Electrum

Electrum causes Transformers to break out in Dance Fever.

Electrum is a golden liquid with the special property of bonding to metal and rendering it virtually indestructible.

Liquid electrum is combustible, but it has a considerably higher spark-point than liquid energon—a stray blaster shot will not ignite it, but a direct high-power shot will.

Electrum-augmented Transformers turn a golden color.

Fiction

The Transformers cartoon

Most Transformers were unfamiliar with electrum, and the scientist Starscream was apprehensive about its properties. In 1985, Beachcomber discovered an isolated lagoon full of electrum in a glen on Earth. After dipping his hand in to confirm what he found, Beachcomber returned to the battle, electing to keep the discovery hidden out of fear of what damage the war would bring to the glen. Sadly for him, Thrust found the glen not long after he left and after using it to his advantage in battle, he told the Decepticons of it, Megatron coating his army in it. After even Omega Supreme's firepower proved insufficient, the Autobots tracked the electrum to the glen. No sooner had the Autobots coated themselves did the Decepticons track them down to the lagoon. After a futile exchange of firepower that ravaged the glen, the Decepticons' coating wore off, Megatron choosing to destroy the electrum rather than let the Autobots have it. The Golden Lagoon

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

Electrum was an element with a molecular structure that could be grafted only onto inanimate material. Jetfire noted that Sunstorm's body was constructed of a substance similar to electrum, a byproduct of Cybertronian bio-mechanics. Skyfire

Beast Wars: Uprising

Electrum was a theoretically illegal substance on post-war Cybertron. Usually, the production and sale of "leccy" was through street gangs, but those with Builder connections could score some samples easy. When the Grand Uprising broke out, orders from on high came down to the Maximal Command Security Force to ignore electrum pushers in favor of the "bigger picture".

While examining the dead Twirl's memories, MCSF officer Wolfang noted some showed signs of either excessive engex use or electrum. Trigger Warnings

Games

Live-action film series

Decepticon drones erected a series of gray blockades fortified with the Cybertronian alloy electrum.

Ironhide could use nova spray to turn the blockades brittle and destroy them. Mobile phone game

Transformers Legends

Beachcomber stumbled on a Golden Lagoon full of Electrum. Thrust also found it, and soon the Decepticons had all coated themselves and made themselves invulnerable. Though Megatron's forces soon had a victory over Omega Supreme, the Autobots coated themselves in Electrum too, and in the ensuing battle, the lagoon and surrounding glen were destroyed. The Golden Lagoon

Transformers: Earth Wars

Toys

Collector's Edition

Has/Tak's rejected submission to the Academy's "Update the Oscars Statue" contest.

• Meister Gold Version (e-Hobby exclusive, 2002)
  • Accessories: "Photon Rifle", missile launcher, 3 missiles

A Collector's Edition e-HOBBY exclusive, this version of Jazz is almost entirely constructed of vacuum-metalized gold plastic. Fingerprints and chipping, ahoy! It uses the degraded mold of the Transformers Collection figure, and was only available in a set with the "Anime Version" redeco of Bluestreak. Both figures came in the generic red Autobot packaging shared by nearly all eHobby figures.

This toy's coloration re-creates the "Gold Porsche" Lucky Draw figure available in limited numbers during the Diaclone franchise, before The Transformers. That said, the original e-HOBBY listing noted its resemblance to the electrum-coated characters in the episode "The Golden Lagoon"^[1] (despite Jazz appearing only briefly in that episode, with no speaking lines).

• More information on Meister Gold Version at TFU.info

Golden Lagoon

• Golden Lagoon Convoy (2018)
• Golden Lagoon Starscream (2018)
• Golden Lagoon Beachcomber / Perceptor / Seaspray (2018)
• Golden Lagoon Soundwave (2019)

Main article: The Transformers Golden Lagoon

The Transformers Golden Lagoon was a small toyline produced by TakaraTomy, beginning in 2018 and running into the subsequent year to celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of The Transformers in 2019. Available exclusively through various collector channels, the line saw its toys in ostentatious, Lucky Draw-style color schemes designed to evoke electrum coating. The line consisted of redecoes of toys mostly from the contemporaneous Prime Wars Trilogy in golden colour schemes, vacuum metallized where possible (and in creamy golden plastic where not).

Notes

• In the real world, electrum is an alloy of gold and silver. This is referenced by Perceptor finding a rock containing gold and silver just before Beachcomber discovered the lagoon.
• When Optimus Prime is submerged in energon in The Transformers Trilogy, he is covered with an invulnerable "silver coat". This appears unrelated to the way electrum works (the Matrix was involved, to begin with...).
• Though Japan has had numerous all-gold repaints as Lucky Draw figures (most of them being Optimus Prime), none of them officially represent electrum coated characters.

References