The only reason Wayward is putting up this page is because there are demons in Transformers canon, and they do not have wings. Call it a hang-up. Every time you describe your character as having 'demonic wings', Wayward has to supress the urge to hit you over the head with a comic. If you want your character to look demonic, cover her in fur.

"But Wayward!" wails the imaginary writer, "I don't have the comics! And I don't know the TF Wiki exists!" Well, this is why this page is here. You'll find that the canon demons are a lot more interesting than those stereotypical winged gothdoll things you've been writing.

The demons only appeared in the Marvel UK comics, in four issues. Contrary to what most assume, they have nothing whatsoever to do with Unicron.

The very first time the demons appear is in the very last panel of Underworld ( black and white, issue #245 ) - the explosion of a Mutant Transformer named Smeltdown released them. All we see are teeth and eyes. And the caption: They have fed - for the first time in countless years. They are hungry for more!

For your notes, the Underworld is merely the levels of Cybertron beneath the basements and sewers, where few Transformers go. It is a physical place, not a metaphysical one. Sometimes Autobot cadets dare each other to explore it.

Teeth and eyes gleaming in the darkness.

Onward to the appropriately-titled Demons ( black and white, issue #246. ) The introduction: The seering white light freed them from their age-old prison beneath the surface of Cybertron ... They have feasted, and the food - the first in many millions of years - tasted good. Now they want more!

And how do they feed? By ripping people open and sucking out their lifeforce. Not just fuel or oil or anything physical, but their lifeforce. And they can kill very quickly. In this instance, three armed Decepticons never got a shot in.

This issue also has Wayward's favourite picture of the demons ( this was by Jeff Anderson. ) Huge, hairy, scaly, dripping with the liquids of the Underworld ... they look like nightmares. They would eat your pretty creature with the 'demonic' wings.

A bit of the cover.
Not much, just a hand reaching up ...
Xaaron explains feeding habits.
See this? This is what a Transformer's nightmare looks like.

In the next issue, Dawn of Darkness ( black and white, issue #247, ) Geoff Senior takes over the art chores, which means the demons end up looking different. Still no wings. And the introduction: Once, long before the Transformers claimed Cybertron for their own, this world belonged to them. Before the tidal wave of light sealed them beneath tons of living metal, they ruled supreme! They would have it so again!

And the demons are scary. Watching one tear apart the Decepticons sent an Autobot into mind-shock. Weapons don't work on them. In fact, shooting them with ordinary lasers just makes them stronger. They're huge, strong, have talons that can rip through steel, and they breathe fire. The only way to kill them? Feed them pure energon until they explode.

Emirate Xaaron says this about them: "The legends say that these creatures - the flip side of the Matrix's good creatures - were entombed by Primus! Hundreds, perhaps thousands of them may still be down there. Should they attack again, in force ... none of us will survive!"

The cover art. Still furry, but these ones look a bit stony in places.
Here they seem to have shirts, or at least vests.
Breathing fire on a Firecon.
Xaaron explains the background.

The last time they appear is in the two-part Still Life story in issues #323-324. There is a brief, off-screen appearence in issue #322 when one eats Runamuck. These ones look a lot more robotic than the others, though they have the same general outlines. The real reason is because it's a different artist ( Andy Wildman. ) Another theory ( okay, Wayward's ) is that they weren't all affected to the same degree when Primus changed them, and the ones in this story were just ones that had been affected to a greater degree.

In Still Life, they arrive and attack the Dinobots. Again, the demons are shown to be impervious to most weapons - Snarl's sword doesn't even nick one, Slag's flame just makes another laugh. Swoop manages to shatter a few heads with point-blank laser blasts. It's not until Grimlock gets powered-up by a substance called Nucleon ( long story - it made him stronger, but no longer able to transform ) that anyone really starts causing damage to the demons.

And why do the demons retreat before powered-up Grimlock? Because his 'light' is too strong - he's got too much lifeforce.

Also, the demons get lines in this. Do they talk like creatures of gothic darkness? Are you kidding? Let's pull up their dialogue:
- "Yumm! Fddd! Llng time we not taste, llng time in dark! Btt now see!"
- "Aaahahha! Clld upp here. You warm me!
- "Sss! Lng, time 'n the depths, locked 'way by the creator. We forget thought, speech. But now - we remember! Ourss before yourss thiss world! Now we take it back -"
- "Flee! Power beyond measure thiss one! Hiss light - hurts!"

Optimus Prime ( currently wearing the body of a Nebulan. Long story ) isn't quite as up on things as Xaaron was: "Whatever the creature is - perhaps part of a race created even before us - it is still life!"

You can tell it's a Wildman by the drool.
Taking a chunk out of Snarl.
A demon on fire. He likes it.
Grimlock takes on the room.

For extra credit, there is The Void ( issue #317-318, ) a story that appeared before Still Life. In this, Primus himself ( speaking through Xaaron ) claims that he, "- at the cost of his freedom - managed to imprison [his and Unicron's] life essences in barren metal asteroids!" In this case, Primus is lying, as we see the demons multiple times.

So, to sum up:
- Demons were the original species that inhabited the planet before Primus came and made it Cybertron.
- They live very deep within Cybertron, entombed by Primus.
- They can live for millions of years without feeding.
- They feed on life energy.
- Conventional weapons don't work on them. Laser weapons increase their powers.
- They range in size from Dinobot-sized to several times the height of the average Autobot.
- The only way to kill them is to feed them until they explode. Or smash them if you're hopped-up on Nucleon, but might only work on the small demons.
- They can be driven off by someone with a strong enough lifeforce. No, stronger than your character, unless she's hopped-up on Nucleon. No, not willpower, lifeforce. You can't scare off a demon by wishing.
- They speak Cybertronian, but poorly.
- They can kill you before you can blink.
- They are not pretty. They are scary.
- If your character looks demonic, her decription should involve such words as 'freakishly tall', 'arms to her knees', 'at least four horns', 'oversized mouth full of fangs, constantly open', and 'full-coverage body hair'.
- They have not got wings. Ever.

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