Pentacar / Menasor Hot

Uno dei primi componibili della serie transformers prima generazione

Menasor was meant to be the ultimate Decepticon weapon, and perhaps he would have been if not for the fatal flaw in his design. His mind was designed to merge the psyches of the five Stunticons who compose his form. Unfortunately the great depth of resentment the four limb components feel towards Motormaster, plus the extreme differences in attitude that makes them less a team and more a destruction derby, and of course the tiny detail that they're all psychotic, has created a primal psychological rift and left Menasor an unpredictable mass of conflicting, chaotic impulses.

Extremely powerful, highly mentally unstable, and prone to violent tantrums where he lashes out at anything in range, Menasor is not a weapon to point and fire, but a raging monster to turn loose on the battlefield and then get as far out of range as possible.

Menasor is the combined form of all five Stunticons:

• Motormaster (leader)
• Drag Strip
• Dead End
• Wildrider
• Breakdown

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Roger C. Carmel → Regis Cordic (English), Kōji Totani (Japanese), Toni Orlandi (Italian, second dub), Edgar Wald (Latin American), Willi Röbke (German, Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1), Thomas Rau (German, The Ultimate Weapon), Christoph Jablonka (German, Generation 2 Dub of The Ultimate Weapon)

- Don't offend the little ones, Prime!

Menasor was formed for the first time to counter the new Autobot team, the Aerialbots, only to face their combined form of Superion. Menasor's sheer aggression drove the Autobot combiner back until he was trapped, only to have victory slip out of his grasp when a newly repaired Omega Supreme helped Superion defeat the Decepticon. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2

To reclaim the Pearl of Bahoudin from the Autobots, the Stunticons merged into Menasor. His heavy-handed efforts did more harm than good, however, as the Pearl was knocked free from Bumblebee's grasp and was swept up into a cyclone created by its own weather-manipulating powers. Megatron abandoned the field of battle, leaving Menasor to menace the Autobots until the Pearl's storms wiped out all life on Earth. Menasor kept Bumblebee, Tracks and Bluestreak on the ropes until the raging jackass champion driver Auggie Cahnay hopped a cliff in his specially-designed car, launching it full speed straight into Menasor's face. Even Menasor couldn't shrug off an impact like that, and went down like a sack of tironium bricks. Trans-Europe Express

By the power of bumblebees!

Menasor was summoned by Megatron to use his Lightning Bug heat ray to incinerate the Statue of Liberty. He was opposed by a bombing raid from the Aerialbots, who quickly transformed into Superion and grappled with Menasor until they got a chance to destroy the Lightning Bug. Cosmic Rust

"If you are me, then who am I? This is all way too confusing for me."

The Stunticons were once captured by the Autobots while performing a series of errands for Megatron. Looking to find out what Megatron was up to, the Autobots disguised themselves as Stunticons to infiltrate the Decepticons. Breakdown managed to shake them free from their cells in the Ark, and uniting as Menasor got them the rest of the way out. As Menasor flew to intercept the imposters, he did his simple best to explain the situation to Megatron. It was unclear whether Megatron or Menasor was MORE confused when the other Stunticons merged into Menasor as well (thanks to Windcharger's magnetics and Mirage's illusions). But being confused made Menasor mad, and Menasor hit things when mad! He finally struck the "Stuntibots" hard enough to reveal the deception. When a cavalry of Autobots arrived, however, Menasor decided he had had enough, and fled. Masquerade

When the treacherous Starscream rampaged with his new army, Megatron requested the assistance of the Stunticons, only to be rebuffed by Drag Strip. Later, Bruticus defeated Devastator, and Starscream's victory seemed imminent when the Stunticons finally turned up. At first, the rowdy bunch of cars did not care if Megatron was destroyed, but they realized Starscream would not simply stop at eliminating his former leader. Quickly, they formed Menasor, who dispatched Bruticus with one mighty punch. Starscream's Brigade

In 2005, the Stunticons had retreated with the rest of the Decepticons to the planet of Chaar. Menasor apparently had been watching a bunch of samurai movies and attacked an energon-deprived Devastator for scraps of energon. Menasor easily won this fight, but was chided strongly by the returning Cyclonus Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1

Somewhere within 2005 or 2006, the Stunticons were able to confront a weakened Defensor, who was missing First Aid. Sadly, when they combined into Menasor, he was shot in the back by both Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus, disabling him. The epic confrontation between Menasor and Defensor would never come to pass. That's okay, everyone was really worried about Trypticon anyway. The Ultimate Weapon

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers comic

Under orders from Megatron, Menasor joined the Seekers in an energy raid on Tokyo. Though challenged by Optimus Prime and a unit of Autobots, Menasor made short work of them by punching all he could in the face with his giant fist. His evil was bested, however, when Prime drove up a ramp and punched him in the face. The blow was powerful enough to force him to retreat. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #1

