Peguinis

Peguinis is a Beastformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Are... are you sure you're a penguin?

Peguinis (ペギニス Peginisu) isn't one for combat. He's not a fighter, he's a researcher. A former student of Udan, he's more than happy to spend all his time in a lab or library, learning and experimenting. Even as the Emperor-penguin (ha ha) of Johnston, he's usually got his beak buried in a book, working hard. Luckily, this meshes well with King Zebra Ball's meticulous, cautious and curious manner.

He does have one method of protecting himself, and it's a doozy. His MVP Weapon, the Freeze Dryer (フリーズドライヤー Furīzu Doraiyā), can turn objects super-super-super-cold. It doesn't just freeze things, it can drop their temperature to just a few fractions of a degree above absolute zero, effectively disintegrating them at a molecular level. Yikes. Fortunately, he's reluctant to ever use it at its full power, but the very threat of using such a weapon tends to keep him safe.

Toys

Beastformers

• Peguinis (Beastformer, 1988)

• ID number: 75
• Pack: H
• Accessories: "Freeze Dryer" MVP Weapon

Released only in the post-Transformers "RPG"-themed Beastformers sequel series, Peguinis is an anthropomorphic emperor penguin in blue robotic armor. The Battle Emeblem on his chest reveals one of three symbols when warmed up; Fire, Water or Wood.

He was sold in two similar-but-different styles of boxes. One wholly-generic version, sold in large display boxes like the Transformers releases, advertised the chance for the included bio card to instead be a rare holofoil card of White Leo with a "Burstsun" rubsign in a baggie taped to the back, so you could apply it to the Beastformer of your choice. The more common version has a slightly different box with a peg-hole in the top flap, and has a sticker on the bottom with his name and role on it. Samples of Peguinis (among others) have also been found on simple bubble cards, with the bio card positioned so the name shows clearly under the figure's feet, but it is uncertain if this style of packaging was ever properly sold at retail.

Late in the run, the "mood ring" styled rubsigns were replaced with new rubsigns that revealed full-color Fire/Wood/Water images on black backdrops. (These rubsign variants also happened at the same time in the Hasbro Battle Beast version of the line.)

Notes

• Peguinis is one of 22 figures that were advertised on multiple Transformers-era materials but not actually released in that iteration of the line.
• Peguinis's 1987 character art (seen at top) incorrectly gives him a silver weapon. His recolored 1988 art corrects this mistake.
• His '88 bio card gives him the nickname "Peggy" (ペギー Pegī), and notes he was born on Johnston's southern coast.

Foreign names

• English: Pugnacious Penguin