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Sunstreaker (G1)

2012-08-21T21:21:05Z

166.250.65.10: /* The Transformers cartoon */

{{factions|autobot|unicron}}
{{disambig3|Sunstreaker}}
:''Sunstreaker is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:Autobots secret weapon sunstreaker wax.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Hi. I'm better than you.]]
'''Sunstreaker''' knows to the core of his [[spark]] that he is better than any other Autobot, and he makes sure everyone else knows it, too. His sociopathic tendencies, combined with his incredible vanity and arrogance, usually result in tension between himself and the other Autobots. He is generally unwilling to help those who are having trouble keeping up, and is quite audible when it comes to complaining about the shortcomings of everyone else. The only Autobot he truly gets along with is his twin [[Relatives|brother]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], and even that can seem strained at times.

The main reason [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] keeps him around is most likely Sunstreaker's effectiveness in the battlefield. Ruthless and skilled in all forms of combat, there is not much Sunstreaker cannot handle. As a front-line warrior, Sunstreaker is a great asset for the [[Autobot]] army. If a rather scary one.

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{Noteukonly}}
[[Image:SunstreakerBlastsSkywarp.jpg|left|200px|thumb|When Sunstreaker "puts his shoulder into it"... people get slagged.]]
''Prior to the outbreak of Cybertron's planet-wide civil war, Sunstreaker was a gladiator in the games held between the city-states. He was once brutally beaten by Megatron in combat, and would have been killed if Optimus Prime had not stepped in.'' {{storylink|State Games}}

''Early into the Autobot-Decepticon war, Sunstreaker was a member of the [[Magnificent Six]]. While they were on a mission to the Stanix region of Cybertron, he made a remarkably [[Yuss|callous joke]] that convinced their allies to turn them over to the Decepticons. The entire unit was tortured for a week, and [[Stampede]] was killed. Nice.'' {{storylink|The Magnificent Six!}}

Sunstreaker was among the crew of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] that crashed on [[Earth]] four million years ago and woke up in [[1984]]. ''In the first few days on Earth, Sunstreaker abandoned [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and diverted an attack by [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] towards a human military camp so as to keep himself from harm.'' {{storylink|...Perchance to Dream}} He engaged the Decepticons in battle at the Witwicky garage alongside his brother, Sideswipe, but ultimately failed to keep them from kidnapping [[Sparkplug Witwicky]]. {{storylink|Power Play!}} Sunstreaker was relatively low on fuel after this, and so gave up his remaining power in the transference chambers to power up Prime, [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] for combat against the Decepticons.... but then joined them for the battle anyway. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

[[Image:SunstreakerScrapped.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Poor Sunstreaker was too sociopathic for even the comic.]]
When [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] took control over the Decepticons and possession of the Ark, he destroyed Sunstreaker's body as a demonstration and warning to the deposed [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. {{storylink|The New Order}} Because of this, Sunstreaker's body was in disrepair for a very long time; at one point, when [[G.B. Blackrock]] asked about him in the med bay, Jazz told him that [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] wasn't even sure if Sunstreaker would ever be operational again. {{storylink|The Next Best Thing to Being There!}}

However, Sunstreaker was fully repaired in time to view the duel between [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]]. {{storylink|Totaled!}} He was badly damaged again, and he wound up in stasis aboard the Ark again, to be revived by [[Nucleon]] in 1990, when he and the other newly revived Autobots joined the attack on [[Unicron]]. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} Surprisingly, he survived ''that'' battle as he was able to attend the first meeting of the shaky Autobot-Decepticon alliance. {{storylink|Exodus!}}

=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[Image:Sunstreakerg1uk.jpg|left|180px|thumb|I'm YELLOW, dammit!]]
''An injured Sunstreaker, along with several other Autobots, was awakened not by Nucleon, but by [[Galvatron II|Galvatron]]'s [[mind bug]]. Galvatron had studied their dreams in the aim of finding dissenting members of the Autobots that he hoped to put into his own employ, but after a short skirmish, Galvatron's device was placed on himself. Amusingly enough, Sunstreaker had been off-line so much while on Earth, he needed the others to explain who Galvatron was to him.'' {{storylink|...Perchance to Dream}}

''Sunstreaker and the others would go on to join the Earthforce unit, under [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]]'s command.'' {{storylink|Break-Away!}} ''After [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] foolishly broadcast [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]'s location over an open channel, [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and Sunstreaker had to race to beat the Decepticons to the site. Prowl had just disabled an [[Global warming satellite|atmosphere-destroying bomb]] of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s before it reached apex, but the poison on board was still a viable threat. They didn't beat the Decepticons to the landing site, but before they could jump into the fray, Prowl pulled Jazz and Sunstreaker aside. He had already cleared out the poison, so the two Decepticon factions were fighting over nothing!'' {{storylink|Life in the Slow Lane}} ''Later, Sunstreaker helped Jazz, [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ruin the Decepticon [[Enclave]] and any chance of peace between Megatron and Shockwave.'' {{storylink|The Bad Guy's Ball!}}

''When [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] kidnapped the Autobots' ally, [[Irwin Spoon (G1)|Irwin Spoon]], Sunstreaker joined the other Autobot cars for an impromptu chase scene. He negotiated his way through the various [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]] attacks and delaying tactics, but finally hit the wall (literally) when Motormaster detached his cab segment and left his trailer jackknifed across the highway. 'Streaker hit it head-on, and wound up with a legitimate complaint about his bodywork.'' {{storylink|End of the Road! (UK)|End of the Road!}}

''Much later, Sunstreaker was sent on a new mission to the Stanix region of Cybertron with [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. While there, he overcame the ghosts of the past and helped defeat the mad Decepticon [[Megadeath (G1)|Megadeath]]. Of course, he was the only member of the team that didn't seem particularly haunted by those events in the first place, but the ''others'' overcame them, and wasn't that nice for them?'' {{storylink|The Magnificent Six!}}

=====Another Time & Place=====
Sunstreaker stormed the [[Hydrus Four]] facility with his fellow Autobots to rescue Grimlock and the Dinobots. He almost took a shot in the back from a Decepticon, but Optimus Prime took out his attacker. {{storylink|Another Time & Place}}

====''Classics''====
[[Image:Invasion-Radcontrolroom.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Sunstreaker's happy? This can't be marvelverse.]]

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe joined Optimus Prime's crew on Earth after Megatron resurfaced. They braved the Ark's defenses in order to break inside and recover their lost comrade, Ratchet. As an expression of his concern, Sunstreaker made no mention of the chips and tarnish of his paint job when they freed Ratchet, and together the twins carried their medic friend away to safety. {{storylink|At Fight's End}}

Subsequently, Sunstreaker was stationed with several other Autobots in [[Canada]] within the ''[[Ark II]]''. He was present one day when [[Rad]] reported from the [[Ironworks]] base in [[Oregon]] about a foiled attack by [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Gigatron]] and his Decepticons. Soon thereafter, due to the actions of an evil [[Ultra Magnus (SG)|Ultra Magnus]] from [[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|another dimension]], a rift of space time opened over Earth, causing catastrophes worldwide. Sunstreaker assisted his peers in evacuating a devastated city block. {{storylink|Invasion (issue)|Invasion}}
{{-}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Corey Burton]] (English), [[Kenyū Horiuchi]] (Japanese)|[[Guillermo Romano]] (Spanish, Season 1), [[Juan Carralero]] (Spanish, Season 2), [[Reinhard Brock]] (German, "The Autobot Run"), [[Michael Rüth]] (German, "Hoist Goes Hollywood"), [[Claus Brockmeyer]] (German, ''Generation 2'' "More than Meets the Eye, Part 2", "Dinobot Island, Part 1"), [[Tonio von der Meden]] (German, ''Generation 2'' "S.O.S. Dinobots"), [[Crock Krumbiegel]] (German, ''Generation 2'' "The Autobot Run", "The Core", "The Golden Lagoon"), [[Thomas Albus]] (German, ''Generation 2'' "Roll For It")}}

{{bigquote|I knew the humans would turn on us some day. They're such undependable creatures. Inferior lifeforms.|Sunstreaker on humans|"[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1]]"}}

[[Image:MoreThanMeetstheEye Part3 Sunstreaker veh.jpg|right|220px|thumb|The "Super Tuning" custom job is more impressive than you might think at first glance.]]
Sunstreaker was part of the original crew of Autobots aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] that crashed on [[Earth]] four million years ago. When reawakened in 1984, he and his brother Sideswipe were reformatted into Lamborghini sports cars. They were both deployed during the Autobot counter-attack on a human oil rig, but didn't really do very much. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}} After the Autobots' defeat at [[Sherman Dam]], Sunstreaker and Sideswipe came to the rescue of [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] and their new human allies, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] and his father [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] when they were attacked by [[Seeker (body-type)|Decepticon jets]]. One of the Decepticons managed to graze Sunstreaker and damage his new paint job, infuriating the vainer of the two Autobot brothers. After he forced the Decepticons to break off for repairs, Sunstreaker was still grousing about his scuffed paint, to which his brother suggested that nobody would notice if he just made left turns. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}} The Autobot brothers were among those that volunteered to attack and totally fail to stop the [[Victory (G1)|Decepticon space cruiser]]. Sunstreaker celebrated the apparent demise of the Decepticons when their ship crashed and cheered [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]]'s role in its sabotage. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

[[Image:RollForIt Sunstreaker Chip.jpg|left|250px|thumb|A more kid-friendly sociopath.]]
When [[Chip Chase]] was kidnapped by the Decepticons and brought to the recently conquered [[antimatter]] laboratory of [[Alcazar|Dr. Alcazar]], the Autobots successfully staged a rescue operation to get him back. Sunstreaker then led a second team of Autobots into the lab, declaring that they had to get the antimatter cubes before it was too late, smashing a Sunstreaker-shaped hole in the wall. Unfortunately, he and the other Autobots were damaged when Megatron threw an antimatter cube at them. After returning to the Ark, Sunstreaker was heard to complain about a 'very sensitive junction' in his elbow, but was soon repaired quickly enough to arm wrestle with Sideswipe. When the antimatter-fueled Decepticons attacked the Ark, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker took to the air to battle with the incoming Seeker jets, in a rambunctious — if ultimately ineffective — display of "[[jet judo]]." After the Decepticons were defeated, Sunstreaker congratulated Chip, declaring him a hero and gave him a ride on his shoulder. {{storylink|Roll for It}}

{{bigquote|Hey, not the ''face'', okay? I just had it chromed!|Sunstreaker|"[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]"}}

When the munitions factory was attacked by the Decepticon jets, Sunstreaker transformed to roll out with the Autobots in Autobot Headquarters, but never actually bothered showing up. Later, while watching [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] attempt to repair the severely damaged [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], Sunstreaker and the remaining Autobots were rallied into repulsing a Decepticon attack by Spike. Sunstreaker was shot by [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] before recovering, only to be buried in a landslide by [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]]. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}} Sunstreaker complained about Trailbreaker's force field deflecting [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] and [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]'s flame breaths into his face when the newly-constructed [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] went haywire. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

[[Image:SOSDinobots Sunstreaker nottheface.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Insert flaming joke.]]
Later, when responding to a Decepticon diversionary attack on [[India]]'s coast, Sunstreaker complained about the fact his newly installed water skis clashed with his base coat, but Optimus Prime told him to redecorate himself later, as they had Decepticons to worry about. When [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and the Decepticons escaped without taking any energy, Sunstreaker realized they had been set up. Soon after, the Autobots attacked the Decepticon undersea headquarters to rescue the captive Sparkplug, during which Sunstreaker was concerned that the salt water would damage his body enamel. After returning to base for repairs, Sunstreaker fidgeted as Ratchet attempted to repair him, worried that the medic would scorch his selenium shin guards. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} When [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was brought into Earth's orbit as part of Megatron's latest scheme, Sunstreaker retreated with the other Autobots due to audio disruptor waves generated by [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}}

Sunstreaker was part of an Autobot unit sent to investigate reports of [[Insecticon (G1)|giant insect monsters]] attacking [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]]. When the road to the coordinates of the attack was blocked by a local village celebration, Sunstreaker questioned his brother's knowledge of the local area, a criticism warranted when Sideswipe led them into a dead end canyon. Sunstreaker continued to criticize Sideswipe's sense of direction as Sideswipe very slowly tunneled underneath the villagers. As the Autobots made their way to a nearby [[oil]] refinery under attack from the Decepticons, [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] used his override waves on both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, taking control of their driving mechanisms and forcing them to drive headfirst into the other Autobots. Sunstreaker implored the other Autobots to shoot our their tires, but fortunately, Trailbreaker was able to interrupt the override waves. During the ensuing battle at the oil refinery, Sunstreaker was more concerned about his enamel being damaged by Wheeljack during a counterattack than enemy fire. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}}

[[Image:ChangingGears jungleclearing.jpg|left|230px|thumb|Hey, Jazz, let's get rid of ALL the trees, so we can build a highway.]]
After Spike was critically injured in a battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, his consciousness was transferred into the body of [[Autobot X]]. However, this process proved too stressful for his mind to take, and so he lashed out in blind anger. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe attempted to restrain him, only to be tossed aside by "Autobot Spike's" enormous strength. {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} During a Decepticon attack on a mining camp as part of an plot to capture [[Gears (G1)|Gears]], Sunstreaker was among the Autobots who rolled out to confront them. He was hit by a boulder "energized" by Megatron (instead of just being shot, or something a logical enemy would do). When it was discovered Megatron was tapping into the [[Sun]] with his [[Solar Needle]], the Autobots ''drove'' to the "geographical center of Africa", only to be hindered by the dense jungle, which Optimus Prime ordered Jazz and Sunstreaker to blast their way through. Jerks. {{storylink|Changing Gears}} Sunstreaker got to use his jet skis again when the Autobots were sent to investigate the disappearance of the Empire State Building in [[New York City]]. Sadly, the skis still clashed with his base coat. He was rather pessimistic about their chances against the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons']] remote-controlled taxi cabs. Wimp. {{storylink|City of Steel}}

{{bigquote|When they built me, they broke the mold!|Sunstreaker on how fantastic he is, not on how his toy will never be reissued|"[[The Autobot Run]]"}}

In the aftermath of Ironhide firing randomly at a hologram of [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] during a demonstration of Wheeljack's latest invention, the [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]], Sunstreaker had to help Bluestreak vacuum up the rubble. {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} When the Autobots agreed to a charity race/stunt show, Sunstreaker was sure that a large audience would appreciate his performance. During the race, Sunstreaker arrogantly shoved his way past the slower Autobots, but despite all of his bluster, he was slower than Jazz and Mirage. He didn't seem to mind too much, as he was the star of a car jump stunt over the other Autobots...until he failed to finish that, as well. However, during the race, the Autobots had unwittingly been locked into their [[Alternate mode|alternate modes]], which freaked out Sunstreaker, as he couldn't transform back into his handsome robot form. After Chip Chase and the unaffected Autobots reversed the effects via a special ''grenade'', Sunstreaker was the first to regain the ability to transform and was very pleased to see his true beauty. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}} When the Decepticons allied themselves with the underwater kingdom of [[Sub-Atlantica]], Sunstreaker was present during the battle in [[Washington, D.C.]] and on the sub-sea city itself, but didn't actually do anything. Jerk. {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

[[Image:TheCore Sunstreaker planting dominator disc.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"Hey! Lookit that, I found my old missing jack!"]]
Sunstreaker was present when the Autobots were confronted with the dilemma of two Optimus Primes. Though he didn't put forward any helpful suggestions, he observed the inconclusive results of the tests that the Autobots ran on the two Primes and later rolled out to investigate energy readings coming from a crevasse filled with [[korlonium crystal]]s. {{storylink|A Prime Problem}} Sunstreaker got his chance to command a team of Autobots investigating a missing river, when they stumbled on a Decepticon operation to drill into the Earth. Unfortunately, they were spotted and attacked by [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], though they were able to defeat the giant through teamwork. Sunstreaker was part of a subsequent mission to plant [[dominator disc]]s on the Constructicons, and he managed to attach one to [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] by hiding in a hole. During the next battle, the Autobots were able to use the discs to take control of Devastator. They used the giant to attack the Decepticon drilling operation in the caves, and during this fight, Sunstreaker had to rescue Chip Chase when the boy was caught in a cave-in. Megatron eventually regained control of Devastator, and the combiner turned on Sunstreaker and Ironhide. {{storylink|The Core}}

[[Image:DinobotIsland2 Sunstreaker carrying mammoth.jpg|thumb|left|220px]]
When the Dinobots again ran wild at Autobot Headquarters, Sunstreaker was on hand, and at least this time didn't get his paint job scorched. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} He and Sideswipe were part of the response team when a time warp opened near the city library, and they had to cope with barbarians on woolly [[mammoth]]s. Though the unwashed primitives almost damaged his finish, they were soon contained, and he used his gun to hold the warp open long enough to return the barbarians to their own time. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}} Sunstreaker took part in the [[Autobot Day]] parade in [[Central City (Earth)|Central City]], reflecting that he never knew that humans had "such exquisite taste". Unfortunately, things soon turned sour, as a video was played incriminating the Autobots in energy theft, and the humans turned against their former allies. Sunstreaker commented that he always knew that humans would turn on the Autobots and declared them an inferior lifeform...right as Chip, Spike, and Sparkplug Witwicky were in the control room. They probably shouldn't have been too insulted, as Sunstreaker considers everyone else an inferior lifeform.

[[Image:MMP1 Sunstreaker rails.jpg|thumb|240px|right|]]
The Autobots were put on trial and, to their dismay, found guilty and ordered to leave the planet on a spaceship supplied by [[Shawn Berger]]. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} The ship was locked on a course into the Sun by Megatron, leaving the Autobots in dire peril. Utilizing Trailbreaker's force fields and [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]], not to mention some unwitting help from [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]], they were able to escape before the heat crazed Sunstreaker's body work, and they returned to Earth to depose the Decepticons from their position of power. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}} Like the rest of the Autobots, Sunstreaker suffered from [[Cybertonium]] depletion, preventing him from functioning until Spike, [[Carly]] and the Dinobots were able to obtain some more. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2}}

Sunstreaker transformed to roll out and investigate the Decepticon theft of the [[Voltronic Galaxer]], but disappeared at some point before the response team reached the observatory. He later rolled out again to help humans who were experiencing difficulty as a result of Megatron jamming the world's radio signals. {{storylink|Blaster Blues}} When the first group of Autobots to face the [[electrum]]-coated Decepticons reported failure, Sunstreaker told them to let a pro handle it. Unfortunately, his weapon proved just as ineffective, and it wasn't until the Autobots found the golden lagoon and coated themselves in electrum that the Decepticons were overcome. {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}}

[[Image:HoistGoesHollywood Sunstreaker Tracks masks.jpg|thumb|230px|left|Yet to be realised as a toy.]]
Sunstreaker was one of several Autobots who glommed onto [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]]'s job as a Hollywood extra in the hopes of becoming a movie star. After he, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] and [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] crashed the filming, the [[Attack of the Alien Robots director|director]] employed them all as stunt vehicles, which involved Sunstreaker doing some literal crashing—into a burning building. The movie was soon reworked into ''[[Attack of the Alien Robots]]'', leading to Sunstreaker having to wear a ridiculous [[alien]] mask and spout out stilted, wooden dialog—and goose-step, for some reason. During one of the shoots, an out-of-control explosion almost wiped out the four Autobots, and they discovered that the Decepticons were working behind the scenes to cover up an operation. After everything was resolved, Sunstreaker and the others decided to stay out of the movie business. {{storylink|Hoist Goes Hollywood}}

[[Image:TFTM Sunstreaker hereandthere.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Honestly, we're surprised Ichikawa didn't try to explain this one in the Binaltech storyline.]]
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe took part in the [[Europa 2000]] in order to keep an eye on [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]]'s high-tech automobile. After Sideswipe forced the pair to take a detour in [[Italy]], they were ambushed by the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]]s, who boxed them in so that [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] could shoot them. {{storylink|Trans-Europe Express}} They and most of the rest of the Autobots rolled out to rescue [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] from a Decepticon trap and were subsequently infected by [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]]. Luckily, Perceptor was able to work out a way to create more [[corrostop]] and cure them all. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}} After the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]]s used the space bridge to move Earth towards the Sun, Sunstreaker was part of a combined Autobot/Decepticon team who traveled to Cybertron to prevent Earth's destruction. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

Before the [[Battle of Autobot City|Decepticon attack]] on [[Autobot City]] in the year 2005, Sunstreaker was helping [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] move a roadblock. He was knocked over when [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]] drove through it.

Meanwhile, he was '''also''' on Moon Base One and helped pilot the shuttle that flew Optimus Prime and the Dinobots to Autobot City.

Seriously. He's ''THAT'' good. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}
{{-}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
=====Full Throttle Scramble Power!=====
Following the destruction of the Decepticons' [[Omega Whip]] weapon, Sunstreaker and several other Autobot cars raced after Megatron and his troops to keep them from escaping. They caught up with the Decepticons and kept them busy until Autobot reinforcements could arrive. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}

=====''The Battle of the Star Gate''=====
When the Decepticons made their second play for control of the human-built [[Trigger]] interstellar teleportation system in the late 1990s, Sunstreaker was among the Autobot forces who stood against them. [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] subsequently took control of the Trigger, forcing Megatron and Optimus Prime to combine their power to destroy the Trigger. Sunstreaker and all the other Transformers were caught backwash from the incredible cosmic explosion and plummeted back to Earth, not to be heard from again for several months. {{storylink|The Battle of the Star Gate}}

=====''Story of Binaltech''=====
In [[2003]], Sunstreaker was one of numerous Autobots who were rendered helpless when they were infected with [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] by the Decepticon, [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]]. Working with the [[Earth Defense Command]] and several Earth automotive companies, the Autobots developed "Binaltech" technology, creating new bodies into which their [[spark]]s were place so they could carry on the fight. It was intended for Sunstreaker to gain a new Dodge Viper body like his brother Sideswipe, but the Decepticons infiltrated the operation and hijacked the body for use by the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]] [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] instead. {{storylink|Arise! Evil Binaltechs}}

As the Binaltech conflict raged on, the timeline was eventually altered by [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]].

{{Note|At this point, the original timeline was retroactively restored and the events of the ''Story of Binaltech'' diverged into a parallel universe. Skip to the next section below to continue reading about the original timeline; exactly how many (if any) of the events related in this section, even prior to the divergence, occurred in the original unaltered timeline are unknown.}}

In this alternate timeline, Sunstreaker was present at the [[Earth Defense Command]] Antarctic base, shortly after the appearance of the [[Optimus Primal|Protector]]. {{storylink|Binal Time}}

=====''Asterisk Story''=====
[[Image:SunstreakerBTA.jpg|right|120px|thumb|Dig me!]]

Sunstreaker was a member of the Autobot Race Team, which may or may not have had any other [[Transformer]]s on it. He was sort of a mascot for them, and the team didn't actually use him in races. He resented that people paid more attention to him as a promotional image than as a race car.

After being drafted into the [[Interplanetary Personnel Exchange Program]] by Officer [[Clamp Down]], Sunstreaker was partnered with the human "race queen" model [[Junko Shiragami]] and acted as her car. Once, Sunstreaker got into a race with a human-driven sports car, much to Junko's dismay. He used his transformation ability to take a particularly sharp curve, destroying a road sign in the process, for which Junko chewed him out. {{storylink|I'll Show You Some Great Scenery}}

It was said that Sunstreaker drove faster when he smelled Junko's marigold-scented hair. Make of that what you will.
{{-}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====
[[Image:JHeadmasters01RedAlertEtc.jpg|thumb|200px]]
Some time before the Transformers' war left Cybertron, Sunstreaker engaged the Decepticons with his comrades. Later, on Earth, Sunstreaker was present for a suspiciously similar battle with the Decepticons that resulted in the death of Optimus Prime. In 2011, [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] recalled the Cybertronian skirmish that Sunstreaker took part in—or another one very much like it. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}}

[[Image:FourWarriors SunstreakerBlitzwing.jpg|200px|thumb|A five-second cameo, and all I do is avoid Blitzwing? Slag it!!]]
{{note|Sunstreaker appears in two Cybertronian flashback battles within the episode, alongside the same team of Autobots, suggesting that they represent the same fight. He also appears in one further flashback battle on Earth, which depicts Optimus Prime's death in a scene that doesn't match up to his ''actual'' death in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. This was a continuity patch-job by the ''Headmasters'' production staff, as the movie hadn't been released in Japan yet. }}

When the Decepticons launched a major attack on Cybertron in 2011, Sunstreaker appeared briefly in vehicle mode evading jet-mode [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]]'s attacks. Sunstreaker escaped into a tunnel, and Blitzwing bounced off its exterior and crashed. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}}
{{-}}

===The Battle for Planet Earth===
{{voiceactor|[[Peter Marinker]] (English)}}
Sunstreaker was among the Autobots who traveled to [[South America]] in search of energy, and fought the Decepticons on [[Mount Sheelah]]. {{storylink|Terror of Mount Sheelah}} Resting after a day of hard work repairing the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], Sunstreaker and the other Autobots watched [[television]]. On learning that the Decepticons were kidnapping humans, Sunstreaker agreed that [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] was best suited to go investigate the Decepticon base. {{storylink|Bumblebee to the Rescue (G1)|Bumblebee to the Rescue}} He was also among the Autobots who thwarted the Decepticon invasion of [[Stanley Lake]] dam. {{storylink|Menace at the Dam}} When [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] announced he wanted to defect to the Autobots, Sunstreaker thought the Air Commander's experience might be of use to them. As it turned out, Starscream was a spy, and the Autobots used him to send the Decepticons on a wild goose chase, during which Sunstreaker and the rest of the Autobots destroyed the Decepticon base. {{storylink|Espionage!!!!!}}

===3H comics===
[[Image:Sunstreaker.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"I'm exclusive!"]]
After the [[Pax Cybertronia]], Sunstreaker left Cybertron with four other survivors of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] ([[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Roulette (Universe)|Roulette]], [[Shadow Striker (Universe)|Shadow Striker]], and [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]). One year after Cybertron was reformatted into a technorganic planet, they returned. They were greeted by many of the [[Maximal]] and [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] inhabitants and with vast media coverage.

However, what appeared to be celebratory fireworks struck the five Autobots and also the Maximals [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. They were transported to a fiery cauldron deep within [[Unicron]], where all but Trailbreaker were rebuilt painfully into new bodies.

Seeing an arena up ahead, the seven moved towards it, only to be attacked by a swarm of shape-shifting, lava-like creatures. Sunstreaker and the others were overwhelmed and taken into the arena (or, the [[Cauldron]]), where they were caged along with a multitude of Transformers kidnapped from across the multiverse. {{storylink|Abduction|Abduction}}

The Unicron-influenced ambience of the place was slowly driving the more violent of the group mad. This, of course, included Sunstreaker. He and Sideswipe were forced into combat in the arena (each wielding spiffy [[energon]] weapons), but were rescued by a reborn [[Optimus Primal]]. The group, sans a corrupted Blackarachnia and Shadow Striker, fled back to Cybertron. {{storylink|Escape (Universe)|Escape}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
{{notekeepers}}
{{quote|"Why, you arrogant—yow! I should rewire that smug mug of yours right here—blaw!—right now!" 
"Don't kid yourself—this face is worth more than ''you'' are."|[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] and Sunstreaker|"[[Infestation (Dreamwave)|Infestation]]"|noquote=true}}

[[Image:DWPrimeDirective2 SunstreakerSideswipe.jpg|left|300px|thumb|A family that pelvic thrusts together, stays together.]]
Before joining the Autobot army, Sunstreaker was a successful mural artist. {{storylink|Transformers: The Ultimate Guide}} He was aboard the Ark when it crashed on Earth millions of years ago. He and the other Autobots awoke in 1984 to restart their war with the Decepticons. He was part of [[Operation Liberation]] in 1998, a joint human-Autobot effort to defeat the Earth-bound Decepticons. At the end it was a success, and the captured Decepticons, along with the Autobots and a human crew, departed Earth en route to Cybertron in the ''[[Ark II]]''. The ship, however, was sabotaged and exploded upon liftoff.

A few years later Megatron and other Transformers, including Autobots, were seen causing havoc. It was discovered that [[Lazarus]], a scientist who participated in the ''Ark II'' project, was responsible for the sabotage of the ''Ark II'' and the resurrection of several Transformers under his control via technological tampering. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 1}}

[[Robert Hallo|General Hallo]] of the [[United States military|U.S. Military]] contacted [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] to ask him if he could do something to help them reactivate Optimus Prime, whom they had recovered locked in a state of stasis. Spike managed to reactivate Optimus with a portion of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] that Optimus had given him prior the ill-fated journey of the ''Ark II''. Optimus subsequently went to the Arctic and used the Matrix to reactivate several Transformers, including Sunstreaker and his brother Sideswipe. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2}}

Sunstreaker accepted the new task at hand and fought alongside his brother when the Autobots faced the Decepticons at Lazarus' ruined base, before Hallo betrayed the Autobots by attempting to destroy both factions with a nuclear weapon. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 3}} The Autobots survived when Megatron's technovirus absorbed the blast, and Sunstreaker helped his comrades recover the captive Autobots imprisoned inside the base. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 4}}

[[Image:DWPrimeDirective5 SideswipeSunstreaker Devastator.jpg|right|250px|thumb|DULL HEROIC RUNNING!]]
As Jazz's unit worked on Megatron's virus, Sunstreaker followed Optimus Prime to [[San Francisco]] for the last battle against Megatron and his Decepticons. When [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] was taken down, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe heroically (though foolishly) charged at [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] rather than, say, shoot him; they were surprisingly beaten up. After Optimus Prime destroyed Devastator's head, Sunstreaker was restrained by the surviving Decepticons. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 5}} However, through human intervention, Optimus Prime freed his Autobots and the battle was rejoined. Sunstreaker tag-teamed with his brother to pummel Soundwave, though the Decepticons eventually escaped when Superion sacrificed his life to save the city from General Hallo's unauthorized nuclear missile launch. After Optimus Prime came back online, Sunstreaker and [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] discovered the traitorous [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] buried under rubble. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 6}}

''During the conflict with the [[Keeper (species)|Keepers]], Sunstreaker was one of the Autobots chosen by Optimus Prime to join the strike on occupied Las Vegas. Sunstreaker was edgy about having to work with Megatron and the Decepticons, and was ready to draw his rifle at a moment's notice during the groups' meeting. Still, he remained sensitive enough to [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]]'s feelings to comfort his human friend when he was feeling useless, letting Spike know he always did his very best. (WHAT?!) In Las Vegas, Sunstreaker and the other Autobots lent their energies to Optimus Prime for his [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]-inspired Finishing Move against the Keepers. {{storylink|Annihilation}} Later, Sunstreaker and the Autobots battled alongside the Decepticons again, against the treacherous forces of the American military. Sunstreaker and several other Autobots fell before the processor-eating power of the President's new toy, the [[Deconstructionite|deconstructionites]].'' {{storylink|Fusion (novel)|Fusion}}

When [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] arrived on Earth to enforce [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s edict that the Earth-bound Autobots surrender themselves to the Cybertronian alliance, Optimus Prime ordered a portion of his troops into hiding in [[Portland]], [[Oregon]]. This group, led by [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], included Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]. {{storylink|Brothers' Burden}} However, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], and his cassettes soon escaped to Earth with [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]]. Attacking the Ark, they defeated all of Jazz's group minus Ratchet and Brawn. Sunstreaker and the others were left in a swamp, deactivated. {{storylink|Night of the Combaticons}}

[[Image:DW Extermination Sunstreaker kills Kickback.jpg|left|400px|thumb|I'm not only better than you, I'm also gay.]]
[[Orion|A ship]] crewed by [[Mini Vehicle|Minibots]] (led by [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]) arrived on Earth with supplies, and [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] and [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] pulled the deactivated from their would-be swampy grave. They were promptly arrested by Commander [[Marissa Faireborn]] of the [[Earth Defense Command]] and her armored troops. The damaged Autobots were repaired, and Commander Faireborn came to Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Jazz with a mission. The American city of [[San Desto]] was under attack by [[Insecticon (G1)|Cybertronian creatures]]. {{storylink|Infestation (Dreamwave)|Infestation}} Sunstreaker spent the entire mission either putting down [[EDC Night Force Unit|the humans]], Bumper or, when he wasn't around, Sideswipe. He didn't think any of them would make it out alive, but nevertheless tore through the Insecticon clones like they were paper! After they were captured by the real Insecticons, Sunstreaker was not too happy to be rescued by Bumper. When Bombshell activated the [[Cerebro-shell|cerebro-shelled]] human population of San Desto to attack the Autobots, Sunstreaker was also all-too-ready to kill the lot of them, until Bumper saved them all again. {{storylink|Extermination}} The ''Orion'' picked up Sunstreaker and the other Autobots from the EDC's Nevada base shortly after saving San Desto. {{storylink|Lost and Found (issue)|Lost and Found}}

{{note|In August 2006, [[Matt Moylan]] [http://tinyurl.com/2ugos3 revealed] that Sunstreaker was gay in Dreamwave continuity. This was never dealt with head-on (or meant to be) but it provided a basis for his characterization.}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
Sunstreaker was among the Transformers found and reprogrammed by the human terrorist organization [[Cobra]], and along with Sideswipe and [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], he was reformatted into a Cobra [[Stinger (Cobra)|Stinger]]. He, his brother and [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] were sent to attack the [[SPS Research Facility]], but the two siblings were rammed by [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] while charging at the main entrance, and Cobra eventually retreated. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 3}} When Wheeljack freed the Autobots from Cobra's control, Sunstreaker helped Sideswipe and [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] fight against the similarly freed Decepticons [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 5}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
{{quote|"Sunstreaker—''speed limit''." 
"Oh, ''c'mon''! Bad enough I gotta share my ''upholstery'' with a species that sheds skin on a regular basis, but now I gotta super-size the experience?"|Ironhide and Sunstreaker|[[Escalation issue 1|''Escalation'' #1]]|noquote=true}}

[[Image:MegsOrigin3 Sunstreaker neverlose.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Sunstreaker shows off his humbler side.]]
Long ago, before the [[Great War (G1)|war]], Sunstreaker was a patron of illegal underground death matches in the [[Forge]], where he cheered on Megatron in his first victory there. He returned several times more, including to watch Megatron's 54th battle in the arena, this time apparently alongside Sideswipe. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}}

When Megatron, rising in power and influence, put on a recruitment call to all-comers, Sunstreaker happily answered his call. Sideswipe tried to talk him out of joining the fights, to no avail. Sunstreaker apparently thought the call was for participation in the illegal gladiatorial games, but it was actually the first recruitment call for the Decepticon army. How they took Megatron's announcement, the apparent murder of a Senator, and how they fared when Autobot security forces raided the meeting is unknown. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} Neither he, nor any of the other Autobots-to-be that were present at the "rally", were seen again in prison or upon the Decepticons' escape and ravaging of [[Kaon]]. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

[[Image:Drift1-Metalhawk.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Okay, maybe I lose sometimes"]]
At some point during the war that followed Megatron's Decepticon rebellion, Sunstreaker was one of many Autobots trained by [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Kup}} He himself was Sideswipe's P-3 Training Officer and strike partner, and spent the whole time looking down on him as a subpar rookie. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

Early in the war, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were present during the battle for [[Sherma Bridge]], where they witnessed the first duel between Optimus Prime and Megatron. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}

Sunstreaker would later lead a unit in a battle against [[Drift (G1)|Deadlock]] in which he was forced to order a retreat. {{storylink|Drift issue 1|Drift #1}}

[[Image:Infiltration6 Sunstreaker humansout.jpg|right|150px|thumb|What, does he keep them in a kennel or something?]]
In the modern era, Sunstreaker was a unit commander who helped drive the Decepticons from an unidentified planet. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay}} Immediately afterward, he was assigned to a detachment of Autobots that had operated covertly on [[Earth]] for at least four years, attempting to foil a Decepticon insurgency. Being stationed on Earth did little to alter Sunstreaker's arrogance, with him dismissing [[Verity Carlo|the]] [[Hunter O'Nion|three]] [[Jimmy Pink|humans]] which [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] saved as "noisy creatures". {{storylink|Infiltration issue 3|Infiltration #3}} Later, Sunstreaker and the other Autobots observed Megatron's brutal disciplining of the treacherous Starscream. Despite 'Streaker's high opinion of himself and his own skills, he was visibly relieved when Prowl decided to leave the Decepticons alone. After returning to the ''[[Ark-19]]'', he complained about the humans running around loose in their headquarters. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

[[Image:Escalation1 Sunstreaker videogame.jpg|left|200px|thumb|He doesn't rate the Battlechargers very highly, apparently.]]
To keep the noisy creatures occupied, he created a video game starring himself. Soon afterward, Sunstreaker, along with [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], were assigned the task of escorting the humans back to the big wild world, [[Tulsa]], [[Oklahoma]]. On a road in the vicinity of [[Lebanon]], [[Missouri]], Sunstreaker and company were ambushed by the [[Machination]]. He and Hunter became separated from Ironhide and were seemingly destroyed. {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}} However, it was soon revealed that it was not the case; the debris recovered by Optimus Prime was revealed by Ratchet to be an elaborate fake. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}}
Sunstreaker was painfully dismantled and treated barbarically by the employees. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay}} After re-awakening in a [[Machination]] stronghold, Hunter was horrified to find an unidentified being, possibly Cybertronian, had been creating a series of [[Sunstreaker clone|Sunstreaker clones]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

[[Image:Devastation3 Sunstreakerhead yuh.jpg|right|150px|thumb|You still better than us now, Sunstreaker?]]
Having been able to dupe the Machination into believing that he was catatonic, Hunter went exploring in their headquarters. Eventually, he discovered Sunstreaker's own decapitated head, which was still functioning. Tortured, Sunstreaker begged the human to kill him. Meanwhile, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] ran afoul of the Sunstreaker clones... piloted by [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] — humans who could transform into the robots' heads. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} It turned out all of the Headmasters were mentally connected to the original Sunstreaker and leeched knowledge from him, a process that was extremely painful. However, this had its disadvantage — Sunstreaker doesn't read Autobot memos so the Machination had less inside knowledge than they thought; Hot Rod and Wheeljack escaped by using a weapon that Sunstreaker didn't know about. Hunter, rather than kill the Autobot, asked for his help to become a Headmaster himself so he could pilot one of the Machination's spare clones. {{storylink|Devastation issue 3|Devastation #3}} After downloading the necessary information from Sunstreaker, Hunter headed to the body shop, where more clone bodies were being stored. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} Just as a freshly-restored [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], head of the Machination, broke through a wall to kill him, Hunter was able to transform into Sunstreaker's head and linked to the real Sunstreaker's mind. Speaking as Sunstreaker, Hunter attached himself to a clone body, but commented that everything felt slow (as a result of Machination scientists cutting all connections to the real Sunstreaker, with devastating effects for the Headmasters). Hunter transformed to vehicle mode, blasted a hole in the wall and escaped. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

[[Image:Sunstreaker Head-On.jpg|left|250px|thumb|I'd lose my head if it wasn't screwed on.]]
After that, the new Sunstreaker began raiding Machination front organizations across America, looking for his original head. He wanted Hunter out of his head and gone forever so he didn't have to talk to the human—not that he meant ''any'' offense by that, oh no. On one raid, he became aware that the Machination had plans involving the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] and sped off to Dallas to get involved {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} The Dynobots were actually sent to ''Fallon'' but Sunstreaker carried on to Dallas anyway, reasoning that getting his old head back would offline all the Headmasters—and that whatever the Dynobots were up to was merely collateral damage. (Nice chap...) {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2|Maximum Dinobots #2}} When they arrived in Dallas, seeing that the facility was far bigger than anything they had come across before, Hunter realized they needed a plan and forced Sunstreaker to sit it out while they watched and waited, citing that he was the more level-headed of the pair and that it was nice to just be Hunter O'Nion every now and then. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}} When the time came, Sunstreaker reconnected with Hunter and barged into the Machination, having a short talk with Hot Rod as he blasted two of his clones. He found his original head, but Scorponok was waiting and shot a hole through his chest. Hunter escaped and, reluctantly and remorsefully, deactivated Sunstreaker's original head. This succeeded in shutting down all of the clones, at the cost of doing the same to Sunstreaker. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots #4}}

[[Image:Sunstreaker recovers.jpg|right|100px|thumb|New unexplained altmode — just add water.]]
Hunter, however, stayed conscious and survived the rest of the battle. He accompanied Sunstreaker aboard the ''[[Ark-32]]'', where the comatose Autobot was put into a [[CR chamber]] for heavy repairs. Sunstreaker's original head was reattached, and his battered body was rebuilt into a [[#Universe (2008)|slightly different form]]. Ratchet claimed that "though physically separated, Sunstreaker's spark sustained him." Ratchet was able to minimize the mental link between Sunstreaker and Hunter, but he was afraid to try removing Hunter's implants, and the human was left feeling like half of himself was missing. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots #5}}

Eventually Ratchet did successfully sever their link, but the Headmaster experience had left deep wounds on Sunstreaker's psyche. He turned his back on Hunter and never wanted to speak of the incident again. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} His pain turned into a hatred for Earth and its inhabitants; he wanted nothing more than to leave the planet forever. Starscream took advantage of this, meeting in secret with Sunstreaker to strike a deal. Starscream wanted Sunstreaker's help to both kill Megatron and ensure the Autobots' departure from Earth. Starscream claimed that after taking control of the Decepticons, he would be satisfied to confine his own empire to the one planet, so really Sunstreaker would get what he wanted on both counts. Sunstreaker agreed "on one condition": That Starscream would use his dominion to kill every single human being. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}}

Starscream and Sunstreaker arranged false intelligence that led the Autobots into an ambush. But, whether due to Starscream's treachery or to a simple failure in the plan, only half of their goals were accomplished: The Autobots were beaten and exiled to Cybertron via the newly-created [[space bridge]], but Megatron survived the battle happily. Optimus Prime attacked and destroyed the space bridge as he went through it, but doing so left him in a critical state of shutdown. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

[[Image:Sunstreaker on bridge AHM8.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Sunstreaker in [[All Hail Megatron issue 10 #Errors|''A Bridge Too Few'']].]]
If Sunstreaker had been brooding and sullen already, this outcome only intensified his angst. The other Autobots knew that they must have been betrayed, but they had no idea by whom. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]], as the scout who had delivered the bad intelligence, was a natural suspect, and Ironhide became his chief accuser. Sunstreaker gravitated to Ironhide, encouraging the finger pointed away from himself. When Sideswipe confronted Sunstreaker about the dissension he was fostering in the ranks, Sunstreaker tried to get him to leave him alone. Sideswipe attempted sympathy, telling his brother that he could only imagine what the Headmaster experience had been like, but even that turned into an accusation for abandoning Hunter. Sunstreaker yelled back that that was in the past and was completely irrelevant, and everyone knew he never wanted to talk about it again. He stormed off, but doing so caught Ironhide's attention. When Sunstreaker told Ironhide that Sideswipe thought they were taking their accusations against Mirage too far, Ironhide decided they hadn't taken things far ''enough,'' so he promptly dragged Mirage into a corner and beat him half to death. Sunstreaker's only protest was that others might see. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

[[Image:Sunstreaker sacrifice_AHM.jpg|right|150px|thumb|At least he didn't have to suffer the indignity of [[Ironhide (G1)| being]] [[Perceptor (G1)|rescued]] [[Wrecker|by]] Drift.]]
But his guilt gnawed away at him until one day he found a chance for the redemption of martyrdom. The Autobots had decided to move to a different headquarters to defend themselves from the [[Insecticon swarm]]. The new base's strength was its inaccessibility: It could only be accessed by a single bridge, and the Autobots had planted explosives on it to take it down after everyone had made it across. The Autobots did outrun the swarm, but in the process [[Perceptor (G1)|their sharpshooter]] was incapacitated, and the bombs needed to be detonated via weapons-fire. While the others debated who would be capable of the task, Sunstreaker slipped away onto the bridge to do it himself. Ironhide went out after him and tried to talk him back, but Sunstreaker spilled his guts about the entire betrayal. Ironhide was dumbfounded, and just as Sunstreaker began to apologize, the swarm attacked. [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] raced in and pulled Ironhide out of the crush, and as they sped away, Sunstreaker fired at the bomb. The bridge was destroyed in a massive fireball, and Sunstreaker appearently went with it. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}}

Later, Bombshell taunted Sideswipe in battle, claiming to have toyed with Sunstreaker's mind and played with his fears using information gleaned from dissecting Hunter. After the battle, Sideswipe found Hunter's tortured form strung up in Bombshell's lab, horrifically intertwined with all sorts of machinery. Sideswipe turned the life-support system off, letting Hunter — and any potential surviving piece of Sunstreaker — expire. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

However, Sunstreaker had survived, and the events of the past few years (though badly skewed to a certain perspective) seemed to be repeating in his badly damaged head, amongst the bodies of the swarm. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay}}

[[Image:Ironingoutthedetails_AAAH.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Ironhide and Sunstreaker come to the realization that it'll take them [[Mike Costa|months]] to get out of this plotline.]]
Over the next three years, Sunstreaker lay where he fell, his brain stuck in a recursive loop of the horrors the Machination inflicted upon him and his regret over betraying his friends. The mysterious [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] had long known of Sunstreaker's survival, but didn't attempt to rescue him, as the Autobot was not part of his plans for Cybertron's rebirth. This changed when the resurrected Ironhide went down to the ravine to rescue his fallen comrade. Sunstreaker attempted to apologise for what he did and admitted his cowardice for not speaking up when Ironhide falsely accused [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] of betraying the Autobots. However, as Ironhide had no memory of the past four million years, he didn't know what Sunstreaker was talking about. Safely inside Alpha Trion's [[Metroplex (G1)|base]], Sunstreaker freaked out when he saw the legendary Autobot, fearing that his Judgement had finally come for betraying the Autobots and selling out humanity. Trion mercifully used his powers to take Sunstreaker temporarily offline when he begged for his "dreams" to stop. {{storylink|Ironing Out the Details}}

Alpha Trion was able to bring Sunstreaker's sanity back and repair most of his body except for his legs, temporarily leaving him in a hoverchair. Interested in his "unique experiences" with the humans, Trion intended to take Sunstreaker with him on his journey, but he refused. Dead set on trying to make up for his past crimes, Sunstreaker instead chose to stay on Cybertron with Ironhide to help eliminate the swarm. Alpha Trion accepted this and left the two Autobots on the abandoned planet, where Sunstreaker would have a lot of time to fill Ironhide in on what happened in the past few million years. {{storylink|Any Old Iron}}

Sunstreaker and Ironhide eventually met up with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]], [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], and [[Garnak]] with their [[Bob (IDW)|pet]] in tow. Sunstreaker explained Ironhide's memory loss to Rodimus and escaped with him to Earth to warn the Autobots of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] and his legion poised to take Cybertron. {{storylink|Space Opera Act 2: Out of the Silent Planet}}

On Earth, Sunstreaker made up with Mirage and the others before returning to Cybertron on [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme's]] rocket form. Of course, Bob accompanied him. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix}} He was among the Autobots who tried to listen in on Optimus Prime's questioning of a captive Megatron. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}} His legs were later restored by Ratchet, partly thanks to the power of the [[Matrix of Leadership]] which the medic had been temporarily entrusted with. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}

On the flight to Cybertron, he attempted to make small talk with his fellow Autobots and chat with them about his encounter with Alpha Trion, but the other Autobots ignored him, apparently still distrusting and disliking him for his betrayal. Bob still loved him though, and purred happily while Sunstreaker petted him. {{storylink|Chaos Part One: Lamentations}} As the Autobots landed on Cybertron and prepared to fight Galvatron's army, Sunstreaker was in charge of setting up a base of operations. He watched Garnak repair [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] and noticed too late that Megatron was escaping. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers}}

When he heard that Megatron had summoned [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] to his side, Sunstreaker took all the explosives he could find and strapped them to his hoverchair. Pretending to be crippled, he confronted Devastator, who also had a [[Scrapper (G1)|bad leg]]. When the giant tried to stomp on him, Sunstreaker transformed and drove away, causing the chair to explode and cripple Devastator's other leg as well. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings}}

After Galvatron was defeated, Sunstreaker joined Rodimus and 200 other Autobots as they left Cybertron on the ''[[Lost Light]]'' to find the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} He enjoyed a drink at [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]'s [[Swerve's bar|new bar]] with Bob at his feet. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}} Sunstreaker was in the vicinity when a deranged [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] gunned [[Boss (G1)|Boss]] down. {{storylink|Interiors}}

====Hail and Farewell====
{{Note|Due to the abrupt cancellation of several related stories and the emergence of ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'', the following events cannot occur in the mainstream timeline, if they are [[canon]] at all.}}

Two years after meeting the Autobots and becoming a Headmaster, Hunter went back to his house with Sunstreaker. As Hunter gathered a few effects, he reminisced on how much had changed and how much had happened. He had been to other planets, even another dimension. He'd fought Scorponok, allied with the Dinobots, and faced a planetary Decepticon invasion. And now he wasn't just Hunter; he had become one with Sunstreaker in both mind and body. As he converted back to Sunstreaker's head, he mused that it was true what they said about never being able to go home again. {{storylink|Hail and Farewell}}

===''Henkei! Henkei!'' pack-in comic===
{{charstubfiction}}
{{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 5|Henkei! Henkei! #5}}

==Games==
===''Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons''===
When Optimus embarked on his mission to rescue the Autobots' [[Mini Vehicle|Minicar]] troops from the Decepticons, Sunstreaker could come to Optimus Prime's aid, helping him navigate more quickly through the Decepticons' maze-like base. {{storylink|Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons}}

===''Transformers G1: Awakening''===
{{storylink|Transformers G1: Awakening}}
{{charstubfiction}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1-toy Sunstreaker.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Yellow, I love me, let me jump in your game.]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Autobot, 1984/1985/1986)
**''Accessories'': Left & right fists, 2 "rocket boosters", 3 rockets

: Sunstreaker was released as part of the first year of the Transformers line in the US. He transforms into a "Super Tuning" customized Lamborghini Countach LP500S with an exposed rear-mounted engine. Each robot-mode arm has a spring-launching mechanism to fire his fists, his chrome missiles, or his "rocket boosters" (once the boosters' main body was pushed forward to lengthen the connection peg), but the springs were severely neutered or removed outright in the US [[for safety reasons]]. The boosters fit very ''very'' loosely in the holes in his rear bumper/robot shoulders, making them pretty dubious additions to either mode.

: As with all his 1984 brethren, a heat-activated [[rubsign]] was added to Sunstreaker in 1985, appearing on his left door. Removed from toystore shelves in 1986, he was then made available as a mail-away item in several different promotions, among them a "[[Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction (G1)|Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction]]" flier packed with most boxed ''Transformers'' toys. He cost $8 and two [[Robot Point|robot points]].

: Sunstreaker is generally considered to be one of the harder early [[The Transformers (toyline)|generation toys]] to find complete and unbroken. Following it's later [[Generation 1 reissues|reissue]] in the European [[Classics (Europe)|Classics]] sub-line (see below), the toy's mold has been stated by [[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] representatives to be one of several whose original molding is either lost or in a state of disrepair too extensive to justify the cost of re-casting, meaning that chances of any future reissues are slim.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/Sunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|VsZ}}[[Image:G1toy vsz set.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Sunstreaker & Skids vs Buzzsaw''' (Multi-pack, 1985)
**''ID number:'' '''VSZ'''
**''Accessories'': Left & right fists, 2 "rocket boosters", 3 rockets

: Sunstreaker's only [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] release was in this giftset, which was also the only way to get [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] and [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] in Japan. This sounds unfair, but then one must remember [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw is an unstoppable killing machine]].
{{-}}
{{anchor|ClassicSunny}}[[Image:G1toy classic heroes sunstreaker.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Classic Sunstreaker''' (1990)
**''Accessories'': Left & right fists, 2 "rocket boosters", 3 rockets

:Sunstreaker was made available again in European markets in 1990, coming in nice new golden packaging as part of the "Classic Heroes" range of reissues. He featured no notable changes from his original release.
{{-}}

===Transform Block===
{{anchor|Block}}[[Image:G1toy TFBlock sunstreaker.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (1985)
: Only available in Japan, this small, monochrome representation of Sunstreaker transformed by disassembling and reassembling his vinyl component parts. Hence, the name "Transform Block". The toy was first released as part of the Diaclone line alongside another toy representing the Diaclone version of Skids. The toy was simply put in new packaging for its Transformers release, which resembles that of [[Transform Jr]] toys.
::*''[http://homepage3.nifty.com/redalert/toybox/tf/g1/TFGM04/TFGM04.html More information on Transform Block Sunstreaker at a Japanese fan site]''
{{-}}

===Universe (2003)===
[[Image:UniverseSunstreaker toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Sideswipe in yellow? Dear Primus, I've become Tigertrack!]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Deluxe, 2003)
**''Accessories'': Left & right rocket boosters, 2 flame-missiles

: A [[retool]] of the ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] mold, Sunstreaker transforms into a Lamborghini Diablo. Unusually for non-vintage transformers at the time, he has rubber tires. In either mode, he is armed with two pressure-launch missile launchers with two flame-shaped projectiles. These launchers are mounted upon his right arm in robot mode. In vehicle mode, they can be mounted on two pegs located on his spoiler as "rocket boosters". It is notable that the part that connects the toy's windshield to the main body uses a yellow decal rather than paint, as that part is made out of [[unpaintable plastic]]. The police lights from the original mold were removed, leaving this area bare.

: Sunstreaker was the "hotel [[exclusive]]" toy from [[OTFCC 2003]], available only to those who booked their room at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare at the convention rate, the official hotel for the convention.

: This mold is also used by [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2003/Autobot/Sunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on BotCon Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Binaltech Asterisk===

[[Image:Btasunstreaker toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Lemony fresh new-car scent.]]
*'''Sunstreaker meets Junko''' (Autobot, 2005)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''BTA-02'''
**''Accessories'': "Junko" driver/figurine, engine-block rifle

: In 2005, Takara and Hasbro released near-simultaneous and significantly different takes on Sunstreaker. The first to the market was the ''[[The Transformers: Binaltech Asterisk|Binaltech Asterisk]]'' version of the toy, including with a PVC driver figurine, a girl named [[Junko Shiragami|Junko]]. A [[redeco]] of the [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] Alternator (itself a [[retool]] of Alternator Sideswipe), Sunstreaker transforms into a 1:24-scale licensed "street performance" Dodge Viper with opening doors and hood, and an open passengers' compartment. His engine block becomes a rifle for his robot mode. Like the rest of the ''Binaltech Asterisk'' line, he was packaged in robot mode instead of vehicle.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Autobot/AltSunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on ''Binaltech Asterisk'' Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Alternators===

[[Image:AlternatorsSunstreaker toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|When girls disappear, their cars gain racing stripes. This is SCIENTIFIC FACT.]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Autobot, 2005)
**''Alternator ID number:'' '''18'''
**''Accessories'': Engine-block rifle

: A few months later, the Hasbro ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' version was released as part of the standard ''Alternators'' line, in the redesigned "bubble" packaging (the third version of ''Alternators'' packaging). Though both are yellow redecos of the mold, the detailing between the two is very different, with the Hasbro version being a direct color-swap of the paint mask previously used for Dead End, adding red to the robot-mode parts as well as a pair of black racing stripes in car mode. Drastically put, the only two details virtually identical on both versions at first sight are the [[paint operation|paint mask]] for the head and the [[tampograph]]ed license plate. (This is particularly remarkable since a stolen [[prototype|pre-production sample]] of Hasbro Sunstreaker actually sported a license plate tampograph more in style with previous ''Alternators'' license plates, whereas the final version is dead on identical to the ''Binaltech Asterisk'' toy's tampo.)

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Autobot/AltSunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on ''Alternators'' Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Sunstreakeruniverse2008toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He's got Mirage's legs, and he knows how to use 'em better than Mirage does.]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Series:'' Classics Series
**''Accessories:'' "Electron Pulse Blaster", engine supercharger intakes

: Part of the first wave of [[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|2008 ''Universe'']] Deluxes, Sunstreaker transforms into a modified [[wikipedia:Lamborghini_Gallardo|Lamborghini Gallardo]]. Though the car is mostly based upon the Gallardo, to avoid legal problems, it also features modified headlights and elements taken from other cars—most of them are taken from other Lamborghini models, such as a rear end that is basically a cross between a [[wikipedia:Lamborghini Murciélago|Murciélago]] and a [[wikipedia:Lamborghini_Diablo|Diablo]]; however, the split side windows and the ridges on the door vents are based on a [[wikipedia:McLaren F1|McLaren F1]]. Like the original Sunstreaker's Lamborghini Countach form, the 2008 ''Universe'' vehicle mode features a customized engine supercharger intakes mounted just behind the roof of the car. Sunstreaker's license plate is [[Tampograph|tampographed]] "WE R 84", referring to the year the ''Transformers'' franchise was launched.

