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Wasp

2009-09-02T22:12:19Z

65.182.91.133: /* Notes */

{{factions|autobot|decepticon}}
{{disambig2|the ill-destined wasp robot from ''Animated''|the ill-destined wasp robot from ''Beast Wars''|Waspinator (BW)}}

:''Wasp was an [[Autobot]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]]. After a freak mutation, he donned a [[Decepticon]] [[insignia]] and took the name '''Waspinator'''.''

[[Image:WaspAutobot.jpg|right|225px|thumb|Wasp and Bee. Obvious, with hindsight.]]
'''Wasp''' is a lot like [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]... physically, at least. Built from the same chassis and sharing many of the same specifications and subroutines, the two Autobots attended boot camp together. Wasp's pompous, smarmy personality leaves something to be desired, but he had a lot going for him as a soldier, being highly skilled in the use of his stingers and knowing just how to toe the line with the drill sergeant. In a better life, he might have been [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] commander material.

''Might'' have.

These days, though, Wasp is a broken bot, mentally unstable and on the run from the Autobots who have branded him a traitor. And, thanks to [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia's]] experimentation, he's been reformatted into a high-powered, techno-organic monstrosity. What little remains of his mind is focused on just one goal... destroying Bumblebee, the bot who ruined his life!

{{bigquote|You were always mean to me and Bumblebee. You may not be a traitor... but you were ''never'' a good bot.|[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] tells Wasp off|"[[Where Is Thy Sting?]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Tom Kenny]] (English), [[Jaron Löwenberg]] (German)
Wasp was a cadet in the same group as Bumblebee, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]], [[Ironhide (Animated)|Ironhide]] and [[Shockwave (Animated)|Longarm]]. Right away, Wasp took a dislike to Bumblebee, insulting him out of the blue as the yellow bot mused to himself about his future in the Elite Guard. He also dubbed Bulkhead a "[[Mudflap (slang)|mudflap]]", much to the amusement of his fellow cadets. The loud-mouthed drill sergeant [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Minor]] took an immediate liking to "Wasp", as he dubbed him due to being impressed with his accuracy with his stingers - it was Bumblebee "bumbling" in trying to compete with this that led to his own name being assigned. Wasp and Ironhide quickly became close friends, often competing in little tests of strength, usually involving Wasp hitting or stinging Ironhide while the latter was in armor mode.

After Bumblebee "bumbled" several more times, leading to many [[transform-up]]s for the whole group, Wasp and Ironhide decided to take matters into their own hands, unscrewing Bumblebee's lower legs and leaving them out of reach even before they dumped the rest of him in a locker.

Unbeknown to Wasp, however, the reason for Bumblebee's foul-ups was that he was trying to out a traitor in the group—and had pegged Wasp as the likely culprit after seeing him walk out of a hangar in which someone had contacted [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. (Plus, let's face it, he was a complete jerk. And Decepticons are jerks, [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|right?]]) At Longarm's prompting, Bumblebee eventually found evidence incriminating Wasp as a spy. Wasp was stripped of his Autobot insignia and wheeled away, protesting his innocence and swearing revenge on Bumblebee.

[[Image:WaspAnimated2.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Wasp was once a 'Bot...]]

Many years later, Wasp escaped from Autobot custody and apparently eluded the now-Sentinel Prime by jumping through a [[space bridge]]. What was left of Wasp hid beneath the bridge as Sentinel left, [[Waspinator (BW)|buzzing and twittering to himself]], still swearing revenge on "Bumblebot". In reality, however, the innocent bot—broken mentally by his years of imprisonment—had been set up with evidence planted by "Longarm", who had also arranged Wasp's "escape" to divert suspicion from himself. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

Needless to say, when the truth was revealed to Bumblebee by his old "friend", Longarm Prime (aka the Decepticon Shockwave), he took it pretty hard. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

[[Image:WhereIsThySting-Bumblebeecreepilydefeated.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Bee-st Wars!]]

