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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"Damn! The plane turned into a frikkin' robot!"''|'''Hikaru Ichijou''', ''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]''}}
If one cool vehicle can help the hero out, then more than one can certainly be better, right? But if the hero is out with one, and needs the other, he's up the creek. Not so, for he's driving a
The most common form of this is humanoid/animaloid robot to vehicle. The vehicle and humanoid form will most often share parts, characteristics and details. For instance, big tough robots will change into trucks and tanks, while light fast robots will shift into fighter jets or sports cars. The design of the robot form is usually done using elements from the vehicle form, making it at least visually plausible that one can become the other without swapping anything out back at the shop. The vehicle form usually has an [[Multiform Balance|advantage]], like a higher speed, or the ability to [[Masquerade]] as a mundane vehicle.
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A variation, sometimes used in combination, is [[Mecha Expansion Pack|the modular parts system]], with which a mecha can re-equip with different tools and weapons for different jobs, like the FAST packs from ''[[Macross]]'' or the weapon systems from ''[[Centurions]]'' . This type of system is in use in real-life militaries, which have such things as up-armoring kits for vehicles and universal hard-points on combat aircraft.
There is also the matter of the vehicle that transforms into the same vehicle, only ''[[Rule of Cool|much cooler]]''. These are more common in shows aimed at younger audiences, but appear from time to time throughout the genre. The typical explanation being that the cooler form is the vehicle's true form, while the ordinary one is a disguise.
The physics and logistics of the transformation concept are tenuous at best. Most of the internal space of the vehicle would have to be taken up by the robot's parts, but they usually seem to have cargo and passenger room much like an equivalent mundane craft. The extra weight of the unused robot components would probably reduce the capabilities of the vehicle form, but in most cases it's faster, tougher and overall better than the non-transforming types.
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{{examples}}
== [[Advertising]] ==▼
▲== Advertising ==
* The Taiwanese military now have them. Well, according to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpAvEX2tsr8 this ad], at least.
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Most terrestrial mecha in ''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'', ''[[Macross 7]]'', and [[Macross Plus|all]] [[Macross Zero|related]] [[Macross Frontier|series]], and one is always flown by the main protagonist. The titular ''Macross'' class of vessels are ''<s> the</s>'' [[Transformers|some of the]] largest transforming mecha ever shown on television. The original ''SDF Macross'' was over one kilometer tall. The Battle sections of the later ''New Macross'' class vessels, when transformed into humanoid form, are ''approximately four kilometers tall''.
** Additionally, there is a reasonable explanation for the use of these mechas (well, at least the fighter-jet sized ones), something not all [[Real Robot|Real]] or [[Super Robot]] shows care to give to the viewers, mind it. In the first few episodes of [[Super Dimension Fortress Macross|the original series]], [[Badass|Roy Focker]] states that the Valkyries were designed to be able to fight "on even grounds" with the Zentradi. While most [[Giant Robot]] shows have mechs almost entirely for [[Rule of Cool]], a quick flash of [[Fridge Brilliance]] makes one realize that "on even grounds" doesn't mean tech-wise, but the fact that using
* ''[[Daimos]]'': The titular [[Humongous Mecha]] was one of the first ones. He could transform into a rocket-shaped spaceship.
* ''[[Getter Robo]]'' in all its incarnations was both a [[Combining Mecha]] and a
* Many of the LFO mechs in ''[[Eureka Seven]]'' can transform into land vehicles.
* ''[[Zoids]]'' were mostly monoform, but Liger Zero from ''New Century Zero'' had a modular swap-out system.
* In ''[[Sonic X]]'', Tails's plane Tornado II transforms from a plane into a ''really fast'' plane. Later, he adds a bipedal mecha transformation. These come from directly from the games: ''Sonic Adventure'' features Tails's Tornado transforming from one plane into another (with no actual effect, really), while Tails runs around in the bipedal mecha in ''Sonic Adventure 2''.
