Transformers Headmasters Story

The Rebirth

In America, the introduction of the Headmasters took place in a three-part episode titled The Rebirth, which comprised the entirety of the show's fourth and final season. Here, in the battle to obtain the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, two groups of Autobots and Decepticons wound up on the alien world of Nebulos. Nebulos was ruled by a dictatorship named the Hive, consisting of ten Nebulans and their leader, Lord Zarak, who held the planet under their sway with mighty war machines that they could control with their thoughts, even as their disused bodies withered away. Fearful and distrustful of machines as a result, a group of Nebulon rebels led by Gort immediately captured the Autobots upon their arrival and almost executed them, until an attack by the Decepticons proved that they were on the same side. Consequently, the group decided to utilise a theory previously developed by Brainstorm - the partnership of Transformers, with their size and power, with the minds of the Nebulons. Chromedome, Brainstorm, Hardhead and Highbrow disconnected their heads, and Spike Witwicky used Brainstorm's designs to modify them into exosuits which the rebel officers then donned, becoming Headmasters. Additionally, in order to save the life of Spike's son, Daniel, who had been mortally wounded by Snapdragon, Arcee too underwent the process, becoming bonded to the boy.

With the battle superiority of the Autobot Headmasters evident, the Decepticons were forced to flee during the next battle. The Hive, however, had been observing events, and used their machines to bring the Decepticons to them, where they struck the same deal. The heads of the animal Transformers were offered up to the Hive, who turned them into exosuits, once again giving themselves strong bodies. Lord Zarak, meanwhile, used the process to modify the Hive's entire subterranean city to a colossal super robot that he dubbed Scorponok. With Scorponok's power, the Decepticons obtained the Plasma Energy Chamber key and returned to Cybertron.

Spike, meanwhile, had concocted a plan to counter Scorponok's power. The remaining Autobot, Cerebros - a pacifist who refused to undergo the Headmaster process - had located the city that had formerly belonged to the Hive, before they developed their mental powers and went underground. Using the Hive's machines, Spike reconstructed the city, Cerebros, and himself into another new super robot - the mighty Fortress Maximus. Spike became Cerebros's Headmaster partner, and Cerebros in turn then transformed into Maximus's head. Arriving on Cybertron, Maximus and Scorponok battled as the Plasma Energy Chamber threatened to overload Earth's sun. Spike and the Nebulans were able to save the planet, however, by draining off the excess solar energy and re-energisingCybertron, restoring its golden age.

As this marked the end of the American Transformers series, the 1988 characters never appeared in animated form in the U.S. except in toy commercials.

Six years after the decisive battle against Unicron, when a group of rebellious Headmasters led by Weirdwolf joined with Galvatron's Decepticons in an attack on Cybertron, the Autobot Headmasters, led by Fortress return to their home planet to aid in its defense. The situation soon gets worse when it is revealed that Vector Sigma, the super-computer at the planet's heart, was destabilizing, and Optimus Prime again sacrifices his life to save Cybertron. This soon proves to be only delaying the inevitable, however, when a bomb attack instigated by Scorponok turns Cybertron into a burnt-out, inhospitable husk. Rodimus Prime departs to search for a new planet for the Transformers to live on, leaving Fortress in command, operating from the planet Athenia. Meanwhile, Scorponok replaces Galvatron - who had vanished in the explosion - as Decepticon leader, constructing a personal Transtector so that he can battle Fortress's own giant form, Fortress Maximus, and redubbing himself MegaZarak.

Although populated mainly with new characters, The Headmasters featured characters from all previous seasons, including new versions of Soundwave and Blaster, rebuilt after a duel that destroyed them both as Soundblaster and Twincast. Human Daniel Witwicky and his young Autobot friend Wheelie also played major roles in the series, serving as the youthful characters for the audience to identify with. More new characters were introduced when Galvatron returned to leadership and the Decepticons embarked on a space voyage, ransacking planets in a chain of stories that introduced the Horrorcons, Autobot and Decepticon Clones. Later, the Decepticon ninja six-changer Sixshot kill Ultra Magnus, and the Autobot Headmasters finish off Galvatron. When the Decepticons then return to Master, refugees from the planet are caught in a plasma bomb accident that fuses them to the arms of several Autobots and Decepticons, creating the Targetmasters, and in a final move, Scorponok attempts the destruction of Earth, only to be foiled, thanks in part to a traitorous Sixshot.