Well its never really been clear if the combiners need five specific robots to form a certain character or if the character is born as a result of those robots combining. Pre combiner wars I probably would have thought that each member of a combiner team is specially modified both mentally and physically to create a specific persona(This might also partially explain how you can replace certain team members and combination is still itself with a few mental differences).

But if any five robots can randomly combine then this would mean that either the core personality of the combiner is contained entirely within the central body(this would certainly explain how combiner can loose a limb and still remain functional) and the limb bots simply go dormant or the combiner is essentially a new being dependent on who makes him. in this case the combiners mind becomes a new combination of the four remaining parts

Though it makes wonder if your gonna parts of combiners and replace them with new characters just how much of itself can combiner loose before it becomes a different person?

 

Well it could just be that with less minds contributing the gestalts mind simplifies. instead of having an integral part of its identity missing it becomes whatever it would be if it were only made up of the remaining four remaining parts.

 

But that wouldn’t simplify it

Think about it if a character like Bruticus is already difficult to control and dumb with five minds it’s going to be even more stupid and harder to control With a missing part

 

But that’s the rub, if the combined forms core personality Is contained in any one part of the team then no amount of bickering mines is going to affect the core personality

 

Something I loved in Till All Are One is that we finally see inside a combiner's mind when the Combaticons form Bruticus for the first time, and the remaining connection between the individual team members (like strands of a spider's web) is discussed later (in issue #10) as well. It showed the rather chaotic mental place the Combaticons were as they merged together. Onslaught and Vortex seemed to be especially driving Bruticus' rage, while Blast Off was the lone moral voice pleading that they didn't have to destroy people who weren't really their enemies. (Meanwhile Brawl was shown having a crisis of sorts being exposed to Swindle's "death" memories and Swindle was basically brain dead at the time)- yet his memories were still accessible. It was a fascinating glimpse inside a combiner mind. It also showed how individuals can influence the combiner's behavior (like when Blast Off made Bruticus miss his swipe at Ironhide).

 

In their personality. You might call them Quirks. ETC Defensor reacts to humans as a dog to its masters.

 

I guess that’s from the Bible or the bios but I don’t think that really ever was translated in the show or comics

 

I think it was from the toy tech spechs. I tend to use a polished version of them in conjuction with the Sunbow, because otherwise there is not much matterial for several characters.

 

Yeah I understand what you’re talking about I do a little bit of that too

 

I think that a Gesalt is what happens if a Combiner team is too compatible with one another,resulting in the team members' minds merging into the combined form's mind permanently even when seperated.