* All of the robots in ''King of Braves [[GaoGaiGar]]'' could transform. And ''then'' they started [[Combining Mecha|combining with each other and bolting extra bits on]].
* Another very early example was Pook (from the slavic (or was it Celtic?) word Pooka, a type of animal spirit) from ''[[Astro Boy]]'', a robot kid who could turn into a variety of animals before his transformation system was destroyed by trying to change into too many things too fast. In the GBA game he also becomes a [[Combining Mecha]], gaining the ability to change into the "heart" of the planet destroying alien robot Garon. Transformers show up a few other times in Astroboy, including Odette, a robot ballet dancer who turns into a swan who was created for a fairytale theme park attraction based on [[Swan Lake]].
* The [[Super Robot]] ''[[Raideen|Brave Raideen]]'', who debuted around the same time as Getter Robo, was probably the first straight-up example of a giant robot who became a vehicle, turning into a bird-themed aircraft.
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** ''[[Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]'': The Zeta Gundam which transforms into a plane design for greater speed.
** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ]]'': As the direct successor to the Zeta gundam, it follows the same design.
** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn]]'': continues the trend with the Loto (MS to Tank), Delta Plus, ReZEL and Ankusha (MS to Flight Form); the latter two can carry friendly MS into battle while transformed. The titular Unicorn also transforms, from an ordinary mobile suit with a Unicorn horn to a red-glowing Gundam of death.
** ''[[Mobile Suit Victory Gundam]]'': Victory 1 & 2 Gundams which transform ''and'' combine.
** ''[[Mobile Fighter G Gundam]]'': The Nether Gundam, which can turn into a windmill (yes, really). The Heaven's Sword Gundam, which has a bird-like flight mode and a fighter mode. And then there's the Devil Gundam, which keeps coming up with more and more new forms as the series goes on.
** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing]]'': The titular gundam (known in series as "Unit 1") can go from Bird mode to Mobile Suit mode and back, and [[Super Prototype|Wing Zero]]<ref>The prototype for ''all'' the gundams, making it a double [[Super Prototype]]</ref> could transform as well. Epyon transformed into a dragon shapped mecha. Gundam Wing Endless Waltz changed the designs however.
** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED]]'': A large number of them, to the point that most of them transform. The Strike Gundam (the one operated by the protagonist) uses [[Mecha Expansion Pack
** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'': The Flags (and their European counterpart the Enact) have robot mode and a vaguely airplane like mode, as do the Kyrios and Arios Gundams. The final episode of ''Gundam 00'' contains what has to be the best, albeit likely unintentional lampshading of this trope ever, when [[Big Bad]] {{spoiler|Ribbons'}} Mobile suit transforms from a Mobile Suit into . . . {{spoiler|a slightly different Mobile Suit}}.
** ''[[SD Gundam Force]]'': Captain Gundam has a Gunvehicle mode.
** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam
* A mild example, Sonic Divers from ''[[Sky Girls]]'' can transform between Glider Mode (read: jet mode) and Armor Mode (read: mobile suit mode). These transformations are more for functionality than visual, because of their aerial exoskeleton armor structure, Sonic Divers can't perform a flashy transformation without grinding their pilots into meatbag.
* The QT Arms in ''[[Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo]]''. They start off as a spaceship with a circular set of rocket boosters on the back, but can transform into a sort of centaurian humanoid form utilizing the boosters as a set of legs.
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* In ''[[Code Geass]]'', [[Boisterous Bruiser|Gino's]] Tristan can turn into a jet and back.
** Lelouch/Zero's Shinkirou could also transform into a Jet/Submarine "Fortress Mode". The MR-1 frames seem to be a mass-produced civilian variation of this, going from truck to mecha.
* In ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'', The Arc-Gurren and Chouginga Dai Gurren are multi-kilometric spaceships that double as [[Meta Mecha
** Some of the Four Generals seem to have multi-mode mecha. Adiane's can go from a humanoid shape with a talking vagina to a hulking scorpion monster mech.