: Like many other new-mold ''Universe'' toys, Sunstreaker has a "dramatic head reveal" when transforming him to robot mode: when his chest is rotated into place, his head rises into position and his ears spring out. In robot mode, his supercharger engine accessory can be attached to his back, but it can also be attached to the "Electron Pulse Blaster" to create a larger weapon by wrapping the intakes around it, and the gun can be mounted in either of the holes on his shoulders, though Sunstreaker's "ears" get in the way. Most of this is not shown in the [[instructions]], which only instruct the owner of the toy to put the gun in his hand and attach the supercharger to his back.

: Sunstreaker shares his sculpt with ''Universe'' Sideswipe, who features a different head sculpt, a slightly different transformation (which consists of the upper half of the body being rotated 180 degrees at the waist) and swapped hands to accommodate the different upper body orientation. Based on the release order, Sunstreaker is considered the original iteration of the sculpt and Sideswipe the [[retool]], even though the two were designed concurrently.

: Though not specifically a [[quality control]] issue, the yellow paint used for Sunstreaker's roof does not precisely match the bright yellow plastic used for his car body panel parts. The dark tinted windows causes the yellow paint to take on a greenish tinge.

: The Sunstreaker/Sideswipe mold was also retooled into ''[[Transformers Timelines (toyline)|Timelines]]'' [[Punch (G1)|Punch]], [[BotCon 2010]] [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], ''[[Henkei! Henkei! Transformers (toyline)|Henkei! Henkei!]]'' [[Red Alert (G1)#Henkei! Henkei!|Red Alert]] and ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' Red Alert.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/TFUSunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on Universe Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''

===Henkei! Henkei!===
[[Image:Henkei Sunstreaker toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Unlike others in this line, the chrome surprisingly makes him more G1-accurate.]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-07'''
**''Accessories:'' "Electron Pulse Blaster", engine supercharger intakes

: TakaraTomy's ''[[Henkei! Henkei! Transformers (toyline)|Henkei! Henkei!]]'' version of ''Universe'' Sunstreaker is a redeco of Hasbro's release, featuring a deeper shade of yellow with a much greater consistency between the painted yellow roof and the yellow plastic than seen on ''Universe'' Sunstreaker. He also replaces some of the Universe figure's gray paint with black. The orange paint is replaced with red, and the maroon Autobot symbol is now the more standard red. Like all ''Henkei! Henkei!'' toys, he features [[vacuum metallizing|vacuum metallized]] plastic, including his Electron Pulse Blaster, his supercharger and his spoiler.
{{-}}

==Merchandise==

* '''Cybertron Hero Collection 22''' (Decoy multi-pack, 1985)

: In Japan, a red rubber mini-figure of Sunstreaker was available in part of a [[Decoy|massive multi-pack of similar mini-figurines]]. The number etched into his back is the sum total of his [[Tech Spec|tech spec]] ratings, as these figurines were used as game pieces for a variety of ''Transformers'' board games in which this number had some meaning to how the game was played or something. Sunstreaker mixes the [[Character model|cartoon model]] with elements from the original toy.


*'''Sunstreaker''' (Decoy, 1987)
**''Decoy number'': '''11'''

: The [[Hasbro]] [[Decoy]] release of the Sunstreaker game piece is almost identical to the Japanese version, except the number on his back is a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded [[Throttlebot|Throttlebots]], [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] and [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/Decoys/Sunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on Decoy Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Titanium Series===
[[Image:Titanium-toy RMSunstreaker.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Too good to be released, apparently.]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Robot Master, unreleased)
**''Accessories'': Engine-blaster, display stand

:A planned redeco of ''[[Titanium Series]]'' Side Swipe, which was based on Sideswipe's ''Alternators'' toy. Sunstreaker would have been partially constructed of die cast metal with limited articulation located in his shoulders and neck. His accessories would have been a removable engine blaster and an Autobot symbol display stand.

{{canceledtoy}}
{{-}}

===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:RobotHeroes Galvatron Sunstreaker.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hi, I'm cuter than you.]]
* '''Sunstreaker vs. Galvatron''' (2-pack, 2008)

:Part of the first wave of ''Universe'' [[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]] toys, Sunstreaker is an adorably sociopathic non-transforming figure articulated at the neck and shoulders. He was available only in a two-pack with [[Galvatron (G1)/toys|Galvatron]], making this the most mentally-unbalanced Robot Heroes set ''ever''.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/RHSunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on Robot Heroes Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:Sunstreaker-diaclone.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Before he was a Transformer.]]

* According to Hasbro, the pre-''Transformers'' ''[[Diaclone]]'' version of Sunstreaker was the first transforming car-to-robot toy ever designed, namely by [[Kōjin Ōno]].<ref name="hof2010">[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/movie-news/TRANSFORMERS-HALL-OF-FAME-INAUGURAL-MEMBERS.cfm Hasbro press release for the 2010 Transformers Hall of Fame inductees]</ref> His alternate mode, a modified Lamborghini Countach with a rear-mounted supercharger engine, is actually based on an older [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] toy from their ''[[Microman]]'' line, the "Cosmo Countach" from 1978, which could also transform, albeit only into a weird half-robot, half-car hybrid.<ref name="cosmo">[http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~mikuro/sub1-6.htm The Cosmo Countach, Sunstreaker's ancestor]</ref><ref name="spencer">[http://www.spencer1984.com/serendipity/index.php?/archives/49-Sunstreaker-The-Missing-Link.html Spencer 1984 discovers the connection between the Cosmo Countach and Diaclone Sunstreaker]</ref> The ''Diaclone'' version of Sunstreaker, officially called Lamborghini Countach LP500S "Super Tuning", was originally only available in red and black/while police decos. This is one of several items that have led to the fan speculation that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's colorations and [[bio]] texts were swapped around before their final release (another being that, according to his ''[[The Transformers Universe|Transformers Universe]]'' profile, Sunstreaker feels that Sideswipe's design is "spoiled by the rear-mounted engine in his automobile mode", when in fact Sunstreaker is the one with said engine; and in robot mode, the engine ends up on his back, which could be the inspiration for the "rocket backpack" from Sideswipe's bio; and Sunstreaker's spring-loaded missile-launching forearms also look more like they could "act as powerful pile drivers", as stated in Sideswipe's bio.) The [[Tech Spec|statistics]], however, are correct. This change would also explain Sunstreaker's otherwise inexplicable red shoulders/car panel decals, which were originally used to cover up the black plastic on the red Diaclone version.
** Unlike the red and police versions of Diaclone Sunstreaker, there is little evidence of yellow Sunstreakers packaged as Transformers wearing the factory decals representing his park lights (assumed to be headlights by most).

* The red ''[[Diaclone]]'' version of Sunstreaker was sold by [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] in North America as the ''[[Diakron]]'' "DK-1" Car/Robot in 1983, seemingly just a few months before he would be rebranded as a Transformer.

* In the Transformers series [[Production bible|bible]] entry for his brother [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], Sunstreaker is referred to by a different name, '''Spinout''' <ref>http://transformers.winterchill.com/bible/biblepage17.html</ref>. "Nearly the equal of his twin brother, Spinout, in combat, but less cold-blooded." The same name (spelled "Spin-Out") is also used in a Marvel Age article<ref>[http://www.electric-escape.net/node/590 Article from Marvel Age #17.]</ref> from 1984 that announced the Marvel comic series.

* According to a [[story page]] in the October 1985 issue of ''[[TV Magazine]]'', Sideswipe and [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] are brothers, with Sideswipe being slightly older than Red Alert. This connection may have been invented because, aside from Sideswipe and Red Alert sharing the same mold, Sunstreaker was not sold in the Japanese market outside of a special "versus" set with [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]. However, the familial dynamic between Sideswipe and Sunstreaker was '''not''' changed in the Japanese dub of the original ''Transformers'' cartoon, leading some Japanese fans to consider the three Lamborghini characters as triplets.

*In 2003, an entry for a ''[[The Transformers: Generation One Commemorative Series|Commemorative Series]]'' "Sunstreaker" [[Generation 1 reissues|reissue]] was found in Canadian and Australian [[Toys"R"Us]] computers. The public Canadian Toys"R"Us website later even illustrated their listing with a non-[[stock photography|official photo]] of the ''Generation 1'' Sunstreaker toy lifted straight off a [http://www.ggaub.com/tf/toy.html fan's website], complete with watermark. Ultimately, however, the listings for "Sunstreaker" transformed into listings for ''Commemorative Series'' [[Ricochet (Headmasters)|Ricochet]], leading to some confusion among fans.

* ''Alternators'' Sunstreaker was originally planned as the ''first'' [[retool]]/[[redeco]] of the [[Sideswipe (G1)|Side Swipe]] Dodge Viper toy. Early prototypes that were leaked to the public sported a sculpted Autobot logo, and development concept art and color maps detailed in ''[[The Transformers: Binaltech & TF Collection Complete Guide]]'' show a black-decoed figure. A store listing from March 2004 stated the figure's name as "'''Blackstreaker'''"<ref name="alternatorstfa">[http://www.tfarchive.com/community/showthread.php?t=22083 TFArchive news thread about Alternators store listing from March 2004.]</ref>, suggesting that he was still intended to be Sunstreaker despite sporting different colors, possibly at the request of the car manufacturer. For reasons unknown, however, the toy was ultimately released as the [[Decepticon]] [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] instead, possibly to satisfy fan demands for Decepticons in the line, but this is mere supposition. It took a couple of years until Sunstreaker would see shelves as originally intended.

[[Image:SunstreakerSideswipeSDCC2007.jpg|thumb|250px|right|One of the cases where the end result turned out even ''better'' than the original idea. Well, except maybe for the weapon.]]
* Hasbro's early plans for ''Universe'' Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had the two as straight [[redeco]]s of each other, only differing in their head sculpts besides their colors—namely, Sunstreaker would have just been Sideswipe in yellow with a different head. It was [[TakaraTomy]] designer [[Hisashi Yuki]] who suggested an alternate transformation by turning the upper body by 180 degrees, thus providing more individual robot mode looks for the two characters that resemble their respective ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' designs more.<ref name="generations2009">Interview with Hisashi Yuki in [[Transformers Generations 2009|''Transformers Generations 2009'' vol. 1]], [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/223379-takaratomy-staff-interview-generations-2009-vol-1-translation.html English translation] at TFW2005.</ref> In addition, Hasbro originally intended the [[alternate mode]]'s supercharger to split into two halves which would then become the handgun and a spring-loaded shoulder launcher for the robot mode.

* Hilariously, early Hasbro prototypes of ''Universe'' Sunstreaker had the [[license plate]] say "WE R 8'''2'''", rather than "WE R 8'''4'''". This is seen in the [[stock photography|stock photo]] on the back of the packaging and an issue of ''Dengeki Hobby Magazine'' that compared ''Henkei'' Sunstreaker to his ''Universe'' counterpart.<ref name="wer82">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-toy-discussion/185434-classics-henkei-sunstreaker-prowl-comparison-pictures.html Images from ''Dengeki Hobby Magazine''] at TFW2005, August 2008.</ref> It's also possible, though, that the "82" version was intended as a reference to the year Sunstreaker's ''Diaclone'' predecessor was released.

* Simon Furman's reason for making Sunstreaker a Headmaster at IDW? Because he's the one character who'd ''least'' want to ''be'' a Headmaster.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIkqheta3GE Moonbase Two interview with Nick Roche, 27:58 in]</ref>

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Sunstreaker''' (サンストリーカー ''Sansutorīkā'')
*''French:'' '''Solo''' (Canada)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Napcsillantó''', '''Napvillantó''' ("Sun-flasher")
*''Italian:'' '''Lince''' ("Lynx")
*''Mandarin:'' '''Tài-yáng wén''' (Taiwan, 太陽紋, "Sun Streak"), '''Fei Mao Tui''' (China, 飛毛腿, "Scud")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Raio Solar''' (Portugal comics, "Sun Beam"), '''Raiado''' (Brazil comics, "Crease")
*''Ukrainian:'' '''Promin''' (Промінь, "Ray")
*''Russian:'' '''Mercatel''' (Мерцатель, "Twinkler")
{{--}}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Sunstreaker Sunstreaker's Universe profile at NTFA.net]
*[http://transformers.winterchill.com/bible/biblepage18.html Sunstreaker's entry in the Transformers series bible.]

[[Category:Alternators Autobots]]
[[Category:Artists]]
[[Category:Binaltech Asterisk characters]]
[[Category:Classics Autobots]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Decoys]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Gladiators]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:Henkei! Henkei! Autobots]]
[[Category:Mail order items]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Titanium Series]]
[[Category:United Autobots]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Sunstreaker (G1)

2012-08-21T21:18:26Z

166.250.65.10: /* Classics */

{{factions|autobot|unicron}}
{{disambig3|Sunstreaker}}
:''Sunstreaker is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:Autobots secret weapon sunstreaker wax.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Hi. I'm better than you.]]
'''Sunstreaker''' knows to the core of his [[spark]] that he is better than any other Autobot, and he makes sure everyone else knows it, too. His sociopathic tendencies, combined with his incredible vanity and arrogance, usually result in tension between himself and the other Autobots. He is generally unwilling to help those who are having trouble keeping up, and is quite audible when it comes to complaining about the shortcomings of everyone else. The only Autobot he truly gets along with is his twin [[Relatives|brother]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], and even that can seem strained at times.

The main reason [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] keeps him around is most likely Sunstreaker's effectiveness in the battlefield. Ruthless and skilled in all forms of combat, there is not much Sunstreaker cannot handle. As a front-line warrior, Sunstreaker is a great asset for the [[Autobot]] army. If a rather scary one.

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{Noteukonly}}
[[Image:SunstreakerBlastsSkywarp.jpg|left|200px|thumb|When Sunstreaker "puts his shoulder into it"... people get slagged.]]
''Prior to the outbreak of Cybertron's planet-wide civil war, Sunstreaker was a gladiator in the games held between the city-states. He was once brutally beaten by Megatron in combat, and would have been killed if Optimus Prime had not stepped in.'' {{storylink|State Games}}

''Early into the Autobot-Decepticon war, Sunstreaker was a member of the [[Magnificent Six]]. While they were on a mission to the Stanix region of Cybertron, he made a remarkably [[Yuss|callous joke]] that convinced their allies to turn them over to the Decepticons. The entire unit was tortured for a week, and [[Stampede]] was killed. Nice.'' {{storylink|The Magnificent Six!}}

Sunstreaker was among the crew of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] that crashed on [[Earth]] four million years ago and woke up in [[1984]]. ''In the first few days on Earth, Sunstreaker abandoned [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and diverted an attack by [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] towards a human military camp so as to keep himself from harm.'' {{storylink|...Perchance to Dream}} He engaged the Decepticons in battle at the Witwicky garage alongside his brother, Sideswipe, but ultimately failed to keep them from kidnapping [[Sparkplug Witwicky]]. {{storylink|Power Play!}} Sunstreaker was relatively low on fuel after this, and so gave up his remaining power in the transference chambers to power up Prime, [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] for combat against the Decepticons.... but then joined them for the battle anyway. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

[[Image:SunstreakerScrapped.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Poor Sunstreaker was too sociopathic for even the comic.]]
When [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] took control over the Decepticons and possession of the Ark, he destroyed Sunstreaker's body as a demonstration and warning to the deposed [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. {{storylink|The New Order}} Because of this, Sunstreaker's body was in disrepair for a very long time; at one point, when [[G.B. Blackrock]] asked about him in the med bay, Jazz told him that [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] wasn't even sure if Sunstreaker would ever be operational again. {{storylink|The Next Best Thing to Being There!}}

However, Sunstreaker was fully repaired in time to view the duel between [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]]. {{storylink|Totaled!}} He was badly damaged again, and he wound up in stasis aboard the Ark again, to be revived by [[Nucleon]] in 1990, when he and the other newly revived Autobots joined the attack on [[Unicron]]. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} Surprisingly, he survived ''that'' battle as he was able to attend the first meeting of the shaky Autobot-Decepticon alliance. {{storylink|Exodus!}}

=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[Image:Sunstreakerg1uk.jpg|left|180px|thumb|I'm YELLOW, dammit!]]
''An injured Sunstreaker, along with several other Autobots, was awakened not by Nucleon, but by [[Galvatron II|Galvatron]]'s [[mind bug]]. Galvatron had studied their dreams in the aim of finding dissenting members of the Autobots that he hoped to put into his own employ, but after a short skirmish, Galvatron's device was placed on himself. Amusingly enough, Sunstreaker had been off-line so much while on Earth, he needed the others to explain who Galvatron was to him.'' {{storylink|...Perchance to Dream}}

''Sunstreaker and the others would go on to join the Earthforce unit, under [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]]'s command.'' {{storylink|Break-Away!}} ''After [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] foolishly broadcast [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]'s location over an open channel, [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and Sunstreaker had to race to beat the Decepticons to the site. Prowl had just disabled an [[Global warming satellite|atmosphere-destroying bomb]] of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s before it reached apex, but the poison on board was still a viable threat. They didn't beat the Decepticons to the landing site, but before they could jump into the fray, Prowl pulled Jazz and Sunstreaker aside. He had already cleared out the poison, so the two Decepticon factions were fighting over nothing!'' {{storylink|Life in the Slow Lane}} ''Later, Sunstreaker helped Jazz, [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ruin the Decepticon [[Enclave]] and any chance of peace between Megatron and Shockwave.'' {{storylink|The Bad Guy's Ball!}}

''When [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] kidnapped the Autobots' ally, [[Irwin Spoon (G1)|Irwin Spoon]], Sunstreaker joined the other Autobot cars for an impromptu chase scene. He negotiated his way through the various [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]] attacks and delaying tactics, but finally hit the wall (literally) when Motormaster detached his cab segment and left his trailer jackknifed across the highway. 'Streaker hit it head-on, and wound up with a legitimate complaint about his bodywork.'' {{storylink|End of the Road! (UK)|End of the Road!}}

''Much later, Sunstreaker was sent on a new mission to the Stanix region of Cybertron with [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. While there, he overcame the ghosts of the past and helped defeat the mad Decepticon [[Megadeath (G1)|Megadeath]]. Of course, he was the only member of the team that didn't seem particularly haunted by those events in the first place, but the ''others'' overcame them, and wasn't that nice for them?'' {{storylink|The Magnificent Six!}}

=====Another Time & Place=====
Sunstreaker stormed the [[Hydrus Four]] facility with his fellow Autobots to rescue Grimlock and the Dinobots. He almost took a shot in the back from a Decepticon, but Optimus Prime took out his attacker. {{storylink|Another Time & Place}}

====''Classics''====
[[Image:Invasion-Radcontrolroom.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Sunstreaker's happy? This can't be marvelverse.]]

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe joined Optimus Prime's crew on Earth after Megatron resurfaced. They braved the Ark's defenses in order to break inside and recover their lost comrade, Ratchet. As an expression of his concern, Sunstreaker made no mention of the chips and tarnish of his paint job when they freed Ratchet, and together the twins carried their medic friend away to safety. {{storylink|At Fight's End}}

Subsequently, Sunstreaker was stationed with several other Autobots in [[Canada]] within the ''[[Ark II]]''. He was present one day when [[Rad]] reported from the [[Ironworks]] base in [[Oregon]] about a foiled attack by [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Gigatron]] and his Decepticons. Soon thereafter, due to the actions of an evil [[Ultra Magnus (SG)|Ultra Magnus]] from [[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|another dimension]], a rift of space time opened over Earth, causing catastrophes worldwide. Sunstreaker assisted his peers in evacuating a devastated city block. {{storylink|Invasion (issue)|Invasion}}
{{-}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Corey Burton]] (English), [[Kenyū Horiuchi]] (Japanese)|[[Guillermo Romano]] (Spanish, Season 1), [[Juan Carralero]] (Spanish, Season 2), [[Reinhard Brock]] (German, "The Autobot Run"), [[Michael Rüth]] (German, "Hoist Goes Hollywood"), [[Claus Brockmeyer]] (German, ''Generation 2'' "More than Meets the Eye, Part 2", "Dinobot Island, Part 1"), [[Tonio von der Meden]] (German, ''Generation 2'' "S.O.S. Dinobots"), [[Crock Krumbiegel]] (German, ''Generation 2'' "The Autobot Run", "The Core", "The Golden Lagoon"), [[Thomas Albus]] (German, ''Generation 2'' "Roll For It")}}

{{bigquote|I knew the humans would turn on us some day. They're such undependable creatures. Inferior lifeforms.|Sunstreaker on humans|"[[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1]]"}}

[[Image:MoreThanMeetstheEye Part3 Sunstreaker veh.jpg|right|220px|thumb|The "Super Tuning" custom job is more impressive than you might think at first glance.]]
Sunstreaker was part of the original crew of Autobots aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] that crashed on [[Earth]] four million years ago. When reawakened in 1984, he and his brother Sideswipe were reformatted into Lamborghini sports cars. They were both deployed during the Autobot counter-attack on a human oil rig, but didn't really do very much. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}} After the Autobots' defeat at [[Sherman Dam]], Sunstreaker and Sideswipe came to the rescue of [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] and their new human allies, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] and his father [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] when they were attacked by [[Seeker (body-type)|Decepticon jets]]. One of the Decepticons managed to graze Sunstreaker and damage his new paint job, infuriating the vainer of the two Autobot brothers. After he forced the Decepticons to break off for repairs, Sunstreaker was still grousing about his scuffed paint, to which his brother suggested that nobody would notice if he just made left turns. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}} The Autobot brothers were among those that volunteered to attack and totally fail to stop the [[Victory (G1)|Decepticon space cruiser]]. Sunstreaker celebrated the apparent demise of the Decepticons when their ship crashed and cheered [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]]'s role in its sabotage. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

[[Image:RollForIt Sunstreaker Chip.jpg|left|250px|thumb|A more kid-friendly sociopath.]]
When [[Chip Chase]] was kidnapped by the Decepticons and brought to the recently conquered [[antimatter]] laboratory of [[Alcazar|Dr. Alcazar]], the Autobots successfully staged a rescue operation to get him back. Sunstreaker then led a second team of Autobots into the lab, declaring that they had to get the antimatter cubes before it was too late, smashing a Sunstreaker-shaped hole in the wall. Unfortunately, he and the other Autobots were damaged when Megatron threw an antimatter cube at them. After returning to the Ark, Sunstreaker was heard to complain about a 'very sensitive junction' in his elbow, but was soon repaired quickly enough to arm wrestle with Sideswipe. When the antimatter-fueled Decepticons attacked the Ark, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker took to the air to battle with the incoming Seeker jets, in a rambunctious — if ultimately ineffective — display of "[[jet judo]]." After the Decepticons were defeated, Sunstreaker congratulated Chip, declaring him a hero and gave him a ride on his shoulder. {{storylink|Roll for It}}

{{bigquote|Hey, not the ''face'', okay? I just had it chromed!|Sunstreaker|"[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]"}}

When the munitions factory was attacked by the Decepticon jets, Sunstreaker transformed to roll out with the Autobots in Autobot Headquarters, but never actually bothered showing up. Later, while watching [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] attempt to repair the severely damaged [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], Sunstreaker and the remaining Autobots were rallied into repulsing a Decepticon attack by Spike. Sunstreaker was shot by [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] before recovering, only to be buried in a landslide by [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]]. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}} Sunstreaker complained about Trailbreaker's force field deflecting [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] and [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]'s flame breaths into his face when the newly-constructed [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] went haywire. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

[[Image:SOSDinobots Sunstreaker nottheface.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Insert flaming joke.]]
Later, when responding to a Decepticon diversionary attack on [[India]]'s coast, Sunstreaker complained about the fact his newly installed water skis clashed with his base coat, but Optimus Prime told him to redecorate himself later, as they had Decepticons to worry about. When [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and the Decepticons escaped without taking any energy, Sunstreaker realized they had been set up. Soon after, the Autobots attacked the Decepticon undersea headquarters to rescue the captive Sparkplug, during which Sunstreaker was concerned that the salt water would damage his body enamel. After returning to base for repairs, Sunstreaker fidgeted as Ratchet attempted to repair him, worried that the medic would scorch his selenium shin guards. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} When [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] was brought into Earth's orbit as part of Megatron's latest scheme, Sunstreaker retreated with the other Autobots due to audio disruptor waves generated by [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}}

Sunstreaker was part of an Autobot unit sent to investigate reports of [[Insecticon (G1)|giant insect monsters]] attacking [[Bali]], [[Indonesia]]. When the road to the coordinates of the attack was blocked by a local village celebration, Sunstreaker questioned his brother's knowledge of the local area, a criticism warranted when Sideswipe led them into a dead end canyon. Sunstreaker continued to criticize Sideswipe's sense of direction as Sideswipe very slowly tunneled underneath the villagers. As the Autobots made their way to a nearby [[oil]] refinery under attack from the Decepticons, [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] used his override waves on both Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, taking control of their driving mechanisms and forcing them to drive headfirst into the other Autobots. Sunstreaker implored the other Autobots to shoot our their tires, but fortunately, Trailbreaker was able to interrupt the override waves. During the ensuing battle at the oil refinery, Sunstreaker was more concerned about his enamel being damaged by Wheeljack during a counterattack than enemy fire. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}}

[[Image:ChangingGears jungleclearing.jpg|left|230px|thumb|Hey, Jazz, let's get rid of ALL the trees, so we can build a highway.]]
After Spike was critically injured in a battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, his consciousness was transferred into the body of [[Autobot X]]. However, this process proved too stressful for his mind to take, and so he lashed out in blind anger. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe attempted to restrain him, only to be tossed aside by "Autobot Spike's" enormous strength. {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} During a Decepticon attack on a mining camp as part of an plot to capture [[Gears (G1)|Gears]], Sunstreaker was among the Autobots who rolled out to confront them. He was hit by a boulder "energized" by Megatron (instead of just being shot, or something a logical enemy would do). When it was discovered Megatron was tapping into the [[Sun]] with his [[Solar Needle]], the Autobots ''drove'' to the "geographical center of Africa", only to be hindered by the dense jungle, which Optimus Prime ordered Jazz and Sunstreaker to blast their way through. Jerks. {{storylink|Changing Gears}} Sunstreaker got to use his jet skis again when the Autobots were sent to investigate the disappearance of the Empire State Building in [[New York City]]. Sadly, the skis still clashed with his base coat. He was rather pessimistic about their chances against the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons']] remote-controlled taxi cabs. Wimp. {{storylink|City of Steel}}

{{bigquote|When they built me, they broke the mold!|Sunstreaker on how fantastic he is, not on how his toy will never be reissued|"[[The Autobot Run]]"}}

In the aftermath of Ironhide firing randomly at a hologram of [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] during a demonstration of Wheeljack's latest invention, the [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]], Sunstreaker had to help Bluestreak vacuum up the rubble. {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} When the Autobots agreed to a charity race/stunt show, Sunstreaker was sure that a large audience would appreciate his performance. During the race, Sunstreaker arrogantly shoved his way past the slower Autobots, but despite all of his bluster, he was slower than Jazz and Mirage. He didn't seem to mind too much, as he was the star of a car jump stunt over the other Autobots...until he failed to finish that, as well. However, during the race, the Autobots had unwittingly been locked into their [[Alternate mode|alternate modes]], which freaked out Sunstreaker, as he couldn't transform back into his handsome robot form. After Chip Chase and the unaffected Autobots reversed the effects via a special ''grenade'', Sunstreaker was the first to regain the ability to transform and was very pleased to see his true beauty. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}} When the Decepticons allied themselves with the underwater kingdom of [[Sub-Atlantica]], Sunstreaker was present during the battle in [[Washington, D.C.]] and on the sub-sea city itself, but didn't actually do anything. Jerk. {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

[[Image:TheCore Sunstreaker planting dominator disc.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
Sunstreaker was present when the Autobots were confronted with the dilemma of two Optimus Primes. Though he didn't put forward any helpful suggestions, he observed the inconclusive results of the tests that the Autobots ran on the two Primes and later rolled out to investigate energy readings coming from a crevasse filled with [[korlonium crystal]]s. {{storylink|A Prime Problem}} Sunstreaker got his chance to command a team of Autobots investigating a missing river, when they stumbled on a Decepticon operation to drill into the Earth. Unfortunately, they were spotted and attacked by [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], though they were able to defeat the giant through teamwork. Sunstreaker was part of a subsequent mission to plant [[dominator disc]]s on the Constructicons, and he managed to attach one to [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] by hiding in a hole. During the next battle, the Autobots were able to use the discs to take control of Devastator. They used the giant to attack the Decepticon drilling operation in the caves, and during this fight, Sunstreaker had to rescue Chip Chase when the boy was caught in a cave-in. Megatron eventually regained control of Devastator, and the combiner turned on Sunstreaker and Ironhide. {{storylink|The Core}}

[[Image:DinobotIsland2 Sunstreaker carrying mammoth.jpg|thumb|left|220px]]
When the Dinobots again ran wild at Autobot Headquarters, Sunstreaker was on hand, and at least this time didn't get his paint job scorched. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} He and Sideswipe were part of the response team when a time warp opened near the city library, and they had to cope with barbarians on woolly [[mammoth]]s. Though the unwashed primitives almost damaged his finish, they were soon contained, and he used his gun to hold the warp open long enough to return the barbarians to their own time. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}} Sunstreaker took part in the [[Autobot Day]] parade in [[Central City (Earth)|Central City]], reflecting that he never knew that humans had "such exquisite taste". Unfortunately, things soon turned sour, as a video was played incriminating the Autobots in energy theft, and the humans turned against their former allies. Sunstreaker commented that he always knew that humans would turn on the Autobots and declared them an inferior lifeform...right as Chip, Spike, and Sparkplug Witwicky were in the control room. They probably shouldn't have been too insulted, as Sunstreaker considers everyone else an inferior lifeform.

[[Image:MMP1 Sunstreaker rails.jpg|thumb|240px|right|]]
The Autobots were put on trial and, to their dismay, found guilty and ordered to leave the planet on a spaceship supplied by [[Shawn Berger]]. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} The ship was locked on a course into the Sun by Megatron, leaving the Autobots in dire peril. Utilizing Trailbreaker's force fields and [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]], not to mention some unwitting help from [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]], they were able to escape before the heat crazed Sunstreaker's body work, and they returned to Earth to depose the Decepticons from their position of power. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}} Like the rest of the Autobots, Sunstreaker suffered from [[Cybertonium]] depletion, preventing him from functioning until Spike, [[Carly]] and the Dinobots were able to obtain some more. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2}}

Sunstreaker transformed to roll out and investigate the Decepticon theft of the [[Voltronic Galaxer]], but disappeared at some point before the response team reached the observatory. He later rolled out again to help humans who were experiencing difficulty as a result of Megatron jamming the world's radio signals. {{storylink|Blaster Blues}} When the first group of Autobots to face the [[electrum]]-coated Decepticons reported failure, Sunstreaker told them to let a pro handle it. Unfortunately, his weapon proved just as ineffective, and it wasn't until the Autobots found the golden lagoon and coated themselves in electrum that the Decepticons were overcome. {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}}

[[Image:HoistGoesHollywood Sunstreaker Tracks masks.jpg|thumb|230px|left|Yet to be realised as a toy.]]
Sunstreaker was one of several Autobots who glommed onto [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]]'s job as a Hollywood extra in the hopes of becoming a movie star. After he, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] and [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] crashed the filming, the [[Attack of the Alien Robots director|director]] employed them all as stunt vehicles, which involved Sunstreaker doing some literal crashing—into a burning building. The movie was soon reworked into ''[[Attack of the Alien Robots]]'', leading to Sunstreaker having to wear a ridiculous [[alien]] mask and spout out stilted, wooden dialog—and goose-step, for some reason. During one of the shoots, an out-of-control explosion almost wiped out the four Autobots, and they discovered that the Decepticons were working behind the scenes to cover up an operation. After everything was resolved, Sunstreaker and the others decided to stay out of the movie business. {{storylink|Hoist Goes Hollywood}}

[[Image:TFTM Sunstreaker hereandthere.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Honestly, we're surprised Ichikawa didn't try to explain this one in the Binaltech storyline.]]
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe took part in the [[Europa 2000]] in order to keep an eye on [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]]'s high-tech automobile. After Sideswipe forced the pair to take a detour in [[Italy]], they were ambushed by the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]]s, who boxed them in so that [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] could shoot them. {{storylink|Trans-Europe Express}} They and most of the rest of the Autobots rolled out to rescue [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] from a Decepticon trap and were subsequently infected by [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]]. Luckily, Perceptor was able to work out a way to create more [[corrostop]] and cure them all. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}} After the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]]s used the space bridge to move Earth towards the Sun, Sunstreaker was part of a combined Autobot/Decepticon team who traveled to Cybertron to prevent Earth's destruction. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

Before the [[Battle of Autobot City|Decepticon attack]] on [[Autobot City]] in the year 2005, Sunstreaker was helping [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] move a roadblock. He was knocked over when [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]] drove through it.

Meanwhile, he was '''also''' on Moon Base One and helped pilot the shuttle that flew Optimus Prime and the Dinobots to Autobot City.

Seriously. He's ''THAT'' good. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}
{{-}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
=====Full Throttle Scramble Power!=====
Following the destruction of the Decepticons' [[Omega Whip]] weapon, Sunstreaker and several other Autobot cars raced after Megatron and his troops to keep them from escaping. They caught up with the Decepticons and kept them busy until Autobot reinforcements could arrive. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}

=====''The Battle of the Star Gate''=====
When the Decepticons made their second play for control of the human-built [[Trigger]] interstellar teleportation system in the late 1990s, Sunstreaker was among the Autobot forces who stood against them. [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] subsequently took control of the Trigger, forcing Megatron and Optimus Prime to combine their power to destroy the Trigger. Sunstreaker and all the other Transformers were caught backwash from the incredible cosmic explosion and plummeted back to Earth, not to be heard from again for several months. {{storylink|The Battle of the Star Gate}}

=====''Story of Binaltech''=====
In [[2003]], Sunstreaker was one of numerous Autobots who were rendered helpless when they were infected with [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] by the Decepticon, [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]]. Working with the [[Earth Defense Command]] and several Earth automotive companies, the Autobots developed "Binaltech" technology, creating new bodies into which their [[spark]]s were place so they could carry on the fight. It was intended for Sunstreaker to gain a new Dodge Viper body like his brother Sideswipe, but the Decepticons infiltrated the operation and hijacked the body for use by the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticon]] [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] instead. {{storylink|Arise! Evil Binaltechs}}

As the Binaltech conflict raged on, the timeline was eventually altered by [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]].

{{Note|At this point, the original timeline was retroactively restored and the events of the ''Story of Binaltech'' diverged into a parallel universe. Skip to the next section below to continue reading about the original timeline; exactly how many (if any) of the events related in this section, even prior to the divergence, occurred in the original unaltered timeline are unknown.}}

In this alternate timeline, Sunstreaker was present at the [[Earth Defense Command]] Antarctic base, shortly after the appearance of the [[Optimus Primal|Protector]]. {{storylink|Binal Time}}

=====''Asterisk Story''=====
[[Image:SunstreakerBTA.jpg|right|120px|thumb|Dig me!]]

Sunstreaker was a member of the Autobot Race Team, which may or may not have had any other [[Transformer]]s on it. He was sort of a mascot for them, and the team didn't actually use him in races. He resented that people paid more attention to him as a promotional image than as a race car.

After being drafted into the [[Interplanetary Personnel Exchange Program]] by Officer [[Clamp Down]], Sunstreaker was partnered with the human "race queen" model [[Junko Shiragami]] and acted as her car. Once, Sunstreaker got into a race with a human-driven sports car, much to Junko's dismay. He used his transformation ability to take a particularly sharp curve, destroying a road sign in the process, for which Junko chewed him out. {{storylink|I'll Show You Some Great Scenery}}

It was said that Sunstreaker drove faster when he smelled Junko's marigold-scented hair. Make of that what you will.
{{-}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====
[[Image:JHeadmasters01RedAlertEtc.jpg|thumb|200px]]
Some time before the Transformers' war left Cybertron, Sunstreaker engaged the Decepticons with his comrades. Later, on Earth, Sunstreaker was present for a suspiciously similar battle with the Decepticons that resulted in the death of Optimus Prime. In 2011, [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] recalled the Cybertronian skirmish that Sunstreaker took part in—or another one very much like it. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}}

[[Image:FourWarriors SunstreakerBlitzwing.jpg|200px|thumb|A five-second cameo, and all I do is avoid Blitzwing? Slag it!!]]
{{note|Sunstreaker appears in two Cybertronian flashback battles within the episode, alongside the same team of Autobots, suggesting that they represent the same fight. He also appears in one further flashback battle on Earth, which depicts Optimus Prime's death in a scene that doesn't match up to his ''actual'' death in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. This was a continuity patch-job by the ''Headmasters'' production staff, as the movie hadn't been released in Japan yet. }}

When the Decepticons launched a major attack on Cybertron in 2011, Sunstreaker appeared briefly in vehicle mode evading jet-mode [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]]'s attacks. Sunstreaker escaped into a tunnel, and Blitzwing bounced off its exterior and crashed. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}}
{{-}}

===The Battle for Planet Earth===
{{voiceactor|[[Peter Marinker]] (English)}}
Sunstreaker was among the Autobots who traveled to [[South America]] in search of energy, and fought the Decepticons on [[Mount Sheelah]]. {{storylink|Terror of Mount Sheelah}} Resting after a day of hard work repairing the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], Sunstreaker and the other Autobots watched [[television]]. On learning that the Decepticons were kidnapping humans, Sunstreaker agreed that [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] was best suited to go investigate the Decepticon base. {{storylink|Bumblebee to the Rescue (G1)|Bumblebee to the Rescue}} He was also among the Autobots who thwarted the Decepticon invasion of [[Stanley Lake]] dam. {{storylink|Menace at the Dam}} When [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] announced he wanted to defect to the Autobots, Sunstreaker thought the Air Commander's experience might be of use to them. As it turned out, Starscream was a spy, and the Autobots used him to send the Decepticons on a wild goose chase, during which Sunstreaker and the rest of the Autobots destroyed the Decepticon base. {{storylink|Espionage!!!!!}}

===3H comics===
[[Image:Sunstreaker.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"I'm exclusive!"]]
After the [[Pax Cybertronia]], Sunstreaker left Cybertron with four other survivors of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] ([[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Roulette (Universe)|Roulette]], [[Shadow Striker (Universe)|Shadow Striker]], and [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]]). One year after Cybertron was reformatted into a technorganic planet, they returned. They were greeted by many of the [[Maximal]] and [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] inhabitants and with vast media coverage.

However, what appeared to be celebratory fireworks struck the five Autobots and also the Maximals [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. They were transported to a fiery cauldron deep within [[Unicron]], where all but Trailbreaker were rebuilt painfully into new bodies.

Seeing an arena up ahead, the seven moved towards it, only to be attacked by a swarm of shape-shifting, lava-like creatures. Sunstreaker and the others were overwhelmed and taken into the arena (or, the [[Cauldron]]), where they were caged along with a multitude of Transformers kidnapped from across the multiverse. {{storylink|Abduction|Abduction}}

The Unicron-influenced ambience of the place was slowly driving the more violent of the group mad. This, of course, included Sunstreaker. He and Sideswipe were forced into combat in the arena (each wielding spiffy [[energon]] weapons), but were rescued by a reborn [[Optimus Primal]]. The group, sans a corrupted Blackarachnia and Shadow Striker, fled back to Cybertron. {{storylink|Escape (Universe)|Escape}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
{{notekeepers}}
{{quote|"Why, you arrogant—yow! I should rewire that smug mug of yours right here—blaw!—right now!" 
"Don't kid yourself—this face is worth more than ''you'' are."|[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] and Sunstreaker|"[[Infestation (Dreamwave)|Infestation]]"|noquote=true}}

[[Image:DWPrimeDirective2 SunstreakerSideswipe.jpg|left|300px|thumb|A family that pelvic thrusts together, stays together.]]
Before joining the Autobot army, Sunstreaker was a successful mural artist. {{storylink|Transformers: The Ultimate Guide}} He was aboard the Ark when it crashed on Earth millions of years ago. He and the other Autobots awoke in 1984 to restart their war with the Decepticons. He was part of [[Operation Liberation]] in 1998, a joint human-Autobot effort to defeat the Earth-bound Decepticons. At the end it was a success, and the captured Decepticons, along with the Autobots and a human crew, departed Earth en route to Cybertron in the ''[[Ark II]]''. The ship, however, was sabotaged and exploded upon liftoff.

A few years later Megatron and other Transformers, including Autobots, were seen causing havoc. It was discovered that [[Lazarus]], a scientist who participated in the ''Ark II'' project, was responsible for the sabotage of the ''Ark II'' and the resurrection of several Transformers under his control via technological tampering. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 1}}

[[Robert Hallo|General Hallo]] of the [[United States military|U.S. Military]] contacted [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] to ask him if he could do something to help them reactivate Optimus Prime, whom they had recovered locked in a state of stasis. Spike managed to reactivate Optimus with a portion of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] that Optimus had given him prior the ill-fated journey of the ''Ark II''. Optimus subsequently went to the Arctic and used the Matrix to reactivate several Transformers, including Sunstreaker and his brother Sideswipe. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2}}

Sunstreaker accepted the new task at hand and fought alongside his brother when the Autobots faced the Decepticons at Lazarus' ruined base, before Hallo betrayed the Autobots by attempting to destroy both factions with a nuclear weapon. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 3}} The Autobots survived when Megatron's technovirus absorbed the blast, and Sunstreaker helped his comrades recover the captive Autobots imprisoned inside the base. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 4}}

[[Image:DWPrimeDirective5 SideswipeSunstreaker Devastator.jpg|right|250px|thumb|DULL HEROIC RUNNING!]]
As Jazz's unit worked on Megatron's virus, Sunstreaker followed Optimus Prime to [[San Francisco]] for the last battle against Megatron and his Decepticons. When [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] was taken down, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe heroically (though foolishly) charged at [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] rather than, say, shoot him; they were surprisingly beaten up. After Optimus Prime destroyed Devastator's head, Sunstreaker was restrained by the surviving Decepticons. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 5}} However, through human intervention, Optimus Prime freed his Autobots and the battle was rejoined. Sunstreaker tag-teamed with his brother to pummel Soundwave, though the Decepticons eventually escaped when Superion sacrificed his life to save the city from General Hallo's unauthorized nuclear missile launch. After Optimus Prime came back online, Sunstreaker and [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] discovered the traitorous [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] buried under rubble. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 6}}

''During the conflict with the [[Keeper (species)|Keepers]], Sunstreaker was one of the Autobots chosen by Optimus Prime to join the strike on occupied Las Vegas. Sunstreaker was edgy about having to work with Megatron and the Decepticons, and was ready to draw his rifle at a moment's notice during the groups' meeting. Still, he remained sensitive enough to [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]]'s feelings to comfort his human friend when he was feeling useless, letting Spike know he always did his very best. (WHAT?!) In Las Vegas, Sunstreaker and the other Autobots lent their energies to Optimus Prime for his [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]-inspired Finishing Move against the Keepers. {{storylink|Annihilation}} Later, Sunstreaker and the Autobots battled alongside the Decepticons again, against the treacherous forces of the American military. Sunstreaker and several other Autobots fell before the processor-eating power of the President's new toy, the [[Deconstructionite|deconstructionites]].'' {{storylink|Fusion (novel)|Fusion}}

When [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] arrived on Earth to enforce [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s edict that the Earth-bound Autobots surrender themselves to the Cybertronian alliance, Optimus Prime ordered a portion of his troops into hiding in [[Portland]], [[Oregon]]. This group, led by [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], included Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]. {{storylink|Brothers' Burden}} However, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], and his cassettes soon escaped to Earth with [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]]. Attacking the Ark, they defeated all of Jazz's group minus Ratchet and Brawn. Sunstreaker and the others were left in a swamp, deactivated. {{storylink|Night of the Combaticons}}

[[Image:DW Extermination Sunstreaker kills Kickback.jpg|left|400px|thumb|I'm not only better than you, I'm also gay.]]
[[Orion|A ship]] crewed by [[Mini Vehicle|Minibots]] (led by [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]) arrived on Earth with supplies, and [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] and [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] pulled the deactivated from their would-be swampy grave. They were promptly arrested by Commander [[Marissa Faireborn]] of the [[Earth Defense Command]] and her armored troops. The damaged Autobots were repaired, and Commander Faireborn came to Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Jazz with a mission. The American city of [[San Desto]] was under attack by [[Insecticon (G1)|Cybertronian creatures]]. {{storylink|Infestation (Dreamwave)|Infestation}} Sunstreaker spent the entire mission either putting down [[EDC Night Force Unit|the humans]], Bumper or, when he wasn't around, Sideswipe. He didn't think any of them would make it out alive, but nevertheless tore through the Insecticon clones like they were paper! After they were captured by the real Insecticons, Sunstreaker was not too happy to be rescued by Bumper. When Bombshell activated the [[Cerebro-shell|cerebro-shelled]] human population of San Desto to attack the Autobots, Sunstreaker was also all-too-ready to kill the lot of them, until Bumper saved them all again. {{storylink|Extermination}} The ''Orion'' picked up Sunstreaker and the other Autobots from the EDC's Nevada base shortly after saving San Desto. {{storylink|Lost and Found (issue)|Lost and Found}}

{{note|In August 2006, [[Matt Moylan]] [http://tinyurl.com/2ugos3 revealed] that Sunstreaker was gay in Dreamwave continuity. This was never dealt with head-on (or meant to be) but it provided a basis for his characterization.}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
Sunstreaker was among the Transformers found and reprogrammed by the human terrorist organization [[Cobra]], and along with Sideswipe and [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], he was reformatted into a Cobra [[Stinger (Cobra)|Stinger]]. He, his brother and [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] were sent to attack the [[SPS Research Facility]], but the two siblings were rammed by [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] while charging at the main entrance, and Cobra eventually retreated. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 3}} When Wheeljack freed the Autobots from Cobra's control, Sunstreaker helped Sideswipe and [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] fight against the similarly freed Decepticons [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 5}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
{{quote|"Sunstreaker—''speed limit''." 
"Oh, ''c'mon''! Bad enough I gotta share my ''upholstery'' with a species that sheds skin on a regular basis, but now I gotta super-size the experience?"|Ironhide and Sunstreaker|[[Escalation issue 1|''Escalation'' #1]]|noquote=true}}

[[Image:MegsOrigin3 Sunstreaker neverlose.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Sunstreaker shows off his humbler side.]]
Long ago, before the [[Great War (G1)|war]], Sunstreaker was a patron of illegal underground death matches in the [[Forge]], where he cheered on Megatron in his first victory there. He returned several times more, including to watch Megatron's 54th battle in the arena, this time apparently alongside Sideswipe. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 2|Megatron Origin #2}}

When Megatron, rising in power and influence, put on a recruitment call to all-comers, Sunstreaker happily answered his call. Sideswipe tried to talk him out of joining the fights, to no avail. Sunstreaker apparently thought the call was for participation in the illegal gladiatorial games, but it was actually the first recruitment call for the Decepticon army. How they took Megatron's announcement, the apparent murder of a Senator, and how they fared when Autobot security forces raided the meeting is unknown. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}} Neither he, nor any of the other Autobots-to-be that were present at the "rally", were seen again in prison or upon the Decepticons' escape and ravaging of [[Kaon]]. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

[[Image:Drift1-Metalhawk.jpg|left|thumb|250px|"Okay, maybe I lose sometimes"]]
At some point during the war that followed Megatron's Decepticon rebellion, Sunstreaker was one of many Autobots trained by [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Kup}} He himself was Sideswipe's P-3 Training Officer and strike partner, and spent the whole time looking down on him as a subpar rookie. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

Early in the war, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were present during the battle for [[Sherma Bridge]], where they witnessed the first duel between Optimus Prime and Megatron. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}}

Sunstreaker would later lead a unit in a battle against [[Drift (G1)|Deadlock]] in which he was forced to order a retreat. {{storylink|Drift issue 1|Drift #1}}

[[Image:Infiltration6 Sunstreaker humansout.jpg|right|150px|thumb|What, does he keep them in a kennel or something?]]
In the modern era, Sunstreaker was a unit commander who helped drive the Decepticons from an unidentified planet. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay}} Immediately afterward, he was assigned to a detachment of Autobots that had operated covertly on [[Earth]] for at least four years, attempting to foil a Decepticon insurgency. Being stationed on Earth did little to alter Sunstreaker's arrogance, with him dismissing [[Verity Carlo|the]] [[Hunter O'Nion|three]] [[Jimmy Pink|humans]] which [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] saved as "noisy creatures". {{storylink|Infiltration issue 3|Infiltration #3}} Later, Sunstreaker and the other Autobots observed Megatron's brutal disciplining of the treacherous Starscream. Despite 'Streaker's high opinion of himself and his own skills, he was visibly relieved when Prowl decided to leave the Decepticons alone. After returning to the ''[[Ark-19]]'', he complained about the humans running around loose in their headquarters. {{storylink|Infiltration issue 6|Infiltration #6}}

[[Image:Escalation1 Sunstreaker videogame.jpg|left|200px|thumb|He doesn't rate the Battlechargers very highly, apparently.]]
To keep the noisy creatures occupied, he created a video game starring himself. Soon afterward, Sunstreaker, along with [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], were assigned the task of escorting the humans back to the big wild world, [[Tulsa]], [[Oklahoma]]. On a road in the vicinity of [[Lebanon]], [[Missouri]], Sunstreaker and company were ambushed by the [[Machination]]. He and Hunter became separated from Ironhide and were seemingly destroyed. {{storylink|Escalation issue 1|Escalation #1}} However, it was soon revealed that it was not the case; the debris recovered by Optimus Prime was revealed by Ratchet to be an elaborate fake. {{storylink|Escalation issue 2|Escalation #2}}
Sunstreaker was painfully dismantled and treated barbarically by the employees. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay}} After re-awakening in a [[Machination]] stronghold, Hunter was horrified to find an unidentified being, possibly Cybertronian, had been creating a series of [[Sunstreaker clone|Sunstreaker clones]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

[[Image:Devastation3 Sunstreakerhead yuh.jpg|right|150px|thumb|You still better than us now, Sunstreaker?]]
Having been able to dupe the Machination into believing that he was catatonic, Hunter went exploring in their headquarters. Eventually, he discovered Sunstreaker's own decapitated head, which was still functioning. Tortured, Sunstreaker begged the human to kill him. Meanwhile, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] ran afoul of the Sunstreaker clones... piloted by [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] — humans who could transform into the robots' heads. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} It turned out all of the Headmasters were mentally connected to the original Sunstreaker and leeched knowledge from him, a process that was extremely painful. However, this had its disadvantage — Sunstreaker doesn't read Autobot memos so the Machination had less inside knowledge than they thought; Hot Rod and Wheeljack escaped by using a weapon that Sunstreaker didn't know about. Hunter, rather than kill the Autobot, asked for his help to become a Headmaster himself so he could pilot one of the Machination's spare clones. {{storylink|Devastation issue 3|Devastation #3}} After downloading the necessary information from Sunstreaker, Hunter headed to the body shop, where more clone bodies were being stored. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}} Just as a freshly-restored [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], head of the Machination, broke through a wall to kill him, Hunter was able to transform into Sunstreaker's head and linked to the real Sunstreaker's mind. Speaking as Sunstreaker, Hunter attached himself to a clone body, but commented that everything felt slow (as a result of Machination scientists cutting all connections to the real Sunstreaker, with devastating effects for the Headmasters). Hunter transformed to vehicle mode, blasted a hole in the wall and escaped. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

[[Image:Sunstreaker Head-On.jpg|left|250px|thumb|I'd lose my head if it wasn't screwed on.]]
After that, the new Sunstreaker began raiding Machination front organizations across America, looking for his original head. He wanted Hunter out of his head and gone forever so he didn't have to talk to the human—not that he meant ''any'' offense by that, oh no. On one raid, he became aware that the Machination had plans involving the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] and sped off to Dallas to get involved {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} The Dynobots were actually sent to ''Fallon'' but Sunstreaker carried on to Dallas anyway, reasoning that getting his old head back would offline all the Headmasters—and that whatever the Dynobots were up to was merely collateral damage. (Nice chap...) {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2|Maximum Dinobots #2}} When they arrived in Dallas, seeing that the facility was far bigger than anything they had come across before, Hunter realized they needed a plan and forced Sunstreaker to sit it out while they watched and waited, citing that he was the more level-headed of the pair and that it was nice to just be Hunter O'Nion every now and then. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}} When the time came, Sunstreaker reconnected with Hunter and barged into the Machination, having a short talk with Hot Rod as he blasted two of his clones. He found his original head, but Scorponok was waiting and shot a hole through his chest. Hunter escaped and, reluctantly and remorsefully, deactivated Sunstreaker's original head. This succeeded in shutting down all of the clones, at the cost of doing the same to Sunstreaker. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots #4}}

[[Image:Sunstreaker recovers.jpg|right|100px|thumb|New unexplained altmode — just add water.]]
Hunter, however, stayed conscious and survived the rest of the battle. He accompanied Sunstreaker aboard the ''[[Ark-32]]'', where the comatose Autobot was put into a [[CR chamber]] for heavy repairs. Sunstreaker's original head was reattached, and his battered body was rebuilt into a [[#Universe (2008)|slightly different form]]. Ratchet claimed that "though physically separated, Sunstreaker's spark sustained him." Ratchet was able to minimize the mental link between Sunstreaker and Hunter, but he was afraid to try removing Hunter's implants, and the human was left feeling like half of himself was missing. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots #5}}

Eventually Ratchet did successfully sever their link, but the Headmaster experience had left deep wounds on Sunstreaker's psyche. He turned his back on Hunter and never wanted to speak of the incident again. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} His pain turned into a hatred for Earth and its inhabitants; he wanted nothing more than to leave the planet forever. Starscream took advantage of this, meeting in secret with Sunstreaker to strike a deal. Starscream wanted Sunstreaker's help to both kill Megatron and ensure the Autobots' departure from Earth. Starscream claimed that after taking control of the Decepticons, he would be satisfied to confine his own empire to the one planet, so really Sunstreaker would get what he wanted on both counts. Sunstreaker agreed "on one condition": That Starscream would use his dominion to kill every single human being. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}}

Starscream and Sunstreaker arranged false intelligence that led the Autobots into an ambush. But, whether due to Starscream's treachery or to a simple failure in the plan, only half of their goals were accomplished: The Autobots were beaten and exiled to Cybertron via the newly-created [[space bridge]], but Megatron survived the battle happily. Optimus Prime attacked and destroyed the space bridge as he went through it, but doing so left him in a critical state of shutdown. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

[[Image:Sunstreaker on bridge AHM8.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Sunstreaker in [[All Hail Megatron issue 10 #Errors|''A Bridge Too Few'']].]]
If Sunstreaker had been brooding and sullen already, this outcome only intensified his angst. The other Autobots knew that they must have been betrayed, but they had no idea by whom. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]], as the scout who had delivered the bad intelligence, was a natural suspect, and Ironhide became his chief accuser. Sunstreaker gravitated to Ironhide, encouraging the finger pointed away from himself. When Sideswipe confronted Sunstreaker about the dissension he was fostering in the ranks, Sunstreaker tried to get him to leave him alone. Sideswipe attempted sympathy, telling his brother that he could only imagine what the Headmaster experience had been like, but even that turned into an accusation for abandoning Hunter. Sunstreaker yelled back that that was in the past and was completely irrelevant, and everyone knew he never wanted to talk about it again. He stormed off, but doing so caught Ironhide's attention. When Sunstreaker told Ironhide that Sideswipe thought they were taking their accusations against Mirage too far, Ironhide decided they hadn't taken things far ''enough,'' so he promptly dragged Mirage into a corner and beat him half to death. Sunstreaker's only protest was that others might see. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}

[[Image:Sunstreaker sacrifice_AHM.jpg|right|150px|thumb|At least he didn't have to suffer the indignity of [[Ironhide (G1)| being]] [[Perceptor (G1)|rescued]] [[Wrecker|by]] Drift.]]
But his guilt gnawed away at him until one day he found a chance for the redemption of martyrdom. The Autobots had decided to move to a different headquarters to defend themselves from the [[Insecticon swarm]]. The new base's strength was its inaccessibility: It could only be accessed by a single bridge, and the Autobots had planted explosives on it to take it down after everyone had made it across. The Autobots did outrun the swarm, but in the process [[Perceptor (G1)|their sharpshooter]] was incapacitated, and the bombs needed to be detonated via weapons-fire. While the others debated who would be capable of the task, Sunstreaker slipped away onto the bridge to do it himself. Ironhide went out after him and tried to talk him back, but Sunstreaker spilled his guts about the entire betrayal. Ironhide was dumbfounded, and just as Sunstreaker began to apologize, the swarm attacked. [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] raced in and pulled Ironhide out of the crush, and as they sped away, Sunstreaker fired at the bomb. The bridge was destroyed in a massive fireball, and Sunstreaker appearently went with it. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 8|All Hail Megatron #8}}

Later, Bombshell taunted Sideswipe in battle, claiming to have toyed with Sunstreaker's mind and played with his fears using information gleaned from dissecting Hunter. After the battle, Sideswipe found Hunter's tortured form strung up in Bombshell's lab, horrifically intertwined with all sorts of machinery. Sideswipe turned the life-support system off, letting Hunter — and any potential surviving piece of Sunstreaker — expire. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 12|All Hail Megatron #12}}

However, Sunstreaker had survived, and the events of the past few years (though badly skewed to a certain perspective) seemed to be repeating in his badly damaged head, amongst the bodies of the swarm. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 14|Replay}}

[[Image:Ironingoutthedetails_AAAH.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Ironhide and Sunstreaker come to the realization that it'll take them [[Mike Costa|months]] to get out of this plotline.]]
Over the next three years, Sunstreaker lay where he fell, his brain stuck in a recursive loop of the horrors the Machination inflicted upon him and his regret over betraying his friends. The mysterious [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] had long known of Sunstreaker's survival, but didn't attempt to rescue him, as the Autobot was not part of his plans for Cybertron's rebirth. This changed when the resurrected Ironhide went down to the ravine to rescue his fallen comrade. Sunstreaker attempted to apologise for what he did and admitted his cowardice for not speaking up when Ironhide falsely accused [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] of betraying the Autobots. However, as Ironhide had no memory of the past four million years, he didn't know what Sunstreaker was talking about. Safely inside Alpha Trion's [[Metroplex (G1)|base]], Sunstreaker freaked out when he saw the legendary Autobot, fearing that his Judgement had finally come for betraying the Autobots and selling out humanity. Trion mercifully used his powers to take Sunstreaker temporarily offline when he begged for his "dreams" to stop. {{storylink|Ironing Out the Details}}

Alpha Trion was able to bring Sunstreaker's sanity back and repair most of his body except for his legs, temporarily leaving him in a hoverchair. Interested in his "unique experiences" with the humans, Trion intended to take Sunstreaker with him on his journey, but he refused. Dead set on trying to make up for his past crimes, Sunstreaker instead chose to stay on Cybertron with Ironhide to help eliminate the swarm. Alpha Trion accepted this and left the two Autobots on the abandoned planet, where Sunstreaker would have a lot of time to fill Ironhide in on what happened in the past few million years. {{storylink|Any Old Iron}}

Sunstreaker and Ironhide eventually met up with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus]], [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], and [[Garnak]] with their [[Bob (IDW)|pet]] in tow. Sunstreaker explained Ironhide's memory loss to Rodimus and escaped with him to Earth to warn the Autobots of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] and his legion poised to take Cybertron. {{storylink|Space Opera Act 2: Out of the Silent Planet}}

On Earth, Sunstreaker made up with Mirage and the others before returning to Cybertron on [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme's]] rocket form. Of course, Bob accompanied him. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix}} He was among the Autobots who tried to listen in on Optimus Prime's questioning of a captive Megatron. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}} His legs were later restored by Ratchet, partly thanks to the power of the [[Matrix of Leadership]] which the medic had been temporarily entrusted with. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}

On the flight to Cybertron, he attempted to make small talk with his fellow Autobots and chat with them about his encounter with Alpha Trion, but the other Autobots ignored him, apparently still distrusting and disliking him for his betrayal. Bob still loved him though, and purred happily while Sunstreaker petted him. {{storylink|Chaos Part One: Lamentations}} As the Autobots landed on Cybertron and prepared to fight Galvatron's army, Sunstreaker was in charge of setting up a base of operations. He watched Garnak repair [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] and noticed too late that Megatron was escaping. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers}}

When he heard that Megatron had summoned [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] to his side, Sunstreaker took all the explosives he could find and strapped them to his hoverchair. Pretending to be crippled, he confronted Devastator, who also had a [[Scrapper (G1)|bad leg]]. When the giant tried to stomp on him, Sunstreaker transformed and drove away, causing the chair to explode and cripple Devastator's other leg as well. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings}}

After Galvatron was defeated, Sunstreaker joined Rodimus and 200 other Autobots as they left Cybertron on the ''[[Lost Light]]'' to find the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} He enjoyed a drink at [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]]'s [[Swerve's bar|new bar]] with Bob at his feet. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}} Sunstreaker was in the vicinity when a deranged [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] gunned [[Boss (G1)|Boss]] down. {{storylink|Interiors}}

====Hail and Farewell====
{{Note|Due to the abrupt cancellation of several related stories and the emergence of ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]'', the following events cannot occur in the mainstream timeline, if they are [[canon]] at all.}}

Two years after meeting the Autobots and becoming a Headmaster, Hunter went back to his house with Sunstreaker. As Hunter gathered a few effects, he reminisced on how much had changed and how much had happened. He had been to other planets, even another dimension. He'd fought Scorponok, allied with the Dinobots, and faced a planetary Decepticon invasion. And now he wasn't just Hunter; he had become one with Sunstreaker in both mind and body. As he converted back to Sunstreaker's head, he mused that it was true what they said about never being able to go home again. {{storylink|Hail and Farewell}}

===''Henkei! Henkei!'' pack-in comic===
{{charstubfiction}}
{{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 5|Henkei! Henkei! #5}}

==Games==
===''Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons''===
When Optimus embarked on his mission to rescue the Autobots' [[Mini Vehicle|Minicar]] troops from the Decepticons, Sunstreaker could come to Optimus Prime's aid, helping him navigate more quickly through the Decepticons' maze-like base. {{storylink|Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons}}

===''Transformers G1: Awakening''===
{{storylink|Transformers G1: Awakening}}
{{charstubfiction}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1-toy Sunstreaker.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Yellow, I love me, let me jump in your game.]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Autobot, 1984/1985/1986)
**''Accessories'': Left & right fists, 2 "rocket boosters", 3 rockets

: Sunstreaker was released as part of the first year of the Transformers line in the US. He transforms into a "Super Tuning" customized Lamborghini Countach LP500S with an exposed rear-mounted engine. Each robot-mode arm has a spring-launching mechanism to fire his fists, his chrome missiles, or his "rocket boosters" (once the boosters' main body was pushed forward to lengthen the connection peg), but the springs were severely neutered or removed outright in the US [[for safety reasons]]. The boosters fit very ''very'' loosely in the holes in his rear bumper/robot shoulders, making them pretty dubious additions to either mode.