Wasp headed straight for the Autobots' base on Earth, with Sentinel Prime and [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] in pursuit. Waiting until Bumblebee was left alone on monitor duty (and actually playing ''[[Ninja Gladiator]]'' instead), he struck during a power outage, knocking Bumblebee cold and switching color schemes, helmets and even speech synthesizers with his rival. When Bumblebee came to, the others had returned and had him prisoner, with the disguised Wasp at their side. Despite Bumblebee's muffled cries, the Autobots fell for Wasp's ruse, forcing Bumblebee to flee into the night. Wasp stayed behind as the others tracked Bumblebee down, allowing him to try beating Bumblebee's video game and to search through Bumblebee's personal files.

When the others returned, joined by Sentinel, Jazz, [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] and [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]], Wasp was able to recount several of Bumblebee's adventures which were logged in his files to keep the Autobots confused as to which bot was which. Unfortunately for Wasp, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] proposed the two battle against each other in in ''Ninja Gladiator'', so that Bumblebee's video game skills would be readily apparent and the traitor revealed. Before their video game could begin, Wasp panicked and attacked Bumblebee, holding him hostage so he could make his escape. Wasp left Bumblebee with one final indignity, turning off the [[electronic paint job]] he'd installed in Bee and stealing his helmet back... tricking Bulkhead into pummeling the real Bumblebee while Wasp fled. {{storylink|Where Is Thy Sting?}}

The Autobots continued to pursue an erratic Wasp, though for different reasons: Sentinel Prime was still commanding the Elite Guard to bring him in on suspicion of treason, while Optimus and Bumblebee just wanted to help him (or at least keep him from damaging himself and bystanders during his crazed flight). In the midst of a pursuit through the streets of Detroit, Bumblebee tried once again to convince Wasp that he was now known to be innocent and was set up by Longarm, but Wasp refused to listen. During the chase, Wasp was suddenly abducted by [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]], who carried him to [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]].

[[Image:PredaconsRising_Waspinator.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Waspinator's back...and he's tired of being comic relief.]]

Wasp soon found himself in [[Meltdown (Animated)|Meltdown]]'s old underground lab going ga-ga over [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]. The spiderbot used her feminine wiles and familiar-sounding sob stories of Autobot betrayal to win Wasp's trust, and she convinced him to undergo an organic power augmentation procedure by impressing him with the ferocity of her own beast mode (while shielding him from seeing the disfigured mutant corpses left behind from her prior experiments). Wasp entered one [[transwarp]] chamber, a real organic wasp was put into another, and out came... Waspinator, three times larger than before, with more powerful energy "stings" and a deeper, heavily processed, voice.

When he was finally tracked down by Bumblebee, who apologized to him, he decided that while "Wasp" forgave his former accuser, "Waspinator" preferred violent revenge. But before Waspinator could deliver the final blow, he overheard Blackarachnia admitting to the Autobots that she only viewed her new "friend" as another experimental attempt to cure her own organic infection. Irate at yet another betrayal, Waspinator started attacking everybody—and if that wasn't scary enough, his transwarp energy became unstable. Just as Waspinator reached critical mass, Blackarachnia sealed them both within a cocoon of her energy webbing, containing the explosion of transwarp energy.
[[Image:TFAni Predacons Rising Waspinator Hazz Planzzz.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Some assembly required.]]
While only a crater was left on Dinobot Island, Waspinator and Blackarachnia were teleported by the transwarp energy to an unknown jungle. Although reduced to pieces by the explosion, Waspinator was still functional, and slowly began putting himself back together. After all, he couldn't go offline yet... because "Wazzzpinator hazz planzzz!" {{storylink|Predacons Rising}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Waspinatoranimateddeluxe.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Finally Blackarachnia has a pal... and by "pal", we mean "guinea pig".]]
*'''Waspinator''' (Deluxe class, 2009)

:Despite his cartoon origins, Waspinator is ''not'' a [[redeco]] or [[Retool|retooling]] of Bumblebee. Part of the sixth wave of ''Animated'' Deluxe-class toys, Waspinator transforms from a techno-organic wasp into a techno-organic, four-armed, winged robot that resembles his ''[[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' namesake, only far freakier-looking. In both modes, a lever on the thorax flaps his wings back and forth.