** The Kiyalunga combines this with [[Mecha Expansion Pack]] in that it can transform into a lance and shield that can then be wielded by the King Kittan to form the King Kittan Deluxe.
* Team Rocket in ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' has made several of these, including a recent one that goes from digger to piloted mech. They're [[Made of Explodium|not as durable]] as most examples of the trope.
* ''[[Argento Soma]]'': The SARG robots can switch between being a plane and a robot.
* ''[[Nekketsu Saikyo Gosaurer]]'' has a bunch of mechs that go from being a ELEMENTARY SCHOOL to a bunch of robot dinosaurs
* The titular characters from ''[[Karas]]'' can change into jets or tank-racecar hybrids. Their actual transformations are a bit cheaty, as they go through a portal and come out changed on the other side. In the end, though, it doesn't really matter due to [[Rule of Cool]].
* ''[[Genesis Climber Mospeada]]'' features two types: the MOSPEADA, motorcycles that can turn into powered armor, and the Legioss, which is similar to the Valkyrie fighters from Macross.
* The [[Cool Bike|Motoslaves]] that the Knight Sabers ride from ''[[Bubblegum Crisis]]''. Transformed, they can either act as independent combat robots or as extended power suits to provide their riders with additional firepower and some aerial mobility.
* ''[[Mazinger Z]]'' gets in on the action in [[Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-hen]] by having the titular mech turn into a ''giant fist.''
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* While none of these appear in ''[[American Born Chinese]]'', the trope is discussed and deconstructed in a rather philosophical way. In an early scene, the child protagonist tells an old woman that he wants to be a [[Transformers|transformer]] when he grows up. After she gets a brief explanation of the concept, the woman uses it to illustrate a point to the kid: [[Be Yourself|anyone can become something they aren't, but have to sacrifice their soul to do so.]] This is the core theme of the whole book.
** Of course, assuming you take the old woman literally, this means that every single example on this page has [[Deal with the Devil|had congress with the devil.]] Good to know!
== [[Film]] ==
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* ''[[Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow]]'' (2004) had airplanes that could transform in mid-dive into submersibles. The hero doesn't bother pointing this out to the [[Damsel Scrappy]] who's in the cockpit with him, so she's rather annoyed.
* Centauri's car in ''[[The Last Starfighter]]'' took the angular wedge design of the DeLorean, turned it [[Up to Eleven]], then made it a ''transforming'' [[Flying Car]] and [[Cool Starship]].
== [[Literature]] ==
* In what may be the earliest example of this trope, there was "The Terror", a vehicle from [[Jules Verne]]'s ''The Master of The World'' which could become an airplane, a submarine & some kind of tank/armoured car that could move so fast it could not be seen by the naked eye, [[Older Than Radio|making this one...]]
* Travis S. "Doc" Taylor used transforming mecha in his ''One Day on Mars'' series of Hard [[Sci Fi]] books. Marine issue Mechs had 3 modes: Fighter, Bot and a hybrid Eagle mode with talons hanging down. Army tanks would switch into 2 modes: Hovertank and Bot. Justified throughout the book as assisted by AI and made enemies worry about 3 different styles of attack, rather then one.
== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Ambassador Magma]]'', by Osamu Tezuka is the possible [[Trope Maker]]. The giant robot was capable of transforming into a rocket.
* Most seasons of ''[[Power Rangers]]'' have at least one mecha that can both [[Combining Mecha|combine]] and transform on its own.
** The Rescue Megazord from ''[[Power Rangers Turbo]]'' and its [[Super Sentai]] counterpart ''[[Gekisou Sentai Carranger]]'''s VRV Robo is a [[Combining Mecha]] made of five
** The Dinozords from [[Mighty Morphin Power Rangers|the first season]] combined into a tank which would then be transformed into the humanoid battle mode, often without ever firing a shot. There was an instance of it transforming back to tank mode to knock Goldar over before switching to battle mode again.
