Would you mind telling us about more disabled Cybertronians?
For this list letâs focus on physical disabilities, both because theyâre the most commonly dismissed by the fandom and bc if we try to cover everything weâd be here all day (that can be another list, maybe, if yâall want)
This isnât going to be comprehensive bc Iâm tired but!! I will aim for a broad variety of examples nonetheless
Bumblebee - You all know him, you all love him. Heâs the most obvious and most well known example of a disabled Cybertronian character.
In many iterations he is mute
Not by choice but because he lacks a voice box. Bee physically isnât capable of speech and depending on the version has different tools to work around that. Sometimes he uses his radio to repurpose song and radio dialogue into speech, in cyberverse he also makes use of the internet for clips. In the aligned continuity (tfp and connected media) he speaks in binary, a very simplified form of language using beeps and buzzes, but still lacks a real voice and canât form words.
At one point in the comics Bumblebee was shot by a human protester and as a result used a cane for a good bit of time. I havenât had the chance to read that far into IDW yet so Iâm not sure how long he had the cane for but it was enough time that itâs a solidified part of the charcaters history. Iâve seen little models of the cane for sale, to be paired with bee figures.
TFP Ultra Magnus - everyoneâs favorite awkward commander, despite his popularity heâs surprisingly overlooked when it comes to this discussion
An amputee, he lost his hand
During an energon raid with wheeljack, magnusâ hand was crushed. Ratchet couldnât save it and had to amputate, replacing it with a hooked prosthetic. I call it a prosthetic rather than replacement part because despite him being able to move it, itâs not a hand. Not in the way he had previously, and he has to relearn how to use it at all.
I think thatâs an important distinction to make when discussing disability and transformers. Some bots might have only ever had one hand, or no legs, or etc but thatâs always been their level of ability and since they Are robotic. Yeah they might not have the same capabilities as another bot but thatâs a hard metric to go by. Seekers can fly but a grounder isnât disabled because they canât fly too, itâs a different standard.
WFC Shamble - far lesser known than Magnus, and reasonably so, this background character is Also missing a limb
His prosthetic is a lot less fancy than magnusâs, itâs a simple peg leg. Put em together and you get a pirate. Not much to say about him since i donât know how he lost the leg, just that he did.
Shadow Striker - Most awesome lady in cyberverse. Unlike the above two, she Was able to get actual replacement parts rather than prosthetics. Despite this, she is both shown throughout the show and implied to have
She was able to get replacement parts yes but they were needed because she was blown up. The limbs she was given were kinda just what the others could Find and as such are mismatched and donât fit her very well. Her motor skills took a blow especially when it comes to combat, something she used to excel in. Her new limbs are described as unstable and prone to malfunction. The loss of mobility and implied chronic pain that come along with her situation are rough, but she makes do.
SG Soundwave - my favorite little guy, heâs in a bit of a different situation than the previous.
His body was entirely overhauled multiple times, successfully, but the latest frame change was done with conflicting metals. Earth and Cybertronian materials clash in his joints, making them prone to getting stopped up. The most affected hinge being the one on the door to his tape deck. It is so prone to getting stuck that his cassettes refuse to dock with him at risk of getting trapped. To work around this, Soundwave has the aid of a personalized case he carries around that they dock in instead.
IDW Sunstreaker - speaking of assistive devices, this guy was (for a time) a wheelchair user! Or,, hoverchair.
Temporary,,, paraplegic? Correct me if another term fits better
Taking this moment for an aside to say hey!! Lookit that, both canes and hoverchairs are things that canonically and casually exist on cybertron!! Itâs not too wild to assume there are bots out there who use them long term!! Yes both characters on this list were repaired eventually but theyâre also both very popular old characters from an action based franchise and hasbro doesnât have the balls to make something like that permanent yet. We the fandom are not hasbro. We can do whatever we damn want with our OCs. Itâs canon that ur little guy can use mobility aids.
Ok, PSA over, anyway yeah Sunnyâs body was basically wrecked and alpha trion was able to repair all of him except his legs. This put him in a hoverchair for a good amount of time.
Finback - heâs a con, a pirate, who developed a âmetal wasting diseaseâ
Heâs on permanent life support
The disease is going to kill him eventually, and itâs explicitly stated that heâs come to terms with the idea of his death. In the meantime heâs using pretender tech, kinda like fancy armor, to reinforce himself and boost his immune system
Perceptor - for a microscope, the fact heâs got vision issues in multiple continuities is kinda ironic
Heâs fully blind in cyberverse
Between the two we get to see both routes taken to work with this. Adaption and technological aid. In cyberverse he uses his scope to compensate for the loss of vision Toph-style. In IDW he built himself a monocle that basically replaces the pieces that are missing.
Now we get into the uniquely Cybertronian disabilities, oneâs that donât quite translate to human conditions
Transmutate - is a beloved bot from beast wars
They canât transform, they donât have an alt mode
Iâm hazy on the details of their character but afaik they came from a damaged stasis pod. Described as deformed and handicapped for both their lack of an alt mode and general appearance, they are probably the oldest explicitly disabled Cybertronian character
Xaaron - from G1 is in a similar situation
He canât transform, it would kill him
Unlike transmutate he does have an alt mode, a tank, but after thousands of years without transforming he is no longer able to. The new stress it would cause on his body would kill him.
Broadside - continuing with the subject of alt modes, this clumsy boy is a boat! Thatâs not a good thing.
Heâs very prone to motion sickness
As you can imagine, chronic sea sickness isnât the most helpful thing when you are the boat. This brings in the entirely new element of mobility issues that are inherent to alt modes. A bot that functions fine in root form might not in alt mode and vice versa.
Trailbreaker - is another instance of this. Heâs not a fast car by any means but that doesnât stop the fact
His frame has a very high energon cost
Possibly the least fuel efficient autobot, heâs got an outlier ability on top of it all that only further increases his required energon intake. He needs to pay more attention to his energon levels and refuel more often overall.
G1 Knockout - yes thatâs right the shiny medic himself is on this list, though not for the same reason as his tfp version, g1 knockout still lives up to his name
A knockout in the more literal sense, he faints when he gets too excited. Fully collapses and everything. Since heâs a fall risk, his teammates take care to keep an eye on him.
Annnnd Yknow he probably shouldâve been earlier in the list along with the âhuman-ishâ issues but Iâm tired, itâs late, and Iâm bringing this list to a close
Im sure there are more characters that I didnât mention but I hope this helped! Thank you for the ask
