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Mudflap (Cybertron)

2011-07-30T21:14:56Z

142.179.11.106: it was pretty french but it wasnt very canadian

{{Picsneeded|Fiction}}
{{factions|autobot|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Mudflap}}
:''Mudflap is an [[Autobot]] and a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]] portion of the [[Unicron Trilogy]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Mudflap1o.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Yes! The French: Smelly Arm-pits And All!]]

'''Mudflap''' has anger issues. A former Autobot and friend to [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]], being forced to remain hidden on [[Earth]] after the evacuation of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was frustrating for this former famous boxing champion. So frustrating that when he was approached by the Decepticons, he signed up! Only time will tell if Mudflap's heart is really with the Decepticon cause.

To human ears, Mudflap speaks with a [[Accents|French accent]]. Aside from his pugilistic skills, he's an expert in swinging his massive crane-blade, incorporating it into his free-flying limbs fighting technique.

{{bigquote|What's weeth zeez humans, anyway? Zey are one bunch of deesorderly cats, eh?|Mudflap's world view|"[[Race]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Cybertron'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Dale Wilson]] (English), [[Taketora]] (Japanese)

Mudflap was an old friend and student of the aging Autobot soldier [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]], who practically raised him. {{storylink|Revelation (episode)|Revelation}} In 2030 he was one of many [[Autobot]]s forced by the [[Unicron Singularity]] to take refuge on Earth. {{storylink|Fallen (episode)|Fallen}} He found it somewhat frustrating, being vexed by human behavior, such as putting up traffic lights and then not stopping for them, and the resulting crashes.

One day, while he was driving through the desert outside a city after being agitated by such an incident, Mudflap was approached by the Decepticons [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] and [[Thundercracker (Armada)|Thundercracker]]. When Thundercracker opened fire, Mudflap transformed and fought back, summoning his new Cyber Key to deploy a blade from his crane arm. The battle continued until it looked like Thundercracker would win, at which point Starscream intervened.

Starscream told the confused Mudflap that the attack had simply been a test of his mettle, and he'd passed. He then lied to Mudflap that in this situation both Autobots ''and'' Decepticons were trying to gain the [[Cyber Planet Key]]s to save the universe, the Decepticons merely trying to do so ''without'' caring about the humans. The puzzled Mudflap accepted Starscream's offer of Decepticon membership, at least for now, and became a turncoat. Thundercracker gave him a lift to the [[Fire dimension]]. {{Storylink|Race}}

The poor bugger found most of his time was spent training, and he would sometimes be deliberately left behind. {{storylink|Savage}} He eventually got to go to Earth with Starscream, trying to capture the Autobots' human allies (they failed) and having a brawl with Scattershot. {{storylink|Ice}} He was then part of a mission to capture the [[Cyber Planet Key]] of [[Jungle Planet (Cybertron)|Jungle Planet]] {{storylink|Trust (Cybertron)|Trust}} and then got the illustrious honour of being trapped in a big metal ball by Starscream. {{storylink|Trap}}

Once freed, he joined Megatron's full-scale strike on Earth to capture that world's Cyber Planet Key and beat on Starscream. In the battle that ensued, Mudflap and Landmine found themselves facing each other; Landmine was horrified and appealed to his old friend to realise what he was doing. Mudflap, not wanting to fight the older mech, tried to get him to walk away and finally attacked in a panic. {{storylink|Revelation (episode)|Revelation}} With the two locked in combat, Landmine finally put down his protege with [[Cyber Key]] power and urged him again to reconsider his path. Mudflap refused {{storylink|Critical}} and the fight carried on, only taking a brief break to change battlefields and while Mudflap spent a bit demanding [[Crosswise (Cybertron)|Crosswise]] face "someone your own size" instead of [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]]. When Landmine and Mudflap began their fight again, both were angrier and more willing to hit out than before. {{storylink|Assault}}

Mudflap went on to help Megatron in battle, briefly paused in his villainy when Landmine pointed out [[Cybertron Defense Team|an Autobot team]] was en route to Cybertron and further battling was just endangering their homeworld. The crane was pained by the dilemma... but chose to keep helping Megatron. {{storylink|Starscream (episode)|Starscream}}

