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Optimal Situation

2009-07-27T10:59:02Z

69.155.117.217: /* Synopsis */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=40
|title="Optimal Situation"
|image=Optimal Optimus.JPG
|caption=[[Trukk not munky|Trukk ''and'' munky]].
|production code=
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|writer=[[Bob Forward]]
|director=[[Steve Sacks]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[October 24]], 1998
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''With Optimus Prime in critical condition after Megatron's attack, Optimus Primal takes on his spark to save the timestream.'''

:''Japanese title:'' 大きくな～れ (''Ōkiku Na~re'', "Gro~w Bigger")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Smelt Prime.JPG|left|150px|thumb|Smelts in your mouth, not in your hand.]]
As a time storm ravages reality, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] gloats to the fading [[Maximal|Maximals]], since his attack on [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ensures that the [[Autobot|Autobots]] lose to the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], resulting in the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] having control of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. However, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], having been a Maximal protoform, is also affected by the time storm. She uses the information from the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] to activate [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]]'s security system, forcing Megatron out of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]].

[[Image:OptimusPrimal OpSit Matrixspark.jpg|right|150px|thumb|It's not the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]. We swear.]]
Blackarachnia and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] activate the Ark's repair systems to help stabilize Optimus Prime's condition, but the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] is still dying, and "reality is still in flux". The other Maximals arrive, and upon seeing Prime, realize that they must save him. However, his spark is fading. Believing there is no other choice, Optimus Primal merges his spark with Prime's to save it. He succeeds, and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] summons an [[Autobot repair device]] to begin restoring Prime's body. Holding Prime's spark causes Primal to expand into a new, larger body.

Megatron and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] arrive and attack, though Primal manages to save the Maximals and convince the Predacons to leave, while Blackarachnia uses the commotion to escape. Outside, [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] provides cover fire by shooting the rocks above the Ark. The Predacons destroy the cave entrance and flee, but Megatron notices a trapped Blackarachnia. Enraged by her betrayal, Megatron shoots her as the Maximals break free. Knowing that they are heading for the unprotected ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', Primal and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] race off.

[[Image:BWSilverbolt Blackarachnia OptimalSituation.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Ug, gag unto me with a spoon.]]
As Silverbolt cradles the damaged Blackarachnia, he begs her to fight on and praises her defiance of Megatron. She maintains that what she did was self-preservation, but Silverbolt points out that she also saved him and the universe. He openly admits to Blackarachnia that he loves her, shocking her. While there's still time, Silverbolt asks her one last time to join the Maximals. Although she maintains that she's still a Predacon, Blackarachnia joins the Maximals for him, then goes off-line. However, Rhinox reveals that she's merely in [[Stasis lock|stasis lock]].

Primal and Cheetor manage to down Megatron, Inferno, and Waspinator, but Primal discovers that [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] and the [[Arachnoid|Arachnoids]] are literally trying to drag the base away. Optimus manages to sever the lines and dispatch Rampage, but not before Rampage fires a missile which deflects off Primal and hits the ''Axalon''. The ''Axalon'' plummets off the cliff and crashes into the river. Knowing that he must return Prime's spark, Optimus withdraws with Cheetor to rejoin the Maximals.

[[Image:Optimusx2.JPG|right|150px|thumb|Well I'll be a monkey's uncle...]]
Back in the Ark, the repairs are finished. Returning the spark causes Optimus Prime to reactivate briefly, but he almost immediately returns to stasis lock. [[Rattrap]] is less than happy, as they now have the difficult task of protecting the ''Ark'' from the Predacons. With the time stream safe—for the moment—Optimus orders the Maximals, including Blackarachnia (who still maintains she's a Predacon), to begin rounding up every piece of salvage and make fortifications.

They're moving into [[Mount St. Hilary]].
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal|Maximals]]|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] (1)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (3)
*[[Rattrap]] (4)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (6)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (7)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (8)
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (9)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (cameo) (10)
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] (11)
*[[Tarantulas]] (12)
}}

==Quotes==
'''Optimus''': Silverbolt, what— 
[''The Maximals see Optimus Prime's injured face''] 
'''Optimus''': Well. That's just prime. 
'''Rattrap''': Or, what's left of 'im, anyway. 
[''Rhinox smacks Rattrap'']
:—Rhinox doesn't appreciate Rattrap's graveyard humor.

'''Rhinox''': "Hurry!" 
'''Blackarachnia''': "This technology is four million years old. It takes time." 
'''Rattrap''': "Time ya don't have, she-spider." ''[readies his gun]'' 
'''Silverbolt''': "You'll have to shoot through me, rodent." 
'''Rattrap''': "Don't tempt me!" 
'''Rhinox''': "Knock it off! We've got bigger problems."
:—Tensions flare during the repairs on Optimus Prime.

"Guys? Check out Big Bot..." 
[''Optimus stands up... and up... and up.''] 
"Big bot? How do you feel?" 
"In a word: Prime."
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Optimus''' after the latter's Optimal transformation.

"You wouldn't dare fire in here! It might upset history." 
"We'd have four million years to clean you off the walls, Megatron. I ''might'' risk it."
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Primal''' are badasses.

'''Megatron:''' This is not the end of it, Optimal Optimus. Nooo. The universe cowered once at the name of Megatron, and it shall do so again! 
'''Optimus:''' Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, Megatron. 
'''Megatron:''' Then they'd better stay out of my way! 
'''Rattrap:''' Oh, fer bootin' up cold! Will you just shoot him? 
'''Optimus:''' I'm trying not to resort to that.
:—The 'bots talk smack.

"You!" 
"Well, what did you expect, you metal megalomaniac?! What, that I would die for your insane ambition?!" 
"Then or now, Blackarachnia, there will be no more betrayals!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Blackarachnia'''

"Jumping gyros, Optimus sure learns a new body fast!" 
"Well wha'd ya expect? He ''changes'' 'em often enough!"
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Rattrap''', who gets a rim shot.

"Blackarachnia, dark poison of my heart, abide with me yet still." 
"You got a way with words there, Rover. You almost make me wish I was a better girl."
:—'''Silverbolt''' and '''Blackarachnia''' have a touching moment. Rattrap is probably on the verge of puking or shooting them. 

"Talk about your crispy, ice-cold slag..."
:—'''Cheetor''''s reaction to the Axalon's destruction

==Notes==
*Optimus runs through all four of his new body's modes within a few minutes of its debut. (His beast mode is easy to miss, but he uses it when he shields the other Maximals from the Predacons' weapons fire.)
* Primal's voice becomes noticably deeper when he takes on his new form, as well as gaining an additional flanging effect. One might think the change is related to having old John Wayne-voice Optimus Prime within him, but both changes remain after Prime's spark is restored, so apparently it's just from being bigger and more metally. The deeper voice would vanish in future episodes, however.
*Blackarachnia opposes Megatron's plan to wipe the Autobots from history because she was a Maximal protoform. Technically, Quickstrike, Inferno, and (arguably) Rampage all count as Maximal protoforms too, but they don't oppose Megatron's plan because Quickstrike's ignorant, Inferno's crazy, and Rampage doesn't have a say in the matter (and is also crazy).

===Animation/technical errors===
*When the camera pans around Prime to show the repairs starting to be made, the Autobot insignia inside his chest is upside-down.
*When Primal first transforms into his jet mode, the cockpit is empty, but should house Prime's spark.
*After the Predacons leave the ''Ark'', Inferno, who looked like a zombie in the scene before (and after being apparently vaporized two episodes prior), is now in mint condition.
*As the ''Axalon'' is being dragged off of the cliff, the bottom of it can be seen. However it is completely flat at the rear; the engines are not there at all.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:Sparkholderprimevaldawn.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Geekery.]]
*The "spark container" which held Optimus Prime's spark was hauntingly similar to the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. According to [[Ben Yee]]'s [http://www.bwtf.com/bw/tvshow/episodes/seasonthree/os/ site], the Mainframe animators used Optimus Prime's death sequence from "[[The Transformers: The Movie]]" as a visual reference and used the Matrix's design as a spark container because they didn't know its significance. This, of course, leads us to ask the question: How do you get involved with ''Transformers'' and not know the most important McGuffin in the entire continuity?
** "[[Primeval Dawn]]" later explained the Matrix-shaped spark container as being a [[Decoy|decoy]] Matrix constructed to sit in front of the real Matrix.
** Or Rhinox's "his spark has the Matrix with it" line could suggest that while he held the Matrix, the Matrix seen in ''Beast Wars'' was the Matrix and not a decoy. Consider that in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Prime didn't give the Matrix to Ultra Magnus until after he had died. Look, just watch the episode, okay?
*Optimus was briefly knocked out after deflecting the missile and falling to the ground. However he is awake to watch the ''Axalon'' teeter back and forth and eventually fall off the cliff. One wonders why he couldn't have stopped it. After all, in his original form, he was able to slow the ship's descent to keep it from crashing in the episode "[[Victory (episode)|Victory]]". One would think that his much larger and more powerful form would be enough actually to lift the ship up.

===Transformers references===
*After Optimus Prime's spark is returned to him, he reactivates, but almost immediately returns to [[Stasis lock|stasis lock]]. The [[Binaltech#Binaltech_2|''Binaltech'' story]] chapter supplied with BT-22 Convoy establishes that Optimus Prime was at least partly aware of both the spark transfer and Optimus Primal.
*When confronting Megatron on the ''Ark'''s bridge, Optimus Primal tells Megatron, "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," the motto of Optimus Prime. When informed by [[Ben Yee]] about this fact during the [[Madman Entertainment]] ''Beast Wars'' Season 3 DVD commentary for this episode, writer Bob Forward confessed that up to this point he had no idea, and the phrase was simply something he'd picked up from the alt.toys.transformers newsgroup.
* Later, Optimus Primal tells the Maximals to "transform and [[Roll out|roll out]]."
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]'s falling head represents that he is, in fact, totally dead. [[The Gathering|Until]] [[Universe (2003 comic)|he]] [[Binaltech|isn't]].

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Nightbeat (G1)

2009-07-27T09:45:31Z

69.155.117.217: /* Generation 1 */

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2}}

{{featured}}

{{disambig3|Nightbeat}}
:''Nightbeat is an [[Autobot]] [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Nightbeatg1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Nightbeat in: "The Mystery of the Jaunty Irish Jig!"]]
'''Nightbeat''', a self-declared detective, loves mystery, suspense, and conspiracy. When Nightbeat is on the trail for clues, nothing else matters. This monomania has famously gotten him into trouble over his head more times than he can count. Yet in the face of adversity, he remains cool, confident, and even irreverent. He has insulted creatures many times his size and committed huge faux-pas to uncover the truth. It is not so much that Nightbeat is brave, but more that when the thrill of the hunt has him -- he will not be denied.

Nightbeat has a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] partner, [[Muzzle]], who he gets along ''amazingly'' well with. The two seem to have been of one mind even before they were [[Binary bonding|binary bonded]].