Menasor later attacked a baseball stadium where Kenji was on a date, intending to turn it into a new Decepticon base. Kenji quickly summoned Defensor and Superion to battle the Decepticon, but Menasor was immediately aided by Bruticus. After a short skirmish, Decepticon victory seemed in the bag until Menasor got his legs knocked off. Groove and First Aid then latched onto the stumps and blasted Menasor away, dumping him in the Pacific Ocean, far away from Japan. Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #5

Scramble City cartoon

Voice actor: Kōji Totani (Japanese)

Due to Starscream's failure to stop the Aerialbots, the Stunticons were quickly sent in, and soon in the battle formed Menasor. Menasor quickly fought Superion and demonstrated a new power stolen from the Autobots: the ability to exchange any of his limbs into different combinations (despite what animation errors would like you to think). In the battle, Menasor corrupted Superion's formation by shooting one of his own limbs onto his opponent, rendering Superion vulnerable. However, he was soon stopped, and Superion regained his balance. Eventually, the Combaticons came in to help Menasor (though not willingly), forming Bruticus. The two tag-teamed against Superion, but were both stopped when Scramble City itself was brought into battle to end the conflict. Scramble City: Mobilization

The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers comics

The Stunticons joined the entire Decepticon army in a raid on Feminia to capture the Prime Energy Tower. Menasor was formed along with Predaking, Devastator and Bruticus to oppose the Autobot battalion guarding the tower. The Autobots own big soldiers were outnumbered by their Decepticon counterparts, but the Omnibots were there to save the day. With a rope! The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #5

The Headmasters cartoon

Voice actor: ? (Japanese)

The Stunticons participated in Galvatron's siege on Cybertron. They formed Menasor to fight their Autobot counterparts, but were steamrolled by the might and firepower of the Battleship Maximus. Transporting back to Earth, they attempted to interfere with Hot Rod's quest for the Matrix. Menasor ended up battling Superion all the way from the desert to the Arctic Circle. The Mystery of Planet Master

In San Francisco, Menasor assisted Bruticus in using a carnivorous plant to distract the Autobots from Scorponok's plans on Zarak. He fought against the Technobots' combined form, Computron. Head On!! Fortress Maximus

Much later, the Stunticons assembled in the desert as their Ninja Commander Sixshot began issuing orders. They assembled as Menasor, and took part in the escalating Decepticon war effort as five separate Autobot outposts were attacked simultaneously at Sixshot's command. The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg

In Lemuria, Menasor oversaw the processing of crysmagnetal for Scorponok's fiendish towers. Along with the entire Decepticon army, he battled the Autobots at the North Pole. Menasor would've killed Daniel Witwicky if Sixshot hadn't intervened on the boy's behalf. He escaped into space along with the rest of the Decepticons as the battle climaxed. The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)

Zone

Over fifteen years later, after several more Decepticon leaders had come and gone, the faction came under the rulership of the supernatural entity Violen Jiger. This mysterious creature's first action was to recruit a team of Nine Great Demon Generals from Decepticon history; Menasor was (unfathomably) enlisted as his "Intelligence General" and outfitted with new armor and weaponry to make him even more powerful than before. The generals were charged with acquiring the two objects needed for Violen Jiger's ultimate goal: the Autobot super-fuel Energon Z, and the enigmatic, life-giving energy source, the Zodiac.

Zone comic and story pages

Seeking to create a Decepticon Zone to counter the Autobot Zone, Decepticon Emperor Violen Jiger gathered together the Nine Great Demon Generals, upgrading them with powerful new armor and weaponry, then sent them forth to conquer planets. Zone Part 1

The Generals then united to attack planet Feminia once again, this time destroying it utterly. Violen Jiger next charged his Generals with collecting Energon Z and the all-powerful Zodiac, which he intended to use to fuel his conquest. Overlord, Menasor, Bruticus and Abominus attacked planet Zone, defeating the Micromaster teams and stealing their Energon Z core. The Micromasters pursued them into space, only to be stopped by BlackZarak and his energy web. Zone

The Generals later schooled Metrotitan and the Metrosquad in the ways of evil, making them more than formidable foes for the Powered Masters. Zone Part 7

Zone cartoon

Voice actor: Masato Hirano (Japanese)

Hmm, I wonder if he's evil.

When Violen Jiger seized command of the Decepticons, his first act was to recruit nine Demon-Generals from Decepticon history. Menasor was selected to be one of those Generals and was given the odd rank of Intelligence General as well as new power and weaponry to make him an even greater threat than before. Menasor was sent to the Planet Feminia to wreak havoc along with Abominus and Overlord. Together, the three Decepticon Demon-Generals destroyed the entire planet and nearly killed Victory Saber in the process. Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!

