Vector Sigma

A Clockwork Orange

Vector Sigma is an ancient and incredibly powerful super-computer that dwells at the heart of Cybertron. Built to serve as a link between the Transformers and their god Primus, it is one of the fabled sacred treasures that grants access to the Transformer afterlife, giving it a vast storehouse of wisdom, and the power to grant new Transformers life. The computer maintains the functions of the planet while Primus sleeps within it, and frequently acts out his will to shape Cybertron's future. Multiple incarnations of Vector Sigma exist across the multiverse; in most universes, the computer typically takes the form of a faceted sphere, and is often tended by the Autobot sage, Alpha Trion.

Vector Sigma has no allegiance in the Transformers' war; it can be commanded by anyone who wields its activation key, which on its own has the power to convert organic substances into metal. However, centuries in the future, by the time of the Maximals and Predacons, some incarnations of Vector Sigma are known to have evolved beyond physical form into the immaterial Oracle, and now requires a "receptive spark" to access its power.

Fiction

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

Voice actor: Corey Burton (English), Toshiro Ishii (Japanese), Henry Djanik (European French), Marcos Miranda (Brazilian Portuguese)

Alpha Trion telling Optimus about the benefits of Brilliant

Described as the "mega-computer" which gave all Transformers life, Vector Sigma resided in a spherical chamber deep within the planet Cybertron. Its origins were unknown, save for the cryptic sentence it spoke upon being activated, whereupon it pronounces that before Cybertron existed, it did. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1 No direct connection between Vector Sigma and the Transformers' creators the Quintessons would ever be drawn, but it's not illogical to presume that the aliens must have used Vector Sigma to program their robots. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4

In 1985, seeking to combat the Autobots' rule of the roads, Megatron created the Stunticons and brought them to Cybertron with the intent of having Vector Sigma program them with true cybernetic personalities. Requiring Vector Sigma's activation key to bring the computer online, he stole it from Alpha Trion and successfully completed his plan. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1 In retaliation, Optimus Prime constructed his own new team, the Aerialbots, but Megatron had already returned to Earth with the key still in his clutches, leaving the Autobots unable to reactivate Vector Sigma. As a first-generation product of Vector Sigma, Alpha Trion shared the mega-computer's computation matrix, and sacrificed himself by merging his lifeforce with it. This action reactivated the computer long enough for Optimus Prime to instruct it to program the Aerialbots with life.

Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that the key possessed another power—the bizarre ability to generate an energy beam that "de-energizes" organic matter, transforming it into lifeless metal. Megatron attempted to use this power to turn Earth into a new Cybertron, but his plans were thwarted and the key destroyed. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2

After draining the energies of the Matrix of Leadership to cure the Hate Plague in 2006, Optimus Prime began to suffer premonitions of some unseen future disaster. Believing that these visions were coming to pass with the Decepticons' theft of the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, The Rebirth, Part 1 Prime used the empty shell of the Matrix to reactivate Vector Sigma, so that he could communicate with the spirit of Alpha Trion, still living within the computer, in hopes that the old sage could provide answers. Alpha Trion indicated that the recent conflict that had erupted around the Chamber had, in fact, been engineered by Vector Sigma as a means of bringing about a new Golden Age of Cybertron. The Rebirth, Part 2 The plan ultimately succeeded when the chamber's energies were released, forcing Earth's sun to go supernova, only for the excess solar energy to be rerouted into Vector Sigma by Spike Witwicky and the Autobots' Nebulan allies, thereby re-energizing the planet. The Rebirth, Part 3

A Birth of Planet Saybertron

Vector Sigma was originally a computer built within a mere satellite. It was the result of the greatest minds of a coalition of planets coming together to assemble an instrument that would ensure peace between their civilizations. But the computer malfunctioned, and the satellite begun drawing in materials from other satellites to build itself up. Those who had built the computer tried to stop it, but found themselves unable to defeat the rapidly-evolving machine. Cybertron came to strip its galactic neighborhood of its resources, extinguishing the life of its creators. Over time, primitive machines sprung from it, eventually evolving into the Transformers. A Birth of Planet Saybertron

Japanese cartoon continuity

Main article: Primus#Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Vector Sigma was one identity of the multi-faceted god Primus. After his stint as Primacron's assistant, the Oracle, Primus's essence within the Matrix fled to a desolate planet in the center of the galaxy which he made into a verdant world and where his form converted into the sphere later known as Vector Sigma. When the Quintessons took over the planet, they sealed Primus within Vector Sigma and controlled it using the Key to Vector Sigma that they also used to convert the planet to a mechanical world. From Vector Sigma came the robotic Transformers, who chased their cruel masters off the planet.