{{bigquote|Interrogation is a '''science''', combining psychology and bluff, observation and-- ''(Nightbeat ducks, [[Siren]] receives punch meant for Nightbeat)'' --Reflexes!'''
|Nightbeat, "[[Bird of Prey!]]"}}

:''Hungarian name:'' '''Éjvadász''' ("Night Hunter")
:''French-Canadian name'': '''Veilleur''' (Watcher)

==Fiction==
===Commercial animation===
[[Image:NightbeatTV.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Feel the beat of the rhythm of the Nightbeat.]]
While being driven by [[Muzzle]] on the surface of an unidentified planet (with [[Siren]] and [[Hosehead]] at his side), Nightbeat transformed into robot mode. Shortly thereafter, three [[Decepticon]] Headmasters burst through a wall, and Nightbeat engaged [[Horri-Bull]] in battle. [http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-MDd7cdi0 ] {{storylink|Commercial|Small Headmasters Commercial}}

{{note|This is the only time that Nightbeat's [[character model]] was animated. His "shades", like the eyes on his toy, would have been black, though they glow blue as Muzzle connects.}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}

[[Image:Sirennightbeatbigshutdown.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"But, Nightbeat, what you always say is that, 'Truth is revealed in the smallest--" "Silence, Siren!"]]

''Shortly after being made a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] and joining [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime's]] crew on Earth, Nightbeat learned of a mysterious robot corpse which had seemingly washed up on the California shoreline. He decided to investigate, bringing along [[Siren]] to serve as his personal "Watson". At the scene of the crime, they found a pair of Transformers hovering over [[Playback|the body]], and who quickly burned rubber once they spotted the Autobots. Sending Siren off to chase them down, Nightbeat pulled out the giant retractable magnifying glass in his sleeve and went to work collecting evidence from the body.''
''Finding a serial brand from a Decepticon prison on the body, and identifying a signature Decepticon blaster as the murder weapon, Nightbeat concluded that a lone, well-armed Decepticon was hunting down escaped Autobot prisoners. Siren returned at that moment, correcting Nightbeat's analysis by informing him the prisoners weren't escapees, but deliberately let loose as prey to be hunted down. His source? The surviving prisoner, [[Hosehead]], and the lone, well-armed Decepticon named [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] who was right on their tails. Thinking quickly, Nightbeat had his Nebulan partner Muzzle binary-bond with the dead Autobot in order to partially reactivate his motor functions. Caught off-guard by his prey supposedly coming back to life right in front of him, Thunderwing left himself wide open when Muzzle disengaged and Nightbeat blew up the Autobot's fuel core at close enough range to send Thunderwing packing into the waves to dose the flames. Hosehead then returned to the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] with Nightbeat and Siren.'' {{storylink|The Big Shutdown!}}

[[Image:Nightbeatdeathbringer.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Now there's a Nexus 6 over at the Tyrell Corporation, I want you to go put the machine on it." "And if the machine doesn't work?"]]
''Optimus Prime was confiding in Nightbeat his desire to find a way to restore the warriors who were destroyed during the [[Underbase Saga]] when they received a distress signal from the Earth's surface. Nightbeat assembled a combat team that included [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]], Siren, Hosehead, [[Getaway]], and himself, and under Optimus Prime's command, they rushed to Earth to help their fallen comrades. There they found the [[Deathbringer]], who had come to cleanse the planet of life. Ironically, Deathbringer was powered by the energies of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]], the very thing Prime had desired earlier to restore his fallen warriors! And it must be destroyed to save Earth! While the rest of the combat team were getting slaughtered by Deathbringer, Nightbeat pulled away and consulted via comlink [[Waverider]] on the Ark. Through Waverider's information digging, Nightbeat learned that Deathbringers are mechanoids who are designed to give death painlessly to the terminally ill. Though this particular Deathbringer's purpose had been twisted, Nightbeat used its own programming against it. Nightbeat told the Deathbringer that its own body was diseased, and it should destroy itself. It did, leaving Nightbeat and Prime a hollow victory with questions about the true essence of the Matrix. {{storylink|Deathbringer (issue)|Deathbringer}}''

''Later, Thunderwing emerged from the ocean, intent on destroying Nightbeat, Hosehead, and Siren, the Autobots who had defeated him earlier. {{storylink|Rage!}} To this end, he led his troops on a suicidal attack on the Ark. Though Thunderwing and his troops were forced to retreat, when he returned to Cybertron he was named Decepticon leader for his single-minded ruthlessness. {{storylink|Assault on the Ark!}}''

[[Image:Nightbeatincontrol.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"What are you wasting my time for? I can get along without you! And another thing, keep that gunsel out of my way when you're makin' up your mind! I'll kill him if you don't-- I'll kill him!! Think it over, you've got till 5:00, then you're either in or out-- FOR KEEPS!!"]]

During the Matrix Quest, Nightbeat led Hosehead and Siren on a search of the planet [[Pz-Zazz]] for any sign of the Matrix. Pz-Zazz was on file as a vibrant, lush world; in reality it was a cesspool, festering with mob violence and untamed decadence. While questioning the wrong sort of people, the Autobots were caught in the middle of a crossfire between B'hgdad's men and Gutt's boys. One alien on the street fared worse than they did, passing on a mysterious bird statue to Siren before dying in his arms. Despite Nightbeat's keen interest in the clear film noir plot developing around them, Siren and Hosehead convinced him to put the bird aside and continue searching for the Matrix.

At the next bar they were canvassing, the Autobots were confronted by the delightful Miss [[Fatale]]. Fatale informed them of a legendary Font of Life which had once lit a nearby mountaintop. The sick and weak would pilgrimage to the mountain in order to touch a "sacred idol" and heal their wounds. She offered to lead them to the temple on the mountain in exchange for the bird, which she claimed was her property. Suspicious, Nightbeat sent Hosehead and Siren ahead to the mountain with Fatale while he retrieved the bird from where they had stashed it. Confronted by B'hgdad and his men, Nightbeat only managed to escape after chipping off a piece of the bird's outer enamel, revealing the radiant life-source within. Briefly considering keeping the bird as a replacement for the Matrix, to help heal all his comrades aboard the Ark, Nightbeat quickly rejected the idea and returned the bird to its rightful place on the mountain's altar, releasing waves of pure light and hope to revitalize Pz-Zazz and its people.

Then he got shot in the back. No good deed goes unpunished. {{storylink|Bird of Prey!}}

Thunderwing and his [[Mayhem Attack Squad]] had gotten wind of Autobot parties searching this one area of the galaxy, and his curiosity was piqued. Hooking Nightbeat and the others up to his torturous Mind-Leech device, Thunderwing extracted all he needed to know about the Matrix Quest and the possible planets on the search list. {{storylink|Kings of the Wild Frontier}} The Autobot trio remained captives on board the Mayhem ship until Thunderwing backhanded his minion [[Ruckus (G1)|Ruckus]] into some equipment. {{storylink|Deadly Obsession}} This caused a short circuit which, unknown to the Decepticons, freed Nightbeat and his team. Learning that Thunderwing had successfully found the Matrix in their absence and was planning to sneak aboard the Ark in a stolen [[Ark shuttlecraft|Autobot shuttle]], Nightbeat and pals stowed away on the shuttle in the hopes of disrupting the Decepticons' schemes somehow.

[[Image:Nightbeatmatrixguideme.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Stop writing our captions for us, Nightbeat.]]

The situation was worse than they thought. The Matrix was corrupted from a series of unstable hosts, and now had an evil sentience that had overwhelmed Thunderwing and made him a puppet to its will. With the combined forces of the Ark unable to best the Thunderwing / Matrix combo, Nightbeat devised a desperate plan. As Siren triggered the shuttle's self-destruct sequence, Nightbeat fired the ship's grappling harpoon straight through Thunderwing's chest and shut off the docking clamps, just as Hosehead turned off the artificial gravity in the hangar bay. The result was the shuttle being sucked out into the black void, taking Thunderwing and the Matrix along with it before exploding. Thunderwing was last seen hurtling through space, still harpooned to a piece of flaming debris. {{storylink|All Fall Down (issue)|All Fall Down}}

[[Image:Nightbeateyeofthestorm.jpg|left|200px|thumb|And a second gunman! On the grassy knoll!]]

Optimus Prime next gave Nightbeat an investigational assignment to look into the disappearance and supposed death of [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] in a massive explosion on Cybertron some months back. After review witness statements and making a few leaps of deductive logic, Nightbeat reached the hypothesis that Ratchet may have been cast into a dimensional portal they knew had been active at the time of the explosion, and then been caught between space as the explosion destroyed the delicate portal mechanism. To test his theory, Nightbeat arranged for an inter-dimensional probe to search for and retrieve Ratchet's spark signature in [[unspace]], assuming it was anywhere to be found. {{storylink|Eye of the Storm!|Eye of the Storm!}}

It was. Ratchet reappeared on the Ark fused at a molecular level to Megatron. This wasn't a [[Silverbolt (BW)|"pure, strong, and fast"]] fusion; it was a horrific blending of two mechanoids, both in constant and indescribable agony. Prime managed to subdue the creature, and Autobot medic [[Fixit (G1)|Fixit]] took steps to separate the pair, who were then placed in stasis chambers. {{storylink|The Price of Life!}} During the aftermath, Optimus Prime surrendered his forces, including Nightbeat, to [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok's]] Decepticons on Earth, hoping to use his desperate action to unite both factions against [[Unicron]]. This alliance was about to form when the entire Decepticon base imploded in on itself due to an attack from [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave's]] small team of rival Decepticon forces. {{storylink|Surrender!}} Nightbeat survived this initial strike, and along with Optimus Prime and the other Autobots, emerged and tried to keep the new Decepticon Civil War from spreading beyond the area. Optimus charged himself and Nightbeat with keeping Scorponok specifically out of Manhattan. {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}} However, when [[G.B. Blackrock|G.B. Blackrock's]] team of robot-fighting mutants, the [[Neo-Knights]] arrived, Nightbeat was the first to fall at the hands of the psychotic [[Circuit Breaker]]. As the fighting neared its end, and the alliance began to form again, [[Primus]] teleported the Earth-bound Transformers to Cybertron; Nightbeat's antenna was in contact with the Neo-Knight's helicopter, accidentally bringing them to Cybertron as well! {{storylink|Out of Time!}}

[[Image:Nightbeatsnapdragon.jpg|right|160px|thumb|Muzzle it!]]

Once on Cybertron, Nightbeat, able to stand up again, watched as Primus spoke through [[Emirate Xaaron]], telling "his children" of their origin and their charge to defeat Unicron. {{storylink|The Void! (US)|The Void!}} Once Unicron arrived, the alliance was put to the test, and Nightbeat was among several Autobots who utilized [[hoverscooter]]s in their attacks on the Dark God. Nightbeat survived this cataclysmic battle. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

Nightbeat was seen nailing both an Autobot and Decepticon logo on the wall of their fragile alliance's headquarters {{storylink|Still Life!}} and joined the Autobots in their delayed evacuation of Cybertron. As they headed for [[Klo]], he urged [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] to cool down and save his bring-a-prick for the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Last Autobot?}} Unfortunately, the Decepticons were aware of the Autobots' surprise attack, and all but five Autobots were destroyed. [[Snapdragon]] kicked a head away from Nightbeat's remains. {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}

{{note|It can be assumed that Nightbeat was revived along with the other casualties by the [[Last Autobot]].}}

=====''Another Time and Place''=====
{{note|The "Another Time and Place" text story was meant to be a conclusion to the Marvel continuity, but its events were ignored by ''[[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]''. It was [[Withered Hope|later labeled]] a "dead end" [[splinter timeline]].}}

When the Decepticons took control of the [[Nucleon]] on [[Hydrus Four]], Nightbeat joined a commando unit of Autobots to infiltrate their position. Their first obstacle was [[Fangry]], but luck was on their side. The Decepticon tracker was looking to kill something, and bent waaaaay over the water trying to skewer a fish. Nightbeat just had to give him a tiny nudge, and Fangry fell over into the waiting arms of the Autobots hidden in the murky water. {{storylink|Another Time and Place}}

====Generation 2====
[[Image:Dirge DeathSwarm.jpg|right|250px|thumb|We hate you, Furman, forever.]]
Nightbeat worked on a computer console as Optimus Prime and Megatron observed some data on the [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]]. When [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s Cybertronian army attacked the base, Nightbeat's console exploded, sending him flying across the room. {{storylink|Swarm (issue)|Swarm}}

He later appeared among the Autobot forces just long enough to sacrifice himself futilely against the Swarm, self-destructing alongside [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]]. Moments later, Megatron showed up with the [[rheanimum]] that could have saved him. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!|A Rage in Heaven!}}

{{-}}

====Classics====
{{note|The ''Classics'' stories take 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:Nightbeatsirencheapshots.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Detective by trade, but moonlights as a babysitter.]]
When the war ended with the Decepticons' defeat on Klo, Nightbeat initially accepted [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock's]] offer to search the galaxy for [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and his scattered troops. However, Nightbeat soon tired of this mindset, and formed his own team. He, his former [[Binary bonding|binary bond]] partner [[Muzzle]], [[Siren]] (and his partner [[Quig]]), [[Lug]], [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]], [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], and a new [[human]] recruit, [[Minerva]], scoured the galaxy for mysteries to solve.

