Line #71 WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGoBots


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7	->''"Mighty robots! Mighty vehicles!"''
8
9	In 1983, Tonka acquired the North American license for Bandai's ''Toys/MachineRobo'' line of toys, perhaps as a response to its chief rival Creator/{{Hasbro}}'s acquisition of Takara's ''Diaclone'' and ''Microchange'' figures. Catching wind of Hasbro's Stateside release of ''Diaclone'' and ''Microchange'' toys, Tonka hastily commissioned Creator/HannaBarbera to create an animated series, anticipating Hasbro's own ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' media blitz. Thus was born... ''Challenge of the [=GoBots=]''.
10
11	The series deals with two opposing forces of [[TransformingMecha transforming robots]] from the planet Gobotron: the heroic Guardians and the evil Renegades. The Guardians are led by Leader-1, accompanied by Turbo and Scooter. The Renegades are led by the evil Cy-Kill, with Crasher and Cop-Tur among their ranks. The characters rarely have guns, instead shooting energy blasts out of their fists.
12
13	Despite the tagline of "Mighty Robots, Mighty Vehicles", the [=GoBots=] are in fact {{Cyborg}}s -- alien humanoids who transferred their brains into robot bodies after their civil war had ruined their planet's biosphere. The Guardians then began converting the otherwise-dead world into a completely metal-sheathed CityPlanet, breaking up entire uninhabited worldlets for the necessary materials. At the time of the series, this massive construction effort is still ongoing, accounting for the metal world's peculiar "apple-core" shape. The [=GoBots=]' origin as organic beings accounts for the presence of genders among the characters -- in fact, ''[=GoBots=]'' stands out among 80's cartoons for having a diverse cast: not only does it include more female characters than the original ''Transformers'', it also includes a woman of colour as a major protagonist!
14
15	The series generally focuses on the "lead" three robots from each faction (Leader-1, Turbo and Scooter vs. Cy-Kill, Cop-Tur and Crasher), who are virtually ever-present. Other characters rotate in "guest-star" roles. [=GoBots=] have no clear divide between the two factions. The characters, as well as the toys, have no identifying insignias or markings to indicate their allegiance, although it's clearly indicated on the packaging. Likewise, there's no commonality of design within each faction. The only "themes" to a faction are that anything that turns into a monstrous-looking robot or vehicle is a Renegade and their type of voice: the Guardians have booming, echoing voices while the Renegades have a more electronic sound to them.
16
17	While ''Challenge of the [=GoBots=]'' initially held up well against the initial onslaught of ''Transformers'' paraphernalia, the line began to flag in 1985. Although the [=GoBots=] were cheaper and thus more desirable (at least for parents), the line was outdone by the ''Transformers'', who sported descriptive bios, diverse transformations, and a massive cast. The line limped into 1986 with a hastily-produced feature film, ''Battle of the Rock Lords'', a commercial and critical flop that more or less signalled the end of the [=GoBots=]. The line fizzled out soon afterwards.
18
19	The [=GoBots=] were largely forgotten, even after Hasbro bought Tonka in 1991. By the mid 2000s, the ''Transformers'' toyline and ancillary fiction began incorporating a few sly winks to its old competitor. In 2010, it was finally declared that the [=GoBots=] were, in fact, [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/GoBots actually part]] [[CanonWelding of the ''Transformers'' multiverse]], albeit very distant analogues- and that two [=GoBots=] were dimension-hopping Transformers (Fun Publications' prose stories for ''Transformers Timelines'' had Bug Bite join the Decepticons after gaining a new body that resembled a white version of the Autobot Bumblebee, while supplementary material for ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' established that Porter C. Powell's limo was transformed into the Renegade Stretch by an [=AllSpark=] fragment before Powell and Isaac Sumdac got rid of him by teleporting him to the ''[=GoBots=]'' universe).
20
21	In 2015, Facebook's ''Ask Vector Prime'' feature was temporarily usurped by ''Blog/RenegadeRhetoric'', hosted by Cy-Kill himself (and eventually spinning off as its own separate Facebook page). The feature was decidedly tongue-in-cheek, as Cy-Kill was more than happy to take potshots at the Transformers universe. The bulk of the answers described plots for a "season 2" of ''Challenge of the [=GoBots=]'', produced in an alternate reality.