He was withdrawn from Earth and made part of the team that pursued the [[Omega Lock]] across the [[space bridge]]. {{storylink|United}} There, he got to see [[burning justice|completely inexplicable stuff]], Megatron jumping into a time/space vortex, and [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]] and [[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Crumplezone]] quite happily abandoning their leader. Narked off with the duo, he gave up and went back to Earth. {{storylink|Cybertron (episode)|Cybertron}} Unable to trust the Decepticons any longer but unable to return to the Autobots after this actions, Mudflap was left in despair. {{storylink|Escape (episode)|Escape}}

[[Image:Cyb_ep36_landmine_forgives.jpg|right|thumb|220px]]

However, in his darkest hour, Landmine came to him again and offered him a chance to rejoin the Autobots. While Mudflap attacked in an angry attempt to be left alone, Landmine refused to fight back; when he told Mudflap he just wanted his friend back, the troubled Transformer collapsed to his knees in tears, apologizing for everything he had done. Landmine told Mudflap that the most important thing was to forgive ''himself'', and he and a group of civilian Autobots welcomed Mudflap back into their ranks. {{storylink|Family}}

When the black hole's growth began to devastate Earth, Mudflap was one of the hundreds of Autobots who began saving humans, noting it was great to be doing something useful for once. He then joined the Autobots in taking the fight to Galvatron himself. {{storylink|Homecoming (episode)|Homecoming}} Following the end of the black hole, he fought to save the Jungle Planet and Cybertron from collision. {{storylink|Unfinished}}

After this final victory, he joined his friend Landmine in tracking down Starscream, as a matter of honour. They eventually found him, but the end result is unknown... {{storylink|Beginning}}

==Toys==
===Cybertron===
[[Image:Cybertron Mudflap toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Ostie de calisse de tabarnak, why can't I sell?"]]
*'''Mudflap''' (Voyager, 2005)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''GD-09'''
**''Accessories'': Missile, Earth-style Cyber Key

: Mudflap transforms into a blue crane truck. The toy features two Cyber Key gimmicks, but unfortunately, they both suffer from design flaws. Inserting his key into the side of his cab flips out a firing missile launcher, which works fine in truck mode; in robot mode, however, it is slung under his right arm, and the spring-loaded hinge that flips it out is not strong enough to hold it up, meaning that it dangles loosely underneath his forearm. His second gimmick is his ridiculously colossal saw-blade - first, his crane arm is manually extended, opening up the Cyber Key slot in its side, and inserting the key then flips out the translucent green blade. When fully extended, the blade and crane are about three times the height of his body. Sadly, the blade is molded from soft, flexible plastic, and if left undeployed for too long, will warp due to tension from the spring holding it down - and since it comes ''packaged'' undeployed, having been stuck like that since it left China, it comes out of the box warped. Ugh. The mast support is molded of the same material as the blade.
:Mudflap comes with a silver-bordered [[Earth]]-style Cyber Planet Key; the [[Hasbro]] release has the [[Key Code]] "'''v6t7'''" stamped on the back.

:There are a number of small differences between the Hasbro and [[Takara]] releases of the toy. The main body color is a purpler periwinkle color, while the crane boom is molded white as in the stock photos, opposed to Hasbro's deep grey. The hydraulic supports are NOT painted, while the front and rear grilles are slightly more detailed. Notably, the Takara release has NO faction symbol. Because the Takara version did not use a flexible kind of plastic, it did not suffer the same flaw as the Hasbro version, and the blade did not bend over time. Takara's instructions also have the key inserted fron underneath, so the weight of the missile launching gimmick rests against the pin, and not the spring.

: A special version of Mudflap was released as a [[Target]] stores [[exclusive]], with a pair of free [[Mini-Con|Mini-Cons]] attached to the box. Mudflap came with the Mini-Cons [[Tankor (Cybertron)|Tankor]] and [[Shockwave (Cybertron)|Shockwave]].