Wings Universe

After Cybertron entered its new Golden Age, the war between the Autobots and Decepticons still raged in space and on Earth. Menasor was permanently destroyed in battle with his nemesis, Defensor. Only Breakdown, acting as one of the giant's legs at the time, managed to survive the colossal damage Menasor suffered. He swore revenge against the last surviving Protectobot, Streetwise, dedicating himself to finishing the destruction his team had started. Generation 2: Redux

Marvel Comics continuity

Menasor and the Stunticons were created by Megatron on Earth, using a special device that allowed him to tap into and divert the Creation Matrix force while Optimus Prime was using it to bring life to the Aerialbots. The Stunticons were based on a series of dream images sent by the Matrix to Buster Witwicky and Optimus Prime, and monitored by the Decepticons. In these images, Menasor battled alongside Bruticus against the Autobot combiners, Defensor and Superion at the Pullen Power Plant. The Special Teams Have Arrived Menasor's personality problems handicapped him in battle, however, and Superion was able to trick him into shooting down his own partner. Outnumbered, Menasor attempted to flee, but was tossed into a pit by Superion's stress fracture cannon. Second Generation!

Back in reality, Menasor was first formed to do battle with Superion over the Autobot named Skids and his human passenger, Donny Finkleberg. The two gladiators shattered a freeway overpass (or was it an entrance ramp...?) before engaging in hand-to-hand combat. Unfortunately for the Autobots, the ever-unhelpful robot hunter named Circuit Breaker entered the fray for RAAT and zapped Superion, temporarily overloading his circuitry and allowing Menasor to administer the coup-de-grace, courtesy of his cyclone rifle. Skids and Finkleberg disappeared in the melee, though, forcing the Stunticons to disconnect and begin searching for them anew. Heavy Traffic!

Later, Menasor attacked a Blackrock fuel plant, once again drawing the attention of the Aerialbots. Silverbolt and his team were forced to combine into Superion in order to battle the united Stunticons. Unfortunately for Silverbolt, this meant his teammates learned about his fear of heights due to the mental bleedover. Ashamed, he caused Superion to fight back extremely savagely against Menasor, almost injuring innocent civilians in the process. ...Perchance to Dream

Marvel UK future timelines

In 2008, the renegade Decepticons Scourge and Cyclonus teamed up with the freelance peacekeeping agent named Death's Head to assassinate Commander Shockwave. Cut off from the battle by a set of blast doors, Soundwave summoned Menasor to help him break through and deal with the traitors. The super-robot eventually succeeded, but it was too late. Shockwave was dead, and the Decepticons were forced to accept Scourge and Cyclonus as their new leaders. The Legacy of Unicron!

Dreamwave Generation One comics

Shoot him before his pelvic thrust is fully realized!

Menasor was one of several combiner robots based on the original prototype, Devastator. He existed as the combined form of Motormaster's Stunticons, but was effectively forced into retirement by the Crisis Intervention Accord, which outlawed the use of super-robots among the factions. War Within: The Dark Ages

At some point in Cybertron's recent history, the Stunticons were deemed psychotic and too dangerous to function in society, and as a result were placed into perpetual stasis lock inside of a prison facility. Later, in an attempt to create a diversion while he set his final plans in motion, Shockwave arranged for the release of the Stunticons. They formed into Menasor and ran amok for awhile, until Ultra Magnus arrived and began insulting them individually. Unable to reconcile with this, the five Stunticons began to bicker with each other over whose fault it was that they were failing, temporarily stopping Menasor and allowing Ultra Magnus to ram the combiner in the chest, forcing him to separate into his component parts and disabling the Stunticons. Passive Aggression

G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers

When a group of G.I. Joe and Cobra members ran into the Stunticons in 1930's Chicago, Optimus Prime warned them about the existence of Menasor. Thankfully, Motormaster wasn't around to form the giant. G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #2

After the Stunticons were recruited into Serpent O.R.'s army, Menasor attacked an Autobot peace ceremony, teaming up with Predaking and Piranacon to defeat Omega Supreme. The Art of War #3 He then tracked down Optimus Prime, stomped on a civilian Optimus had just saved, and delivered Reflector to pass a message on to the Autobot leader. The Art of War #4

Alternity

One of a higher-dimensional Megatron's many pawns in a "game full of death and suffering", Menasor was empowered to be pitted against an avatar of a higher-dimensional Optimus Prime, alongside endless hordes of other Decepticons. To Die Game!