22
23	In ''our'' reality, at least, the [=GoBots=] exist in a kind of legal limbo: Hasbro owns the rights to the characters and the premise, allowing them to get away with things such as "Renegade Rhetoric."[[note]]The feature was produced by Fun Publications, the former operator of the official Transformers fan club.[[/note]] However, Creator/WarnerBros (via their 1996 merger with Turner Broadcasting, which acquired H-B in 1991) owns the distribution rights to the cartoon[[note]]Which is now available as an MOD DVD release as part of the Warner Archive collection (under the "Hanna-Barbera Classic Collection" name).[[/note]], and Hasbro's toymaking competitor Bandai maintains control of the original ''Machine Robo'' molds. Don't go expecting a major revival any time soon... although 2017 saw Bandai Japan release new ''Machine Robo'' toys based on many of the originals (with MRDX-01 Bike Robo even having hand blast accessories and an alternate Cy-Kill face), so things are not completely out of the question.
24
25	Despite the legal issues the [=GoBots=] did a receive recognition on the Ask Vector Prime Facebook page in the form of the prose crossover story Literature/EchoesAndFragments.
26
27	There are a few {{Alternate Continuit\|y}}ies for the franchise. A British [[NewspaperComics comic strip]] called ''Robo Machines'' appeared in the periodical ''Eagle'' from November of '84 to July of '85, featuring a radically different storyline ([[{{Website/Wikipedia}} the other wiki]] has information [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robo_Machines_(comic) here.)]] In France, where the American show had been quite popular, the Japanese ''Toys/MachineRobo'' series was used as a second season, despite the drastic ArtShift between the series.
28
29	Then in 2018, Creator/IDWPublishing released a 5-part comics miniseries, ''ComicBook/{{Gobots}}'' written and drawn by [[Webcomic/AmericanBarbarian Tom Scioli]] of ''Comicbook/TransformersVsGIJoe'' fame, which ushered in a drastically different new continuity. The series features the characters from the Hanna-Barbera TV series (both humans and Gobots) but significantly reimagined. In this series, Gobots are human-built sentient robots. Designed as ThreeLawsCompliant servant robots, a faction led by Cy-Kill has gone renegade and [[RobotWar started warring on humanity.]]
30
31	----
32	!!''Challenge of the [=GoBots=]'' provides examples of the folllowing tropes:
33
34	* AfterTheEnd: The planet Gobotron, whose biosphere was destroyed in a war. What we see of Gobotron is the partially completed CityPlanet they made to replace it.
35	* AlienNonInterferenceClause: Subverted. The Guardians ''attempt'' to abide by this in the first few episodes (hence the Earth vehicle disguises), but once it becomes clear that the Renegades have completely blown their cover, the Guardians from then on share their technology with the humans and help to establish them in the interstellar community.
36	* AliensNeverInventedDemocracy: Averted. Gobotron is a democracy. Properly speaking, "Guardians" are the legitimate government's military, rather than the name of the whole society. That said, since the show revolves almost entirely ''around'' the military, we don't really get to see the rest of their society (not unlike ''Franchise/StarTrek's'' treatment of Starfleet, really).
37	* AlwaysNeedWhatYouGaveUp: In the episode "Scooter Enhanced", Scooter has his holo-projector replaced with a blaster unit. Then the Renegades lure all the Guardians except Smallfoot and Scooter away so that they can steal the Guardian's power-suits, and an outnumbered Scooter is unable to use his blasters because Smallfoot might get hit by a stray shot, and without his holo-projector, he can't fool the Renegades into thinking the other Guardians have returned. Luckily, he can still disguise his voice to sound like someone else, and has his holo-projector reinstalled at the end.
38	* AncientAstronauts: The Evil One in "Search for the Ancient Gobonauts" was a [=GoBot=] who was exiled to Earth for his transgressions and inspired the construction of the pyramids and the Great Sphinx in Egypt.
39	* AntiVillain: Fi-Tor at times, especially when he is captured.
40	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence:
41	** "The Gift" ends with a being named Alarik moving onto the next world after passing his knowledge onto the Guardians.
42	** "The Last Magic Man" features an immortal man with magic powers who goes to the afterlife after deciding he's lived long enough.
43	* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Done [[ForTheLulz for fun.]] Anya Turgonova once curses ''"Ish Kabibble!"'' Certainly none of the kids watching would have caught that Ish Kabibble was a famous 1940's comedian and cornet player for Kay Keyser's big band.
44	* AxCrazy: Crasher really loves it when she gets a chance to blast the Guardians.