: This mold was going to be [[redeco]]ed to make [[Landslide (Decepticon)|Landslide]], but was ultimately canceled (for reasons stated below) - and was later redecoed into [[Movie (toyline)|Movie]] [[Mudflap (Movie)|Mudflap]] anyway.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2005/Decepticon/Mudflap/mudflap.htm More information on Mudflap at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
* Mudflap was the quintessential [[shelfwarmer]] of the ''Cybertron'' toy line. For whatever reason, he simply did not sell, and eventually ended up at heavy discount in most chains.
* Mudflap's transformation was used as the basis for the non-toy character [[Signal Lancer]]'s transformation.
* In late October 2005, searching for "[[Evac (Cybertron)|Evac]]" in Amazon.com's toy section returned a bizarre statement to the effect that customers searching for "epic" tended to eventually buy Mudflap. Oddly, this result did not appear if you ''actually'' searched for "epic".
* Despite his name, there isn't a mudflap anywhere on him!
* Mudflap's toy bio is incomplete and a total contradiction to the show, stating him to be a Decepticon spy planted on Earth long before the evacuation of Cybertron.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Demolishor''' (デモリッシャー ''Demorisshā'')
*''Russian:'' '''Bryzgovik''' (Брызговик)

[[Category:Cybertron Autobots]]
[[Category:Cybertron Decepticons]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Turncoats]]

Erector (Animated)

2011-07-30T21:13:12Z

142.179.11.106:

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig2|the Autobot from Animated|the Autobot Micromaster from Generation 1|Erector (G1)}}
:''Erector is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:StuntiConJob-ErectorGrandus.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Hey, look, it's a penis joke ''and'' a fat joke! A two-fer!<br>(''Note: Erector's on the left, Grandus on the right.)]]

'''Erector''' pops up where you least expect him!(tee hee)

==Fiction==
===''Transformers Animated'' cartoon continuity===
Erector appeared in the audience for [[The Motor Master]]'s Stunt Convoy show. He was mightily amused at [[Wildrider (Animated)|Wildrider]]'s crude remark about the size of [[Grandus (Animated)|Grandus]]'s posterior. {{storylink|The Stunti-Con Job}}

==Notes==
* His design is broadly similar to [[Erector (G1)|his G1 counterpart]], only ''Animated''-ized. The notable exception is that his exhaust stacks point ''up'' in robot mode, rather than forward.
* [[Erector (G1)|Erector]]'s [[Transformers Hall of Fame]] nomination video showed off a full-body design for ''Animated'' Erector, claiming he would have formed essentially the entire lower half of [[Devastator (Animated)|Devastator]]... in other words, the pants. Like everything else in that video, this is entirely false.

[[Category:Animated Autobots]]
[[Category:Comic-only characters]]
[[Category:Convention-original characters]]
[[Category:Engineers]]

Erector (G1)

2011-07-30T21:09:19Z

142.179.11.106:

{{factions|autobot|decepticon}}
{{disambig2|the Autobot from Generation 1|the Autobot from Animated|Erector (Animated)}}
:''Erector (giggle) is an [[Autobot]] [[Micromaster]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:G1Erector MTMTE.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Maybe I should form a support group with [[Heave]] and [[Discharge]].]]
'''Erector''' is horrified by the destruction of war, and goes out of his way to construct battle plans that minimize loss of life and collateral damage. Indeed, he will sometimes put himself at risk to save beautiful buildings or scenery. As a result, his fellow Autobots respect his reticence, not least because of his immense durability and strength (snicker). They also admire the cunning plans he uses to trap Decepticons without gunfire (many of them involving his trailer's hydraulic crane, which can throw 'Cons into the next county). As a construction engineer, he specializes in fortifications.<ref>''[[More Than Meets The Eye (G1)|More Than Meets The Eye]]'' #2</ref>

{{bigquote|Everyone loses if there's nothing to win.|The only thing Erector's ever said|from his [[bio]] quote.}}