: As with all his 1984 brethren, a heat-activated [[rubsign]] was added to Sunstreaker in 1985, appearing on his left door. Removed from toystore shelves in 1986, he was then made available as a mail-away item in several different promotions, among them a "[[Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction (G1)|Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction]]" flier packed with most boxed ''Transformers'' toys. He cost $8 and two [[Robot Point|robot points]].

: Sunstreaker is generally considered to be one of the harder early [[The Transformers (toyline)|generation toys]] to find complete and unbroken. Following it's later [[Generation 1 reissues|reissue]] in the European [[Classics (Europe)|Classics]] sub-line (see below), the toy's mold has been stated by [[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] representatives to be one of several whose original molding is either lost or in a state of disrepair too extensive to justify the cost of re-casting, meaning that chances of any future reissues are slim.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/Sunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|VsZ}}[[Image:G1toy vsz set.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Sunstreaker & Skids vs Buzzsaw''' (Multi-pack, 1985)
**''ID number:'' '''VSZ'''
**''Accessories'': Left & right fists, 2 "rocket boosters", 3 rockets

: Sunstreaker's only [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] release was in this giftset, which was also the only way to get [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] and [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] in Japan. This sounds unfair, but then one must remember [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw is an unstoppable killing machine]].
{{-}}
{{anchor|ClassicSunny}}[[Image:G1toy classic heroes sunstreaker.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*'''Classic Sunstreaker''' (1990)
**''Accessories'': Left & right fists, 2 "rocket boosters", 3 rockets

:Sunstreaker was made available again in European markets in 1990, coming in nice new golden packaging as part of the "Classic Heroes" range of reissues. He featured no notable changes from his original release.
{{-}}

===Transform Block===
{{anchor|Block}}[[Image:G1toy TFBlock sunstreaker.jpg|right|thumb|300px|]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (1985)
: Only available in Japan, this small, monochrome representation of Sunstreaker transformed by disassembling and reassembling his vinyl component parts. Hence, the name "Transform Block". The toy was first released as part of the Diaclone line alongside another toy representing the Diaclone version of Skids. The toy was simply put in new packaging for its Transformers release, which resembles that of [[Transform Jr]] toys.
::*''[http://homepage3.nifty.com/redalert/toybox/tf/g1/TFGM04/TFGM04.html More information on Transform Block Sunstreaker at a Japanese fan site]''
{{-}}

===Universe (2003)===
[[Image:UniverseSunstreaker toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Sideswipe in yellow? Dear Primus, I've become Tigertrack!]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Deluxe, 2003)
**''Accessories'': Left & right rocket boosters, 2 flame-missiles

: A [[retool]] of the ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] mold, Sunstreaker transforms into a Lamborghini Diablo. Unusually for non-vintage transformers at the time, he has rubber tires. In either mode, he is armed with two pressure-launch missile launchers with two flame-shaped projectiles. These launchers are mounted upon his right arm in robot mode. In vehicle mode, they can be mounted on two pegs located on his spoiler as "rocket boosters". It is notable that the part that connects the toy's windshield to the main body uses a yellow decal rather than paint, as that part is made out of [[unpaintable plastic]]. The police lights from the original mold were removed, leaving this area bare.

: Sunstreaker was the "hotel [[exclusive]]" toy from [[OTFCC 2003]], available only to those who booked their room at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare at the convention rate, the official hotel for the convention.

: This mold is also used by [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2003/Autobot/Sunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on BotCon Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Binaltech Asterisk===

[[Image:Btasunstreaker toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Lemony fresh new-car scent.]]
*'''Sunstreaker meets Junko''' (Autobot, 2005)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''BTA-02'''
**''Accessories'': "Junko" driver/figurine, engine-block rifle

: In 2005, Takara and Hasbro released near-simultaneous and significantly different takes on Sunstreaker. The first to the market was the ''[[The Transformers: Binaltech Asterisk|Binaltech Asterisk]]'' version of the toy, including with a PVC driver figurine, a girl named [[Junko Shiragami|Junko]]. A [[redeco]] of the [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] Alternator (itself a [[retool]] of Alternator Sideswipe), Sunstreaker transforms into a 1:24-scale licensed "street performance" Dodge Viper with opening doors and hood, and an open passengers' compartment. His engine block becomes a rifle for his robot mode. Like the rest of the ''Binaltech Asterisk'' line, he was packaged in robot mode instead of vehicle.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Autobot/AltSunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on ''Binaltech Asterisk'' Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Alternators===

[[Image:AlternatorsSunstreaker toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|When girls disappear, their cars gain racing stripes. This is SCIENTIFIC FACT.]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Autobot, 2005)
**''Alternator ID number:'' '''18'''
**''Accessories'': Engine-block rifle

: A few months later, the Hasbro ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' version was released as part of the standard ''Alternators'' line, in the redesigned "bubble" packaging (the third version of ''Alternators'' packaging). Though both are yellow redecos of the mold, the detailing between the two is very different, with the Hasbro version being a direct color-swap of the paint mask previously used for Dead End, adding red to the robot-mode parts as well as a pair of black racing stripes in car mode. Drastically put, the only two details virtually identical on both versions at first sight are the [[paint operation|paint mask]] for the head and the [[tampograph]]ed license plate. (This is particularly remarkable since a stolen [[prototype|pre-production sample]] of Hasbro Sunstreaker actually sported a license plate tampograph more in style with previous ''Alternators'' license plates, whereas the final version is dead on identical to the ''Binaltech Asterisk'' toy's tampo.)

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Autobot/AltSunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on ''Alternators'' Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Sunstreakeruniverse2008toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He's got Mirage's legs, and he knows how to use 'em better than Mirage does.]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Series:'' Classics Series
**''Accessories:'' "Electron Pulse Blaster", engine supercharger intakes

: Part of the first wave of [[Transformers: Universe (2008 toyline)|2008 ''Universe'']] Deluxes, Sunstreaker transforms into a modified [[wikipedia:Lamborghini_Gallardo|Lamborghini Gallardo]]. Though the car is mostly based upon the Gallardo, to avoid legal problems, it also features modified headlights and elements taken from other cars—most of them are taken from other Lamborghini models, such as a rear end that is basically a cross between a [[wikipedia:Lamborghini Murciélago|Murciélago]] and a [[wikipedia:Lamborghini_Diablo|Diablo]]; however, the split side windows and the ridges on the door vents are based on a [[wikipedia:McLaren F1|McLaren F1]]. Like the original Sunstreaker's Lamborghini Countach form, the 2008 ''Universe'' vehicle mode features a customized engine supercharger intakes mounted just behind the roof of the car. Sunstreaker's license plate is [[Tampograph|tampographed]] "WE R 84", referring to the year the ''Transformers'' franchise was launched.

: Like many other new-mold ''Universe'' toys, Sunstreaker has a "dramatic head reveal" when transforming him to robot mode: when his chest is rotated into place, his head rises into position and his ears spring out. In robot mode, his supercharger engine accessory can be attached to his back, but it can also be attached to the "Electron Pulse Blaster" to create a larger weapon by wrapping the intakes around it, and the gun can be mounted in either of the holes on his shoulders, though Sunstreaker's "ears" get in the way. Most of this is not shown in the [[instructions]], which only instruct the owner of the toy to put the gun in his hand and attach the supercharger to his back.

: Sunstreaker shares his sculpt with ''Universe'' Sideswipe, who features a different head sculpt, a slightly different transformation (which consists of the upper half of the body being rotated 180 degrees at the waist) and swapped hands to accommodate the different upper body orientation. Based on the release order, Sunstreaker is considered the original iteration of the sculpt and Sideswipe the [[retool]], even though the two were designed concurrently.

: Though not specifically a [[quality control]] issue, the yellow paint used for Sunstreaker's roof does not precisely match the bright yellow plastic used for his car body panel parts. The dark tinted windows causes the yellow paint to take on a greenish tinge.

: The Sunstreaker/Sideswipe mold was also retooled into ''[[Transformers Timelines (toyline)|Timelines]]'' [[Punch (G1)|Punch]], [[BotCon 2010]] [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], ''[[Henkei! Henkei! Transformers (toyline)|Henkei! Henkei!]]'' [[Red Alert (G1)#Henkei! Henkei!|Red Alert]] and ''[[Transformers: Generations|Generations]]'' Red Alert.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/TFUSunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on Universe Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''

===Henkei! Henkei!===
[[Image:Henkei Sunstreaker toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Unlike others in this line, the chrome surprisingly makes him more G1-accurate.]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-07'''
**''Accessories:'' "Electron Pulse Blaster", engine supercharger intakes

: TakaraTomy's ''[[Henkei! Henkei! Transformers (toyline)|Henkei! Henkei!]]'' version of ''Universe'' Sunstreaker is a redeco of Hasbro's release, featuring a deeper shade of yellow with a much greater consistency between the painted yellow roof and the yellow plastic than seen on ''Universe'' Sunstreaker. He also replaces some of the Universe figure's gray paint with black. The orange paint is replaced with red, and the maroon Autobot symbol is now the more standard red. Like all ''Henkei! Henkei!'' toys, he features [[vacuum metallizing|vacuum metallized]] plastic, including his Electron Pulse Blaster, his supercharger and his spoiler.
{{-}}

==Merchandise==

* '''Cybertron Hero Collection 22''' (Decoy multi-pack, 1985)

: In Japan, a red rubber mini-figure of Sunstreaker was available in part of a [[Decoy|massive multi-pack of similar mini-figurines]]. The number etched into his back is the sum total of his [[Tech Spec|tech spec]] ratings, as these figurines were used as game pieces for a variety of ''Transformers'' board games in which this number had some meaning to how the game was played or something. Sunstreaker mixes the [[Character model|cartoon model]] with elements from the original toy.


*'''Sunstreaker''' (Decoy, 1987)
**''Decoy number'': '''11'''

: The [[Hasbro]] [[Decoy]] release of the Sunstreaker game piece is almost identical to the Japanese version, except the number on his back is a simple "checklist" number. Like all Autobot Decoys, he was a randomly-chosen pack-in available with the carded [[Throttlebot|Throttlebots]], [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] and [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/Decoys/Sunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on Decoy Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===Titanium Series===
[[Image:Titanium-toy RMSunstreaker.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Too good to be released, apparently.]]
*'''Sunstreaker''' (Robot Master, unreleased)
**''Accessories'': Engine-blaster, display stand

:A planned redeco of ''[[Titanium Series]]'' Side Swipe, which was based on Sideswipe's ''Alternators'' toy. Sunstreaker would have been partially constructed of die cast metal with limited articulation located in his shoulders and neck. His accessories would have been a removable engine blaster and an Autobot symbol display stand.

{{canceledtoy}}
{{-}}

===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:RobotHeroes Galvatron Sunstreaker.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hi, I'm cuter than you.]]
* '''Sunstreaker vs. Galvatron''' (2-pack, 2008)

:Part of the first wave of ''Universe'' [[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]] toys, Sunstreaker is an adorably sociopathic non-transforming figure articulated at the neck and shoulders. He was available only in a two-pack with [[Galvatron (G1)/toys|Galvatron]], making this the most mentally-unbalanced Robot Heroes set ''ever''.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/RHSunstreaker/sunstreaker.htm More information on Robot Heroes Sunstreaker at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:Sunstreaker-diaclone.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Before he was a Transformer.]]

* According to Hasbro, the pre-''Transformers'' ''[[Diaclone]]'' version of Sunstreaker was the first transforming car-to-robot toy ever designed, namely by [[Kōjin Ōno]].<ref name="hof2010">[http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/movie-news/TRANSFORMERS-HALL-OF-FAME-INAUGURAL-MEMBERS.cfm Hasbro press release for the 2010 Transformers Hall of Fame inductees]</ref> His alternate mode, a modified Lamborghini Countach with a rear-mounted supercharger engine, is actually based on an older [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] toy from their ''[[Microman]]'' line, the "Cosmo Countach" from 1978, which could also transform, albeit only into a weird half-robot, half-car hybrid.<ref name="cosmo">[http://www5e.biglobe.ne.jp/~mikuro/sub1-6.htm The Cosmo Countach, Sunstreaker's ancestor]</ref><ref name="spencer">[http://www.spencer1984.com/serendipity/index.php?/archives/49-Sunstreaker-The-Missing-Link.html Spencer 1984 discovers the connection between the Cosmo Countach and Diaclone Sunstreaker]</ref> The ''Diaclone'' version of Sunstreaker, officially called Lamborghini Countach LP500S "Super Tuning", was originally only available in red and black/while police decos. This is one of several items that have led to the fan speculation that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe's colorations and [[bio]] texts were swapped around before their final release (another being that, according to his ''[[The Transformers Universe|Transformers Universe]]'' profile, Sunstreaker feels that Sideswipe's design is "spoiled by the rear-mounted engine in his automobile mode", when in fact Sunstreaker is the one with said engine; and in robot mode, the engine ends up on his back, which could be the inspiration for the "rocket backpack" from Sideswipe's bio; and Sunstreaker's spring-loaded missile-launching forearms also look more like they could "act as powerful pile drivers", as stated in Sideswipe's bio.) The [[Tech Spec|statistics]], however, are correct. This change would also explain Sunstreaker's otherwise inexplicable red shoulders/car panel decals, which were originally used to cover up the black plastic on the red Diaclone version.
** Unlike the red and police versions of Diaclone Sunstreaker, there is little evidence of yellow Sunstreakers packaged as Transformers wearing the factory decals representing his park lights (assumed to be headlights by most).

* The red ''[[Diaclone]]'' version of Sunstreaker was sold by [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] in North America as the ''[[Diakron]]'' "DK-1" Car/Robot in 1983, seemingly just a few months before he would be rebranded as a Transformer.

* In the Transformers series [[Production bible|bible]] entry for his brother [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], Sunstreaker is referred to by a different name, '''Spinout''' <ref>http://transformers.winterchill.com/bible/biblepage17.html</ref>. "Nearly the equal of his twin brother, Spinout, in combat, but less cold-blooded." The same name (spelled "Spin-Out") is also used in a Marvel Age article<ref>[http://www.electric-escape.net/node/590 Article from Marvel Age #17.]</ref> from 1984 that announced the Marvel comic series.

* According to a [[story page]] in the October 1985 issue of ''[[TV Magazine]]'', Sideswipe and [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] are brothers, with Sideswipe being slightly older than Red Alert. This connection may have been invented because, aside from Sideswipe and Red Alert sharing the same mold, Sunstreaker was not sold in the Japanese market outside of a special "versus" set with [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]. However, the familial dynamic between Sideswipe and Sunstreaker was '''not''' changed in the Japanese dub of the original ''Transformers'' cartoon, leading some Japanese fans to consider the three Lamborghini characters as triplets.

*In 2003, an entry for a ''[[The Transformers: Generation One Commemorative Series|Commemorative Series]]'' "Sunstreaker" [[Generation 1 reissues|reissue]] was found in Canadian and Australian [[Toys"R"Us]] computers. The public Canadian Toys"R"Us website later even illustrated their listing with a non-[[stock photography|official photo]] of the ''Generation 1'' Sunstreaker toy lifted straight off a [http://www.ggaub.com/tf/toy.html fan's website], complete with watermark. Ultimately, however, the listings for "Sunstreaker" transformed into listings for ''Commemorative Series'' [[Ricochet (Headmasters)|Ricochet]], leading to some confusion among fans.

* ''Alternators'' Sunstreaker was originally planned as the ''first'' [[retool]]/[[redeco]] of the [[Sideswipe (G1)|Side Swipe]] Dodge Viper toy. Early prototypes that were leaked to the public sported a sculpted Autobot logo, and development concept art and color maps detailed in ''[[The Transformers: Binaltech & TF Collection Complete Guide]]'' show a black-decoed figure. A store listing from March 2004 stated the figure's name as "'''Blackstreaker'''"<ref name="alternatorstfa">[http://www.tfarchive.com/community/showthread.php?t=22083 TFArchive news thread about Alternators store listing from March 2004.]</ref>, suggesting that he was still intended to be Sunstreaker despite sporting different colors, possibly at the request of the car manufacturer. For reasons unknown, however, the toy was ultimately released as the [[Decepticon]] [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] instead, possibly to satisfy fan demands for Decepticons in the line, but this is mere supposition. It took a couple of years until Sunstreaker would see shelves as originally intended.

[[Image:SunstreakerSideswipeSDCC2007.jpg|thumb|250px|right|One of the cases where the end result turned out even ''better'' than the original idea. Well, except maybe for the weapon.]]
* Hasbro's early plans for ''Universe'' Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had the two as straight [[redeco]]s of each other, only differing in their head sculpts besides their colors—namely, Sunstreaker would have just been Sideswipe in yellow with a different head. It was [[TakaraTomy]] designer [[Hisashi Yuki]] who suggested an alternate transformation by turning the upper body by 180 degrees, thus providing more individual robot mode looks for the two characters that resemble their respective ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|Generation 1]]'' designs more.<ref name="generations2009">Interview with Hisashi Yuki in [[Transformers Generations 2009|''Transformers Generations 2009'' vol. 1]], [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/223379-takaratomy-staff-interview-generations-2009-vol-1-translation.html English translation] at TFW2005.</ref> In addition, Hasbro originally intended the [[alternate mode]]'s supercharger to split into two halves which would then become the handgun and a spring-loaded shoulder launcher for the robot mode.

* Hilariously, early Hasbro prototypes of ''Universe'' Sunstreaker had the [[license plate]] say "WE R 8'''2'''", rather than "WE R 8'''4'''". This is seen in the [[stock photography|stock photo]] on the back of the packaging and an issue of ''Dengeki Hobby Magazine'' that compared ''Henkei'' Sunstreaker to his ''Universe'' counterpart.<ref name="wer82">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-toy-discussion/185434-classics-henkei-sunstreaker-prowl-comparison-pictures.html Images from ''Dengeki Hobby Magazine''] at TFW2005, August 2008.</ref> It's also possible, though, that the "82" version was intended as a reference to the year Sunstreaker's ''Diaclone'' predecessor was released.

* Simon Furman's reason for making Sunstreaker a Headmaster at IDW? Because he's the one character who'd ''least'' want to ''be'' a Headmaster.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIkqheta3GE Moonbase Two interview with Nick Roche, 27:58 in]</ref>

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Sunstreaker''' (サンストリーカー ''Sansutorīkā'')
*''French:'' '''Solo''' (Canada)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Napcsillantó''', '''Napvillantó''' ("Sun-flasher")
*''Italian:'' '''Lince''' ("Lynx")
*''Mandarin:'' '''Tài-yáng wén''' (Taiwan, 太陽紋, "Sun Streak"), '''Fei Mao Tui''' (China, 飛毛腿, "Scud")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Raio Solar''' (Portugal comics, "Sun Beam"), '''Raiado''' (Brazil comics, "Crease")
*''Ukrainian:'' '''Promin''' (Промінь, "Ray")
*''Russian:'' '''Mercatel''' (Мерцатель, "Twinkler")
{{--}}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Sunstreaker Sunstreaker's Universe profile at NTFA.net]
*[http://transformers.winterchill.com/bible/biblepage18.html Sunstreaker's entry in the Transformers series bible.]

[[Category:Alternators Autobots]]
[[Category:Artists]]
[[Category:Binaltech Asterisk characters]]
[[Category:Classics Autobots]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Decoys]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Gladiators]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:Henkei! Henkei! Autobots]]
[[Category:Mail order items]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Titanium Series]]
[[Category:United Autobots]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Bumblebee (Animated)

2012-08-21T21:11:25Z

166.250.65.10: /* The Cool comic */

{{factions|autobot|hofsilver}}
{{picsneeded|Cartoon screencaps}}
{{disambig3|Bumblebee}}
:''Bumblebee is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Bumblebeeanimated.jpg|thumb|300px|Little. Yellow. Different.]]
'''Bumblebee''' is the youngest, yellowest, and most energetic of the Autobots...[[Bumblebee (G1)|as]] [[Bumblebee (Movie)|usual]]. A hyperactive wisecracker, Bumblebee is quite convinced he's the fastest—and coolest—thing on four wheels. He has a tendency to bite off more than he can chew, so it's a good thing he pals around with the massive [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]. He does ''not'' take well to being called short, and his over-eager ways can get on [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet's]] nerves all too easily. Still, Bumblebee is good with people, as evidenced by his fast friendship with [[Sari Sumdac]].

{{bigquote|I may be small, but I'm scrappy! And I can ride circles around your big, old, rusty chassis!|Bumblebee to Bulkhead|"[[Total Meltdown]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{Idw-tfa}}
{{voiceactor|[[Bumper Robinson]] (English), [[Tom Kenny]] (English, "[[Where Is Thy Sting?]]"), [[Daisuke Kishio]] (Japanese)| [[Santiago Ziesmer]] (German), [[Krzysztof Korzeniowski]] (Polish), [[Renato Novara]] (Italian), [[Márcio Araújo]] (Portuguese), [[Cristian Lizama]] (Latin American Spanish), [[Sin Yongwu]] (Korean)}}

[[Image:Autobot_Cadets.jpg|thumb|left|250px|There's a [[Wasp|green me]] and a [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|red me]]!]]
Early in his career, Bumblebee dreamed of becoming a member of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]]. He joined the [[Autobot boot camp]], but things didn't exactly go as planned—his [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|drill sergeant]] was a jerk, [[Wasp|most]] of his [[Ironhide (Animated)|classmates]] bullied him and the only bot willing to befriend him was a complete [[Bulkhead (Animated)|mudflap]]. His luck seemed to change, however, when he accidentally overheard someone communicating with [[Lugnut (Animated)|a Decepticon]]. He then saw fellow classmate [[Wasp]] walk out, which aroused his suspicions. After taking the advice of [[Shockwave (Animated)|Longarm]], Bumblebee attempted to weed out the spy, but Sentinel Minor got in the way twice. Needless to say, this resulted in many [[Transform-up|transform-ups]] for his squadron. After Wasp and Ironhide tore off his legs and put him in a closet, he was saved by Longarm, who encouraged him not to give up. Later that day, the group was put through their first training exercise—combat in a simulated battlezone. When somebody switched the turret settings to fire actual lasers, it was Bulkhead who saved Bumblebee. However, they accidentally knocked over a building in the process, flattening Sentinel.

[[Image:Beecybermode.jpg|thumb|250px|Very Wacky Races.]]
When Sentinel was conducting a surprise locker inspection, Sentinel discovered a Decepticon communicator in Wasp's trunk, ousting him as a traitor. Sentinel was prepared to put Bumblebee on an Elite Guard fast track program. Sadly, his new friendship with Bulkhead forced him to throw it all away in order to prevent his new buddy being kicked out, and they both wound up working on [[space bridge]]s. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

[[Image:Bumblebeeanimatedpreearth.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Wait... who are [[Hot Shot (Animated)|you]]?]]

The two friends were assigned to [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]]'s space bridge repair [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|vessel]]. During one mission, Bumblebee and Bulkhead stumbled across [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]], a ninja-bot meditating near an isolated space bridge. Due to an [[energon cube]] accident on [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]'s part, Prowl's spaceship was destroyed, and he was forced to join their crew. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}} After this, Bumblebee's work continued as usual until the crew discovered the [[AllSpark]] itself on another asteroid, which unfortunately attracted the attention of [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. Even though he expressed significant fear of the [[Decepticon]] leader, Bumblebee still managed to crack wise at his appearance once they were face-to-face. The humor vanished when Megatron pulled out his sword. After Megatron was thrown off the ship, Bumblebee entered stasis with the rest of the crew just before the crew's ship crash-landed on [[Earth]].

Fifty years later, Teletran-1 awoke the crew to alert them to the intrusion of a [[nanite]]-powered bug-slug. Sending out a probe to find local disguises, the probe scanned [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]]'s [[Captain Fanzone's car|car]] amongst other things. Bumblebee was given the car for his new bodyform. Lucky him.

[[Image:TFA_TFandRollout_Sari_followedmehome.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"Can we keep it?"]]
Upon noticing [[Sari Sumdac|"a little creature"]] struggling with her [[Sparkplug (robot dog)|"owner"]], Bumblebee and Bulkhead showed their unfamiliarity with organic life by assuming the owner/pet relationship was reversed. Their speculation was interrupted by the attacks of the giant, nanite-fueled bug monster, and Bumblebee intervened to get Sari out of the way. Later in the battle, Bumblebee was called on to deliver the override command to the beast's nanites, as he was the fastest and most nimble of the crew.

His defeat of the monster seriously impressed Sari, who decided to befriend him. Sari's definition of befriending included cajoling him into sneaking her aboard the Autobots' ship. Of course, Sari wouldn't stay still as Bumblebee asked, compelling him to jettison her into a ventilation shaft. After introducing her to the group, Sari and Bumblebee became fast friends. When [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] attacked [[Detroit]], Bumblebee took a shot intended for Sari, allowing Starscream to capture Bumblebee, [[Isaac Sumdac]], Captain Fanzone, and the Mayor. Sari, with [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]'s help, managed to rescue them. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}}

The Autobots quickly became famous for their heroic deeds in Detroit, much to Bumblebee's delight. Prowl, on the other hand, was less enthusiastic about all the attention, however, and he and Bumblebee quickly had a clash of opinions on the values of peace and quiet versus the values of fun. When the Autobots' factory base was turned against them, however, Bumblebee was forced to listen to Prowl's "stillness and strike" attitude to get past the motion sensors preventing him from shutting the factory down. In the aftermath, he had a newfound respect for Prowl as the two played a relaxed game of Twister™. {{storylink|Home Is Where the Spark Is}}

At one point, Bumblebee took part in a match against [[Colossus Rhodes|Cyrus "Colossus" Rhodes]], hosted by [[Meltdown (Animated)|Prometheus Black]] to show off the effectiveness of biotechnology. Unfortunately, Cyrus [[Hulk|hulked up]], then proceeded to beat the [[Slag (slang)|slag]] out of Bumblebee. The other Autobots were forced to rescue him, using it as a chance to riff on his small stature. However, only Bumblebee was able to get into [[Sumdac Tower]] when [[Meltdown (Animated)|Meltdown]] went to kill Isaac Sumdac. Bumblebee managed to get him to the ground floor, but Meltdown arrived. Bulkhead tried to stop him, but Meltdown threw a glob of acid at Bulkhead, which Bumblebee took instead. Bulkhead offered his apologies over his comments, saying he was only having a little fun—which sent Bumblebee into declaring his good moves and speed. He's going to be pretty impossible to live with for a while. {{storylink|Total Meltdown}}

''Bumblebee and the Autobots accidentally upstaged a local Detroit hero named the [[Wraith]], exposing his spook act for the holographic trickery it was. Bumblebee in particular continued to upstage the Wraith, and even got invited in his place to perform at the University of Michigan half-time show. Mad with envy, the Wraith staged an attack on the game, taking Bumblebee out of the picture with some well placed "boots" while using holograms to simulate the little yellow robot on a rampage. Bumblebee eventually broke free and the Autobots had Wraith arrested for his antics. {{storylink|Attention Surplus Disorder}}''

''After a break-in at Sumdac Systems, Bumblebee and the Autobots tracked the culprit, [[Stiletto (Animated)|Stiletto]], to the Ambassador Bridge. Although she managed to slice his tires, Bumblebee and the others succeeded in capturing Stiletto. {{storylink|Stiletto}}''

''Later on, [[Porter C. Powell]] attempted to cash in on Bulkhead's name without his permission, so Bumblebee and the others helped Bulky set Powell up to admit his products were "gas-guzzling deathtraps". {{storylink|The Insincerest Form of Flattery}}''

The troubles in Detroit were far from over, as the Autobots soon found themselves facing three rampaging [[Dinobot (Animated)|robotic dinosaurs]]. During the battle, Bumblebee combined his [[Stinger (weapon)|stingers]]' electrical with Ratchet's magnets to create an [[electromagnetic pulse]] that would hopefully shut the prehistoric menaces down. Sari decided to pitch in by boosting Bumblebee's stingers with her [[AllSpark Key]], which proved enough to defeat the "Dinobots"... but also provided them with [[Spark|sparks]]. {{storylink|Blast from the Past}} He later bought a neat car horn and tried to chase down a mysterious muscle car with little success. The car turned out to be the bounty hunter [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]], who kidnapped Optimus Prime and made short work of Bumblebee as well, threatening to take his stingers. In the end, Lockdown was defeated by Ratchet and Prime was saved. {{storylink|The Thrill of the Hunt}}

[[Image:TFA_Nanosec_Bumblebee_turbo_boosters.JPG|thumb|left|250px|BB got back!]]
After Bumblebee showed a lack of ability (or inclination) to be subtle on Earth, Prime had Prowl try to teach Bumblebee how to blend in. This ruined some plans with Sari, as she wanted to attach some [[turbo booster]]s to him to make him go even faster. During the exercise, they encountered [[Nanosec]], a crook that had gained Professor Sumdac's new speed suit via [[Megatron (Animated)|unknown patrons]]. Unable to keep up with Nanosec, Bumblebee was convinced by Sari attach the turbo boosters against Prime's orders. Unfortunately, he couldn't control them in vehicle mode, allowing Nanosec to escape from the Autobots twice. Worse, he was carrying enough [[Destronium]] to destroy all of Detroit. Overhearing Bulkhead and Prowl's comments on his change of appearance, Bumblebee realized that the suit was causing him to age the more he used it, so he purposefully ran him into old age (cold, Bee). With the Destronium about to go critical, Bumblebee, with help from Prowl and Bulkhead, managed to use his turbo boosters to head into the outer atmosphere and get the Destronium away from the city before detonating. The whole experience seems have given Bumblebee a bit more respect for subtlety. {{storylink|Nanosec (episode)|Nanosec}}

October soon came around, and Sari decided to teach the Autobots about [[Halloween]]. Bumblebee dressed up as "Count Dracubot", but his trick-and-treating session went sour when he and Bulkhead were attacked by the spider-bot [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] and knocked unconscious. They recovered in time to save Sari from falling off a skyscraper, although Bumblebee blew out his tires in the process. {{storylink|Along Came a Spider}} After participating in Sari's eighth birthday party, Bumblebee decided that he also wanted one of those cool [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] toys. He was less enthusiastic after Soundwave took control of all [[automaton]]s in Detroit and faked Bumblebee's voice in order to confuse the Autobots. {{storylink|Sound and Fury}} While Soundwave was eventually defeated, the Decepticon attacks were far from over—[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] soon arrived on Earth in their search for Megatron. Bumblebee and the others were knocked unconscious by Lugnut's [[Punch of Kill Everything|mighty punch]] in their first battle, but the odds were in the Autobots' favour when they later fought in the muddy waters of [[Lake Erie]]. Bumblebee got to electrocute Blitzwing a bit before both Decepticons were blasted to pieces by Teletran-1's main cannon. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}}

When Sari was later kidnapped by a [[Swoop (Animated)|pterosaur]], Bumblebee participated in the police investigation. {{storylink|Survival of the Fittest}} Bulkhead later got into the fine arts, so Bumblebee helped out by modeling for him until his friend got his body hijacked by the human villain known as the [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]]. As the other Autobots investigated, Bumblebee kept Bulkhead's head company and helped him create art pieces for his upcoming gallery (all while relentlessly cracking jokes about the situation, naturally). The Headmaster soon threatened to destroy Detroit using Bulkhead's body, so the Autobots approached him by pretending to be rescue vehicles, with Bumblebee being driven by Captain Fanzone. During the battle against the Headmaster, he got to play both bowling and football with Bulkhead's head before it was returned to its body. {{storylink|Headmaster (episode)|Headmaster}}

Some time during that winter, Bumblebee and Sari were playing video games and listening to music while ignoring Prowl's lectures on how spending so much time on "electronic devices" was unnecessary. All three of them were then sent out to investigate a Cybertronic energy signal in the woods; a prospect which filled Bumblebee with dread as nature was just so ''incredibly'' boring compared to his TV, games and music back home. He came along on what Sari described as a "camping trip" anyway, although he brought plenty of electronic devices with him. Prowl was not impressed, and even less so when Bumblebee decided to use his holographic projector as a TV screen. The lack of electricity proved to be the least of Bumblebee's problems, however, as the group was attacked by a [[Space barnacle|space barnacle monster]] shortly after nightfall. After a drawn-out fight with the creature, Bumblebee eventually knocked it off a cliff with his stingers, only to find that Prowl had been infected by the barnacles himself. While Sari had the bright idea of trapping the crazed Prowl in a mine, Bumblebee ended up trapping both of ''them'' in it as well, and got himself infected. Ultimately, Sari saved the day by using hot water to remove the barnacles, and in the aftermath Bumblebee voiced his opinion that nature should just be paved over as soon as possible. {{storylink|Nature Calls}}

[[Image:Megatron_rising_1_Starscream_freakout.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Bumblebee followed this moment by offering Starscream a polo.]]
When Decepticon activity was detected in high levels, Bulkhead spilled the beans on what he and Prowl had done with the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]], and Optimus Prime pretty much lost it. Ranting that all he had was a group of insubordinate malfunctions, he told Ratchet to take Sari's [[AllSpark Key]] from her, saying it wasn't safe in her hands. As she ran off crying, Bumblebee defended her, and Prime pointed out that Bumblebee wasn't a good character witness. Bumblebee mouthed off that their situation meant that Prime wasn't fit to command, and then went looking for Sari. Heading to [[Sumdac Tower]], Bumblebee spotted Starscream, and disobeyed Prime's order to hold off. Heading up the elevator (which could not only fit him, but also carry his weight), Bumblebee charged, firing his stingers at Starscream. All it really did was interrupt his speech, which made Starscream ''seriously'' freak out. However, a crane pulled Starscream, who was holding Bumblebee, up to the roof, where the two fought it out...right until Megatron burst through the roof of the tower. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

After Megatron's restoration, Starscream absentmindedly beat on Bumblebee for a while, then threw him aside when Megatron called the Decepticons to him. Once he'd been repaired with remaining AllSpark Key energy in Professor Sumdac's lab, Bumblebee called Prime on his previous statements, and Optimus apologized, saying he'd been out of line. When Ratchet brought the Autobots' ship to them, the Autobots and Sumdacs boarded the vessel in an attempt to lead Megatron and the Decepticons off-planet, but were shot down and crashed on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]]. As the Autobots rallied to defend the AllSpark, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Prowl took on [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]]. Ratchet and Bumblebee teamed up again to create an [[electromagnetic pulse]], causing him to crash. After shelling them in tank mode, Blitzwing again took to the air for some strafing runs. Prowl noticed a connection between Blitzwing's alternate modes and personalities, so they had Bumblebee use his greatest strength, his obnoxious personality, to cause Angry Blitzwing to emerge. Taunting the triple changer, Bumblebee got him to transform accidentally into tank mode and crash into the lake. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

[[Image:Super_secretary.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"[[Aaron Archer]]'s office. Please hold."]] Following the defeat of Megatron and the disappearance of Professor Sumdac, Bumblebee helped Sari run [[Sumdac Systems]] until the arrival of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]]. Among their numbers was [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]], Bumblebee and Bulkhead's old sergeant from boot camp, but thankfully he didn't seem to remember them. Bumblebee and the rest of the crew were subsequently contained within the [[Sigma Supreme|Elite Guard flagship]] while the Sentinel and [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] went with Optimus Prime to investigate the supposed defeat of Megatron and dispersion of the AllSpark, but soon had to leave to deal with an out-of-control [[police drone]] factory. {{storylink|The Elite Guard}} Shortly afterwards, Bumblebee greeted Sari when she was thrown out of Sumdac Tower by [[Porter C. Powell]] and forced to live with the Autobots. He and Bulkhead tried to cheer her up by saying that living together would be like a non-stop party, making her food and teaching her about "stuff and how it works", but were met with limited success. {{storylink|The Return of the Headmaster}}

Bumblebee and Sari later helped stop a runaway train powered by an AllSpark fragment. When Starscream stopped by again, Bumblebee and Ratchet again combined their powers to attack him with an electromagnetic pulse, but the AllSpark-powered Decepticon shrugged it off like it was nothing. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}} After noticing truly how bad Ratchet's people skills were, Optimus Prime assigned Bumblebee and Sari to help him improve on them, something neither party was very enthusiastic about. During their training, the three encountered the newly created Transformer [[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|Wreck-Gar]], who proceeded to throw beef and motorcycles at Bumblebee. The Autobots chased Wreck-Gar across the city to retrieve the experimental nanobots he had in his backpack, but Bumblebee was not present during Ratchet's final confrontation with the confused 'bot. {{storylink|Garbage In, Garbage Out}}

[[Image:TFA_Velocity_Bumblebee_Blurr_meet.JPG|thumb|right|250px|"If you're [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]], your ass is grass!"]]
Bumblebee became involved in the illegal street races organised by the criminal [[Master Disaster (Animated)|Master Disaster]]. Believing himself to be the fastest things on wheels, Bumblebee was unsurprisingly shocked after getting thrashed in a race by a [[Blurr (Animated)| Mysterious Blue Race Car]]. Following this, AllSpark traces, and the appearance of Blitzwing at the race track, Bumblebee became determined to get to the bottom of the mystery (although deep down he just wanted another chance to beat the Unknown Racer.) He made a deal with Master Disaster to appear in his races. Enlisting the help of Sari, Bumblebee returned to the track, and, to cut a long story short, ending up being pursued by the maniacal Blitzwing. After nearly being frozen one minute and melted to slag the next, Bumblebee was eventually rescued by the Mysterious Racer driving into Blitzwing. The excitement wasn't over for Bumblebee yet, as when returning to Master Disaster's trailer for answers, he and his pal Bulkhead (who had angrily followed Bumblebee there for defying him) had to face off against Blitzwing (he was desperate for that AllSpark fragment...), and had to be rescued once again... although this time it was Sari using Master Disaster's controlling device. {{storylink|Velocity}}

Later, he went on a trip to the Five Banners Roller Coaster Kingdom theme park with Sari. Optimus, fool that he is, believed him when he called it "an important fact-finding mission". {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

[[Image:Watching_SUVs.jpg|thumb|250px|left|If they start to do it, let me see, ok?]]
On another occasion, Bumblebee was attempting to clear up the streets of Detroit by catching some of their [[Nanosec|small]] [[Angry Archer|time]] [[Professor Princess|criminals]]. However, in each case, whenever Bumblebee came close to the capture, he froze up completely, and allowed the baddies to escape. It later became apparent that this was due to the AllSpark-infused timepiece belonging to [[Slo-Mo]]. After revealing himself and snatching the timepiece, [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] froze all of the Autobots and looked set for victory. However, after being lifted to Sumdac Tower by Sari and the members of the [[Society of Ultimate Villainy|SUV]] and repaired, Bumblebee took on Swindle (even managing to floor him at one point with his stingers.) After getting the timepiece back from Swindle, Bumblebee was double-crossed by the SUV, but fortunately for the Autobot, the rest of his pals were back online by now, and managed to get the criminals arrested. {{storylink|SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy}}

After learning of Wasp's escape, Bumblebee felt a stirring of his old dreams, and dragged Bulkhead off to trace a signal leaked to them, containing a conversation between Megatron and his spy. As they tracked it down, Bumblebee fell into old habits, and started putting Bulkhead down, just like in the old days. It took a nasty fall to remind him that Bulkhead was the best friend he'd ever have, and he didn't need to spend his time chasing big dreams. Together, the two headed home, never realizing they were just outside of the carbon mines where the Decepticons were hiding.

Later, Bumblebee relayed the information they'd gathered to his old friend, Longarm, now Longarm ''Prime'', head of Cybertron Intel. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

[[Image:TFA_Black_Friday_Meltdown_Bee.jpg|thumb|right|250px|IDK, my BFF Jill?]]
Due to his inability to stay quiet, Prowl placed a bet on Bumblebee—that he couldn't go 10 [[Cycle|cycles]] without talking. Should he keep to this, a sweet can of axle grease would be his! However, the poor bot just couldn't do it. Prime took Bumblebee and Prowl with him to Dinobot Island to investigate Meltdown's prison break, and the plucky yellow bot vowed he would win the axle grease. However, the bet was put on hold after both he and Prowl were off-lined by [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia's]] [[cyber venom]]. After the day was saved, Prime used the antidote on the bots, and Bumblebee pointed out he'd been quiet for ages! Prowl dryly noted it took Bumblebee being comatose to achieve this, but the yellow bot didn't care—he just wanted his grease! {{storylink|Black Friday (episode)| Black Friday}}

After insulting Bulkhead's latest painting of Sari, Bumblebee realized that he was wrong and actually apologized for his comments. It didn't go over very well, and that was before Megatron showed up with Professor Sumdac. Though Bumblebee suspected that Sumdac was a willing accomplice, Sari refused to hear it. At that moment, the mysterious blue racer appeared. Thinking he was a Decepticon, Bumblebee rolled after the racer, running him off the road. It was only at this point that the racer revealed that he was [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]], a member of the Elite Guard sent to keep tabs on Decepticons and Prime's crew. Worse, Bumblebee's actions allowed Bulkhead to be kidnapped by Megatron. Once Optimus Prime was informed that the Decepticons were building a [[space bridge]] to attack Cybertron, Bumblebee went with the Autobots to rescue Bulkhead and destroy the bridge. During a brief skirmish with Lugnut and Blitzwing, Bumblebee admitted that he'd lost his title as "fastest thing on wheels" to Blurr. Unfortunately, when they confronted Megatron himself, the [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicons]] managed to incapacitate the pair...just in time for Starscream and his [[Starscream clone (Animated)|clones]] to attack. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}}

Managing to escape the Decepticons, the Autobots went for the clones, apparently deciding that they were the greater evil. The battle went poorly for them, as Blurr was lost in the space bridge and Bumblebee was cemented to a wall. When Isaac Sumdac decapitated Starscream and took his body with the [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster unit]], Bumblebee was convinced that he was working for the Decepticons, though Sumdac revealed that it was to destroy Megatron. That didn't work out too well. After Megatron explained his plan to the captive Autobots, the Decepticon [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] revealed that he was Longarm Prime and that Bumblebee had sent an innocent Wasp to the stockade. Fortunately, [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] arrived, reactivated thanks to Sari and Ratchet, and sacrificed himself to save the Autobots and Sumdacs. With the threat passed, Sumdac revealed that he had been forced to help the Decepticons, and Bumblebee's mistrust of the professor presumably faded away—only to return when Sari saw that the skin of her right arm had torn...revealing robotic circuitry underneath! {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

Despite the revelation that one of his best friends was a robot, Bumblebee actually remained focused on the larger picture: namely, Shockwave's presence on Cybertron. Optimus reasoned that since Bulkhead was a genius with regards to space bridges (something Bumblebee said he'd never get used to, revealing his high opinion of his other best friend), so the two headed out to the mine. Bumblebee managed to find a recall beacon generator, which was needed to locate the position in space, and the plasmadynamic thruster, which generated the transwarp field. Unfortunately, the thruster activated before Bumblebee could give it to Bulkhead, sending him across the galaxy. After catching another transwarp wave, he was again transported to another part of the galaxy—where he was swallowed by a [[Rock Lord]].

Fortunately, Bulkhead was able to capture Bumblebee's signal, and reel him in. Sadly, it also brought the alien to Detroit. As the Autobots struggled to figure out how to defeat the monster and save Bumblebee, Sari used the AllSpark Key on herself to upgrade with new weapons and a teenage appearance. Sari quickly trounced the monster, freeing Bumblebee. Unfortunately, Sari didn't remove the Key after the upgrade, causing her to overload and lose control of her abilities. Bumblebee made a mad dash to try to remove the Key, but Sari's defenses systems registered him as a threat, and Sari horrifically watched as she stabbed Bumblebee through the chest and blasted him across the street. Ratchet immediately went to work, saying that he could repair Bumblebee without the Key. However, the damage was severe, and Bumblebee's spark was fading fast. Even when they got the Key, Ratchet was still hard pressed, as the Key had been burned out upgrading Sari. Fortunately, Ratchet managed to stabilize Bumblebee with his magnets, but Ratchet was forced to deactivate Sari with his EMP generator.

[[Image:TransWarpedBumblebeeSari.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Ouch.]]
After Ratchet made what repairs he could, the Autobots allowed Professor Sumdac some time alone with Sari. Lamenting on how troubled their day had been, Bumblebee tempted fate by asking how much worse it could get. On cue, the plasmadynamic thruster began to power up, but Bulkhead manged to shut it down. Unfortunately, Omega Supreme soon arrived, under the control of Megatron. Bumblebee was given an illegal stinger upgrade to help against Omega Supreme, but it still did little good. Optimus and Prowl managed to sneak inside and remove Megatron's control while Bumblebee and Bulkhead served as <s>bait</s> a distraction. However, Starscream managed to gain control, and soon moved to conquer Cybertron. Bumblebee came up with the idea to throw the plasmadynamic thruster inside Omega to send the three randomly warping across the galaxy, managing to reach the altitude with his [[turbo booster]]s (why Optimus let him keep those is unknown). Later, Sari was awakened, and all was well with the Autobots...except for being out of contact with Cybertron, but still, it's the thought that counts. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

While Bulkhead and Professor Sumdac began constructing a space bridge, Bumblebee and the other Autobots focused on hunting down the remaining Decepticons on Earth. The first one they found was Lugnut, who was defeated and [[stasis cuffs|stasis cuffed]] after a drawn-out battle. Unfortunately, this left the Autobot force trying to pull the massive Decepticon out of the deep crater he had caused during the fight—a daunting task that they spent the rest of the night working on. Before any real progress could be made, Bumblebee and the others were called away to help Bulkhead, who had been dragged into an oil-stealing scheme by the Constructicons. Upon arriving at the [[Fossil Fuel]] oil refinery, Bumblebee fought against Scrapper, but was warned to watch his stingers so he wouldn't set fire to a nearby oil spill. Unfortunately, a collision between Scrapper and Mixmaster led to a spark setting fire to it anyway, so the Autobots were forced to transwarp an entire oil tank (with the Constructicons on it) out to Lake Erie, where it exploded. {{storylink|Three's a Crowd}}

[[Image:WhereIsThySting-hotdogbot.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Bumblebee attempts to kitbash himself.]]

Some time later, Bumblebee's old friend Wasp arrived on Earth, with a few screws loose and a vendetta against the 'bot who put him away. That night, Bumblebee was on monitor duty as the other Autobots were searching for Wasp, but spent his time playing ''[[Ninja Gladiator]]'' instead (after all, a TV is a monitor too!), which led to Wasp easily getting the drop on him. Bumblebee tried explaining how Longarm had set the whole thing up back in the day, but the deranged Wasp wouldn't listen, instead knocking Bumblebee out and saying it was ''his'' turn to lose everything he'd ever had. When Bumblebee woke up, he found himself equipped with Wasp's helmet, paintjob and voice synthesizer and all his friends staring down at him... including Wasp dressed up as himself. Unable to prove his own identity, Bumblebee was forced to escape from his own friends, only to be chased down by Elite Guard members [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] and [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]]. Luckily for the small 'bot, Jetstorm's wind blasts were too powerful for him, and he was blown away from danger. A desperate Bumblebee tried painting himself yellow with mustard from a hot dog stand, only to be confronted by Bulkhead and Prowl. Thinking of ideas to prove his innocence, Bumblebee reminded Bulkhead of their misadventures in boot camp—misadventures Wasp could never have known about. While his friends were finally convinced, the newly arrived Jetstorm and Jetfire were not, and a fight broke out until Optimus and Sentinel arrived and sorted it out. Returning to the Autobot base, they confronted Wasp, who had unfortunately spent the meantime researching Bumblebee's past and could easily list many of Bumblebee's past adventures like he was there in person. With no way to prove who was the real deal, Bulkhead suggested that they simply play ''Ninja Gladiator'' for the title of Bumblebee... after all, the real one would ''never'' lose at ''Ninja Gladiator''. The plan worked, as Wasp cracked under the pressure before the match could even begin, grabbing Bumblebee and holding him at stinger-point. With the Autobots unable to attack, Wasp cancelled his and Bumblebee's [[electronic paint job]]s and made a getaway, leaving Bumblebee to be pummelled by a confused Bulkhead. {{storylink|Where Is Thy Sting?}}

Chasing Wasp across Detroit, the Autobots eventually cornered him, and Bumblebee again tried explaining the "funny story" on how Longarm was the true Decepticon spy who caused Wasp's misfortune. However, Wasp didn't see the funny part of it, and Bumblebee nearly got himself blasted in the face for trying. Before the group could capture Wasp, he was suddenly abducted by [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]], so Optimus Prime and Bumblebee had to follow him to [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]]. Upon arrival, Prime suggested that Bumblebee stopped making excuses like blaming Longarm and tried ''apologizing'' to Wasp instead. Making their way into the tunnels of the island, the two soon found Wasp... mutated into a large, monstrous [[technorganic]] form by Blackarachnia. Face to face with the monster, Bumblebee followed Prime's advice and apologized for everything he did and didn't do to Wasp. His old nemesis responded that Wasp forgave him... but he was Wasp''inator'' now, and Waspinator would ''never'' forgive Bumblebee! However, before Waspinator could destroy Bumblebee once and for all, his new body started going out of control, and he went back to Blackarachnia. After being run down by both the spider and the wasp as the latter chased the former, Bumblebee helped carry the damaged Sentinel Prime out of the tunnels. {{storylink|Predacons Rising}}

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Bumblebee vs Blitzwing.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Human Bumblebee is stronger than [[:Image:RollForIt FloppyDisk destruction.jpg|Chip Chase]].]]
Christmas eventually came around, and between shaking his presents and decorating the tree, Bumblebee didn't notice a [[Sound Wave]] toy poisoning the Autobots' [[oilnog]]. After having a taste, the 'bots all felt strangely tired and decided to take a stasis nap... only to wake up in human bodies. Bumblebee took it with a pinch of humour as he made fun of Bulkhead for being small, before the "Automen" headed out to see if Professor Sumdac could find out what was going on. However, during a brief break for food at [[Burger Bot]], the city came under attack from a large force of Decepticons. The Autobots chose to fight back despite their small fleshy bodies, but Bumblebee grabbing onto Starscream's leg had no real effect on the marauding Decepticon, and the heroes were quickly forced to run. Eventually arriving at Sumdac Tower, Bumblebee was shocked when Cybertron itself appeared in the sky and blasted part of the tower to smithereens, followed by the arrival of Megatron himself. However, by this stage, Optimus Prime and Prowl had figured out that none of this was actually happening—they were trapped in some kind of simulated reality. Realizing that they could break through the illusion with their imagination, the Autobots fought back and defeated the simulated Decepticons, with the tiny human Bumblebee easily punching out Blitzwing before transforming back into a robot. But before the Autobots could figure out how to escape from the virtual reality, they were subdued by a giant Soundwave—the one who had trapped them to begin with in order to brainwash them into becoming his mind slaves. {{storylink|Human Error, Part I}}

[[Image:EndgamePart1-BumblebeeArcee.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"I think I've seen this [[Spotlight: Arcee|somewhere]] before."]]

