Xaaron

Xaaron is an Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.

You wily old buzzard!

Emirate Xaaron is the leader of the Autobot underground resistance movement and was the chairman of the Council of Autobot Elders. He is not a fighter, but his strength is found in his convictions. Xaaron, though physically unimposing, speaks and acts with incredible confidence that grows from his irreverent brand of wisdom. A few under his command wish he weren't such a "wily old buzzard," since Xaaron's touch is about as subtle as a boulder to the head. It is this heavy-handed approach, however, that makes him extremely valuable to the Autobots as a source of inspiration; some believe he is so important to the cause that most would willingly lay down their lives to save him.

He has a small combat tank as alternate mode, but what with the "not really a fighter" thing, he hasn't transformed in hundreds of years. Doing so might very well kill him from the shock!^[1]

Fiction

Marvel The Transformers comics

Tell me, Mr. Anderson... What good is a phone call if you're unable to speak?

Millions of years ago, when the Autobot/Decepticon war was new, Xaaron belonged to Iacon's Academy of Science and Technology, where he dismissed a proposal from his colleague Flame to reattempt Megatron's scheme to rebuild Cybertron into a mobile battlestation. Flame, who was increasingly mad, was then seemingly destroyed in an explosion near Kalis.^[2] Legion of the Lost!

As Vos and Tarn fell into conflict, Xaaron urged Iacon's ruling council to intervene and send a peace-keeping force to the war zone. High Councillor Traachon refused to do so, fearing that any involvement on their part would only lead to Iacon being engulfed in violence as well. The latter even suggested that it might be in Iacon's best interest if Vos and Tarn annihilated one another. Little did he suspect that Iacon would get tangled up in the war anyway once Megatron seized control of the disenfranchised survivors of the clash. State Games Sure enough, the capital city of Iacon eventually came under heavy assault, prompting the Council of Autobot Elders to contemplate surrender. Emirate Xaaron refused, suggesting to High Councillor Traachon that bureaucratic mismanagement of the Autobot army was the real culprit. He nominated a single warrior to take direct control of the Autobot forces—Optimus Prime! And There Shall Come...a Leader! Crisis of Command!

After Optimus Prime, Megatron, and countless other combatants were lost to Earth, the Decepticon warlord Trannis rose into power. Xaaron created an assault team, the Wreckers, to assassinate Trannis, but when they succeeded, one warlord was merely replaced by another. Cybertron: The Middle Years!

Impactor and Xaaron versus unfortunate illustration composition.

In 1986, Xaaron hatched a new plan for the Wreckers: Operation: Volcano. Using himself as bait, he would lure the several of the best Decepticon warriors into a trap. The Wreckers, under the leadership of Impactor momentarily reconsidered when Ultra Magnus, who was built to aid them in this particular mission, left for Earth to investigate the disappearance of Optimus Prime. Xaaron quickly replaced them with the Autobot Triple Changers, at first sending them to attack Impactor while pretending to be Decepticons. Though this trick aggravated Impactor, the Wreckers commander grudgingly admitted it proved the three were up to the job. The bait was set, but a turn of events forced the Decepticons to abandon it. However, one disobedient Decepticon fired on Xaaron anyway, and when Impactor jumped in front of the blast, the Wreckers commander was destroyed, dying in Xaaron's arms. Springer was chosen to replace him. Target: 2006

A short time later, Springer captured an alleged imposter posing as Optimus Prime. The imposter escaped, and Springer alerted Xaaron. Upon finding the imposter cradling a dying Outback, Xaaron heard enough of his passionate words to realize that this was, indeed, the real Optimus Prime. After four million years, Xaaron welcomed his old friend home. Distant Thunder! Following several raids on Decepticon encampments, Optimus announced that he planned on returning to Earth. Xaaron pleaded for him to stay, but Optimus insisted he was needed more back on the alien world, where the Decepticons would acquire unlimited resources if left unchecked. Resurrection!

