Necrotitan

Quintessa is a Titan from the 2005 IDW portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

And on that day, Cybertron received a grim reminder...

Quintessa is not a very lucky Titan. In days long past, he was the Titan of Quintus Prime, but in the modern day, a series of unfortunate events have led to his transformation into the Necrotitan, a terrifying undead giant with a link to the Dead Universe.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

"What a historic and beautiful and deeply haunted building this is."

Quintessa was affiliated in some fashion with Quintus Prime of the Thirteen. The Lost Colonies of Cybertron Over time, the Titans disappeared into the realm of myths and legend. In the opening stages of the Great War, Metroplex reappeared on Cybertron setting Megatron on a search for the lost Titans and their space bridge-generating abilities. To that end, Megatron created the Titan Hunters, a group of Decepticons who would search space for the Titans, and after many centuries, Quintessa was located. The weakened Titan's hide was pierced by Waspinator, and in a blind panic, he activated his internal space bridge and fled, dragging Waspinator along with him. The wounded Quintessa went offline, leaving himself and Waspinator stranded in interdimensional space until the Decepticon was able to figure out how to tap into the giant's space bridge systems and steer him back to reality.

Quintessa reemerged in the caverns beneath Gorlam Prime, where he lay in city mode for years and became infused with the death-inducing Ore-2 that permeated the area. Homecoming Visiting Gorlam Prime in later years, Galvatron and his lieutenants came upon the city-mode Titan, but mistakenly believed him to be a ruined city left by a civilization associated with the Dead Universe. Heart of Darkness #2

Having become aware of the Titan's existence during previous activities on Gorlam Prime, Jhiaxus lured Orion Pax to the planet and had Waspinator trick him into reactivating the giant. Homecoming Piloted by Waspinator, Quintessa teleported back to Cybertron, into the underground lair of Jhiaxus's co-conspirator Shockwave. There, the Ore-2 within the Titan's systems reacted with the immortality-granting Ore-14 inside the subterranean cavern, puncturing a hole into the Dead Universe and transforming the Titan into an undead behemoth. Dark Dawn Black Metal

"I keep walking through cold spots, being like, 'I wonder who that used to be!'"

Quintessa then proceeded to stand in a dormant state until Starscream landed on his shoulder—causing him to release a wave of energy based on Shockwave's conflicting ores. The wave struck indiscriminately at New Iacon, bringing the dead back to life and infecting the living with varying stages of a death plague. Winners & Losers The Autobots and Decepticons regrouped at the feet of the "Necrotitan", trying to determine how to respond. Into the Abyss

Needing a distraction, Shockwave attached Waspinator's stinger to himself, using the link to exert control over Quintessa. Finest Hour Controlling his actions, Shockwave sent the Necrotitan advancing on New Iacon. No Exit The Dead Are Not Enough

As the undead juggernaut began trampling his way through the city, resistance by Autobots, Decepticons, and NAILs failed to even provoke a reaction. The Necrotitan only turned and responded to the sudden arrival of his living kin, Metroplex, and the Lost Light. Burning Bright As the Titans clashed, Megatron and Bumblebee realized Metroplex needed the ore hidden away inside the Lost Light to be made whole, and so Megatron used his own Titan technology to teleport Ore-7 back into Metroplex's grasp. Empowered by the ore of change, Metroplex struck down the Necrotitan, neutralizing his undead state and the death plague he spread throughout the city. Finis Temporis The Becoming

Six months later, Quintessa's remains still littered the landscape beyond Iacon. Detonation Boulevard

Games

Transformers Legends

The Necrotitan materialized on Cybertron mysteriously, using his space-bridge technology to transport himself from parts unknown. Although initially at rest, when Starscream, Skywarp, and Bumblebee attempted to communicate with him, he awoke and unleashed his terrible power, destroying the nearby capital Iacon in the process. Only afterwards did the joined Decepticon and Autobot forces realize the Necrotitan's undead nature. Although his enemies began to regroup immediately, the Necrotitan stood unscathed after his initial wave of destruction, staring emptily at the destruction surrounding him... Dark Cybertron

Transformers: Forged to Fight

Seeking power, Megatronus attempted to harness the dormant Necrotitan's strength, but the process caused their sparks to merge into the more powerful and corrupted Necrotronus. Transformers: Forged to Fight

Notes

• Quintessa was never named as such in any of his IDW appearances, with his original name only appearing in the backmatter of Unicron #6 as part of some general loose end-tying by John Barber. What, if any, connection Quintus Prime or Quintessa have to the mysterious Quintessons of the 2005 IDW continuity was never elaborated on.
• While Quintessa appeared in a blue, white, and sorta-orangey color scheme in his first appearance, his colors shifted after he became the Necrotitan. This new color scheme is a desaturated version of Metrotitan, who starred in the previous year's More than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise annuals, as artist Andrew Griffith mistakenly believed they were the same 'bot.