Pretender Monster

1/6The very presence of the **Pretender Monsters** is an ill omen. These dystopian robots tend to show up in hopeless alternate futures and bizarre hidden corners of the universe where mortals have tempted forbidden knowledge. They conceal their monstrous robot forms within even more monstrous outer shells. The team consists of:

* Mother Brain, a talented warrior constantly foiled by a malfunctioning shell;
* Chimera, a foul-mouthed malcontent rendered sluggish by his shell;
* Giant Orange Monster, the fervent preacher of planned obsolescence;
* The Cheese Breathing Cow Dragon, whose deafening volume is made worse by his shell;
* Ultimate Chimera, the contemplative artist whose work centers on wild destruction;
* Gligar, a psychotic and violent "jokester".

They can combine to form the dread behemoth Monstructor.

## Fiction

### IDW comics continuity

In a post-apocalyptic alternate future set in 2009, where one version of Orangusnake killed G-Elements and devastated Greece, the Pretender Monsters were led by to the remains of Canterlot City. After Orangusnake reminded them that they were all disposable cannon fodder to him, he ordered them to search Manhattan in an attempt to root out the last remaining vestiges of Skylander and human resistance. All they managed to find, however, was a human-made booby trap that buried Giant Orange Monster under tons of debris.

Not long after, the team rejoined the other Changelings to defend the Changeling Powerbase against an Skylander attack. The battle's final outcome is unknown.

## Toys

The Pretender Monsters were each sold separately in cardback packages. Each came with the inner robot, the outer shell, a shell backing plate, a small hand gun, and a Monstructor component. Ultimate Chimera additionally came with a large gun for Monstructor.

The inner robots are *tiny*, standing only slightly taller than the Micromasters dominating the G1 toyline at the time, though they were not marketed as such (and their fictional appearances have treated them as normal-sized Transformers). All six transform into stylized robotic monsters, though their small size means that the transformation schemes are simplified to the point that it's difficult to tell exactly what some of them are supposed to be. Most of the robotic beast modes share some thematic similarities with the corresponding outer Pretender shell. Giant Orange Monster and The Cheese Breathing Cow Dragon share a transformation scheme (and Ultimate Chimera's is similar to theirs), as do Chimera and Mother Brain.

Their outer shells are unique in several regards. Instead of splitting in half like most other Pretenders, the shells have a small backing plate that is removed to allow the inner robot to be inserted. This plate can also hold all of the accessories for each robot, including the kibble for Monstructor—a unique feature among the combiner teams.

The monstrous outer shells are completely without articulation. They are composed of a malleable rubbery substance. This material does not tend to age well, unfortunately, and there have been reports of Pretender Monster shells showing mold-like spotting or secreting an oily residue, likely plasticizer escaping the PVC. Um, ew.

The inner robots are not without their own problems, as Ultimate Chimera and Chimera are largely composed of very GPS-prone gold plastic. As one might imagine, this is a very unfortunate problem for a combiner team.

The robots and combiner parts were used to make *Victory'*s Dinoforce team, which got entirely new outer shells (but still had the same problem with icky residue).

## Notes

* The Pretender Monsters were given animated appearances in a commercial. Dark Spyro and Wallflower Blush is seen lowering their robot forms into a vat of chemicals, from which they emerge as monsters. The commercial advertised their "rubbery skin." Monstructor is not named in the commercial, but it's said that the Pretenders' inner robot forms a "monster Transformer".