Cybertron’s Colony Worlds: Paradron
So, if you’re a toy collector, you probably saw the Ratchet and Lifeline Paradron Medics pack as part of the War for Cybertron releases:
But what is Paradron, and who is Lifeline (the mint Arcee repaint on the left above)?
We see her first in G1; I will go over her key episode in more detail below.
Generally, the Paradon medics seem to be femme bots, with the same frame type and paint job across each of them for a more uniform look. They are based on Arcee’s animation model, so the toy being a re-paint of the same model makes sense.
In the War for Cybertron background information, Lifeline is a Cybertronian refugee who fled to Paradron at the beginning of the war. She is one of the last surviving members of the Paradron Medic Corps by this time, and doesn’t trust Ratchet until he works with her to care for a few patients; She then provides him with the energon supply he was looking for.
Paradron’s Planetary Cultural Background
In the G1 episode Fight or Flee, we’re introduced to Paradon as Pacifist society; They have a significant abundance of energon, partially owing to the fact that they never had to deplete their resources for war.
Their planet is stated to run on a Democratic principle of government, which contrasts significantly to most depictions of Cybertron, which leans from Traditional Monarchy (a Prime as a spiritually appointed leader in a lineage of holy Primal figures) to Functionism (a class/caste system based around alt-mode ranking).
They do have a carceral (prison) system, despite a seemingly more peaceful society and culture, so there are likely some unseen social issues.
They are staunch Pacifists, which means they do not engage in conflict/combat regardless of circumstance; This is unfortunately the usual take on Pacifists that we see in media, when in reality Pacifism can be manifested as a complex ideology based on contextual circumstance and wider influences, which is a bit shallow, but I know this is an 80s kid’s cartoon.
Fight or Flee Episode Key Points: The One Episode Where Rodimus Genuinely Made Horrific Decisions
Due to this staunch Pacifism, the Decepticons invade by force and start to use the population as an unwilling labour force/slaves.
The Autobots, with centuries of war and a lack of nuance, force weapons on the Paradons (who have never handled weapons before), and don’t bother with addressing their cultural ideology before encouraging them to join the battle.
(I understand that this is a children’s show in the 80s and they only have 30 minutes per episode to have a self-contained story unfold, but as a Quaker with Pacifist beliefs, it still irritates me a bit that none of the Autobots ever discuss what could be learned from Paradron’s successes and failures, and they make no effort to engage with local bots to discuss Pacifism and philosophical tenants that may prevent further or future harm from coming to Paradron. But this is fully just my perspective on this.)
The most egregious part of this episode is when Rodimus orders Ultra Magnus to destroy the planet, to prevent it from falling under Decepticon control.
The logic they use to justify this action is that “Paradrons are Cybertronians, and can live on Cybertron”, but this reeks of coloniser energy-- especially as this planet is already a direct colony of Cybertron-- and it’s really, really rough to watch. The planet is vaporised; It vanishes from among the stars.
The Paradronians were not asked their opinion on whether or not this option would be worth it to them; They lost their homeworld and will be forced into a culture based around war.
Sandstorm has regrets, and calls the planet beautiful even as it dies. Rodimus replies with an oddly vicious statement: “Cybertron is better, anyway.” Yikes.
I like the idea of Cybertron’s colony worlds; There are many, and each one is very distinct. In IDW, we get Caminus, which seemed to use some of the ideas for Paradron in that they generally avoided the war entirely as well.
There’s a lot of potential to use the existence of these colony worlds to discus some pretty interesting stuff, or some pretty deep concepts. Given that TF is a franchise ostensibly for children, we rarely see this covered much outside of the IDW 2005 comics, but it’s fascinating that there are so many colonised planets out there.
The implications of these colonies existing, the reasons for their abandonment or lack of contact (which varies from series to series), and the difference in planetary cultures is even more interesting in contrast with Cybertron and what we see of the main characters-- And how they react to the differences between themselves and their colony counterparts.
I think Paradron has a lot of potential to be re-visited, and I was thrilled to see WFC form a little duo with Lifeline and Ratchet.
Even if they don’t go back to Paradron, given the way the above episode ended, it would be interesting to see the Paradronian people afterwards; Trying to cope with the aftermath, how they were received on Cybertron, whether or not they are able or willing to engage with Cybertronian society given what happened to their planet, etc.