Millions of years later, the Great War reached Vector Sigma, who was tasked with creating more soldiers for the Autobots and the Decepticons. After Megatron stole the Key, ancient Transformer Alpha Trion was forced to give his life in activating Vector Sigma for the Autobots and the Key was destroyed shortly after. Decades later, the Matrix was sapped of energy in fighting the Hate Plague, destabilizing Vector Sigma and eventually forcing Optimus Prime himself to sacrifice his life by merging with the computer to return it to normal. Soon afterwards, Vector Sigma began developing Cybertonuron, which attracted the attention of Galvatron, but rival Scorponok had bombs planted in Vector Sigma's chambers that detonated and brought ruin to Cybertron.

Vector Sigma survived, and tasked the Disaster Relief Team with rebuilding the planet. It became embroiled in a plot by Unicron to take Cybertron as his new body, but Vector Sigma was able to help its children repel the invader. The computer was soon attacked again, this time by the Fallen, who sought its power of creation, but was saved by the efforts of Autobots from across space and time.

Centuries after the Great War ended, Vector Sigma hid itself under its other identity of the Oracle, and led Optimus Primal to bring about the reformatting of Cybertron into a technorganic world. This led to another renewal of Vector Sigma that appointed itself the "God of Transformers" and the ultimate authority of Cybertron. When the threat of a revived Unicron emerged tens of thousands of years later, Vector Sigma took an interest in Big Convoy and his unit, encouraging them by speaking through its link to Big Convoy's Energon Matrix. Unicron managed to possess Vector Sigma to take control of Cybertron, but the united efforts of Maximal and Predacon vanquished Unicron's spirit. Vector Sigma would go on to support the Dimensional Patrol, led by one of Vector Sigma's creations, Fire Convoy.

Wings Universe

Alpha Trion used Vector Sigma to bring Jhiaxus to life. Wings Universe Jhiaxus bio

Beast Wars cartoon continuity

Beast Machines cartoon

Voice actor: Carol Savenkoff (English), Nobutoshi Canna (Japanese), Emanuela Damasio (Italian), Martina Treger (German)

Main article: Oracle (BM)

The Oracle usually appears outwardly like a ball of "outer space", but many things can be displayed on its fluid surface. A swirling mass of sparks is another common visual.

Three hundred years after the end of the Great War between the Autobots and Decepticons, Vector Sigma had evolved, transcending physical form to become the Oracle, a huge, immaterial sphere of light. It had long since fallen into legend, remembered only as the computer that predated the Cybertronian race, until it was rediscovered by Optimus Primal and his small band of Maximals while they were on the run from Megatron, who had conquered the entire planet. To protect Primal's Maximals from the effects of the transformation virus Megatron had used to conquer Cybertron, the Oracle reformatted them into new technorganic forms The Reformatting

A Diagnostic Drone interfaces with the Vector Sigma core, which appears very similar to the Generation 1 Vector Sigma.

Through the Oracle, Optimus Primal communed with the Allspark, the extradimensional source of all Transformer life to which the computer was connected, and believed that it was the will of the Allspark that Cybertron be restored to its organic beginnings. Survivor In truth, Primal was incorrect—the Oracle actually desired a balance between the organic and the technological—but it would take the disastrous unleashing of the power buried within the computer to make him realize this. When Megatron's treacherous general, Tankor, discovered that Vector Sigma and the Oracle were one and the same, he used the sparkless Diagnostic Drone to circumvent the Oracle's "receptive spark" requirement, tapping into the Oracle's "Vector Sigma core" and acquiring from it the code for the mega-computer's legendary key. The Key When Optimus next attempted to contact the Oracle, he found himself unable to do so, due to Tankor's tampering. The Catalyst

