw's order to fire, instead waiting for Grimlock's direction. This almost cost him his life, but Leadfoot decapitated Razorclaw before the Predacon could kill him. A Rage in Heaven!

The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual

Piranha was one of a new generation of Autobots, created on Earth at Optimus Prime's instructions. He was specially engineered for the unique terrain and environmental conditions of the Autobots' adoptive home. Piranha's The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual profile

TransTech

Manta Ray was one of countless "offworlders" residing in Axiom Nexus. Gone Too Far

2005 IDW continuity

He's got a large portable fan and he's NOT afraid to use it!

Manta Ray was present for the Battle of Junkion and squared off against Octopunch at one point during it. A Lonely Pillar on the Plain

He was among the first responders to Nemesis Prime's attack on Garrus-9. Manta Ray and Drench fell victim to the corrupted Prime's touch of death. Spotlight: Doubledealer

Wings Universe

Manta Ray was one of the "second generation" Transformers created on Earth in the 21st century, who joined the Autobots after conflict broke out among the new robots. Stationed at Autobot City in 2010, he had to be towed into battle as the Autobots "Rolled Out!" for Switzerland. (Seriously, even Seaspray has a hover mode for land.) Keenly aware of the absurdity of his alternate mode, Manta Ray commented during battle how they were fighting Sharkticons and still his alt mode was of no use. He and Leadfoot were sent to fight Ransack and Powerdive on the roof over the building's turbines. They were all exposed to forestonite gas and developed strange new powers. Generation 2: Redux

Not trusting these strange new powers, Cliffjumper made Manta Ray demonstrate his power to project energy loops on Decepticon dummy targets alongside a number of other Autobots. A Flash Forward, Part 2

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

United EX

Marinemaster (マリンマスター Marinmasutā) and his Targetmaster partner Rotorbolt intervened on Tankmaster's attempted execution of Grimmaster. They exchanged fire, but Marinemaster proved to be the better shot and worse target, incapacitating Tankmaster. He held the assassin at gunpoint and steely compelled him to reveal Scrash's plans. Ocean Encounter

Metrowars

Marinemaster was heavily damaged in the same battle that saw the traitor Metrotitan nearly kill Metroplex. He fell into stasis lock, and awoke much later in a brand new body, provided by Minerva and Glit. Rejecting his old code name due to no longer possessing an Energon Matrix, he was quickly brought up to speed on Scramble City's current state.

When Metrotitan attacked again with a contingent of Decepticons led by Straxus, Manta Ray joined the fight. As the Decepticons beat a hasty retreat after Metrotitan took a blast from Metroplex's antimatter projector, Manta Ray helped Legout back to his feet. Metrowars

Legends comic

During the peace of the Cybertron Alliance, Manta Ray watched as Blaster was reunited with Flip Sides. Bonus Edition Vol. EX

Toys

Generation 2

Vice-president of the Grimlock Fan Club. Noise is president.

• Manta Ray (Rotor Force, 1994)

• Hasbro EU name: Piranha
• Accessories: Engine, 2 "flying" rotors
• Known designers: Takio Ejima (TakaraTomy), Masakatsu Saito (concept artist)

Among the first of the totally-new molds designed for Generation 2, Manta Ray transforms into a twin-pontoon racing boat. His rear fan engine block is a manually-wound spinner that launches his flying disc into the air. He graciously came with two in case you lost one. This assembly becomes a hand-held weapon for robot mode.

He was released as "Piranha" in European markets.

• More information on Manta Ray at TFU.info

United EX

• Tankmaster vs Marinemaster (Vs pack, 2012)

• ID number: EX-P3
• Release date: November 17, 2012

United EX Marinemaster is a redeco of the Power Core Combiners Undertow toy, transforming into a speedboat armed with non-firing gatling guns. Marinemaster also has a secondary "Prime Mode" configuration in which he forms a super robot torso that can be equipped with any Power Core Combiners drone limbs.

He comes with his Mini-Con Targetmaster partner Rotorbolt, whom he can use as a blaster weapon in either mode or chest armor in robot mode.

He was only available in a set with Tankmaster, released in the third and final wave of United EX.

This mold also served as the basis of the non-toy Beast Wars: Uprising incarnation of Dead-End.

Notes

He traded in his yellow head for a green chest.

• Pre-production samples of Manta Ray had a yellow head, as seen in the Rotor Force's cross-sell. Though the yellow head design also showed up on his North American packaging art and in the Generation 2 comics, it never made it into mass production.
• In the Generation 2 comics, each faction had different symbols lining their speech bubbles—Decepticons had triangles, Autobots had rectangles, while Dinobots were slightly in-between. To indicate his changing loyalties, Manta Ray began with triangle boxes, switched to Dinobot-style boxes when he made the decision to listen to Grimlock instead of Razorclaw, and finally had full Autobot boxes in the end.
• A crossword in The Official Transformers: Generation 2 Annual indicates that "Piranha" and "Hot Foot" are brothers.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Manta Ray (マンタレイ Manta Rei)
• French: La Raie (Canada)