Cosmic Carnival

The Cosmic Carnival is a space-faring carnival from the Marvel portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

You'll pay for the whole seat! Or else!

Main arena

Beware our trapeze artist! Er, marvel at.

Dare to witness the finest performances in the galaxy within this very main arena! No other show compares!

Spectacular!

He's willingly employed!

Meet the star of our show, that metallic master of aerial acrobatics, Sky Lynx! His death-defying feats of bravery takes him from his perch far above the center ring to a spectacular mid-air transformation, a series of bounding leaps — but what is this? Is he plunging to his death? Can he possibly pull out of this life-threatening freefall? Don't worry, ladies and gentlethugs, it's all part of the show.

Amazing!

But that's not all, folks! The main arena is also home to trained, yet ferocious, gilasharks! Fear the flaming projectiles of our furious juggler! Make way for our heroic jouster! And only a fool ignores Rorza, the Rocket-cycle Racer from Rigel III!

All this and more will be made known to you by boisterous being of the center ring, the brazen Big Top!

Sideshow

Don't drink the refreshments! They'll rot your fangs!

Don't forget to pity our fantastic freaks in our sensational side show area, home to the stupidest-looking creatures you'll ever see, taken from the grossest corners of the galaxy! We assure you, their contracts look legitimate! Just ask our boss of the sideshow, that bald human weirdo Berko!

Web of!

Berko will leap to show you one of the sideshow's most interesting attractions, a rare exhibit of human children! Watch them play basketball! Skateboard! Clutch their stuffed Earth animal and cry to be let free!

Completely unrelated, folks, but please have enough money to pay for admission.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

Run by Mr. Big Top, the Cosmic Carnival was a mobile space station that entertained aliens of all walks of life with daring acrobatics and sideshow attractions. This glamour however hid a dark underbelly of abductions and slavery. Circa 1978, the Carnival stopped off at Earth where it abducted Berko who became a sideshow attraction. In 1988, a series of improbable events culminated in Sky Lynx stopping off at the Cosmic Carnival to entertain the Spacehikers. Without any form of payment however, Sky Lynx was forced to perform while the Spacehikers were locked up as attractions until they'd settled their binary coded contract.

Some months later, after Optimus Prime had been restored to life, he and Goldbug intercepted a transmission regarding Sky Lynx's newfound fame and set course to rescue him. Unable to bargain with Big Top, the two Autobots instead made the acquaintance of Berko and, along with the other performers, managed to overthrow Big Top and free their friends. The Autobots headed back to Earth while leaving the Carnival to the interstellar hicks. The Cosmic Carnival

Regeneration One

By 2012, Berko had assumed ownership of the Carnival. Needing a covert lift to the Sol System, the Wreckers booked passage on the Cosmic Carnival. Berko happily supplied transportation but warned he'd collect a favour next time the Carnival stopped off in their sector of the galaxy. Loose Ends, Part 1

2005 IDW continuity

The Cosmic Carnival stopped off at Cybertron shortly before the Great War. At an abandoned Carnival site (that Prowl declined to mention how he'd secured) Jetfire met with Prowl and Orion Pax to turn over one of the off-world weapons that the Decepticons had smuggled onto Cybertron. Dance Among the Shadows

The Cosmic Carnival survived into the post-War era. On their quest for the Knights of Cybertron, the Lost Lighters had a three week "overnight" stay at the Carnival where they learnt how to juggle. Ultra Magnus later brought up their time there as an example of the crew's tendency to become easily distracted. The Not Knowing

Of Masters and Mayhem

When he heard a Cybertronian escape pod fall into the atmosphere of Abraxas, Alpha Bravo compared the whine of its damaged engines to the jingle of the Cosmic Carnival. Deadly Aim