Tankor proceeded to arm his Tank Drones with the power of the Key to Vector Sigma, intending to use it to scour Cybertron of all traces of organic matter, but soon discovered that Megatron had taken control of the drones away from him. In order to trick Megatron into unleashing the key, Tankor had the Diagnostic Drone tap the Oracle once more and send Optimus Prime a false vision, guiding him to the Plasma Energy Chamber. Tankor gambled that Primal would never unleash the Chamber's descructive energy, but that the threat of it in his control would goad Megatron into activating the key. Tankor gambled wrong; after Megatron triggered the key, Optimus retaliated by unleashing the power of the chamber, and two energies violently cancelled each other out. End of the Line Primal was killed by the energy backlash and travelled to the Allspark, but chose not to join it, now understanding what the Oracle truly desired. Primal returned to reality via the Oracle, and the computer vanished. Fallout Though, it was anomalously visible again a few times. A Wolf in the Fold The Strike The Siege

It would be some time before Primal realized it, but the Oracle had, in fact, transplanted itself into Primal's body. Megatron was first to realize this and targeted Primal, tricking him with a hologram of Optimus Prime and downloading a portion of the Oracle for himself. The Search Using the power of the Oracle, Megatron attempted to merge all the sparks he had stolen from Cybertron's population with his own, but Primal's Maximals halted his scheme. The Siege

Optimus sought to consult with the Oracle one last time before his final showdown against Megatron's forces. The Oracle informed Primal that he already held the wisdom and strength of conviction to triumph and see Cybertron through to its destiny. It then relayed the strength of the sparks contained within the Matrix to give the Maximals new powers, to aid them in the upcoming confrontation. When Legends Fall As it would soon turn out, the Oracle had actually orchestrated this entire scenario, so that Optimus Primal and Megatron would both control a portion of its power: with its power split thusly, neither one would be able to obtain their goal without the other. It was Optimus Primal who ultimately claimed victory, driving Megatron into Cybertron's organic core and sacrificing both of them as he activated the Oracle and triggered a planet-wide reformatting of Cybertron into a technorganic paradise. Seeds of the Future

3H comics

The Oracle was revealed to be a shell program constructed by the Quintessons millions of years ago, in an attempt to harness the power of Vector Sigma (which the Quintesson Al-badur described as "the ultimate physical embodiment" of Primus) and cut off its connection to the Transformers it birthed. Using the Oracle, the Quintessons allegedly fed Optimus Primal the visions and information necessary to orchestrate the technorganic reformatting of Cybertron, believing that it would leave the Cybertronians weak and disoriented, opening the planet up to an easy conquest. Disclosure In actuality, however, it was the Quintessons themselves who were being manipulated, by Primus, who used the greedy aliens to instigate this great evolutionary leap for his children. Wreckers: Finale Part II

Beast Wars Neo comic

I want to tell you about the Transformers! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their fictional appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. The 5 Rookies Double Cross

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Vector Sigma was the internal computer of Primus, which he used to analyze what was happening in the universe via information gained from the Sonic Canyons. Transformers: The Ultimate Guide After taking control of Cybertron, Shockwave attempted to access Vector Sigma and download its information, but concluded that he needed the Matrix of Leadership to initiate an uplink. Capturing Optimus Prime, he forcibly removed the Matrix from the Autobot leader and initiated a complete download. War and Peace However, the information was so great that it overwhelmed Shockwave's multiple secondary computers, spilling into whatever available memory it could find, including the as yet-to-be activated Sunstorm. Generation One

2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon

Is this from Transformers or Bubble Bobble?

Optimus Prime was chosen by "the Allspark", Vector Sigma, to carry the Matrix of Leadership and lead the Autobots. Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!

Animated cartoon

Like the more famous AllSpark, Vector Sigma possessed the ability to create new sparks. Following the loss of the AllSpark during the Great War, the victorious Autobots used Vector Sigma to continue the growth of the Cybertronian race. The Allspark Almanac II

Live-action film series

Yep, this is very live-action film-y looking, yessirree.

The great historian Alpha Trion preserved important datatracks from Vector Sigma, the "Cybertronian Database". Some of these datatracks told of a handful of battles on the planet Earth. Cyber Missions Vector Sigma also, more appropriately, held records of the Transformer race's long history, its artifacts and terminology, and its most important combatants.^[1]

Aligned continuity family

The Covenant of Primus

A prototype of Vector Sigma was utilized by the Thirteen to simulate battle strategies against Unicron. The full-scale model was created after the Chaos Bringer's defeat and before the War of the Primes. Unlike the device that would much later become the Matrix of Leadership, Vector Sigma would remain unchanged over the eons.