[[Image:Nightbeatcheapshotsnoggin.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You'd lose the ears, too, if you hung out with Siren.]]

Nightbeat's crew once had to <strike>set their ship down on the planet [[Azure]] for repairs</strike> crash their ship into the only repair bay on Azure equipped to repair their ship, and they were stranded there for the interim. After a barroom brawl, Nightbeat found that he was a person of interest to a potential client, a sentient ship named ''[[Amory]]''. ''Amory'' required the services of Nightbeat and his team in finding her pilot, [[Phyrion]]. However, the entire arrangement was a setup put together by the Decepticons [[Ruckus (G1)|Ruckus]] and [[Needlenose]], who had assembled an alleged "new [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]" by promising payment to [[Octopunch]] and [[Stranglehold]] for their assistance. Ruckus wasn't very smart, however, and had brought his hostage with him. The Decepticons were brutalized and Phyrion was returned to ''Amory''. Regretting her involvement, ''Amory'' paid the Autobots for her services, plus she chipped in for a new head for Nightbeat, as his was damaged during the battle.

Despite their short run-in with good luck, Nightbeat and his crew were still stranded on Azure without a working ship. In the meantime, surely someone was in need of a detective... {{storylink|Cheap Shots}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:Nightbeatageofwrath.jpg|right|150px|thumb|War Within Nightbeat transforms into Roger Clemens.]]
One of the few remaining Autobots battling the Decepticons during the [[Age of Internment]], Nightbeat was leader of a strike team consisting of Hosehead, Siren, [[Slapdash]], [[Joyride]], and [[Getaway]]. They were tasked with acquiring a member of the [[Aerospace Extermination Squadron]] for [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] to study and, hopefully, find some sort of defense against. Using Getaway as a decoy with the rest of the team hiding under a [[null-field cloak]], they managed to lure three of them into a trap at [[Nova Cronum]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath issue 2}} After the first two drones were destroyed, the third simply shut itself down. As Nightbeat discussed the best couse of action with [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], he approached it with an [[inhibitor claw]] - only for it to suddenly reactivate and slam Nightbeat against a wall, temporarily knocking him out of commission. Nightbeat revived shortly afterwards but was helpless to stop the rampaging drone, which was eventually put down by Getaway. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath issue 3}}
{{-}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}

[[Image:SpotlightNightbeat NightbeatKrakon.jpg|left|220px|thumb|"Replicants weren't supposed to have feelings. Neither were Blade Runners. What the hell was happening to me?"]]
Nightbeat, passing the time by trying to answer the mystery of the first ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', went to meet with a mechanoid trader named [[Krakon]], only to find him dead by unknown means. Nightbeat followed the clues that the late Krakon (and his killers) left behind and was lured into an apparent trap on [[Gorlam Prime]]. He found a strange dimensional portal deep beneath the world, but got captured by an [[Straxus (G1)|unknown villain]] before he could tell anyone. They put something in his head, erased his memory, and then sent him back out into space. Shortly thereafter he was contacted by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and ordered to head for [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Nightbeat}}

Aboard ''[[Ark-32]]'', Nightbeat arrived in Earth orbit with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] in tow just as Optimus Prime and his troops were confronting [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] head-on in the breakaway Soviet state of [[Brasnya]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3}} While his two rather over-eager companions headed to the surface, Nightbeat remained aboard the ship and provided intel for the Autobots below. {{storylink|Escalation issue 4}}

Planetside, Hot Rod succeeded in carrying out his primary mission, the capture of the Decepticons' [[facsimile]] avatar. Anxious to re-join the battle, he requested Nightbeat to send him through a double orbital bounce—transporting him up to the ship just long enough to drop off his captive, then returning to the planet. Nightbeat was rather bemused at the thought of the thrill-seeking Hot Rod abandoning a combat zone, but complied. At that instant, though, [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] arrived and attacked Hot Rod. Nightbeat reported back to [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] that Hot Rod was in a [[CR chamber]], and the facsimile—injured by flak—had expired.
{{storylink|Escalation issue 6}}

[[Image:Nightbeat-devastation1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"My guess might be excellent or it might be crummy, but Mrs. Spade didn't raise any children dippy enough to make guesses in front of a DA, an assistant DA and a stenographer."]]

After [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker's]] disappearance, Nightbeat began investigating the sequence of events that led to his capture. Examining the [[SM-40 Notepad]] stolen by [[Verity Carlo]], he discovered a homing device that had allowed Sunstreaker's unknown assailants to discover the underwater location of ''[[Ark-19]]''. Nightbeat ordered [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] on a scouting mission along the shores of [[Lake Michigan]], where Bumblebee discovered a great deal of advanced surveillance equipment. Deducing that ''Ark-19'''s location was compromised, Nightbeat advised Optimus and Prowl to move the ship immediately. Nightbeat handled navigation chores as the ship lifted off. Unfortunately, the Decepticon [[Sixshot]] attacked shortly thereafter, sending ''Ark-19'' plummeting to Earth. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1}}

Per Optimus Prime's order, Nightbeat transferred the damaged ship's data to ''Ark-32'', then moved with the other Autobots to the ship's cargo bay shortly before it crashed into the Gulf of Mexico and self-destructed. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2}}

Nightbeat and the others survived, however and while the other Autobots battled Sixshot, Nightbeat attempted to activate the orbital bounce abilities of the ''Ark-32''. After a few Autobot injuries, Nightbeat was able to beam them up to the ship, along with [[Jimmy Pink]] and Verity Carlo, who may have died during the bounce. Optimus Prime stayed behind to battle Sixshot alone, but once Sixshot left the battle, Nightbeat also evacuated Prime seconds before an air strike by the U.S. military. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation issue 4}}

Afterward, Nightbeat studied the telemetry [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s unit sent on [[Leadfoot|Leadfoot's]] death. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5}} After examining the data, Nightbeat observed that it was as though a virus of unlife had attacked and destroyed every living cyber-cell in Leadfoot simultaneously, in a fraction of a [[Units of time|nano-klik]]. While it was something he had never encountered before, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he had forgotten something important, as if his memory had been tampered with. Seeking inspiration to jog his memory, he went down to the hanger of ''Ark 32'' where his personal ship was stored. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6}}

[[Image:Nightbeatexecuted.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Let me tell you about my mother."]]

He soon found out that he logged a message about his trip to Gorlam Prime, but that he has no recollection about it. He asked Hardhead to help him with his investigation. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}}

Discovering a large part of his memory missing, a worried Nightbeat realised someone may have tampered with him and asked Hardhead to accompany him to Gorlam Prime, with orders to terminate Nightbeat if he turned. Upon arrival, they found the entire planet frozen. Nightbeat theorised that the planet was evolving somehow, from organic to techno-organic... to something like Cybertronians. His musings were interrupted by a force of small Transformers. As Hardhead held them off, Nightbeat found some kind of tunnels leading down to a strange cavern. There, losing control of himself, he turned his gun on Hardhead, who casually shot him in the head. As the Autobot died, [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] screamed, revealing to [[Nova Prime|Nemesis Prime]] that their agent was gone. Nemesis casually waved it away, taking Nightbeat's mission as his own: Find and kill Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Nightbeat toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Too cool for Playskool.]]
* '''Nightbeat with Muzzle''' (Headmaster, 1988)
**''Accessories'': "Muzzle" Headmaster driver, seat/helmet, "Plasma Blaster" rifle, right and left "[[Photon pistol|Photon Pistols]]"

: [[Transformation (toys)|Nightbeat transforms]] into a blue and yellow Porsche 959. The roof is hinged and can be opened to reveal an interior that his Headmaster unit, Muzzle, can sit inside of. His head guns can be stored just above the headlights while his rifle can be plugged onto the roof.

: In robot mode, like all Headmaster toys, Nightbeat has a flip-down panel on his chest which covers a spring-loaded mini-[[Tech Spec|Tech-Spec]]-meter which gives readings for Speed, Strength and Intelligence. The tumblers are activated when Muzzle (or any other Headmaster unit) is plugged into his neck socket. Muzzle has Nightbeat's face plainly visible on his back because, as a smaller Headmaster toy, he lacks the flip down panel that covers the face, featured on larger Headmasters.

:He shares a mold with the Japanese [[Headmaster Junior]], [[Minerva]], who also got a mail-order exclusive version in Nightbeat's colors.

===Timelines===
[[Image:Nightbeattimelinestoy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your...]]
* '''Nightbeat''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Accessories:'' Missile launcher, missile, radar

: This [[retool]] of ''[[Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] is one of two 2008 [[Fun Publications]] Fan Club exclusives. The new head is based on the character model's head (by which we mean [[Siren]]'s with some nods to the toy-Nightbeat's, see Trivia below), but is missing its "ears" thanks to clearance and production timing issues. Nightbeat comes with a clear-plastic spring-loaded missile launcher. He can also form the top or bottom half of a combined robot with any other "[[Powerlinx]]"-style 2-bot combiner toy.

: Nightbeat was originally announced to be available by [[BotCon 2008]] in April, but after multiple delays, preorders finally went up months later on [[August 27]], 2008, with a release date of "within four weeks" of September 30, 2008.

: The retooled version of this mold was used to create ''[[Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]'' [[Nightbeat (Shattered Glass)|Nightbeat]] at [[BotCon 2008]]'s customization class.

:* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnhbeRLlVnI Promotional YouTube video for Timelines Nightbeat, featuring lots of spinny-spinny]

{{-}}

==Trivia==
[[Image:Nightbeatsirenswappedheads.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Top row: toy Nightbeat, toy Siren. Bottom row: comic Siren, comic Nightbeat.]]
* In Nightbeat's [[:Image:Transformsfromracecartorobot.jpg|toy packaging photography]], Muzzle's legs are blue instead of the final black, and the flame stickers on Nightbeat's doors are different. This early flame design made it into [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Nightbeat Nightbeat's ''Universe'' profile art] and, as a result, into some Marvel Comics stories.
* For their [[Character model|character models]], the face/Nebulan and helmet/seat pieces of Nightbeat and [[Siren]] were inexplicably switched. (It is difficult to tell for sure, but they may have kept the correct antennae/guns judging by the basic shapes involved.) This switch gave comic book Nightbeat the "shades" he's remembered for, as well as the crest on his forehead, while comic book Siren ended up with his trademark combined brow/nosepiece. How or why this switch happened, and in what stage of development it occurred, is unknown.
* He was was depicted with his own toy's head (for the first time) in [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s [[War Within: The Age of Wrath|The War Within: The Age of Wrath]]. Nightbeat's appearances in [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s Transformers comics retain the Siren face design, but inside the Nightbeat helmet. In [[Fun Publications]]' "[[Cheap Shots]]", his appearance is based on his new toy, whose head is based on Siren's face and helmet.