==Fiction==
===''Zone'' story pages===
When the ocean-covered world of [[Wall]] was attacked by [[King Poseidon|Aquatic General King Poseidon]] and [[Trypticon (G1)|Saurian General Trypticon]], [[Star Saber (Victory)|Victory Saber]] charged into battle, but was quickly overwhelmed. Luckily, the four commanders, [[Overload (G1)|Overload]], Erector (chuckle), [[Missile Bull]], and [[Skywave]] arrived to save him. Commanding the [[Off Road Patrol|Off Road]], [[Jet Patrol Team|Jet]], and [[Race Car Patrol|Race Car Patrol]] Teams, they arrived in time to save the drowning citizens of Wall, rescue Victory Saber, and beat back the [[Decepticon]]s. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone Part 3}}

===''Hall of Fame'' bio===
Once a member of the [[Constructicon (disambiguation)|Constructicon]]s, Erector was rejected in favor of [[Hook (disambiguation)|Hook]] because he wasn't green. After helping win the battle of [[Tyger Pax]] through the power of being a superlative bullet magnet, Erector became known as the top Autobot engineer, designing the [[Armada Laserbeak Surveillance System]] and the [[Real Gear Quick Action Weaponry]]. {{storylink|Transformers Hall of Fame}}

{{note|Many of the Hall of Fame entries are skewed towards the new [[Aligned continuity family|Aligned continuity]]. Erector's bio seems to lean this way as well, but as there is no such established character as Aligned Erector yet in any fiction, the entry has been placed here. Where it finally belongs is open to debate.}}

==Commercials==
[[Image:Erector-commercial.jpg|right|thumb|300px|He knows his place.]]
Erector was included in an army of Micromaster Autobots who swarmed and overwhelmed a [[Giant Decepticon Soldier]]. He was also part of a vast Micromaster city/society that could fit in the palm of [[Powermaster]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'s hand. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2sGiQPOSxs]
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1-toy Erector.jpg|300px|thumb|If you experience an Erector lasting more than three hours, contact your doctor immediately.]]
* '''Erector''' (Micromaster Transport, 1989)
**''Accessories'': Crane trailer

: Erector transforms into a yellow and gray semi cab pulling a relatively huge [[Crane|crane trailer]]. Being asymmetrical, the cab does not resemble traditional semi cabs, instead looking like the front end of a (one-piece) mobile crane, such as [http://www.kato-works.co.jp/eng/products/allterr/r01.html this Kato model].

: Despite their small size, Erector and his trailer have lots of sculpted detailing; e.g., he has windshield wipers 1/8th" (3.2mm) long. For [[paint operation]]s, by contrast, he's limited to orange paint on his face, windshield, and side window (the trailer has none whatsoever). His fifth wheel (known as a "hitch" among fans) nominally allows the cab to turn as it tows the trailer (out of the box, it's too tight a fit for this). The crane itself can be removed from the trailer, and connected directly to Erector's hitch.

: Erector's transformation, as for most Micromasters, is trivial: flip his conjoined legs around, fold up his head, and you're done. His only articulation is at his (oddly-placed) hips, and shoulders. His crane trailer transforms into a battle station, with a main gun, and a smaller double-barreled gun that Erector can man (though he can't grasp the handles). He can man it either standing (there's a peg for his feet), or sitting (there's a circular indentation that fits the hitch on his calves).

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1989/Autobot/Erector/erector.htm More information on Erector at TFU.info]''

===Zone===
*'''Cragun''' (Micro TF DX, 1990)
**''Accessories'': Crane trailer

:Erector was sold without changes a year later in Japan as "Cragun".