* One pre-Power Rangers ''[[Super Sentai]]'', ''[[Denshi Sentai Denziman]]'', had the Daidenzin, which could transform from the space shuttle-like DenziFighter into the [[Super Robot
* ''[[Knight Rider]]'' managed to include this in a couple ways. In the original series, the fourth season introduced both "C" mode (Convertible) and Super Pursuit Mode. C mode had the hardtop (with t-tops) somehow folding away behind to make a convertible out of KITT. SPM had various pointy bits and a rocket booster pop out of places to allow a huge speed boost. In the new pilot, KITT did something of the reverse - he was able to disguise himself as a more mundane, base model Mustang to avoid standing out quite so much. It's unknown at this time how much that particular transformation might impact performance, or what other transformations might be possible.
** In the series proper, KITT transforms into other <s>Ford [[Product Placement]] Opportunities</s> vehicle types for specialized situations, like an F-150 for off-road.
** KARR in the new series was capable of literally transforming from a Mustang like KITT into a very scary wheeled exosuit bristling with machine guns and missile launchers. In the original series as well as the new, KARR is voiced by Peter Cullen which makes this a very full circle [[Shout-Out]] to the man and [[Transformers Generation 1|one of his most famous roles]].
== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* ''[[BattleTech]]'' has the Land-Air Mechs, which are Battlemechs that were able to transform into fighter craft. The originals were based off artwork of the Macross Valkyrie Fighters above, though there are now some that use artwork original to [[BattleTech]].
== Toys ==
* ''[[Transformers]]'', obviously enough, and probably the most famous example in the west. The higher capability is somewhat of a [[Justified Trope]] here, as some individual Transformers are older than our whole species. Also notable for being [[Ridiculously-Human Robots|sentient]] rather than piloted (although the [[Merchandise-Driven|original toys]] were repainted from Japanese toys that ''were'' supposedly piloted).
** Worth noting is that a number of Transformers have more than two modes... In fact, there's a few with six, and one with ''ten''.
*** Later installments into the franchise would go on to show that transformation is not just present in the Transformers themselves, but can be found in almost ''every'' aspect of their society. Animal species, weapons, ships, ''buildings'' and in certain continuities ''their entire home planet'' of Cybertron (also [[Physical God|their god, Primus]]) are capable of transformation.
* The Baterra from ''[[Bionicle]]'' could shapeshift into just about anything, including trees and rocks, but avoided taking on the shapes of other people out of choice. [[Toyless Toyline Character|Sadly, they never appeared as sets]], [[What Could Have Been|although there were plans]]. Toys that ''did'' shapeshift were the Bohrok/Bohrok-Kal (into balls) and the Vahki (bipedal to quadruped).
== [[Video Games]] ==
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* The Interceptor car in the ''[[Spy Hunter]]'' series, which can become a boat, a motorcycle, and sometimes a jet plane.
* A slew of original mecha in ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'', notably the Wildraubtier & R-1 (which are ''Macross'' or ''Gundam'' style planes-to-robots) and the Grungust series (which take cues more from ''Daitarn 3'').
** ''[[Super Robot Wars]] W'' contains a ''ship'', the Valstork, that transforms into the giant humanoid Valguard by [[Combining Mecha|augmenting itself with its in-house mech Valhawk]], which itself has
** This is to say nothing of Aussenseiter and Daizengar's combination attack, which transforms Aussenseiter into... a giant mecha horse. Which Daizengar mounts. And then Daizengar produces a sword no less than three times the length of itself. That's about when Trombe! is reaching its climax in the song, and you REALLY should have been running a long time ago.
** AND R-GUN! A Gundam-ish mecha transformed into a [[Big
*** Ow yeah! You're right! And don't forget R-gun was INTENDED TO BE A GUN FOR [[Super Robot|S!R!X!]] on the first place. Cue [[The Hero|Ryuusei]] crying [[Punctuated!
