The RoGuns of Mars

Renegade Rhetoric is a virtual continuation of Challenge of the GoBots via text stories.

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"The RoGuns of Mars"
Publisher	Fun Publications
First published	October 20, 2015
Written by	Jim Sorenson

Riders and RoGuns on the Red Planet. Really.

Synopsis

As the RoGuns settled in with the Guardian forces, Professor Von Joy created two more of their number called Scope and Shotgun. The Secret Riders convinced the RoGuns to join them in attacking a Renegade base on Mars. The Riders and RoGuns did a lot of damage until Cy-Kill allied with Bars Barkas of the Barkhon clan. The Guardians were captured, but Throttle befriended Losa, son of Bars Barkas, and the Barkhon turned against Cy-Kill, kicking the Renegades off the planet.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Guardians	Renegades	RoGuns	Others
Professor Von Joy (1) Throttle (4) Tork (5) Tri-Trak (6) Twister (7)	Cy-Kill (11)	Scope (2) Shotgun (3) Rifle (8) Pistol (9) Squirt (10)	Bars Barkas (12) Losa (13)

Notes

• Challenge of the GoBots Season 2 was a virtual continuation of the original show related by Vector Prime (from his multiversal perspective) and Cy-Kill (who lived it).
  • In realities where this story aired on television, it premiered on October 15, 1986.
• As an early "episode" from "Ask Vector Prime", the events are only briefly recounted by Cy-Kill and not provided a full three-act synopsis like later stories.
• This episode was named in an "Ask Vector Prime" post on December 21, 2015.

Continuity notes

• The last two RoGuns, Scope and Shotgun, are introduced this episode. Like their predecessors, they are based on the ARCO GoBots 1:1 scale toy guns, and are given individual names for the first time here; the "names" given on their packaging were "Robo-Scope" and "Rogun Cap Rifle", respectively. Confusingly, Rifle's name was also originally given as Cap Rifle.
  • Scope was originally released packaged with Rifle.
  • The introduction of a fourth and fifth RoGun in the group's second episode seems like a reference to Snarl and Swoop, the fourth and fifth Dinobots introduced in "War of the Dinobots", the subgroup's second appearance in the original Transformers cartoon.
• Other than Throttle, Scope, and Shotgun, the Secret Riders and RoGuns are not explicitly named in the story summary.
• Bars Barkas and his son, Losa, are references to characters from Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom novels; the Martian Tars Tarkas and his daughter, Sola.