An explosion which rocked Kalis caught the attention of Xaaron and the other Autobots stationed in a subterranean headquarters near there. This caused Emirate Xaaron to recall Flame's old experiments with Megatron's underground fusion reactors, so he filled in Springer's Wreckers on this presumed closed chapter of history, initiating a search for the source of the problem. Unfortunately, three weeks of probing woke up an army of zombies, led by the reanimated corpse of the former Wreckers leader, Impactor! Xaaron's attempts to appeal to Impactor failed, and worse, Flame subsequently reintroduced himself, very much alive! Flame's mad plans to activate the fusion reactors had continued all this time, and even though Xaaron again noted that this action would destroy all of Cybertron, he had his zombie army put Xaaron and the Wreckers in bound captivity. The cackling Flame left zombie Impactor to guard their prison cell. After Xaaron encouraged Springer, who was having doubts about the success of his leadership, Springer was able to reach what was left of the old Impactor inside his undead husk of a body. Legion of the Lost!

Xaaron, the first Action Master!

Xaaron and the others were freed from their bondage, and so he snuck into Flame's main staging grounds, hoping to stop him personally. Flame, however, had been expecting Xaaron to arrive, having watched him on the monitors. Since Xaaron hadn't transformed in hundreds of years, meaning the shock to his systems may actually kill him, he was hopelessly outgunned. Flame could transform with ease into his heavily-armed flame-tank mode, and so Xaaron was forced to dive for cover. Just like Xaaron predicted, the fusion reactors warned of an imminent meltdown, but Flame's insanity was too great to be deterred. Flame was momentarily knocked out when Ultra Magnus and the Wreckers arrived, but there was bad news. In order to stop the destruction of Cybertron, they would have to isolate the reactor, but doing so would ultimately destroy the Transformer who would make that final, heroic act. Xaaron suggested he do it, but Ultra Magnus wouldn't have it, as Xaaron was too important to the Autobot resistance movement. No, the deed was done by Impactor, who had regained his wits, despite his zombie state. And with Xaaron's blessing, Impactor sacrificed his life once again for all of Cybertron. Meltdown!

Xaaron inspected the remains of Chameleon following his death. Deadly Games! He also coordinated with the Wreckers as they prepared to jump to Earth for conflict with Galvatron. Wrecking Havoc

When the Micromaster Battle Patrol were captured by Thunderwing's Decepticons, Xaaron ordered Roadhandler's Race Car Patrol to destroy them so that Micromaster technology would not fall into Decepticon hands. When Roadhandler failed to do this, partly because of his own misgivings, he returned to Xaaron to submit himself for execution. Emirate Xaaron refused, saying the folly was his own for putting the demands of war over the lives of individuals. A Small War!

Xaaron's first Marvel US appearance. Sadly, only the yellow passed through customs.

After Bumblebee, Jazz, and Grimlock were restored as Pretenders, their new might helped turn the tide of Xaaron's underground resistance. During their tour of duty, Seawatch was returned to Autobase, catatonic. Xaaron tasked Fixit with rebooting Seawatch so the Autobots could learn who had slaughtered several Decepticons found with their comrade, and avoid reprisals from the enemy camp. Xaaron also sent out the Classic Pretenders to investigate in the field, and they found the Demons, relics of Cybertron's past. Demons! From Seawatch's manic ramblings, Xaaron was clued in to the lore of the Demons and their weakness. Arriving on the battlescene with Red Hot, Xaaron overloaded them with pure energon, destroying the creatures. Dawn of Darkness Xaaron later assigned Longtooth, Doubleheader, and Pincher the task of tracking down the creation Matrix, lost in space after Optimus's death and resurrection. Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway?