[[Image:Nightbeatchests.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Where'd he get that extra boob?]]
* Another Nightbeat visual oddity is the large difference between the design of his toy's chest and of the character model's chest. While the toy's chest is an asymmetrical shape with one "boob" and a "tummy grill" not unlike Optimus Prime's, the character model gives him a concave octagon which symmetrically houses two hollow boxes. Where did this design come from, and why is it the only thing on his character model, other than the swapped head, that departs from his toy design?
* Due to his asymmetrical chest details, Nightbeat's original [[package art]] is noticeably flipped horizontally, putting his "boob" on the left instead of the right. Dreamwave's [[More Than Meets The Eye (G1)|More Than Meets The Eye]] profile art of him, seen at the top of this page, seems to have been based on the boxart's flip, as well as IDW's material for a long time. In [[Devastation issue 6]], IDW's Nightbeat chest is symmetrical, mirroring the half of his chest with the "boob," giving him an approximation of the made-up Marvel Comics/character model chest -- but in [[Spotlight: Hardhead]], it's back to the asymmetrical design again.
* Nightbeat has worn the trenchcoat and fedora on occasion. [[:Image:MarvelUK-230.jpg|Sometimes]] the artist remembers he has very tall shoulders under there, [[:Image:MarvelUS-62.jpg|sometimes not]].
* In the (hilariously bad) [[RTM 1 dub|English-Malay dub]] of ''[[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Super-God Masterforce]]'', [[Minerva]] is called "Nightbeat."
* At [[BotCon 1997]], [[Simon Furman]] was asked why he killed Nightbeat in ''[[Generation 2 (Marvel Comics)|Generation 2]]''. He said:
{{bigquote|I don't have a good answer for you... It was too easy to say, I'll kill off all the incidental characters, all the ones I don't like. It sort of added to the bigger picture by ... some of the favorites got it in the neck as well... It's like, say [[Rattrap]] or something died, it's like.. Who cares? I do like Beast Wars as well... it was too easy to just knock off 'B' characters...}}
:Suffice to say, Furman wasn't very familiar with ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' at the time. [http://www.builtstlouis.net/tf/nightbeat/index.html]
* A "dinner mystery theatre" starring Nightbeat was planned for [[OTFCC 2004]], with Optimus Prime as the murder victim. Instead, the Transformer theme was shelved and attendees were subjected to [[DEATH BY CHOCOLATE]].
{{-}}

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Autobot/Nightbeat/nightbeat.htm Nightbeat at TFU.info]

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

*[http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPATD311042&id=O6IoAAAAEBAJ&pg=RA1-PA4#PPA2,M1 Nightbeat's patent on Google.]

*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-MDd7cdi0 1988 Headmasters commercial starring Nightbeat, on Youtube]

*[http://www.builtstlouis.net/tf/nightbeat/index.html Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About NIGHTBEAT]

[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Classics characters]]
[[Category:Fan Club exclusives]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]

Nightbeat (G1)

2009-07-27T09:42:20Z

69.155.117.217: /* Generation 1 */

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2}}

{{featured}}

{{disambig3|Nightbeat}}
:''Nightbeat is an [[Autobot]] [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Nightbeatg1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Nightbeat in: "The Mystery of the Jaunty Irish Jig!"]]
'''Nightbeat''', a self-declared detective, loves mystery, suspense, and conspiracy. When Nightbeat is on the trail for clues, nothing else matters. This monomania has famously gotten him into trouble over his head more times than he can count. Yet in the face of adversity, he remains cool, confident, and even irreverent. He has insulted creatures many times his size and committed huge faux-pas to uncover the truth. It is not so much that Nightbeat is brave, but more that when the thrill of the hunt has him -- he will not be denied.

Nightbeat has a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] partner, [[Muzzle]], who he gets along ''amazingly'' well with. The two seem to have been of one mind even before they were [[Binary bonding|binary bonded]].

{{bigquote|Interrogation is a '''science''', combining psychology and bluff, observation and-- ''(Nightbeat ducks, [[Siren]] receives punch meant for Nightbeat)'' --Reflexes!'''
|Nightbeat, "[[Bird of Prey!]]"}}

:''Hungarian name:'' '''Éjvadász''' ("Night Hunter")
:''French-Canadian name'': '''Veilleur''' (Watcher)

==Fiction==
===Commercial animation===
[[Image:NightbeatTV.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Feel the beat of the rhythm of the Nightbeat.]]
While being driven by [[Muzzle]] on the surface of an unidentified planet (with [[Siren]] and [[Hosehead]] at his side), Nightbeat transformed into robot mode. Shortly thereafter, three [[Decepticon]] Headmasters burst through a wall, and Nightbeat engaged [[Horri-Bull]] in battle. [http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-MDd7cdi0 ] {{storylink|Commercial|Small Headmasters Commercial}}

{{note|This is the only time that Nightbeat's [[character model]] was animated. His "shades", like the eyes on his toy, would have been black, though they glow blue as Muzzle connects.}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}

[[Image:Sirennightbeatbigshutdown.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Nightbeat, I thought 'Truth is revealed in the smallest detail' is what you always say." "...Shut up, Siren."]]

''Shortly after being made a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] and joining [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime's]] crew on Earth, Nightbeat learned of a mysterious robot corpse which had seemingly washed up on the California shoreline. He decided to investigate, bringing along [[Siren]] to serve as his personal "Watson". At the scene of the crime, they found a pair of Transformers hovering over [[Playback|the body]], and who quickly burned rubber once they spotted the Autobots. Sending Siren off to chase them down, Nightbeat pulled out the giant retractable magnifying glass in his sleeve and went to work collecting evidence from the body.''
''Finding a serial brand from a Decepticon prison on the body, and identifying a signature Decepticon blaster as the murder weapon, Nightbeat concluded that a lone, well-armed Decepticon was hunting down escaped Autobot prisoners. Siren returned at that moment, correcting Nightbeat's analysis by informing him the prisoners weren't escapees, but deliberately let loose as prey to be hunted down. His source? The surviving prisoner, [[Hosehead]], and the lone, well-armed Decepticon named [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] who was right on their tails. Thinking quickly, Nightbeat had his Nebulan partner Muzzle binary-bond with the dead Autobot in order to partially reactivate his motor functions. Caught off-guard by his prey supposedly coming back to life right in front of him, Thunderwing left himself wide open when Muzzle disengaged and Nightbeat blew up the Autobot's fuel core at close enough range to send Thunderwing packing into the waves to dose the flames. Hosehead then returned to the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] with Nightbeat and Siren.'' {{storylink|The Big Shutdown!}}

[[Image:Nightbeatdeathbringer.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Now there's a Nexus 6 over at the Tyrell Corporation, I want you to go put the machine on it." "And if the machine doesn't work?"]]
''Optimus Prime was confiding in Nightbeat his desire to find a way to restore the warriors who were destroyed during the [[Underbase Saga]] when they received a distress signal from the Earth's surface. Nightbeat assembled a combat team that included [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]], Siren, Hosehead, [[Getaway]], and himself, and under Optimus Prime's command, they rushed to Earth to help their fallen comrades. There they found the [[Deathbringer]], who had come to cleanse the planet of life. Ironically, Deathbringer was powered by the energies of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]], the very thing Prime had desired earlier to restore his fallen warriors! And it must be destroyed to save Earth! While the rest of the combat team were getting slaughtered by Deathbringer, Nightbeat pulled away and consulted via comlink [[Waverider]] on the Ark. Through Waverider's information digging, Nightbeat learned that Deathbringers are mechanoids who are designed to give death painlessly to the terminally ill. Though this particular Deathbringer's purpose had been twisted, Nightbeat used its own programming against it. Nightbeat told the Deathbringer that its own body was diseased, and it should destroy itself. It did, leaving Nightbeat and Prime a hollow victory with questions about the true essence of the Matrix. {{storylink|Deathbringer (issue)|Deathbringer}}''

''Later, Thunderwing emerged from the ocean, intent on destroying Nightbeat, Hosehead, and Siren, the Autobots who had defeated him earlier. {{storylink|Rage!}} To this end, he led his troops on a suicidal attack on the Ark. Though Thunderwing and his troops were forced to retreat, when he returned to Cybertron he was named Decepticon leader for his single-minded ruthlessness. {{storylink|Assault on the Ark!}}''

[[Image:Nightbeatincontrol.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"What are you wasting my time for? I can get along without you! And another thing, keep that gunsel out of my way when you're makin' up your mind! I'll kill him if you don't-- I'll kill him!! Think it over, you've got till 5:00, then you're either in or out-- FOR KEEPS!!"]]

During the Matrix Quest, Nightbeat led Hosehead and Siren on a search of the planet [[Pz-Zazz]] for any sign of the Matrix. Pz-Zazz was on file as a vibrant, lush world; in reality it was a cesspool, festering with mob violence and untamed decadence. While questioning the wrong sort of people, the Autobots were caught in the middle of a crossfire between B'hgdad's men and Gutt's boys. One alien on the street fared worse than they did, passing on a mysterious bird statue to Siren before dying in his arms. Despite Nightbeat's keen interest in the clear film noir plot developing around them, Siren and Hosehead convinced him to put the bird aside and continue searching for the Matrix.

At the next bar they were canvassing, the Autobots were confronted by the delightful Miss [[Fatale]]. Fatale informed them of a legendary Font of Life which had once lit a nearby mountaintop. The sick and weak would pilgrimage to the mountain in order to touch a "sacred idol" and heal their wounds. She offered to lead them to the temple on the mountain in exchange for the bird, which she claimed was her property. Suspicious, Nightbeat sent Hosehead and Siren ahead to the mountain with Fatale while he retrieved the bird from where they had stashed it. Confronted by B'hgdad and his men, Nightbeat only managed to escape after chipping off a piece of the bird's outer enamel, revealing the radiant life-source within. Briefly considering keeping the bird as a replacement for the Matrix, to help heal all his comrades aboard the Ark, Nightbeat quickly rejected the idea and returned the bird to its rightful place on the mountain's altar, releasing waves of pure light and hope to revitalize Pz-Zazz and its people.

Then he got shot in the back. No good deed goes unpunished. {{storylink|Bird of Prey!}}

Thunderwing and his [[Mayhem Attack Squad]] had gotten wind of Autobot parties searching this one area of the galaxy, and his curiosity was piqued. Hooking Nightbeat and the others up to his torturous Mind-Leech device, Thunderwing extracted all he needed to know about the Matrix Quest and the possible planets on the search list. {{storylink|Kings of the Wild Frontier}} The Autobot trio remained captives on board the Mayhem ship until Thunderwing backhanded his minion [[Ruckus (G1)|Ruckus]] into some equipment. {{storylink|Deadly Obsession}} This caused a short circuit which, unknown to the Decepticons, freed Nightbeat and his team. Learning that Thunderwing had successfully found the Matrix in their absence and was planning to sneak aboard the Ark in a stolen [[Ark shuttlecraft|Autobot shuttle]], Nightbeat and pals stowed away on the shuttle in the hopes of disrupting the Decepticons' schemes somehow.