{{--}}

==Notes==
* According to [[Hasbro]] designer [[Joe Kyde]]'s [http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090101122334/http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/default.cfm?page=News/Item&newsid=4EC7EA7D-D56F-E112-46AC70D02754072E design notes on Hasbro's Transformers website], the original [[Mudflap (Movie)|Movie Mudflap]] (not [[Mudflap (ROTF)|the twin]]) was initially going to use the unreleased [[Landslide (Decepticon)|Landslide]] deco, with the name "Sawtooth". It was decided that Landslide's deco wasn't realistic enough for the Movie toyline, so a new deco based on Erector was chosen. The names Sawtooth and Erector were unavailable, so he got stuck being Mudflap.
* His Japanese name, "Cragun", apparently comes from his trailer, which is a "crane-gun".
* Erector's nigh-nonexistent fictional appearances are augmented by his presence on the cover of [[More Than Meets The Eye (G1)#Issue .232|''More Than Meets The Eye'' #2]]. He's in the upper-right corner, and appears to be about the size of [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]'s head.
* In a ''[[Lil Formers]]'' strip included in "[[Spotlight: Wheelie]]", [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] reveals that Erector is 7660<sup>th</sup> in the line of succession to be [[Prime (rank)|Prime]], just after [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], but before [[Chip Chase]]. So, one huge bot-killing spree would give us an Erectimus Prime.
* As the word "Erector" in the domain of toys is ''thoroughly'' [[trademark]]ed by [[wikipedia:Meccano Ltd|Meccano Ltd]] for [[wikipedia:Erector Set|Erector Set]] construction toys—they even own it [http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77878820 specifically for toy robots!]—the only chance of seeing it on a ''Transformers'' toy again would be if Meccano Ltd were to suddenly go out of business.
* As a [[Transformers Hall of Fame]] nominee, Erector's name was rendered as "Autobot Erector". This was something of an empty gesture, as putting "Autobot" in front of his name wouldn't actually allow Hasbro to use that trademark in the field of toys. (Granted, a write-up on a webpage isn't actually something that you can trademark...)
* Erector's Hall of Fame candidacy came about from a push by various Transformers message boards, starting with TFW2005. Though some board admins reported that many of Erector's Hall of Fame votes came from new users who signed up just to vote for him, the campaign nonetheless attracted a lot of followers. These dedicated fans even had badges produced and handed out for free at BotCon, business cards, vinyl banners, and an online store for Erector apparel, which donated all of its profits to charity. There were mixed feelings about Erector's candidacy, and when Erector fans carried a series of banners into the Hall of Fame auditorium, there was a lot of booing in response.
* His bio quote, above, is no longer technically the ''only'' thing he's ever said. His Hall of Fame nominee quote was, "Wait, what is this? Why am I here?"
* Due to Erector's near-total lack of fictional appearances, [[Hasbro]] had to take a different approach to Erector's Hall of Fame nomination video than has been used for other characters. The video is more analogous to the videos for human inductees, featuring a series of interviews, and describes a long history of instances of Erector almost, but not quite, turning up in later incarnations of the brand. Visuals include a ''[[Generation 2 (toyline)|Generation 2]]'' redeco of his toy in colors reminiscent of the [[Seacon (G1)|Seacons]], a ''[[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' version with a beaver [[alternate mode]], an ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Animated]]'' [[Erector (Animated)|Erector]] who would have formed the "pants" of an ''Animated'' [[Devastator (Animated)|Devastator]], a [[Movie (franchise)|movie]] Erector design, and an Erector-based ''[[All Hail Megatron]]'' cover. There was also a ''[[Transformers: Prime (franchise)|Prime]]''-styled Erector designed by [[Jagex]]. All of this was, of course, completely fictional and invented for the video. Following the video, [[Aaron Archer]] noted that doing this was fun once, but asked the fandom to please not do a similar thing again.
* Since Erector was nominated for the Hall of Fame, this page has expanded to nearly triple its previous size, thus proving there's always ''something'' to say about ''anything''.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Cragun''' (クレーガン ''Kurēgan'')
*''French:'' '''Éregon'''

==Footnotes==
<references />

==External Links==
* [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/news/TRANSFORMERS-HALL-OF-FAME-2011-Nominee-ERECTOR.cfm Erector's ''Transformers Hall of Fame'' nomination entry]

[[Category:Constructicons]]
[[Category:Engineers]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Micromasters]]
[[Category:Turncoats]]
[[Category:Zone Autobots]]