Mindwipe

Mindwipe is a fictional character in the Transformers universe. He is a Headmasters warrior and is alligned with the Decepticons.

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American Cartoon
Mindwipe isn't the kind of Decepticon you would consider popular. He belives himself above others due to his extra sensory powers, of which no origin is ever described in the cartoon, he just has them. His first appearence was in the short lived season 4 'The Rebirth- Part 1', in which he is portrayed in a short battle with the Throttlebot, Lightspeed, easily dodging all of Lightspeed's laser blasts before forceing him over a cliff, with his mental powers. He belives that magic is superior to science in all aspects, as he says in these short exchanges with his Nebulan Headmaster partner, The Hive's half-crazed scientist, Monzo.

The first is in 'The Rebirth- part 2' when the Decepticons have entered into a deal with The Hive, the rulers of planet Nebulos in order to defeat the new Autobot Headmasters:
Monzo: 'Agh! Me, a top Hive scientist, paired with a mangy night scavenger like you!'
Mindewipe (eyes glowing): 'The powers of darkness are a more powerful weapon than all the toys your science can muster. Now, unite with me!'
Monzo: 'Oh, yes master.'

Later in the same episode, during the battle between the now Decpticon-Hive partnership against the Autobots, while searching for the Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, Monzo rides on Mindwipe's back, and comments:
Monzo: 'If I only had some energy sensing equipment, we could easily tell which one of them has the key!'
Minewipe: 'Bah! We need do we have for your scientific toys, when I have MY extra sensory powers!'

Monzo and Mindwipe are at two different ends of the spectrum when it comes to personality, and they do not get on very well, even though they have very little screen time. They represent the old 'science Vs. magic' battle and the two pull this off to a rather intriguing degree.

Mindwipe speaks with a rather gruff voice, but with a certain British poshness to it, probably steaming from his self-admiration, reminiscent of the kind of speech you would expect from an aristocrat. He is awarded few lines in the episodes, but the ones he does have make him a rather memorable character.

In his robot mode, Mindwipe has a very correct stature and is a rather scary sight, as is his transform- a large bat. When challenging Brainstorm for the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber however, it is obvious he is not as intimidating as he belives he is, due to Brainstorm's comment of, 'Go hang upside down from a tree, Mindwipe!' Mindwipe is a rather gothic character for a show such as Transformers, but he is not explored in enought detail in the series to make a full analysis of his personality. From what we see of him, he just seems to be a simple minded character who will just find any excuse to use his powers.

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Transformers- The Headmasters
In the Japanese exclusive series however, Mindwipe is very different. He is portrayed as an 'old timer' who has been put to work with two youngsters, yet he is still loyal, like a war veteran edgy and desparate to get back into the fray. He is rather dumb in Headmasters, as opposed to his American counterpart who is rather intellectual. He doesn't however see the point in many of his leader, Scorponok's (Zarak) plans, and as such tends to used as a decoy or a guard on many occasions. His mental powers also differ from his American counter part as well.

He tends to be more of an 'unfair advantage' than an actual warrior. His trademark line of, 'Blind as a bat in battle, you will be' is the spell he uses the most, which disorentates his adversaries, giving his Headmaster partners the chance to fight back, as they are often outnumbered. Another spell of his to put his enemies to sleep is simply, 'Sleep, baby, sleep', which he uses against the Dinobot Slag, as well as a number of other Autobots in episode 1 of the series, as well as many other times in the series.

Mindwipe also tends to get distracted or bored easily and will flee given even a hint of a chance. Despite his flying abilities, in his bat form, he is quite vulnerable and prefers to avoid any form of actual combat, rather letting his team mates, Wierdwolf and Skullcruncher do most of the actual fighting. Mindwipe will only provide assistance when he knows they have the advantage.

When Skorponok (Zarak) finishes his ultimate plan, the giant battle ship MegaZarak, to rival Fortress Maximus, Mindwipe becomes more confident and it becomes plainly obvious that is simply a trend follower and nothing else. He is also rather sceptical of any plan that Skorponok concucts questioning it and sometimes saying that he could do better. But when it works he adopts a very, 'Oh. Right...' attitude, wondering how such a crazy plan could have succeeded.

Overall, Mindwipe is an odd character, no matter what series he is in. None of his incarnations
share any viable similarites apart from his possetion of mental powers, which even they, differ from series to series and body apperence. His facial features also differ between the two series. In the american series, his face is like a cross between Jazz'z 'shades' for eyes and Optimus Prime's mouth plate, whereas in the Japanese series, his eyes are orangy in colour and are just standard eyes. His face also resembles that of the Autobot Kup in many respects, including the 'wrinkles' at the side of the mouth. His colour sceme is allways black and red with a hint of purple on his chassis.

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See Also

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