[[Image:Nightbeatmatrixguideme.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Stop writing our captions for us, Nightbeat.]]

The situation was worse than they thought. The Matrix was corrupted from a series of unstable hosts, and now had an evil sentience that had overwhelmed Thunderwing and made him a puppet to its will. With the combined forces of the Ark unable to best the Thunderwing / Matrix combo, Nightbeat devised a desperate plan. As Siren triggered the shuttle's self-destruct sequence, Nightbeat fired the ship's grappling harpoon straight through Thunderwing's chest and shut off the docking clamps, just as Hosehead turned off the artificial gravity in the hangar bay. The result was the shuttle being sucked out into the black void, taking Thunderwing and the Matrix along with it before exploding. Thunderwing was last seen hurtling through space, still harpooned to a piece of flaming debris. {{storylink|All Fall Down (issue)|All Fall Down}}

[[Image:Nightbeateyeofthestorm.jpg|left|200px|thumb|And a second gunman! On the grassy knoll!]]

Optimus Prime next gave Nightbeat an investigational assignment to look into the disappearance and supposed death of [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] in a massive explosion on Cybertron some months back. After review witness statements and making a few leaps of deductive logic, Nightbeat reached the hypothesis that Ratchet may have been cast into a dimensional portal they knew had been active at the time of the explosion, and then been caught between space as the explosion destroyed the delicate portal mechanism. To test his theory, Nightbeat arranged for an inter-dimensional probe to search for and retrieve Ratchet's spark signature in [[unspace]], assuming it was anywhere to be found. {{storylink|Eye of the Storm!|Eye of the Storm!}}

It was. Ratchet reappeared on the Ark fused at a molecular level to Megatron. This wasn't a [[Silverbolt (BW)|"pure, strong, and fast"]] fusion; it was a horrific blending of two mechanoids, both in constant and indescribable agony. Prime managed to subdue the creature, and Autobot medic [[Fixit (G1)|Fixit]] took steps to separate the pair, who were then placed in stasis chambers. {{storylink|The Price of Life!}} During the aftermath, Optimus Prime surrendered his forces, including Nightbeat, to [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok's]] Decepticons on Earth, hoping to use his desperate action to unite both factions against [[Unicron]]. This alliance was about to form when the entire Decepticon base imploded in on itself due to an attack from [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave's]] small team of rival Decepticon forces. {{storylink|Surrender!}} Nightbeat survived this initial strike, and along with Optimus Prime and the other Autobots, emerged and tried to keep the new Decepticon Civil War from spreading beyond the area. Optimus charged himself and Nightbeat with keeping Scorponok specifically out of Manhattan. {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}} However, when [[G.B. Blackrock|G.B. Blackrock's]] team of robot-fighting mutants, the [[Neo-Knights]] arrived, Nightbeat was the first to fall at the hands of the psychotic [[Circuit Breaker]]. As the fighting neared its end, and the alliance began to form again, [[Primus]] teleported the Earth-bound Transformers to Cybertron; Nightbeat's antenna was in contact with the Neo-Knight's helicopter, accidentally bringing them to Cybertron as well! {{storylink|Out of Time!}}

[[Image:Nightbeatsnapdragon.jpg|right|160px|thumb|Muzzle it!]]

Once on Cybertron, Nightbeat, able to stand up again, watched as Primus spoke through [[Emirate Xaaron]], telling "his children" of their origin and their charge to defeat Unicron. {{storylink|The Void! (US)|The Void!}} Once Unicron arrived, the alliance was put to the test, and Nightbeat was among several Autobots who utilized [[hoverscooter]]s in their attacks on the Dark God. Nightbeat survived this cataclysmic battle. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

Nightbeat was seen nailing both an Autobot and Decepticon logo on the wall of their fragile alliance's headquarters {{storylink|Still Life!}} and joined the Autobots in their delayed evacuation of Cybertron. As they headed for [[Klo]], he urged [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] to cool down and save his bring-a-prick for the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Last Autobot?}} Unfortunately, the Decepticons were aware of the Autobots' surprise attack, and all but five Autobots were destroyed. [[Snapdragon]] kicked a head away from Nightbeat's remains. {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}

{{note|It can be assumed that Nightbeat was revived along with the other casualties by the [[Last Autobot]].}}

=====''Another Time and Place''=====
{{note|The "Another Time and Place" text story was meant to be a conclusion to the Marvel continuity, but its events were ignored by ''[[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]''. It was [[Withered Hope|later labeled]] a "dead end" [[splinter timeline]].}}

When the Decepticons took control of the [[Nucleon]] on [[Hydrus Four]], Nightbeat joined a commando unit of Autobots to infiltrate their position. Their first obstacle was [[Fangry]], but luck was on their side. The Decepticon tracker was looking to kill something, and bent waaaaay over the water trying to skewer a fish. Nightbeat just had to give him a tiny nudge, and Fangry fell over into the waiting arms of the Autobots hidden in the murky water. {{storylink|Another Time and Place}}

====Generation 2====
[[Image:Dirge DeathSwarm.jpg|right|250px|thumb|We hate you, Furman, forever.]]
Nightbeat worked on a computer console as Optimus Prime and Megatron observed some data on the [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]]. When [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s Cybertronian army attacked the base, Nightbeat's console exploded, sending him flying across the room. {{storylink|Swarm (issue)|Swarm}}

He later appeared among the Autobot forces just long enough to sacrifice himself futilely against the Swarm, self-destructing alongside [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]]. Moments later, Megatron showed up with the [[rheanimum]] that could have saved him. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!|A Rage in Heaven!}}

{{-}}

====Classics====
{{note|The ''Classics'' stories take 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:Nightbeatsirencheapshots.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Detective by trade, but moonlights as a babysitter.]]
When the war ended with the Decepticons' defeat on Klo, Nightbeat initially accepted [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock's]] offer to search the galaxy for [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and his scattered troops. However, Nightbeat soon tired of this mindset, and formed his own team. He, his former [[Binary bonding|binary bond]] partner [[Muzzle]], [[Siren]] (and his partner [[Quig]]), [[Lug]], [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]], [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], and a new [[human]] recruit, [[Minerva]], scoured the galaxy for mysteries to solve.

[[Image:Nightbeatcheapshotsnoggin.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You'd lose the ears, too, if you hung out with Siren.]]

Nightbeat's crew once had to <strike>set their ship down on the planet [[Azure]] for repairs</strike> crash their ship into the only repair bay on Azure equipped to repair their ship, and they were stranded there for the interim. After a barroom brawl, Nightbeat found that he was a person of interest to a potential client, a sentient ship named ''[[Amory]]''. ''Amory'' required the services of Nightbeat and his team in finding her pilot, [[Phyrion]]. However, the entire arrangement was a setup put together by the Decepticons [[Ruckus (G1)|Ruckus]] and [[Needlenose]], who had assembled an alleged "new [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]" by promising payment to [[Octopunch]] and [[Stranglehold]] for their assistance. Ruckus wasn't very smart, however, and had brought his hostage with him. The Decepticons were brutalized and Phyrion was returned to ''Amory''. Regretting her involvement, ''Amory'' paid the Autobots for her services, plus she chipped in for a new head for Nightbeat, as his was damaged during the battle.

Despite their short run-in with good luck, Nightbeat and his crew were still stranded on Azure without a working ship. In the meantime, surely someone was in need of a detective... {{storylink|Cheap Shots}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:Nightbeatageofwrath.jpg|right|150px|thumb|War Within Nightbeat transforms into Roger Clemens.]]
One of the few remaining Autobots battling the Decepticons during the [[Age of Internment]], Nightbeat was leader of a strike team consisting of Hosehead, Siren, [[Slapdash]], [[Joyride]], and [[Getaway]]. They were tasked with acquiring a member of the [[Aerospace Extermination Squadron]] for [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] to study and, hopefully, find some sort of defense against. Using Getaway as a decoy with the rest of the team hiding under a [[null-field cloak]], they managed to lure three of them into a trap at [[Nova Cronum]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath issue 2}} After the first two drones were destroyed, the third simply shut itself down. As Nightbeat discussed the best couse of action with [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], he approached it with an [[inhibitor claw]] - only for it to suddenly reactivate and slam Nightbeat against a wall, temporarily knocking him out of commission. Nightbeat revived shortly afterwards but was helpless to stop the rampaging drone, which was eventually put down by Getaway. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath issue 3}}
{{-}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}

[[Image:SpotlightNightbeat NightbeatKrakon.jpg|left|220px|thumb|"Replicants weren't supposed to have feelings. Neither were Blade Runners. What the hell was happening to me?"]]
Nightbeat, passing the time by trying to answer the mystery of the first ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', went to meet with a mechanoid trader named [[Krakon]], only to find him dead by unknown means. Nightbeat followed the clues that the late Krakon (and his killers) left behind and was lured into an apparent trap on [[Gorlam Prime]]. He found a strange dimensional portal deep beneath the world, but got captured by an [[Straxus (G1)|unknown villain]] before he could tell anyone. They put something in his head, erased his memory, and then sent him back out into space. Shortly thereafter he was contacted by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and ordered to head for [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Nightbeat}}

Aboard ''[[Ark-32]]'', Nightbeat arrived in Earth orbit with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] in tow just as Optimus Prime and his troops were confronting [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] head-on in the breakaway Soviet state of [[Brasnya]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3}} While his two rather over-eager companions headed to the surface, Nightbeat remained aboard the ship and provided intel for the Autobots below. {{storylink|Escalation issue 4}}

Planetside, Hot Rod succeeded in carrying out his primary mission, the capture of the Decepticons' [[facsimile]] avatar. Anxious to re-join the battle, he requested Nightbeat to send him through a double orbital bounce—transporting him up to the ship just long enough to drop off his captive, then returning to the planet. Nightbeat was rather bemused at the thought of the thrill-seeking Hot Rod abandoning a combat zone, but complied. At that instant, though, [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] arrived and attacked Hot Rod. Nightbeat reported back to [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] that Hot Rod was in a [[CR chamber]], and the facsimile—injured by flak—had expired.
{{storylink|Escalation issue 6}}

[[Image:Nightbeat-devastation1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"My guess might be excellent or it might be crummy, but Mrs. Spade didn't raise any children dippy enough to make guesses in front of a DA, an assistant DA and a stenographer."]]