The Classic Pretenders needed to return to Earth, but while Xaaron had opened a transdimensional portal to send them home, the Autobots were suddenly under attack by Bludgeon's Mayhem Attack Squad. As a result, the Mayhem Attack Squad, the Classic Pretenders, and some Autobot Micromasters were thrown into the center of Cybertron. Yesterday's Heroes! Xaaron was able to locate them and send them to their intended destination, but not before the combatants had awoken Primus. The Primal Scream

With Unicron now nearing Cybertron, Xaaron aided Optimus Prime in their search for the Autobot Creation Matrix by sending out teams into a sector of the galaxy where the Matrix (in Optimus Prime's old body) had likely been jettisoned. Bird of Prey! Deadly Obsession But Unicron had his own plans in mind, sending a Galvatron from a possible future to Cybertron to prepare for his arrival. The timelost herald pursued Xaaron specifically, finally cornering him deep below the surface of the planet. Surrender! Galvatron revealed that he felt betrayed by Unicron and wished to ask Xaaron how to defeat him. Xaaron gasped, recalling an old legend which stated that if the Transformers united as one, Unicron could be defeated. ...All This and Civil War 2 Galvatron brought Xaaron down into the center of Cybertron, where Primus' chamber lay, and had the resistance leader attempt to pray Primus out of his renewed slumber. Xaaron succeeded, Primus awoke, and all of the Transformers on Earth were instantaneously transported to Cybertron. Out of Time!

Xaaron is full of the Holy Spirit.

Primus spoke through Xaaron's body, causing it to glow and float above the startled Transformers, and he told them the history of their race. After the Autobots and Decepticons joined forces long enough to ward off brainwashed Unicron cultists, Primus' avatar nominated Optimus Prime to be their united leader. This union dissipated quickly into chaos and terror once the impossibly huge Unicron arrived. The Void!

Unicron's assault on the planet was halted momentarily when the possessed Xaaron confronted him, but both Xaaron's body and Primus' essence were seemingly destroyed once Unicron realized that this avatar could do him no harm and blasted Xaaron's form to tiny pieces. On the Edge of Extinction!

TransTech

A confused Scrounge who lived in Axiom Nexus believed that he was secretly the Emirate Xaaron of universal stream Primax 093.0 Epsilon. He's really, really not. I, Lowtech

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 (mentioned); #5

His sentence may be death because
I AM THE LAW!

Advocate Xaaron was one of the Autobots' chief legal advisors Chaos Theory Part 1 and had been for a long time: when arresting some scumbag in the pre-war era, Orion Pax said he had the right to a "Xaaron-approved" attorney. Chaos Theory Part 2

When the war broke out, Xaaron attended Optimus Prime's Grand Convocation, representing an unknown neutral faction. Derelicts

Long ago, he was rescued from a drilling platform within the Sonic Canyons by the Wreckers' leader, Impactor. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2

Later, as Flame was tried by Aequitas for his crimes, Xaaron watched in disgust alongside Prowl, Chief Justice Tyrest, Nightbeat, and others. Fearing the potential damage to morale and Decepticon use as propaganda should the trial data be released, these law and order luminaries agreed to keep the trials secret until the final verdict had been passed, then it would be full disclosure. Last Stand of the Wreckers #5

Xaaron served on the Ethics Committee meetings at the Kimia Facility, alongside Trailbreaker and Animus. He sat in consideration of Ironfist's new invention, cerebro-sensitive bullets that used onboard computers to ensure a killshot to the head with every pull of the trigger. Bullets

Don't do it, Wheeljack! That lab is CURSED!

When Megatron unexpectedly surrendered, Xaaron was called in to advise on the legal aspects of his detention and possible trial. (Ratchet wasn't too happy with the idea of POW rights for Megatron) Xaaron's advice was that Megatron should not be tried by an Autobot military tribunal but by a third party, as the intergalactic community had no time for either faction in the war and would accuse the Autobots of rigging the result. He also offered Wheeljack a job at Kimia, in Ironfist's old lab. Chaos Theory Part 1

After Cybertron was reborn in the wake of D-Void's attack, Xaaron watched on as a viewscreen showed Rodimus explaining his desire to gather a crew to find the Knights of Cybertron. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It He apparently thought this was a good idea as he was later seen on Rodimus's ship, the Lost Light. The Chaos of Warm Things

