Rapido

2011-08-29T14:19:34Z

151.49.177.40:

{{factions|autobotg2}}
:''Rapido is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[Image:G1 Rapido cardart.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He is the most interesting bot in the world.]]

'''Rapido''' outranks you. He outranks everybody. Even [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], even though he humbly retains the job of "Platoon Commander" of the [[Axelerator]]s.

Suave, unflappable and endlessly clever, Rapido uses his tactical genius to bring the Autobots ever closer to final victory over the [[Decepticon]]s. His plans are amazingly complex, plotted down to the smallest detail. Even when things are rough, he keeps his cool and works out a plan to turn things around again.

==Fiction==
===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:DW Skyfire cameos.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Even [[Decepticon]]s list him as their emergency contact number.]]
Rapido, standing beside [[Aero Raid]] and [[Windbreaker]], was among a crowd of unhappy Autobots who made [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] look really stupid when the latter tried to make a speech. {{storylink|Skyfire (issue)|Skyfire}}
{{--}}

===Wings of Honor===
[[Image:RapidoPowers.jpg|left|thumb|200px|He once held the Matrix, only to give it back.]]

During a battle outside of the [[Large Hadron Collider]] in [[Switzerland]], Rapido ordered a fall back after [[Pyro]] was captured. Minutes later, when [[Scorch (G1)|Scorch]] and [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] tried to take over, Rapido balked at being treated like a child, despite only being a minor in [[Earth]] years. When Scorch objected to his formulating a rescue plan, Rapido reminded him that he technically outranked all Autobots on [[Earth]] in emergency situation, as authorized by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] himself.

Eventually the Autobots went on the counterattack to stop the Decepticons from seizing the power of the Collider and to save Pyro. While most the Autobots kept the Decepticons busy, Rapido took [[Meanstreak]] and Streetwise to the back entrance. While his low-yield photo missiles were unable to crack the door, Streetwise's knock caused it to tumble. Once inside they met with a duo of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] guards and attempted to use the [[universal greeting]] to quell them. When this proved fruitless, Rapido transformed and crashed the guards through the door they were guarding, right into the room where Pyro was being held!

The rescue team began getting pummeled by the [[Forestonite]]-infused Decepticons. Rapido shot his missiles to free Pyro, evening the odds a little. When [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] saw this, he shot the rest of the Forestonite, resulting in its gaseous form filling the building and powering up all the [[Transformer]]s within. Rapido found he now had the power of super speed, and used it to outrun [[Sky-Byte (Timelines)|Sky-byte's]] missiles, leading them into the main skirmish and having them hit [[Cindersaur]] instead. When the Decepticons retreated, Rapido attended to the humans and later enjoyed a drink of energon. {{storylink|Generation 2: Redux}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G2-toy Rapido.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He once punched a [[Mara-Al-Utha|Quintesson wizard]]. You heard me.]]
*'''Rapido''' (Axelerator, 1993)
**''Accessories'': Engine-block rifle

: Rapido transforms into a somewhat abstracted [http://www.supercars.net/cars/4759.html Peugeot Quasar] concept car. His chrome-silver, rear-mounted engine block becomes his robot-mode blaster weapon. Rapido's toy is primarily distinguished by his head being too recessed actually to see over his robot mode chest. It is also [[gang-molding|gang-molded]] with [[Turbofire]].

: He was initially released in the European market in 1993, during the transitional time when the Transformers toys took on the new ''Generation 2'' sigils, but the packaging lacked the "''Generation 2''" line-name.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1993/Autobot/Rapido/rapido.htm More information at Rapido at TFU.info]''

===Generation 2===
*'''Rapido''' (Small Car/Axelerator, 1993/1994)
**''Accessories'': Engine-block rifle

: Released concurrently with the European "Generation 1" Rapido, the US version is almost identical to the European toy, save the pink clear-plastic being replaced with smoky-black. Rapido was re-released in the European ''Generation 2'' line the following year, retaining his clear-pink plastics.