After [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker's]] disappearance, Nightbeat began investigating the sequence of events that led to his capture. Examining the [[SM-40 Notepad]] stolen by [[Verity Carlo]], he discovered a homing device that had allowed Sunstreaker's unknown assailants to discover the underwater location of ''[[Ark-19]]''. Nightbeat ordered [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] on a scouting mission along the shores of [[Lake Michigan]], where Bumblebee discovered a great deal of advanced surveillance equipment. Deducing that ''Ark-19'''s location was compromised, Nightbeat advised Optimus and Prowl to move the ship immediately. Nightbeat handled navigation chores as the ship lifted off. Unfortunately, the Decepticon [[Sixshot]] attacked shortly thereafter, sending ''Ark-19'' plummeting to Earth. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1}}

Per Optimus Prime's order, Nightbeat transferred the damaged ship's data to ''Ark-32'', then moved with the other Autobots to the ship's cargo bay shortly before it crashed into the Gulf of Mexico and self-destructed. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2}}

Nightbeat and the others survived, however and while the other Autobots battled Sixshot, Nightbeat attempted to activate the orbital bounce abilities of the ''Ark-32''. After a few Autobot injuries, Nightbeat was able to beam them up to the ship, along with [[Jimmy Pink]] and Verity Carlo, who may have died during the bounce. Optimus Prime stayed behind to battle Sixshot alone, but once Sixshot left the battle, Nightbeat also evacuated Prime seconds before an air strike by the U.S. military. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation issue 4}}

Afterward, Nightbeat studied the telemetry [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s unit sent on [[Leadfoot|Leadfoot's]] death. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5}} After examining the data, Nightbeat observed that it was as though a virus of unlife had attacked and destroyed every living cyber-cell in Leadfoot simultaneously, in a fraction of a [[Units of time|nano-klik]]. While it was something he had never encountered before, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he had forgotten something important, as if his memory had been tampered with. Seeking inspiration to jog his memory, he went down to the hanger of ''Ark 32'' where his personal ship was stored. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6}}

[[Image:Nightbeatexecuted.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Let me tell you about my mother."]]

He soon found out that he logged a message about his trip to Gorlam Prime, but that he has no recollection about it. He asked Hardhead to help him with his investigation. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}}

Discovering a large part of his memory missing, a worried Nightbeat realised someone may have tampered with him and asked Hardhead to accompany him to Gorlam Prime, with orders to terminate Nightbeat if he turned. Upon arrival, they found the entire planet frozen. Nightbeat theorised that the planet was evolving somehow, from organic to techno-organic... to something like Cybertronians. His musings were interrupted by a force of small Transformers. As Hardhead held them off, Nightbeat found some kind of tunnels leading down to a strange cavern. There, losing control of himself, he turned his gun on Hardhead, who casually shot him in the head. As the Autobot died, [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] screamed, revealing to [[Nova Prime|Nemesis Prime]] that their agent was gone. Nemesis casually waved it away, taking Nightbeat's mission as his own: Find and kill Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Nightbeat toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Too cool for Playskool.]]
* '''Nightbeat with Muzzle''' (Headmaster, 1988)
**''Accessories'': "Muzzle" Headmaster driver, seat/helmet, "Plasma Blaster" rifle, right and left "[[Photon pistol|Photon Pistols]]"

: [[Transformation (toys)|Nightbeat transforms]] into a blue and yellow Porsche 959. The roof is hinged and can be opened to reveal an interior that his Headmaster unit, Muzzle, can sit inside of. His head guns can be stored just above the headlights while his rifle can be plugged onto the roof.

: In robot mode, like all Headmaster toys, Nightbeat has a flip-down panel on his chest which covers a spring-loaded mini-[[Tech Spec|Tech-Spec]]-meter which gives readings for Speed, Strength and Intelligence. The tumblers are activated when Muzzle (or any other Headmaster unit) is plugged into his neck socket. Muzzle has Nightbeat's face plainly visible on his back because, as a smaller Headmaster toy, he lacks the flip down panel that covers the face, featured on larger Headmasters.

:He shares a mold with the Japanese [[Headmaster Junior]], [[Minerva]], who also got a mail-order exclusive version in Nightbeat's colors.

===Timelines===
[[Image:Nightbeattimelinestoy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your...]]
* '''Nightbeat''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Accessories:'' Missile launcher, missile, radar

: This [[retool]] of ''[[Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] is one of two 2008 [[Fun Publications]] Fan Club exclusives. The new head is based on the character model's head (by which we mean [[Siren]]'s with some nods to the toy-Nightbeat's, see Trivia below), but is missing its "ears" thanks to clearance and production timing issues. Nightbeat comes with a clear-plastic spring-loaded missile launcher. He can also form the top or bottom half of a combined robot with any other "[[Powerlinx]]"-style 2-bot combiner toy.

: Nightbeat was originally announced to be available by [[BotCon 2008]] in April, but after multiple delays, preorders finally went up months later on [[August 27]], 2008, with a release date of "within four weeks" of September 30, 2008.

: The retooled version of this mold was used to create ''[[Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]'' [[Nightbeat (Shattered Glass)|Nightbeat]] at [[BotCon 2008]]'s customization class.

:* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnhbeRLlVnI Promotional YouTube video for Timelines Nightbeat, featuring lots of spinny-spinny]

{{-}}

==Trivia==
[[Image:Nightbeatsirenswappedheads.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Top row: toy Nightbeat, toy Siren. Bottom row: comic Siren, comic Nightbeat.]]
* In Nightbeat's [[:Image:Transformsfromracecartorobot.jpg|toy packaging photography]], Muzzle's legs are blue instead of the final black, and the flame stickers on Nightbeat's doors are different. This early flame design made it into [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Nightbeat Nightbeat's ''Universe'' profile art] and, as a result, into some Marvel Comics stories.
* For their [[Character model|character models]], the face/Nebulan and helmet/seat pieces of Nightbeat and [[Siren]] were inexplicably switched. (It is difficult to tell for sure, but they may have kept the correct antennae/guns judging by the basic shapes involved.) This switch gave comic book Nightbeat the "shades" he's remembered for, as well as the crest on his forehead, while comic book Siren ended up with his trademark combined brow/nosepiece. How or why this switch happened, and in what stage of development it occurred, is unknown.
* He was was depicted with his own toy's head (for the first time) in [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s [[War Within: The Age of Wrath|The War Within: The Age of Wrath]]. Nightbeat's appearances in [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s Transformers comics retain the Siren face design, but inside the Nightbeat helmet. In [[Fun Publications]]' "[[Cheap Shots]]", his appearance is based on his new toy, whose head is based on Siren's face and helmet.

[[Image:Nightbeatchests.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Where'd he get that extra boob?]]
* Another Nightbeat visual oddity is the large difference between the design of his toy's chest and of the character model's chest. While the toy's chest is an asymmetrical shape with one "boob" and a "tummy grill" not unlike Optimus Prime's, the character model gives him a concave octagon which symmetrically houses two hollow boxes. Where did this design come from, and why is it the only thing on his character model, other than the swapped head, that departs from his toy design?
* Due to his asymmetrical chest details, Nightbeat's original [[package art]] is noticeably flipped horizontally, putting his "boob" on the left instead of the right. Dreamwave's [[More Than Meets The Eye (G1)|More Than Meets The Eye]] profile art of him, seen at the top of this page, seems to have been based on the boxart's flip, as well as IDW's material for a long time. In [[Devastation issue 6]], IDW's Nightbeat chest is symmetrical, mirroring the half of his chest with the "boob," giving him an approximation of the made-up Marvel Comics/character model chest -- but in [[Spotlight: Hardhead]], it's back to the asymmetrical design again.
* Nightbeat has worn the trenchcoat and fedora on occasion. [[:Image:MarvelUK-230.jpg|Sometimes]] the artist remembers he has very tall shoulders under there, [[:Image:MarvelUS-62.jpg|sometimes not]].
* In the (hilariously bad) [[RTM 1 dub|English-Malay dub]] of ''[[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Super-God Masterforce]]'', [[Minerva]] is called "Nightbeat."
* At [[BotCon 1997]], [[Simon Furman]] was asked why he killed Nightbeat in ''[[Generation 2 (Marvel Comics)|Generation 2]]''. He said:
{{bigquote|I don't have a good answer for you... It was too easy to say, I'll kill off all the incidental characters, all the ones I don't like. It sort of added to the bigger picture by ... some of the favorites got it in the neck as well... It's like, say [[Rattrap]] or something died, it's like.. Who cares? I do like Beast Wars as well... it was too easy to just knock off 'B' characters...}}
:Suffice to say, Furman wasn't very familiar with ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' at the time. [http://www.builtstlouis.net/tf/nightbeat/index.html]
* A "dinner mystery theatre" starring Nightbeat was planned for [[OTFCC 2004]], with Optimus Prime as the murder victim. Instead, the Transformer theme was shelved and attendees were subjected to [[DEATH BY CHOCOLATE]].
{{-}}

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Autobot/Nightbeat/nightbeat.htm Nightbeat at TFU.info]

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

*[http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPATD311042&id=O6IoAAAAEBAJ&pg=RA1-PA4#PPA2,M1 Nightbeat's patent on Google.]

*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-MDd7cdi0 1988 Headmasters commercial starring Nightbeat, on Youtube]

*[http://www.builtstlouis.net/tf/nightbeat/index.html Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About NIGHTBEAT]

[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Classics characters]]
[[Category:Fan Club exclusives]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]

Nightbeat (G1)

2009-07-27T09:31:30Z

69.155.117.217: /* IDW comics continuity */

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2}}

{{featured}}

{{disambig3|Nightbeat}}
:''Nightbeat is an [[Autobot]] [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Nightbeatg1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Nightbeat in: "The Mystery of the Jaunty Irish Jig!"]]
'''Nightbeat''', a self-declared detective, loves mystery, suspense, and conspiracy. When Nightbeat is on the trail for clues, nothing else matters. This monomania has famously gotten him into trouble over his head more times than he can count. Yet in the face of adversity, he remains cool, confident, and even irreverent. He has insulted creatures many times his size and committed huge faux-pas to uncover the truth. It is not so much that Nightbeat is brave, but more that when the thrill of the hunt has him -- he will not be denied.

Nightbeat has a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] partner, [[Muzzle]], who he gets along ''amazingly'' well with. The two seem to have been of one mind even before they were [[Binary bonding|binary bonded]].

{{bigquote|Interrogation is a '''science''', combining psychology and bluff, observation and-- ''(Nightbeat ducks, [[Siren]] receives punch meant for Nightbeat)'' --Reflexes!'''
|Nightbeat, "[[Bird of Prey!]]"}}

:''Hungarian name:'' '''Éjvadász''' ("Night Hunter")
:''French-Canadian name'': '''Veilleur''' (Watcher)

==Fiction==
===Commercial animation===
[[Image:NightbeatTV.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Feel the beat of the rhythm of the Nightbeat.]]
While being driven by [[Muzzle]] on the surface of an unidentified planet (with [[Siren]] and [[Hosehead]] at his side), Nightbeat transformed into robot mode. Shortly thereafter, three [[Decepticon]] Headmasters burst through a wall, and Nightbeat engaged [[Horri-Bull]] in battle. [http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-MDd7cdi0 ] {{storylink|Commercial|Small Headmasters Commercial}}

{{note|This is the only time that Nightbeat's [[character model]] was animated. His "shades", like the eyes on his toy, would have been black, though they glow blue as Muzzle connects.}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}

[[Image:Sirennightbeatbigshutdown.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Nightbeat, I thought 'Truth is revealed in the smallest detail' is what you always say." "...Shut up, Siren."]]