As Soundwave increased his control over the simulation, Bumblebee and the others were transformed back into humans. Deciding that they had to find Soundwave's interface to the world, they grabbed some vehicles matching their alternate modes, leading to Bumblebee pushing a virtual Captain Fanzone out of his own car. The Autobots took to chasing after a black Soundwave van, only to fall into a trap that let Soundwave brainwash them completely. As Sari and her "[[Substitute Autobot]]s" came to save the day, Soundwave used the Autobots' bodies to fight back, with Bumblebee and Prowl teaming up against Wreck-Gar. However, controlling five people at once proved too much for Soundwave, and as he lost focus, Bumblebee's mindless body found itself bound up in Christmas lights and defeated. Shortly afterward, Bumblebee's mind was returned to normal when Optimus Prime shattered Soundwave's body. {{storylink|Human Error, Part II}}

[[Image:TFA-Endgame-PanAcrossEveryone.jpg|left|thumb|250px|]]
When the Autobots discovered Decepticon signals on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]], Bumblebee found himself an volunteering (read: ordered) to transwarp there and plant a transmitter. However, the transmitter was inadvertedly broken by [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] shortly after arrival, so Bumblebee changed his strategy into infiltrating Omega Supreme. Inside, he found [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] babbling on and on about school. Deeming it impossible to take her back to Earth, Bumblebee chose to activate Arcee's transmitter before leaving, using her to spy on the Decepticons. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}} When Megatron used the information inside Arcee to attack Detroit with a trio of "[[Lugnut Supreme]]s", Bumblebee went back to the moon alongside Bulkhead, Ratchet and Sari to attempt a retrieval of Omega Supreme. They quickly located Arcee again, only to be attacked by Shockwave. While Bumblebee's stingers had no effect on his old platoonmate, he was eventually defeated by Bulkhead's brawns. Shockwave transformed back to his Longarm mode in an attempt to trick his "old pals", but failed and was captured. Bumblebee was aboard Omega Supreme when he battled against the oversized Lugnuts-turned-oversized Starscreams, and following their victory, was told that Prowl had died during the battle. When the Autobots returned to Cybertron, he helped carry his friend's coffin. {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}

===Toy bios===
[[Image:Animatedpatrolbumblebeepackageart.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"C.O.P.S. will be right back after these messages!"]]
At some point, Bumblebee began taking stealth lessons from Prowl, presenting him with a new battle tactic: sneaking up from behind instead of racing fender-first into danger. To further that end, Bumblebee apparently painted himself as a police patrol car. {{storylink|Bumblebee (Animated)#ActivPatrol|Patrol Bumblebee}}

After "getting up close to members of the AUTOBOT Elite Guard", Bumblebee decided more than ever that he wanted to join their ranks. He had Sari borrow some of her dad's auto-painting robots so that he could truly look the part of an Elite Guard team member. He also began doing combat training with Prowl, and may have gotten his energy stingers enhanced. {{storylink|Bumblebee (Animated)#EliteGuard|Elite Guard Bumblebee}}

{{note|Presumably Bumblebee's "getting up close to members of the AUTOBOT Elite Guard" refers to the events of the episodes [[The Elite Guard]], [[The Return of the Headmaster]] and [[Mission Accomplished]]. However, at the time of those episodes, Isaac Sumdac was missing and Sari no longer had access to Sumdac Systems technology, so, uh... just go with it. OR, possibly, by "borrow" they mean "steal the robots out from under Powell's greasy nose"}}

===''Be the Hero'' books===
{{Note|As the following stories are [[multipath adventure]]s, details will vary depending on the path taken. See individual pages for information on alternate paths.}}

After [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Prime]] was framed for breaking and entering, Bumblebee and [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] tried to warn him in advance that the Detroit police were after him. Bumblebee helped Sari and [[You|another kid]] check out the police station for leads. Unsuccessful in their search, they went to the scene of the crime, [[HomeTech]]'s laboratory where they rendezvoused with the other Autobots. As the Autobots were too big to fit inside, they sent the kids in, which resulted in Bumblebee and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] having to rescue them dramatically. Evidence was found, leading the Autobots to HomeTech's main warehouse. Breaking in, Bumblebee clumsily knocked over a stack of crates, but somehow managed to avoid bringing security down on them. The Autobots split up and eventually found and defeated [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]], who'd been behind the whole thing. {{storylink|Prime Suspect}}

When [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] made an attempt to obtain the [[AllSpark]] by taking control of [[Detroit]]'s robot workforce, the Autobots came up with a plan to hide useless copies of the AllSpark. Bumblebee concealed his at the [[Race Track]], however when the other Autobots failed to show up back at base, he found Sari and another kid, and the three of them went looking for [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]. When they found him, he fought Bumblebee while labouring under a misconception, which was quickly straightened out. They collected Prowl and finally caught up with Prime and [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], joining in a battle to defeat [[Crush-A]]. {{storylink|Quest for the AllSpark}}

Bumblebee saved Sari and her friend from a fiery death on [[Lake Erie]] before finding the Autobot ship lifeless. After getting everything working again, Ratchet found that Optimus was missing, and [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]]'s ship was parked on the lake bed nearby, sending Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Prowl and the two young humans on a mission to investigate. While fighting the bounty hunter, they discovered the involvement of [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]], who wanted revenge on Prime. They ended up tracking down and fighting Blackarachnia, only for her to absorb Bumblebee's stinger ability, and sprout a stinger on each of her spider legs. All three Autobots were incapacitated, but Sari and her friend were able to follow Blackarachnia, leading to her eventual defeat. {{storylink|Web of Deception}}

When Detroit was plagued by a series of strange time disturbances, the Autobots used scanning devices to scour the city. Bulkhead and Bumblebee both tracked the source of the temporal anomalies to the [[Lions Tower]] building downtown and broke in to find a time machine on the empty top floor. While Bulkhead and a human were sent back in time, Bumblebee encountered those responsible — [[Natasha Pyraniac]] and [[Blast-X]]. Bulkhead returned to the present in time to aid Bumblebee's fight against the Decepticon. Blast-X was defeated shortly after Pyraniac departed in the time machine. {{storylink|Time-Quake}}

===Titan Magazines===
In battle with new villain [[Quake-Maker]], Bumblebee got to not only mock the villain but fight alongside the super-cool new Autobot [[Afterburn]]. {{storylink|Burnout}}

The two later went on a mission to Dinobot Island to stop a Rage virus infection, a mission that had Bumblebee nervous. During the mission, Bumblebee screwed up a landing that Afterburn aced, got thrown into a mud puddle by Swoop, was left with an incredibly dirty finish, and generally looked worse than Afterburn and on ''four separate occasions'' got put down by him. This made him sad. {{storylink|Ratchet & Grimlock Are DEAD?}}

When [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]] was in a huff, it was Bumblebee who convinced him to help them against the [[Wraith-X]] by appealing to that greatest of emotions, the ego! He didn't have time to gloat though, as he then found Afterburn reporting back to ''Megatron'', who then stormed the base, {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Divebomb}} killed Afterburn, and started a massive battle. Bumblebee was shocked to find Afterburn had only been a sparkless drone infiltrator, but still viewed him as a real Autobot, ''taking on Megatron himself'' out of anger for what had happened.

Optimus later consoled Bumblebee that he'd been a hero and that Afterburn hadn't been real anyway. But he'd been real to Bumblebee...{{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 24|Megatron's Revenge}}

[[Image:Bumblebeepizza_Titan25.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Why said cheese pizza has several toppings on it is a mystery.]]

But then he got over that and started breaking traffic laws for fun to get pizzas to Sari quickly! This led to Prowl dissing him and claiming Bumblebee wouldn't be so fast if he had to obey some rules, which led to a race between the two at [[Crazy Coyote Canyon]] (plus Bulkhead joined in, which gave Bumblebee a good laugh). Autobots doing ''anything'', of course, leads to Decepticon plots, and Bumblebee (who had a Decepticon tracer stuck on his butt) found they'd ambushed Prowl halfway through the race. Locating the tracer, he stuck it on ''Lugnut's'' butt and helped Prowl escape to win.

All that excitement had allowed Bulkhead to win the race unopposed though, making him the official fastest thing in Detroit. Bumblebee accepted it amiably enough. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 25|The Race}}
{{-}}

===''The Cool'' comic===
Witnessing the mysterious Allspark being uncovered, Bumblebee along with the rest of Optimus Prime's crew fled through a space bridge gate in order to keep the artifact out of Decepticon clutches. Unfortunately, Megatron was able to board their ship and left Bumblebee defeated on the floor, leaving Optimus to deal with the Decepticon leader by himself. {{storylink|The Cool Extra issue 3}}

Along with the rest of the Autobots, Bumblebee came to the [[Earth]] city of [[Detroit]] in order to protect the [[AllSpark]] from the Decepticons. During a battle in the streets with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]], Bumblebee came into contact with [[Sari Sumdac]] moments before nearly being blown to smithereens. He then squared off against, attempting to subdue the Decepticon with his [[Stinger (weapon)|stingers]]. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 1}}

[[Image:The CoolAutobotsRevivePrime01.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay]]
When [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] died stopping Starscream from abusing the power of the AllSpark, and was subsequently revived, Bumblebee introduced him to Sari, who had brought him back with the power of her [[AllSpark Key|key]]. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 2}}

Bumblebee next participated in a battle against [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] and [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]]. He performed poorly against Soundwave's sonic attacks and Lugnut's aerial bombardments, and was grateful when the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobot]]s arrived to save the day, remarking how powerful they were. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 3}}

Back in Detroit, Bumblebee was present to dig Optimus Prime out of a pile of rubble dropped onto him by [[Blackout (Animated)|Blackout]]. Bumblebee did not recognize Blackout's Autobot opponent, [[Safeguard (Animated)|Safeguard]], leaving Prime to tell him that he was from the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]]. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 4}}

Bumblebee next engaged Starscream all by himself, resulting in the Decepticon nearly blasting him off the roof of [[Sumdac Systems]] headquarters. Bumblebee was saved when Starscream was distracted by the reborn Megatron, only to be blasted by Megatron's [[fusion cannon]] a short while later. Bumblebee survived the altercation, at least long enough to greet [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] and the Elite Guard. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 5}}

Bumblebee later joined the Autobots in a battle against [[Clone number 2716057|Clone #2716057]]. With Prowl's help, they subdued the clone and took him to a warehouse where they encountered Megatron. The clone had been rigged to explode, but Prowl was able to send him rocketing into the sky before detonation, as Bumblebee stood around watching, doing nothing. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 6}}

At the battle for the Decepticon [[Space bridge|Space Bridge]], Bumblebee joined his fellow speed warrior, [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]], in taking down [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]]. They used their speed to first confuse their opponents, then slapped them with some stasis cuffs. As the Decepticons fell over, paralyzed, the pair of Autobots speedsters skipped off while merrily whistling. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 7}}

When the battle for the Decepticon Space Bridge had ended, Bumblebee joined the other Autobots in bidding farewell to the fallen [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]]. Bumblebee then freaked out when he noticed that Sari had robotics sticking through her skin.{{storylink|The Cool Episode 8}}

Not long afterward, Starscream attacked Detroit in Omega Supreme's body. Bumblebee fought to keep the fiend busy until Optimus could return and join the fray. Bumblebee expressed excitement when Sari used her key to upgrade into a teenager, then expressed lament when her newfound powers proved utterly useless against Starscream/Omega Supreme. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 9}}

Prior to the final confrontation against the Decepticons, Bumblebee stood heroically alongside his fellow Autobots. {{storylink|The Cool Extra issue 1}}

Upon Megatron's defeat, Bumblebee accompanied the Autobots back to planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where they were all hailed as heroes by the citizenry and even [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel]]. {{storylink|The Cool Episode Final}}

{{-}}

==Games==
===Transformers Animated: The Game===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Bumper Robinson]] (English)
[[Image:TFAnimated Game Bumblebee.jpg|thumb|right|123px]]
When [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus]] announced he was stepping up Bumblebee and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]'s training, Bumblebee protested he already had plenty of training and was up to level 12. After it was established that video games didn't count, he, Bulkhead and Optimus worked their way through an obstacle course set up by [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]. They got the opportunity to put their skills to a real test a short time later when drones went haywire at a [[Sumdac Systems]] factory, the trio blasting their way through the rogue robots until they found the problem — an [[AllSpark]] fragment lodged in a control console. When they intercepted a transmission indicating that [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] was planning to attack [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Optimus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead searched the factory for more fragments so they could power up Megatron's [[space bridge|Space Bridge]] and follow him.

By following a [[Decepticon Transmitter Drone]], they discovered the location of Megatron's mine base and explored it until they found Megatron and his Space Bridge. A battle ensued, during which Bumblebee powered an electromagnet that they used to defeat the Decepticon leader, but even as they were victorious, Megatron transwarped out. The trio repowered the space bridge with their own AllSpark fragments, but after Optimus and Bulkhead went through, the bridge closed, leaving Bumblebee on Earth. With Sari's help, Bumblebee tracked down more fragments at the factory... only for them to be taken from him by [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]]. With the help of his [[turbo booster]]s, Bumblebee hunted down Lockdown and managed to get the fragments back.

Bumblebee and Sari returned to the mine, only for the computer to announce that the self destruct had been activated. Bumblebee fought his way through the mine in record time to disable it, and used the fragments to repower the space bridge. He arrived on Cybertron to find Prime and Bulkhead searching for Megatron. After intercepting a Decepticon transmission, they headed for the Space Bridge Nexus, where they confronted Megatron again, using the defense systems against him. Megatron was again forced to flee. The Autobots returned to Earth, where Bumblebee announced he was beat, but perked up again when Sari revealed she had an advance copy of ''[[Mage Master Maze Knight]]''. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The Game}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
====Legends====
[[Image:Ani-toy_LegendsBumblebee.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
*'''Stealth Lockdown''' (Animated 3-pack, 2008)

:A redeco of the ''Universe'' [[Legends Class|Legends-class]] Bumblebee available around the same time (see below), this Bumblebee came packaged with a [[Target]] [[exclusive]] clear version of [[Lockdown (Animated)#Stealth|Lockdown]], as well as a Legends [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]]. This Bumblebee is ''almost'' identical to the individual ''Universe'' release, except this version has silver painted windows, a silver [[Autobot]] [[insignia|faction symbol]] and a darker gray face.

{{-}}
[[Image:AniLegendsBumblebeeClearYellow.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
*'''Bumblebee Clear Yellow Ver.''' (EZ Collection, 2010)

: A redeco of Legends Bumblebee in mostly translucent yellow (with some opaque yellow parts). He was only available at [[Ito Yokado]] stores in Japan, given away for free to customers who purchased ''Animated'' merchandise totaling least 3,000 yen.

{{-}}
[[Image:AniEZLimited.jpg|250px|thumb]]
*'''EZ Collection Limited Clear Version''' (EZ Collection, 2010)

:The "EZ Collection Limited Clear Version" set included a redeco of Legends Bumblebee in mostly translucent yellow with some opaque parts. The set was given away at Family Mart stores in Japan as part of their raffle token promotion. Unlike Bumblebee Clear Yellow Version, this version of Bumblebee is painted to resemble his normal coloration, only clear. The "EZ Collection Limited Clear Version" set was prize D, and included four different translucent EZ Collection figures, the other three being Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Starscream.

{{-}}{{anchor|EliteGuardLOC}}
*'''Bumblebee Elite Guard Version''' (EZ Collection, 2010)
[[Image:AniEZEliteGuardBumblebee.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
:A black, yellow and gold redeco of Legends Bumblebee, Bumblebee Elite Guard Version shares its overall deco with the deluxe "Elite Guard Bumblebee" toy. It was only available blindpacked in TakaraTomy's EZ Collection Volume 4.

{{-}}

====Deluxe====
[[Image:Bumblebee_anim_toy.jpg|thumb|300px|Awwww, it's so adorable...]]
[[image:AnimatedDeluxeBumblebeeJapan.jpg|thumb|300px|A gold Bumblebee, but not [[:Image:TF2010-toy Legends Gold Bumblebee.jpg|Gold Bumblebee]].]]
*'''Bumblebee''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-02'''
**''Accessories:'' Left & right rocket boosters

: Bumblebee transforms from a small yellow hatchback with a single red flasher to a scrappy robot with a smirk on his face. He has a fake car roof on his chest in robot mode (but to be fair, so does his cartoon counterpart), and the two halves of his stinger weapon, stored in his forearms, can be flipped out and pegged together. In both robot and car mode, his two booster rockets can be attached on his back. Unlike the promotional image, the rockets of the actual toy do not have any red paint.

: Due to support struts added inside his forearms to ensure durability, his stingers do not recede all the way back into his arms. The latest releases of the toy fix this problem. There have also been some complaints that the socket in his left arm tends to crack easily, which makes the arm impossible to pose.

: Amusingly, flipping his bumper up in his alt-mode works like a tiny trunk.

: The Japanese release of this toy was given a shiny, metallic coat of gold paint as opposed to the flat yellow of the original Hasbro release, and a red and white Autobot symbol instead of a silver one.

: This mold was also used to make [[#EliteGuard|"Elite Guard" Bumblebee]] and was supposed to be used for the canceled [[Wasp|Fugitive Waspinator]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/Bumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Deluxe Bumblebee at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
{{anchor|EliteGuard}}
[[Image:Ani-toy BumblebeeEG.jpg|thumb|300px|Back from his internship with Donald Trump. Sentinel Prime, YOU'RE FIRED!]]
[[Image:AnimatedEliteGuardBumblebeeJapan.jpg|thumb|300px|Guess which parts of me are unpaintable plastic!]]
*'''Elite Guard Bumblebee''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-31'''
**''Accessories:'' Left & right rocket boosters

: A [[redeco]] of [[#Deluxe|Deluxe Bumblebee]], this figure represents Bumblebee after getting Sari to help paint him up in [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] deco as part of his anticipated ascension into their ranks. Dare to dream! He retains all the play-gimmicks of the original, though his arms have been slightly [[retool]]ed to allow the stingers to recede fully. The color scheme of the toy bears a little resemblance to [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Deluxe Class toys|Stealth Bumblebee]] from the [[Movie (franchise)|live-action movie]] franchise.

: The [[Hasbro]] stock photography and [[package art]] for this toy [[:Image:Deluxeeliteguardbumblebee.jpg|depict "Elite Guard" Bumblebee with his normal yellow helmet]]. However, the actual toy has a black helmet due to the plastic color layouts.

:The Japanese release of this figure added metallic gold paint to the robot mode, replacing some portions that had been yellow or black, including Bumblebee's helmet (making the toy look more like the Hasbro stock photography in the process). It also replaced Bumblebee's silver and black Elite Guard symbols with more traditional red and white ones.

: The Hasbro release of this toy was [[repurposing|repurposed]] as a [[Wireless Automated Sales Person]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/EGBumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Elite Guard Bumblebee at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

====Voyager====
[[Image:Ani-toy_HydrodiveBumblebee.jpg|thumb|300px|Oh slag. Where did my police light go?]]
*'''Jet Pack Bumblebee''' (Voyager, 2010)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-39'''
:This new, smaller mold of Bumblebee comes with an armor frame in the form of a submersible jet. In vehicle mode, he fits inside the jet, and when he transforms, the jet can be reconfigured to become a jetpack for his robot mode. The armor frame is armed with two pivoting, non-removable guns astride its nose-cone, and two missiles mounted under its wings, cast in the image of Bumblebee's [[turbo booster]] accessories (with jet contrails), which can be removed and plugged into his forearms. It's possible to transform Bumblebee without removing the armor.

:Jet Pack Bumblebee was only made available as part of [[TakaraTomy]]'s Japanese toyline, with a not particularly [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] bright metallic gold deco. He was originally intended to be released under Hasbro's toyline under the name '''Hydrodrive Bumblebee''' (the version pictured here), but was canceled.
{{-}}

====Activators====
*'''Bumblebee''' (Activator, 2008)
[[Image:Activators_Bumblebee_toy.jpg|thumb|300px|He's a Bumblevator—or is it Actibee?]]
: Part of the first wave of [[Activators]], this small version of Bumblebee [[autotransformation|automatically transforms]] from vehicle to robot mode via spring-loaded releases when you press his top-mounted police light. Interestingly enough, this toy is probably the closest to "proper" scale in robot mode when compared to the Deluxe Prowl and Ratchet, the Voyager Optimus, and Leader Bulkhead. Like the Deluxe class toy, Bumblebee was intended to be molded with a benign sideways smirk on his face, but at this small of scale the effect does not come off as intended, leaving Bumblebee looking rather more like he's grimacing. Furthermore, his insignia is ''also'' grimacing; for some reason this toy was given the [[:Image:Live action Autobot insignia.png|movie Autobot "angry eyes" insignia]], rather than the standard "neutral expression" insignia found on most other ''Animated'' Autobots. Add him to the list of Transformers who just need a hug.

:This mold was later [[retool]]ed to make [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/ActBumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Bumblebee at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
{{anchor|ActivPatrol}}
[[Image:Activators_PatrolBumblebee_toy.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Barricade (Movie)|Bumblecade]]]]
*'''Patrol Bumblebee''' (Activator, 2008)

: A police-themed redeco of Activators Bumblebee, instead of his current "undercover" markings, he gets full-on black-and-white deco with "PATROL" lettering across his doors.
:He has the normal yellow helmet, however.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/PatrolBumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Patrol Bumblebee at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
*'''Shockwave VS Bumblebee''' (multipack, 2009)
[[Image:Shockwavepurplebumblebeetoys.jpg|thumb|250px|Hey, they said I was supposed to meet Longarm here. Who are you?]]
: An unchanged version of Activators Bumblebee came packaged with a purple redeco of Voyager [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] in a Target-exclusive multipack.

{{-}}{{anchor|ActivBattlefield}}
[[Image:Animated-toy_BattlefieldBumblebee.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
*'''Battlefield Bumblebee''' (2010)

: A redeco of Activators Bumblebee with silver detailing similar to [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Classics|''Classics'' Bumblebee]]'s white stripes and an oddly large Autobot insignia.

{{-}}{{anchor|AnimatedSuperCollection}}
[[Image:AnimatedSuperCollectionVol2Bumblebee.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
*'''Animated Super Collection Vol. 2''' (multipack, 2010)

: Released on [[October 2]]nd in Japan, the "Animated Super Collection Vol. 2" giftset contained slight redecos of Activators Bumblebee, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]], [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]] and [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]. Bumblebee's insignia went from silver to a more traditional red and white.

:While the [[stock photography]] of the individual toys showed Animated Super Collection Bumblebee as being more orange-y than its American counterpart, this seems to have been a trick of the lighting, as the released toy remained its standard yellow.

{{-}}

====Bumper Battlers====
*'''Bumblebee''' (Bumper Battlers, 2008)
[[Image:BumperBattlers_Bumblebee_toy.jpg|thumb|250px|Does this make him [[Bumper (G1)|Animated Bumper]]?]]
: Part of the first wave of [[Bumper Battlers]], this very simple version of Bumblebee is meant for the much younger set. About the same size as the Deluxe Bumblebee in car mode, pressing the Autobot [[insignia|faction symbol]] on his hood activates the toy's sound feature, using a seemingly randomized assortment of sound effects and original voice samples from [[Bumper Robinson]]. Pressing the car mode's front bumper in activates the simple spring-loaded one-step transformation to robot mode... "properly" activated by using the toy's [[pull-back motor]] [[gimmick]] to propel it forward into an obstacle.

{{-}}
{{anchor|StingRacer}}
*'''Sting Racer Bumblebee''' (Bumper Battlers, 2008)
[[Image:Ani-toy_BumperBattlers_StingBumblebee.JPG|thumb|250px|]]
: This Bumper Battlers Bumblebee has a blue stripe in place of the black one, and blue electrical marks on his sides.

{{-}}
====Power Bots====
{{anchor|PowerBots}}
*'''Cyber Speed Bumblebee''' ([[Power Bots]], 2008)
[[Image:CyberSpeedBumblebee_toy.JPG|thumb|120px]]
: A large, non-transforming figure of Bumblebee in bulky, child-friendly form. He comes with lights and sounds, including a stinger sound on the right arm, which has the stinger deployed, and a "punching" sound and extending fist on the left. He also speaks a slew of phrases, including "Bring it on, Decepticons!" and "Hi, I'm Bumblebee!", again using Bumper Robinson voice clips. He is, of course, utterly adorable.

{{-}}
*'''Street Patrol Bumblebee''' (Power Bots, 2009)
[[Image:Ani-toy_StreetPatrolBumblebee.JPG|thumb|120px|Anyone seen my transformation cog?]]
: This Bumblebee has red stripes on his stinger arm and his stripe is dark blue.

{{-}}

===Transformers (2007 movie line)===
[[Image:WMTheLegacyOfBumblebee.jpg|thumb|250px|Upon seeing his more proportionate counterparts, Ani-Bee cried himself to sleep on his giant pillow.]]
*'''The Legacy of Bumblebee''' (Deluxe class multi-pack, 2008)

: A Walmart [[exclusive]] three pack, ''The Legacy of Bumblebee'' collector's set comes with [[Bumblebee (G1)|''Classics'']], [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Movie]] Deluxe Class Concept Camaro ([[Premium Series]]) and ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' Bumblebee figures. While the movie and ''Animated'' Bumblebees are identical to their original, single carded releases, the ''Classics'' Bumblebee has been redecoed to more closely resemble his movie and ''Animated'' counterparts, changing his white stripes to black, and his grey/silver plastic to yellow, similarly to ''Henkei! Henkei!'' Bumble.

{{-}}

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Legends_bb_sized.jpg|thumb|250px|Is that size-accurate enough?]]
*'''Bumblebee''' (Legends, 2008)
: A smaller, simplified [[Legends Class|Legends]]-scale Bumblebee toy, released under the ''Universe'' toyline.

:This toy was redecoed with a silver Autobot insignia, silver windows and a much darker (nearly black) face as part of the ''Animated'' line in a multi-pack with Stealth Lockdown and a Legends Class Optimus Prime (see above).

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/AniLegendsBumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Bumblebee at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

{{-}}
===Fast food kids meal toys===
{{anchor|McD}}
*'''Bumblebee''' (McDonald's Happy Meal toy, 2008)
[[Image:Bumblebrick.png|thumb|180px|Bumblebrick.]]
: A simple version of Bumblebee with a very simple transformation sequence, one of six toys available as part of the McDonald's ''Transformers Animated'' promotion (held concurrently with the ''Littlest Pet Shop'' promo). You transform him by pulling out the arms from the sides, pulling down the legs and rotating them around and flipping up the head. The arms hold the legs in place, and need to be pulled out before his legs. His vehicle mode is accurate to the show, and his robot mode is reasonably accurate, although rather on the "bulky" side.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/McBumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Bumblebee at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
[[Image:TFA_McD_Bumblebee_Jumpstarter.jpg|right|250px|thumb|]]
*'''Bumblebee''' (McDonald's Happy Meal toys, 2008)

:This is a very simplistic version of Bumblebee, he converts from non-articulated robot mode to a "folded" robot with three wheels (which is a very non-show-accurate alt-mode). Like the G1 [[Jumpstarter|Jumpstarters]] toys he features a pull-back motor in vehicle mode that propels him forward on smooth surfaces; after a short run the latch that keeps his spring-loaded legs releases, causing him to flip forward and into upright robot mode.
:Like the rest of his assortment, this Bumblebee was only available in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela.

{{-}}

==Merchandise==

===Microbots Collection===
*'''Bumblebee''' (Capsule, 2010)
: Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. released Bumblebee and 5 other Animated characters as small PVC figures in the Microbots Collection, a series of capsule toys.
::*''[http://www.shmax.com/part_details/21851 More information on Bumblebee at shmax.com]''

{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:Bumblebeeanimatedkibble.jpg|thumb|150px|My real windshield is on my heels!]]
* Bumblebee's arm-mounted shock stingers are very likely inspired by an early weapon concept from the 2007 movie [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]].

* The character who would become Bumblebee was originally conceived as [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]], but changed to Bumblebee at the insistence of incoming supervising director [[Matt Youngberg]] and art director [[Derrick J. Wyatt]].<ref>[https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21975298&postID=1516366009698858110&isPopup=true Bumblebee's inclusion explained by Derrick J. Wyatt on twitter]</ref> This explains why his character is more like Hot Shot and less like... well, Bumblebee. He also arguably shares personality traits with other, similarly brash "ADHD" characters such as [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]. Cut from the same cloth, at any rate.

* Bumblebee appears to have a fake car roof on his chest in both his toy and on his [[character model]]. Not only does Bumblebee transform like his toy in his drawn-out animated transformation sequences, with his legs forming the top of the vehicle and the rest forming the underside, but his "real" windshield is drawn on the back of his legs, just like the toy. Plus the headlights on Bumblebee's feet are upside-down, just like the toy's. However, Bumblebee's vehicle mode stripe doesn't change sides like on the toy. Cheatsy!

* In addition to the above, in "[[The Thrill of the Hunt]]," Bumblebee reaches under his '''fake''' car roof kibble to get out his air freshener and fuzzy dice. This would mean that he had kept them in his back seat or trunk. Interestingly enough, on the Deluxe toy, you can actually store small items in his chest thanks to his opening 'trunk'.

* He likes to swear a lot. [[Slag (slang)|Slag yeah!]]

[[Image:TFA_Bumblebee_Elite_Guard_promoimage.JPG|thumb|150px|[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] was so horrified his scream blew out [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]]'s audio sensors...and Jazz was in another building at the time.]]
* He apparently got his name for being a bumbler in [[Autobot boot camp]]. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

* On the Transformers Animated Season One DVD set, the "Season Two Sneak Peek" special feature shows Bumblebee's character model colored in the Elite Guard Bumblebee toy's deco. Bumblebee did not actually ''use'' that color scheme in Season 2, so its inclusion in a Season Two gallery is puzzling at best...

* With the airing of the episodes "Human Error" Parts 1 and 2, an interesting and probably unintentional question has been brought up. Bumblebee's human form is obviously much younger than the others, even Prowl and Bulkhead, putting him somewhere around pre-teen to early teen years. Everything else about the humans reflect their bot conterparts spot on, down to a scar on Ratchet's face to represent his broken chevron. So, seeing as human Bumblebee is obviously so young, does that make him a child soldier? Or is he just plain short?

* Bumblebee's original [[65356-9292-346]] [[body-type]] is apparently quite common on Cybertron — he shares it with many, many others.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Bumblebee''' (バンブルビー ''Banburubī'')
*''Arabic:'' '''Bumbly''' (cartoon, بامبلي ''Bāmblī''), '''Bumble Bee''' (commercial, بامبل بي ''Bāmbil Bī'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Dà-huáng-fēng''' (大黃蜂, "Bumblebee")

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/Bumblebee/bumblebee.htm Bumblebee at TFU.info]
* [http://www.hasbro.com/common/images/news/transformers//Transformers_Draw_Bumblebee.pdf Hasbro.com - How to Draw: Animated Bumblebee]

[[Category:Animated Autobots]]
[[Category:Fast food exclusives]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:TransTech Autobots]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Tap-Out (Universe)

2012-08-21T21:00:05Z

166.250.65.10:

{{factions|autobot|eliteguard|wreckers}}
{{disambig2|the boxer from Generation 1|the boxer from ''Animated''|Tap-Out (Animated)}}
: ''Tap-Out is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[Image:Tap-out card art.jpg|right|301px|thumb|I'm the green Cliffjumper.]]
'''Tap-Out''' spent a long time as a prisoner of the [[Decepticon]]s, forced to do battle in the [[grease pits]] of [[Polyhex]] for the amusement of his captors. Frequently taking the place of others in his captured unit, Tap-Out ended up taking the lives of his fellow Autobots, which left scars he still carries to this day.

Eventually freed by an Autobot strike force, Tap-Out has become more determined to prevent the loss of innocent life. He generally maintains an air of upbeat good humor, admirable for someone who went through the horrors he did, but the anger and pain do come through at times. Should he think his charges are being threatened, he will rush in with fists flying almost without a second thought, which has led to a few confrontations and misunderstandings that could easily have been avoided.

Still, most appreciate his dedication to saving lives, particularly those who have little combat ability themselves. And Tap-Out's incredible grappling skills, which have surprised many a Decepticon due to his small stature, have put many a would-be threat face-first in the dirt.

==Fiction==
===3H comics===
[[Image:Tapout-glyph-farewell.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Two decent folks in a universe full of jerks.]]
After the defeat of [[Unicron]], [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] sent several groups of Autobots on survey missions to prevent any more catastrophic surprises. Tap-Out (who came with high recommendations from [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]) acted as bodyguard for [[Glyph (G1)|Glyph]]. Their ship, the ''[[Sojourner's Passage]]'', crashed on [[Akalo|Archa Nine]]. Tap-Out and Glyph were the only survivors, forced to use their wits and the friendship of the natives to survive for hundreds of years.

Many years after the Beast Wars, the [[Wrecker]]s happened upon an Autobot homing beacon. After landing, [[CatSCAN]] unintentionally came into conflict with the native [[Akalouthan]]s; Tap-Out immediately came to their defense. [[Ramulus]], [[Apelinq]], and [[Primal Prime]] in turn arrived to aid CatSCAN. Glyph soon arrived and sorted the whole thing out; Tap-Out apologized to CatSCAN and wished him no hard feelings.

Glyph reveled that the Akalouthans' society revolved around a powerful object called the [[Divine Light]], which would become of great interest to the Wreckers. [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], however, betrayed the Wreckers and made off with the Divine Light. {{storylink|Betrayal}} When the Wreckers prepared to follow, Glyph opted to remain behind. Tap-Out was vehement that he was staying too, until CatSCAN volunteered to remain behind as well, and Glyph reminded him that the planet had never truly been home for him. The two shared a touching farewell as Tap-Out joined the Wreckers on their journey.

On the unnamed icy planet that was the Wreckers' next destination, Tap-Out stayed behind to guard the ship alongside [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Tigatron]]. They were assaulted by a squad of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]], but the trio made short work of the invaders. With the Wreckers' newest "member" [[Al-Badur]] in tow, they finally made their way back to Cybertron. {{storylink|Disclosure}}

But when they returned to their homeworld, it had changed during their absence into a [[technorganic]] paradise by the [[Great Reformatting]]. Quintessons had seized the opportunity to invade the planet, but Primal Prime assured Tap-Out and the others that [[Cryotek (RID)|Cryotek]] was their only concern. Primal Prime, Apelinq, Ramulus and Tigatron left them to find Cryotek, leaving Tap-Out and the others to take their injured to safety before joining the counterattack forces on the ground. Instead, their shuttle took heavy damage and descended in a ball of fire and smoke. Tap-Out reluctantly abandoned the ship with the rest, save Skywarp, who appeared to be selflessly sacrificing himself for them all. But Tap-Out forgot that Skywarp was a teleporter, and was annoyed that his quick eulogy was ruined by the Decepticon's survival. The group disregarded Primal Prime's orders and descended into the layers of Cybertron to find Cryotek.

[[Image:Wheeliebrawntapoutescape.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Mini-Cars, attack!]]

Their battle with Cyclonus was cut short when orange sparks shot out from the walls of their battlefield and penetrated both Tap-Out and Skywarp, but left nothing, not even corpses. Though Cyclonus wished he could take credit for their apparent demise, he could not. The reason for their disappearance was a mystery, and circumstances demanded the battle continue. {{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}}

Tap-Out and Skywarp had actually been transported to another reality; they were now among the many Cybertronians held prisoner within the [[Cauldron]], forced by [[Unicron]] to fight each other so that the Chaos-Bringer may feed on the [[spark]]s of the losers. Freed by [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], he, [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] helped keep the madness-infected [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] apart so they would stop fighting each other. He escaped the prison-dimension and ended up on [[technorganic]] Cybertron. {{storylink|Escape (Universe)|Escape}}

Tap-Out joined [[Optimus Primal]]'s [[Child of Primus|Children of Primus]] against [[Razorclaw (Universe)|Razorclaw]]'s [[Minion of Unicron|Minions of Unicron]], and he was present during the final battle in the [[Pit]]. As he and [[Longhorn (Universe)|Longhorn]] watched [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] finish off [[Tankor (BM)#3H Universe comic|Tankor]], Unicron himself began falling apart beneath them. {{storylink|Revelations Part 2}}
{{--}}

===''Wings Universe''===
[[Image:ATeamEffort-captives.jpg|left|thumb|300px|SPOILERS: I'm the black redeco of me.]]
{{charstubfiction}}
{{storylink|A Team Effort}}

Tap-Out and the Stealth Team were on hand to defend Elite Guard headquarters with Sentinel Major when the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]]s returned leading [[Deathsaurus (Victory)|Deathsaurus]]'s troops. {{storylink|The Coming Storm: Part 5}} They didn't fare so well, as their corpses were later seen as reinforcements arrived. {{storylink|The Coming Storm: Part 6}}

==Toys==
===Expanded Universe===
[[Image:TFU03 TapOut-toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Monzo 12:7:82]]
*'''Tap-Out''' (Mini Vehicle keychain, 2002)
**''Accessories'': Keychain

: A forest-green and gray [[redeco]] of the [[Fun4All]] keychain version of [[Cliffjumper (G1)#Toys|Cliffjumper]] (with the chain proper detached and placed in a separate baggie), ''[[Transformers: Expanded Universe|Expanded Universe]]'' Tap-Out transforms into a "[[Choro-Q|penny-racer]]"-proportioned Porsche 924 Turbo. He came in a simple poly-bag with a bio card inserted, done in the style of the original [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] "[[Action Cards|Action Card]]" trading card series.

: Tap-Out was available to pre-registrants at [[BotCon 2002]], coming as an unannounced freebie in each preregistration package. He was later made available for individual sale on [[3H Productions]]'s web-store.

: The original version of this mold was used to make [[Carrera (G1)|Carrera]], and was also [[retool]]ed to make [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2002/Autobot/Tap-Out/tap-out.htm More information on Tap-Out at TFU.info]''

==External links==
*[http://www.botcon.com/archive/story/characters/tapout.html Tap-Out bio at BotCon.com]

[[Category:Beast Machines Autobots]]
[[Category:Children of Primus]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Convention-original characters]]
[[Category:Elite Guard]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Martial artists]]
[[Category:Mini Vehicles]]
[[Category:Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]

Hot Rod (G1)

2012-08-21T20:45:37Z

166.250.65.10: /* Generation 1 cartoon continuity */

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2|wreckers}}
{{disambig3|Rodimus}}
{{disambig3|Hot Rod}}
{{featured}}
{{suite}}

:''Hot Rod is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]]. He has also been known as '''Rodimus Prime''', '''Rodimus''', and '''Rodimus Major'''.''

[[Image:DVDbox3d1.jpg|right|301px|thumb|And yet he still gets carded.]]

'''Hot Rod''' is brash and headstrong, with an overwhelming self-confidence that borders on arrogance. [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] has assumed the role of mentor and advisor to the impetuous young Hot Rod, offering him wisdom and advice when he needs it (though Hot Rod rarely feels that he does, much to Kup's annoyance). [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] also serves as a calming influence on Hot Rod, and tends to either worry about him when he is not around, or deride and tease him when he is. Their relationship is antagonistic, but friendly. Exactly how deep Hot Rod's feelings for Arcee might run is unknown, whether they be friendly, [[Transformer romance|romantic]], or otherwise.

In contrast, his '''Rodimus Prime''' persona—while still headstrong and stubborn—seems to suffer from a severe lack of confidence, often doubting his own decisions and expressing distress over his position as an [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]]. Of course, much of this comes from comparisons with his former commander [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]—and let's face it, shoes-to-be-filled just don't ''get'' much bigger than that.

One thing that both sides of this Autobot's identity have in common is their impatience—neither Hot Rod nor Rodimus Prime can stand to wait around when they could be doing something instead. He is also very self-reliant, rarely sending others to do anything when he could be doing it himself. His [[Targetmaster]] partner is [[Firebolt (G1)|Firebolt]]. As Rodimus Prime, his vehicle sometimes splits between his robot and [[Mobile Defense Bay]].

{{bigquote|I ''knew'' you had potential, lad.|[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] on Hot Rod's transformation into Rodimus Prime|''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
[[Image:Fightorflee Rodimus explosion.jpg|right|thumb|250px| Join the Dark Side, Luke!]]
{{main|Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity}}

At some point before 2005, Hot Rod became stationed at [[Autobot City]] and so was present during the [[Battle of Autobot City]]. This was a turning point in the life of the turbo-revving young punk, because the [[Matrix of Leadership]] chose him as its next bearer following the death of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]]. As Rodimus Prime, his first accomplishments were the defeat of [[Unicron]] and the return of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to the Autobots.

During his time as [[Prime (rank)|Prime]], Rodimus not only had to deal with the Decepticons and [[Galvatron (G1)|their new leader]], but also the political complexities of the planetary alliance Cybertron joined, the return of the Transformers' cruel masters from long ago, the [[Quintesson]]s, the possible revival of Unicron and the arrival of Unicron's "little brother" [[Tornedron]].

During the [[Hate Plague]] outbreak in 2006, Optimus Prime was brought back to life and Rodimus gave up his rank of Prime, becoming Hot Rod once more. He would live to see the next Cybertronian [[Golden Age]].
{{-}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Tyroxian hot rod blurr marvel uk 132.jpg|left|thumb|150px]]
''Several hundred years ago, [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] dispatched Hot Rod and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] to search for habitable worlds. During this mission, the pair ran afoul of the [[Tyroxian]]s—unpleasant [[alien]]s who captured Blurr and pursued Hot Rod through space. While fleeing, Hot Rod crossed paths with the Autobot war veteran, Kup, living a nomadic existence wandering through space at the time, and the youth's bravado in attacking [[Tyroxia]] single-handed re-ignited Kup's fighting spirit. After saving Hot Rod and helping him to rescue Blurr, Kup joined the pair in returning to Cybertron.'' {{storylink|Kup's Story!}}

[[Image:BrothersinArmor-Targetmasters.jpg|right|thumb|350px|I'm important! Just not right now.]]

Hot Rod was among the contingent of Transformers who ultimately accompanied Fortress Maximus in abandoning the war on Cybertron for a new world, [[Nebulos]]. The Autobots' arrival on the planet immediately stirred civil unrest, however, which led to the Decepticons being brought to the planet, and the war continuing on a smaller scale. Technological advancements developed during the conflict saw Nebulans being bio-engineered into [[Binary bonding|partnerships]] with the Transformers. Hot Rod became a Targetmaster, and was bonded to the Nebulan sharpshooter, Firebolt (aka Sparks), who transformed into his gun. Eventually, the Autobots determined to move their war away from Nebulos, and followed a signal sent by [[Bumblebee (G1)|Goldbug]], received by Hot Rod, to the planet [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

Hot Rod and the other Autobots of Nebulos were soon incorporated into the larger Autobot force on Earth, under the command of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]]. On one occasion, Hot Rod and several Autobots accompanied Prime on what appeared to be a simple mission to stop some Decepticon [[Micromaster]]s from attacking MacDill Air Force Base. {{storylink|Back from the Dead}} In fact, the attack was part of a much larger scheme by the deposed Decepticon leader [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]], luring Prime and his forces away from the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] and setting them against his rival for Decepticon leadership, the mighty [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. Once Prime realized the greater threat at issue, he ordered his troops to immediately take the [[Ark shuttlecraft|shuttle]] back to the Ark, but Hot Rod recklessly chose to stay behind at Optimus's side to face the Decepticons. {{storylink|All the Familiar Faces!}} He was therefore on-hand when the newly resurrected [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] arrived, and began tearing through all Transformers present, in the name of Megatron. He managed to take a shot at Starscream's new [[Pretender]] shell, causing enough neural feedback to temporarily weaken the Decepticon, and give Scorponok time to strike and end the threat. {{storylink|Skin Deep}}

[[Image:YesterdaysHeroes-HotRod.jpg|left|thumb|200px|I, Hot Rod, have entered the main US cast so that I may hatch hilariously hairbrained sitcom schemes!]]

The cost was still high, though, as Optimus Prime returned to the Ark and learned that his good friend, [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], had sacrificed himself to help stop Megatron's schemes. This sent the Autobot leader into a depression, and Hot Rod took it upon himself to snap Optimus out of it. He had the crazy scheme of creating a mock threat with a [[Guardian (Marvel)|Guardian Mark V battle droid]], with predictable results. The robot proceeded to ''actually'' malfunction and endanger the Autobots, but Hot Rod's plan worked when Prime eventually snapped out of his funk and defeated the droid to save the day. Hot Rod needed to find a replacement hand after the Guardian snapped it off, but hey, all's well that ends well. {{storylink|Yesterday's Heroes!}}

[[Image:Hoverscooter.jpg|right|thumb|250px|whoopeee]]

Hot Rod continued to operate with Earth's Autobot forces aboard the Ark, and was present during [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]]'s rampage through the shuttle bay. He took some damage, but remained functional enough to continue on, and was later seen speeding into the battle with Unicron himself on a [[Sky-sled]], {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} He was also one of many Autobots destroyed by the Decepticons on [[Klo]], only to be revived by the [[Last Autobot]]. {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}

In an alternate future of 2005, Hot Rod was one of the many Autobots based in the completed Autobot City. He was close friends with the young human [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]]. Realizing that the Decepticons were invading in a stolen shuttle, Hot Rod and Daniel tried to outpace them before they reached the city. Optimus Prime fell in battle against Megatron, and Hot Rod stood with a handful of others as Optimus died and passed the [[Matrix of Leadership|Autobot Leadership Matrix]] to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. {{storylink|The Planet-Eater!}}

[[Image:FinalBattle-Rodimus.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Galvatron can shoot at Rodimus until he's blue in the face, but he'll never surrender his coconut.]]

After Prime's death, Autobot City got word from [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] that a "monster planet" was devouring Cybertron's moons. En route, Hot Rod and Kup (and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]) were separated from the rest of the Autobots during a Decepticon attack and crashed on the planet [[Quintessa]]. After escaping the sadistic trial of the [[Quintesson]]s and attempted execution (as well as meeting [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]]), {{storylink| Judgment Day!}} Hot Rod went on to the planet [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]], where he was just in time to stop [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] from fighting another group of stranded Autobots with a timely use of the [[Universal greeting]]. Together, they all traveled to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to stop [[Unicron]] before he could eat more than just its moons.

Hot Rod plunged his ship through Unicron's eye and was separated from the rest of his team. Alone, he found himself facing Galvatron in a battle to the death over the Autobot Leadership Matrix. Claiming the Matrix, Hot Rod [[Renaming|evolved into]] "Rodimus Prime", an older, larger, and more powerful version of himself. After overpowering Galvatron and hurling him through Unicron's hide into the void of space, he opened the Matrix and destroyed Unicron from within. {{storylink|The Final Battle!}}

In 2006, Rodimus Prime's Autobots had taken control of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] reported suspicious activity on [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]], so Rodimus sent the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbot]]s to investigate. [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] was defeated in battle but was able to send back an SOS before going offline. Sky Lynx was dispatched to retrieve him, and Rodimus decided to investigate himself. He took [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] in [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]].

Once there, the Autobots discovered a chaotic scene where aliens from many worlds, including the Decepticons, had arrived and were all engaged in a deadly battle with one another. Rodimus was immediately attacked by a hypnotized [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], and the two battled to a standstill. The other Autobots were able to disrupt a hypnotic signal that was causing everyone to fight one another. The [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]] then added their strength against the Decepticons, causing the latter to retreat. Rodimus didn't care where the hypnosis signal had been coming from, as long as it was off for good. He never discovered that it was the work of the [[Quintesson]]s. {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (US)}}

{{note|In the UK version of the story, the events of "The Big Broadcast of 2006" are a fabrication invented by [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]].}}

[[Image:GalvatrondeadrodimusUS67.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr Prime, I expect you to die!"]]
In an another alternate future timeline, Hot Rod arose to become Rodimus Prime. However, the planet-eater known as Unicron managed to destroy Cybertron, leaving Rodimus to lead a failed Autobot/human defense of Earth when [[Galvatron II|that timeline's Galvatron]] attacked and eventually conquered it. Rodimus perished during the conflict, and his body was strung up between the ruined towers of the World Trade Center. In the year 2009, Galvatron returned to Manhattan to survey its devastated landscape, and fired upon Rodimus's corpse, demanding to know how many times he would have to kill him to erase his legacy. {{storylink|Rhythms of Darkness!}}

{{-}}
=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
[[Image:Hot rod ark duty.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"Really, by assigning ''me'' to Ark duty, they're practically demanding me to go be irresponsible!"]]
''Hot Rod rose to greater prominence in the alternate future timeline of [[Earth-120185]]. In 1990, he, Kup and Blurr were captured by Megatron; although rescued by a double-agent named [[Warmonger]], Hot Rod was recaptured and bore witness first hand to Megatron's mercilessness when he executed Warmonger. Then, in 1991, he was part of a unit that escorted the captive [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], only to lose the Decepticon leader when forced to defend a human settlement against an attack by the [[Air Strike Patrol]].'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}} ''On another occasion in 1995, Hot Rod was present when [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] first unveiled the [[Female Transformer|female Autobot]], [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], to [[Feminist mob|a dubious crowd of human feminists]]. Hot Rod was more than a little flustered by Arcee's presence on the battlefield.'' {{storylink|Prime's Rib!}} ''In 2003, he and Blurr were given "Ark duty," assigned to stand guard over the [[Ark (G1)|Autobots' spaceship]] while construction on [[Autobot City]] began. Kup was apparently instructed to deliver the plans of the city to the American government, and when Hot Rod saw him being jumped by the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]], he disobeyed orders and sped out to the rescue. The Stunticons brutally beat on Hot Rod and took the plans, but Hot Rod learned a hard lesson when Kup informed him that it was meant to happen that way because the plans were a fake.'' {{storylink|Ark Duty}} ''When the city was completed in 2004, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] attacked it on its opening day, and Hot Rod repelled him by attacking in a wildly illogical manner, tackling him down a mountain repeatedly.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}} ''Also, at some unknown point in the past, Hot Rod's Targetmaster partner Firebolt was killed in action.'' {{storylink|Headhunt}}

[[Image:FallenAngel-Unicron.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Since this is a comic book, Rodimus has to hum "[[The Touch]]" to himself.]]

''In the year 2006, when the new Decepticon leader [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] travelled back in time to 1986 as part of a plan to free himself from the control of Unicron, the chaos-bringer used his mental powers to plant knowledge of Galvatron's plan into the minds of Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr and transported them to Cybertron, where they used Galvatron's equipment to follow him into the past. There, with help from the present-day incarnation of Ultra Magnus, they were able to convince Galvatron that he had, in fact, traveled back in time to a parallel universe, where his actions would have no effect on the future. Believing this, Galvatron returned to his own time, and after setting any remaining wrongs to rights, the trio of Autobots also returned to 2006.'' {{storylink|Target: 2006}} ''Back in his native timeline, Hot Rod was subsequently involved in a battle with Galvatron inside Unicron's body, during which he opened the sacred Autobot talisman, the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]], and was transformed into Rodimus Prime. With this new strength, he hurled Galvatron through Unicron's hide and opened the Matrix, destroying the planet-eater.'' {{storylink|The Final Battle!}}

''It's believed that [[Primus]] ''deliberately'' caused Hot Rod's Prime form to resemble him. What an ego!'' {{storylink|Salvage!|#160's Grim Grams}}

[[Image:Rodimusprimerequestdenied.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Rodimus learned the wrong lesson from Optimus's death.]]

''As the new Autobot leader, Rodimus became paranoid about Galvatron's eventual return, since no body was ever recovered from space. He led the Autobot forces high and low searching the universe for the Decepticon leader, neglecting Cybertron in the process. As a result, Shockwave arose as the new Decepticon leader, and total war broke out on Cybertron once again. Unable to take the time to find Galvatron himself anymore, Rodimus rashly placed a bounty on the Decepticon's head. What Rodimus did not realize, however, was that Galvatron had time-jumped again, traveling back to 1987.'' {{storylink|Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!}} ''In 2007, when the freelance peace-keeping agent [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]] pursued Galvatron back to the '80s, Rodimus was informed of this fact by an Autobot double-agent named [[Nautilus]], and, dismayed at the danger he had unleashed on the past, promptly headed back in time himself to stop the dual threats.'' {{storylink|Burning Sky!}} ''Once again teaming up with the present-day Ultra Magnus, Rodimus and his team of Kup, Blurr and [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] tracked Galvatron down to [[Mount Verona]], where he was attempting to harness the volcano's molten energy. While arguing with Death's Head, Rodimus and the bounty hunter were both attacked, but when Ultra Magnus opened fire on his [[power siphon]], Galvatron was distracted long enough for Rodimus to escape.'' {{storylink|Hunters}} ''Rodimus then arranged a plan that saw the Autobots capture Galvatron's time-jump mechanism, in order to have Wreck-Gar re-engineer it to return all the time-travelers to their point of origin. Rodimus engaged Galvatron in a protracted battle to buy Wreck-Gar time, but when the device was activated, Rodimus, Death's Head and the other Autobots were returned to 2007. Galvatron was left behind.'' {{storylink|Fire on High!}}

[[Image:Headhunt-Rodimus.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Rodimus discovers a depressing third option to "fight and die" or "live with the knowledge that I ran."]]

''Some time later, a disgruntled Death's Head accepted a contract from the Decepticons on Rodimus Prime's head, and ambushed him while he was inspecting Autobot lines. Their battle subsequently went underground, where [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] intervened, downing Death's Head in hopes of being the ones to defeat Rodimus, in order to reclaim their lost standing in the Decepticons' ranks. Rodimus was able to lead Death's Head through the underground tunnels, right into the heart of the Autobot camp, where he offered him advance payment for a different contract—on Cyclonus and Scourge.'' {{storylink|Headhunt}} ''Death's Head proceeded to track the two Decepticons for the remainder of the year, until the three of them fell under the mental control of Unicron when they discovered his disembodied head on the planet of [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]] in the early days of 2008. Under his control, they assassinated Decepticon leader Shockwave and reignited the stalemated Cybertronian civil war in order to keep the Autobots busy while Unicron worked on rebuilding his body. Rodimus, however, learned of the situation thanks to [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]], and led a small Autobot force to Junk, where Death's Head fought against Unicron's control long enough to project Rodimus's mind into a battle with the demi-god on the astral plane. During the battle, explosives planted by Wreck-Gar destroyed Unicron's head, and his mind was sealed within the Matrix.'' {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}}

[[Image:Arceehotrodspacepirates.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Hasbro slips Rodimus a few [[Shanix]] under the table to "lose" the Matrix ever so often. They's got Hot Rod toys to sell.]]

''Later in 2008, the alien Quintessons targeted Cybertron for colonization, and attacked the Autobots with a two-pronged assault on both Cybertron and Earth. When [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] shirked her guard duty at Autobot City, the Quintessons were given an opening that allowed them to take over the city, and when she returned, they gunned her down as bait for a trap for Rodimus Prime. Arriving at the city, Rodimus discovered the injured Arcee and opened his chest compartment to heal her with the Matrix, only to have it yanked from his grasp by the Quintesson general, [[Ghyrik]], causing him to revert to Hot Rod. Liberating [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]'s cassettes for back-up, Hot Rod and Arcee proceeded to fight their way through the Quintessons to Autobot City's control room, where Hot Rod activated [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] to smash the alien threat. In battle with Ghyrik, Hot Rod duped the Quintessons with a bit of amateur ventriloquism and reclaimed the Matrix; transformed back into Rodimus Prime again, he routed the Quintessons.'' {{storylink|Space Pirates!}}

[[Image:TimeWars-OptimusPrimeentersthefray.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Rodimus traveled 20 years into the past just to be upstaged by That Guy again.]]