During the Age of Rust, Alpha Trion went to Vector Sigma to try and acquire the Matrix hoping to reignite the lost fire of Cybertronian society. Vector Sigma refused, saying the time was not right, but gave him the Badge of Vector Prime instead. The Covenant of Primus

Aligned novels

Vector Sigma had become a myth. Many believed it was located within the Sonic Canyons, although a few of Cybertron's elite knew it was located beneath Iacon. When the Decepticons bombed the Sonic Canyons, they bombed the area where an entrance to Vector Sigma was said to be located, causing outrage among Cybertronians. When the Autobots left Cybertron on the Ark, Alpha Trion opted to remain behind, believing the computer would keep him alive. Exodus

According to Optimus Prime, the Matrix of Leadership had been given to him by Vector Sigma. Exiles

Shockwave eventually found Vector Sigma and tried to use Alpha Trion as a substitute key, only to learn the ancient Prime had looped a false access code around his necrocortex. Undeterred, Shockwave began pumping Dark Energon into the computer to try and override its security despite Alpha Trion's protestations. His plans were stopped by the Wreckers rescuing Trion, but the Prime despaired as Shockwave's experiments had attracted something monstrous to Cybertron. Retribution

Prime cartoon

“The Wheel of Power is the key that will open the way back to the Accelerons”

The entrance to Vector Sigma was, unbeknownst to the Decepticons, located beneath their capital of Kaon. It remained there untouched throughout the Great War until Jack Darby and Arcee followed the Key to Vector Sigma to it. In the chamber below the planet's surface, Jack used the Key to activate the supercomputer and began to download the contents of the Matrix of Leadership. Despite an attack of scraplets, the download was successful, and Vector Sigma disappeared back into the depths. Orion Pax, Part 3

2005 IDW continuity

"I did it thirty-five minutes ago."

In the Cybertronians' creation myth, their gods went to war against one of their own, the god of death, and the light-bringer Primus was so badly wounded that he had to merge with Cybertron itself in order to survive. He reformatted himself into Vector Sigma, the life-giving supercomputer in the core of the planet. Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations Another tale put forth the idea that Primus had fashioned Vector Sigma as his crypt in preparing for his physical demise. The God War

Whatever its true origin, Vector Sigma became the source of new Transformer life in Cybertron's early era by periodically sending out pulsewaves that ignited new hot spots of sparks across the planet and the moons. Following the First Cybertronian Civil War however, these waves began to grow less frequent and eventually ceased, forcing Nova Prime to extract new sparks from the Matrix of Leadership instead. The Divided Self

Vector Sigma would continue to serve as Cybertron's primary source of energon, and the religious myths surrounding it caused many to believe it was a miracle machine that would continue to provide them with energy forever. Shockwave, on the other hand, thought the computer to be part of a system that wasn't designed to handle the sprawling metropolis Cybertron had become thanks to Nova Prime's population boost, and feared that it would eventually run dry. Shockwaves His prediction apparently came true, as Cybertron was eventually crippled by widespread energon shortage. Autocracy Monstrosity

According to Alpha Trion, Vector Sigma was "essentially erased" when Cybertron was rendered a dead and uninhabitable world by the long war and Thunderwing's rampage. Ironing Out the Details

The psychotic Galvatron, being manipulated by the D-Void through the Heart of Darkness, believed that destroying Cybertron would save the universe when, in fact, it would merge it with the Dead Universe, killing all forms of life. Optimus Prime and Rodimus attempted to stop him, but were too late to prevent him from feeding the Heart of Darkness into Vector Sigma. While Hardhead, Arcee, and Cyclonus fought with Galvatron, Rodimus convinced an initially reluctant Optimus that the only way to save Cybertron and the universe was to release the Matrix of Leadership inside Vector Sigma. Agreeing, Prime leapt into Vector Sigma, opening the Matrix and preventing the assault of the Dead Universe on Cybertron and the rest of the universe. Genesis Unexpectedly, however, this resulted in the rebirth of Cybertron itself. The Death of Optimus Prime

