So, there’s this little thing called the Neural Cluster.
A few days ago, I learned something new about Cybertronians. According to TFwiki, the neural cluster, located on the back of the neck, is the weakest spot on any Transformer.
Apparently, “A sudden impact to the neural cluster could trigger the transformation cog in what was known as an involuntary mode spasm.” (IDW 2005 continuity)
This vulnerable spot isn’t mentioned in TFP, but I couldn’t help but take this newfound knowledge of Cybertronian anatomy and speculate about the bots of Prime.
Over the course of three days, I spent a total of 11 hours skimming through nearly every TFP episode, staring at characters’ necks and taking screenshots for the sake of this analysis post. 😆 You’re welcome.
Megatron’s neural cluster is covered with the armor plating that runs back and down from his helm. This makes sense since he was a miner and then a gladiator—both of which would have required heavy duty protection from falling debris or physical blows, respectively. It’s highly unlikely that anyone would be able to trigger the neural cluster response in Megatron.
In Starscream’s case, while his neck is relatively exposed, he is protected from the back. He has that little tab of armor there. In order for someone to get to his neural cluster, Starscream would have to be leaning his head forward quite a bit, and the other bot would have to be very close.
Soundwave is an interesting case. Because of his physical build, his head sits farther forward than the typical Cybertronian’s. This would leave his neural cluster overly exposed if it weren’t for his armor’s other protective features: For one, his helm sits just right so that it provides some protection while not limiting up-and-down movement of his head. Second, the armor plates that form the nose of his drone mode sit high enough and close enough to each other so that they shield his neck from attacks or pranksters that might come from directly behind. Third, the positioning of his tall shoulder plating doesn’t really allow for side-access to his neck. And finally, the spikes on his back prevent bots shorter than him from attempting to reach his neural cluster. A bot would have to be taller than him to even get close to it. All this to say: good luck to any prankster or assailant who wishes to use Soundwave’s neural cluster response against him. 😂 May Primus have mercy on your soul if you even try.
Dreadwing’s neck and back are well-protected. I see multiple layers of armor that make it impossible to reach his neck. He can take multiple heavy blows to his back and neck without having to worry about being sent into his alt mode via a hit to his neural cluster.
Knockout really isn’t one to hide his neck from the view of others, is he? I’m pretty sure he thinks having too much armor there would kill his aesthetic and impede head movements. And since he’s not one for close combat unless he has a weapon that puts some distance between himself and others, he probably doesn’t worry about taking a hit there. He’s built for speed, agility, and looking pretty. Why would he hide such a beautiful neck?
Breakdown is the exact opposite of Knockout, which I think is funny in an awesome way. Breakdown’s got that massive spare tire that covers his back and sits just high enough to shield his neck from would-be attackers.
Like Soundwave, Shockwave is an interesting case. He doesn’t appear to have any neck at all. There’s a perfectly logical explanation: Empurata. I personally believe that TFP Shockwave underwent this procedure just like IDW Shockwave, but perhaps under different circumstances. According to this speculative piece from the fan-made book, Anatomica Cybertronia, attachment of the empurata victim’s patient’s new head can be done in one of three ways, depending on existing neck structure. This is the third option listed and the one I think TFP Shockwave went through: “existing neck support is not suitable for new head. Remove and discard existing neck support. Install new head as-is (retain lower portion of existing esophagus).” Sounds bad, right? However, there is at least one advantage: No neck—No neural cluster response. Shockwave is now immune.
Now, I’m not sure why anyone would want to send Predaking into his alt mode since, you know, the whole fire breathing dragon thing. But even if someone were crazy enough to desire it, his layered neck plating would prevent them from doing so. The massive horns protruding from his back would get in the way too.
Airachnid has no protective plating on or around her neck. I checked, and by all indication, anything purple that can be seen on her is a particularly vulnerable spot. Even so, Airachnid does have a little bit of protection in the form of her extra appendages. When in her spider alt mode, her extra legs make it slightly more difficult to reach her neck. Unless you’re Soundwave, of course. During their fight on the Nemesis, he literally reached out with one slender hand, grabbed her by her neck and shoulder, and lifted her into the air. He could have come close to triggering her neural cluster response, but he avoided that. Otherwise, she could have just flown away in her helicopter alt mode. Not that she would have; she’s not a coward like Starscream.
