Cyclonus/Snow Cat (Transformers)

Snow Cat is the name of a fictional character is the various Transformers universes. He was originally known as Cyclonus (Sandstorm in Japan) before his upgrade into Snow Cat (Snow Storm in Japan).

Transformers character
name =Cyclonus/Snow Cat


caption =
affiliation =Decepticon
subgroup =Deluxe Vehicles
rank =5 (Armada and Energon)
6 (Universe)
function =Air Attack Soldier (Cyclonus)
Polar Region Attack Soldier (Snow Cat)
partner =Crumplezone (Cannon)
motto ="Out of my way! Attack!" (Cyclonus)
"There is no terrain, or opponent, that I cannot conquer." (Snow Cat)
alternatemodes =Cybertronian Helicopter
Arctic Exploration Vehicle
series =


engvoice =Don Brown
japanvoice =Isshin Chiba Cyclonus/Snow Cat is described as a reckless Decepticon soldier who Megatron likes to let run loose and attack the Autobots.

Animated series

Transformers: Armada

Every army has at least one guy who just signed up so that he could get to shoot things, and in Megatron’s army, that’s Cyclonus (Sandstorm in Japan). He’s the ruler of the universe – so unstoppably young and reckless that even his own allies know enough to keep out of way on the battlefield. His thought processes are erratic and his love of combat so great that he’s prone to breaking off from the main battle to attack lone Autobots in his helicopter mode, leaving his allies with no aerial cover. Once let loose, it can be hard for Megatron to get Cyclonus to stop. Cyclonus is partnered with the Mini-Con, Crumplezone "(Cannon in Japan) ", who transforms into a tank and can combine with him as a cockpit extension for his helicopter mode that gives him extra firepower. Per the design of Cyclonus's toy, his hands remain visible and usable in helicopter mode; he once used them to convey Demolishor to a showdown between Megatron and Starscream.

Although a reliable battlefield presence, Cyclonus rarely performed any truly unique or important actions, and had no notable solo adventures during the campaign to capture the Mini-Cons on Earth. His wild personality, insane cackling and frequent goof-ups were often a source of comedy, as was his fondness for taking naps when doing something other than fighting. Cyclonus’s toy received a green, black and grey “Powerlinx” redeco, though this upgrade was not reflected in the animated series. It is stated that all the trasformers are the 30 ft (10m) tall, in a DK Readers Trasforms Armada book.

Transformers: Energon

"Armada" concluded with the seeming death of Megatron, and in the ten-year interim between the events of the series and its 2004 sequel, "Transformers: Energon," Cyclonus and the other Decepticons entered into an alliance with the Autobots and humans in a joint program to mine for the energy-rich mineral, energon, on Earth and in the Sol system. Sporting a new black, white and grey camouflage color scheme, Cyclonus was stationed on Lunar City on the Earth’s moon. When the city was attacked by Alpha Q’s Terrorcons, Cyclonus was believed destroyed, but was soon able to make his way back to Earth for a happy reunion with Demolishor. The pair were torn apart again, however, by the appearance of Scorponok, wielding a sword forged from Megatron’s spark; this was enough to convince Cyclonus of his leader’s continued existence, and he immediately turned on the Autobots and sided with Scorponok and Tidal Wave to acquire energon for Megatron’s revival.

A short time later, after Megatron had been restored to life, Cyclonus sustained crippling damage during a battle on the moon, and Megatron used the power of Unicron at his disposal to reformat Cyclonus’s body entirely, transforming him into Snow Cat "(known as Snowstorm in Japan)". In this new form, Cyclonus transforms into a polar exploration vehicle "(based on the G.I. Joe vehicle known as the “Snow Cat”)", armed with hyper-power cannons and deployable skis which soon gave him a fondness for yodelling in place of his familiar cackling laughter as he slalomed the spaceways. Once again maintaining regular appearances on the battlefield, often towed into combat by , Snow Cat was responsible for telling that Optimus Prime had killed his brother, Shockblast, but when Galvatron (the upgraded incarnation of Megatron) plunged himself into an Energon sun to prevent Unicron’s victory, Snow Cat and Demolishor were self-preserving enough to hold back and stay alive while their leader, Starscream and Mirage apparently perished.

Dreamwave Productions

In Dreamwave Productions’ "Transformers: Armada" comic book, Cyclonus played a similar role to his cartoon counterpart, and got to step into the spotlight after the Decepticons successfully captured the Mini-Con Destruction Team. When the team’s leader, Dualor, offered Megatron a risk-free sample of the team’s true power, Cyclonus was forcibly “volunteered” for the process, and wound up driven into a frenzy by the vast overload to his systems, making him a threat to Autobot and Decepticon alike. Charged with all the power of his Mini-Con, Sparkplug, Optimus Prime defeated Cyclonus. He was repaired, but was later taken out again by Generation 1 Galvatron.

Snow Cat also appeared slightly later, in Dreamwave’s "Transformers: Energon" comic, targeting and eventually being defeated by the Omnicons in the Yukon, but no indication was given that he was in any way related to Cyclonus in the comic book continuity. He was also slated to appear again in issue #31, but the cancellation of the comic at #30 prevented this.

He also appeared in the Dreawmave Summer Special. In the future, Megatron had retaken command of the Decepticons, and sent Snow Cat, Slugslinger and Sharkticon each on missions to steal copies of the plans for Omega Supreme from the Autobot's Ocean City. Each of the three attempted to break in - but each were defeated. The three each made up stories as to their failure and Megatron appointed Slugslinger as his lieutenant as his lie was the most impressive.

Transformers: Universe

Presented as the same character from the Unicron Trilogy universe, Snow Cat had gone into hiding in the ruins of the Decepticon city of Kaon, believed dead by the Autobots. Driven mad by his loss of purpose caused by Megatron's disappearance (and having gotten an orange and black paint job, for no apparent reason), he roamed the polar regions of the planet, randomly attacking anyone he encounters and escaping before retribution.

Toys

*Armada Cyclonus (2002):Armada Cyclonus is a deluxe sized toy which ships with the Mini-Con Crumplezone. According to the Armada video game Armada Cyclonus is supposed to be 19 feet 7 inches tall (597cm) and the toy is 14cm tall. So that's a 1:43 scale.:Recolored in purple and yellow and remolded with a new head and cockpit for ' as Buzzsaw"'. Additionally, to fit better into the line, his Mini-Con ports were replaced with activation slots for a Cybertronian Cyber Planet Key.

*McDonalds Cyclonus (2002):A promotional item given away with Happy Meals. This toy came with a rotor accessory and could combine with McDonalds Megatron, Starscream and Demolishor in vehicle mode to form a super-vehicle.

*Powerlynx Cyclonus (2003):A green redeco of Armada Cyclonus.
*Built to Rule Cyclonus (2003):A building set which included Crumplezone, Megatron and Leader-1. Done in his original colors.

*Energon Cyclonus (2005):A Kaybee toy store exclusive.

*Energon Snow Cat (2004):A new mold which is a homage to a G.I. Joe vehicle.

*Universe Snow Cat (2005):A black and orange redeco of Snow Cat was later released as part of the parallel-universe spanning "" series in 2005, exclusive to KayBee toy stores. Although labeled as part of the Transformers: Universe line, every other aspect of the toy's packaging was from "Transformers: Cybertron".

andstorm

Cyclonus' Japanese name, Sandstorm, was formerly used by a Generation 1 Autobot Triple Changer. This vesion has a helicopter alternate mode.