''Shortly after being made a [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] and joining [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime's]] crew on Earth, Nightbeat learned of a mysterious robot corpse which had seemingly washed up on the California shoreline. He decided to investigate, bringing along [[Siren]] to serve as his personal "Watson". At the scene of the crime, they found a pair of Transformers hovering over [[Playback|the body]], and who quickly burned rubber once they spotted the Autobots. Sending Siren off to chase them down, Nightbeat pulled out the giant retractable magnifying glass in his sleeve and went to work collecting evidence from the body.''
''Finding a serial brand from a Decepticon prison on the body, and identifying a signature Decepticon blaster as the murder weapon, Nightbeat concluded that a lone, well-armed Decepticon was hunting down escaped Autobot prisoners. Siren returned at that moment, correcting Nightbeat's analysis by informing him the prisoners weren't escapees, but deliberately let loose as prey to be hunted down. His source? The surviving prisoner, [[Hosehead]], and the lone, well-armed Decepticon named [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] who was right on their tails. Thinking quickly, Nightbeat had his Nebulan partner Muzzle binary-bond with the dead Autobot in order to partially reactivate his motor functions. Caught off-guard by his prey supposedly coming back to life right in front of him, Thunderwing left himself wide open when Muzzle disengaged and Nightbeat blew up the Autobot's fuel core at close enough range to send Thunderwing packing into the waves to dose the flames. Hosehead then returned to the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] with Nightbeat and Siren.'' {{storylink|The Big Shutdown!}}

[[Image:Nightbeatdeathbringer.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Get your head out of 1984, Prime!]]
''Optimus Prime was confiding in Nightbeat his desire to find a way to restore the warriors who were destroyed during the [[Underbase Saga]] when they received a distress signal from the Earth's surface. Nightbeat assembled a combat team that included [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]], Siren, Hosehead, [[Getaway]], and himself, and under Optimus Prime's command, they rushed to Earth to help their fallen comrades. There they found the [[Deathbringer]], who had come to cleanse the planet of life. Ironically, Deathbringer was powered by the energies of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]], the very thing Prime had desired earlier to restore his fallen warriors! And it must be destroyed to save Earth! While the rest of the combat team were getting slaughtered by Deathbringer, Nightbeat pulled away and consulted via comlink [[Waverider]] on the Ark. Through Waverider's information digging, Nightbeat learned that Deathbringers are mechanoids who are designed to give death painlessly to the terminally ill. Though this particular Deathbringer's purpose had been twisted, Nightbeat used its own programming against it. Nightbeat told the Deathbringer that its own body was diseased, and it should destroy itself. It did, leaving Nightbeat and Prime a hollow victory with questions about the true essence of the Matrix. {{storylink|Deathbringer (issue)|Deathbringer}}''

''Later, Thunderwing emerged from the ocean, intent on destroying Nightbeat, Hosehead, and Siren, the Autobots who had defeated him earlier. {{storylink|Rage!}} To this end, he led his troops on a suicidal attack on the Ark. Though Thunderwing and his troops were forced to retreat, when he returned to Cybertron he was named Decepticon leader for his single-minded ruthlessness. {{storylink|Assault on the Ark!}}''

[[Image:Nightbeatincontrol.jpg|left|200px|thumb|But what does he think about waterboarding?]]

During the Matrix Quest, Nightbeat led Hosehead and Siren on a search of the planet [[Pz-Zazz]] for any sign of the Matrix. Pz-Zazz was on file as a vibrant, lush world; in reality it was a cesspool, festering with mob violence and untamed decadence. While questioning the wrong sort of people, the Autobots were caught in the middle of a crossfire between B'hgdad's men and Gutt's boys. One alien on the street fared worse than they did, passing on a mysterious bird statue to Siren before dying in his arms. Despite Nightbeat's keen interest in the clear film noir plot developing around them, Siren and Hosehead convinced him to put the bird aside and continue searching for the Matrix.

At the next bar they were canvassing, the Autobots were confronted by the delightful Miss [[Fatale]]. Fatale informed them of a legendary Font of Life which had once lit a nearby mountaintop. The sick and weak would pilgrimage to the mountain in order to touch a "sacred idol" and heal their wounds. She offered to lead them to the temple on the mountain in exchange for the bird, which she claimed was her property. Suspicious, Nightbeat sent Hosehead and Siren ahead to the mountain with Fatale while he retrieved the bird from where they had stashed it. Confronted by B'hgdad and his men, Nightbeat only managed to escape after chipping off a piece of the bird's outer enamel, revealing the radiant life-source within. Briefly considering keeping the bird as a replacement for the Matrix, to help heal all his comrades aboard the Ark, Nightbeat quickly rejected the idea and returned the bird to its rightful place on the mountain's altar, releasing waves of pure light and hope to revitalize Pz-Zazz and its people.

Then he got shot in the back. No good deed goes unpunished. {{storylink|Bird of Prey!}}

Thunderwing and his [[Mayhem Attack Squad]] had gotten wind of Autobot parties searching this one area of the galaxy, and his curiosity was piqued. Hooking Nightbeat and the others up to his torturous Mind-Leech device, Thunderwing extracted all he needed to know about the Matrix Quest and the possible planets on the search list. {{storylink|Kings of the Wild Frontier}} The Autobot trio remained captives on board the Mayhem ship until Thunderwing backhanded his minion [[Ruckus (G1)|Ruckus]] into some equipment. {{storylink|Deadly Obsession}} This caused a short circuit which, unknown to the Decepticons, freed Nightbeat and his team. Learning that Thunderwing had successfully found the Matrix in their absence and was planning to sneak aboard the Ark in a stolen [[Ark shuttlecraft|Autobot shuttle]], Nightbeat and pals stowed away on the shuttle in the hopes of disrupting the Decepticons' schemes somehow.

[[Image:Nightbeatmatrixguideme.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Stop writing our captions for us, Nightbeat.]]

The situation was worse than they thought. The Matrix was corrupted from a series of unstable hosts, and now had an evil sentience that had overwhelmed Thunderwing and made him a puppet to its will. With the combined forces of the Ark unable to best the Thunderwing / Matrix combo, Nightbeat devised a desperate plan. As Siren triggered the shuttle's self-destruct sequence, Nightbeat fired the ship's grappling harpoon straight through Thunderwing's chest and shut off the docking clamps, just as Hosehead turned off the artificial gravity in the hangar bay. The result was the shuttle being sucked out into the black void, taking Thunderwing and the Matrix along with it before exploding. Thunderwing was last seen hurtling through space, still harpooned to a piece of flaming debris. {{storylink|All Fall Down (issue)|All Fall Down}}

[[Image:Nightbeateyeofthestorm.jpg|left|200px|thumb|And a second gunman! On the grassy knoll!]]

Optimus Prime next gave Nightbeat an investigational assignment to look into the disappearance and supposed death of [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] in a massive explosion on Cybertron some months back. After review witness statements and making a few leaps of deductive logic, Nightbeat reached the hypothesis that Ratchet may have been cast into a dimensional portal they knew had been active at the time of the explosion, and then been caught between space as the explosion destroyed the delicate portal mechanism. To test his theory, Nightbeat arranged for an inter-dimensional probe to search for and retrieve Ratchet's spark signature in [[unspace]], assuming it was anywhere to be found. {{storylink|Eye of the Storm!|Eye of the Storm!}}

It was. Ratchet reappeared on the Ark fused at a molecular level to Megatron. This wasn't a [[Silverbolt (BW)|"pure, strong, and fast"]] fusion; it was a horrific blending of two mechanoids, both in constant and indescribable agony. Prime managed to subdue the creature, and Autobot medic [[Fixit (G1)|Fixit]] took steps to separate the pair, who were then placed in stasis chambers. {{storylink|The Price of Life!}} During the aftermath, Optimus Prime surrendered his forces, including Nightbeat, to [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok's]] Decepticons on Earth, hoping to use his desperate action to unite both factions against [[Unicron]]. This alliance was about to form when the entire Decepticon base imploded in on itself due to an attack from [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave's]] small team of rival Decepticon forces. {{storylink|Surrender!}} Nightbeat survived this initial strike, and along with Optimus Prime and the other Autobots, emerged and tried to keep the new Decepticon Civil War from spreading beyond the area. Optimus charged himself and Nightbeat with keeping Scorponok specifically out of Manhattan. {{storylink|...All This and Civil War 2}} However, when [[G.B. Blackrock|G.B. Blackrock's]] team of robot-fighting mutants, the [[Neo-Knights]] arrived, Nightbeat was the first to fall at the hands of the psychotic [[Circuit Breaker]]. As the fighting neared its end, and the alliance began to form again, [[Primus]] teleported the Earth-bound Transformers to Cybertron; Nightbeat's antenna was in contact with the Neo-Knight's helicopter, accidentally bringing them to Cybertron as well! {{storylink|Out of Time!}}

[[Image:Nightbeatsnapdragon.jpg|right|160px|thumb|Oh no! Muzzle!]]

Once on Cybertron, Nightbeat, able to stand up again, watched as Primus spoke through [[Emirate Xaaron]], telling "his children" of their origin and their charge to defeat Unicron. {{storylink|The Void! (US)|The Void!}} Once Unicron arrived, the alliance was put to the test, and Nightbeat was among several Autobots who utilized [[hoverscooter]]s in their attacks on the Dark God. Nightbeat survived this cataclysmic battle. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

Nightbeat was seen nailing both an Autobot and Decepticon logo on the wall of their fragile alliance's headquarters {{storylink|Still Life!}} and joined the Autobots in their delayed evacuation of Cybertron. As they headed for [[Klo]], he urged [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] to cool down and save his bring-a-prick for the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Last Autobot?}} Unfortunately, the Decepticons were aware of the Autobots' surprise attack, and all but five Autobots were destroyed. [[Snapdragon]] kicked a head away from Nightbeat's remains. {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}

{{note|It can be assumed that Nightbeat was revived along with the other casualties by the [[Last Autobot]].}}

=====''Another Time and Place''=====
{{note|The "Another Time and Place" text story was meant to be a conclusion to the Marvel continuity, but its events were ignored by ''[[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]''. It was [[Withered Hope|later labeled]] a "dead end" [[splinter timeline]].}}

When the Decepticons took control of the [[Nucleon]] on [[Hydrus Four]], Nightbeat joined a commando unit of Autobots to infiltrate their position. Their first obstacle was [[Fangry]], but luck was on their side. The Decepticon tracker was looking to kill something, and bent waaaaay over the water trying to skewer a fish. Nightbeat just had to give him a tiny nudge, and Fangry fell over into the waiting arms of the Autobots hidden in the murky water. {{storylink|Another Time and Place}}

====Generation 2====
[[Image:Dirge DeathSwarm.jpg|right|250px|thumb|We hate you, Furman, forever.]]
Nightbeat worked on a computer console as Optimus Prime and Megatron observed some data on the [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]]. When [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s Cybertronian army attacked the base, Nightbeat's console exploded, sending him flying across the room. {{storylink|Swarm (issue)|Swarm}}

He later appeared among the Autobot forces just long enough to sacrifice himself futilely against the Swarm, self-destructing alongside [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]]. Moments later, Megatron showed up with the [[rheanimum]] that could have saved him. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!|A Rage in Heaven!}}

{{-}}

====Classics====
{{note|The ''Classics'' stories take 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:Nightbeatsirencheapshots.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Detective by trade, but moonlights as a babysitter.]]
When the war ended with the Decepticons' defeat on Klo, Nightbeat initially accepted [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock's]] offer to search the galaxy for [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] and his scattered troops. However, Nightbeat soon tired of this mindset, and formed his own team. He, his former [[Binary bonding|binary bond]] partner [[Muzzle]], [[Siren]] (and his partner [[Quig]]), [[Lug]], [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]], [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], and a new [[human]] recruit, [[Minerva]], scoured the galaxy for mysteries to solve.

[[Image:Nightbeatcheapshotsnoggin.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You'd lose the ears, too, if you hung out with Siren.]]