''Unbeknownst to Rodimus, the Quintessons had sought to colonize Cybertron because their own homeworld was being destroyed by a rift in space and time caused by the Transformers' repeated time-travel. The rift continued to grow in size until it threatened both Earth and Cybertron at the beginning of both 2009 and 1989. To put an end to the threat, Rodimus and a squad of Autobots traveled back to 1989, only to wind up mass-displacing Optimus Prime (since the Matrix could not exist in two time periods at once) and a group of other Autobots to [[limbo]], leading to a brief but violent misunderstanding with the present-day Autobots. Optimus Prime was able to stabilize the situation by communicating with all involved through the power of the Matrix. Subsequently, Autobots and Decepticons from both the present and future teamed up to battle Galvatron and [[Straxus (G1)|Megatron]], but one by one they fell, until Optimus Prime used the Matrix to return himself to reality for a final showdown. After absorbing Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge, however, the rift was sealed by Shockwave, and Rodimus and the other future Autobots returned to 2009, vowing to destroy their time machines to prevent this from ever happening again.'' {{storylink|Time Wars}}

''As it transpired, however, things would not be that easy. In the wake of the massive chronal damage caused by the rift, time had attempted to heal its wounds, but reality was no longer as it had been. The future that Rodimus and the other Autobots came from no longer existed—in its place was a world where Galvatron had never traveled back in time, and had conquered Cybertron after Unicron's destruction. Rodimus quickly established a rebellion, but when Galvatron tracked down their headquarters, he killed Blurr and all others present, goading Rodimus into a ferocious battle in hopes of corrupting the Matrix within him. Rodimus realized what he was doing, however, and ended the fight before more damage could be done.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}

[[Image:EdgeofImpact-EvilRodimus.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Tonight the part of Rodimus Prime will be played by the Green Goblin.]]

''Rodimus and the Autobots escaped to Earth via hyperspace, only to find that [[Future Autobot evacuation ship|their craft]]'s guidance systems had been damaged. During the flight, Rodimus Prime vanished,'' {{storylink|The Void! (UK)|The Void!}} ''and Kup discovered that he was the saboteur,'' {{storylink|Edge of Impact}} ''deducing that he had been corrupted by an evil force from within the Matrix.'' {{storylink|Shadow of Evil}} ''Inside the Matrix, Rodimus battled with the essence of Unicron, trapped there since the events of 2008, until Kup wrenched the Matrix from his chest, freeing him from the chaos-bringer's influence. But now, Rodimus knew that the evil of Unicron would be waiting for him within it...'' {{storylink|White Fire}} ''...and in 2010, Unicron's essence succeeded in taking over Rodimus's body, transforming it into a duplicate of his own and attacking Cybertron once more, until Rodimus was able to defeat him from within and re-seal him within the Matrix.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}

''Centuries later, in the year 2356, Rodimus, his body withered and weakened from the continuous harmful influence of Unicron from within the Matrix, lectured a young Autobot [[student]] on the nature of evil, unwittingly setting the youth on the path towards villainy himself.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}

''In an unidentified timeline in the year 2510, a healthy Rodimus Prime was overjoyed to announce that the Cybertronian war was finally over, and planned to step down as leader to allow [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to take over. The sole remaining Decepticon, a double-agent named [[Triton]], spoke out against the decision to cause dissension, and succeeded—as Rodimus could only watch in dismay, arguments escalated into conflict, and the war was born again as [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]] fought [[Wrecker]], and the Autobot Civil War began.'' {{storylink|Peace}}

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====Generation 2====
[[Image:HotrodG2Marvelcomic.jpg|100px|thumb|left|Try purple! It's the new maroon!]]
After the defeat of the Decepticons on [[Klo]], the Autobots' forces scattered throughout the galaxy as virtually independent splinter cells. A small group under Optimus Prime's command encountered Bludgeon and his soldiers on a desolate world, both sides looking for new weapons or technology, and were in danger of being overrun. Prime sent Hot Rod into a nearby mausoleum building in the hopes that he could conjure up some form of "graven image" to distract the superstitious Decepticon leader. Hot Rod emerged empty-handed from the ruins, only to find that just [[Guardian (G2)|such a graven image]] had conjured ''itself'', chased off the trespassing Decepticons, and was now prepared to do the same to the Autobots. They managed a dignified, if rushed, scramble to safety. {{storylink|All or Nothing!|Ghosts}}

[[Image:G2kupwonderspowerandglory.jpg|right|thumb|300px|No?]]

When Grimlock sent out a message summoning Optimus Prime, Hot Rod and Kup accompanied him. Hot Rod was quick to remark the sorry state of the planet they were on, and pondered exactly why they were here. As Prime continued his lengthy internal monolog, they were ambushed by a second-generation Cybertronian patrol. Hot Rod pretended to flee, but quickly came back as he and Prime caught the squad in a crossfire, annihilating the lot of them. Grimlock made his presence known afterwards and took them to his ship, where Hot Rod casually fiddled with a panel while Grimlock exposited. [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] attacked soon after, crippling the Autobots's ship and capturing them. They later managed to escape Jhiaxus's flagship. {{storylink|War Without End!}} When Grimlock and a team of Autobots were captured once again by the Liege Centuro, Hot Rod was part of Optimus's rescue team. {{storylink|Devices and Desires! (Marvel)|Devices and Desires!}} While Optimus Prime went on a vision quest back on Cybertron, some Autobots set up camp on a deserted asteroid, where Kup set up some war games for training. Hot Rod managed to lure the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] and [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] into a false sense of confidence and into a trap consisting of Dinobots. When the exercise was over, Hot Rod expressed frustration at the fact that they were stuck playing games while Jhiaxus and his Cybertronians were still out there. {{storylink|The Power and the Glory}} Megatron's resurfacing on Earth made Optimus Prime decide to confront him alone. Fortunately, Grimlock had different ideas and mounted up a rescue, which Hot Rod participated in. He tried to engage [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] in vehicle mode, but the small Decepticon used his piledrivers to send Hot Rod tumbling away. Hot Rod crashed just behind Megatron, prompting the Decepticon leader to order a full retreat. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}}

[[Image:Arageinheaven-electro.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Hot Rod is the honorary fifth [[Laser Rod]] member.]]

Hot Rod was amongst the Autobots deployed to the planet [[Ethos]] where they fought hard to counter a Cybertronian offensive, but quickly found themselves overwhelmed and had to be saved by their newfound Decepticon allies. {{storylink|Escalation!}} After Starscream sold out the location of the Autobots' [[Autobase]] on Earth, Jhiaxus organized a full-scale assault. Hot Rod was part of the counter-offensive, and as the Cybertronians were being eradicated by the Autobot-Decepticon alliance, he was quick to report Prime his new finding: Jhiaxus had a ''second wave'' waiting in the wings. {{storylink|Total War!}} When the Cybertronian threat was overshadowed by the oncoming [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]], Hot Rod and [[Electro]] went scouting out for its position. Thanks to Murphy's law, he had the misfortune of reporting its arrival just as Grimlock pondered just how things could get worse. Unlike many of his fellow Autobots, Hot Rod was saved from being devoured by the Swarm thanks to Megatron's timely arrival, carrying canisters of [[Rheanimum]]. Soon afterwards, Hot Rod and company witnessed Optimus Prime's return to life in a shiny new body, and cheered at his speech for unity and a higher purpose than war. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!}}
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====''Classics''====
{{note|The Classics comic takes place after the end of the original Marvel Comic, but in a [[splinter timeline]] that does not include the events of the Marvel UK-exclusive stories or Generation 2.}}

[[Image:CrossingOver5-RodimusMirage.jpg|right|thumb|250px|We got to buy... more time!]]

Once peace was restored on [[Klo]], Hot Rod followed Optimus Prime back to Cybertron, where the young Autobot fell back into the racing scene. After countless years of fighting for his life, this quickly bored Hot Rod, who went to Optimus to ask advice. Hot Rod was put in charge of the rehabilitation of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and the integration of the millions of Transformers who had fled the planet during the war. To keep the returning Transformers entertained, Hot Rod devised the [[Cybertron Grand Challenge]], a cross-factional racing event of an epic scale. Following his cultural triumph, Hot Rod changed his name to Rodimus, both to reflect his growing maturity and in homage to Optimus Prime, the leader he still adored. Rodimus became one of Optimus Prime's closest officers, and when [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] reared his head again on [[Earth]], Rodimus was one of the first recruited to accompany Optimus to hunt him down. {{storylink|Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 15|''Classics'' Rodimus profile}}

After the Autobots discovered the mysterious Autobot, [[Skyfall (Cybertron)|Skyfall]], they flew to [[South America]] to investigate a mysterious power source. Rodimus led them there with a tracking device, muttering that he wished [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] were around to help him use it. Clearly they arrived at the correct location, however, because the Decepticons were there looking for it as well! {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 3}} As the battle raged, [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] and Rodimus cornered Soundwave, but the two worried that they were being overwhelmed by numbers. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 5}} Rodimus tried contacting [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], but the Autobot scout wasn't responding, and so Rodimus grew even more frustrated when Mirage went invisible and left him. Mirage's gambit helped win the battle, and the Decepticons withdrew. {{storylink|Crossing Over: Part 6}}

Rodimus was damaged severely, and so after the battle in South America, Optimus Prime carried him all the way home. Bumblebee was asked to put him in a [[CR chamber]]. {{storylink|Games of Deception}}

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===S.T.A.R.S. pack-in flyers===
[[Image:PackIn RodimusPrimeRemembers Front.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Just like he remembers Woodstock.]]

Unicron just might consume the universe, and the Autobots need to determine who the Chosen One is so that he may rise from their ranks, unlock the Matrix of Power, and save all from Unicron! Unfortunately, not even the Chosen One himself knows his identity, and his discovery may come too late. {{storylink|The Autobots Have a Special Mission for:}}

There was a legendary conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons when Optimus Prime led Rodimus Prime and a large team of Autobots in a search for the future site of [[Autobot City]]. They were ambushed by Megatron and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], and this became known as the Transformers' greatest battle on Earth. Rodimus Prime dubbed it "[[Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction (G1)|Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction]]." {{storylink|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.}} Some of the Autobots were forced to retreat due to Thundercracker's "force shield," and Optimus Prime told Rodimus and the others that their only hope was to call in for additional troops. {{storylink|Transformers Combat Data}}

Later, Rodimus Prime remembered the Transformers' greatest battle on Earth. {{storylink|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.}}
{{-}}

===Big Looker Storybook continuity===
[[Image:CarShowBlowup-AutobotCity.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Hot Rod clearly does not pass emissions standards.]]

Kup and Hot Rod traveled to the coliseum to check out a robot car the [[human]]s had built that could respond to voice commands. They heard about it on their car radios! But when they arrived at the coliseum, Kup spotted Decepticons flying about. As some entered the back door, Kup shooed Hot Rod away, telling him to warn the others. If Hot Rod stayed, he would just get into trouble!

[[Image:Wildboyofquintessonbattle.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This is the genocide referred to [[:Image:EdgeofImpact-EvilRodimus.jpg|above]].]]

When Hot Rod returned with the Autobots, Kup had been captured and held prisoner, so the others entered the coliseum in vehicle mode. Meanwhile, Hot Rod snuck up behind Kup and freed him. Yelling "Geronimo!" they jumped from the control room onto the coliseum floor, taking the Decepticons by surprise. Galvatron and the others escaped, but Kup and Hot Rod agreed that they'd be ready for him when he returned. {{storylink|Car Show Blow Up}}

Later, Kup led Hot Rod, [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] on a special mission to take supplies from Earth to a space station on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s second moon. Despite Kup's warnings, the Dinobots loaded too many supplies onto the ship, and in the middle of their journey, the ship began to have problems. Hot Rod reassured Arcee that everything would be okay, but the ship was going down! It crashed on a planet which Kup recognized. It was the planet [[Quintessa|Quintesson]]! They were interrupted by a tribal scream and a flurry of firestones. However, the boy who made his presence known was not aiming at them, but at the Quintessons behind them. The boy's name was [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], and he had been abandoned on the planet when his ship crashed their earlier.

Wheelie led them through the jungle, battling Quintessons along the way, until they reached Wheelie's crashed ship. Hot Rod was able to fix it, and everyone left the planet Quintesson, Wheelie included! {{storylink|The Story of Wheelie, the Wild Boy of Quintesson}}

{{--}}
===Ladybird Books continuity===
[[Image:DecepticonsatthePole-HotRodSparks.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Say I'm badly drawn to my face, pal!]]
Hot Rod was one of several troops stationed on Earth when [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] was in charge and the Transformers' war was still a secret one. He got along well with [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], the two spending their downtime looking at car magazines together, and was quite pleased to receive some snazzy gold wheel-trims from the boy. {{storylink|Decepticon Hideout}}

In the time following this campaign, Hot Rod would mature into a more sensible warrior and even a team leader. During the early stages of the war on [[Nebulos]], Hot Rod was Autobot commander against [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]'s Decepticons before the return of Optimus Prime. At one point, he prevented the Decepticons causing Nebulos' destruction via cosmic radiation. {{storylink|Decepticons at the Pole}}

===Sticker Adventures===
Out searching for a missing shuttle, Hot Rod and Kup spied it crashed on the Junk planet. They landed to find their friends engaged in battle with the natives, but Kup cautioned Hot Rod not to rashly jump in and join them. Kup's use of the Universal Autobot Greeting resulted in the Junkions abandoning the fight and making friends with the newcomers, and causing Hot Rod to exclaim "Holy cow!" The Junkions helped repair the damaged shuttle before the Autobots left. {{storylink|Battle on the Junk Planet}}

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===Young Corgi Adventure books===
[[Image:Wolf at the door desert of danger.jpg|thumb|right|200px|When you're weary, feelin' small...]]
Hot Rod had himself delivered by freight to the planet of Nebulos, where he and his Targetmaster partner Professor Sparks suspected the Decepticons were attempting reinforce their position in spite of a treaty in place to limit their numbers. With [[You|your]] help they traced the Decepticons to the [[Wolf at the Door]] nightclub, an [[oil]] bar for Nebulan miners run by [[Monzo]], and discovered that [[Weirdwolf]], [[Skullcruncher]] and [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] were importing [[Attack Squad robot]]s from Cybertron and awakening them from cryogenic suspension with a catalytic stimulant disguised as [[Sirian brandy]].

After a confrontation with the Decepticons that left Skullcruncher and Mindwipe out of action, Hot Rod faced off against Weirdwolf and Monzo. Weirdwolf was defiant, but Monzo wasn't feeling lucky and surrendered to the Autobot. Though the Headmasters had to be released under the terms of the treaty, the Attack Squad robots were destroyed. {{storylink|Desert of Danger}}

{{note|"Desert of Danger" is a [[multipath adventure]] and the above only applies to the optimum path through the book. If you make the wrong decision, the Decepticons may well triumph instead.}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers PD Type'' comic===
[[Image:Pdtype_rodimus_manga.jpg|left|250px|thumb|]]

Clutching a [[Blackball]], Rodimus Prime found himself being attacked by Galvatron. As the Decepticon leader attempted to throttle him, a light shone from Rodimus's chest, making Galvatron think it was the power of the Blackball. After Galvatron had fled, Rodimus revealed it was just a torch, and reflected on what an idiot his foe was. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##11 "Take a Stand! Rodimus Prime!"|Take a Stand! Rodimus Prime!}}

As Fortress Maximus and Mega Zarak clashed violently, Rodimus reminded Optimus that he had said never to let those two fight. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##14 "Watch Out! Mega Zarak!"|Watch Out! Mega Zarak!}}

Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime enjoyed many victories against the Decepticons, but [[Greatshot|who was that in the background?]] {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##15 "No One Knows When he's Come or Gone. Greatshot..."|No One Knows When he's Come or Gone. Greatshot...}}

Together with Ultra Magnus, Rodimus engaged in battle against [[Sixshot]], but was terrified when the Decepticon ninja unleashed the fury of his "Six Shadow Selves"! Luckily for Rodimus, Sixshot's doppelgangers were actually other Decepticons whom he'd painted black (and weren't very happy about it). {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##18|The Ninja of Space, Sixshot!!}}

In a later altercation with Sixshot, Rodimus attempted to use his Photon Eliminator gun to strike down the fleeing ninja. Though he managed to shoot ''every other'' Decepticon on the battlefield, he failed to hit his intended target. Rodimus sat pouting in the corner as the other Autobots convened to register their disappointment that Rodimus let Sixshot get away. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##21|Photon Eliminator}}

Joining [[Ginrai|God Ginrai]] and Ultra Magnus in an assault on Mega Zarak, Rodimus was terrified when the mammoth Decepticon unleashed his titanic Anti-Gravity Rifle. Fortunately for the Autobots, the gun jammed and Mega Zarak was left fiddling with it while they opened fire. {{storylink|Transformers PD Type##24|Anti-Gravity Rifle}}

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===''Transformers in 3-D''===
[[Image:WarAgainstDestructions-HotRodApeface.jpg|right|thumb|300px|GRONK yourself!]]
As Ultra Magnus left for a mission to find an Energon source, Hot Rod assured him that everything would be fine on Cybertron, and if there was any hint of trouble "Rodimus" would pop up and save the day. When Magnus later checked in, Hot Rod reported that they'd made some process on Headmaster technology. Though Magnus was more concerned about the threat of war, Hot Rod told him not to worry, unaware that [[Sixshot]] was planning to throw him a surprise. {{storylink|The Test (issue)|The Test}}

Hot Rod was pleased to have [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] back. Then [[Monitorus]] arrived with the news that [[Tau-Ursa]] had been attacked and leveled by Decepticons, and Hot Rod got to point out that the Tau-Ursans had refused the Autobots permission to build a defense base there. He shortly took part in an attempt to repel a Decepticon attack on Cybertron, finding himself fighting against Sixshot, who seemed more interested in goading him than fighting. This turned out to be a diversion, while [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] used his new [[Nullification Cannon]] on the planet's Energon supplies.

Hot Rod and Blurr next visited Tau-Ursa to check for Decepticons, and encountered [[Apeface|Ape Face]], who had found a [[Logicon]] warning beacon. The two Autobots wrestled it from him and returned to Cybertron, where the beacon was found to hold the coordinates to [[Metascan Alpha]], a major Energon storehouse. Prime placed Hot Rod in charge of one of two teams to search for the planet, though the operation was hampered slightly by the discovery of the two Decepticon [[Clone (subgroup)|Clone]]s spying on them. {{storylink|The War Against the Destructons, Chapter 1 of 3}}

{{Note|At this point [[Blackthorne Publishing]] went bankrupt and the storyline was never completed}}

{{-}}
===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:Hotroddreamwave.jpg|left|thumb|]]Hot Rod joined an underground Autobot cell led by [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] after [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave's]] takeover of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. Among the members of the cell was [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], whom Hot Rod became attached to. From the [[Wastelands]], Hot Rod, [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] observed an incoming Decepticon shuttle carrying the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]. {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}} Shortly afterward, the cell rescued [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] from [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] and [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]], and took him to their base. After awakening, Prime attacked [[Gnaw]], Blurr, and [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], forcing Hot Rod (who didn't recognize him) to hold the Autobot leader at gunpoint. After being <strike>bitch slapped</strike> admonished by Kup, Hot Rod apologized. {{storylink|Passive Aggression}}

After Shockwave unleashed the [[Guardian robot]]s on [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], Prime organized the resistance cell and other Autobot forces on the planet in an assault on Shockwave's citadel. Fighting alongside the Autobot leader, Hot Rod was amazed that the stories Kup had told him about Prime's courage and heroism had all been true. As an injured Prime breached the citadel, Hot Rod, Ironhide and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] provided cover fire, taking down a number of Guardians in the process. Along with the rest of Iacon, they witnessed the divine light of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Autobot Matrix of Leadership]] when Shockwave activated it. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (issue)|Countdown to Extinction}}

As Prime and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] battled Shockwave within the citadel, Hot Rod and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] took down [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]]. Immediately afterward, they were confronted with the looming threat of a remaining Guardian robot—a threat that was soon neutralized by the arrival of the [[Wrecker|Wreckers]], the [[Autobot High Council]], and [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]]. The unified Autobot group soon breached the citadel. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}

Some time later, Hot Rod ran a simulation combat scenario against Kup, and won using tactics that, in Kup's opinion, would have killed them both had it been real. Only after his victory did Hot Rod remember that he'd promised to take Arcee to see an [[Earth]]-bound shuttle launch—a duty Springer was happy to relieve him of. {{storylink|Lost and Found (issue)|Lost and Found}} Soon afterward, he was assigned to perimeter guard duty at [[Autobase]] with Gnaw and Wheelie, separating him from Arcee. {{storylink|The Route of All Evil}}
{{-}}

===''Universe: Featuring the Wreckers''===
[[Image:Skidswreckers2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|It's funny because Rodimus sucked at everything.]]

A few months after the destruction of [[Unicron]] in 2005, Rodimus Prime spearheaded an effort to establish multiple recon posts to watch for advancing threats... even though some of his scientists said he shouldn't. When only two of the five launched ships were ever heard from again, Rodimus felt like a schmuck. Guy can't catch a break. {{storylink|Betrayal}}

After the Great Wars ended and the [[Pax Cybertronia]] was signed, he changed his name to simply "Rodimus" and decided to check out the new "[[Great Upgrade|Maximal Upgrade]]". His relationship with [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] effectively ended shortly after, as the latter went through dark gripping emo depression over the death of [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] and vanished.

Rodimus joined the [[Wrecker|Wreckers]] at some undetermined point afterward. After [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] took over Cybertron with his [[Vehicon (BM)|Vehicon drones]], Wrecker leader [[Apelinq]] got stranded on prehistoric [[Earth]], leaving Rodimus in charge. True to form, he ditched leadership duties to [[Primal Prime]] as soon as possible.

After Primal Prime got his marching orders from the [[Oracle (BM)|Oracle]], he met Rodimus deep inside Cybertron's caverns, where an even more gothy-emo Arcee—in a new Maximal body—lurked and stewed in her depression. Realizing he couldn't convince her to give a damn about anything, he left, rejoining the main Wrecker force in battle. Making it onto an ancient Autobot shuttle, the Wreckers blasted off... with late-arrival Arcee. {{storylink|Departure}}

[[Image:Arceedisclosure.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Except you're the size of my arm now.]]

Rodimus recognized the homing beacon emitting from [[Akalo|Archa Nine]] as one of those missing exploration parties mentioned before. When the shuttle landed, Rodimus stayed behind to help repair the damage the ship had suffered. The entire Wrecker team later gathered in an [[Akalouthan]] village, where Rodimus was reunited with [[Glyph (G1)|Glyph]], who took them to see the artifact known as the [[Divine Light]]. The Wreckers' analysis of the item was cut short, as it was stolen by the traitor [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]. Rodimus saw the back-in-his-old-body [[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]] off, who was sent to chase after Cyclonus, while the Wreckers made for their next destination... even though several of them were now leery of the visions Primal Prime had been getting. Because they'd really done ''so well'' by the Wreckers so far. {{storylink|Betrayal}}

Upon landing on the frozen planet, Rodimus was part of the search party immediately dispatched to look for... something. Primal Prime wasn't too specific. They came across [[Al-Badur]], an exiled [[Quintesson]], who gave them a little history lesson. They were then promptly attacked by a school of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]], but the Wreckers made short work of them. They made their way back to the ship, with Al-Badur in tow, and made for their next destination... {{storylink|Disclosure}}

[[Image:WreckersFinaleII-RodimusCyclonus.jpg|right|thumb|300px|If Optimus can die, so can I!]]

...Cybertron. As Primal Prime took some Wreckers after their true foe, [[Cryotek (RID)|Cryotek]], Rodimus tried to get their injured to a safe place. Unfortunately, the planet was under a full scale Quintesson invasion, and some anti-aircraft fire inevitably clipped the ship and sent them plummeting downwards. After they made it to safe ground, Rodimus and the crew hooked up with his fellow [[Matrix Templar]], [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], and followed his insight to the battle. They confronted Cryotek's underling, Cyclonus, and his purloined squad of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]]s. With casualties mounting on both sides, Cyclonus beat a safe retreat, collapsing the tunnel behind him to prevent pursuit. Rodimus was quick enough to dive through the falling debris, however, leaving the two old enemies alone to do battle. Centuries of bad blood carried them through the conflict, until both drew their weapons at point blank range, and fired.

Horribly damaged by this last attack, Rodimus struggled to keep up with the other Wreckers and the running conflict between [[Sentinel Maximus]] and Cryotek. The fighting came to an end at a Quintesson banishing chamber, where the treacherous Al-Badur had attempted to toss Sentinel and Cryotek into a formless void. The two warriors were trapped behind an energy dome, barely able to fight off the portal's pull using their flight systems. Once [[Fractyl]] pointed out that Cryotek was empowered by the Divine Light, a fraction of Primus's own power, Rodimus realized that as Matrix Templars he and Cheetor could drain that power away from the Predacon. They managed to extract most of it before Cryotek cut off their siphoning effect. In the end, Sentinel Maximus sacrificed himself to pull Cryotek into the void with him. Rodimus finally expired from his wounds from fighting Cyclonus, quietly passing on into the Matrix. {{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}}
{{-}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:GIJoeTFHotRod70s.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"That bumperchest really doesn't feel right. How do Prowl and Jazz live with it?"]]
Hot Rod was one of [[Teletran 3]]'s unfortunate victims when the computer malfunctioned and transported a random number of Transformers to random points in Earth's timeline. Along with [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], Hot Rod ended up in mid-1970's [[San Francisco]], where he was locked into the form of a Ford Mustang muscle car. The dormant Autobot was soon stolen by a car thief, but was chased down by a group of [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joes]] and [[Cobra]] members sent to retrieve the Transformers. Discovering [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] in the process, the humans equipped both vehicles with [[disruption unit]] that awakened the Transformers and sent them back to present-day Cybertron seconds after Hot Rod commented about feeling "really weird." {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #1}} Back on Cybertron, they were stuck waiting inside the force field Ultra Magnus had erected to prevent [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] from capturing Teletran 3. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 2|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II #2}}

Some time after his time travel adventure, Hot Rod reported to Optimus Prime that [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]'s team on Earth had been sidetracked by a Cobra attack. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 2|The Art of War #2}} When said team ended up disappearing in Cybertron's [[Gladiator Zone]], Hot Rod convinced Optimus to stay behind and take care of an Autobot peace ceremony instead of going out and searching for them. Hot Rod then assembled his own search party, but they failed to find the missing Autobots. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 3|The Art of War #3}} Unfortunately, [[Serpentor|Serpent O.R.]]'s forces attacked the peace ceremony and captured Optimus Prime, leading to Hot Rod assembling a new team intent on rescuing him. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 4|The Art of War #4}} They fought Serpent O.R.'s Decepticon army together with reinforcements from G.I. Joe, and during the battle, Hot Rod paused in horror as he saw the light of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] being opened inside the Decepticon base. The Decepticon army eventually defeated, and by the time Hot Rod reached inside their base, Serpent O.R. had been killed as well. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 5|The Art of War #5}}

A few months later, Hot Rod questioned Optimus Prime's choice to go to Earth again, accusing his leader of feeling guilty about [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s death at Serpent O.R.'s hands and doing everything by himself just to prevent more people from dying. Prime just looked at him sadly before leaving, causing Ultra Magnus to tell Hot Rod that he really needed to learn when to stop talking. {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2}}

{{-}}
===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
Just before the war, Hot Rod was an unaffiliated Cybertronian from [[Nyon]] who stood up against [[Zeta Prime]] and the corrupt [[Senate]], though he refused to join the growing [[Decepticon]] terrorist movement. He and the other insurgents knew that Autobot captain [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Orion Pax]] was also unhappy with the Senate and wanted him on their side, but first they had to show him Zeta Prime's evils firsthand. {{storylink|Ruins}} To attract Orion's attention, Hot Rod attacked his team with a [[plasma-charge]] during one of their missions. {{storylink|Law and Disorder}} Before long, Zeta Prime ordered the same team to find and arrest him. {{storylink|Cause and Effect}} When Orion Pax and his Autobots found Hot Rod at the [[Acropolex]], he took pot shots at them to get them to follow him to the heart of the building, where they discovered tanks full of [[energon]] that Zeta Prime had drained from Nyon's citizens. Hot Rod then approached them, explaining that this kind of thing was happening all across Cybertron, and asked Orion to join the insurgents. {{storylink|Ruins}} Hot Rod was revealed to have been tricked by Zeta Prime and destroying Nyon in the process. Orion reassured Hot Rod that making difficult decisions and carrying the burden afterwards was all part of being a leader.{{storylink|Choices}} After Zeta Prime had been assassinated and Orion Pax had been majorly injured and discarded into the [[Undergrid]], Megatron took over Cybertron and the Autobots went into hiding along with Hot Rod. However, the Decepticons discovered them and raided their base and Hot Rod was suggested by Starscream to join the Decepticons. {{storylink|Transformation (issue)| Transformation}}

Hot Rod seemed to have taken the offer, not knowing what side he was on. He then decides to not follow Megatron after the Decepticon leader ordered the execution of Bumblebee. He then decided to free all the prisoners and joined the Autobots, now knowing the Decepticons' evil ways. All the liberated Autobots and Hot Rod went to Orion Pax's ID signal and learned of his transformation into
Optimus Prime and the awakening of Metroplex, who had been the Acropolex all along. {{storylink|Rise}}

Hot Rod aided the Autobots against the Decepticons at the Citadel where they would fight for control of Cybertron. {{storylink|Broadcast}}

During a [[The Transformers: The Movie| familiar fight in the battle]], Optimus put Megatron at gun point but Hot Rod discovered Megatron tried to secretly reach for a gun elsewhere and shoot Prime but Hot Rod interverned long enough for Optimus to wound Megatron again. However, the Decepticon leader retreated. After the battle, Hot Rod was thanked by Optimus for saving him but Hot Rod stated that he didn't deserve gratitude after Nyon's destruction but Optimus told him to hold his head up and that someday, he might be holding the Matrix. {{storylink|Endgame}}

Hot Rod was recruited by the Autobots just before [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] disappeared in space. {{storylink|Space Opera Part 1: The Stars My Destination}}

[[Image:SpotlightHotRod rush.jpg|right|180px|thumb|WHEEEEEEE! AWESOME! TUBULAR! COWABUNGA! REAGANOMICS!]]
Years ago, Hot Rod was put in charge of a mission to the planet [[Ki-Aleta]] to obtain a powerful artifact named the [[Magnificence]] so as to keep it out of the hands of the Decepticons. The mission started off smoothly enough, with [[Gizmo]] using a [[holomatter]] generator to distract the defense systems while the rest of the team went after the Magnificence. Unfortunately, after that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. First, the generator malfunctioned, then [[Download]] tripped the security lasers around the Magnificence itself. Gizmo, Download, and [[Backbeat]] were destroyed by the security systems while Hot Rod and [[Doubledealer|Dealer]] fled. Hot Rod, nearing the exit tunnels they had previously drilled, got a call from Dealer—he had been ambushed by a Decepticon attack squad and needed help. Unfortunately, Hot Rod had been given his own, top secret orders: the Magnificence was to be the top priority of the mission, and placed before all else. With a heavy heart, Hot Rod abandoned Dealer to his fate as he left Ki-Aleta with the Magnificence.

Years later, Hot Rod learned that Dealer had not died that day; he was being held prisoner at the Decepticon penal colony known as [[Styx]]. Hot Rod stealthily infiltrated the prison complex, using a holomatter generator to disguise himself as a guard and then short-circuiting the power grid to cause all the cell doors to unlock. During the chaos he snuck in, extracted Dealer, and took off while the Decepticons were busy getting the prisoners under control. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hot Rod}}

[[Image:Escalation6 HotRod Koska.jpg|left|170px|thumb|Mine!]]
Recently, Hot Rod was called to [[Earth]] to aid the crew of the ''[[Ark-19]]'' in procuring a Decepticon [[facsimile construct]] from [[Brasnya]], a former Soviet state in eastern Europe. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3|Escalation #3}} He and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] went down to Earth from the ''[[Ark-32]]'' against [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]]'s wishes, and proceeded to join the battle unannounced. As Hardhead went to support the main battle, Hot Rod went after the facsimile... which led to him colliding with [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] as they both tried to stop the [[Georgi Koska]] facsimile from letting himself get gunned down by Soviet soldiers. {{storylink|Escalation issue 4|Escalation #4}} Prowl and Hot Rod managed to defuse the situation and secure the facsimile in the end {{storylink|Escalation issue 5|Escalation #5}}, but before he could return to his ship he was attacked by [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], unable to defend himself because he had to keep the facsimile alive. After returning to the ''Ark-32'', he had to be put in a [[CR chamber]] to recover. His injuries were for nothing, as the facsimile melted during the bounce. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6|Escalation #6}}

[[Image:Devastation6 HotRod Hardhead.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Hardhead, I'm with Arcee now. Let it go.]]
After Hot Rod was repaired and reformatted into a Dodge Viper, his "friend" Dealer tried to convince him to pull some strings to get him to Earth, but Hot Rod and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] had the more important task of rescuing [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1|Devastation #1}} They ran into a bit of trouble with the [[Machination]]'s [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]]. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} They managed to escape temporarily, but were found and Wheeljack was incapacitated. Hot Rod easily held his own with the Headmasters {{storylink|Devastation issue 5|Devastation #5}}, and noted that for [[Sunstreaker (G1)|some]] [[Hunter O'Nion|reason]] they had lost their "edge". He received a little help from Hardhead, who was mainly there to take Hot Rod and the others back to the ''Ark-32'' for evacuation to [[Garrus-9]]. Hot Rod refused to go, wanting to see the Headmaster mystery through to the end. Hardhead reluctantly let him go. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation #6}}

[[Image:SPDHotRodM.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Oh, Magic 8-Ball, will I ever be Prime in this continuity?]]
Hot Rod's search was interrupted by Dealer's arrival on Earth, with orders for Hot Rod: find the Magnificence and use it to learn what they could about the Expansion. Hot Rod took Dealer to his hiding spot, which turned out to be the planet where they first found the device. As Dealer and Hot Rod closed on the Magnificence, he went over his first visit to the planet in his mind, and how things could have gone so wrong. Eventually he began to have suspicions, and upon locating the Magnificence, asked it the question that haunted him: had Dealer betrayed him? Sadly, it revealed the truth, and Hot Rod was forced to kill Dealer as the traitor attacked. Looking down on his remains, Hot Rod realized the truth had been staring him in the face, he just hadn't wanted to accept it. He then used the Magnificence to find out all he could about the Expansion, and relayed the information to the Autobots. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}

[[Image:HotRodMaxDino02.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You're not fooling anyone, [[Judd Nelson| Bender]]. The next screw that falls out will be YOU.]]

Returning to Earth to continue his search, Hot Rod arrived at the gates of the Machination's complex, and Scorponok prepared himself to deal with the intruder. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} Unfortunately, Hot Rod found himself fighting well out of his weight class as he was man handled by Scorponok, who cheerfully bashed his face in, put out one of his optics and snapped his leg. The Headmasters dragged him into Scorponok's control room where, with absolutely no prompting, the big man explained his entire plan for the Dynobots, Skywatch and the Machination. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2|Maximum Dinobots #2}}

Hot Rod seemed less than impressed with this rather mundane approach, which ticked Scorponok off enough for him to point out that it was obviously just the first stage in his master plan. He was also warned to remained awed or he'd be of no further interest. When the Dynobots and newly-arrived [[Monsterbot]]s seemed to turn Scorponok's plan on its head, Hot Rod burst out laughing, at which point, Scorponok ordered him taken out and shot. In the lift to the surface, Hot Rod suddenly erupted in flames, killing his captors, but draining his power supply. Weakened and with a crippled leg, he collapsed on the floor. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots #3}}

He made it out of the building and ran into the real Sunstreaker, who blasted the 2 clones following Hot Rod. Sunstreaker ignored Hot Rod's warning about Scorponok's army and stormed into the building so Hot Rod painfully wired himself to send a distress signal. When Sunstreaker's real head was later disabled by Hunter, the Headmaster clones shut down, which Hot Rod explained to [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. The group was surprised by the arrival of [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], but [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] had heard Hot Rod's distress call and was on his way to Earth. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots #4}}

After Scorponok knocked out [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] and Grimlock tended to him, the remaining Dynobots offered Hot Rod a lift aboard the Monsterbots' ship. He refused though, and made it back into Machination HQ to take care of something "personal". He eventually found Scorponok's real head (and remarked how ugly it was). Hunter also showed up and let Hot Rod know how to disable it, but before he could do so, Scorponok grabbed him. Before Scorponok could crush Hot Rod's head, the Dynobots showed up and began to battle Scorponok. Hot Rod told [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] which wires to sever, and he did just that, reducing Scorponok to a catatonic state. Ultra Magnus arrived took everyone back aboard his ship, which later docked with the ''Ark-32''. Within 3 days, Hot Rod was fully repaired, with a new body form design. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots #5}}

Some time later, while traveling through space by himself, Hot Rod found himself under attack by the ''[[Torment]]'', a Decepticon warship crewed by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and the [[Pretender Monster]]s. He was shot down, but managed to transmit a distress call to the Autobot starship ''[[Trion]]'', which came to his rescue. After the Decepticons were chased off, Hot Rod joined the crew of the ''Trion''. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 15|Lost & Found}}

[[Image:Ironhide punches Hot Rod.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Ironhide has waited twenty-two years to pay Hot Rod back for [[The Transformers: The Movie|shooting down his shuttle]].]]
When the Decepticons' galaxy-wide assault hit, the ''Trion'' was shot down over Cybertron. Hot Rod sent out a distress signal and was ecstatic when he ran into some other Autobots. They must've come specifically to save his team and... wait, why do you all look surprised about my signal and appear beaten up and resourceless and... ''oh arsebiscuits''! {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}}

Hot Rod was taken back to base and relayed the story of how he and his other crew-mates from the ''Trion'' arrived on Cybertron, having been diverted there by Decepticon ships and forced to crash land. Once on the surface, Hot Rod sent out his distress signal and was ''so'' sure someone heard it. Kup arrived with the rest of the ''Trion'''s crew at that point, just in time to tell Hot Rod ''of course'' no one heard his message. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}}

After the Autobots narrowly avoided the [[Insecticon swarm]] and Sunstreaker sacrificed himself, Hot Rod jumped to [[Drift (G1)|Drift]]'s defense when he was being insulted by [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}} When the Autobots were later rescued by [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], Hot Rod was glad that he sent out the distress call. He was then ferried to Earth with the other Autobots aboard Omega. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 10|All Hail Megatron #10}}

[[Image:Ongoing issue 1-Hot Rod has had enough.jpg|right|thumb|150px|"Don't talk to me about stuck, Hot Rod, you're the one with that horrible sneer stuck on your face!"]]
For the next two years, the Autobots would remain on Earth as Prime feared the return of the Decepticons. Unfortunately, this led to the capture of a number of Autobots by Skywatch, including [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]], [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] and Prowl. Hot Rod, already frustrated, lashed out at Optimus, accusing him of keeping the Autobots on the planet because he needed someone to protect and demanding he be allowed to lead a team to rescue Prowl. An admonished Prime agreed to a covert operation, but with Ironhide along to watch over things. While Prowl was freed, it turned out the humans had used him as bait to draw the other Autobots in. However Wheeljack's new shielding protected Hot Rod's team from Skywatch's inhibitors and in a panic the soldiers switched to lethal measures. Hot Rod was targeted and Ironhide was killed protecting him. An enraged Hot Rod turned on the humans, damaging their equipment and machinery.

After returning with Ironhide's body, Hot Rod was shocked as Optimus Prime resigned his position as leader. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}} Disgusted with Prime's decision and unimpressed with the indecisiveness of the others, Hot Rod decided to make his own way. He announced his intention to leave planet Earth behind, and invited any of his fellow Autobots to follow him in pursuit of that goal. After leaving the Autobot caves with a half-dozen recruits, Hot Rod went looking for Omega Supreme, in the hopes of convincing the massive Autobot to use his interstellar rocket mode to get them all off-planet. Omega remained resolutely loyal to Optimus Prime, however, and refused to abandon the Earth. At that moment, a small squad of Decepticon stragglers led by [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] staged an attack on Omega Supreme. After some fast and smooth-talking, Swindle convinced Hot Rod that they all wanted the same thing...to go home. The Autobots put it to a vote, and the majority decided to work with the Decepticons to get off of Earth. {{storylink|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}}

The first thing Swindle asked of Hot Rod was help in reviving their incapacitated "brothers"...several Decepticons mode-locked by the humans. Hot Rod convinced [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] to work on the problem, as there "were no sides anymore", and these other Decepticons were brought back on-line to help with the construction of a new space cruiser. {{storylink|A Rude Awakening}}

[[Image:SeasonsInFlight-RodimusMagnus.jpg|left|thumb|300px|No, don't shoot Swindle! He had some cheap electronics equipment in his van he wanted to sell me!]]

Hot Rod wasn't completely foolish — when Swindle started suggesting they find and revive all the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicon]]s, he remembered how deadly [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] could be, and rejected the idea. Ever the smooth-talker, though, Swindle convinced Hot Rod to let the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] go after [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], the last missing member of their unit. He did so by lavishing a ridiculous amount of praise on Hot Rod, calling him Rodimus Prime, the herald of a new age.

The alliance was soon tested when [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] arrived on the scene, attempting to investigate the death of Ironhide for Autobot Command. When he saw Hot...saw ''Rodimus'' working with Decepticons, and Swindle of all mechs, he freaked out and tried to take the Decepticon ringleader into custody. Rodimus and the other Autobots stood up for Swindle, though, and told Magnus he had to be prepared to fight ''all'' of them if he wanted to take ''one'' of them. Stunned that they did not respect his authoritay, Magnus retreated and work continued on the star cruiser. {{storylink|Seasons in Flight}}

What everyone failed to realize, even Ultra Magnus, was that Swindle was not only trading in combiner technology, he knew how to make it work. By the time Magnus came back for Swindle with a posse of Autobots, the Decepticon was prepared to end his alliance with Rodimus. He had forged the Stunticons into [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], and turned the giant loose on the assembled Autobots. {{storylink|Enemies of the System}}

Rodimus fought alongside Ultra Magnus, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime and the others against the renewed Decepticon threat. They finally managed to bring down the titan, but the alliance was finished and Rodimus's own comrades turned against him for his poor judgment. Looking to escape his own bad decisions, Rodimus hijacked Ultra Magnus's ship and fled out into space. {{storylink|Earthworks}}

[[Image:Ongoing 13 Rodimus drifting.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Why must you hurt the one you love, [[Nick Roche|Nick]]??]]
Since trying to talk and reason with people had only led to betrayal Rodimus decided that it was best to simply act on his own. He had a plan to regain the respect he had lost by taking back the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]], stolen by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] years earlier. Using the ship's advanced tracking equipment, Rodimus found the Decepticons' asteroid base and hid in one of Ultra Magnus's thickly armored weapons lockers. When the ship was shot down, he emerged from the wreckage unscathed, took out several Decepticon guards and even put [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] under his control by improvising with one of [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]'s [[cerebro-shell]]s. Rodimus first sent Razorclaw to attack Starscream, but after that failed, he confronted the self-appointed Decepticon leader himself.

Starscream himself was nigh-impervious to damage, but Rodimus improvised again and fired at the Matrix around his neck, having no idea what would happen. The blast caused some sort of energy discharge from the Matrix that knocked Starscream unconscious. Triumphant, Rodimus took the artifact and went looking for an escape craft... only to run straight into [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] himself. He panicked and waved the Matrix threateningly at the massive Decepticon while warning him to "stay back!", but Megatron was unphased and shot him at point blank range, blowing a huge hole in Rodimus's torso and sending him flying into space. With the Matrix still around his neck, Rodimus's lifeless body could only drift through the void... {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}}

Eventually, Rodimus crash-landed on the desolate [[LV-118]]. Fortunately for him, the Matrix had somehow bonded/interfaced with his body and kept him alive. However, he wasn't alone. An [[Ilxian]] warship had also crashed there a long time ago, leaving only three survivors: a lab technician calling himself "The [[Admiral]]" and two custodians. "The Admiral", desperate for a way off the planet, attempted to use the Matrix as a power source for his ship, which he had fully repaired but was lacking sufficient fuel. But when he informed Rodimus that his plan to use the Matrix to power the ship might put him offline permanently, Rodimus broke free from his bonds and surprised the Ilxians by transforming and driving off.

Having escaped from the "The Admiral", Rodimus found a cave to hide in and figure out what to do next, only to be attacked by a hostile native creature, the [[Chaosteros]]. Suddenly, strange music began to play, causing the Chaosteros to run off, and Rodimus was surprised to find himself face-to-face with [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], who had been missing for centuries. Wheelie and Rodimus devised a plan to seize the Ilxian warship. This plan succeeded and the two Autobots, along with one of the Ilxian custodians, [[Garnak]], who had agreed to help them, took off in the warship using the Matrix as a power source. {{storylink|Space Opera Part 1: The Stars My Destination}}

Rodimus planned to return to Earth and rejoin the other Autobots, however, Wheelie misunderstood his instructions to navigate the warship "home" and took them to Cybertron instead while Rodimus was unconscious from the takeoff (It was implied that the Matrix could not accommodate both the ship and keeping Rodimus' spark alive at the same time; hence the risk when "The Admiral" wanted to use it to power the ship. Fortunately for Rodimus, Wheelie managed to fix him up enough that he could survive without it). Rodimus and Wheelie were reunited with [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] on Cybertron. Sunstreaker informed Rodimus that Cybertron's atmosphere had been processed and the Swarm eliminated, rendering the planet habitable once again. The group was then attacked by one of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s [[Sweep]]s, but Rodimus and Wheelie followed the Sweep and spotted Galvatron preparing his army. Having realized that Galvatron had seen them, Rodimus and Wheelie rushed back to the others and took off in the stolen Ilxian warship before the Sweeps could attack. {{storylink|Space Opera Act 2: Out of the Silent Planet}}

Rodimus, Sunstreaker, Wheelie, Ironhide and Garnak returned to Earth and joined the other Autobots. However, after hearing of Galvatron's recent activity on Cybertron, [[Optimus Prime (G1)| Optimus Prime]] elected to return to his home planet on [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], and take any of the other Autobots along who volunteered to accompany him, including Rodimus. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix}}

During the journey back to Cybertron, Rodimus was disturbed when it appeared that Optimus was getting a little too "cozy" with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], and voiced his concern during a discussion about the imprisoned Megatron's fate. Later, Optimus asked Rodimus what it felt like to interface with the Matrix. Rodimus revealed that it felt wonderful, in contrast to the pain Optimus felt when he bonded with it. However, Optimus chose not to tell Rodimus this. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}

When Omega Supreme arrived in Cybertron's orbit, Rodimus spotted a message from Galvatron sent using binary by ordering his soldiers to shoot off their weapons in a certain order and pattern. The message indicated that Galvatron wanted Optimus to send a landing party with which he could have a civil discussion. Optimus obliged, and Rodimus, along with several other Autobots including [[Drift (G1)| Drift]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)| Sunstreaker]], and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], accompanied Optimus to the meeting with Galvatron. Galvatron revealed that he was preparing an army to fight against "a threat that could destroy us all", and offered to allow Optimus and his army to join his ranks, but would not relinquish any further details. Rodimus complained that Galvatron's soldiers had attacked him before he'd rendezvoused with the others simply for setting foot on Cybertron, but Galvatron claimed the attack was a mistake. However, Optimus declined Galvatron's offer, and the latter attacked. A battle ensued, but Galvatron eventually retreated to the [[Kimia Facility]], which he had stolen and seized control of earlier. Rodimus and the other Autobots were discussing whether Galvatron should be trusted or not when they were taken by surprise by Galvatron transforming Kimia into a massive laser cannon. {{storylink|Chaos Part One: Lamentations}}

As Galvatron began firing on Cybertron using Kimia, Optimus ordered the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] to launch an attack on the facility. Rodimus volunteered to take Omega Supreme into orbit, along with [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], in order to oversee the Aerialbots' attack and gather intel on what Galvatron was up to. Rodimus ordered Trailbreaker to attempt to stop the beam from firing by projecting a force field into the barrel of the laser, but this did not work and Trailbreaker suffered significant damage from the feedback. Rodimus then endeavored to ram the facility with Omega Supreme in an effort to disable the laser and/or knock the facility out of orbit. However, he was not aware that the Autobots who remained trapped within Kimia after Galvatron seized control had a plan of their own: [[Lightspeed (G1 Technobot)|Lightspeed]] blew up the facility from the inside before Omega Supreme could strike it, damaging the latter enough that he could no longer maintain orbit. Besides that fact, Trailbreaker was in need of repairs that only [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] could perform. Rodimus and Omega landed at the base that Sunstreaker had set up on Cybertron. He then asked Sunstreaker where Prime had gone, and when Sunstreaker told him that he and Ironhide had suddenly run off toward the blast crater created by the laser, he and [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] went off to search for them. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers}}

Drift and Rodimus found Optimus with Ironhide at the blast crater. Confident that Galvatron was headed toward the core of the planet through the hole the laser had made, the four of them went down there after him and confronted him. Galvatron claimed that if he didn't succeed at destroying the core of Cybertron, the universe would be doomed. At that moment, [[D-Void]] began to take control of all the Decepticons and Sweeps, forcing them to fuse together and form a single giant monstrosity, except for Galvatron and Megatron (who had broken out of his cell on Omega Supreme). The standoff ended and Galvatron slipped past as Optimus, Rodimus, and Ironhide became distracted with Drift, who stabbed himself with his own blade to keep from becoming overwhelmed by D-Void's mind control.{{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings}}

Through his link to the Matrix, Rodimus realized that Galvatron was planning on fusing [[Vector Sigma]] with the [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]] in order to destroy it, as well as the fact that he was delusional because the Heart of Darkness' influence had fooled him into believing that such an action would destroy Cybertron and prevent D-Void from creating a giant portal to the Dead Universe at the core of the planet when in fact it would allow him to do just that. He then convinced Ironhide to take an injured Drift back up to the surface for repairs while he and Optimus attempted to stop Galvatron. However, they were too late. Galvatron had already succeeded in fusing the two just before they'd arrived on the scene. Just when it all seemed hopeless, [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] crashed an Autobot battlecruiser into Galvatron, temporarily distracting him and buying Optimus and Rodimus some time. Rodimus knew that using the Matrix was the only way to save Cybertron; however, Optimus was reluctant to risk losing it. Despite his initial hesitation, he finally took Rodimus' advice after Galvatron recovered from being hit by the ship and attacked them again. While Galvatron was again temporarily distracted by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (who had somehow escaped D-Void's control and now fought on behalf of Cybertron), Optimus opened the Matrix into Vector Sigma. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis}}

After the Heart of Darkness was purged, Cybertron came alive again in a primordial state. Rodimus and the Autobots set up High Command in the remains of the Kimia crash just as Cybertron's long lost civilian population returned to repopulate the planet. A new political landscape began to unfold, with the Autobots coordinating with the captured Decepticons and surly returnees, dubbed Non-Aligned Indiginous Lifeforms (or [[NAIL]]s) by Prowl. Worse, the Matrix was now hollowed out and empty, its power apparently lost forever. Inside its shell, however, Perceptor and [[Rewind]] found a curious inscription and a photonic starchart...a map. Rodimus and Drift seized upon the idea that the map led to the legendary Cyberutopia of the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. Despite the objections of Bumblebee and Prowl, Rodimus believed that finding the Knights of Cybertron was the best hope for reuniting their fractured people. As he began making plans to pursue the map, Rodimus was bequeathed half the Matrix's shell by Orion Pax, formerly Optimus Prime, who left for deep space in exile to signify the end of the war. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}

With Ultra Magnus at his side, Rodimus sent out word to all Autobots and Cybertronians that he planned to search for the Knights, and rallyed more than 200 'bots to join the crew of his new ship, the ''[[Lost Light]]''. Things went wrong from the very start, though. The ''Lost Light'' suffered a freak quantum jump in the upper atmosphere as it launched, catapulting the ship halfway across the galaxy. Roughly 40 crew members fell out into open space as they rematerialized, and fell down to the planet below. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}

Rodimus arranged a search and rescue force to recover the fallen Autobots, but nonetheless three crew members were dead almost before the mission had begun. Just as Rodimus was giving news of the casualties to the rest of the crew he got word from [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], who had found [[Shock|another]] crew member dead. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On}} Rodimus later found a Sparkeater was on board and ordered all crew members to their quarters. He then secretly ordered Ultra Magnus to lock them in. Rodimus, Chromedome, Rewind, Trailbreaker, Drift,Ratchet, and Ultra Magnus examined Shock's body and Ratchet revealed that a Sparkeater had done the damage. Rodimus later uses Rung and Skids to lure the Sparkeater into the engine room. Rodimus then grappled with the creature and positioned it into the engine block and told Perceptor to initiate quantum jump. This merged to creature into the engine block and killed it but Rodimus lost his arms in the process. After Ratchet built him some new ones, he had a tense conversation with Ultra Magnus. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things}}

Rodimus was informed by Ultra Magnus that Tailgate wanted to be a Decepticon after what he heard from Cyclonus about the Great War. Ultra Magnus stated he was tired of keeping the crew together and when questioned why was he on the Lost Light, he said he had no idea. Rodimus then ordered Rewind to show Tailgate video footage of the Great War from the Autobot side, after which Tailgate became ashamed of his previous announcement about wanting to sympathize with the Decepticons. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}}

After Fortress Maximus went on a shooting spree onboard the ship and locked himself in Rung's office with both Rung and Whirl, Rodimus was briefed in, and placed a security team near the doors if the need arose. He watched as the situation unfolded but was deprived of audio and had to make decisions based on guesswork. He eventually sent Swerve and Rewind, who were on rivet duty, to take out Maximus using their rivet gun through the porthole. This ended badly, as Swerve missed and hit Rung instead. Afterwards, Rodimus delivered a speech that marked Rung's passing, and was complimented on it by Drift. {{storylink|Interiors}}
{{-}}

===''Henkei! Henkei!'' pack-in comic===
[[Image:Henkei_manga_rodimus.jpg|right|thumb|155px]]
While the other Autobots were busy dealing with a rampaging [[Astrotrain (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic|Astrotrain]], Rodimus disrupted [[Megatron (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic|Megatron]] and the other Decepticons' attack on a power plant by engaging them solo. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 2}} Unable to tackle Megatron in hand-to-hand combat, he was able to get [[Starscream (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic|Starscream]] to accidentally blast his leader instead, but this did little more than annoy Megatron, who flattened Rodimus with a [[fusion cannon]] blast. With Rodimus defeated, the Decepticons pulled out, but the Autobot cavalier didn't let the defeat get him down, and he sped off to join the other Autobots in battling Astrotrain. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 3}} Soon after, Rodimus helped defend another power plant against a Decepticon attack, shielding the human workers from Starscream's blasts with his own body. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 4}}

When the mysterious new Decepticon warrior [[Cyclonus (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic|Cyclonus]] provided Megatron with the means to transform himself into the monstrous [[Galvatron (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic|Galvatron]], Rodimus, [[Ironhide (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic|Ironhide]] and [[Mirage (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic|Mirage]] trailed Cyclonus's Targetmaster partner [[Nightstick (Cyclonus)|Nightstick]] to the volcano in which Megatron was carrying out his transformation. Despite resistance from Starscream and Cyclonus, Rodimus and his team were able to collapse the volcano's cone in on itself. They believed they had sealed Megatron within, and were about to focus their attack on Starscream when they were sent scattering by the explosive emergence of Galvatron from the remains of the caldera. {{storylink|Henkei! Henkei! volume 9}}

===''Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun'' manga===

Following the defeat of [[Galvatron (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Galvatron]] on [[Earth]], Rodimus was among the Autobots that [[Optimus Prime (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Optimus Prime]] summoned to the planet. Together with [[Ironhide (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Ironhide]], [[Hound (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Hound]] and [[Jetfire (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun manga|Skyfire]], Rodimus was to protect the planet while Optimus's team set off for Cybertron in pursuit of the fleeing Galvatron. {{storylink|To the Sea of Stars}}
{{-}}

===''Wings Universe''===

In the year 2009, Hot Rod, Kup and the Dinobots experienced ''deja vu'' all over again when a horde of Decepticons attacked their shuttle. Cyclonus, Scourge and 35 of his Sweeps chased them into a nebula where the Autobots lay low to finish repairs. When the boarding party finally found them, Kup's experience helped Hot Rod and the others drive off their attackers. {{Storylink|Wings of Honor}}

==Games==
===3D Battle-Card Game===
Hot Rod was one of [[Optimus Primal]]'s many Autobot allies in a fight against [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s Decepticon forces. {{storylink|3D Battle-Card Game#Energon Wars expansion|Energon Wars Expansion Set}}

===''The Transformers: Battle to Save the Earth''===
[[Image:C64RodimusPrimeAndHotRod.jpg|right|thumb|250px|]]

Along with their fellow Autobots, Hotrod{{sic}} and Rodimus Prime protected Earth from the menace of the Decepticons. Hotrod was ostensibly under the command of Rodimus Prime. {{storylink|The Transformers: Battle to Save the Earth}}

{{note|In this game, "Hotrod" and Rodimus Prime are separate characters who can be in the same place at the same time. Don't try to think about this too hard.}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Mystery of Convoy''===
[[Image:Mysteryofconvoy_rodimus.jpg|left|thumb|225px]]
When Optimus Prime went missing under mysterious circumstances, Ultra Magnus was given the task of battling hordes of Decepticons in order to solve the mystery of his whereabouts. The Decepticons had also stolen a collection of seven energon cubes belonging to Rodimus Prime, which Magnus strove to recover during his fight. When all seven were successfully obtained and the battle was won, a new challenge rose its head, but with his energon cubes back, Rodimus was able to take up the fight! He had a funny habit of looking like an orange Ultra Magnus if you looked at him sideways. {{storylink|Transformers: Mystery of Convoy}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: The Headmasters''===

Rodimus Prime was kidnapped by the Decepticons and held captive on Cybertron by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. He was rescued by [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and his other comrades, and in turn helped rescue those who were still imprisoned. Once they had reunited, Rodimus Prime and the others met with [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] for the last battle against [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. {{storylink|Transformers: The Headmasters (video game)|Transformers: The Headmasters}}

===''The Transformers'' (PS2)===
{{voiceactor|[[Peter von Gomm]] (English)}}
====Autobot story====
[[Image:Callofthefuture_rodimus.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"I am from the future and know a lot about history!"]]