:His antennae are made of softer rubber, to allow them to be wedged within his insect head, as well as [[for safety reasons]].

{{-}}
*'''Fugitive Waspinator''' (Deluxe, 2010?)
**''Accessories'': Detachable twin boosters

: 'Fugitive Waspinator', apparently named such because of [[Trademark|trademark issues]], represents Wasp before he became a freak mutant. He is a simple [[redeco]] of Deluxe class Bumblebee. At BotCon, Hasbro explained 'Either [[Ironhide (Animated)|Ironhide]] got a new head, or Wasp did.' They went with the former.
{{comingsoontoy}}

==Notes==
*A wasp and a bee, sharing the same mold? [[Waspinator (BW)|How]] [[Buzz Saw|preposterous]]!

*The small, vestigial arms present on the Deluxe Waspinator toy's robot mode torso have their origin in an early design concept for [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]]; the bounty hunter robot's character model was subsequently altered to make his appearance less monstrous, but [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] loved the concept of the vestigial arms enough to incorporate them instead into Waspinator's design.<ref>[http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2008/05/evolution-of-lockdown.html The Evolution of Lockdown ] and [http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2008/10/tfa-s3-chin-on.html TFA S3: CHIN ON!]</ref>

*The signature quote given to Waspinator on his toy packaging is "Waspinator rules!", one of several iconic catchphrases associated with the original ''[[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' incarnation of Waspinator. He uttered it in "[[A Better Mousetrap]]" and "[[Maximal, No More]]".

* Derrick Wyatt states on his blog that this incarnation of Waspinator is inspired by his ''Beast Wars'' counterpart, but made more monstrous and buglike. Wyatt examined photographs of actual wasps, nature shows like "Life in the Undergrowth" and monster movies for inspiration. The FX studio, Audio Circus, added insectoid clicks and other background sounds for the character.<ref>[http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2009/04/oh-canada-here-i-come.html Oh Canada, here I come!]</ref>

* In technorganic mode, Wasp is capable of firing energy blasts from his vestigial arms. This is assumed to be the mutated version of his original stinger attack, similar to Elita-1/Blackarachnia retaining her downloading power.

* Not including [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]], who never showed his Cybertronian alt-mode, Wasp is the only character to have shown 3 different alt-modes throughout the show (Cybertronian race car, green version of Capt. Fanzone's car, and giant wasp).

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category: Animated characters]]
[[Category: Autobots]]
[[Category: Decepticons]]

All Hail Megatron issue 3

2009-08-24T20:41:59Z

65.182.91.133: /* Advertisements */

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''[[All Hail Megatron]]'' #3
|prev=All Hail Megatron issue 2
|next=All Hail Megatron issue 4
|image=AHM_03_CoverA.jpg
|caption=Smirkus Maximus
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[September 17]], [[2008]]
|coverdate=September 2008
|written by=[[Shane McCarthy]]
|art by=[[Guido Guidi]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Neil Uyetake]] & [[Chris Mowry]]
|edits by=[[Denton J. Tipton]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|All Hail Megatron]]
}}
'''The Decepticons finish conquering the United States and bask in victory.'''

==Synopsis==
At the platform in one of New York's subway stations, a crowd of weary and fearful refugees is gathered. A broken man walks in down the stairs, and his young, scared son runs to him asking to go home. The man explains to another refugee that his son doesn't know what's going on—and he reassures his son that they'll be out soon. Right on cue, a train starts coming... specifically, a D62 steam locomotive. Transforming, Astrotrain quickly caves in the subway station, burying the fleeing crowd.