45	* BackForTheFinale: The Last Engineer and the Master Renegade, both introduced in "The Gobotron Saga", return in the show's final episode "Quest for New Earth".
46	* BadBoss: Cy-Kill on occasion. He frequently insults his minions when they screw up, some episodes end with the implication that he intends to punish failure severely, and he frequently leaves Crasher and Cop-Tur for dead in the FiveEpisodePilot.
47	* TheBadGuyWins: In the pilot episodes, the Renegades briefly are '''''winning''''', and it's only due to Cy-Kill's own actions that they're eventually defeated. The Guardians spend practically the entire pilot in hiding, with Cy-Kill being several steps ahead of them.
48	* BarrierWarrior: Leader-1 could generate a protective force field. However, it took a lot of energy and was exhausting for him, so he could only maintain it for a couple of minutes at a time.
49	* BenevolentBoss: Leader 1 and (by EvilOverlord standards) Cy-Kill. While he could be abusive (in the pilot episodes he blasted Fi-tor for referring to the Renegades defending their fortress as "my forces"), compared to his contemporaries [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Megatron]], [[Franchise/GIJoe Cobra Commander]] or [[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse Skeletor]], Cy-Kill complimented his soldiers on a job well done and freely acknowledged being glad to see missing comrades again ("Welcome back, Crasher. I missed your charming laugh.")
50	* BigBad: Cy-Kill serves as the main villain of the series, being leader of the Renegades.
51	* BigBadDuumvirate: Cy-Kill works together with Magmar in the movie ''Battle of the Rock Lords'', though he eventually betrays him to take the power scepter for himself.
52	%%* BigBrotherMentor: Matt to Nick and A.J.
53	* BizarroUniverse: "Transfer Point" has Leader-1 and Scooter end up in an alternate dimension where the Guardians are evil and the Renegades are good.
54	* BlindSeer: "The Seer" involved Cy-Kill attempting to kidnap a blind boy who was able to see into the future.
55	* BoisterousBruiser: Turbo is the strongest of the Guardians and very upbeat.
56	* BrainInAJar: The [=GoBots=] are actually organic brains in robotic bodies.
57	* TheBrigadier: General Newcastle is a military officer and serves as the highest human authority that the Guardians are allied with.
58	* TheCape: Leader-1 is in charge of the Guardians and wants to do what is right.
59	* CaptainObvious: Humorously lampshaded by Turbo in TheMovie.
60	-->'''Leader-1:''' ''(after seeing a meteor he's following crash into a building)'' THERE IT IS!\
61	'''Turbo:''' ''(gives him a weary look)'' Yeah, I noticed.
62	* CastFromHitPoints: Leader-1's [[BarrierWarrior force field]] works like this. It can protect him and those standing near him, but the energy drain on him is enormous, so he can only maintain it briefly and is left exhausted afterward.
63	* CatchPhrase:
64	** Turbo: "It's time to go!"
65	** Cop-Tur: ''"Sorrrrry."''
66	* CerebusSyndrome: Though difficult to really notice, around the start of the Last Engineer/Master Renegade storyline the series gets a tad more serious and starts delving into the divine origins of the Gobots. This is best shown in that the storyline is kicked off after Turbo is horribly wounded by the Renegades and it is explicitly stated that if he is not healed soon he will '''DIE'''.
67	* CharacterDevelopment: Scooter starts out as a coward who is completely afraid of the Renegades and constantly whines about having to go through dangerous situations, but his cowardice tones down considerably as the show goes on and he even succeeds in saving the day by himself on more than one occasion.
68	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: The initial wave of toys had [[http://tformers.com/transformers-the-original-gobots-biographies-uncovered/20584/news.html short bios]] written for them, some of which differs quite noticeably from their portrayal in the Hanna-Barbera cartoon. For example, Crasher is said to be male and Cop-Tur is written as an intelligent [[TheStarScream schemer]] rather than the dull and not particularly disloyal brute he is in the show.
69	* CoDragons: Cop-Tur and Crasher are both the most prominent minions of Cy-Kill.
70	** That said, the actual second in command of the Renegades was Fi-tor.
71	* ColonyDrop: Basically the reason of [=GoBots=] cyborg existence -- during the early stages of the civil war, Renegades redirected the mining asteroid toward already war-damaged Gobotron. Armageddon didn't help them much, though.