===Block Town===
[[Image:Rapido-BlockTown.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Years ago, he built a city out of blocks. Today, over six hundred thousand people live and work there.]]
*'''Gasoline Station Set''' (Block Town, 1996)
**''Accessories'': Engine-block rifle, gas pump brick set

: Rapido's mold was one of several intended to be used in the post-''Generation 2'' [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] ''[[Block Town]]'' line. To be [[redeco]]ed in black with blue robot parts, he was to come with the "Gasoline Station Set", a building-block gas pump that could be rebuilt into a battle station of some form. This set ultimately never came to release. In 2005, a supposed Takara "release" schedule listed the ''Block Town'' sets among several other future items coming out. Only the ''[[Cybertron (franchise)|Galaxy Force]]'' items on that list saw release, however (and some only as store [[exclusive]]s to boot).

{{note|Dammit!!!}}

: Since very little information exists on the line's more fictional aspects (including the robot's name), it is unknown if this toy was to be the same general character Rapido, or a new character altogether.

{{canceledtoy}}

===Timelines===
[[Image:Timelinestoy-BC2010Rapido.jpg|right|thumb|300px|He can speak Spanish... in [[Mini-Con]] binary.]]
*'''Rapido and Cindersaur''' (Souvenir set, 2010)
**''Accessories'': "Axelerator cannon"

: [[Exclusive]] to [[BotCon 2010]], Rapido is a new-head [[retool]] of the [[Universe (2008 toyline)|2008 ''Universe'' series]] [[Bluestreak (G1)#Universe (2008)|Silverstreak]] toy, transforming into a modified [[wikipedia:Nissan 350Z|Nissan 350Z]]. He features twin non-removable and non-firing "rocket launchers" that can swing over his robot-mode shoulders. His fold-out rifle stores in the car mode's undersides. He was available only in an at-show souvenir set with [[Cindersaur#Timelines|Cindersaur]], limited to 1500 pieces.

:This mold was also used to make ''Universe'' [[Prowl (G1)/toys#Universe (2008)|Prowl]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)#Universe (2008)|Smokescreen]], as well as fellow BotCon 2010 exclusive ''[[Timelines (franchise)|Timelines]]'' [[Streetwise (G1)#Timelines|Streetstar]].

::*''[http://tfu.info/2010/Autobot/BCRapido/rapido.htm More information on Rapido at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:G2-art RapidoUK.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Rapido on self defense: "The right look should suffice."]]
* Rapido is a Spanish and an Italian word meaning "rapid" or "fast".
* Like all of the toys carried over from the European line for ''Generation 2'', Rapido got entirely new artwork for his US release (shown at the top of this article). His original artwork was considerably less scary than that of his fellow Axelerators.
* Regarding him outranking "everybody"... that's a slight exaggeration, but not by much. In the 1993 US line, only Rapido and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] had a "10" Rank in their [[Tech Spec]]s; [http://www.tfu.info/1993/Autobot/OptimusPrime/optimusprime.htm the Optimus Prime toy released that year had a mere "9"]. [[Speedstream]] also had a 10, but as he was never released in the US, few fans knew about it back then and thus the [[Aquaspeeder]] leader got to miss out on the joke.
* Though Rapido was never released in Japan, he did gain a Japanese name via a [[BotCon Japan 1997]] [[exclusive]] poster, which featured bios for all of the new ''Generation 2'' characters released in the US who weren't part of the Japanese line: the Axelerators, the [[Skyscorcher]]s, [[Rotor Force]], four of the [[Go-Bot (G2)|Go-Bots]] and the [[Color Changer]]s.
* For BotCon 2010, his character was based somewhat on "[[wikipedia:The Most Interesting Man in the World|The Most Interesting Man in the World]]" from the Dos Equis beer commercials. His bio card from the convention was written entirely in Spanish, because this was an awesome thing to do. After the convention, [[Fun Publications]] put up [http://www.botcon.com/BotCon10/images10/RAPIDO10english.jpg an English version].

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Rapid Engine''' (ラピッドエンジン ''Rapiddo Enjin'')
*''Italian:'' '''Sirius'''

[[Category:Block Town]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 2 Autobots]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]

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Rapido