* The three main Agency vehicles in ''[[Crackdown]]'' all transform into bigger and badder forms as the player's Driving Skill rises. The Supercar turns into a machinegun-packing batmobile, the SUV turns into a monster-truck that can jump and drive up walls, and the Truck turns into... an even bigger and badder truck with a nitro-booster for maximum ramming power. No attempts are made to justify the blatantly impossible transformations. It happens because it's ''[[Rule of Cool|cool]]''.
* In ''[[Gunstar Heroes]]'' (both the original and the GBA remake), Green uses an ancient vehicle known as Seven Force. It has, of course, seven different variations. And you have to fight them all.
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* In ''[[Xenosaga]]'', the E.S. Dinah could transform from a starship to a mecha and back; only about half the ship was used in the mecha form, leaving the rest to be used as a large energy weapon or just left floating in orbit. The E.S. Naphtali could also transform from a cruise mode to combat mode.
** Though the Dinah is more of a combiner, as its head is formed from a flying motorcycle that turns into a bed.
* In ''[[Command
** Dunno if it's intentional or not but the Mecha Tengu [http://27.media.tumblr.com/NAJN8JTZ6jz9z4ocLT05SnPTo1_500.jpg stylistically resembles] a [[Macross|Variable Fighter in Gerwalk mode]]. Even the transformation and hovering movement is similar.
* In ''[[Mischief Makers]]'', each member of the Beastector has their own unique
* ''[[R-Type]]'' TL series fighters transform into mecha when attached to force devices. They also use a different [[Wave Motion Gun]] when transformed.
* The Terran Viking units in ''[[
* ''[[The Guardian Legend]]'''s main character, a [[Robot Girl]] who takes a humanoid form during the dungeon crawling parts of the game, then switches to spaceship form for some [[Vertical Scrolling Shooter]] action.
* Mr. Heli Robo at the beginning of Stage 6 in ''[[Contra]]: Shattered Soldier''.
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* [[Starhawk (2012 video game)]], the upcoming [[Spiritual Successor]] to [[Warhawk (1995 video game)]] has these as the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i08a0o-xpfw&feature=player_detailpage#t=49s standard, flying vehicle].
* ''C.O.R.'', a mod for [[UT 2 K 4]], was basically team deathmatch with transforming mecha, and awesome.
* ''[[Shogo]]'' is a rare case of a [[First-Person Shooter]] with
* Militron after his first defeat in [[The
** This is also true with Iron Knuckle from ''Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon'', who instead turns into a spiky jet-chariot thing to escape after his first defeat, and after he is defeated again, his armor cracks open, causing his heart to fall out.
* [[Future Cop LAPD]] has the x-1 alpha that transforms between a battle walker and a hover car.
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* [[Kid Icarus: Uprising]] features the Great Sacred Treasure, which transforms into nearly half a dozen modes in the fight against {{spoiler|Hades.}}
* [[Anarchy Reigns]] has Garuda, who transforms into a jet and can be ridden on by his teammates in co-op modes.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* In [http://theoryofeverythingcomics.com/god/ God(tm)] a [http://theoryofeverythingcomics.com/god/01/GOD01_06a.htm cappuccino machine] is stuck in guardian mode and a [http://theoryofeverythingcomics.com/god/01/GOD01_19a.htm Mormon Robot] transforms into a [http://theoryofeverythingcomics.com/god/01/GOD01_21a.htm bicycle].
* ''[[Wild
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* The American cartoon ''[[
** Including Switchblade, a helicopter which could transform into a jet.
* Another western example: ''[[Inspector Gadget]]'' had a minivan that would transform into a sports car.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Mecha Tropes]]
[[Category:Vehicle Tropes]]
[[Category:Travel Cool]]
[[Category:Shapeshifting]]
▲[[Category:Transforming Mecha]]
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