72	* CombiningMecha: The Renegades' Puzzler (made up of six individual robots), and the Guardians' Courageous, which was formed from a starship and four suits of PoweredArmor. The toy line had a two (or possibly three) others, Grungy (a villainous counterpart to Courageous) and Monsterous (made up of six monster robots), and Nemesis (another villainous version of Courageous that may or may not have actually been released).
73	* CowardlySidekick: Scooter often complains about getting involved in dangerous situations, even when he begrudgingly does so at Leader-1's request.
74	* CyberCyclops: The titular robot in "Sentinel" has a big round eye in place of a face.
75	* {{Cyborg}}: The [=GoBots=] in general are established as being organic brains in robotic bodies; but also the Last Engineer, who still looks human but with bionic bits.
76	* DarkActionGirl: Crasher is the most notable female Renegade and she loves to fight.
77	* DefectorFromDecadence: Steamer the Renegade defects to the Guardians because he disapproves of the Renegade ways.
78	* DirtyCommunists: Averted. Dr. Turgonova is one of the good guys. Double points because this show was made in the early ''[[UsefulNotes/ColdWar Eighties.]]''
79	* DistinctionWithoutADifference: One of the issues the series had was that the Guardians and Renegades had ''no'' identifying marks, meaning you only had WordOfGod over which side any character was on.
80	* DumbMuscle: Cop-Tur is very strong, but not too bright.
81	* EnemyMine: In the two-part episode "Invasion from the 21st Level", the Guardians and Renegades are forced to work together to fight back an invasion of insect creatures from another dimension.
82	* EscapeBattleTechnique: The "Astro-Beam" used for ultra-long-range teleportation reverses itself after a certain period, and the bad guys are simply not there any more. That said, the Astro-Beam's effects would sometime wear off at the worst possible time, such as the time a Guardian summoned was trying to hold a door shut against attacking intruders. When he realised the Astro-Beam was wearing off, he only had time to apologise before he was sent back to Gobotron and the invaders broke through.
83	* EvenEvilHasStandards: When it looks like the Guardians are going to get the information they need out of the captured Fi-Tor, Cy-Kill believes he has to kill him, but is ''deeply'' reluctant. Fi-Tor is a fellow defector from the Guardians, and arguably Cy-Kill's only real friend. As he's about to do it, he mutters, "Farewell, Fi-Tor..." and is then relieved when he realizes there's an alternative.
84	** Unlike Megatron or Cobra Commander, Cy-Kill is at least hesitant to abandon his troops. Even among the rank-and-file Renegades there is rather less selfish backstabbing going on than among their contemporaries the Decepticons or Cobra (both of which encourage a KlingonPromotion method of advancement that really doesn't encourage teamwork).
85	* EvilFormerFriend: Cy-Kill to Leader-1.
86	* EvilGenius: Doctor Go is a Renegade scientist. TheQuisling Doctor Braxis as well, since he's a scientist who offers to help the Renegades in exchange for power.
87	* EvilKnockoff: Cy-Kill has Dr. Go create fully robotic duplicates of several of the Guardians in "Doppelganger".
88	* EvilLaugh: Cy-Kill has one as part of his EvilOverlord repertoire. The most famous, however is easily Crasher, maniacal and joyous. Ha ha ha HAAAAAAA ha hah hah!
89	* {{Expy}}: Dr. Zebediah Braxis is pretty clearly based on Dr. Zachary Smith from ''Series/LostInSpace''.
90	* FaceDeathWithDignity: When Fi-Tor is captured in "Fi-Tor to the Finish", he sabotages the ship he's in. When the panicked Guardians realise they're all trapped inside, Fi-Tor fearlessly laughs and simply enjoys the fact that he'll at least take the Guardians with him.
91	* FaceHeelTurn: It is revealed in "Et Tu, Cy-Kill" that Cy-Kill and Fi-Tor used to be Guardians, but defected to join the Renegades out of their lust for power.
92	* FailedFutureForecast: Yes, the Cold War is still going on in this near future. Nobody in the '80s expected it to end as it did, so this is totally forgivable.
93	%%* FantasticNuke: Sorium.
94	* TheFederation: The Guardians are democratic, and they are the dominant government on Gobotron. The Renegades are a rebellion.
95	* FingerGun: [=GoBots=] tend to fight each other by firing lasers from their fists.
96	* FiveEpisodePilot: The series began with a five-part episode titled "Battle for Gobotron".