Rewind gathered Xaaron, Dipstick, Atomizer, Sprocket, and Slapdash to tell a true story over a bottle of "Old Corroder" in Swerve's, in the hope it'd jumpstart Rung's brain: the implication is the five of them had some significant adventure in the past. An Intimate Beheading He later participated in an attack on a rogue group of Decepticons occupying the planet Temptoria. Before & After When Overlord was let loose on the Lost Light, the entire crew fruitlessly tried to fight him, including Xaaron. Under Cold Blue Stars Together with Rodimus, Xaaron presided over the Act of Transition to honor those who fell in battle with Overlord. The Gloaming

The Lost Light was eventually able to return to Cybertron, allowing Xaaron and the others to reunite with the other Autobots and celebrate the defeat of the Necrotitan. The Becoming He was in attendance when Megatron's trial finally came to be held. Towards Peace

Xaaron was one of three heads for the first convening of the Lost Light Internal Legal Affairs Committee, gathered to decide Brainstorm's fate following the scientist's attempts to alter history. (It was supposed to be four, but Megatron—Brainstorm's eventual intended target—recused himself.) He didn't have much to say during the hearing, but along with Rodimus and Magnus, came to the decision to keep Brainstorm on-ship, under supervision, and have his time machine destroyed. Our Steps Will Always Rhyme Xaaron was present when Rodimus announced Thunderclash's pre-wake. The Sensuous Frame

OBJECTION!

Xaaron attended Megatron's classes on the Knights of Cybertron. However, when Getaway and Atomizer led a mutiny against the former Decepticon and his supporters shortly afterwards, Xaaron was not amongst those who stood up for Megatron. How Bright Their Frail Deeds Like the others, Xaaron watched Getaway gloat to the stranded Team Rodimus before mentioning the arrival of third party. When Getaway revealed that said party was the Galactic Council, Xaaron was shocked that Getaway would deal with the aliens and rightly skeptical at the Council's supposed promise of only wanting Megatron and leaving the others alone. Part of the new bridge crew, Xaaron attended a meeting on the Warren. After Thunderclash scribbled some extra symbols on Rodimus's map to Cyberutopia, Xaaron identified them as clan markings of the Knights of Cybertron. At that moment, a message from Rodimus came in explaining that Team Rodimus would soon face the Decepticon Justice Division and Rodimus's gruesome funerary wishes before Getaway deleted the message. The bridge crew began grilling Getaway again, Xaaron demanding he speak up, before the escapologist dismissed them all. Xaaron's memories were later remotely altered by Sunder to make him believe that Team Rodimus had left of their own free will. Filling in the Blanks

Getaway eventually betrayed his crew, despite their unwavering (if compelled) support. Cornered by the Grand Architect and his Phantom Fleet, Getaway offered up his men in exchange for his own life. Xaaron and the others were forcibly subjected to a Sparkeater virus by Scorponok, making them into diseased and near-mindless horrors to be unleashed on Team Rodimus when they caught up with the Lost Light. A Dance Before Dying Xaaron was eventually cured and attended the Lost Light's farewell party in Swerve's, chatting with Huffer and Clicker. How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2

Ask Vector Prime

In Primax 092.0 Beta, Emirate Xaaron was one of Hyperdrive's predecessors as Autobot leader. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/07/16

2019 IDW continuity

As official consul to the Senate, Tread & Circuits Part 4 Emirate Xaaron helped officiate the Speedia 500 on Velocitron. As the racers got into place, the current First Senator Road Rocket asked Xaaron to give the countdown. Tread & Circuits Part 2 After Mayhem launched an attack on the race, Xaaron worried that the terrorists had disrupted their means of choosing a new First Senator, but was relieved when Knock Out arrived at the finish line. Tread & Circuits Part 3 At Knock Out's inauguration, Xaaron officially introduced to him to the citizenry of Velocitron, but was forced to evacuate the stage after Mayhem launched another attack. Tread & Circuits Part 4

Toys

Generations Comic Edition

Actually, he couldn't transform because he kept leaving his 5 mm post tank parts at home.