Some years later, Cybertron was invaded by the Iron Ring eventually resulting in one of their number, the Prysmosian sorcerer Merklynn, using the Talisman to create the city of New Prysmos deep in Cybertron's underground. First Strike #6

The Cybertronians eventually placed New Prysmos under quarantine with Breakdown unintentionally discovering that the Talisman's energies were spreading outwards from the alien city after a portion of it had decayed his arm. Following this, Wheeljack began to examine the Talisman energy surrounding New Prysmos and found that the device itself was burrowing its way down to Vector Sigma, apparently intent on completing the terraforming process. Ironhide did not take this news well. Schismatic

Wheeljack eventually constructed an anti-Talisman bomb that if detonated close enough to the supercomputer could immunize it against magic. Desperate Measures After Quickswitch transported the bomb to Vector Sigma's antechamber, Good Men it went off at the same time as Galadria's healing spell managing to preserve Vector Sigma while moving New Prysmos to Cybertron's surface. The Curtain

Though it was preserved, Vector Sigma was still poisoned by the Talisman's energies. While imprisoned, Shockwave revealed to Starscream that this had been goal, intending for Vector Sigma's consumption to poison and kill Unicron. Last Stand When Unicron arrived at Cybertron however, he physically tore the planet in two with his robot mode, destroying Vector Sigma while leaving the Chaos Bringer unharmed. Road's End

The Functionist Universe

When the Functionist Council discovered Nova Prime's stockpile of Sparks, they deemed it heretical that the Senate would try to use them. The Senate responded by sealing Vector Sigma's chamber behind a wall of ununtrium. A World Misplaced Since ununtrium could cut ununtrium, this was, at best, a minor inconvenience for the Functionists but they left the supercomputer alone out of fear that their collective alternate mode was unnecessary to activate it. Modes of Production

Millions of years later, the Council "discovered" that the true purpose of Rung's alternate mode was to drill through the wall and free Vector Sigma. A World Misplaced Fearing what the Council could do with Vector Sigma, Rodimus led a team to try and rescue Rung before they breached the chamber. The group arrived too late and were met by Six-of-Twelve whom Rodimus insulted before tackling him into Vector Sigma's chamber. His team followed and were horrified by the sight of Bad Moon Rising Six using the false Matrix as an agony beam to torture Rodimus. Using Rung as a false hostage, Ratchet got Rodimus freed and the group escaped back to the surface and onto the Cog. On the ship, Rung explained that once the Council learned of his ability to generate photonic crystals, they'd tried to tap the Matrix of Leadership for new sparks only to discover it was a fake, instead turning to Vector Sigma to extract all the sparks they needed to build a galaxy conquering army. Modes of Production

After turning Cybertron itself into a cosmic engine of destruction, the planet's lack of mobility proved a hindrance to Functionist Council. To counteract this, the Council engineered Cybertron with a robot mode in Primus's likeness, which was directed by seven of the remaining eleven councillors, all merged with Vector Sigma. The Return of the King Team Rodimus eventually hit on a plan to exploit Vector Sigma's connection to Cybertron's hot spots to overwhelm the supercomputer's defences and kill the councillors who had merged with it. The Unremebering When the heroes opened twelve duplicates of the Matrix of Leadership, the energies briefly overloaded Vector Sigma before the computer shunted the excess energy to the orbiting Luna 1, though not before the Functionist Council had been totally disintegrated, ending their reign. A Spark Among Embers

Transformers vs. G.I. Joe

After Megatron had seized the Matrix of Leadership, Pax Megatronus the talisman led him to the face of Primus, deep beneath Cybertron's surface. Using the Matrix, Megatron managed to pervert Vector Sigma causing the supercomputer to begin reshaping Cybertron into Megatron's likeness. Expelled from the Garden

Beast Wars: Uprising

At some point during the Great War, Vector Sigma was destroyed, threatening the Cybertronian species with eventual extinction. To ensure a future for his race, Cerebros contacted humanity, who had forced the end of planet-devastating Great War, and used their knowledge to construct the energon matrix as a successor to Vector Sigma, allowing for the birth of the Maximals and Predacons. Head Games

Cyberverse cartoon

Unfortunately "Shiny Ball" was confused at the time.