When [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] gained the incredible power of the [[Zel Quartz]] in the year 2010 and began cutting a swath of destruction across the galaxy, Rodimus Prime, [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] resolved to prevent this devastation by traveling back in time and eliminating the quartz in the past, thereby altering their future. Using a [[Transwarp]]-equipped ship supplied by the [[Quintesson]]s, they traveled to the world of [[Zel Samine]] in the year 2003, where they ran across teams of present-day Autobots and Decepticons led by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], who were carrying out investigations on their own on the planet.

Making matters worse, [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] also followed them back in time, and the two teams allied themselves with their respective present-day factions in order to locate the Zel Quartz. It wasn't necessarily an easy alliance to make: Rodimus was barely able to keep his cool when [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], not believing that he and his team were really Autobots, demanded to know if Rodimus was Autobot leader in the future, what happened to Optimus? Fortunately, Optimus calmed his lieutenant down and welcomed the trio of future Autobots into his forces.

Working with the present day Autobots was not easy for Rodimus, as he was well aware of the fate that awaited them. On a number of occasions, he struggled with his knowledge of the future, knowing he could prevent a [[Battle of Autobot City| great tragedy]] but could also cause untold damage to the timestream by doing so. He also showed some interest in Arcee when he attempted to give her a precious stone he'd found during a mission to a mine, only for the female Autobot to scold him for taking something that didn't belong to him. Luckily for him, Optimus stepped in and settled things by ordering Rodimus and Arcee to return the stone. That Optimus makes one heck of a wingman.

After several false leads, the quartz was eventually located, serving as the power source of the [[ELTA]] power transmission array. After fighting their way through the likes of Cyclonus, Scourge, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] and both Soundwave and his future counterpart Soundblaster, Rodimus and Optimus engaged Megatron and Galvatron in a two-on-two battle over ELTA, using the power of their twin Matrices to stop the computer from self-destructing. Once the dust from the fight had settled, Starscream reemerged and snatched up the Zel Quartz, only to promptly take it off-planet, where it disintegrated without Zel Samine's atmosphere and electromagnetic properties to sustain it. With their future thus averted, Rodimus and his Autobots began fading away to rejoin the timestream. Before they disappeared, Rodimus attempted to warn Optimus of the coming dangers in the future, including his Optimus's death (for which Rodimus continued to blame himself), but Optimus silenced him, telling him that he did not need to know what the future held. Rodimus told Optimus that he would always be the greatest leader in Autobot history, but Optimus told him that he was merely a soldier who loved justice, and that that was all Rodimus needed to be too.

====Decepticon story====
Megatron, Starscream and Soundwave encountered Rodimus Prime while investigating the presence of unknown craft over Zel Samine. Rodimus was stunned to see the Decepticon [[Emperor of Destruction]] before reminding himself of the era he was in. For his part, Megatron thought he was facing Hot Rod, but quickly realised his mistake. After a short, sharp fight that saw Rodimus defeated, Megatron was distracted enough by the appearance of Galvatron to allow the future Autobot to escape.

Rodimus would again battle Megatron as well as Galvatron at the ELTA power transmission array, this time alongside his hero Optimus Prime. He was shocked that despite the fact the two Primes were working together, they were still defeated. When Megatron and Galvatron resolved to destroy the ELTA array Rodimus pleaded with them to stop, pointing out that the array generated a massive amount of energy, the same energy the Decepticons so loved. Sadly, the two Emperors of Destruction felt that with the Zel Quartz now in their possession, they no longer needed the array and proceeded to destroy it with their combined power. The wounded Rodimus barely escaped.

He presumably returned to the future alongside all the future Transformers when Starscream unwittingly rendered the Zel Quartz powerless. {{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
{{main|Hot Rod (G1)/toys}}

==Notes==
[[Image:RodimusPrime-earlymodel.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"Hey, ladies. Look at your G1 Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime toys, now back to us, now back at your toys, now back to us."]]
* Like the rest of the 1986 movie's original characters, Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime had early designs by [[Floro Dery]] which the toys were based on, and then final models were drawn from the toys. Both designs had revised heads that made it into the ''[[The Transformers Universe|Transformers Universe]]'' profile books and subsequent Marvel comic book appearances.
** Rodimus Prime's early model appears to carry the trailer of the truck on his back, plus additional [[kibble]] on the back of his forearms. If only there were art of the back of this design. We'd plotz.
**Both Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime's character models suggest that the windshield and roof of their respective vehicles form the pelvic area, including little side windows on their hips. The animation studio [[AKOM]] even colored his crotch like his windshield. Unsurprisingly, this has never been duplicated on any toy, although the Masterpiece version makes a nod to it with a transparent groin plate with indentations underneath denoting two seats and a steering wheel.
**Meanwhile, both sets of wheels are on Hot Rod's arms in his character model, as they are intended to span the entire length of the vehicle. His wristcuffs are intended to become the vehicle's taillights. This also has never been duplicated on any toy.
**Much of Hot Rod's early model seemed to form the basis of Rodimus Prime's finished model. (Though given that nearly everybody else from the movie had a totally redrawn finished model, we wouldn't be surprised if there's a more-final-er model out there.)
**According to earliest materials (also the source of the earliest Hot Rod head seen in this section's first image), Rodimus Prime's original name was '''Hot Rodimus'''.

[[Image:Hotrodrodimuscharactermodels.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Rodimus is always embarrassed by his yearbook photos.]]
*Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime look very similar in fiction, but there are ways to distinguish them by sight.
**Rodimus Prime's character model has extra lines on his face that go from the bottom of his nose and connect to another line forming a triangle shape. Hot Rod's cheeks are more clear and youthful.
**Despite their toys being the same color of red, the cartoon series rendered Hot Rod as magenta, and Rodimus a dark shade of burgundy (the movie, however, made Rodimus the same color as Hot Rod). In addition to repeatedly getting the two character models mixed up, sometimes the animation would depict one model colored as the other.
**In Marvel stories, Hot Rod was also colored almost entirely magenta, with a yellow spoiler and flame deco, but with silver thighs instead of orange. Whoever did the Marvel deco sheet seems to have been looking at the [[:Image:Pinkrod.jpg|original toy photos]] and colored the thighs like the toy's silver stickers. While Marvel Hot Rod was stark magenta, Marvel Rodimus was colored in the reds, oranges and yellows of his toy. Future comics and toys would ignore any differences in color between the character's two forms, presenting them both in the original toy colors (see the image at the head of the article for a good example).
**The Japanese ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]'' cartoon, in addition to featuring the coloration differences of the Generation 1 cartoon, also added some extra lines around the perimeter of Rodimus's eyes to further distinguish him from Hot Rod. These odd-looking lines appeared only intermittently, thankfully so—they made Rodimus look like he was wearing robo-mascara. The ''Headmasters'' Rodimus Prime character model also moved the wheel kibble from the back of the arms to the front, to better approximate their position on the toy.

[[Image:RodimusPrimeG1-trailermanagement.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Maybe his Mobile Defense Bay is just an extra set of legs!]]
* Rodimus Prime's toy followed the model set by Optimus Prime before him by having a trailer that disconnected and transformed into a battle station (in this case, called the "[[Mobile Defense Bay]]"). Unlike Prime's [[Combat Deck (G1)|Combat Deck]], however, Rodimus's Defense Bay failed to make the leap to fiction, with the cartoon simply depicting his trailer as somewhat unfeasibly folding up into his legs and body <ref>[http://www.allspark.com/content/stories/tfpulp/8704TVM/k.gif Image of Rodimus Prime's animated transformation scheme from TV Magazine]</ref> (barring a few animation errors that depicted it as a separate unit). This transformation scheme was realized in toy form with Rodimus's 6" ''[[Titanium Series]]'' action figure.

* A lot of early secondary material uses Hot Rod and Rodimus in ways that don't fit the main Movie-established dynamic, as with stories from the same era that portrayed Megatron and Galvatron as separate beings, this was likely to avoid spoiling the Movie's ending.

* Hot Rod might be the ''Transformers'' character with the most names in the US. From "Hot Rod" to "Rodimus Prime", to "Rodimus Major" to just plain "Rodimus". Varieties of "Rodimus" appear to be how he will be for a while, as Hasbro appears to be unable to secure the [[trademark]] on "Hot Rod".

* [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]]'s powered up form has a color scheme which resembles Hot Rod's.

* Aside from the ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' [[Rodimus (Energon)|namesake character]], Hot Rod has also been [[Homage|homaged]] twice (or possibly thrice depending on how you look at it) in the [[Unicron Trilogy]]. For ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'', the "[[Powerlinx]]" upgrade of [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] was given a very Hot-Rod-inspired deco. In ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (franchise)|Cybertron]]'', [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] made a redeco of Hot Shot (well, "Exillion"), who already had some Hot Rod homage elements in his toy design, with Hot Rod deco as a DVD-pack-in [[exclusive]]. [[Hasbro]] then took this deco, altered it, and released it in the US line at mass retail as the new character [[Excellion (Cybertron)|Excellion]].

* This Rodimus Prime, along with the original [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] makes a cameo appearance as one of the four elders who began the [[space bridge]] project in the ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]'' episode "[[Balance]]".

===Foreign names===
====Hot Rod====
*''Japanese:'' '''Hot Rodimus''' (ホットロディマス ''Hotto Rodimasu''), '''Hot Rod''' (ホットロッド ''Hotto Roddo'')
*''English:'' '''Roadimus Prime''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub)
*''French:'' '''Météorite''' (Canada)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Nagyágyú''' ("Hot Shot"), '''Peca''' (''The Movie'', "Fisher")
*''Italian:'' '''Folgore'''
*''Mandarin:'' '''Rod''' (Taiwan, 羅德 ''Lúo Dé''), '''Rè Pò''' (China, 热破, "Hot Break")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Roda Quente''' (Portugal comic)
*''Russian:'' '''Patron''' (cartoon, Патрон, "Cartridge")

====Rodimus Prime====
*''Japanese:'' '''Rodimus Convoy''' (ロディマスコンボイ ''Rodimasu Konboi''), '''Rodimus Prime''' (ロディマスプライム ''Rodimasu Puraimu'')
*''French:'' '''Rodimus Primo''' (Canada toy, "Rodimus First"), '''Rodimus Primus''' (Canada cartoon)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Rodimusz Fővezér''' ("Prime Commander Rodimus")
*''Italian:'' '''Captain'''
*''Mandarin:'' '''Rhodie Jr-tsūn''' (Taiwan, 羅迪至尊, "Rodimus Prime"), '''Bǔ Tīan Shì''' (China, 补天士, "Soldier Who [[Wikipedia:Nüwa|Repairs the Sky]]")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Rodimus Supremo''' (Portugal comic)
*''Russian:'' '''Rodomes Prime''' (cartoon, Родомес Прайм)
*''Ukrainian:'' '''Rodimus Najkrashhyj''' (cartoon, Родімус Найкращий, "Rodimus The Best")

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Hot_Rod Hot Rod's Universe profile at NTFA.net]

* [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Rodimus_Prime Rodimus Prime's profile at NTFA.net]

[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Beast Machines Autobots]]
[[Category:Classics Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 2 Autobots]]
[[Category:Henkei! Henkei! Autobots]]
[[Category:Kiss Players Autobots]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Micromasters]]
[[Category:Primes]]
[[Category:Return of Convoy Autobots]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]
[[Category:Targetmasters]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:United Autobots]]
[[Category:Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]

The Golden Lagoon (episode)

2012-08-21T20:24:48Z

166.250.65.10: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|image=GoldenLagoon Beachcomber in lagoon.jpg
|caption=Beachcomber is into watersports.
|series=G1toon
|ep=41
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=31
|prev2=A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court
|next2=The God Gambit
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=12
|prev3=A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court
|next3=Prime Target (episode)
|title="The Golden Lagoon"
|airdate=[[November 4]], 1985
|written by=[[Dennis Marks]]
|production code=#700-40
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Beachcomber finds a pool of golden liquid that renders his hand invulnerable. Unfortunately, the Decepticons do too, and decide to take a dip.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ゴールデンラグーンの秘密 (''Golden Lagoon no Himitsu'', "Secret of the Golden Lagoon")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "Die goldene Lagune" ("The Golden Lagoon")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''A Lagoa Dourada'''
:''Russian title:'' '''Золотая лагуна''' (''Zolotaya lagoona'', "The Golden Lagoon")
:''Italian title:'' '''Il lago dorato''' ("The golden lake")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Goldenlagoonbeachcomber1.jpg|left|175px|thumb|Friend of all God's creatures.]]

[[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]], [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]], [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] and [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] are taking a walk along the beach when they are attacked by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]], [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] and [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]. In the middle of the battle, pacifist Beachcomber takes cover and finds a secluded glen full of flora and fauna right out of a Disney cartoon. In the middle of enjoying this impromptu petting zoo, the glint of gold catches his eye. In the middle of the glen is a pool of golden liquid he dips his hand into and identifies as "[[electrum]]". A rockslide sends him back to where he came from, just as Thrust flies over the glen and makes the same discovery. Thrust jumps into the pool and comes out completely covered in the gold liquid.

Beachcomber arrives back at the battle as the tide is turning against the Decepticons. Just then, Thrust appears and survives a powerful Autobot barrage without sustaining a scratch, thanks to his electrum coating. Warpath shoots an opening into the cliff face that he, Powerglide and Beachcomber hide in, while Thrust kidnaps Perceptor and Seaspray.

At Decepticon headquarters, the Autobots are imprisoned while Thrust notifies [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] of the electrum pool. They hurry off to the glen and Megatron orders [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] to jump in. When he emerges, Megatron shoots him, but the blast bounces off. The rest of the Decepticons jump into the pool and emerge, then have fun shooting each other. Megatron declares the Autobots are finished as the glen around them burns and the animals cower.

[[Image:Goldenlagoonstarscreamjump.jpg|right|175px|thumb|Normally Skywarp would be the one to kick Starscream into the giant pool of urine]]

Powerglide, Beachcomber, Warpath, [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] regroup and prepare to go after the Decepticons again. Beachcomber hasn’t told anyone about his discovery yet. The group rushes off and meets up with the electrum-plated Decepticons, and are quickly dispatched because their weapons have no effect. More Autobots join the battle, but their weapons are useless. Beachcomber realizes that they’ve found the electrum and drives off.

The Decepticons return to headquarters and Starscream forces Seaspray and Perceptor to fight each other. [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] rushes off to tell Megatron as Starscream gives the Autobots weapons.

Smokescreen, damaged from the battle, asks [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] to help and the giant Autobot declares (a bit prematurely) that failure is impossible.

[[Image:GoldenlagoonOSdown.jpg|left|215px|thumb|Gulliver's Travels on acid]]

Meanwhile, Beachcomber arrives back at the glen and finds the Decepticons have burnt it nearly to the ground. He is captured by Blitzwing while Soundwave tattles on Starscream. Megatron orders everyone to fight Omega Supreme. When they attack Omega fires, but even his weapons have no effect and he falls under enemy fire. Megatron sets his sights on [[Ark (G1)|Autobot headquarters]] next.

At Autobot headquarters, Mirage reports on Omega’s defeat and [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] can hardly believe it. [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] reports a single word to them—electrum. Prime recognizes its significance and sends out teams to try to find it.

Powerglide discreetly follows the Decepticons and sees them swimming in the electrum. He flies off to report the discovery to Optimus.

Megatron gives the task of dispatching Beachcomber, Perceptor and Seaspray to Starscream. When [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] come to take the prisoners to Starscream, Beachcomber forgoes his pacifist ways and overcomes both of them. He frees Perceptor and Seaspray and they swim back to the surface and head toward the golden lagoon. With Dirge left alone as guard while all of the others head to the fight, the trio takes him out, just as Prime and the rest of the Autobots arrive. Beachcomber invites them to jump into the electrum with him.

[[Image:Goldenlagoonautobotline.jpg|right|215px|thumb|Lucky Draw Roll Call!]]

Back at Autobot headquarters, Megatron and company attack but they discover the base is empty. Megatron orders everyone back to the lagoon, where the electrum-coated Autobots are waiting for them, including Omega Supreme. The two sides fight, but since their weapons are useless the blasts bounce off and destroy the countryside around them. As the battle continues, the electrum on the Decepticons wears off. His advantage lost and seriously out-gunned, Megatron destroys the lagoon and orders a retreat. The Autobots cheer their victory, but Beachcomber laments the destruction of the glen.

"...We won..."
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (1)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (2)
* [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] (3)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (4)
* [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] (5)
* [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (8)
* [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (9)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (10)
* [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (15)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (16)
* [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (17)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (18)
* [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (19)
* [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (20)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (22)
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (23)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (25)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (26)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (27)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (28)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (29)
* [[Windcharger (G1) |Windcharger]] (30)
|c2=
* [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (1)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (2)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (3)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (4)
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (5)
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (6)
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (7)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (11)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (12)
* [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] (13)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (14)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (21)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (24)
}}

==Quotes==
"Thrust, my man, you are about to become number-one Decepticon."
:—'''Thrust''', anticipating a promotion

"Personally, I need proof!" 
"''Personally'', I don't care ''what'' you need!"
:—'''Megatron''' putting '''Starscream''' in his place... again.

[[Image:Laserrave.gif|right|324px|thumb|You're right Megatron, this IS enjoyable.]]

"I will enjoy this."
:—'''Megatron''' shoots Starscream point-blank to see if the electrum makes him invulnerable.

"Sure wish Mirage was here, we could use him!"
"Your wish is granted!"
"Huh?"
"I've BEEN here for ten minutes!"
:—'''Powerglide''' and '''Mirage'''

"Sunstreaker, our weapons don't seem to have any effect on them." 
"I'll blast a few big D's for ya, and you’ll see what a difference a pro makes."
:—'''Mirage''' and '''Sunstreaker'''

"Show no mercy!" 
"Did we ever?"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Starscream'''

"Results: disappointing."
:—'''Omega Supreme''' after three rounds of fire have no effect on the Decepticons.

'''Megatron''': Victory over the Autobots is here. 
'''Starscream''': Cut the oration Megatron. We already heard it. 
'''Skywarp''': Yeah, let’s talk about victory after we’ve got it.
:—Skywarp and Starscream sass back to Megatron now that they're invulnerable.

"We won..."
:—'''Beachcomber'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s bitter statement as he surveys the wreckage of the lagoon.

==Notes==
===Animation & Technical errors===
* As he trades shots with Ramjet, Seaspray's cannon steals Optimus Prime's laser sound effect. A moment later, it changes to the standard Autobot laser sound.
* Blitzwing's helmet is purple instead of yellow as he stands to join the attack on the beach.
* Warpath seems to have lost most of a line; as he's trading shots with him, he says "Blitzwing." for no clear reason.
* One gun, many lasers:
** Thrust's lasers split in two on leaving his guns, giving him 4 lasers. But as he strafes the cliff from off-screen, nearly a dozen lasers are shown streaking in.
** Thrust throws one piece of ice at Powerglide and Warpath, who are hit by dozens of pieces of ice.
* Perceptor's chest rim is dark gray instead of silver as he turns to fire on the newly electrum-coated Thrust.
* The sides of Skywarp's helmet are colored white when he and Thundercracker present Perceptor and Seaspray to Megatron. It makes him look like he has chubby cheeks!
* Starscream's missing one of his wing insignia after he lands at the electrum pool.
* Thundercracker likewise has only one wing insignia as Starscream dives into the pool.
* Smokescreen's forehead crest is blue instead of yellow as he ponders what Beachcomber is thinking.
* The Decepticons' guns use the sound effects of Cobra's guns (from G.I.Joe) during the attack on Sunstreaker's team. Powerglide and the other Autobots likewise get a GI Joe laser noise as they fire.
* As he drives toward the Decepticons, Smokescreen's smoke camouflage has somehow gotten in front of him.
[[Image:GoldenLagoon Mirage reports to Autobots.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
* When Mirage reports, Bluestreak's head crest is drawn as a pair of squared boxes on his head.
* Sunstreaker's squad gets the wrong transforming sound (ascending pitch) as they transform and roll out.
* Bluestreak is colored like Prowl as the Decepticons dive to attack.
* Brawn's helmet is olive green instead of gray-silver as he transforms to fire on the Decepticons with Sunstreaker's squad.
* Skywarp and Thundercracker are shown listening to Starscream pontificate... yet a second later they walk in from another room with the Autobot prisoners.
* The first syllable of Soundwave's report to Megatron is cut off, leaving him saying "Port on Starscream's activity completed."
* In the big lineup of golden Autobots, Windcharger is a bit deformed and off-model.
* All of this said? We think this episode probably deserves some kind of award for never once accidentally colouring Beachcomber's golden hand its normal blue.

===Continuity errors===
* It's never made clear if the Autobots in the opening scene were looking for rare minerals, or if Perceptor just ''happened'' to get lucky on patrol near a ''beach''.
* Thrust dives into the electrum and says he's about to become "number one Decepticon," but later simply reports the find to Megatron. Did he just change his mind on the way back?
* When Starscream dives into the pool of electrum, he holds his nose, despite the fact that robots normally don't need to breathe. One may chalk it up to a cute little joke inserted by the animators.
* So...why ''was'' Mirage hanging around (invisible) for 10 minutes?
* Later in the show, Mirage turns invisible in vehicle mode. Smokescreen is kicking up dust behind him (before he engages his smoke trail), so wouldn't Mirage's dust trail be noticeable as well?
* For some reason, no one seems to notice that the Decepticons are gold and invincible - nor do any of the Autobots seem to notice Beachcomber's golden hand. Yet when they discover the pond full of electrum, the Autobots know exactly what the chemical is and what it does.
[[Image:G1toon starscream electrum.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"I told you. Your weapons have no effect on me!" "It is my considered advice that you discontinue your use of said weapon!"]]
* Despite knowing that lasers are useless against electrum-coated opponents, both sides keep vainly shooting at each other in the big fight at the end, rather than coming to fisticuffs.
* Megatron and the Decepticons are all rather surprised when the electrum coating wears off, but if they didn't know it was temporary, why were they bothering to stockpile it?
* Long Haul says he's going off to join the main force, but neither he nor the rest of the Constructicons are seen later.
* It's a bit absurd that the electrum, a substance that makes Transformers invulnerable to laser fire, was vaporized by a barrage of laser fire.
*Thrust's electrum coating should have worn off first because he got covered first.
* Though the ending is supposed to be sad, the usual "heroic Autobot victory music" is used for the scene.

===Continuity notes===
[[Image:Beachcomber_with_bird.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
*Gadgets and powers:
** Beachcomber is shown to have a translator that lets him understand animals. Assuming all transformers have this, it would explain how they manage to communicate with every species they come across.
** A glowing sensor in Beachcomber's chest reacts to the presence of the electrum.
** Seaspray has a large top-mounted cannon and two smaller cannons that can deploy from his superstructure.
** [[Furmanism|Like some vast, predatory bird]] Thrust deploys talons to capture Perceptor and Seaspray.
** Perceptor can retract his wrist and fire a missile from it.
** Warpath can likewise fire cryogenic shells from his retracted wrist. At the same time, Powerglide is shown using his forehead-mounted thermal ray.
** Smokescreen can deploy his shoulder missile launchers from the hood of his car mode.
** Smokescreen deploys his smoke from pipes that emerge from his trunk, rather than the usual tailpipe location.
** Sunstreaker uses a rooftop cannon in car mode.
** Blitzwing's laser gun can act as a magnetic tractor beam.
[[Image:GoldenLagoon-PowerglideSmokescreenWarpath.jpg|thumb|right|200px|]]
* Beachcomber reacts to the electrum with a cry of "[[Great Maximus]]!"
* Warpath speaks with glowing cheek blinkers in this episode.
* In a nice touch of continuity, Perceptor's shoulder cannon is not present when he's held captive. Somehow he's got it back after the escape, however.

===Real-world references===
* At the beginning of the episode, Perceptor stops to examine a rock on the beach with "traces of gold and silver". It's not just a random aside, but foreshadowing: in the real world, electrum is an alloy of gold and silver.
* When Warpath voices his excitement about KAZOWYing Decepticons, Powerglide reminds him that it's a rescue mission and not "the [[Wikipedia:Charge of the Light Brigade|Charge of the Light Brigade]]", a catastrophic cavalry charge during the Crimean War.
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** Ben and Darth slashing some equipment with their lightsabers is used as the sound of Seaspray's laser fruitlessly hitting a Decepticon in the undersea base.
** TIE Fighter engine as the Decepticons fly through Omega's initial blasts.
** Lightsaber ignition as Megatron's blast hits Omega Supreme.
** ''Falcon'' engine noise, and Death Star super laser, as the Decepticons take off after defeating Omega.
** X-Wing whine as Powerglide takes off to follow the Decepticons, and again as the 'cons take off inside their headquarters.

===Trivia===
* This is the first episode since the premiere to have new commercial bumpers. They're all new and feature: Omega Supreme, Thrust, Devastator, Astrotrain and Cosmos.
*In Japan, this episode was only aired in the Kansai region and never given a proper nationwide broadcast. Due to this, official episode guides, including those printed in ''[[Transformers Generations]]'', offer no airdate for the episode. It is, however, listed between February 7th and 14th, 1986.
* This episode was never broadcast in Italy in the '80s and, as such, it only got dubbed in Italian with the 2008 full G1 redubbing.
* This is a rare human-free episode (though there are plenty of Disney-esque animals).
* Man, Skywarp sure didn't mention letting the prisoners get away, huh?
*Electrum is an actual metal and is a great conductor, dip your figures in that

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 5 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 04: Stagione Due Parte Seconda ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_golden_lagoon.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Lagoon}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

The Golden Lagoon (episode)

2012-08-21T20:24:21Z

166.250.65.10: /* Quotes */

Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity

2012-08-21T20:07:33Z

166.250.65.10: /* The Transformers cartoon */

{{suite}}
[[Image:Soundwave_and_company.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Can't touch this.]]

If you only remember two things from the ''Transformers'' cartoon, odds are one of them is Optimus Prime, and the other is '''that tape guy with the cool voice'''.

==''The Transformers'' cartoon==
{{voiceactor|[[Frank Welker]] (English), [[Issei Masamune]] (Japanese)|[[Albert Augier]] (French), [[Toni Orlandi]] (Italian, second movie dub), [[Alejandro Abdalah]] (Latin American), [[Miroslav Bijelić]] (Serbian), [[Michael Rüth]] (German, Season 1 & 2), [[Ulf Jürgen Söhmisch]] (German, ''Roll For It'' & Generation 2 Dub of ''Fight or Flee''), [[Bernd Simon]] (German, Most of Season 3), [[Gerhard Acktun]] (German, ''Webworld''), [[Thomas Rauscher]] (German, The Movie TV Dub & Generation 2 Season 1), [[Christoph Jablonka]] (German, Generation 2 Dub of ''War of the Dinobots'', ''Atlantis, Arise!'' & ''Auto Berserk''), [[Christoph Lindert]] (German, Generation 2 Dub of ''Kremzeek!''), [[Gerd Rigauer]] (German, Generation 2 Dub of ''Starscreams Brigade'')}}

[[Image:Cybertronsoundwave.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Before the tape recorder, he was a lamppost. It's hard to take him seriously sometimes.]]

Nine million years ago, during the [[Golden Age]] of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Soundwave was one of [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s first [[Decepticon]]s and was seen flying through the planet's skies alongside his leader and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] by [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Orion Pax]]. {{storylink|War Dawn}} When the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] with the [[Autobot]]s erupted not long after, Soundwave served as Megatron's intelligence officer and most loyal subordinate, and as keeper of the [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette]]s, diminutive robots designed for espionage. While Soundwave was a nigh-constant battlefield presence, he would himself often play no major role in combat, more regularly being present merely to deploy his cassette minions, and, off the field of battle, to replay for his fellow Decepticons the information they would gather for him.

After five million years of war, Cybertron found itself in the throes of an energy crisis, and Soundwave was charged with spying on the Autobots to learn how they were dealing with it. Using his unconventional [[alternate mode]] as a space-age "lamp-post" to position himself on the street outside [[Great Dome|Iacon]], Soundwave was able to deploy [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] to snoop even closer. Laserbeak discovered that the Autobots were preparing to depart Cybertron to search for new sources of energy on other planets, and Soundwave quickly took this news back to Megatron, prompting the Decepticons to pursue the Autobots' [[Ark (G1)|spacecraft]] when it left the planet. After navigating a treacherous meteor shower, the Decepticons intercepted and boarded the Autobots' ship, and battle erupted between the two factions, during which Soundwave displayed his prowess by holding his own against [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] ''and'' [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]. However, the fighting was soon cut short when the Autobot spacecraft was caught in the gravity of the nearby prehistoric planet [[Earth]] and crash-landed. The ship impacted with the side of a [[Mount St. Hilary|volcano]] in a collision so violent that all the Transformers onboard, Soundwave included, were knocked off line.

[[Image:Mtmte1_prepare_the_energon_cubes.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Soundwave auditions for a guest spot on Baywatch as Mitch's hot sister.]]

Four million years later, in the Earth year 1984, a volcanic eruption jarred the ship's computer, [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] back on-line, and it reactivated and repaired the Transformers indiscriminately, reformatting Soundwave with the Earthly alternate mode of a portable cassette player. Before the Autobots were restored, the Decepticons pulled out of the ruined hulk of the ship, and Megatron immediately charged Soundwave with drawing up plans for a new [[Victory (G1)|space cruiser]] to return the Decepticons to Cybertron. Soundwave then deployed [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] to help [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] ransack a power plant to gather materials for construction, sent [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] to scare off humans who came to investigate, and dispatched Laserbeak to search the planet for sources of energy. Laserbeak soon returned to report his discovery of an offshore oil platform, which the Decepticons promptly attacked, gathering oil and storing it in the [[energon cube]]s Soundwave generated from his chest. The Autobots soon arrived to stop the Decepticons, but Megatron collapsed the rig, forcing the Autobots to save the human workers and allowing the Decepticons to escape. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}}

[[Image:Mtmte2_soundwave_and_teletraan.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Ugh Megatron, there's no one here...they just left the TV on. Hello? Anyone?]]

Seeking to exploit the data that Teletraan I had gathered on Earth in its short time on the planet, Soundwave positioned himself close to the Autobots' base, where he transformed into his cassette player mode and allowed himself to be found by the Autobots' new human friend, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]. Unaware of the true nature of the unassuming tape player he had found, Spike brought Soundwave into the Autobot ship and then left him unattended, allowing the Decepticon communicator to release Ravage. The feline felon interfaced with Teletraan I and located the computer's data on energy sources, which Soundwave then recorded. Soundwave was soon caught in the act by Spike, but managed to escape to report to Megatron. Using the information Soundwave obtained, Megatron decided to attack [[Sherman Dam]], where Soundwave instructed Rumble to use his earthquake-generating powers to create a tidal wave that maximized the plant's energy output. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}}

The Decepticons' raids continued apace, until only one more theft was necessary. As Megatron put his plan to attack an Air Force base together, Starscream attempted another of his infamous coups by trying to shoot him in the back, but Soundwave proved his loyalty to Megatron by warning his leader of the attack. The subsequent raid on the [[Cape Carlson|Air Force base]] went smoothly, and the Decepticons were at last poised to return to Cybertron when the Autobots made one last-ditch attack on their launch site. Soundwave and his tapes went into action, but Megatron soon called the battle off and ordered the Decepticons to board the completed space cruiser. Soundwave served as the ship's helmsman as it blasted off from Earth, but the flight proved a short one, as Soundwave discovered that the Autobot spy [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] has used his invisibility powers to stow away. Before the Decepticons could react, Mirage had sabotaged the ship and sent it plummeting back towards Earth. With Soundwave unable to stop its descent, the ship crashed into the ocean, and the Autobots believed the Decepticons destroyed. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

[[Image:RollForIt SoundwavescansChip.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Soundwave performs telepathy for children's birthday parties.]]

In truth, however, Soundwave and the other Decepticons had survived the crash, and after months of working in secret, reconstructed their spaceship into an [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Earth)|undersea headquarters]]. The villains revealed their continued existence to the world when Soundwave again used his inconspicuous tape player form to infiltrate a solar power plant and proceeded to take control of it, allowing the Decepticons to harvest its energy that they planned to send back to Cybertron over their new intergalactic "[[space bridge]]" transport system. Soundwave repelled an Autobot counterattack by wielding Megatron in pistol mode, but ultimately, the plan backfired when Megatron himself was caught in the space bridge's pull and believed destroyed, leaving Starscream to take control of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion}} Soundwave chafed under Starscream's inept leadership, and their first sortie with the air commander in charge ended in a comical defeat that saw Soundwave bowled over by Prowl as he ran away. Thankfully, Megatron soon returned, with a scheme to steal [[Alcazar|Doctor Alcazar]]'s [[antimatter]] formula, and Soundwave happily latched back onto his master. After Alcazar deleted the formula from his own computer, Soundwave used his mind-reading talents to acquire the formula from the brain of [[Chip Chase]]. {{storylink|Roll for It}}

[[Image:FireontheMountain SoundwaveMegsgun.jpg|left|220px|thumb|Soundwave was actually Starscream's understudy.]]

Soundwave participated in a Decepticon attack on Autobot Headquarters when Optimus Prime was mistakenly believed to be fatally wounded. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}} Soon after, during a scheme to drain heat energy from the Earth's core, the Decepticons unearthed the frozen body of Starscream's old friend [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] in the North Pole. Soundwave helped reactivate him by delivering a million-volt shock to his systems, but Skyfire ultimately sided with the Autobots to stop the Decepticons' plan. {{storylink|Fire in the Sky}} Later, Soundwave and [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] were sent on a data-gathering mission, acquiring information about the [[Great Falls]] to facilitate a Decepticon attack on the hydro-electric plant there. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

[[Image:Fireonthemountain_soundwave_vs_brawn_round1.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Brawn's version of "Jet Judo." (Cliffjumper is offscreen here)]]

On a mission to the Peruvian Andes, Soundwave successfully proved that the legend of the Incan [[Crystal of Power]] was true when he deduced that the pyramid containing the fabled gemstone rested on a shaft leading to the Earth's core. On a mission to gather steel for a weapon frame to channel the crystal's power, Soundwave and Reflector were ambushed by [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] in mid-air, and Soundwave found himself driven face-first into a mountain by the small Autobot in the first of several clashes that they would engage in over the years. Soundwave tried to fight back with his own rifle, and even tried blasting Brawn with Megatron in pistol mode, but the little Autobot took everything he had to give and escaped in one piece. {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain}} Later, Soundwave's mind-reading abilities came into use again when he scanned the brains of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s, [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]], [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] and [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]], in order to determine their weaknesses. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}}

[[Image:Tud2_audio_disruptor_waves.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Come to me, jungle friends.]]

When Megatron schemed to use the space bridge to transport Cybertron into Earth's orbit, he required human slaves to gather the energy that would result from the massive natural catastrophes such an action would cause. Soundwave and his cassettes were dispatched to capture [[Sparkplug Witwicky]], who served as a guinea pig for the mind-controlling [[hypno-chip]]s created by the Decepticons' new ally, [[Doctor Arkeville]]. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} The plan to transport Cybertron was subsequently accomplished despite Autobot interference, and Soundwave ensured that energy collection could begin quickly by forcing the Autobots to flee with a barrage of painful audio disruptor waves. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}} Soundwave later transported a cache of energon cubes to the orbiting Cybertron, and was still there when a group of Autobots arrived, searching for the hypno-chip master control. In another encounter with Brawn, Soundwave was taken down by a single blast from his undersized rival, and then alerted the Decepticon forces on the planet to the Autobots' escape. It did little good, as the heroes were able to evade capture, find the hypno-chip control, free the slaves and blast Cybertron out of orbit.{{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}}

Megatron was briefly thought destroyed by the explosion that pushed Cybertron out of orbit, by the Decepticon leader soon returned to Earth, where Soundwave immediately informed him of Starscream's latest play for leadership. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}} Soundwave later accompanied Megatron and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] to [[Bali]], where they met the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}} Later still, when Megatron challenged Optimus Prime to a one-on-one duel, Soundwave and the other Decepticons contributed their [[power chip rectifier]]s to a machine built by the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] that would transfer all their powers into Megatron, so that he could win the fight with ease. While Megatron never used Soundwave's powers in the duel,<ref>In the finished episode, that is. A scene deleted from "Heavy Metal War" saw Megatron use Soundwave's mind-reading abilities to deduce Prime's next attack move.</ref> he still claimed victory, but when his breach of the rules was revealed, he, Soundwave and all the Decepticons were sent tumbling into a river of lava by the fighting-mad Autobots.{{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}

[[Image:Cityofsteel_console_destroyed.jpg|right|thumb|220px|God, I hate Vista so much!]]

As 1985 rolled in, Soundwave participated in a Decepticon attack on an Air Force base, {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} and helped in the construction of the [[Solar Needle]] in the jungles of [[South America]]. {{storylink|Changing Gears}} When Megatron sought to conquer [[New York City]], Soundwave, Rumble and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] battled a group of Autobots in [[Central Park]], and Soundwave was later put in charge of the weapons systems of the so-called "[[New Cybertron]]" that New York was being turned into. That control was soon lost, unfortunately, when a stray blast from an irate Megatron destroyed Soundwave's console. {{storylink|City of Steel}}

Soundwave and his cassettes were next sent on a distraction mission, keeping the Autobots occupied while Megatron and Starscream snuck inside their base and sabotaged their [[recharging chamber]]s with a [[Personality destabilizer device]], narrowly avoiding another pounding from Brawn in the process. {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots}} After helping to steal [[electro-cell]]s {{storylink|Traitor}} and the Autobots' new [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]] invention, {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} Soundwave was appointed to guard the captive Autobots after Megatron succeeded in trapping them in vehicle mode with the [[Transfixatron]]. The communications officer put his skills to work disabling the Autobots' communicators, but neglected to disable [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s hologram projector, which the Autobot was able to use to summon the small number of his comrades who had not been affected by the Transfixatron. [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and Ratchet developed a grenade to undo the device's effects, and together, Spike and [[Chip Chase]] outran Soundwave and Ravage to detonate it and restore the Autobots. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}}

[[Image:Dayofthemachines_espionage.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Let's see. Guitar, sound system and suspiciously plain brown box.]]

When Laserbeak and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] stumbled upon the subaquatic city of [[Sub-Atlantica]], Soundwave immediately summoned Megatron to view their findings. Megatron and the Decepticons set out for the city at once, and forged an alliance with its leader, the boastful telepathic [[Nergill|King Nergill]], in order to conquer [[Washington, D.C.]] Starscream, however, did not trust the fish-man, and had Soundwave put his own telepathic powers to use to decrypt the scrambled messages Nergill repeatedly gave to his underlings. Soundwave discovered that Nergill was planning to betray the Decepticons, leading to the breakdown of their alliance. {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

Soundwave and Megatron used their [[size changing|diminutive]] alternate modes to infiltrate [[Quantum Laboratories]] as part of a plan to take over the computer [[TORQ III]]. {{storylink|Day of the Machines}} Later, Soundwave helped steal the human-made robot ninja [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]] (finally getting one over on Brawn in the process by collapsing a balcony out from under him), and aided [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] in reprogramming the femme-bot to serve the Decepticons.{{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}}

[[Image:Insecticonsyndrome_soundwave_cerebroshelled.jpg|right|thumb|220px|He bears the mark!]]

When the Decepticons discovered strange energy emanations coming from a crevice, Soundwave dispatched the [[Autoscout]] to investigate, discovering the crevice was filled with [[Korlonium crystal]]s. Megatron schemed to create a [[Optimus Prime clone|clone of Optimus Prime]] as part of a plan to harness the crystals' power, and while the plan failed, the clone was at least impressive enough to completely fool Soundwave, and he was in on it! {{storylink|A Prime Problem}} Subsequently, Soundwave took part in the Decepticons' plan to drill to the Earth's core, {{storylink|The Core}} and was then made a mind-controlled pawn of the Insecticons, who used him to download data from the human military defense computer at [[Iron Mountain]]. Megatron and Optimus Prime were forced to team up to stop the Insecticons and destroy the [[cerebro-shell]] controlling Soundwave, erasing the data he had gathered in the process. {{storylink|The Insecticon Syndrome}}

While spying on Autobot Headquarters, Soundwave learned of the existence of the mysterious prehistoric [[Dinobot Island (G1)|Dinobot Island]], and sent Laserbeak to follow the Dinobots as they travelled there. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} Soundwave proceeded to join the Decepticons in raiding the island's energy sources, before the Autobots, Dinobots and the island's native [[dinosaur]]s saw them off. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

Using his alternate mode to infiltrate a military testing site, Soundwave and his cassettes made a hard-fought but ultimately failed attempt to steal the Autobots' new [[Negavator]] weapon. {{storylink|Auto Berserk}} Later, when human archaeologists uncovered the wreckage of the Decepticons' old space cruiser in South America, Soundwave alerted Megatron to the news report about their findings, then accompanied him to the wreckage, where they removed the ship's power source, the [[Heart of Cybertron]]. Celebrating the new power that the Heart bestowed upon Megatron, Soundwave joined his fellow Decepticons in over-energizing on energon, leaving him too inebriated to do much of anything.{{storylink|Microbots}}

[[Image:Masterplan2_disco_dolly.jpg|left|thumb|220px|All the ladies love Soundwave!]]

When Megatron framed the Autobots for energy theft and had them exiled from Earth, Soundwave took part in the Decepticons' pretense of being heroes. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} Soundwave was quite popular among the humans: a young child was heard cheering for him by name, and when he and his cassettes attended a disco, he acquired many female admirers. After Megatron revealed his deception, however, Soundwave was made the slave-master of the work camp that [[Central City (Earth)|Central City]] was turned into. Thankfully, the Autobots soon returned to Earth to clear their names and rout the Decepticons. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}}

[[Image:Dotd1_sneakiest_soundwave.jpg‎|right|thumb|220px|He's ''good''.]]

In one of his most impressible displays of sneakitude, Soundwave was able to position himself, in tape player mode, ''inside'' Ironhide's vehicle mode, ''right next'' to [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]], and spy on the test run of the [[Ultra Plane]], with neither Autobot noticing until he deployed Ravage. While Blaster wrestled with Ravage, Soundwave escaped to report to Megatron, after which he and Starscream joined their leader in attacking the lab containing the blueprints for the plane. The Autobots saw them off, but during their flight away, the Decepticons' systems began to malfunction as a result of [[cybertonium]] degradation. Soundwave's cassettes began ejecting without his command, and his flight powers gave out, sending him crashing to the ground. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}} Once repaired with fresh cybertonium from Cybertron, Soundwave joined the Decepticons on a mission to [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]]. {{storylink|A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court}}

Soundwave was among the Decepticons who were granted invincible [[electrum]] coating by the "Golden Lagoon". With their new power, the Decepticons captured [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], but when Starscream attempted to have the two Autobots fight each other for the villains' amusement, Soundwave immediately ran off and tattled on him to Megatron. {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}}

[[Image:Child's_Play_Nitro_Soundwave.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Soundwave forever regretted wearing the novelty cat pheromone spray.]]

Following the Decepticons' alliance with the [[Geddis brothers]], {{storylink|Make Tracks}} Soundwave joined in the Decepticon attempt to create a space bridge in a baseball stadium, where he wickedly delighted in playing catch with one of the players (literally!). The Autobots soon arrived, and another brawl between Soundwave and Brawn erupted, ending when the small Autobot threw Soundwave into the space bridge. When a stray blast then activated the bridge, Soundwave and a small group of Autobots and Decepticons were inadvertently hurled to a world of alien giants. After being menaced by the huge cat [[Nitro]] and trapped in a toybox by Nitro's owner [[Aron (G1)|Aron]], Soundwave was taken with the other Transformers to the planet's authorities for study and dissection. Ravage succeeded in freeing them, and the Decepticons all escaped back to Earth through a mock space bridge Perceptor created out of a telescope. {{storylink|Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play}} Upon his return, Soundwave was caught up in the menace of the [[Morphobot]]s, {{storylink|Quest for Survival}} analyzed the energy of an alien asteroid, {{storylink|The Secret of Omega Supreme}} and helped operate the Decepticons' new [[energy magnet]]. {{storylink|Kremzeek!}}

[[Image:Autobop_soundwave_vs_blaster.jpg|right|220px|thumb|That's not sound, it's Darkseid popping up in the wrong multiverse.]]

After joining Megatron on a mission to the planet of the [[Tlalakan]]s, {{storylink|Sea Change}} Soundwave embarked on one of his most notable misadventures when, under the command of Starscream, he set about brainwashing humans with ultrasonic vibrations inside the Decepticon-built nightclub [[Dancitron]] in New York City. This led to his first major confrontation with his Autobot communications officer counterpart, Blaster, with whom he engaged in a sonic duel. Soundwave had the upper hand in the violent jam session, until Blaster used the club's sound system to magnify his own sonic attacks and win the fight. {{storylink|Auto-Bop}}

When the Decepticons captured [[Hybrid Technologies]] heiress [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz]], Soundwave tried to use the [[psycho-probe]] to read her mind, but her innate ability to jinx machines made it a challenge, and eventually led to Soundwave and Rumble being electrocuted. When [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] subsequently caused the Decepticons' new sub-orbital base to crash, it fell to Soundwave to inform Megatron that the base didn't have any forcefields. Whoops! {{storylink|The Girl Who Loved Powerglide}}

[[Image:Ktvs2 see you next fall.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Doesn't have the heart to tell Megatron it's just chocolate wrapped in gold foil.]]

On a mission to recover some incriminating footage taken by a movie studio of their activities, Soundwave showed up Starscream by pointing out that while the air commander had recovered the film reel, he had not destroyed the negative. Soundwave then helped Megatron track the negative down, but they were tricked into thinking it was destroyed by [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]]. {{storylink|Hoist Goes Hollywood}} Soon after, Soundwave accompanied Megatron to Cybertron to give life to his new [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]], helping him locate the [[Key to Vector Sigma|key]] to [[Vector Sigma]] and unlocking the door to the mega-computer's chamber. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}} Upon their return to Earth with the now-living Stuncticons, Soundwave aided Megatron in analyzing the key to discover what other powers it possessed. By happenstance, its power to de-energize matter and turn it into metal was only discovered when Soundwave tripped and dropped it. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}

[[Image:TransEuropeExpress Galata Valley.jpg|right|thumb|220px|"Soundwave, why always rings? I demand a parallelogram or two!"]]

Soundwave soon returned to Cybertron to take part in Megatron's plan to trap the newest addition to the Autobot ranks, the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbot]]s, in the distant past, {{storylink|War Dawn}} then went back to Earth and used his scanning powers to help Megatron locate the [[Pearl of Bahoudin]]. {{storylink|Trans-Europe Express}} Soundwave later had Laserbeak monitor the [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] infection spreading through the Autobot ranks, {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}, and had the cassette remove Starscream from Decepticon Headquarters after Megatron finally banished the perennial traitor from the Decepticon ranks. When Starscream returned with his own army, the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]], Soundwave was almost able to shoot the traitor in the back until [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] caused his shot to go wild. Soundwave tried to summon the Stunticons to help, and while they initially rebuffed him, they eventually arrived to tip the scales in Megatron's favor. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

Suspecting the Autobots had tampered with Megatron's new ruby laser cannon, Soundwave advised his leader to abandon the weapon, but Megatron was caught up in a battle-frenzy and ignored him. Predictably, the weapon promptly exploded. {{storylink|Masquerade}} For his final recorded adventure in the 20th century, Soundwave invented a device to control the flow of Earth's tides. Before the Decepticons could use it, however, it was necessary to blast the moon out of orbit to remove its controlling influence, so they developed an [[orbit disruptor cannon]] to do the job. Unfortunately, the cannon would only be operated by [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], and all the Combaticons save Swindle had been destroyed, so Soundwave installed a bomb in Swindle's head to give him the incentive to gather up their parts and rebuild them. Bruticus was restored, and Soundwave participated in the Decepticon attack upon Autobot Headquarters that served as a test run for the disruptor cannon, but the complex plot was foiled when three college students used [[B.O.T. (robot)|makeshift robot]] to destroy the cannon. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}

[[Image:Tftm_dont_leave_me_soundwave.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Do you think I'd leave you dying, when there's room on my horse for two?]]

Over the course of the following twenty years, the Decepticons withdrew from Earth and focused all their efforts on conquering Cybertron entirely. By the year 2005, they had accomplished this goal, and the Autobots were consigned to their new "[[Autobot City]]" on Earth, and to bases on two of Cybertron's moon. Thanks to Laserbeak and Soundwave, Megatron learned of an upcoming Autobot strike against Cybertron, and resolved to cripple their war effort by destroying Autobot City. During [[Battle of Autobot City|the subsequent battle]], Soundwave was instructed to jam a distress call to Optimus Prime from Blaster, so he sent Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy and [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] to dismantle the communications array being used to broadcast it. Blaster's own team of cassettes fended Soundwave's off, and the call made it through, summoning Optimus Prime and a support team to aid the stricken city. A fateful final battle between Prime and Megatron ensued, which ended with Prime's dead and Megatron mortally wounded. As the other Decepticons beat a hasty retreat, Soundwave demonstrated his loyalty to his leader by recovering his damaged body and carrying him aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], but when it became necessary to jettison excess weight so that the Decepticons could safely make it back to Cybertron, Soundwave made no move to stop Starscream from setting Megatron adrift in space. In fact, with Megatron gone, Soundwave himself made a bid for leadership, declaring himself a superior choice to the Constructicons and deploying his cassettes to fight for his honor. Starscream ultimately emerged victorious in the fight for leadership, but during his coronation ceremony, Megatron returned, having been recreated by the giant transforming god-planet [[Unicron]] into [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. Galvatron promptly killed Starscream, and Soundwave started cheering for his returned leader.

[[Image:Ffod1_cons_on_chaar.jpg|right|thumb|220px|"I used to have [[Cyclonus (G1)|that guy's]] job ya know". "Suuure, gramps, suuuuure".]]

Galvatron's leadership did not get off to a great start, however: Unicron soon attacked Cybertron, and while he was destroyed by the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]], Galvatron was lost to the depths of space, and the leaderless Decepticons, in a state of disarray after Unicron's attack, were easily routed and forced off Cybertron by the Autobots and their new leader, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]]. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}} Low on energy, Soundwave and the other Decepticons were forced to relocate to the burned-out planet [[Chaar]], where they eked out a miserable existence on the brink of death. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}} When Rodimus Prime and Grimlock came to Chaar to investigate a mysterious attack on the [[Galactic Olympics]], Soundwave and the Decepticons attacked them, {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} and were then later approached by the true instigators of the Olympics attack, the alien [[Quintesson]]s, with the prospect of an alliance. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}} Under the Quintessons' instructions, Soundwave and the other Decepticons launched an attack on the Autobots on the planet [[Goo 8739B]], during which Galvatron returned, having been found by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}} With Galvatron back in charge, Soundwave was amongst the Decepticons who were sent to Earth to try and stop [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[Transformation cog|transforming cog]] from being delivered. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}

[[Image:Cminor soundwave white noise.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Disco! Disco!]]

In 2006, Soundwave went with Galvatron, Cyclonus, [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and the [[Sweep]]s to search for [[isidrite]] in an asteroid belt. Soundwave dispatched Ratbat to search for the mineral, only for the cassette to discover that the Autobots were already mining it. {{storylink|Webworld}} Soon after, Soundwave accompanied Galvatron to the planet [[Eurythma]] to investigate a mysterious sonic weapon. They discovered that sound and music were the way of life on the planet, and Soundwave was entranced by the planet's perfect melodies, specifically the destructive [[harmony]] weapon, which was shared by three Eurythmans. One by one, Soundwave coerced from them each piece of the harmony, recording and combing them with the intention of turning the musical maelstrom upon Autobot City. He was defeated, however, when the Eurythmans countered the harmony with [[anti-sound]], and Blaster erased his recordings. {{storylink|Carnage in C-Minor}}

Soundwave was among those transfixed by a hypnotic Quintesson signal {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006}}, then later aided in the Decepticon conquest of the peaceful planet [[Paradron]]. {{storylink|Fight or Flee}} Later still, during a battle on Earth's [[moon (moon)|moon]], Soundwave was shocked when his ejection system activated on its own, releasing Ravage, Ratbat, [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]], who departed with all the other "[[Primitive]]" Transformers present to follow a mysterious [[Oracle (G1)|voice]]. Mere moments later, the threat these Primitives had been summoned to fight, [[Tornedron]], arrived on the moon and drained the energy from all the Transformers present, Soundwave included. Thankfully, the Primitives succeeded in defeating Tornedron and restoring everyone's energy. {{storylink|Call of the Primitives}}

For his final appearance, Soundwave was seen playing back the latest piece of information gathered by Ratbat: two human scientists had discovered the body of Optimus Prime, which Galvatron resolved to destroy once and for all. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}

==Madman ''The Transformers'' comic==
[[Image:Madman comic Soundwave ejects tapes.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Where the HELL does he get room for all those tapes?]]
In 2001, Soundwave and his squad of cassettes were deployed to the construction site of [[Autobot City]] while the balance of the Autobot forces were engaged in an evacuation of Cybertron. He managed to record a secret conversation between Optimus Prime and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] where the Autobot leaders discussed hiding the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]] in a bunker at the build site, against the chance Prime would be captured or destroyed while off-world. Soundwave returned to the not-so-secret bunker and deployed his minions to dig up the Matrix. Just as the artifact had been secured and Soundwave was about to call for retrieval, the young Autobot [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] took the Matrix and defeated Soundwave's team. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
{{-}}

==Japanese cartoon continuity==
{{note|The events of American cartoon continuity, as detailed above, occur in the Japanese timeline, except the events of 2006 are pushed back to 2010. The Japanese continuity proceeds to insert many new storylines and events in, around, before and after the events of the Generation 1 cartoon, as covered below.}}

===e-HOBBY comics===
Early during Megatron's attempted conquest of Cybertron, Soundwave was among his troops of [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]s and [[Silver Soldier]]s, raiding Autobot energy warehouses. Their attack was cut short by the unexpected arrival of a [[Guardian robot]], who quickly trounced everybody. {{storylink|64 Cybertron Urban Defense Robot GADEP}}

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic===
[[Image:Soundwave srlf manga.jpg|left|180px|thumb|It's like if Power Rangers had really cheap zords.]]