97	* FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome: Scooter tries replacing his hologram projector with a standard [[RayGun blaster.]] He discovers he isn't nearly as effective without his [[MasterOfIllusion illusion-casting powers,]] and quickly switches back. In the meantime, he gets out of a jam by remembering he still has his RequiredSecondaryPower as a VoiceChangeling.
98	* FlyingBrick: All [=GoBots=] can fly, and are superhumanly strong giant robots. They are also all armed with internal weapons, including eye beams.
99	%%* FlyingSaucer: Pathfinder's alt mode.
100	* FullConversionCyborg: The [=GoBots=] are organic brains installed in TransformingMecha bodies.
101	* FullyAbsorbedFinale: Believe it or not, this show actually got ''two'' unofficial finales by piggybacking on Internet-exclusive ''Transformers'' media.
102	** Decades after the show's end, Fun Publications used their Transformers Timelines prose stories that were posted on the Transformers Club website to provide a spiritual finale for ''[=GoBots=]'' where some of them traveled through the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' multiverse (mainly the ''ComicBook/TransformersClassics'' one, with a quick stop by the ''ComicBook/TransformersTransTech'' universe first) to try and save Gobotron from a Cataclysm that threatened their world. The arc was ultimately wrapped up in the story "Spatiotemporal Challengers Part 4: Last Sunset", where Small Foot and Solarbot sacrificed themselves to end the Cataclysm and the Guardians celebrated this new age of peace while also preparing for the Renegades' inevitable resuming of attacks.
103	** The ''Blog/RenegadeRhetoric'' edition of the ''Ask Vector Prime'' Facebook page would serve as a spiritual second season to the cartoon, having the premise of Cy-Kill winding up on the [=TransTech=] homeworld of Axiom Nexus, and quickly setting about trying to take advantage of it while fulfilling the duties of answering questions in Vector Prime's stead and describing events that happened after the ''Battle of the Rock Lords'' movie before his acts of destruction on Axiom Nexus forced him to leave to his home dimension (but not without gathering recruits that happened to consist of [=GoBots=] toys who never appeared on the cartoon), afterwards he continued ''Renegade Rhetoric'' as its own separate Facebook page, with the final story shared by the Renegades leader being a two-parter titled "Combiner Wars" (wherein the humans, the Guardians and the benign Rock Lords formed a peace treaty between Earth, Gobotron and Quartex while Cy-Kill and Magmar were forced to go into hiding after the Guardians prevailed in a battle involving the Renegade combiners Puzzler, Monsterous and Nemesis).
104	* FuumaShuriken: Cop-Tur's rotor blades, used as a weapon in robot mode.
105	* GalacticConqueror: Cy-Kill. Although he views Gobotron itself as his necessary first step.
106	* GiantFootOfStomping: Crasher's main attack is to stomp the ground, sending a crackling streak of energy along the ground toward her target.
107	* GroundPunch: Crasher, one of the main Renegades, frequently used this attack. She'd stomp the ground and send a bolt of energy at her Guardian opponents. The same goes for her GoodTwin in ''ComicBook/TransformersShatteredGlass'' and her other alternate universe counterpart Fracture in the ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries''.
108	* HigherTechSpecies: The [=GoBots=] have had their technology for centuries.
109	* HumanAliens: The original form of the inhabitants of Gobotron. The only two surviving humanoids are the Last Engineer and the Master Renegade, who spent the intervening ages as {{Human Popsicle}}s.
110	* HumongousMecha: Despite being cyborgs, both sides used nonsentient, inorganic robots as weapons, such as the Zods and the CombiningMecha Puzzlers; while the Guardians use piloted TransformingMecha called Command Centers and PoweredArmor called Power Suits. Only one episode features a ''sentient'' inorganic robot, and interestingly, it is human-built. The movie also introduced Nuggit, who is identified as a true robot.
111	* ImposterForgotOneDetail: In "Tarnished Image", the Renegades disguise themselves as the Guardians to ruin the heroes' reputation on Earth. Unfortunately for the Renegades, Crasher (disguised as Scooter) makes the mistake of using her blasters -- which the real Scooter does not have. This is what enables the Guardians to clear their names.
112	* IncredibleShrinkingMan: "Cy-Kill's Shrinking Ray" had Cy-Kill use a shrink ray on Turbo, Scooter and Leader-1.
113	* InsistentTerminology: [=GoBots=] do not transform, they ''convert,'' thank you very much.