Back at the military base camp in Central Park, General Witwicky continues to receive reports on the situation outside, and orders his troops to take cover from the [[Decepticon]] raids by holing up in the residential areas. Reports begin to trickle in of [[California|Los Angeles and San Diego]] being under attack. Noting the effectiveness of the attack so far, and how the 'cons have built an excellent strike base, Witwicky remarks on how they're facing off against a very impressive military genius. He continues to be updated on the situation, of how anything short of carpet bombing the continental United States would be useless (which naturally isn't an option) and remarks on how the U.S. Navy has been scuttled. As the assembled command crew remark how dire the situation is, Witwicky is still determined to defend his country... until they get the message that the capital has been taken, and Air Force One has been destroyed and crashed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, leaving him speechless.

As Megatron surveys the carnage and destruction in [[New York City]], Hook reports that the construction of ''something'' has begun, but questions the choice of location given the substandard building materials. Megatron reassures him, explaining that the location was one of the planet's greatest cities, and Hook leaves to continue the work. No sooner has he left than Starscream returns, and Megatron questions him on why he isn't fighting with the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]]. Starscream reassures Megatron of his troops' abilities, and remarks he had business to take care of in [[Washington, D.C.]] (presumably something to do with a certain high-security jet). As Megatron cleans his cannon with a flag torn off a hotel building, the two remark on the total victory of the Decepticons everywhere, and how a traitor within the [[Autobot]]s allowed the Decepticons to make a successful galaxy-wide assault. Megatron praises Starscream's work, telling him that he is the embodiment of the Decepticon ideal. When Starscream comments on the rarity of such praise, Megatron states that of the two of them, he isn't the one incapable of seeing Starscream's strengths.

[[Image:AHM3 Astrotrain.jpg|left|200px|thumb|BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!]]

Meanwhile, elsewhere in New York Rumble is blowing up random VW Beetles and bored. The Reflector trio agrees, complaining that they aren't [[Bumblebee (G1)|the real thing]]. As the Decepticons walk by, refugees sneak by with supplies, dashing into the subway station where Andy Reid is holed up with his ally. They comment on how well they've organized their camp, and Reid wishes he could get a hold of command. However, he's keeping an eye out for Meg, the girlfriend of his dead friend [[DJ (G1)|DJ]], hoping she survived the carnage. He comments on how they have no idea where the enemy robots are from, that they could be man-made or even Martians, and on how they've organized their group with drills. As they talk, a train approaches, and the crowd starts fighting said training at the prospect of a rescue.

Of course, it's just a purple locomotive. And as Reid rounds up the crowd and gets them fleeing, Astrotrain gives an encore performance of his previous act by bringing the tunnel crashing down.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
|c2=
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (4)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (9)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (10)
* [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (11)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (12)
* [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]]:
* [[Spectro]] (13)
* [[Spyglass]] (14)
* [[Viewfinder]] (15)
|c3=
* Human refugees (1)
* Father (2)
* Son (3)
* [[Colonel Hawke]] (5)
* [[Daniel "Sparkplug" Witwicky]] (6)
* Radio Operator (7)
* Witwicky's aide (8)
* [[Andy Reid]] (16)
* [[Bridge]] (17)
}}

== Errors ==
* In issue 2, General Witwicky is referred to as "Colonel"; in the recap given on the inside cover in issue 3, he's referred to as a general. In issue 5, he is again referred to as a Colonel, confirming this was an error.

* When Megatron rests his [[fusion cannon]] on a building wall, a hatch can be seen on his arm where the cannon attaches. When he tears the flag off the building, that hatch is inconspicuously missing.