In the late 1980s, while Megatron and the Decepticons engaged the Autobots in battle in Arizona, Soundwave and his cassettes were dispatched to do something unspecified (but likely ''evil'') in [[Tokyo]]. Optimus Prime dispatched a unit of Autobots led by [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and [[Kenji]] to track them down. He was ultimately defeated when Bumblebee got the drop on him with a patented "Bumble-Kick" and shattered his chest. This made it impossible for his cassette forces to return to him, leaving them to be captured as well. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2}} When he next appeared, Soundwave hadn't quite got over his injuries, and was seen with bandages stuck to his chest-window. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 3}}

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' story pages===
When Soundwave learned that the Autobots were keeping themselves in shape by having a friendly race, he set up a trap within a narrow canyon, walling the Autobots in and opening fire on them. Luckily, [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] arrived on the scene and delivered a powerful punch to Soundwave's chest, shattering his tape door once again. Soundwave immediately fled. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (story page)|Anime Theater 2: Sic' Em, Hound!}}

Blaster battled Soundwave in what seemed to be the foothills of the Alps, while Perceptor kept the Decepticon communicator's cassettes busy. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (story page)#Part 5|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers story page #5}}
{{-}}

===''Scramble City''===
[[Image:Soundwave_scramblecity.jpg|right|thumb|220px|"Soundwave...you do know there are laws against exposing yourself, right?"]]
Before the 1980s were over, the Decepticons detected some unusual magnetic field fluctuations, and Megatron ordered Soundwave to send Ratbat, Laserbeak and Ravage to investigate. The cassettes discovered a hidden cavern where the Autobots were constructing a mighty battle fortress named "[[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]]", and Soundwave promptly took this information to Megatron. {{storylink|Scramble City: Mobilization}}
{{-}}

===Full Throttle Scramble Power!===

[[Image:Fullthrottle_tape_fight.jpg|left|thumb]]
Soundwave was present when the Decepticons terrorized the Earth with their new "[[Omega Whip]]" cannon and captured the Autobots' human allies [[Toru]] and [[Jenny (G1)|Jenny]]. When the two humans tried to escape, Soundwave released Ravage to stop them, but Blaster then appeared to dispatch the cassette. Blaster and Soundwave proceeded to grapple as more Autobots arrived and the battle grew bigger and bigger, and when Metroplex arrived, he actually collided with Soundwave and knocked the Decepticon for a loop. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}
{{-}}
===''The Battle of the Star Gate''===

[[Image:Soundwave stargate battles.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Fear his [[Mickey Mouse]] ears.]]

In the 1990s, continued Autobot/human interaction led to a formal alliance being forged between the heroic robots and the American government and the construction of an interstellar teleport system called the [[Trigger]]. Naturally, the Trigger space station was a prime target for the Decepticons, and Soundwave was instrumental in taking over the device, as he hacked into its systems and placed it under Decepticon control. Unfortunately for the Decepticons, the sole surviving member of the Trigger's crew, [[Makoto (Star Gate)|Makoto]], activated the system and blasted them into space before they could take control of it, and the Autobots soon arrived to send the Decepticons packing.{{storylink|First Contact}}

[[Image:Stargatebattles_soundwave_and_megs.jpg|left|thumb|275px|"You ever feel the magic has gone out of our relationship?" "Shut up, Soundwave".]]

Three months later, while the Trigger was still undergoing repairs after the damage the previous battle had caused, Soundwave patched through a transmission from Laserbeak, who was spying on a test run of the new human-built [[C-X]] battle droid. When the droid ran amok during the test and tried to kill Optimus Prime, the amused Megatron thought Soundwave was responsible for hacking the robot's systems, but Soundwave denied it. {{storylink|Divided Views}} In truth, the drone had been possessed by the time-displaced ghost of Starscream from the future, and he was not yet through making mischief in the past. Starscream's ghost teamed up with his present day counterpart, and together, the two Starscreams took control of the repaired Trigger and possessed it, transforming it into a giant, twisted robot form. Soundwave was among the massive armada of Decepticons and Autobots who battled the giant Starscream-thing, which was ultimately defeated when Prime and Megatron combined their power to destroy the traitor's new body. Soundwave and all the other Transformers were caught in the backwash of the explosion and sent tumbling towards Earth in uncontrolled re-entry, not to be heard from again for many months. {{storylink|The Battle of the Star Gate}}
{{-}}

===''Music Label''===

In 2007, Soundwave created a series of diminutive clones of himself, disguised as portable MP3 players, and disseminated them among the populace of Earth as part of a plan to brainwash the youth of the world with hypnotic music.

{{note|While the [[Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)|2007 Takara timeline]] placed the events of the ''[[Transformers Music Label]]'' storyline in the Generation 1 cartoon continuity, this is not without confusion. According to the ''Music Label'' story, Soundwave was foiled in this plan by Optimus Prime, who added a pair of speakers to his trailer that broadcast a frequency to stop the Decepticon's brainwashing. As Prime was ''dead'' at this point in the timeline, this can't have been how things went down in this version of events. However, given the way the timeline is unhelpfully laid out, it's not impossible that this adventure may take place not in the mainstream timeline, but in the branched-off parallel dimension of the ''Binaltech'' storyline, where Optimus did not die.}}

===''The Headmasters'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Issei Masamune]] (Japanese), [[Guillermo Romano]] (Latin American)

[[Image:MysteryPlanetMaster BlasterVsSoundwave.jpg|right|220px|thumb|"Stop! I'm unarmed!"]]
The Decepticons went off the radar for the year that followed Optimus Prime's resurrection, but in 2011, they returned in full force. When Vector Sigma began to destabilize as a consequence of Optimus Prime releasing the energy of the Matrix, Galvatron led the Decepticons' newest troops, the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]], in an attack on Cybertron in an attempt to secure the computer and restore a Decepticon power balance to the planet. To prevent Autobot reinforcements from Earth reaching Cybertron, Soundwave and a legion of other Decepticons under the command of the faction's new Earth commander, [[Sixshot]], kept the Autobots on the planet busy in a large battle. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} In an attempt to learn the Autobots' plan of action, Soundwave and his cassettes infiltrated Autobot City, and although they were discovered by Blaster and his own cassettes, they were able to escape with the knowledge that the Matrix was hidden somewhere on Earth, and that the Autobots were preparing to search for it. Blaster and [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] subsequently embarked on a search mission to the [[Arctic]], where Soundwave and his cassettes attacked them. Blaster covered Hot Rod's escape, and he and Soundwave engaged in a one-on-one battle, with shattered chests and severed limbs aplenty. It momentarily appeared that Soundwave had won the battle when Blaster collapsed, but seconds later, the fatal damage Blaster had inflicted upon him made itself apparent, as Soundwave's body exploded. His cassettes scooped up as much of his remains as they could and beat a retreat, but Soundwave was triumphant in death, as Blaster too died seconds later. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

[[Image:ReturnImmortal Emperor Soundblaster.jpg|left|220px|thumb|He's gone black. Will he go back?]]

Soundwave's remains were brought back to Chaar by his cassettes, where the Decepticon Headmaster leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] was able to use the super-science of planet [[Master (planet)|Master]] to restore him to life. Reborn in a new black body, Soundwave was rechristened '''Soundblaster''', and following a reunion with his delighted cassettes, immediately went straight back to working for the Decepticon cause. Soundblaster was, in fact, instrumental to the Decepticons' newest plan, as he used his broadcasting powers to send signals from a sonic control device implanted in his chest to direct the actions of the villains' newest weapon, the [[Madmachine]], in another attack on Cybertron. As coincidence would have it, Autobot Headmaster leader [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]] had also used the science of Master to restore Blaster to life as "Twincast", and the two rivals clashed for the first time in their new lives when the Autobot destroyed Soundblaster's sonic control and foiled the Decepticons' plot. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}}

Soundblaster was among the Decepticons who invaded and enslaved the planet [[Beast (planet)|Beast]]. {{storylink|Rebellion on Planet Beast}} Later, he dispatched Ratbat to spy on the Autobots and learn more about a mysterious blackmailer holding six countries to ransom, reporting his findings to Cyclonus and Scourge. {{storylink|Terror! The Six Shadows}} Later still, Soundblaster and his cassette force were able to infiltrate Cybertron's lowest levels and spy on Vector Sigma, discovering that the mega-computer had developed a powerful new alloy named [[cybertonuron]]. Acting on Soundblaster's information, Galvatron staged a massive attack on Cybertron, {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} but Scorponok plotted treachery, planting a bomb in Vector Sigma's chamber in order to destroy the alloy, rather than let Galvatron gain its power. When Galvatron discovered this, Soundblaster attempted to stop him from going to Vector Sigma's chamber, but Galvatron ignored him, and paid for his hubris when the bomb detonated in his face, destroying the cybertonuron and reducing Cybertron to a burnt out husk. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

[[Image:Hm11 reporting to scorponok.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Will the undead please stand up?]]

With Galvatron having disappeared in the destruction of Cybertron, Soundblaster met with the other senior Decepticons to discuss what should be done next. During their meeting, the shadowed figure of Galvatron appeared in the room, but Soundblaster quickly analyzed the newcomer's voice pattern, and realized it was not Galvatron, but Scorponok engaging in a bout of gallows humor. Shedding his disguise, Scorponok claimed that Galvatron was still alive, and that while he could not reveal where he was, he had commanded Scorponok to lead in his absence. None of the Decepticons were entirely convinced (in truth, it was a bold-faced lie), but Soundblaster, in need of a leader to follow, chose to accept it as truth, and followed Scorponok's command to send Ratbat to spy on the Autobot/human launch of the [[Sol 1]] satellite. {{storylink|The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok}} Soon after, when Scorponok began scheming to keep the Autobots occupied on Earth with various threads, Soundblaster and his cassettes kept an eye on the Autobots' movements and were able to inform their leader that his plans were working. {{storylink|The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts}}{{storylink|Head On!! Fortress Maximus}}

[[Image:Hm14 soundblaster triggers bombs.jpg|left|thumb|220px]]

Following Scorponok's instructions, Soundwave directed the planting of [[plasma energy]] bombs beneath the surface of [[Mars (planet)|Mars]], in order to destroy the planet and harvest even more of the energy. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger}} At Scorponok's command, Soundblaster then recalled all available Decepticons to Chaar, where they all witnessed their leader's dramatic unveiling of his gigantic new Transtector. With this powerful new body, Scorponok kept the Autobots occupied while Soundblaster himself pressed the fateful button that detonated the plasma bombs and destroyed Mars. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears}}

Soundblaster and his cassettes did not take kindly to the arrival of Scorponok's new intelligence officer, [[Punch (G1)|Counterpunch]], who irked Soundblaster with his remarkable ability to dig up information that Soundblaster couldn't. Of course, Soundblaster had no idea that Counterpunch was able to do this because he was really the Autobot spy, Punch, and so he and his cassettes set out to prove themselves by going to Earth to see what Autobots secrets they could unearth. Unable to find any information, Soundblaster was moping around the Decepticon Earth base when a story suddenly dropped itself right into his lap: a glowing UFO descended from the sky and abducted Sixshot right before his eyes! Soundblaster attempted to report his findings to Scorponok during a battle with the Autobots on Earth's moon, but there and then, the UFO reappeared, and its owner was revealed to be Galvatron, who had survived his appeared destruction and retook leadership of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Return of the Immortal Emperor}}

[[Image:Hm23_soundblaster_draws.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Sound doesn't travel in space, moron.]]

Soundblaster and the Decepticon Headmasters were manning the scanners at the Decepticon base on Chaar when the [[Horrorcon]]s arrived to join up with Galvatron's forces. {{storylink|Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever!!}} Soon after, Soundblaster joined the Decepticons on a series of interplanetary energy raids, helping to scan the spaceways and communications channels to keep his leader appraised of Autobot and alien activity as they went from planet [[Hive (planet)|Hive]] {{storylink|Fight to the Death on Planet Hive!!}} to [[Twin Star]] {{storylink|Battle for Defense of the False Planet}} to [[Daros]]. {{storylink|Find MegaZarak's Weak Spot!!}} The Decepticons' quest eventually brought them to [[Pirate Planet]], where they were stymied in their pursuit of the planet's fabled energy by their inability to enter the pyramid that held it. Soundblaster observed [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] departing for the field of debris near the planet, and, suspecting they knew something he didn't, followed them. Soundblaster proceeded to ambush the two heroes and demand they share their information, but Daniel was able to get the drop on the Decepticon with his video game light gun, which Highbrow had amped up into a real weapon. {{storylink|Mystery of the Space Pirate Ship}}

When the Decepticons returned to Earth, Sixshot proceeded to lead a series of major attacks upon the Autobot forces. Soundblaster reported to Galvatron on the departure of Fortress Maximus from Athenia, and suggested sending Scorponok to keep him busy. Galvatron was wary, knowing Scorponok had his own agenda, but Soundblaster vowed to follow him and keep an eye on him, and Galvatron agreed. However, Soundblaster was surprisingly lax in his duty, as Scorponok didn't bother engaging Fortress, and Soundblaster didn't report this at all! {{storylink|Ultra Magnus Dies!!}}

[[Image:Hm30_soundblaster_in_hiding.jpg||left|thumb|220px|Grand Cybertron Hide N'Seek Champion, 7 million years running.]]

Following Galvatron's death at the hands of the Headmasters and Scorponok's subsequent re-assumption of Decepticon leadership, Soundblaster was among the Decepticons who travelled with his new leader to the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]]. {{storylink|Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)}} When the Autobots followed them there, Soundblaster boldly infiltrated their spaceship, the ''Maximus'', and spied on them with Ratbat. When he was discovered, however, he leapt overboard and flew back to the surface of Master, inadvertently leading the Autobot [[Targetmaster]]s to the Decepticons' hidden subterranean base. {{storylink|The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide}} Soundblaster was able to repay them in kind after a later battle, though, when he stealthily followed the retreating Targetmasters and discovered that the Autobots had started working with the young warriors of Master. {{storylink|Operation: Destroy the Decepticons}}

After Scorponok successfully completed construction of his new [[Zarak Shield]] weapon, the Decepticons headed back to Earth, but as they were passing through the asteroid belt, Soundblaster noticed a malfunction in their propulsion system that required them to set down for repairs. While they were resting there, Soundblaster detected the approach of an object, which turned out to be Sixshot, who had become separated from the Decepticons on an earlier leg of their journey. {{storylink|Duel on the Asteroid}}

Finally, once the Decepticons returned to Earth, Scorponok began raising "[[Death Tower]]s" of [[crysmagnetal]] at strategic points around the Earth, intending to use them to tear the planet apart. While on patrol in the Alps, Soundblaster observed the passage of the Autobots' battleship, and radioed the Decepticons in Egypt to let them know of their enemies' approach. Subsequently, with all the Death Towers in place, Soundblaster participated in the climactic battle between the Autobot and Decepticons armies at the South Pole, which ended when Fortress Maximus destroyed Scorponok's Transtector and saved the planet. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}

===''The Headmasters'' comic===
[[Image:Hm manga8 master chrome hurricane.jpg|right|thumb|220px]]
After their defeat at the North Pole, the Decepticons were preparing to retreat from Earth entirely when Scorponok instructed Soundblaster to remain on the planet in secret to act as a spy for the Decepticons. Soundblaster proved that he wasn't up to the challenge by making his presence and intentions known almost instantly when he kicked [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] square in the face and took the [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Witwicky]] family hostage. [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] was left powerless to do anything but surrender, as [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]] brutalized [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and threatened [[Carly]]. Daniel finally snapped and beat the living crap out of the two Cassette dinosaurs, leaving Soundblaster open to Chromedome's poorly named "Master-Chrome Hurricane Throw to the End of Hell!" Chromedome chucked Soundblaster over the horizon, and when he recovered from his fall, he found Sixshot staring down at him. Demanding to know what Sixshot wanted, Soundblaster was informed that the six-changer was no longer affiliated with the Decepticons, and wanted to travel from planet to planet, learning new transformations. One day, Sixshot told him, he wanted to learn how to transform into a human! Soundblaster was left absolutely dumbfounded by this, unable to even compute such a concept, and wagering it would be a few million years before he could. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 8}}
{{--}}
===''Super-God Masterforce'' comic===

Years later, the image of Soundwave was among the holograms of older Decepticons projected by [[King Poseidon]] to deceive and confuse the Autobots under [[Ginrai]]'s command. {{storylink|Burn, Super Soul! The New Commander Super Ginrai!}}

==Notes==
[[Image:SoundwaveButtonUD3.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"When I think about you, I touch myself."]]

* The G1 cartoon almost always depicted him as having to press all his own controls to eject minions or perform other functions even though these are actually part of him. This has led to many a shot of Soundwave pressing his own crotch. What will the children think?

* According to the original script<ref>http://boltax.blogspot.com/2011/02/ron-friedman-auctions-scripts-part-3-of.html</ref> for [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]], "Sound Wave" transformed into "a LIGHT STANDARD - identical to the one that exists a short distance away, the perfect camouflage". So... yes, he really ''did'' turn into a lamppost on Cybertron.

* Soundwave's distinctive voice proved to be one of Generation 1's most memorable aspects. The [[Wikipedia:Vocoder|highly processed voice]] (processed by [[Scott Brownlee]]) began with [[Frank Welker]] basically doing his "Dr. Claw" voice from ''[[Wikipedia:Inspector Gadget|Inspector Gadget]]''. Whether due to variations in the performance or the processing, the final result varied quite a bit across Soundwave's three seasons on the show. Occasionally, as in the episodes "[[Roll for It]]" and "[[Webworld]]", the processing was left out and Welker's actual voice can be heard. This Dr. Claw version of Soundwave's voice made a return when Welker reprised the [[Soundwave (ROTF)|role]] for ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'' as the processing was, again, left out.

* Similarly, he often emphasizes words at random, such as his well-known "RavAAAAAGE", or "LAAZABEEK". This may be a side effect of the voice doctoring in the cartoon.

*In the Mandarin dub, Soundwave had a glorious, operatic voice.

[[Image:Soundwave fly.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Hey, wait for me!"]]

* The typically emotionally-barren Soundwave actually ''laughs'' on two separate occasions in the Generation 1 cartoon ("[[Quest for Survival]]" and "[[Auto-Bop]]"), while he ''screams like a little girl'' only once ("[[Roll for It]]").

* Soundwave has flown in his [[alternate mode|alt mode]] one time, in the episode "[[Masquerade]]." In [[Atlus]]'s ''[[The Transformers (PS2)|Transformers]]'' game, Soundwave can transform to tape deck mode and kind of bounces around to move in that form. No, really.

* In the Japanese dub of the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]], as well as the supporting [[manga]], all of Soundwave's cassette forces which could talk referred to him as "Anikii" (兄貴い) or "Big Brother." This is a fairly common way to refer to others you admire and such in Japanese. It's also a term that gang members use toward older, more experienced members who aren't actual gang bosses. Take it as you will. Whatever it says about his relationship with them, it does give new meaning to the phrase [[Wikipedia:Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)|"Big Brother is watching over you"]].
{{-}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Beast Wars Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Music Label]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce Decepticons]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Decepticons]]

Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity

2012-08-21T20:06:23Z

166.250.65.10: /* The Transformers cartoon */

{{suite}}
[[Image:Soundwave_and_company.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Can't touch this.]]

If you only remember two things from the ''Transformers'' cartoon, odds are one of them is Optimus Prime, and the other is '''that tape guy with the cool voice'''.

==''The Transformers'' cartoon==
{{voiceactor|[[Frank Welker]] (English), [[Issei Masamune]] (Japanese)|[[Albert Augier]] (French), [[Toni Orlandi]] (Italian, second movie dub), [[Alejandro Abdalah]] (Latin American), [[Miroslav Bijelić]] (Serbian), [[Michael Rüth]] (German, Season 1 & 2), [[Ulf Jürgen Söhmisch]] (German, ''Roll For It'' & Generation 2 Dub of ''Fight or Flee''), [[Bernd Simon]] (German, Most of Season 3), [[Gerhard Acktun]] (German, ''Webworld''), [[Thomas Rauscher]] (German, The Movie TV Dub & Generation 2 Season 1), [[Christoph Jablonka]] (German, Generation 2 Dub of ''War of the Dinobots'', ''Atlantis, Arise!'' & ''Auto Berserk''), [[Christoph Lindert]] (German, Generation 2 Dub of ''Kremzeek!''), [[Gerd Rigauer]] (German, Generation 2 Dub of ''Starscreams Brigade'')}}

[[Image:Cybertronsoundwave.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Before the tape recorder, he was a lamppost. It's hard to take him seriously sometimes.]]

Nine million years ago, during the [[Golden Age]] of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Soundwave was one of [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s first [[Decepticon]]s and was seen flying through the planet's skies alongside his leader and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] by [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Orion Pax]]. {{storylink|War Dawn}} When the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] with the [[Autobot]]s erupted not long after, Soundwave served as Megatron's intelligence officer and most loyal subordinate, and as keeper of the [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette]]s, diminutive robots designed for espionage. While Soundwave was a nigh-constant battlefield presence, he would himself often play no major role in combat, more regularly being present merely to deploy his cassette minions, and, off the field of battle, to replay for his fellow Decepticons the information they would gather for him.

After five million years of war, Cybertron found itself in the throes of an energy crisis, and Soundwave was charged with spying on the Autobots to learn how they were dealing with it. Using his unconventional [[alternate mode]] as a space-age "lamp-post" to position himself on the street outside [[Great Dome|Iacon]], Soundwave was able to deploy [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] to snoop even closer. Laserbeak discovered that the Autobots were preparing to depart Cybertron to search for new sources of energy on other planets, and Soundwave quickly took this news back to Megatron, prompting the Decepticons to pursue the Autobots' [[Ark (G1)|spacecraft]] when it left the planet. After navigating a treacherous meteor shower, the Decepticons intercepted and boarded the Autobots' ship, and battle erupted between the two factions, during which Soundwave displayed his prowess by holding his own against [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] ''and'' [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]. However, the fighting was soon cut short when the Autobot spacecraft was caught in the gravity of the nearby prehistoric planet [[Earth]] and crash-landed. The ship impacted with the side of a [[Mount St. Hilary|volcano]] in a collision so violent that all the Transformers onboard, Soundwave included, were knocked off line.

[[Image:Mtmte1_prepare_the_energon_cubes.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Soundwave auditions for a guest spot on Baywatch as Mitch's hot sister.]]

Four million years later, in the Earth year 1984, a volcanic eruption jarred the ship's computer, [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] back on-line, and it reactivated and repaired the Transformers indiscriminately, reformatting Soundwave with the Earthly alternate mode of a portable cassette player. Before the Autobots were restored, the Decepticons pulled out of the ruined hulk of the ship, and Megatron immediately charged Soundwave with drawing up plans for a new [[Victory (G1)|space cruiser]] to return the Decepticons to Cybertron. Soundwave then deployed [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] to help [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] ransack a power plant to gather materials for construction, sent [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] to scare off humans who came to investigate, and dispatched Laserbeak to search the planet for sources of energy. Laserbeak soon returned to report his discovery of an offshore oil platform, which the Decepticons promptly attacked, gathering oil and storing it in the [[energon cube]]s Soundwave generated from his chest. The Autobots soon arrived to stop the Decepticons, but Megatron collapsed the rig, forcing the Autobots to save the human workers and allowing the Decepticons to escape. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}}

[[Image:Mtmte2_soundwave_and_teletraan.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Ugh Megatron, there's no one here...they just left the TV on. Hello? Anyone?]]

Seeking to exploit the data that Teletraan I had gathered on Earth in its short time on the planet, Soundwave positioned himself close to the Autobots' base, where he transformed into his cassette player mode and allowed himself to be found by the Autobots' new human friend, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]. Unaware of the true nature of the unassuming tape player he had found, Spike brought Soundwave into the Autobot ship and then left him unattended, allowing the Decepticon communicator to release Ravage. The feline felon interfaced with Teletraan I and located the computer's data on energy sources, which Soundwave then recorded. Soundwave was soon caught in the act by Spike, but managed to escape to report to Megatron. Using the information Soundwave obtained, Megatron decided to attack [[Sherman Dam]], where Soundwave instructed Rumble to use his earthquake-generating powers to create a tidal wave that maximized the plant's energy output. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}}

The Decepticons' raids continued apace, until only one more theft was necessary. As Megatron put his plan to attack an Air Force base together, Starscream attempted another of his infamous coups by trying to shoot him in the back, but Soundwave proved his loyalty to Megatron by warning his leader of the attack. The subsequent raid on the [[Cape Carlson|Air Force base]] went smoothly, and the Decepticons were at last poised to return to Cybertron when the Autobots made one last-ditch attack on their launch site. Soundwave and his tapes went into action, but Megatron soon called the battle off and ordered the Decepticons to board the completed space cruiser. Soundwave served as the ship's helmsman as it blasted off from Earth, but the flight proved a short one, as Soundwave discovered that the Autobot spy [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] has used his invisibility powers to stow away. Before the Decepticons could react, Mirage had sabotaged the ship and sent it plummeting back towards Earth. With Soundwave unable to stop its descent, the ship crashed into the ocean, and the Autobots believed the Decepticons destroyed. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

[[Image:RollForIt SoundwavescansChip.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Soundwave performs telepathy for children's birthday parties.]]

In truth, however, Soundwave and the other Decepticons had survived the crash, and after months of working in secret, reconstructed their spaceship into an [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Earth)|undersea headquarters]]. The villains revealed their continued existence to the world when Soundwave again used his inconspicuous tape player form to infiltrate a solar power plant and proceeded to take control of it, allowing the Decepticons to harvest its energy that they planned to send back to Cybertron over their new intergalactic "[[space bridge]]" transport system. Soundwave repelled an Autobot counterattack by wielding Megatron in pistol mode, but ultimately, the plan backfired when Megatron himself was caught in the space bridge's pull and believed destroyed, leaving Starscream to take control of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion}} Soundwave chafed under Starscream's inept leadership, and their first sortie with the air commander in charge ended in a comical defeat that saw Soundwave bowled over by Prowl as he ran away. Thankfully, Megatron soon returned, with a scheme to steal [[Alcazar|Doctor Alcazar]]'s [[antimatter]] formula, and Soundwave happily latched back onto his master. After Alcazar deleted the formula from his own computer, Soundwave used his mind-reading talents to acquire the formula from the brain of [[Chip Chase]]. {{storylink|Roll for It}}

[[Image:FireontheMountain SoundwaveMegsgun.jpg|left|220px|thumb|Soundwave was actually Starscream's understudy.]]

Soundwave participated in a Decepticon attack on Autobot Headquarters when Optimus Prime was mistakenly believed to be fatally wounded. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}} Soon after, during a scheme to drain heat energy from the Earth's core, the Decepticons unearthed the frozen body of Starscream's old friend [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] in the North Pole. Soundwave helped reactivate him by delivering a million-volt shock to his systems, but Skyfire ultimately sided with the Autobots to stop the Decepticons' plan. {{storylink|Fire in the Sky}} Later, Soundwave and [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] were sent on a data-gathering mission, acquiring information about the [[Great Falls]] to facilitate a Decepticon attack on the hydro-electric plant there. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

[[Image:Fireonthemountain_soundwave_vs_brawn_round1.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Brawn's version of "Jet Judo."]]

On a mission to the Peruvian Andes, Soundwave successfully proved that the legend of the Incan [[Crystal of Power]] was true when he deduced that the pyramid containing the fabled gemstone rested on a shaft leading to the Earth's core. On a mission to gather steel for a weapon frame to channel the crystal's power, Soundwave and Reflector were ambushed by [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] in mid-air, and Soundwave found himself driven face-first into a mountain by the small Autobot in the first of several clashes that they would engage in over the years. Soundwave tried to fight back with his own rifle, and even tried blasting Brawn with Megatron in pistol mode, but the little Autobot took everything he had to give and escaped in one piece. {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain}} Later, Soundwave's mind-reading abilities came into use again when he scanned the brains of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s, [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]], [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] and [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]], in order to determine their weaknesses. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}}

[[Image:Tud2_audio_disruptor_waves.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Come to me, jungle friends.]]

When Megatron schemed to use the space bridge to transport Cybertron into Earth's orbit, he required human slaves to gather the energy that would result from the massive natural catastrophes such an action would cause. Soundwave and his cassettes were dispatched to capture [[Sparkplug Witwicky]], who served as a guinea pig for the mind-controlling [[hypno-chip]]s created by the Decepticons' new ally, [[Doctor Arkeville]]. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} The plan to transport Cybertron was subsequently accomplished despite Autobot interference, and Soundwave ensured that energy collection could begin quickly by forcing the Autobots to flee with a barrage of painful audio disruptor waves. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}} Soundwave later transported a cache of energon cubes to the orbiting Cybertron, and was still there when a group of Autobots arrived, searching for the hypno-chip master control. In another encounter with Brawn, Soundwave was taken down by a single blast from his undersized rival, and then alerted the Decepticon forces on the planet to the Autobots' escape. It did little good, as the heroes were able to evade capture, find the hypno-chip control, free the slaves and blast Cybertron out of orbit.{{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}}

Megatron was briefly thought destroyed by the explosion that pushed Cybertron out of orbit, by the Decepticon leader soon returned to Earth, where Soundwave immediately informed him of Starscream's latest play for leadership. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}} Soundwave later accompanied Megatron and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] to [[Bali]], where they met the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}} Later still, when Megatron challenged Optimus Prime to a one-on-one duel, Soundwave and the other Decepticons contributed their [[power chip rectifier]]s to a machine built by the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] that would transfer all their powers into Megatron, so that he could win the fight with ease. While Megatron never used Soundwave's powers in the duel,<ref>In the finished episode, that is. A scene deleted from "Heavy Metal War" saw Megatron use Soundwave's mind-reading abilities to deduce Prime's next attack move.</ref> he still claimed victory, but when his breach of the rules was revealed, he, Soundwave and all the Decepticons were sent tumbling into a river of lava by the fighting-mad Autobots.{{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}

[[Image:Cityofsteel_console_destroyed.jpg|right|thumb|220px|God, I hate Vista so much!]]

As 1985 rolled in, Soundwave participated in a Decepticon attack on an Air Force base, {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} and helped in the construction of the [[Solar Needle]] in the jungles of [[South America]]. {{storylink|Changing Gears}} When Megatron sought to conquer [[New York City]], Soundwave, Rumble and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] battled a group of Autobots in [[Central Park]], and Soundwave was later put in charge of the weapons systems of the so-called "[[New Cybertron]]" that New York was being turned into. That control was soon lost, unfortunately, when a stray blast from an irate Megatron destroyed Soundwave's console. {{storylink|City of Steel}}

Soundwave and his cassettes were next sent on a distraction mission, keeping the Autobots occupied while Megatron and Starscream snuck inside their base and sabotaged their [[recharging chamber]]s with a [[Personality destabilizer device]], narrowly avoiding another pounding from Brawn in the process. {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots}} After helping to steal [[electro-cell]]s {{storylink|Traitor}} and the Autobots' new [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]] invention, {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} Soundwave was appointed to guard the captive Autobots after Megatron succeeded in trapping them in vehicle mode with the [[Transfixatron]]. The communications officer put his skills to work disabling the Autobots' communicators, but neglected to disable [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s hologram projector, which the Autobot was able to use to summon the small number of his comrades who had not been affected by the Transfixatron. [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and Ratchet developed a grenade to undo the device's effects, and together, Spike and [[Chip Chase]] outran Soundwave and Ravage to detonate it and restore the Autobots. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}}

[[Image:Dayofthemachines_espionage.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Let's see. Guitar, sound system and suspiciously plain brown box.]]

When Laserbeak and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] stumbled upon the subaquatic city of [[Sub-Atlantica]], Soundwave immediately summoned Megatron to view their findings. Megatron and the Decepticons set out for the city at once, and forged an alliance with its leader, the boastful telepathic [[Nergill|King Nergill]], in order to conquer [[Washington, D.C.]] Starscream, however, did not trust the fish-man, and had Soundwave put his own telepathic powers to use to decrypt the scrambled messages Nergill repeatedly gave to his underlings. Soundwave discovered that Nergill was planning to betray the Decepticons, leading to the breakdown of their alliance. {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

Soundwave and Megatron used their [[size changing|diminutive]] alternate modes to infiltrate [[Quantum Laboratories]] as part of a plan to take over the computer [[TORQ III]]. {{storylink|Day of the Machines}} Later, Soundwave helped steal the human-made robot ninja [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]] (finally getting one over on Brawn in the process by collapsing a balcony out from under him), and aided [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] in reprogramming the femme-bot to serve the Decepticons.{{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}}

[[Image:Insecticonsyndrome_soundwave_cerebroshelled.jpg|right|thumb|220px|He bears the mark!]]

When the Decepticons discovered strange energy emanations coming from a crevice, Soundwave dispatched the [[Autoscout]] to investigate, discovering the crevice was filled with [[Korlonium crystal]]s. Megatron schemed to create a [[Optimus Prime clone|clone of Optimus Prime]] as part of a plan to harness the crystals' power, and while the plan failed, the clone was at least impressive enough to completely fool Soundwave, and he was in on it! {{storylink|A Prime Problem}} Subsequently, Soundwave took part in the Decepticons' plan to drill to the Earth's core, {{storylink|The Core}} and was then made a mind-controlled pawn of the Insecticons, who used him to download data from the human military defense computer at [[Iron Mountain]]. Megatron and Optimus Prime were forced to team up to stop the Insecticons and destroy the [[cerebro-shell]] controlling Soundwave, erasing the data he had gathered in the process. {{storylink|The Insecticon Syndrome}}

While spying on Autobot Headquarters, Soundwave learned of the existence of the mysterious prehistoric [[Dinobot Island (G1)|Dinobot Island]], and sent Laserbeak to follow the Dinobots as they travelled there. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} Soundwave proceeded to join the Decepticons in raiding the island's energy sources, before the Autobots, Dinobots and the island's native [[dinosaur]]s saw them off. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

Using his alternate mode to infiltrate a military testing site, Soundwave and his cassettes made a hard-fought but ultimately failed attempt to steal the Autobots' new [[Negavator]] weapon. {{storylink|Auto Berserk}} Later, when human archaeologists uncovered the wreckage of the Decepticons' old space cruiser in South America, Soundwave alerted Megatron to the news report about their findings, then accompanied him to the wreckage, where they removed the ship's power source, the [[Heart of Cybertron]]. Celebrating the new power that the Heart bestowed upon Megatron, Soundwave joined his fellow Decepticons in over-energizing on energon, leaving him too inebriated to do much of anything.{{storylink|Microbots}}

[[Image:Masterplan2_disco_dolly.jpg|left|thumb|220px|All the ladies love Soundwave!]]

When Megatron framed the Autobots for energy theft and had them exiled from Earth, Soundwave took part in the Decepticons' pretense of being heroes. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} Soundwave was quite popular among the humans: a young child was heard cheering for him by name, and when he and his cassettes attended a disco, he acquired many female admirers. After Megatron revealed his deception, however, Soundwave was made the slave-master of the work camp that [[Central City (Earth)|Central City]] was turned into. Thankfully, the Autobots soon returned to Earth to clear their names and rout the Decepticons. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}}

[[Image:Dotd1_sneakiest_soundwave.jpg‎|right|thumb|220px|He's ''good''.]]

In one of his most impressible displays of sneakitude, Soundwave was able to position himself, in tape player mode, ''inside'' Ironhide's vehicle mode, ''right next'' to [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]], and spy on the test run of the [[Ultra Plane]], with neither Autobot noticing until he deployed Ravage. While Blaster wrestled with Ravage, Soundwave escaped to report to Megatron, after which he and Starscream joined their leader in attacking the lab containing the blueprints for the plane. The Autobots saw them off, but during their flight away, the Decepticons' systems began to malfunction as a result of [[cybertonium]] degradation. Soundwave's cassettes began ejecting without his command, and his flight powers gave out, sending him crashing to the ground. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}} Once repaired with fresh cybertonium from Cybertron, Soundwave joined the Decepticons on a mission to [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]]. {{storylink|A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court}}

Soundwave was among the Decepticons who were granted invincible [[electrum]] coating by the "Golden Lagoon". With their new power, the Decepticons captured [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], but when Starscream attempted to have the two Autobots fight each other for the villains' amusement, Soundwave immediately ran off and tattled on him to Megatron. {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}}

[[Image:Child's_Play_Nitro_Soundwave.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Soundwave forever regretted wearing the novelty cat pheromone spray.]]

Following the Decepticons' alliance with the [[Geddis brothers]], {{storylink|Make Tracks}} Soundwave joined in the Decepticon attempt to create a space bridge in a baseball stadium, where he wickedly delighted in playing catch with one of the players (literally!). The Autobots soon arrived, and another brawl between Soundwave and Brawn erupted, ending when the small Autobot threw Soundwave into the space bridge. When a stray blast then activated the bridge, Soundwave and a small group of Autobots and Decepticons were inadvertently hurled to a world of alien giants. After being menaced by the huge cat [[Nitro]] and trapped in a toybox by Nitro's owner [[Aron (G1)|Aron]], Soundwave was taken with the other Transformers to the planet's authorities for study and dissection. Ravage succeeded in freeing them, and the Decepticons all escaped back to Earth through a mock space bridge Perceptor created out of a telescope. {{storylink|Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play}} Upon his return, Soundwave was caught up in the menace of the [[Morphobot]]s, {{storylink|Quest for Survival}} analyzed the energy of an alien asteroid, {{storylink|The Secret of Omega Supreme}} and helped operate the Decepticons' new [[energy magnet]]. {{storylink|Kremzeek!}}

[[Image:Autobop_soundwave_vs_blaster.jpg|right|220px|thumb|That's not sound, it's Darkseid popping up in the wrong multiverse.]]

After joining Megatron on a mission to the planet of the [[Tlalakan]]s, {{storylink|Sea Change}} Soundwave embarked on one of his most notable misadventures when, under the command of Starscream, he set about brainwashing humans with ultrasonic vibrations inside the Decepticon-built nightclub [[Dancitron]] in New York City. This led to his first major confrontation with his Autobot communications officer counterpart, Blaster, with whom he engaged in a sonic duel. Soundwave had the upper hand in the violent jam session, until Blaster used the club's sound system to magnify his own sonic attacks and win the fight. {{storylink|Auto-Bop}}

When the Decepticons captured [[Hybrid Technologies]] heiress [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz]], Soundwave tried to use the [[psycho-probe]] to read her mind, but her innate ability to jinx machines made it a challenge, and eventually led to Soundwave and Rumble being electrocuted. When [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] subsequently caused the Decepticons' new sub-orbital base to crash, it fell to Soundwave to inform Megatron that the base didn't have any forcefields. Whoops! {{storylink|The Girl Who Loved Powerglide}}

[[Image:Ktvs2 see you next fall.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Doesn't have the heart to tell Megatron it's just chocolate wrapped in gold foil.]]

On a mission to recover some incriminating footage taken by a movie studio of their activities, Soundwave showed up Starscream by pointing out that while the air commander had recovered the film reel, he had not destroyed the negative. Soundwave then helped Megatron track the negative down, but they were tricked into thinking it was destroyed by [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]]. {{storylink|Hoist Goes Hollywood}} Soon after, Soundwave accompanied Megatron to Cybertron to give life to his new [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]], helping him locate the [[Key to Vector Sigma|key]] to [[Vector Sigma]] and unlocking the door to the mega-computer's chamber. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}} Upon their return to Earth with the now-living Stuncticons, Soundwave aided Megatron in analyzing the key to discover what other powers it possessed. By happenstance, its power to de-energize matter and turn it into metal was only discovered when Soundwave tripped and dropped it. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}

[[Image:TransEuropeExpress Galata Valley.jpg|right|thumb|220px|"Soundwave, why always rings? I demand a parallelogram or two!"]]

Soundwave soon returned to Cybertron to take part in Megatron's plan to trap the newest addition to the Autobot ranks, the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbot]]s, in the distant past, {{storylink|War Dawn}} then went back to Earth and used his scanning powers to help Megatron locate the [[Pearl of Bahoudin]]. {{storylink|Trans-Europe Express}} Soundwave later had Laserbeak monitor the [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] infection spreading through the Autobot ranks, {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}, and had the cassette remove Starscream from Decepticon Headquarters after Megatron finally banished the perennial traitor from the Decepticon ranks. When Starscream returned with his own army, the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]], Soundwave was almost able to shoot the traitor in the back until [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] caused his shot to go wild. Soundwave tried to summon the Stunticons to help, and while they initially rebuffed him, they eventually arrived to tip the scales in Megatron's favor. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

Suspecting the Autobots had tampered with Megatron's new ruby laser cannon, Soundwave advised his leader to abandon the weapon, but Megatron was caught up in a battle-frenzy and ignored him. Predictably, the weapon promptly exploded. {{storylink|Masquerade}} For his final recorded adventure in the 20th century, Soundwave invented a device to control the flow of Earth's tides. Before the Decepticons could use it, however, it was necessary to blast the moon out of orbit to remove its controlling influence, so they developed an [[orbit disruptor cannon]] to do the job. Unfortunately, the cannon would only be operated by [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], and all the Combaticons save Swindle had been destroyed, so Soundwave installed a bomb in Swindle's head to give him the incentive to gather up their parts and rebuild them. Bruticus was restored, and Soundwave participated in the Decepticon attack upon Autobot Headquarters that served as a test run for the disruptor cannon, but the complex plot was foiled when three college students used [[B.O.T. (robot)|makeshift robot]] to destroy the cannon. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}

[[Image:Tftm_dont_leave_me_soundwave.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Do you think I'd leave you dying, when there's room on my horse for two?]]

Over the course of the following twenty years, the Decepticons withdrew from Earth and focused all their efforts on conquering Cybertron entirely. By the year 2005, they had accomplished this goal, and the Autobots were consigned to their new "[[Autobot City]]" on Earth, and to bases on two of Cybertron's moon. Thanks to Laserbeak and Soundwave, Megatron learned of an upcoming Autobot strike against Cybertron, and resolved to cripple their war effort by destroying Autobot City. During [[Battle of Autobot City|the subsequent battle]], Soundwave was instructed to jam a distress call to Optimus Prime from Blaster, so he sent Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy and [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] to dismantle the communications array being used to broadcast it. Blaster's own team of cassettes fended Soundwave's off, and the call made it through, summoning Optimus Prime and a support team to aid the stricken city. A fateful final battle between Prime and Megatron ensued, which ended with Prime's dead and Megatron mortally wounded. As the other Decepticons beat a hasty retreat, Soundwave demonstrated his loyalty to his leader by recovering his damaged body and carrying him aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], but when it became necessary to jettison excess weight so that the Decepticons could safely make it back to Cybertron, Soundwave made no move to stop Starscream from setting Megatron adrift in space. In fact, with Megatron gone, Soundwave himself made a bid for leadership, declaring himself a superior choice to the Constructicons and deploying his cassettes to fight for his honor. Starscream ultimately emerged victorious in the fight for leadership, but during his coronation ceremony, Megatron returned, having been recreated by the giant transforming god-planet [[Unicron]] into [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. Galvatron promptly killed Starscream, and Soundwave started cheering for his returned leader.

[[Image:Ffod1_cons_on_chaar.jpg|right|thumb|220px|"I used to have [[Cyclonus (G1)|that guy's]] job ya know". "Suuure, gramps, suuuuure".]]

Galvatron's leadership did not get off to a great start, however: Unicron soon attacked Cybertron, and while he was destroyed by the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]], Galvatron was lost to the depths of space, and the leaderless Decepticons, in a state of disarray after Unicron's attack, were easily routed and forced off Cybertron by the Autobots and their new leader, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]]. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}} Low on energy, Soundwave and the other Decepticons were forced to relocate to the burned-out planet [[Chaar]], where they eked out a miserable existence on the brink of death. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}} When Rodimus Prime and Grimlock came to Chaar to investigate a mysterious attack on the [[Galactic Olympics]], Soundwave and the Decepticons attacked them, {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} and were then later approached by the true instigators of the Olympics attack, the alien [[Quintesson]]s, with the prospect of an alliance. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}} Under the Quintessons' instructions, Soundwave and the other Decepticons launched an attack on the Autobots on the planet [[Goo 8739B]], during which Galvatron returned, having been found by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}} With Galvatron back in charge, Soundwave was amongst the Decepticons who were sent to Earth to try and stop [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[Transformation cog|transforming cog]] from being delivered. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}

[[Image:Cminor soundwave white noise.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Disco! Disco!]]

In 2006, Soundwave went with Galvatron, Cyclonus, [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and the [[Sweep]]s to search for [[isidrite]] in an asteroid belt. Soundwave dispatched Ratbat to search for the mineral, only for the cassette to discover that the Autobots were already mining it. {{storylink|Webworld}} Soon after, Soundwave accompanied Galvatron to the planet [[Eurythma]] to investigate a mysterious sonic weapon. They discovered that sound and music were the way of life on the planet, and Soundwave was entranced by the planet's perfect melodies, specifically the destructive [[harmony]] weapon, which was shared by three Eurythmans. One by one, Soundwave coerced from them each piece of the harmony, recording and combing them with the intention of turning the musical maelstrom upon Autobot City. He was defeated, however, when the Eurythmans countered the harmony with [[anti-sound]], and Blaster erased his recordings. {{storylink|Carnage in C-Minor}}

Soundwave was among those transfixed by a hypnotic Quintesson signal {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006}}, then later aided in the Decepticon conquest of the peaceful planet [[Paradron]]. {{storylink|Fight or Flee}} Later still, during a battle on Earth's [[moon (moon)|moon]], Soundwave was shocked when his ejection system activated on its own, releasing Ravage, Ratbat, [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]], who departed with all the other "[[Primitive]]" Transformers present to follow a mysterious [[Oracle (G1)|voice]]. Mere moments later, the threat these Primitives had been summoned to fight, [[Tornedron]], arrived on the moon and drained the energy from all the Transformers present, Soundwave included. Thankfully, the Primitives succeeded in defeating Tornedron and restoring everyone's energy. {{storylink|Call of the Primitives}}

For his final appearance, Soundwave was seen playing back the latest piece of information gathered by Ratbat: two human scientists had discovered the body of Optimus Prime, which Galvatron resolved to destroy once and for all. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}

==Madman ''The Transformers'' comic==
[[Image:Madman comic Soundwave ejects tapes.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Where the HELL does he get room for all those tapes?]]
In 2001, Soundwave and his squad of cassettes were deployed to the construction site of [[Autobot City]] while the balance of the Autobot forces were engaged in an evacuation of Cybertron. He managed to record a secret conversation between Optimus Prime and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] where the Autobot leaders discussed hiding the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]] in a bunker at the build site, against the chance Prime would be captured or destroyed while off-world. Soundwave returned to the not-so-secret bunker and deployed his minions to dig up the Matrix. Just as the artifact had been secured and Soundwave was about to call for retrieval, the young Autobot [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] took the Matrix and defeated Soundwave's team. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
{{-}}

==Japanese cartoon continuity==
{{note|The events of American cartoon continuity, as detailed above, occur in the Japanese timeline, except the events of 2006 are pushed back to 2010. The Japanese continuity proceeds to insert many new storylines and events in, around, before and after the events of the Generation 1 cartoon, as covered below.}}

===e-HOBBY comics===
Early during Megatron's attempted conquest of Cybertron, Soundwave was among his troops of [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]s and [[Silver Soldier]]s, raiding Autobot energy warehouses. Their attack was cut short by the unexpected arrival of a [[Guardian robot]], who quickly trounced everybody. {{storylink|64 Cybertron Urban Defense Robot GADEP}}

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic===
[[Image:Soundwave srlf manga.jpg|left|180px|thumb|It's like if Power Rangers had really cheap zords.]]

In the late 1980s, while Megatron and the Decepticons engaged the Autobots in battle in Arizona, Soundwave and his cassettes were dispatched to do something unspecified (but likely ''evil'') in [[Tokyo]]. Optimus Prime dispatched a unit of Autobots led by [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and [[Kenji]] to track them down. He was ultimately defeated when Bumblebee got the drop on him with a patented "Bumble-Kick" and shattered his chest. This made it impossible for his cassette forces to return to him, leaving them to be captured as well. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2}} When he next appeared, Soundwave hadn't quite got over his injuries, and was seen with bandages stuck to his chest-window. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 3}}

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' story pages===
When Soundwave learned that the Autobots were keeping themselves in shape by having a friendly race, he set up a trap within a narrow canyon, walling the Autobots in and opening fire on them. Luckily, [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] arrived on the scene and delivered a powerful punch to Soundwave's chest, shattering his tape door once again. Soundwave immediately fled. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (story page)|Anime Theater 2: Sic' Em, Hound!}}

Blaster battled Soundwave in what seemed to be the foothills of the Alps, while Perceptor kept the Decepticon communicator's cassettes busy. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (story page)#Part 5|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers story page #5}}
{{-}}

===''Scramble City''===
[[Image:Soundwave_scramblecity.jpg|right|thumb|220px|"Soundwave...you do know there are laws against exposing yourself, right?"]]
Before the 1980s were over, the Decepticons detected some unusual magnetic field fluctuations, and Megatron ordered Soundwave to send Ratbat, Laserbeak and Ravage to investigate. The cassettes discovered a hidden cavern where the Autobots were constructing a mighty battle fortress named "[[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]]", and Soundwave promptly took this information to Megatron. {{storylink|Scramble City: Mobilization}}
{{-}}

===Full Throttle Scramble Power!===

[[Image:Fullthrottle_tape_fight.jpg|left|thumb]]
Soundwave was present when the Decepticons terrorized the Earth with their new "[[Omega Whip]]" cannon and captured the Autobots' human allies [[Toru]] and [[Jenny (G1)|Jenny]]. When the two humans tried to escape, Soundwave released Ravage to stop them, but Blaster then appeared to dispatch the cassette. Blaster and Soundwave proceeded to grapple as more Autobots arrived and the battle grew bigger and bigger, and when Metroplex arrived, he actually collided with Soundwave and knocked the Decepticon for a loop. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}
{{-}}
===''The Battle of the Star Gate''===

[[Image:Soundwave stargate battles.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Fear his [[Mickey Mouse]] ears.]]

In the 1990s, continued Autobot/human interaction led to a formal alliance being forged between the heroic robots and the American government and the construction of an interstellar teleport system called the [[Trigger]]. Naturally, the Trigger space station was a prime target for the Decepticons, and Soundwave was instrumental in taking over the device, as he hacked into its systems and placed it under Decepticon control. Unfortunately for the Decepticons, the sole surviving member of the Trigger's crew, [[Makoto (Star Gate)|Makoto]], activated the system and blasted them into space before they could take control of it, and the Autobots soon arrived to send the Decepticons packing.{{storylink|First Contact}}

[[Image:Stargatebattles_soundwave_and_megs.jpg|left|thumb|275px|"You ever feel the magic has gone out of our relationship?" "Shut up, Soundwave".]]

Three months later, while the Trigger was still undergoing repairs after the damage the previous battle had caused, Soundwave patched through a transmission from Laserbeak, who was spying on a test run of the new human-built [[C-X]] battle droid. When the droid ran amok during the test and tried to kill Optimus Prime, the amused Megatron thought Soundwave was responsible for hacking the robot's systems, but Soundwave denied it. {{storylink|Divided Views}} In truth, the drone had been possessed by the time-displaced ghost of Starscream from the future, and he was not yet through making mischief in the past. Starscream's ghost teamed up with his present day counterpart, and together, the two Starscreams took control of the repaired Trigger and possessed it, transforming it into a giant, twisted robot form. Soundwave was among the massive armada of Decepticons and Autobots who battled the giant Starscream-thing, which was ultimately defeated when Prime and Megatron combined their power to destroy the traitor's new body. Soundwave and all the other Transformers were caught in the backwash of the explosion and sent tumbling towards Earth in uncontrolled re-entry, not to be heard from again for many months. {{storylink|The Battle of the Star Gate}}
{{-}}

===''Music Label''===

In 2007, Soundwave created a series of diminutive clones of himself, disguised as portable MP3 players, and disseminated them among the populace of Earth as part of a plan to brainwash the youth of the world with hypnotic music.

{{note|While the [[Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)|2007 Takara timeline]] placed the events of the ''[[Transformers Music Label]]'' storyline in the Generation 1 cartoon continuity, this is not without confusion. According to the ''Music Label'' story, Soundwave was foiled in this plan by Optimus Prime, who added a pair of speakers to his trailer that broadcast a frequency to stop the Decepticon's brainwashing. As Prime was ''dead'' at this point in the timeline, this can't have been how things went down in this version of events. However, given the way the timeline is unhelpfully laid out, it's not impossible that this adventure may take place not in the mainstream timeline, but in the branched-off parallel dimension of the ''Binaltech'' storyline, where Optimus did not die.}}

===''The Headmasters'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Issei Masamune]] (Japanese), [[Guillermo Romano]] (Latin American)

[[Image:MysteryPlanetMaster BlasterVsSoundwave.jpg|right|220px|thumb|"Stop! I'm unarmed!"]]
The Decepticons went off the radar for the year that followed Optimus Prime's resurrection, but in 2011, they returned in full force. When Vector Sigma began to destabilize as a consequence of Optimus Prime releasing the energy of the Matrix, Galvatron led the Decepticons' newest troops, the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]], in an attack on Cybertron in an attempt to secure the computer and restore a Decepticon power balance to the planet. To prevent Autobot reinforcements from Earth reaching Cybertron, Soundwave and a legion of other Decepticons under the command of the faction's new Earth commander, [[Sixshot]], kept the Autobots on the planet busy in a large battle. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} In an attempt to learn the Autobots' plan of action, Soundwave and his cassettes infiltrated Autobot City, and although they were discovered by Blaster and his own cassettes, they were able to escape with the knowledge that the Matrix was hidden somewhere on Earth, and that the Autobots were preparing to search for it. Blaster and [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] subsequently embarked on a search mission to the [[Arctic]], where Soundwave and his cassettes attacked them. Blaster covered Hot Rod's escape, and he and Soundwave engaged in a one-on-one battle, with shattered chests and severed limbs aplenty. It momentarily appeared that Soundwave had won the battle when Blaster collapsed, but seconds later, the fatal damage Blaster had inflicted upon him made itself apparent, as Soundwave's body exploded. His cassettes scooped up as much of his remains as they could and beat a retreat, but Soundwave was triumphant in death, as Blaster too died seconds later. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

[[Image:ReturnImmortal Emperor Soundblaster.jpg|left|220px|thumb|He's gone black. Will he go back?]]

Soundwave's remains were brought back to Chaar by his cassettes, where the Decepticon Headmaster leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] was able to use the super-science of planet [[Master (planet)|Master]] to restore him to life. Reborn in a new black body, Soundwave was rechristened '''Soundblaster''', and following a reunion with his delighted cassettes, immediately went straight back to working for the Decepticon cause. Soundblaster was, in fact, instrumental to the Decepticons' newest plan, as he used his broadcasting powers to send signals from a sonic control device implanted in his chest to direct the actions of the villains' newest weapon, the [[Madmachine]], in another attack on Cybertron. As coincidence would have it, Autobot Headmaster leader [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]] had also used the science of Master to restore Blaster to life as "Twincast", and the two rivals clashed for the first time in their new lives when the Autobot destroyed Soundblaster's sonic control and foiled the Decepticons' plot. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}}

Soundblaster was among the Decepticons who invaded and enslaved the planet [[Beast (planet)|Beast]]. {{storylink|Rebellion on Planet Beast}} Later, he dispatched Ratbat to spy on the Autobots and learn more about a mysterious blackmailer holding six countries to ransom, reporting his findings to Cyclonus and Scourge. {{storylink|Terror! The Six Shadows}} Later still, Soundblaster and his cassette force were able to infiltrate Cybertron's lowest levels and spy on Vector Sigma, discovering that the mega-computer had developed a powerful new alloy named [[cybertonuron]]. Acting on Soundblaster's information, Galvatron staged a massive attack on Cybertron, {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} but Scorponok plotted treachery, planting a bomb in Vector Sigma's chamber in order to destroy the alloy, rather than let Galvatron gain its power. When Galvatron discovered this, Soundblaster attempted to stop him from going to Vector Sigma's chamber, but Galvatron ignored him, and paid for his hubris when the bomb detonated in his face, destroying the cybertonuron and reducing Cybertron to a burnt out husk. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

[[Image:Hm11 reporting to scorponok.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Will the undead please stand up?]]

With Galvatron having disappeared in the destruction of Cybertron, Soundblaster met with the other senior Decepticons to discuss what should be done next. During their meeting, the shadowed figure of Galvatron appeared in the room, but Soundblaster quickly analyzed the newcomer's voice pattern, and realized it was not Galvatron, but Scorponok engaging in a bout of gallows humor. Shedding his disguise, Scorponok claimed that Galvatron was still alive, and that while he could not reveal where he was, he had commanded Scorponok to lead in his absence. None of the Decepticons were entirely convinced (in truth, it was a bold-faced lie), but Soundblaster, in need of a leader to follow, chose to accept it as truth, and followed Scorponok's command to send Ratbat to spy on the Autobot/human launch of the [[Sol 1]] satellite. {{storylink|The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok}} Soon after, when Scorponok began scheming to keep the Autobots occupied on Earth with various threads, Soundblaster and his cassettes kept an eye on the Autobots' movements and were able to inform their leader that his plans were working. {{storylink|The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts}}{{storylink|Head On!! Fortress Maximus}}

[[Image:Hm14 soundblaster triggers bombs.jpg|left|thumb|220px]]

Following Scorponok's instructions, Soundwave directed the planting of [[plasma energy]] bombs beneath the surface of [[Mars (planet)|Mars]], in order to destroy the planet and harvest even more of the energy. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger}} At Scorponok's command, Soundblaster then recalled all available Decepticons to Chaar, where they all witnessed their leader's dramatic unveiling of his gigantic new Transtector. With this powerful new body, Scorponok kept the Autobots occupied while Soundblaster himself pressed the fateful button that detonated the plasma bombs and destroyed Mars. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears}}

Soundblaster and his cassettes did not take kindly to the arrival of Scorponok's new intelligence officer, [[Punch (G1)|Counterpunch]], who irked Soundblaster with his remarkable ability to dig up information that Soundblaster couldn't. Of course, Soundblaster had no idea that Counterpunch was able to do this because he was really the Autobot spy, Punch, and so he and his cassettes set out to prove themselves by going to Earth to see what Autobots secrets they could unearth. Unable to find any information, Soundblaster was moping around the Decepticon Earth base when a story suddenly dropped itself right into his lap: a glowing UFO descended from the sky and abducted Sixshot right before his eyes! Soundblaster attempted to report his findings to Scorponok during a battle with the Autobots on Earth's moon, but there and then, the UFO reappeared, and its owner was revealed to be Galvatron, who had survived his appeared destruction and retook leadership of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Return of the Immortal Emperor}}

[[Image:Hm23_soundblaster_draws.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Sound doesn't travel in space, moron.]]