When Cybertron fell to war, Vector Sigma's chamber was seized by the Decepticons. Megatron intended to use the supercomputer to reprogram the Allspark and have it birth whole generations of Decepticons, delegating Shockwave to base himself in the computer's chamber. When the Autobots caught wind of this, Bumblebee was sent down to Vector Sigma to gleam the Decepticon plan only to be chased away by Shockwave's drones. Megatron Is My Hero

Many years later, Starscream had the Seekers retrieve Vector Sigma from Shockwave's lab and, after obtaining the Allspark, used the relic and supercomputer to create an army of Scraplets. Bring Me The Spark Of Optimus Prime Dark Birth Acid Storm later used Vector Sigma to give Starscream complete control of the Allspark. Starscream was defeated soon afterwards and the Allspark forced out of his physical form. While the Autobots claimed the life-giving artefact, I Am The Allspark Vector Sigma was claimed by the Decepticons and brought back to Cybertron, Escape From Earth where it returned to its position within the Threshold of the Allspark. Battle For Cybertron II

When the Autobots returned to Cybertron, the battle began to shift in the Decepticons' favour. Windblade decided that the Autobots had to destroy Vector Sigma only to find that the supercomputer being guarded by Bludgeon. Battle For Cybertron III As the two dueled, Wheeljack snuck in and sprayed the supercomputer with unspace goo. After Windblade kicked Bludgeon into the computer, the unspace matter took effect and destroyed Vector Sigma, undoing any chance of Megatron creating his perfect army. Battle For Cybertron IV

2019 IDW continuity

Upon returning to Cybertron following Megatron's takeover, Alpha Trion reassured the crew of the Fist of Iacon that the relics of the past, Vector Sigma among them, would help them through the storm to come. Storm Horizon Part 3

Games

Transformers Legends

After being brought to life by their respective factions thanks to Vector Sigma, the Aerialbots and the Stunticons fought for control of the supercomputer. Though the Autobots ultimately triumphed, the Decepticons made their escape in possession of the Key to Vector Sigma. The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1

Transformers: Earth Wars

The Game Full of Death and Suffering...! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their video game appearances. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it. Transformers: Earth Wars

Merchandise

Timelines

Long have you hunted me. Long have I eluded you.

• Vector Sigma (BotCon 2007 Souvenir Add-on)

• Accessories: Key, stand

A hollow plastic Vector Sigma, packaged with a removable Circuit Key and a clear "hovering effect" display stand, was produced by the Lukis Bros of Unicron.com as a special souvenir item offered exclusively at BotCon 2007.

The sphere of Vector Sigma was designed to scale with the contemporary-at-the-time Classics toys, while the slot for the key was intentionally designed to enable the Cybertron Safeguard mold to be inserted into the sphere, allowing Safeguard to function as an alternative personal key for Vector Prime to use to access Vector Sigma himself.^[2]

• More information on Vector Sigma at TFU.info

Masterpiece

• Masterpiece Optimus Prime (2014)

• Accessories: Key, stand

Vector Sigma came as an exclusive with the Hasbro Asia re-release of the Hasbro version of Masterpiece MP-10 Optimus Prime. It contained a hollow plastic Vector Sigma, a removable Circuit Key and a cardboard stand.

Generations (Japan)

Denied.

• Alpha Trion (2015)

A mock-up of an Alpha Trion toy in the form of a Generations Deluxe Class Scourge redeco was shown in Transformers Generations 2014 Volume 1 as one of ten potential exclusives for Vol. 2. The accompanying text notes that he would have come with a Vector Sigma accessory, presumably to be a golden redeco of Beast Wars Eggbot as seen in the volume's manga story, "Train Wars". In the fan poll held to determine which of the ten would be produced, Alpha Trion claimed 28.9% of the votes but ultimately came second place under Goshooter.^[3]

Proceed on your way to oblivion. This item has been canceled, with no current plans for release.

Legacy

Guess he really did have a key on him.

• A Hero Is Born (2-pack, 2022)

• Accessories: Key, stand
• Known designers: Evan Brooks (Hasbro), Takio Ejima and Takashi Kunihiro (TakaraTomy), Lenny Panzica (initial concept)^[4]

Revealed at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Vector Sigma, along with its Key, are included in a box set with Alpha Trion and Orion Pax. Vector Sigma is perched atop a removable translucent stand.

The set was listed for sale as a Hasbro Pulse Con 2022 exclusive, and began appearing in Hong Kong stores shortly afterwards.