114	* InvisibilityCloak: The Stealth Device, described as a hologram that works across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
115	* TheJuggernaut: Zod is usually treated as this. In the FiveEpisodePilot, Scooter opts to get the Command Center to flee rather than face Zod, declaring, "Zod'll tear us apart!"
116	* KibblesAndBits: The [=GoBots=] seemed generally more willing to make use of their kibble than Transformers were. A Guardian with a cockpit in his chest might allow a human to ride around in it; or a Renegade might forcibly shove a human into his cockpit to hold him prisoner. And they would frequently pop their heads up out of their vehicle modes to emphasize a point when speaking, particularly Cy-Kill. Scooter pretty much always left his face visible when transformed. Cop-Tur's favored attack was to use his spinning helicopter blades as a ''[[FuumaShuriken hand weapon.]]''
117	** Scooter was a subversion, since his head actually became his front wheel, and where his face appeared in vehicle mode corresponded approximately to the yellow mark on his waist (or groin?) in robot form. Possibly justified by Scooter's ability to project holograms.
118	* KingOfTheHomeless: Wrecks serves as this to the slum dwellers of Old Gobotron.
119	* LiteraryAllusionTitle: [[Theatre/JuliusCaesar "Et Tu, Cy-Kill?"]]
120	* MasterOfIllusion: Scooter's hologram projector can be used to disguise himself, other people, or to simply make an illusion of something that isn't there.
121	* MechanicalMonster: Zod and Scales are both much less sapient than the rest of the Renegades. The Zods appear to be true robots, not cyborgs like the [=GoBots=] proper, and Scales may be likewise.
122	* MerchandiseDriven: Well, this ''was'' a cartoon based on a toyline.
123	* MindControl: Used by the Renegades in the FiveEpisodePilot.
124	* MonochromeCasting: Averted. AJ and General Newcastle are both black, and Anya is Russo-Chinese.
125	* TheMothership: ''Roguestar'', the Renegades' [[InvisibilityCloak cloaked]] base ship.
126	* TheMovie: After the series ended, there was an animated film called ''[=GoBots=]: Battle of the Rock Lords''.
127	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: A lot of the Renegades have sinister-sounding names, most notably Crasher and Cy-Kill.
128	* NonStandardCharacterDesign: When the [[HumanPopsicle Last Engineer and Master Renegade]] are introduced in the second [[FiveEpisodePilot five-part miniseries,]] they look much more like conventional, muscular comic book adventure characters than the relatively toony design of the human characters from the first season.
129	* NothingCouldSurviveThat: Used '''''constantly''''' by the Renegades, about the Guardians and their own allies, leaving them to ''almost'' certain doom.
130	* NoTranshumanismAllowed: Completely averted. Most characters are cyborgs.
131	* OmnicidalManiac: Cy-Kill and Crasher both have no qualms with killing anyone who opposes them.
132	* {{Pastiche}}: The episode "Destroy All Guardians" is one big love letter to {{Kaiju}} films, right down to [[Film/DestroyAllMonsters the name]].
133	* PinkGirlBlueBoy: In the two-part episode "Renegade Rampage", the Guardians try to help an elfin race known as the Trindles recover a powerful artifact called the Tramulet from Cy-Kill. The most prominent Trindles are a boy clad in blue named Trevor and a girl clad in pink named Troilene.
134	* PlanetOfHats: Averted. The Guardians are the planet's dominant society, and they have noncombatant civilians. Zeemon is a politician. Scooter laments that he'd rather be working as a ''librarian''.
135	* PoorlyDisguisedPilot: The ''Gobots: Battle Of the Rock Lords'' movie was one for the Rock Lords. While the movie does a good job at keeping the plot focus on the Gobots, the opening credits list all of the actors for the Rock Lords prominently and even give them fancy little animation intros while the Gobots and humans get relegated to a single screen listing their actors. Hell, the end credits doesn't feature the Gobots theme, it has the Rock Lords theme instead, making them look like a total SpotlightStealingSquad.
136	* PornStache: Matt Hunter has a thick mustache.
137	* PowerArmor: The Power Suits make the Guardians stronger.
138	* TheQuisling: Dr. Braxis swears allegiance to the Renegades once he finds out they exist. Braxis eventually becomes such a pitiful [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain loser shmoe]] because of his repeated failed misdeeds that it finally drives him crazy, turning him into a certified MadScientist.