Soundblaster and the Decepticon Headmasters were manning the scanners at the Decepticon base on Chaar when the [[Horrorcon]]s arrived to join up with Galvatron's forces. {{storylink|Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever!!}} Soon after, Soundblaster joined the Decepticons on a series of interplanetary energy raids, helping to scan the spaceways and communications channels to keep his leader appraised of Autobot and alien activity as they went from planet [[Hive (planet)|Hive]] {{storylink|Fight to the Death on Planet Hive!!}} to [[Twin Star]] {{storylink|Battle for Defense of the False Planet}} to [[Daros]]. {{storylink|Find MegaZarak's Weak Spot!!}} The Decepticons' quest eventually brought them to [[Pirate Planet]], where they were stymied in their pursuit of the planet's fabled energy by their inability to enter the pyramid that held it. Soundblaster observed [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] departing for the field of debris near the planet, and, suspecting they knew something he didn't, followed them. Soundblaster proceeded to ambush the two heroes and demand they share their information, but Daniel was able to get the drop on the Decepticon with his video game light gun, which Highbrow had amped up into a real weapon. {{storylink|Mystery of the Space Pirate Ship}}

When the Decepticons returned to Earth, Sixshot proceeded to lead a series of major attacks upon the Autobot forces. Soundblaster reported to Galvatron on the departure of Fortress Maximus from Athenia, and suggested sending Scorponok to keep him busy. Galvatron was wary, knowing Scorponok had his own agenda, but Soundblaster vowed to follow him and keep an eye on him, and Galvatron agreed. However, Soundblaster was surprisingly lax in his duty, as Scorponok didn't bother engaging Fortress, and Soundblaster didn't report this at all! {{storylink|Ultra Magnus Dies!!}}

[[Image:Hm30_soundblaster_in_hiding.jpg||left|thumb|220px|Grand Cybertron Hide N'Seek Champion, 7 million years running.]]

Following Galvatron's death at the hands of the Headmasters and Scorponok's subsequent re-assumption of Decepticon leadership, Soundblaster was among the Decepticons who travelled with his new leader to the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]]. {{storylink|Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)}} When the Autobots followed them there, Soundblaster boldly infiltrated their spaceship, the ''Maximus'', and spied on them with Ratbat. When he was discovered, however, he leapt overboard and flew back to the surface of Master, inadvertently leading the Autobot [[Targetmaster]]s to the Decepticons' hidden subterranean base. {{storylink|The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide}} Soundblaster was able to repay them in kind after a later battle, though, when he stealthily followed the retreating Targetmasters and discovered that the Autobots had started working with the young warriors of Master. {{storylink|Operation: Destroy the Decepticons}}

After Scorponok successfully completed construction of his new [[Zarak Shield]] weapon, the Decepticons headed back to Earth, but as they were passing through the asteroid belt, Soundblaster noticed a malfunction in their propulsion system that required them to set down for repairs. While they were resting there, Soundblaster detected the approach of an object, which turned out to be Sixshot, who had become separated from the Decepticons on an earlier leg of their journey. {{storylink|Duel on the Asteroid}}

Finally, once the Decepticons returned to Earth, Scorponok began raising "[[Death Tower]]s" of [[crysmagnetal]] at strategic points around the Earth, intending to use them to tear the planet apart. While on patrol in the Alps, Soundblaster observed the passage of the Autobots' battleship, and radioed the Decepticons in Egypt to let them know of their enemies' approach. Subsequently, with all the Death Towers in place, Soundblaster participated in the climactic battle between the Autobot and Decepticons armies at the South Pole, which ended when Fortress Maximus destroyed Scorponok's Transtector and saved the planet. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}

===''The Headmasters'' comic===
[[Image:Hm manga8 master chrome hurricane.jpg|right|thumb|220px]]
After their defeat at the North Pole, the Decepticons were preparing to retreat from Earth entirely when Scorponok instructed Soundblaster to remain on the planet in secret to act as a spy for the Decepticons. Soundblaster proved that he wasn't up to the challenge by making his presence and intentions known almost instantly when he kicked [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] square in the face and took the [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Witwicky]] family hostage. [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] was left powerless to do anything but surrender, as [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]] brutalized [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and threatened [[Carly]]. Daniel finally snapped and beat the living crap out of the two Cassette dinosaurs, leaving Soundblaster open to Chromedome's poorly named "Master-Chrome Hurricane Throw to the End of Hell!" Chromedome chucked Soundblaster over the horizon, and when he recovered from his fall, he found Sixshot staring down at him. Demanding to know what Sixshot wanted, Soundblaster was informed that the six-changer was no longer affiliated with the Decepticons, and wanted to travel from planet to planet, learning new transformations. One day, Sixshot told him, he wanted to learn how to transform into a human! Soundblaster was left absolutely dumbfounded by this, unable to even compute such a concept, and wagering it would be a few million years before he could. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 8}}
{{--}}
===''Super-God Masterforce'' comic===

Years later, the image of Soundwave was among the holograms of older Decepticons projected by [[King Poseidon]] to deceive and confuse the Autobots under [[Ginrai]]'s command. {{storylink|Burn, Super Soul! The New Commander Super Ginrai!}}

==Notes==
[[Image:SoundwaveButtonUD3.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"When I think about you, I touch myself."]]

* The G1 cartoon almost always depicted him as having to press all his own controls to eject minions or perform other functions even though these are actually part of him. This has led to many a shot of Soundwave pressing his own crotch. What will the children think?

* According to the original script<ref>http://boltax.blogspot.com/2011/02/ron-friedman-auctions-scripts-part-3-of.html</ref> for [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]], "Sound Wave" transformed into "a LIGHT STANDARD - identical to the one that exists a short distance away, the perfect camouflage". So... yes, he really ''did'' turn into a lamppost on Cybertron.

* Soundwave's distinctive voice proved to be one of Generation 1's most memorable aspects. The [[Wikipedia:Vocoder|highly processed voice]] (processed by [[Scott Brownlee]]) began with [[Frank Welker]] basically doing his "Dr. Claw" voice from ''[[Wikipedia:Inspector Gadget|Inspector Gadget]]''. Whether due to variations in the performance or the processing, the final result varied quite a bit across Soundwave's three seasons on the show. Occasionally, as in the episodes "[[Roll for It]]" and "[[Webworld]]", the processing was left out and Welker's actual voice can be heard. This Dr. Claw version of Soundwave's voice made a return when Welker reprised the [[Soundwave (ROTF)|role]] for ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'' as the processing was, again, left out.

* Similarly, he often emphasizes words at random, such as his well-known "RavAAAAAGE", or "LAAZABEEK". This may be a side effect of the voice doctoring in the cartoon.

*In the Mandarin dub, Soundwave had a glorious, operatic voice.

[[Image:Soundwave fly.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Hey, wait for me!"]]

* The typically emotionally-barren Soundwave actually ''laughs'' on two separate occasions in the Generation 1 cartoon ("[[Quest for Survival]]" and "[[Auto-Bop]]"), while he ''screams like a little girl'' only once ("[[Roll for It]]").

* Soundwave has flown in his [[alternate mode|alt mode]] one time, in the episode "[[Masquerade]]." In [[Atlus]]'s ''[[The Transformers (PS2)|Transformers]]'' game, Soundwave can transform to tape deck mode and kind of bounces around to move in that form. No, really.

* In the Japanese dub of the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]], as well as the supporting [[manga]], all of Soundwave's cassette forces which could talk referred to him as "Anikii" (兄貴い) or "Big Brother." This is a fairly common way to refer to others you admire and such in Japanese. It's also a term that gang members use toward older, more experienced members who aren't actual gang bosses. Take it as you will. Whatever it says about his relationship with them, it does give new meaning to the phrase [[Wikipedia:Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)|"Big Brother is watching over you"]].
{{-}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Beast Wars Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Music Label]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce Decepticons]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Decepticons]]

Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity

2012-08-21T20:03:30Z

166.250.65.10: /* Madman The Transformers comic */

{{suite}}
[[Image:Soundwave_and_company.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Can't touch this.]]

If you only remember two things from the ''Transformers'' cartoon, odds are one of them is Optimus Prime, and the other is '''that tape guy with the cool voice'''.

==''The Transformers'' cartoon==
{{voiceactor|[[Frank Welker]] (English), [[Issei Masamune]] (Japanese)|[[Albert Augier]] (French), [[Toni Orlandi]] (Italian, second movie dub), [[Alejandro Abdalah]] (Latin American), [[Miroslav Bijelić]] (Serbian), [[Michael Rüth]] (German, Season 1 & 2), [[Ulf Jürgen Söhmisch]] (German, ''Roll For It'' & Generation 2 Dub of ''Fight or Flee''), [[Bernd Simon]] (German, Most of Season 3), [[Gerhard Acktun]] (German, ''Webworld''), [[Thomas Rauscher]] (German, The Movie TV Dub & Generation 2 Season 1), [[Christoph Jablonka]] (German, Generation 2 Dub of ''War of the Dinobots'', ''Atlantis, Arise!'' & ''Auto Berserk''), [[Christoph Lindert]] (German, Generation 2 Dub of ''Kremzeek!''), [[Gerd Rigauer]] (German, Generation 2 Dub of ''Starscreams Brigade'')}}

[[Image:Cybertronsoundwave.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Before the tape recorder, he was a lamppost. It's hard to take him seriously sometimes.]]

Nine million years ago, during the [[Golden Age]] of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Soundwave was one of [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s first [[Decepticon]]s and was seen flying through the planet's skies alongside his leader and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] by [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Orion Pax]]. {{storylink|War Dawn}} When the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] with the [[Autobot]]s erupted not long after, Soundwave served as Megatron's intelligence officer and most loyal subordinate, and as keeper of the [[Decepticon Mini-Cassette]]s, diminutive robots designed for espionage. While Soundwave was a nigh-constant battlefield presence, he would himself often play no major role in combat, more regularly being present merely to deploy his cassette minions, and, off the field of battle, to replay for his fellow Decepticons the information they would gather for him.

After five million years of war, Cybertron found itself in the throes of an energy crisis, and Soundwave was charged with spying on the Autobots to learn how they were dealing with it. Using his unconventional [[alternate mode]] as a space-age "lamp-post" to position himself on the street outside [[Great Dome|Iacon]], Soundwave was able to deploy [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] to snoop even closer. Laserbeak discovered that the Autobots were preparing to depart Cybertron to search for new sources of energy on other planets, and Soundwave quickly took this news back to Megatron, prompting the Decepticons to pursue the Autobots' [[Ark (G1)|spacecraft]] when it left the planet. After navigating a treacherous meteor shower, the Decepticons intercepted and boarded the Autobots' ship, and battle erupted between the two factions, during which Soundwave displayed his prowess by holding his own against [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] ''and'' [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]. However, the fighting was soon cut short when the Autobot spacecraft was caught in the gravity of the nearby prehistoric planet [[Earth]] and crash-landed. The ship impacted with the side of a [[Mount St. Hilary|volcano]] in a collision so violent that all the Transformers onboard, Soundwave included, were knocked off line.

[[Image:Mtmte1_prepare_the_energon_cubes.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Soundwave auditions for a guest spot on Baywatch as Mitch's hot sister.]]

Four million years later, in the Earth year 1984, a volcanic eruption jarred the ship's computer, [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] back on-line, and it reactivated and repaired the Transformers indiscriminately, reformatting Soundwave with the Earthly alternate mode of a portable cassette player. Before the Autobots were restored, the Decepticons pulled out of the ruined hulk of the ship, and Megatron immediately charged Soundwave with drawing up plans for a new [[Victory (G1)|space cruiser]] to return the Decepticons to Cybertron. Soundwave then deployed [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] to help [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] ransack a power plant to gather materials for construction, sent [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] to scare off humans who came to investigate, and dispatched Laserbeak to search the planet for sources of energy. Laserbeak soon returned to report his discovery of an offshore oil platform, which the Decepticons promptly attacked, gathering oil and storing it in the [[energon cube]]s Soundwave generated from his chest. The Autobots soon arrived to stop the Decepticons, but Megatron collapsed the rig, forcing the Autobots to save the human workers and allowing the Decepticons to escape. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}}

[[Image:Mtmte2_soundwave_and_teletraan.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Ugh Megatron, there's no one here...they just left the TV on. Hello? Anyone?]]

Seeking to exploit the data that Teletraan I had gathered on Earth in its short time on the planet, Soundwave positioned himself close to the Autobots' base, where he transformed into his cassette player mode and allowed himself to be found by the Autobots' new human friend, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]]. Unaware of the true nature of the unassuming tape player he had found, Spike brought Soundwave into the Autobot ship and then left him unattended, allowing the Decepticon communicator to release Ravage. The feline felon interfaced with Teletraan I and located the computer's data on energy sources, which Soundwave then recorded. Soundwave was soon caught in the act by Spike, but managed to escape to report to Megatron. Using the information Soundwave obtained, Megatron decided to attack [[Sherman Dam]], where Soundwave instructed Rumble to use his earthquake-generating powers to create a tidal wave that maximized the plant's energy output. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}}

The Decepticons' raids continued apace, until only one more theft was necessary. As Megatron put his plan to attack an Air Force base together, Starscream attempted another of his infamous coups by trying to shoot him in the back, but Soundwave proved his loyalty to Megatron by warning his leader of the attack. The subsequent raid on the [[Cape Carlson|Air Force base]] went smoothly, and the Decepticons were at last poised to return to Cybertron when the Autobots made one last-ditch attack on their launch site. Soundwave and his tapes went into action, but Megatron soon called the battle off and ordered the Decepticons to board the completed space cruiser. Soundwave served as the ship's helmsman as it blasted off from Earth, but the flight proved a short one, as Soundwave discovered that the Autobot spy [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] has used his invisibility powers to stow away. Before the Decepticons could react, Mirage had sabotaged the ship and sent it plummeting back towards Earth. With Soundwave unable to stop its descent, the ship crashed into the ocean, and the Autobots believed the Decepticons destroyed. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

[[Image:RollForIt SoundwavescansChip.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Soundwave performs telepathy for children's birthday parties]]

In truth, however, Soundwave and the other Decepticons had survived the crash, and after months of working in secret, reconstructed their spaceship into an [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Earth)|undersea headquarters]]. The villains revealed their continued existence to the world when Soundwave again used his inconspicuous tape player form to infiltrate a solar power plant and proceeded to take control of it, allowing the Decepticons to harvest its energy that they planned to send back to Cybertron over their new intergalactic "[[space bridge]]" transport system. Soundwave repelled an Autobot counterattack by wielding Megatron in pistol mode, but ultimately, the plan backfired when Megatron himself was caught in the space bridge's pull and believed destroyed, leaving Starscream to take control of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion}} Soundwave chafed under Starscream's inept leadership, and their first sortie with the air commander in charge ended in a comical defeat that saw Soundwave bowled over by Prowl as he ran away. Thankfully, Megatron soon returned, with a scheme to steal [[Alcazar|Doctor Alcazar]]'s [[antimatter]] formula, and Soundwave happily latched back onto his master. After Alcazar deleted the formula from his own computer, Soundwave used his mind-reading talents to acquire the formula from the brain of [[Chip Chase]]. {{storylink|Roll for It}}

[[Image:FireontheMountain SoundwaveMegsgun.jpg|left|220px|thumb|Soundwave was actually Starscream's understudy.]]

Soundwave participated in a Decepticon attack on Autobot Headquarters when Optimus Prime was mistakenly believed to be fatally wounded. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}} Soon after, during a scheme to drain heat energy from the Earth's core, the Decepticons unearthed the frozen body of Starscream's old friend [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] in the North Pole. Soundwave helped reactivate him by delivering a million-volt shock to his systems, but Skyfire ultimately sided with the Autobots to stop the Decepticons' plan. {{storylink|Fire in the Sky}} Later, Soundwave and [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] were sent on a data-gathering mission, acquiring information about the [[Great Falls]] to facilitate a Decepticon attack on the hydro-electric plant there. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

[[Image:Fireonthemountain_soundwave_vs_brawn_round1.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Soundwave's conscience is his guide, and he's not taking no crap offa nobody.]]

On a mission to the Peruvian Andes, Soundwave successfully proved that the legend of the Incan [[Crystal of Power]] was true when he deduced that the pyramid containing the fabled gemstone rested on a shaft leading to the Earth's core. On a mission to gather steel for a weapon frame to channel the crystal's power, Soundwave and Reflector were ambushed by [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] in mid-air, and Soundwave found himself driven face-first into a mountain by the small Autobot in the first of several clashes that they would engage in over the years. Soundwave tried to fight back with his own rifle, and even tried blasting Brawn with Megatron in pistol mode, but the little Autobot took everything he had to give and escaped in one piece. {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain}} Later, Soundwave's mind-reading abilities came into use again when he scanned the brains of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s, [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]], [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] and [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]], in order to determine their weaknesses. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}}

[[Image:Tud2_audio_disruptor_waves.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Come to me, jungle friends.]]

When Megatron schemed to use the space bridge to transport Cybertron into Earth's orbit, he required human slaves to gather the energy that would result from the massive natural catastrophes such an action would cause. Soundwave and his cassettes were dispatched to capture [[Sparkplug Witwicky]], who served as a guinea pig for the mind-controlling [[hypno-chip]]s created by the Decepticons' new ally, [[Doctor Arkeville]]. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} The plan to transport Cybertron was subsequently accomplished despite Autobot interference, and Soundwave ensured that energy collection could begin quickly by forcing the Autobots to flee with a barrage of painful audio disruptor waves. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}} Soundwave later transported a cache of energon cubes to the orbiting Cybertron, and was still there when a group of Autobots arrived, searching for the hypno-chip master control. In another encounter with Brawn, Soundwave was taken down by a single blast from his undersized rival, and then alerted the Decepticon forces on the planet to the Autobots' escape. It did little good, as the heroes were able to evade capture, find the hypno-chip control, free the slaves and blast Cybertron out of orbit.{{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}}

Megatron was briefly thought destroyed by the explosion that pushed Cybertron out of orbit, by the Decepticon leader soon returned to Earth, where Soundwave immediately informed him of Starscream's latest play for leadership. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}} Soundwave later accompanied Megatron and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] to [[Bali]], where they met the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}} Later still, when Megatron challenged Optimus Prime to a one-on-one duel, Soundwave and the other Decepticons contributed their [[power chip rectifier]]s to a machine built by the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] that would transfer all their powers into Megatron, so that he could win the fight with ease. While Megatron never used Soundwave's powers in the duel,<ref>In the finished episode, that is. A scene deleted from "Heavy Metal War" saw Megatron use Soundwave's mind-reading abilities to deduce Prime's next attack move.</ref> he still claimed victory, but when his breach of the rules was revealed, he, Soundwave and all the Decepticons were sent tumbling into a river of lava by the fighting-mad Autobots.{{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}

[[Image:Cityofsteel_console_destroyed.jpg|right|thumb|220px|God, I hate Vista so much!]]

As 1985 rolled in, Soundwave participated in a Decepticon attack on an Air Force base, {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} and helped in the construction of the [[Solar Needle]] in the jungles of [[South America]]. {{storylink|Changing Gears}} When Megatron sought to conquer [[New York City]], Soundwave, Rumble and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] battled a group of Autobots in [[Central Park]], and Soundwave was later put in charge of the weapons systems of the so-called "[[New Cybertron]]" that New York was being turned into. That control was soon lost, unfortunately, when a stray blast from an irate Megatron destroyed Soundwave's console. {{storylink|City of Steel}}

Soundwave and his cassettes were next sent on a distraction mission, keeping the Autobots occupied while Megatron and Starscream snuck inside their base and sabotaged their [[recharging chamber]]s with a [[Personality destabilizer device]], narrowly avoiding another pounding from Brawn in the process. {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots}} After helping to steal [[electro-cell]]s {{storylink|Traitor}} and the Autobots' new [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]] invention, {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} Soundwave was appointed to guard the captive Autobots after Megatron succeeded in trapping them in vehicle mode with the [[Transfixatron]]. The communications officer put his skills to work disabling the Autobots' communicators, but neglected to disable [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s hologram projector, which the Autobot was able to use to summon the small number of his comrades who had not been affected by the Transfixatron. [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and Ratchet developed a grenade to undo the device's effects, and together, Spike and [[Chip Chase]] outran Soundwave and Ravage to detonate it and restore the Autobots. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}}

[[Image:Dayofthemachines_espionage.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Let's see. Guitar, sound system and suspiciously plain brown box.]]

When Laserbeak and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] stumbled upon the subaquatic city of [[Sub-Atlantica]], Soundwave immediately summoned Megatron to view their findings. Megatron and the Decepticons set out for the city at once, and forged an alliance with its leader, the boastful telepathic [[Nergill|King Nergill]], in order to conquer [[Washington, D.C.]] Starscream, however, did not trust the fish-man, and had Soundwave put his own telepathic powers to use to decrypt the scrambled messages Nergill repeatedly gave to his underlings. Soundwave discovered that Nergill was planning to betray the Decepticons, leading to the breakdown of their alliance. {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

Soundwave and Megatron used their [[size changing|diminutive]] alternate modes to infiltrate [[Quantum Laboratories]] as part of a plan to take over the computer [[TORQ III]]. {{storylink|Day of the Machines}} Later, Soundwave helped steal the human-made robot ninja [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]] (finally getting one over on Brawn in the process by collapsing a balcony out from under him), and aided [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] in reprogramming the femme-bot to serve the Decepticons.{{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}}

[[Image:Insecticonsyndrome_soundwave_cerebroshelled.jpg|right|thumb|220px|He bears the mark!]]

When the Decepticons discovered strange energy emanations coming from a crevice, Soundwave dispatched the [[Autoscout]] to investigate, discovering the crevice was filled with [[Korlonium crystal]]s. Megatron schemed to create a [[Optimus Prime clone|clone of Optimus Prime]] as part of a plan to harness the crystals' power, and while the plan failed, the clone was at least impressive enough to completely fool Soundwave, and he was in on it! {{storylink|A Prime Problem}} Subsequently, Soundwave took part in the Decepticons' plan to drill to the Earth's core, {{storylink|The Core}} and was then made a mind-controlled pawn of the Insecticons, who used him to download data from the human military defense computer at [[Iron Mountain]]. Megatron and Optimus Prime were forced to team up to stop the Insecticons and destroy the [[cerebro-shell]] controlling Soundwave, erasing the data he had gathered in the process. {{storylink|The Insecticon Syndrome}}

While spying on Autobot Headquarters, Soundwave learned of the existence of the mysterious prehistoric [[Dinobot Island (G1)|Dinobot Island]], and sent Laserbeak to follow the Dinobots as they travelled there. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} Soundwave proceeded to join the Decepticons in raiding the island's energy sources, before the Autobots, Dinobots and the island's native [[dinosaur]]s saw them off. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

Using his alternate mode to infiltrate a military testing site, Soundwave and his cassettes made a hard-fought but ultimately failed attempt to steal the Autobots' new [[Negavator]] weapon. {{storylink|Auto Berserk}} Later, when human archaeologists uncovered the wreckage of the Decepticons' old space cruiser in South America, Soundwave alerted Megatron to the news report about their findings, then accompanied him to the wreckage, where they removed the ship's power source, the [[Heart of Cybertron]]. Celebrating the new power that the Heart bestowed upon Megatron, Soundwave joined his fellow Decepticons in over-energizing on energon, leaving him too inebriated to do much of anything.{{storylink|Microbots}}

[[Image:Masterplan2_disco_dolly.jpg|left|thumb|220px|All the ladies love Soundwave!]]

When Megatron framed the Autobots for energy theft and had them exiled from Earth, Soundwave took part in the Decepticons' pretense of being heroes. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} Soundwave was quite popular among the humans: a young child was heard cheering for him by name, and when he and his cassettes attended a disco, he acquired many female admirers. After Megatron revealed his deception, however, Soundwave was made the slave-master of the work camp that [[Central City (Earth)|Central City]] was turned into. Thankfully, the Autobots soon returned to Earth to clear their names and rout the Decepticons. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}}

[[Image:Dotd1_sneakiest_soundwave.jpg‎|right|thumb|220px|He's ''good''.]]

In one of his most impressible displays of sneakitude, Soundwave was able to position himself, in tape player mode, ''inside'' Ironhide's vehicle mode, ''right next'' to [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]], and spy on the test run of the [[Ultra Plane]], with neither Autobot noticing until he deployed Ravage. While Blaster wrestled with Ravage, Soundwave escaped to report to Megatron, after which he and Starscream joined their leader in attacking the lab containing the blueprints for the plane. The Autobots saw them off, but during their flight away, the Decepticons' systems began to malfunction as a result of [[cybertonium]] degradation. Soundwave's cassettes began ejecting without his command, and his flight powers gave out, sending him crashing to the ground. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}} Once repaired with fresh cybertonium from Cybertron, Soundwave joined the Decepticons on a mission to [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]]. {{storylink|A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court}}

Soundwave was among the Decepticons who were granted invincible [[electrum]] coating by the "Golden Lagoon". With their new power, the Decepticons captured [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], but when Starscream attempted to have the two Autobots fight each other for the villains' amusement, Soundwave immediately ran off and tattled on him to Megatron. {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon}}

[[Image:Child's_Play_Nitro_Soundwave.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Soundwave forever regretted wearing the novelty cat pheromone spray.]]

Following the Decepticons' alliance with the [[Geddis brothers]], {{storylink|Make Tracks}} Soundwave joined in the Decepticon attempt to create a space bridge in a baseball stadium, where he wickedly delighted in playing catch with one of the players (literally!). The Autobots soon arrived, and another brawl between Soundwave and Brawn erupted, ending when the small Autobot threw Soundwave into the space bridge. When a stray blast then activated the bridge, Soundwave and a small group of Autobots and Decepticons were inadvertently hurled to a world of alien giants. After being menaced by the huge cat [[Nitro]] and trapped in a toybox by Nitro's owner [[Aron (G1)|Aron]], Soundwave was taken with the other Transformers to the planet's authorities for study and dissection. Ravage succeeded in freeing them, and the Decepticons all escaped back to Earth through a mock space bridge Perceptor created out of a telescope. {{storylink|Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play}} Upon his return, Soundwave was caught up in the menace of the [[Morphobot]]s, {{storylink|Quest for Survival}} analyzed the energy of an alien asteroid, {{storylink|The Secret of Omega Supreme}} and helped operate the Decepticons' new [[energy magnet]]. {{storylink|Kremzeek!}}

[[Image:Autobop_soundwave_vs_blaster.jpg|right|220px|thumb|That's not sound, it's Darkseid popping up in the wrong multiverse.]]

After joining Megatron on a mission to the planet of the [[Tlalakan]]s, {{storylink|Sea Change}} Soundwave embarked on one of his most notable misadventures when, under the command of Starscream, he set about brainwashing humans with ultrasonic vibrations inside the Decepticon-built nightclub [[Dancitron]] in New York City. This led to his first major confrontation with his Autobot communications officer counterpart, Blaster, with whom he engaged in a sonic duel. Soundwave had the upper hand in the violent jam session, until Blaster used the club's sound system to magnify his own sonic attacks and win the fight. {{storylink|Auto-Bop}}

When the Decepticons captured [[Hybrid Technologies]] heiress [[Astoria Carlton-Ritz]], Soundwave tried to use the [[psycho-probe]] to read her mind, but her innate ability to jinx machines made it a challenge, and eventually led to Soundwave and Rumble being electrocuted. When [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] subsequently caused the Decepticons' new sub-orbital base to crash, it fell to Soundwave to inform Megatron that the base didn't have any forcefields. Whoops! {{storylink|The Girl Who Loved Powerglide}}

[[Image:Ktvs2 see you next fall.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Doesn't have the heart to tell Megatron it's just chocolate wrapped in gold foil.]]

On a mission to recover some incriminating footage taken by a movie studio of their activities, Soundwave showed up Starscream by pointing out that while the air commander had recovered the film reel, he had not destroyed the negative. Soundwave then helped Megatron track the negative down, but they were tricked into thinking it was destroyed by [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]]. {{storylink|Hoist Goes Hollywood}} Soon after, Soundwave accompanied Megatron to Cybertron to give life to his new [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]], helping him locate the [[Key to Vector Sigma|key]] to [[Vector Sigma]] and unlocking the door to the mega-computer's chamber. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}} Upon their return to Earth with the now-living Stuncticons, Soundwave aided Megatron in analyzing the key to discover what other powers it possessed. By happenstance, its power to de-energize matter and turn it into metal was only discovered when Soundwave tripped and dropped it. {{storylink|The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2}}

[[Image:TransEuropeExpress Galata Valley.jpg|right|thumb|220px|"Soundwave, why always rings? I demand a parallelogram or two!"]]

Soundwave soon returned to Cybertron to take part in Megatron's plan to trap the newest addition to the Autobot ranks, the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbot]]s, in the distant past, {{storylink|War Dawn}} then went back to Earth and used his scanning powers to help Megatron locate the [[Pearl of Bahoudin]]. {{storylink|Trans-Europe Express}} Soundwave later had Laserbeak monitor the [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] infection spreading through the Autobot ranks, {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}, and had the cassette remove Starscream from Decepticon Headquarters after Megatron finally banished the perennial traitor from the Decepticon ranks. When Starscream returned with his own army, the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]], Soundwave was almost able to shoot the traitor in the back until [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] caused his shot to go wild. Soundwave tried to summon the Stunticons to help, and while they initially rebuffed him, they eventually arrived to tip the scales in Megatron's favor. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

Suspecting the Autobots had tampered with Megatron's new ruby laser cannon, Soundwave advised his leader to abandon the weapon, but Megatron was caught up in a battle-frenzy and ignored him. Predictably, the weapon promptly exploded. {{storylink|Masquerade}} For his final recorded adventure in the 20th century, Soundwave invented a device to control the flow of Earth's tides. Before the Decepticons could use it, however, it was necessary to blast the moon out of orbit to remove its controlling influence, so they developed an [[orbit disruptor cannon]] to do the job. Unfortunately, the cannon would only be operated by [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], and all the Combaticons save Swindle had been destroyed, so Soundwave installed a bomb in Swindle's head to give him the incentive to gather up their parts and rebuild them. Bruticus was restored, and Soundwave participated in the Decepticon attack upon Autobot Headquarters that served as a test run for the disruptor cannon, but the complex plot was foiled when three college students used [[B.O.T. (robot)|makeshift robot]] to destroy the cannon. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}

[[Image:Tftm_dont_leave_me_soundwave.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Do you think I'd leave you dying, when there's room on my horse for two?]]

Over the course of the following twenty years, the Decepticons withdrew from Earth and focused all their efforts on conquering Cybertron entirely. By the year 2005, they had accomplished this goal, and the Autobots were consigned to their new "[[Autobot City]]" on Earth, and to bases on two of Cybertron's moon. Thanks to Laserbeak and Soundwave, Megatron learned of an upcoming Autobot strike against Cybertron, and resolved to cripple their war effort by destroying Autobot City. During [[Battle of Autobot City|the subsequent battle]], Soundwave was instructed to jam a distress call to Optimus Prime from Blaster, so he sent Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy and [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] to dismantle the communications array being used to broadcast it. Blaster's own team of cassettes fended Soundwave's off, and the call made it through, summoning Optimus Prime and a support team to aid the stricken city. A fateful final battle between Prime and Megatron ensued, which ended with Prime's dead and Megatron mortally wounded. As the other Decepticons beat a hasty retreat, Soundwave demonstrated his loyalty to his leader by recovering his damaged body and carrying him aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], but when it became necessary to jettison excess weight so that the Decepticons could safely make it back to Cybertron, Soundwave made no move to stop Starscream from setting Megatron adrift in space. In fact, with Megatron gone, Soundwave himself made a bid for leadership, declaring himself a superior choice to the Constructicons and deploying his cassettes to fight for his honor. Starscream ultimately emerged victorious in the fight for leadership, but during his coronation ceremony, Megatron returned, having been recreated by the giant transforming god-planet [[Unicron]] into [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. Galvatron promptly killed Starscream, and Soundwave started cheering for his returned leader.

[[Image:Ffod1_cons_on_chaar.jpg|right|thumb|220px|"I used to have [[Cyclonus (G1)|that guy's]] job ya know". "Suuure, gramps, suuuuure".]]

Galvatron's leadership did not get off to a great start, however: Unicron soon attacked Cybertron, and while he was destroyed by the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]], Galvatron was lost to the depths of space, and the leaderless Decepticons, in a state of disarray after Unicron's attack, were easily routed and forced off Cybertron by the Autobots and their new leader, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]]. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}} Low on energy, Soundwave and the other Decepticons were forced to relocate to the burned-out planet [[Chaar]], where they eked out a miserable existence on the brink of death. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}} When Rodimus Prime and Grimlock came to Chaar to investigate a mysterious attack on the [[Galactic Olympics]], Soundwave and the Decepticons attacked them, {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} and were then later approached by the true instigators of the Olympics attack, the alien [[Quintesson]]s, with the prospect of an alliance. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}} Under the Quintessons' instructions, Soundwave and the other Decepticons launched an attack on the Autobots on the planet [[Goo 8739B]], during which Galvatron returned, having been found by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}} With Galvatron back in charge, Soundwave was amongst the Decepticons who were sent to Earth to try and stop [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[Transformation cog|transforming cog]] from being delivered. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}

[[Image:Cminor soundwave white noise.jpg|left|thumb|220px|Disco! Disco!]]

In 2006, Soundwave went with Galvatron, Cyclonus, [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and the [[Sweep]]s to search for [[isidrite]] in an asteroid belt. Soundwave dispatched Ratbat to search for the mineral, only for the cassette to discover that the Autobots were already mining it. {{storylink|Webworld}} Soon after, Soundwave accompanied Galvatron to the planet [[Eurythma]] to investigate a mysterious sonic weapon. They discovered that sound and music were the way of life on the planet, and Soundwave was entranced by the planet's perfect melodies, specifically the destructive [[harmony]] weapon, which was shared by three Eurythmans. One by one, Soundwave coerced from them each piece of the harmony, recording and combing them with the intention of turning the musical maelstrom upon Autobot City. He was defeated, however, when the Eurythmans countered the harmony with [[anti-sound]], and Blaster erased his recordings. {{storylink|Carnage in C-Minor}}

Soundwave was among those transfixed by a hypnotic Quintesson signal {{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006}}, then later aided in the Decepticon conquest of the peaceful planet [[Paradron]]. {{storylink|Fight or Flee}} Later still, during a battle on Earth's [[moon (moon)|moon]], Soundwave was shocked when his ejection system activated on its own, releasing Ravage, Ratbat, [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]], who departed with all the other "[[Primitive]]" Transformers present to follow a mysterious [[Oracle (G1)|voice]]. Mere moments later, the threat these Primitives had been summoned to fight, [[Tornedron]], arrived on the moon and drained the energy from all the Transformers present, Soundwave included. Thankfully, the Primitives succeeded in defeating Tornedron and restoring everyone's energy. {{storylink|Call of the Primitives}}

For his final appearance, Soundwave was seen playing back the latest piece of information gathered by Ratbat: two human scientists had discovered the body of Optimus Prime, which Galvatron resolved to destroy once and for all. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}

==Madman ''The Transformers'' comic==
[[Image:Madman comic Soundwave ejects tapes.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Where the HELL does he get room for all those tapes?]]
In 2001, Soundwave and his squad of cassettes were deployed to the construction site of [[Autobot City]] while the balance of the Autobot forces were engaged in an evacuation of Cybertron. He managed to record a secret conversation between Optimus Prime and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] where the Autobot leaders discussed hiding the Autobot [[Matrix of Leadership]] in a bunker at the build site, against the chance Prime would be captured or destroyed while off-world. Soundwave returned to the not-so-secret bunker and deployed his minions to dig up the Matrix. Just as the artifact had been secured and Soundwave was about to call for retrieval, the young Autobot [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] took the Matrix and defeated Soundwave's team. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
{{-}}

==Japanese cartoon continuity==
{{note|The events of American cartoon continuity, as detailed above, occur in the Japanese timeline, except the events of 2006 are pushed back to 2010. The Japanese continuity proceeds to insert many new storylines and events in, around, before and after the events of the Generation 1 cartoon, as covered below.}}

===e-HOBBY comics===
Early during Megatron's attempted conquest of Cybertron, Soundwave was among his troops of [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]s and [[Silver Soldier]]s, raiding Autobot energy warehouses. Their attack was cut short by the unexpected arrival of a [[Guardian robot]], who quickly trounced everybody. {{storylink|64 Cybertron Urban Defense Robot GADEP}}

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic===
[[Image:Soundwave srlf manga.jpg|left|180px|thumb|It's like if Power Rangers had really cheap zords.]]

In the late 1980s, while Megatron and the Decepticons engaged the Autobots in battle in Arizona, Soundwave and his cassettes were dispatched to do something unspecified (but likely ''evil'') in [[Tokyo]]. Optimus Prime dispatched a unit of Autobots led by [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and [[Kenji]] to track them down. He was ultimately defeated when Bumblebee got the drop on him with a patented "Bumble-Kick" and shattered his chest. This made it impossible for his cassette forces to return to him, leaving them to be captured as well. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2}} When he next appeared, Soundwave hadn't quite got over his injuries, and was seen with bandages stuck to his chest-window. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 3}}

===''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' story pages===
When Soundwave learned that the Autobots were keeping themselves in shape by having a friendly race, he set up a trap within a narrow canyon, walling the Autobots in and opening fire on them. Luckily, [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] arrived on the scene and delivered a powerful punch to Soundwave's chest, shattering his tape door once again. Soundwave immediately fled. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (story page)|Anime Theater 2: Sic' Em, Hound!}}

Blaster battled Soundwave in what seemed to be the foothills of the Alps, while Perceptor kept the Decepticon communicator's cassettes busy. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (story page)#Part 5|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers story page #5}}
{{-}}

===''Scramble City''===
[[Image:Soundwave_scramblecity.jpg|right|thumb|220px|"Soundwave...you do know there are laws against exposing yourself, right?"]]
Before the 1980s were over, the Decepticons detected some unusual magnetic field fluctuations, and Megatron ordered Soundwave to send Ratbat, Laserbeak and Ravage to investigate. The cassettes discovered a hidden cavern where the Autobots were constructing a mighty battle fortress named "[[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]]", and Soundwave promptly took this information to Megatron. {{storylink|Scramble City: Mobilization}}
{{-}}

===Full Throttle Scramble Power!===

[[Image:Fullthrottle_tape_fight.jpg|left|thumb]]
Soundwave was present when the Decepticons terrorized the Earth with their new "[[Omega Whip]]" cannon and captured the Autobots' human allies [[Toru]] and [[Jenny (G1)|Jenny]]. When the two humans tried to escape, Soundwave released Ravage to stop them, but Blaster then appeared to dispatch the cassette. Blaster and Soundwave proceeded to grapple as more Autobots arrived and the battle grew bigger and bigger, and when Metroplex arrived, he actually collided with Soundwave and knocked the Decepticon for a loop. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}
{{-}}
===''The Battle of the Star Gate''===

[[Image:Soundwave stargate battles.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Fear his [[Mickey Mouse]] ears.]]

In the 1990s, continued Autobot/human interaction led to a formal alliance being forged between the heroic robots and the American government and the construction of an interstellar teleport system called the [[Trigger]]. Naturally, the Trigger space station was a prime target for the Decepticons, and Soundwave was instrumental in taking over the device, as he hacked into its systems and placed it under Decepticon control. Unfortunately for the Decepticons, the sole surviving member of the Trigger's crew, [[Makoto (Star Gate)|Makoto]], activated the system and blasted them into space before they could take control of it, and the Autobots soon arrived to send the Decepticons packing.{{storylink|First Contact}}

[[Image:Stargatebattles_soundwave_and_megs.jpg|left|thumb|275px|"You ever feel the magic has gone out of our relationship?" "Shut up, Soundwave".]]

Three months later, while the Trigger was still undergoing repairs after the damage the previous battle had caused, Soundwave patched through a transmission from Laserbeak, who was spying on a test run of the new human-built [[C-X]] battle droid. When the droid ran amok during the test and tried to kill Optimus Prime, the amused Megatron thought Soundwave was responsible for hacking the robot's systems, but Soundwave denied it. {{storylink|Divided Views}} In truth, the drone had been possessed by the time-displaced ghost of Starscream from the future, and he was not yet through making mischief in the past. Starscream's ghost teamed up with his present day counterpart, and together, the two Starscreams took control of the repaired Trigger and possessed it, transforming it into a giant, twisted robot form. Soundwave was among the massive armada of Decepticons and Autobots who battled the giant Starscream-thing, which was ultimately defeated when Prime and Megatron combined their power to destroy the traitor's new body. Soundwave and all the other Transformers were caught in the backwash of the explosion and sent tumbling towards Earth in uncontrolled re-entry, not to be heard from again for many months. {{storylink|The Battle of the Star Gate}}
{{-}}

===''Music Label''===

In 2007, Soundwave created a series of diminutive clones of himself, disguised as portable MP3 players, and disseminated them among the populace of Earth as part of a plan to brainwash the youth of the world with hypnotic music.

{{note|While the [[Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)|2007 Takara timeline]] placed the events of the ''[[Transformers Music Label]]'' storyline in the Generation 1 cartoon continuity, this is not without confusion. According to the ''Music Label'' story, Soundwave was foiled in this plan by Optimus Prime, who added a pair of speakers to his trailer that broadcast a frequency to stop the Decepticon's brainwashing. As Prime was ''dead'' at this point in the timeline, this can't have been how things went down in this version of events. However, given the way the timeline is unhelpfully laid out, it's not impossible that this adventure may take place not in the mainstream timeline, but in the branched-off parallel dimension of the ''Binaltech'' storyline, where Optimus did not die.}}

===''The Headmasters'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Issei Masamune]] (Japanese), [[Guillermo Romano]] (Latin American)

[[Image:MysteryPlanetMaster BlasterVsSoundwave.jpg|right|220px|thumb|"Stop! I'm unarmed!"]]
The Decepticons went off the radar for the year that followed Optimus Prime's resurrection, but in 2011, they returned in full force. When Vector Sigma began to destabilize as a consequence of Optimus Prime releasing the energy of the Matrix, Galvatron led the Decepticons' newest troops, the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]], in an attack on Cybertron in an attempt to secure the computer and restore a Decepticon power balance to the planet. To prevent Autobot reinforcements from Earth reaching Cybertron, Soundwave and a legion of other Decepticons under the command of the faction's new Earth commander, [[Sixshot]], kept the Autobots on the planet busy in a large battle. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} In an attempt to learn the Autobots' plan of action, Soundwave and his cassettes infiltrated Autobot City, and although they were discovered by Blaster and his own cassettes, they were able to escape with the knowledge that the Matrix was hidden somewhere on Earth, and that the Autobots were preparing to search for it. Blaster and [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] subsequently embarked on a search mission to the [[Arctic]], where Soundwave and his cassettes attacked them. Blaster covered Hot Rod's escape, and he and Soundwave engaged in a one-on-one battle, with shattered chests and severed limbs aplenty. It momentarily appeared that Soundwave had won the battle when Blaster collapsed, but seconds later, the fatal damage Blaster had inflicted upon him made itself apparent, as Soundwave's body exploded. His cassettes scooped up as much of his remains as they could and beat a retreat, but Soundwave was triumphant in death, as Blaster too died seconds later. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}}

[[Image:ReturnImmortal Emperor Soundblaster.jpg|left|220px|thumb|He's gone black. Will he go back?]]

Soundwave's remains were brought back to Chaar by his cassettes, where the Decepticon Headmaster leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] was able to use the super-science of planet [[Master (planet)|Master]] to restore him to life. Reborn in a new black body, Soundwave was rechristened '''Soundblaster''', and following a reunion with his delighted cassettes, immediately went straight back to working for the Decepticon cause. Soundblaster was, in fact, instrumental to the Decepticons' newest plan, as he used his broadcasting powers to send signals from a sonic control device implanted in his chest to direct the actions of the villains' newest weapon, the [[Madmachine]], in another attack on Cybertron. As coincidence would have it, Autobot Headmaster leader [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]] had also used the science of Master to restore Blaster to life as "Twincast", and the two rivals clashed for the first time in their new lives when the Autobot destroyed Soundblaster's sonic control and foiled the Decepticons' plot. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}}

Soundblaster was among the Decepticons who invaded and enslaved the planet [[Beast (planet)|Beast]]. {{storylink|Rebellion on Planet Beast}} Later, he dispatched Ratbat to spy on the Autobots and learn more about a mysterious blackmailer holding six countries to ransom, reporting his findings to Cyclonus and Scourge. {{storylink|Terror! The Six Shadows}} Later still, Soundblaster and his cassette force were able to infiltrate Cybertron's lowest levels and spy on Vector Sigma, discovering that the mega-computer had developed a powerful new alloy named [[cybertonuron]]. Acting on Soundblaster's information, Galvatron staged a massive attack on Cybertron, {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} but Scorponok plotted treachery, planting a bomb in Vector Sigma's chamber in order to destroy the alloy, rather than let Galvatron gain its power. When Galvatron discovered this, Soundblaster attempted to stop him from going to Vector Sigma's chamber, but Galvatron ignored him, and paid for his hubris when the bomb detonated in his face, destroying the cybertonuron and reducing Cybertron to a burnt out husk. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

[[Image:Hm11 reporting to scorponok.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Will the undead please stand up?]]

With Galvatron having disappeared in the destruction of Cybertron, Soundblaster met with the other senior Decepticons to discuss what should be done next. During their meeting, the shadowed figure of Galvatron appeared in the room, but Soundblaster quickly analyzed the newcomer's voice pattern, and realized it was not Galvatron, but Scorponok engaging in a bout of gallows humor. Shedding his disguise, Scorponok claimed that Galvatron was still alive, and that while he could not reveal where he was, he had commanded Scorponok to lead in his absence. None of the Decepticons were entirely convinced (in truth, it was a bold-faced lie), but Soundblaster, in need of a leader to follow, chose to accept it as truth, and followed Scorponok's command to send Ratbat to spy on the Autobot/human launch of the [[Sol 1]] satellite. {{storylink|The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok}} Soon after, when Scorponok began scheming to keep the Autobots occupied on Earth with various threads, Soundblaster and his cassettes kept an eye on the Autobots' movements and were able to inform their leader that his plans were working. {{storylink|The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts}}{{storylink|Head On!! Fortress Maximus}}

[[Image:Hm14 soundblaster triggers bombs.jpg|left|thumb|220px]]

Following Scorponok's instructions, Soundwave directed the planting of [[plasma energy]] bombs beneath the surface of [[Mars (planet)|Mars]], in order to destroy the planet and harvest even more of the energy. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger}} At Scorponok's command, Soundblaster then recalled all available Decepticons to Chaar, where they all witnessed their leader's dramatic unveiling of his gigantic new Transtector. With this powerful new body, Scorponok kept the Autobots occupied while Soundblaster himself pressed the fateful button that detonated the plasma bombs and destroyed Mars. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears}}

Soundblaster and his cassettes did not take kindly to the arrival of Scorponok's new intelligence officer, [[Punch (G1)|Counterpunch]], who irked Soundblaster with his remarkable ability to dig up information that Soundblaster couldn't. Of course, Soundblaster had no idea that Counterpunch was able to do this because he was really the Autobot spy, Punch, and so he and his cassettes set out to prove themselves by going to Earth to see what Autobots secrets they could unearth. Unable to find any information, Soundblaster was moping around the Decepticon Earth base when a story suddenly dropped itself right into his lap: a glowing UFO descended from the sky and abducted Sixshot right before his eyes! Soundblaster attempted to report his findings to Scorponok during a battle with the Autobots on Earth's moon, but there and then, the UFO reappeared, and its owner was revealed to be Galvatron, who had survived his appeared destruction and retook leadership of the Decepticons. {{storylink|Return of the Immortal Emperor}}

[[Image:Hm23_soundblaster_draws.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Sound doesn't travel in space, moron.]]

Soundblaster and the Decepticon Headmasters were manning the scanners at the Decepticon base on Chaar when the [[Horrorcon]]s arrived to join up with Galvatron's forces. {{storylink|Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever!!}} Soon after, Soundblaster joined the Decepticons on a series of interplanetary energy raids, helping to scan the spaceways and communications channels to keep his leader appraised of Autobot and alien activity as they went from planet [[Hive (planet)|Hive]] {{storylink|Fight to the Death on Planet Hive!!}} to [[Twin Star]] {{storylink|Battle for Defense of the False Planet}} to [[Daros]]. {{storylink|Find MegaZarak's Weak Spot!!}} The Decepticons' quest eventually brought them to [[Pirate Planet]], where they were stymied in their pursuit of the planet's fabled energy by their inability to enter the pyramid that held it. Soundblaster observed [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] departing for the field of debris near the planet, and, suspecting they knew something he didn't, followed them. Soundblaster proceeded to ambush the two heroes and demand they share their information, but Daniel was able to get the drop on the Decepticon with his video game light gun, which Highbrow had amped up into a real weapon. {{storylink|Mystery of the Space Pirate Ship}}

When the Decepticons returned to Earth, Sixshot proceeded to lead a series of major attacks upon the Autobot forces. Soundblaster reported to Galvatron on the departure of Fortress Maximus from Athenia, and suggested sending Scorponok to keep him busy. Galvatron was wary, knowing Scorponok had his own agenda, but Soundblaster vowed to follow him and keep an eye on him, and Galvatron agreed. However, Soundblaster was surprisingly lax in his duty, as Scorponok didn't bother engaging Fortress, and Soundblaster didn't report this at all! {{storylink|Ultra Magnus Dies!!}}

[[Image:Hm30_soundblaster_in_hiding.jpg||left|thumb|220px|Grand Cybertron Hide N'Seek Champion, 7 million years running.]]

Following Galvatron's death at the hands of the Headmasters and Scorponok's subsequent re-assumption of Decepticon leadership, Soundblaster was among the Decepticons who travelled with his new leader to the planet [[Master (planet)|Master]]. {{storylink|Miraculous Warriors, Targetmasters (Part 2)}} When the Autobots followed them there, Soundblaster boldly infiltrated their spaceship, the ''Maximus'', and spied on them with Ratbat. When he was discovered, however, he leapt overboard and flew back to the surface of Master, inadvertently leading the Autobot [[Targetmaster]]s to the Decepticons' hidden subterranean base. {{storylink|The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide}} Soundblaster was able to repay them in kind after a later battle, though, when he stealthily followed the retreating Targetmasters and discovered that the Autobots had started working with the young warriors of Master. {{storylink|Operation: Destroy the Decepticons}}

After Scorponok successfully completed construction of his new [[Zarak Shield]] weapon, the Decepticons headed back to Earth, but as they were passing through the asteroid belt, Soundblaster noticed a malfunction in their propulsion system that required them to set down for repairs. While they were resting there, Soundblaster detected the approach of an object, which turned out to be Sixshot, who had become separated from the Decepticons on an earlier leg of their journey. {{storylink|Duel on the Asteroid}}

Finally, once the Decepticons returned to Earth, Scorponok began raising "[[Death Tower]]s" of [[crysmagnetal]] at strategic points around the Earth, intending to use them to tear the planet apart. While on patrol in the Alps, Soundblaster observed the passage of the Autobots' battleship, and radioed the Decepticons in Egypt to let them know of their enemies' approach. Subsequently, with all the Death Towers in place, Soundblaster participated in the climactic battle between the Autobot and Decepticons armies at the South Pole, which ended when Fortress Maximus destroyed Scorponok's Transtector and saved the planet. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}

===''The Headmasters'' comic===
[[Image:Hm manga8 master chrome hurricane.jpg|right|thumb|220px]]
After their defeat at the North Pole, the Decepticons were preparing to retreat from Earth entirely when Scorponok instructed Soundblaster to remain on the planet in secret to act as a spy for the Decepticons. Soundblaster proved that he wasn't up to the challenge by making his presence and intentions known almost instantly when he kicked [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] square in the face and took the [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Witwicky]] family hostage. [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] was left powerless to do anything but surrender, as [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]] brutalized [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and threatened [[Carly]]. Daniel finally snapped and beat the living crap out of the two Cassette dinosaurs, leaving Soundblaster open to Chromedome's poorly named "Master-Chrome Hurricane Throw to the End of Hell!" Chromedome chucked Soundblaster over the horizon, and when he recovered from his fall, he found Sixshot staring down at him. Demanding to know what Sixshot wanted, Soundblaster was informed that the six-changer was no longer affiliated with the Decepticons, and wanted to travel from planet to planet, learning new transformations. One day, Sixshot told him, he wanted to learn how to transform into a human! Soundblaster was left absolutely dumbfounded by this, unable to even compute such a concept, and wagering it would be a few million years before he could. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 8}}
{{--}}
===''Super-God Masterforce'' comic===

Years later, the image of Soundwave was among the holograms of older Decepticons projected by [[King Poseidon]] to deceive and confuse the Autobots under [[Ginrai]]'s command. {{storylink|Burn, Super Soul! The New Commander Super Ginrai!}}

==Notes==
[[Image:SoundwaveButtonUD3.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"When I think about you, I touch myself."]]

* The G1 cartoon almost always depicted him as having to press all his own controls to eject minions or perform other functions even though these are actually part of him. This has led to many a shot of Soundwave pressing his own crotch. What will the children think?

* According to the original script<ref>http://boltax.blogspot.com/2011/02/ron-friedman-auctions-scripts-part-3-of.html</ref> for [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]], "Sound Wave" transformed into "a LIGHT STANDARD - identical to the one that exists a short distance away, the perfect camouflage". So... yes, he really ''did'' turn into a lamppost on Cybertron.

* Soundwave's distinctive voice proved to be one of Generation 1's most memorable aspects. The [[Wikipedia:Vocoder|highly processed voice]] (processed by [[Scott Brownlee]]) began with [[Frank Welker]] basically doing his "Dr. Claw" voice from ''[[Wikipedia:Inspector Gadget|Inspector Gadget]]''. Whether due to variations in the performance or the processing, the final result varied quite a bit across Soundwave's three seasons on the show. Occasionally, as in the episodes "[[Roll for It]]" and "[[Webworld]]", the processing was left out and Welker's actual voice can be heard. This Dr. Claw version of Soundwave's voice made a return when Welker reprised the [[Soundwave (ROTF)|role]] for ''[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]'' as the processing was, again, left out.

* Similarly, he often emphasizes words at random, such as his well-known "RavAAAAAGE", or "LAAZABEEK". This may be a side effect of the voice doctoring in the cartoon.

*In the Mandarin dub, Soundwave had a glorious, operatic voice.

[[Image:Soundwave fly.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Hey, wait for me!"]]

* The typically emotionally-barren Soundwave actually ''laughs'' on two separate occasions in the Generation 1 cartoon ("[[Quest for Survival]]" and "[[Auto-Bop]]"), while he ''screams like a little girl'' only once ("[[Roll for It]]").

* Soundwave has flown in his [[alternate mode|alt mode]] one time, in the episode "[[Masquerade]]." In [[Atlus]]'s ''[[The Transformers (PS2)|Transformers]]'' game, Soundwave can transform to tape deck mode and kind of bounces around to move in that form. No, really.

* In the Japanese dub of the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]], as well as the supporting [[manga]], all of Soundwave's cassette forces which could talk referred to him as "Anikii" (兄貴い) or "Big Brother." This is a fairly common way to refer to others you admire and such in Japanese. It's also a term that gang members use toward older, more experienced members who aren't actual gang bosses. Take it as you will. Whatever it says about his relationship with them, it does give new meaning to the phrase [[Wikipedia:Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)|"Big Brother is watching over you"]].
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==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Beast Wars Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Decepticons]]
[[Category:Music Label]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce Decepticons]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Decepticons]]