IDW Generation 1 continuity

The Stunticons were among those left behind in the Decepticon evacuation of Earth. After re-uniting the group, Swindle used stolen combiner technology to give them the ability to form Menasor. Swindle revealed his grand plan (commandeer the spacecraft that the Decepticons and Hot Rod's group had been constructing after killing as many of the Autobots as possible) to Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus's Autobots, after which Menasor came together for the first time. As the behemoth loomed menacingly before the assembled Autobots, Swindle instructed his creation to "Kill Magnus first." Enemies of the System

The combination wasn't seamless, and the Stunticons were left with individualized consciousnesses instead of a gestalt Menasor mind. Unfortunately for Ultra Magnus, they didn't disagree about killing him...only HOW to kill him. The arrival of Optimus Prime gave Menasor momentary pause, but only for a moment. Still, it was long enough for Bumblebee to recognize how uncoordinated Menasor's mind(s) was, and instruct the Autobots on exploiting that weakness. By selectively targeting the individual Stunticon components, the Autobots forced them to think of their own safety instead of Menasor's, making the giant easy prey. He was overwhelmed by their firepower, and broken down into separate Decepticons before capture. Earthworks

Toys

Generation 1

• Menasor(1986)
  • Japanese ID number: D-55

Not Optimus Prime and the Autobots in cosplay.

Menasor is formed by transforming Motormaster into his torso mode, attaching a chest plate/scout car, waist armor and mask on him, then connecting the other Stunticons into the appropriate limb slots in Motormaster's arms and legs. Fists and feet are then attached to the limbs. He is armed with Motormaster's sword and cyclone rifle. The Stunticons were available both individually or in a complete box set available in numerous markets. He also appears far more solid than the other combiners.

Menasor is the smallest of the Scramble City-type combiners in the Generation 1 toyline.

A Japanese "VS-A" set with Superion was planned but unreleased.

• More information on Menasor at TFU.info

Generation 2

Yowza.

Redecos of all five Stunticons were planned for release in 1994, but were canceled, with only a handful of test shots and production samples made. A small run of Breakdowns was released as the 1994 BotCon exclusive.

Universe (2003)

Man. He looks like a rolling bruise.

• Menasor (Ultra, unreleased)

A redeco of Thunder Clash (or, more accurately, the Machine Wars Optimus Prime retooling) as Menasor was planned as a store exclusive for the Universe toyline, but was ultimately canceled. It was initially supposed to be Motormaster, but trademark issues forced a name change.

• Menasor (Legends, 2006)

Not Scourge.

This black and purple redeco of Legends of Cybertron Optimus Prime transforms into a Cybertronic truck cab. It was intended to be Motormaster, but the name trademark could not be obtained. The toy was given the name "Menasor", and the super robot's function of "Super Warrior," effectively making him Menasor, not Motormaster.

This mold was also used to make Universe Hot Zone.

• More information on Classics Menasor at TFU.info.

Titanium Series

Not Dark Hot Rod.

• Menasor(6" Cybertron Heroes, 2007)
  • Accessories: Rifle, display stand

A Hasbro Toy Shop exclusive first sold at San Diego Comic-Con 2007, Menasor is a redeco of the Titanium Series Rodimus Prime, transforming into a Cybertronic Winnebago-ish thing.

According to this Menasor's bio, he is a single entity built from the bodies of the individual Stunticons and controlled by their psychotic, permanently unified minds. Whether this same backstory applies to the Classics or Universe toys is unknown.

• More information on Titanium Menasor on TFU.info.

Merchandise

Forms Robo

• Menasor (1987)

Menasor was also part of the small Forms Robo collection of larger rubber figures, with this version of the character standing at around twice the height of a regular Decoy. Like the other figures in this series, Menasor was packaged in an individual baggie and was available in red, blue, green and yellow.

Notes

Menasor got dressed in a rush this morning.

• An alternate animation character sheet from the original cartoon exists for Menasor. It features all of the limbs in different orientations (the arms upside-down, the legs reversed) from the final model and the chest sports an Autobot symbol (!), suggesting, perhaps, that the Stunticon and Aerialbot toy factions may have originally been the other way around. This model was used for the toy commercial which appeared to introduce the Stunticons and Aerialbots, though with the faction symbol corrected.

• The animators frequently misinterpreted Menasor's character model. Instead of having the four small Stunticons as his actual limbs (with, for example, his fist directly attached to Drag Strip's form), he was drawn as though the four cars attached on top of generic blocky limbs that extended from Motormaster, which would pretty much negate the whole point of the combining schtick.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Menasor (メナゾール Menazōru)
• Italian: Pentacar (toyline and season 3), Ultrax (cartoon)
• Portuguese: Ameaçador (Brazil comic)
• Russian: Megasaur (Мегазавр Megazavr)
• French (Canada): Menaseur (limb cards and cartoon), Confusio (Motormaster's box)