139	* {{Retcon}}: ''Ask Vector Prime'' and ''Renegade Rhetoric'' provided some interesting tweaks to the [=GoBots=] mythology in order to strengthen its ties to the ''Transformers'' universe. The "Evil One", a demigod-esque [=GoBot=] from "In Search of Ancient Gobonauts", was revealed to be an incarnation of the Fallen -- you might know him as the guy from the 2009 movie. The Renegade Stretch was likewise revealed to be a Decepticon who had fallen out of the ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' universe and wound up on Gobotron.
140	* TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified: Averted. The Guardians are the ruling body of Gobotron while the Renegades are a small rebellion. The FiveEpisodePilot begins with the last major Renegade stronghold on Gobotron being destroyed.
141	* RivalTurnedEvil: Cy-Kill was once Leader-1's friend, but he betrayed him out of envy over his successes.
142	* RobotGirl: As [[BrainInAJar cyborgs,]] the [=GoBots=] have gender, at least on a neurological level.
143	* SequelHook: The movie ''Battle of the Rock Lords'' ends with Magmar still alive and vowing revenge as well as Marbles stating that he's certain they'll meet the Guardians again someday.
144	* SiliconBasedLife: The Rock Lords are living rocks.
145	* SingleBiomePlanet: Justified. The war left Gobotron a biologically dead world long ago. Its current status as a city planet is an attempt to make the world comfortable again for its cyborg inhabitants.
146	* TheSmurfettePrinciple:
147	** Mainly averted. The show had quite a few female characters, Small Foot and Pathfinder being the two most prominent female Guardians, and Crasher being one of the lead villains. The humans had AJ and Anya (although Anya didn't show up very often after the FiveEpisodePilot).
148	** Played straight with Solitaire, who is the only female Rock Lord seen in the movie ''Battle of the Rock Lords''.
149	* SomethingWeForgot: "The Seer" ends with Leader-1 commenting that he can't escape the feeling they are forgetting something. The last shot shows that the Guardians forgot to free Van Guard from the pit of cement Blockhead trapped him in.
150	* SubvertedSuspicionAesop: "Pacific Overtures" deals with Cy-Kill attempting to win the Guardians' trust by falsely claiming to request a truce, with Turbo being the only one not buying Cy-Kill's claims.
151	* SurroundedByIdiots: And poor Cy-Kill knows it. No wonder he values Fi-Tor so highly, since Fi-Tor is loyal, intelligent, ''and'' competent, when hardly anyone else in the Renegade army is all three. In fairness, Cy-Kill ''didn't'' hire these shnooks; the Renegades were a pre-existing army, and he seized command of them when he left the Guardians.
152	* TankTreadMecha: Destroyer has a mid-transformation mode with his legs folded as tank treads. In this animated series, he appeared in this mode.
153	* TeleportGun: The Astrobeam can be considered this franchise's equivalent to the Space Bridges of ''Transformers'', as they are used to teleport [=GoBots=] and their allies across time and space.
154	* {{Terraforming}}: The humans are preparing a massive terraforming project for a planet they want to colonize, near the end of the series.
155	* ThemeNaming
156	** VehicularThemeNaming: Go ahead, just ''guess'' what kind of vehicles Cy-Kill, Scooter, Cop-Tor, Dumper, Super Couper, Throttle, Tail-Pipe, Zero, Buggy Man, and Loco turn into...
157	* TitlePlease: While the other 60 episodes did have {{Episode Title Card}}s, this is not the case with the FiveEpisodePilot, which instead had its titles revealed through a voice-over.
158	* TookALevelInBadass: Dr. Braxis, in the "Season 2" episode summaries posted on ''Renegade Rhetoric.'' In one "episode," he single-handedly captures nearly all the Guardians ''and'' Renegades. In another, his chronological last appearance to date, he's forced to aid the dictator of [[{{Ruritania}} Brasnya, a small Eastern European nation]] against some rebels; the Guardians soon come to investigate. Braxis plays the dictator and the Guardians against each other, winning the acclaim of the nation's people, ousting the dictator and being welcomed as Brasnya's new ''head of state''.
159	* ToylessToylineCharacter: The cartoon had some notable [=GoBots=] who did not have their own toys.
160	** The title character of "Steamer's Defection", who turns into a steamroller and ends up ditching the Renegades to join the Guardians.
161	** Wrecks, an ancient [=GoBot=] who is encountered by the Guardians' human allies in the episode "Lost on Gobotron".
162	** Downplayed with Snoop, whose planned figure didn't see an official release in the American toyline, but was included in Australia's Machine Men line and Europe's Robo Machine line.