• Emirate Xaaron and Autobot Flame (2024)

• Accessories: Shield, Blaster/Tank Turret, Two Treads
• Known designers: Evan Brooks (Hasbro) ^[3]

Generations Comic Edition "Emirate Xaaron" is a retool of War for Cybertron: Siege Refraktor, gaining a new head and comic-accurate chest (complete with comic-accurate scar). He transforms into the "Combat Mode" he mentioned having but never using, with the design having been invented for this toy. He includes a pair of treads that attach to either his robot legs or to the sides of his vehicle mode, as well as a shield and blaster that combine to form the alt-mode's turret. The vehicle parts all attach via 5mm posts, so you can set them aside and have a more comic-accurate "only-a-robot" appearance. Without the combat mode parts, he can still assume the nebulous hovercraft form of the base mold, or one-third of a camera, technically. If you do want to make him part of a camera, note that Xaaron can only act as one of the two side parts, since the new chest tooling lacks the ports needed to attach Refraktor's camera lens, and obviously Xaaron does not include any of the parts necessary to complete the lens and tripod.

According to Sixo, Hasbro deliberately chose a Partformer design to suggest Xaaron was armoring up into a combat mode, which would spare him the risks of actually transforming.

Xaaron is packaged with Autobot Flame, with the package art showing the cover of "Meltdown (part 1)".

The 2-pack was exclusive to Hasbro Pulse. It was revealed on Sixo's Twitter on June 13, 2024, with preorders going up later that day.

Notes

"I know what Megatron's capable of... He's my brother."
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN

• In Xaaron's first appearance, his head design was clearly based on the original Generation 1 Megatron toy, minus the larger grey helmet and the gun kibble. His chest looks a little Megatron-y as well. The arms and everything else from the chest down was designed later and was much less Megatron-y.
• Xaaron's original depiction also suggests an explanation for his weird lip-connecting strip things: His mouth bears a resemblance to that of Iron Man's original helmet – that is, a line of three unmoving holes in a rigid faceplate. Of course it's impossible to tell for sure in still pictures whether the mouth is supposed to be moving, but it is pretty inexpressive. And the artist drew Megatron's mouth in a very human-like style in the same story. At any rate, later artists would interpret his mouth in the same way as other Transformers, just with those... weird lip-connecting strip things.
• In the Marvel comics it is not clear if the character's full name is "Emirate Xaaron" or if "Emirate" is a title. Later continuities would use "Emirate" as a title. However, the English word "emirate" is not actually a personal title, but rather a territory or an office. It's derived from the Arabic emir, which is the actual title of the person in charge of that territory or office.
• Xaaron's alt mode was the subject of one of the Marvel UK letters page's most frequently asked questions,^[1] confounding Dreadwind.^[4] It became a bit of a running gag for the hosts to give silly answers, like when Dreadwind suggested he turned into a toaster^[5] or "somethin' really wimpy" like that (while also acknowledging the rumour that Xaaron hadn't transformed for millions of years).^[6] Blaster asked around and found that nobody knew, "but he could turn into a egg-whisk for all we know!"^[7] He also joked that the weird lip-connecting strip things were some sort of oral toast rack, before claiming they "diffus[ed] the infra-red emissions generated by his continuous speeches" – what a load of hot air!^[8]
• Marvel stories are inconsistent on Xaaron's place in the Council; "The Middle Years!" explicitly notes Traachon as leader, while "Legion of the Lost!" refers to Xaaron as "chairman", although he is subservient to Traachon in other stories.
• Xaaron was one Marvel UK conceit that writer Simon Furman quickly brought over when he began writing for Marvel US. In the translation, however, Xaaron lost all his colors except for the yellow.
• Xaaron is one of two Transformers who have served as a yellow-glowing avatar for Primus. The other is Mini-Con Jolt from Cybertron.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Xaaron (ザロン Zaron)
• Hungarian: Xaaron emír ("Emir Xaaron")

References