Udan

Udan is a Beastformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Oh no. A wrinkly old man and an orangutan? That's a Discworld Double Do Not Disturb right there.

The eldest of White Leo's allies, Udan (ウーダン Ūdan) is a wise ape with a great many skills and a wealth of experience. Born in a poor village in northern Iriano near the border to Nupal, he dedicated his life to a future where nobody on planet Beast would go hungry or needy. He sought to learn as much as he could, taking in the planet's history, becoming a skilled technician, and mentoring younger scholars like Peguinis. In time he became the Emperor of Iriano, serving under King Dog Hunter, and the two have worked hard to make all parts of the nation prosper, with Udan making sure to lift his home village out of poverty.

His MVP Weapon, the Jungle Spear (ジャングルスピア Janguru Supia), is capable of firing a beam that drastically enhances plant growth. He prefers to use it for peaceful purposes, helping poorer areas increase their crop yields.

Of course, he also knows that there are times when one needs to fight. During the Great War against Alligatron's Decepticon-backed insurgents, he used his vast historical knowledge to formulate battle tactics for White Leo's army. And even without the Jungle Spear's special powers, he's a deceptively effective fighter despite his advanced age and relative lack of physical power. He is quite simply an efficient fighter, never wasting a single move, conserving his energy, carefully picking his moments to make every strike count for maximum impact.

Fiction

Legends comic

Udan took part in the final battle between the Beastformers and the Laser Beasts on Beast in 2023. He was stationed at Wood Beetle's base mode. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 1

In 2038, the then-peaceful Beast was invaded by Galvatron II's Decepticons. Udan was part of the joint Beastformer-Laser Beast alliance that fought against the invaders. He worked alongside Grotusque and Doublecross at one point. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 3

Toys

Transformers: Beastformers

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• Burstsun Special Set (Multi-pack, 1987)

• ID number: 76
• Accessories: Spear

Released in the third series of Takara's Beastformers toys, Udan is an anthropomorphic orangutan in green robotic armor. His left arms ends in a robotic shovel-ish deal. The Battle Emblem on his chest reveals one of three symbols when warmed up; Fire, Water or Wood.

During this line, Udan was only available in the Burstsun Special Set (バーストサンスペシャルセット Bāsutosan Supesharu Setto) multipack. This blindpacked set contains 10 figures out of a potential 14. Thankfully, these were not randomly-packed, and came in two distinct lineups.

The first version has White Leo with an exclusive "Burstsun" Battle Emblem, Black Jaguar, Būpink, Dog Hunter, Dream Eater, Muskhorn, Pangol, Slo, White Cow, and Udan.

The second version has Ghost Alligatron, Black Jaguar, Būpink, Crowmax, Earthhog, Mingo Kid, Pangol, Slo, White Cow, and Udan.

Beastformers

• Udan (Beastformer, 1988)

• ID number: 76
• Accessories: "Jungle Spear" MVP Weapon

Re-released in the Transformers-less Beastformers sequel series, Udan was given a straight re-release with new packaging and a new, more filled-out bio card with corrected coloring. This new card also gave his weapon, now branded an "MVP Weapon", the name "Jungle Spear".

He was sold in the second assortment of individually-packed Beastformers, with a peg-hole in the top flap, and a sticker on the bottom with his name and role on it. This series did not have any kind of "rare card" random pack-in promotion.

Late in the run, the "mood ring" styled rubsigns were replaced with new rubsigns that revealed full-color Fire/Wood/Water images on black backdrops. (These rubsign variants also happened at the same time in the Hasbro Battle Beast version of the line.)

Notes

• Udan's 1987 poster and card art (pictured at right) incorrectly gives him a golden spear. His recolored 1988 bio card art corrects this error.
• The "Burstsun Special Set" art shows him with a silver spear, but it shows everyone with a silver weapon regardless of actual toy-weapon color (except for Ghost Alligatron, who gets a ghostly-clear weapon that toy also does not have).
• The '88 bio card also gives him the nickname Dan (ダン).

Foreign names

• English: Ossified Orangutan