Notes

• The idea of Vector Sigma appears to have been invented by Flint Dille while spitballing potential episode concepts in February 1985, which he included in a missive sent out to potential new writers for the cartoon to illustrate the types of stories the cartoon might tell. In a brief summary for a plot he titled "Journey to the Center of Cybertron," he proposed: "The Autobots and Decepticons have to fight their way to the center of their own planet through a maze of primitive monsters to try and find the 'original program' -- the machine that made all of them."^[5] In the same letter, Dille noted that the idea had grabbed him, and that he might write the episode himself; it seems likely that, very soon after this letter was sent, during the early development of The Transformers: The Movie, Dille had this idea in mind when he put together his proposal for the film, "The Secret of Cybertron," which involved Optimus Prime travelling to the center of Cybertron to discover the origin of the Transformer race.
• But of course, "The Secret of Cybertron" was never produced, and instead, the concept ultimately wound up being brought to life by David Wise, who has said at various conventions (such as BotCon 2009) that he was instructed to include the computer when writing "The Key to Vector Sigma" (probably around July/August '85). Not knowing what Vector Sigma was, he pressed Marvel Productions story editor Bryce Malek, who didn't know either; when he passed the question further up the chain, he was told that it was "the computer that gave all the Transformers personalities"... to which Malek responded: "Well, it didn't do a very good job, did it!" (In recounting the story, Wise has claimed Hasbro mandated its inclusion, and that Malek contacted them, but it seems likely he was misremembering and the instruction came down from Dille at Sunbow, who by that stage, had largely taken over the writing and story direction of the series).
• Prior to the event known as the "Shroud", the many incarnations of Vector Sigma that exist in different dimensions were linked in a massive, multiversal network known as the "Vector Sigma Gestalt," each one identified as a "node" in the network. The Caretaker, an independent computer designed by Vector Sigma to aid the Autobot Breakaway was able to uplink to the Gestalt, identifying three particular "nodes" with a 10 digit numerical designation. Crossing Over: Part 6 These three universes were:
  • 141.207.6.661 - Aurex 405.0 Epsilon, a Unicron Trilogy cartoon universe^[6]
  • 585.354.3.116 - Primax 797.18 Epsilon, the 3H Beast Era universe, potentially a tangent timeline to the original G1 cartoon universe^[7]
  • 216.333.8.616 - Nexus 208.0 Epsilon, the TransTech universe
  • The Caretaker also spoke of a "central hub" that Primax 207.0 Epsilon (the Classicsverse) was too far away from for Caretaker to function properly.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Vector Sigma (ベクターシグマ Bekutā Shiguma; ベクトル・シグマ Bekutoru Shiguma^[8])
• French: Victor Sigma (France, "The Rebirth, Part 3")
• Italian: Vettore Sigma ("Sigma Vector")
• Mandarin: Mólì Shénqiú (魔力神球, "Magic God Ball"), Sigma Shǐliàng (西格玛矢量, "Sigma Vector")
• Russian: Sigma-Komp'yuter (Сигма-Компьютер)
• Ukrainian: Sigma-komp'yuter (Сигма-комп'ютер)

References

1. ↑ Transformers.com's Dark of the Moon website
2. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153596737309912&id=317740274911
3. ↑ Poll results at Hero-X
4. ↑ Transformers Panel at Hasbro Pulse Con 2022 Day 1 on the Hasbro Pulse YouTube channel.
5. ↑ "Transformers Series Update" letter by Flint Dille, 7 February 1985, via the Sunbow and Marvel Productions Script/Storyboard Archive.
6. ↑ Specifically, the Unicron Trilogy universe Skyfall, Landquake, and possibly also Breakaway and Topspin are from. Whether this is the Dreamwave comic Unicron Trilogy, the cartoon Unicron Trilogy, or a hybrid of the two is a subject of debate.
7. ↑ The Caretaker notes that the Unicron Trilogy hub and this hub recently had "disruptions", which seems to indicate the Unicron Singularity's effects on the Unicron Trilogy and Universe. The Generation 1 cartoon universe is a universe very similar to this one, if they are not indeed the very same.
8. ↑ "The Rebirth" Japanese dub

See also

• Primus
• Omega Terminus
• Transformer afterlife