I doubt anyone would purposefully try to trigger the neural cluster response in an Insecticon during a fight unless it were a last-ditch attempt to use the element of surprise in order to get away. It probably wouldn’t work though since Insecticons have armor along the full length of their necks, as far as I can tell. It’s no surprise since they’re basically giant beetles with metal armor for exoskeletons.
My first thought upon looking at Vehicon necks was, “Well, here’s yet another possible reason these guys have such a low survival rate.” I can’t tell if that’s armor on the backs of their necks or nothing. The fliers do have their wings which sort of shield their necks a bit, but they’re not much better off than their grounder counterparts. Would Megatron really overlook such a serious flaw in the design of his cloned soldiers? I mean, in a fit of rage, he couldn’t tell which ones were fliers and which ones were grounders in Inside Job. He threw two Vehicons off the ship after Smokescreen and found out too late that one was not a flier. (RIP random Vehicon ground soldier 💀) So maybe Megatron really did overlook the detail of sufficient neck protection and didn’t bother to correct the scientist or specialist who helped design them. *shrugs*
Optimus appears to have some protection behind his neck in the form of armor. It’s close enough that he doesn’t have to worry about an attacker triggering his neural cluster response. A bot would have to be bold or crazy (or both) to even try that trick on Optimus in the first place. He’s also tall like Megatron, so not many bots would be able to reach his neck even if they wanted to.
And here we see that Optimus’ upgrades make it impossible for anyone to reach his neural cluster. His entire body is an impenetrable fortress, basically.
The back of Ratchet’s neck has no protection below his helm. His neural cluster is especially vulnerable if he leans his head forward. Of course, as the hermit medic, he doesn’t need to worry too much about attacks from behind. However, I think it would be funny if Optimus occasionally came up behind Ratchet and whacked him on the back of his neck to trigger the neural cluster response. This would temporarily snap Ratchet out of his latest overworking session and make him more open to Optimus’ requests to go recharge for a while.
If bio lights are an indication of vulnerable spots on a Cybertronian, then Ultra Magnus doesn’t have much at all in the way of neck protection. Unfortunately for him, his neck’s bio lights basically broadcast vulnerability, which is definitely an issue in combat. He doesn’t even have smokestacks like Optimus. Not that having any would help him much.
Arcee has nothing, basically. Similar to Airachnid, her neck is totally exposed, but it’s not much of an issue since she’s fast and agile. If she had too much armor back there, it would limit her movement. She does have winglets, but they don’t offer much shielding like others’ might.
As we know, Bulkhead worked in construction before the war. Even his helm reveals that since it comes down over his neck pretty far. His neural cluster would have been well-protected from falling debris. Now Bulkhead’s heavy duty helm does an excellent job of shielding him from blows to the neck during hand-to-hand combat. His big tires help too.
Wheeljack has some of the best armor protection on his back and behind his neck. It sits in such a way that his neck is completely concealed and fully protected. He’s probably never once worried about someone triggering his neural cluster response.
I had a lot of difficulty finding decent views of the back of Bumblebee’s head and neck. From what I can see, his neck is mostly protected by his door winglets.
Like Bumblebee, Smokescreen’s door winglets provide the most protection for his neck. Otherwise, his neural cluster is basically out in the open. I could totally see certain members of Team Prime triggering Smokescreen’s neural cluster response when he’s getting too annoying for them to handle. 😂
It’s a little hard to tell, but it looks like Cliffjumper’s helm did most of the protecting except when his head was leaned forward too far. But like Arcee, he was pretty quick (until the end when he just wasn’t quick enough).
If you’ve made it to the end, I’m very sorry and congratulations. 😂 On the one hand, this information may be entirely useless to you (but hopefully interesting). On the other hand, I think it could be a handy little thing to know if you’re a fanfic writer or fan artist who wants to have a little fun with it. As for me, I just like taking things from one continuity and speculating as to how they might fit into another.
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