163	* ToylineExclusiveCharacter: The [=GoBots=] toyline had a considerable number of toys who never made an appearance in the cartoon, such as Major Mo, Bent Wing, the six Wendy's promotion [=GoBots=] (Beamer, Breez, Guide Star, Odd Ball, Pow Wow and Sky Flyer), the [=RoGuns=] (Rifle, Pistol and Squirt) and the Renegade Combiner Monsterous (Fright Face, Heart Attack, South Claw, Weird Wing, Gore Jaw and Fangs), though many of them would eventually be added to the canon via the ''Renegade Rhetoric'' Facebook posts, which had Cy-Kill describe the events of the episodes of a fictional second season and included adventures where the toy-only [=GoBots=] were involved.
164	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: Even at the series's outset, it is clear that human technology is advanced a bit beyond the present day. With the [=GoBots'=] assistance, it quickly advances far beyond that, allowing humanity to start colonizing other planets.
165	* UndyingLoyalty: Fi-Tor towards Cy-Kill. When he's captured by the Guardians, he deliberately damages the ship taking him to interrogation rather than risk even the possibility he might betray Cy-Kill. When he realises he's possibly doomed himself and two of the top Guardians (Leader-1 and Turbo), he laughs at the thought.
166	** He also assures the Guardians that Cy-Kill would see him dead before he'd allow the Guardians to carry out a proper interrogation, and Fi-Tor is totally fine with it.
167	** Cy-Kill reciprocates this loyalty, and is absolutely certain Fi-Tor won't talk when he is captured. Crasher suggests making sure (implying that they should kill Fi-Tor themselves), and a furious Cy-Kill declares that would be a last resort. He dispatches his troops on a rescue mission, taking the time to warn both Cop-Tur and Crasher that he wants Fi-Tor back in one piece. When he realises he has no choice but to destroy the Guardian ship (and Fi-Tor with it), he takes the time to whisper a goodbye just before an alternative idea comes to him. He pretty much goes to a lot of trouble to save Fi-Tor, a huge contrast with other villains from the 80s like [[WesternAnimation/Thundercats1985 Mumm-Ra]], Megatron or Cobra Commander.
168	* UnresolvedSexualTension: Matt Hunter and Anya Turgonova. They do kiss in the FiveEpisodePilot, though.
169	* VagueAge: How old are the [=GoBots=]? There are ''young'' [=GoBots=] who need to be educated, and the characters don't make claims to [[TimeAbyss vast age]] like the Franchise/{{Transformers}} do (in particular, "Search For the Ancient Gobonauts" makes it clear that they consider the early days of Egypt to be ancient history even by their standards), so it appears that [=GoBots=] do age, reproduce, and experience generational turnover like any other biological race (although exactly ''how'' [=GoBots=] propagate their species is anyone's guess).
170	** Scorp and Vamp are implied to actually date back to the time of the Last Engineer and Master Renegade, but to say they have a non-standard design would be an understatement.
171	* VoiceChangeling: Scooter's power, in addition to his MasterOfIllusion powers.
172	* TheVoiceless: Zod. He did roar a lot, but never spoke.
173	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Most of "Et Tu, Cy-Kill" consists of flashbacks narrated by Scooter that explain that Cy-Kill used to be a Guardian as well as how he became a Renegade.
174	* WorldShapes: The planet Gobotron resembles, in the words of AJ, an apple core. In another episode the Renegades invade the planet Triseti which is a triangular pyramid.
175	* WorthyOpponent: While he rarely admitted it, Cy-Kill acknowledged and even respected Leader-1's leadership and combat skills.
176	* WrongSideOfTheTracks: Whatever parts of Old Gobotron are still habitable have become a terrible slum, inhabited mostly by off-worlders.
177	* YouMonster: Cy-Kill is called a monster by the [=GoBots=] of Gobotron in "Clutch of Doom" when it appeared that he destroyed one fifth of Earth's human population by crushing one of the condensed globes containing them. [[spoiler: Fortunately, unbeknownst to Cy-Kill, the globe in question had been swapped out for a fake beforehand.]]
178	* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: Fi-Tor is captured in "Fi-Tor to the Finish" and tries to destroy the ship carrying him to interrogation. The horrified Guardian Turbo tackles him and calls him a lunatic. Fi-Tor retorts, "The word is patriot, wimp!"

Context WesternAnimation / ChallengeOfTheGoBots