== Items of note ==
* Some time has passed between now and issue 1; Witwicky mentions that "in a matter of days" Megatron and co. have secured an excellent staging area.
* The Decepticons suddenly attack four cities — Washington, San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles — in the space of two pages. Aside from Air Force One being crashed, we don't see these attacks. Poor Shane would later reveal that Hasbro just wouldn't ''let'' him show more wholesale destruction or trash any landmarks in case of negative impact of kiddies. <ref>[http://tformers.com/article.php?sid=11723 Shane McCarthy podcast interview]</ref> Why Hasbro approved a "Decepticons trash Earth" series if they don't want the story to show ''Earth getting trashed'' is unknown.
* In this issue, all three of the [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] robots are alive and well, even though in "[[Spotlight: Wheelie]]", [[Viewfinder]] is confirmed dead. [[Shane McCarthy]] explained this by establishing that Reflector's appearance in "Spotlight: Wheelie" was taking place ''later'' than the events of ''All Hail Megatron''. This makes ''some'' sense, as [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]]'s SOS is received in "[[Spotlight: Optimus Prime]]", and he's stranded on the planet for a number of years before encountering Reflector. However since [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] was still alive when Wheelie was sent out, this requires him to have been stranded on that planet for several ''million'' years.
* Bridge can tell the difference between a [[Ravage (G1)|jaguar]] and a dog.
* Astrotrain has abandoned his body as seen in [[Devastation (IDW)|previous IDW arcs]] (featuring a realistic, commonplace freight-hauling diesel locomotive form) for a new one that heavily resembles his ''[[Classics (2006)|Classics]]'' body, but configured to transform into his original D62 steam locomotive altmode... a form of motive power that hasn't been common in America since the early 1960s, and a specific model of locomotive built and operated solely in Japan, and which would not fit on American railroads, being built to an entirely different gauge of track (in Japan the rails are spaced 3ft 6in apart as opposed to the American standard of 4ft 8.5in)...''Robots in disguise'' indeed!
* Megatron has stopped smiling like a madman in every shot. (Guido Guidi has stated that he toned down Megatron's expressions due to Shane McCarthy's input. <ref>http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?t=4855&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=180</ref>
* Shane's idea with Megatron and Starscream here is that Megatron's philosophy means he ''has'' to be overthrown and the Decepticons have to move on when he's not there; he views Starscream as the future leader and wants him to get his arse in gear & do better at it. <ref>[http://tformers.com/article.php?sid=11723 Podcast interview with Shane McCarthy]</ref> (This could explain Starscream being kept in stasis in ''[[Devastation (IDW)|Devastation]]'' and why he let the troops off for bringing the guy back. Except [[Infiltration issue 6|his first appearance]] was threatening to kill everyone unless they stood down and showing annoyance for Starscream trying to take over. Urm.)
* Rumble hates VW Beetles.
* Andy gets squished by Astrotrain, but this won't be stated until next issue.

===Covers (3)===
* '''Cover A:''' Starscream and Megatron back to back; art by [[Guido Guidi]], colors by [[Josh Burcham]].
* '''Cover B:''' Communist propaganda style of a Decepticon flag over a ruined Washington D.C. with Starscream above; art and colors by [[Trevor Hutchison]].
* '''Cover RI:''' Astrotrain study sketch; art and colors by Guido Guidi.
<gallery>
Image:AHM_03_CoverA.jpg|Who farted?
Image:AHM_03_CoverB.jpg|I'm the king of the biggest purple flag in the world!
Image:AHM_03_RI.jpg|I think I'll adjust my alt mode to be an out-of-date train. That'll really fool 'em!
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
* [[All Hail Megatron issue 4|''All Hail Megatron'' #4]]
* [[Spotlight: Sideswipe|''Spotlight: Sideswipe'']]
* [[The Arrival issue 2|''The Arrival'' #2]]
* ''Legion of the Supernatural'' series (also in [[IDWords]] section)
* ''Star Trek: Romulans: The Hollow Crown''
* ''G.I. Joe'' comic
* ''Ghostbusters: The Other Side''
* ''[[Barack Obama]]/John McCain Presidential Material'' comics (back cover)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:IDW Generation 1 issues]]