Nightbeat's crew once had to <strike>set their ship down on the planet [[Azure]] for repairs</strike> crash their ship into the only repair bay on Azure equipped to repair their ship, and they were stranded there for the interim. After a barroom brawl, Nightbeat found that he was a person of interest to a potential client, a sentient ship named ''[[Amory]]''. ''Amory'' required the services of Nightbeat and his team in finding her pilot, [[Phyrion]]. However, the entire arrangement was a setup put together by the Decepticons [[Ruckus (G1)|Ruckus]] and [[Needlenose]], who had assembled an alleged "new [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]" by promising payment to [[Octopunch]] and [[Stranglehold]] for their assistance. Ruckus wasn't very smart, however, and had brought his hostage with him. The Decepticons were brutalized and Phyrion was returned to ''Amory''. Regretting her involvement, ''Amory'' paid the Autobots for her services, plus she chipped in for a new head for Nightbeat, as his was damaged during the battle.

Despite their short run-in with good luck, Nightbeat and his crew were still stranded on Azure without a working ship. In the meantime, surely someone was in need of a detective... {{storylink|Cheap Shots}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:Nightbeatageofwrath.jpg|right|150px|thumb|War Within Nightbeat transforms into Roger Clemens.]]
One of the few remaining Autobots battling the Decepticons during the [[Age of Internment]], Nightbeat was leader of a strike team consisting of Hosehead, Siren, [[Slapdash]], [[Joyride]], and [[Getaway]]. They were tasked with acquiring a member of the [[Aerospace Extermination Squadron]] for [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] to study and, hopefully, find some sort of defense against. Using Getaway as a decoy with the rest of the team hiding under a [[null-field cloak]], they managed to lure three of them into a trap at [[Nova Cronum]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath issue 2}} After the first two drones were destroyed, the third simply shut itself down. As Nightbeat discussed the best couse of action with [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], he approached it with an [[inhibitor claw]] - only for it to suddenly reactivate and slam Nightbeat against a wall, temporarily knocking him out of commission. Nightbeat revived shortly afterwards but was helpless to stop the rampaging drone, which was eventually put down by Getaway. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath issue 3}}
{{-}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}

[[Image:SpotlightNightbeat NightbeatKrakon.jpg|left|220px|thumb|"Replicants weren't supposed to have feelings. Neither were Blade Runners. What the hell was happening to me?"]]
Nightbeat, passing the time by trying to answer the mystery of the first ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', went to meet with a mechanoid trader named [[Krakon]], only to find him dead by unknown means. Nightbeat followed the clues that the late Krakon (and his killers) left behind and was lured into an apparent trap on [[Gorlam Prime]]. He found a strange dimensional portal deep beneath the world, but got captured by an [[Straxus (G1)|unknown villain]] before he could tell anyone. They put something in his head, erased his memory, and then sent him back out into space. Shortly thereafter he was contacted by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and ordered to head for [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Spotlight: Nightbeat}}

Aboard ''[[Ark-32]]'', Nightbeat arrived in Earth orbit with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] in tow just as Optimus Prime and his troops were confronting [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] head-on in the breakaway Soviet state of [[Brasnya]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 3}} While his two rather over-eager companions headed to the surface, Nightbeat remained aboard the ship and provided intel for the Autobots below. {{storylink|Escalation issue 4}}

Planetside, Hot Rod succeeded in carrying out his primary mission, the capture of the Decepticons' [[facsimile]] avatar. Anxious to re-join the battle, he requested Nightbeat to send him through a double orbital bounce—transporting him up to the ship just long enough to drop off his captive, then returning to the planet. Nightbeat was rather bemused at the thought of the thrill-seeking Hot Rod abandoning a combat zone, but complied. At that instant, though, [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] arrived and attacked Hot Rod. Nightbeat reported back to [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] that Hot Rod was in a [[CR chamber]], and the facsimile—injured by flak—had expired.
{{storylink|Escalation issue 6}}

[[Image:Nightbeat-devastation1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"My guess might be excellent or it might be crummy, but Mrs. Spade didn't raise any children dippy enough to make guesses in front of a DA, an assistant DA and a stenographer."]]

After [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker's]] disappearance, Nightbeat began investigating the sequence of events that led to his capture. Examining the [[SM-40 Notepad]] stolen by [[Verity Carlo]], he discovered a homing device that had allowed Sunstreaker's unknown assailants to discover the underwater location of ''[[Ark-19]]''. Nightbeat ordered [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] on a scouting mission along the shores of [[Lake Michigan]], where Bumblebee discovered a great deal of advanced surveillance equipment. Deducing that ''Ark-19'''s location was compromised, Nightbeat advised Optimus and Prowl to move the ship immediately. Nightbeat handled navigation chores as the ship lifted off. Unfortunately, the Decepticon [[Sixshot]] attacked shortly thereafter, sending ''Ark-19'' plummeting to Earth. {{storylink|Devastation issue 1}}

Per Optimus Prime's order, Nightbeat transferred the damaged ship's data to ''Ark-32'', then moved with the other Autobots to the ship's cargo bay shortly before it crashed into the Gulf of Mexico and self-destructed. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2}}

Nightbeat and the others survived, however and while the other Autobots battled Sixshot, Nightbeat attempted to activate the orbital bounce abilities of the ''Ark-32''. After a few Autobot injuries, Nightbeat was able to beam them up to the ship, along with [[Jimmy Pink]] and Verity Carlo, who may have died during the bounce. Optimus Prime stayed behind to battle Sixshot alone, but once Sixshot left the battle, Nightbeat also evacuated Prime seconds before an air strike by the U.S. military. {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation issue 4}}

Afterward, Nightbeat studied the telemetry [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s unit sent on [[Leadfoot|Leadfoot's]] death. {{storylink|Devastation issue 5}} After examining the data, Nightbeat observed that it was as though a virus of unlife had attacked and destroyed every living cyber-cell in Leadfoot simultaneously, in a fraction of a [[Units of time|nano-klik]]. While it was something he had never encountered before, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he had forgotten something important, as if his memory had been tampered with. Seeking inspiration to jog his memory, he went down to the hanger of ''Ark 32'' where his personal ship was stored. {{storylink|Devastation issue 6}}

[[Image:Nightbeatexecuted.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Let me tell you about my mother."]]

He soon found out that he logged a message about his trip to Gorlam Prime, but that he has no recollection about it. He asked Hardhead to help him with his investigation. {{storylink|Spotlight: Cyclonus}}

Discovering a large part of his memory missing, a worried Nightbeat realised someone may have tampered with him and asked Hardhead to accompany him to Gorlam Prime, with orders to terminate Nightbeat if he turned. Upon arrival, they found the entire planet frozen. Nightbeat theorised that the planet was evolving somehow, from organic to techno-organic... to something like Cybertronians. His musings were interrupted by a force of small Transformers. As Hardhead held them off, Nightbeat found some kind of tunnels leading down to a strange cavern. There, losing control of himself, he turned his gun on Hardhead, who casually shot him in the head. As the Autobot died, [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] screamed, revealing to [[Nova Prime|Nemesis Prime]] that their agent was gone. Nemesis casually waved it away, taking Nightbeat's mission as his own: Find and kill Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Nightbeat toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Too cool for Playskool.]]
* '''Nightbeat with Muzzle''' (Headmaster, 1988)
**''Accessories'': "Muzzle" Headmaster driver, seat/helmet, "Plasma Blaster" rifle, right and left "[[Photon pistol|Photon Pistols]]"

: [[Transformation (toys)|Nightbeat transforms]] into a blue and yellow Porsche 959. The roof is hinged and can be opened to reveal an interior that his Headmaster unit, Muzzle, can sit inside of. His head guns can be stored just above the headlights while his rifle can be plugged onto the roof.

: In robot mode, like all Headmaster toys, Nightbeat has a flip-down panel on his chest which covers a spring-loaded mini-[[Tech Spec|Tech-Spec]]-meter which gives readings for Speed, Strength and Intelligence. The tumblers are activated when Muzzle (or any other Headmaster unit) is plugged into his neck socket. Muzzle has Nightbeat's face plainly visible on his back because, as a smaller Headmaster toy, he lacks the flip down panel that covers the face, featured on larger Headmasters.

:He shares a mold with the Japanese [[Headmaster Junior]], [[Minerva]], who also got a mail-order exclusive version in Nightbeat's colors.

===Timelines===
[[Image:Nightbeattimelinestoy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your...]]
* '''Nightbeat''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Accessories:'' Missile launcher, missile, radar

: This [[retool]] of ''[[Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] is one of two 2008 [[Fun Publications]] Fan Club exclusives. The new head is based on the character model's head (by which we mean [[Siren]]'s with some nods to the toy-Nightbeat's, see Trivia below), but is missing its "ears" thanks to clearance and production timing issues. Nightbeat comes with a clear-plastic spring-loaded missile launcher. He can also form the top or bottom half of a combined robot with any other "[[Powerlinx]]"-style 2-bot combiner toy.

: Nightbeat was originally announced to be available by [[BotCon 2008]] in April, but after multiple delays, preorders finally went up months later on [[August 27]], 2008, with a release date of "within four weeks" of September 30, 2008.

: The retooled version of this mold was used to create ''[[Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]'' [[Nightbeat (Shattered Glass)|Nightbeat]] at [[BotCon 2008]]'s customization class.

:* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnhbeRLlVnI Promotional YouTube video for Timelines Nightbeat, featuring lots of spinny-spinny]

{{-}}

==Trivia==
[[Image:Nightbeatsirenswappedheads.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Top row: toy Nightbeat, toy Siren. Bottom row: comic Siren, comic Nightbeat.]]
* In Nightbeat's [[:Image:Transformsfromracecartorobot.jpg|toy packaging photography]], Muzzle's legs are blue instead of the final black, and the flame stickers on Nightbeat's doors are different. This early flame design made it into [http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Nightbeat Nightbeat's ''Universe'' profile art] and, as a result, into some Marvel Comics stories.
* For their [[Character model|character models]], the face/Nebulan and helmet/seat pieces of Nightbeat and [[Siren]] were inexplicably switched. (It is difficult to tell for sure, but they may have kept the correct antennae/guns judging by the basic shapes involved.) This switch gave comic book Nightbeat the "shades" he's remembered for, as well as the crest on his forehead, while comic book Siren ended up with his trademark combined brow/nosepiece. How or why this switch happened, and in what stage of development it occurred, is unknown.
* He was was depicted with his own toy's head (for the first time) in [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s [[War Within: The Age of Wrath|The War Within: The Age of Wrath]]. Nightbeat's appearances in [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s Transformers comics retain the Siren face design, but inside the Nightbeat helmet. In [[Fun Publications]]' "[[Cheap Shots]]", his appearance is based on his new toy, whose head is based on Siren's face and helmet.

[[Image:Nightbeatchests.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Where'd he get that extra boob?]]
* Another Nightbeat visual oddity is the large difference between the design of his toy's chest and of the character model's chest. While the toy's chest is an asymmetrical shape with one "boob" and a "tummy grill" not unlike Optimus Prime's, the character model gives him a concave octagon which symmetrically houses two hollow boxes. Where did this design come from, and why is it the only thing on his character model, other than the swapped head, that departs from his toy design?
* Due to his asymmetrical chest details, Nightbeat's original [[package art]] is noticeably flipped horizontally, putting his "boob" on the left instead of the right. Dreamwave's [[More Than Meets The Eye (G1)|More Than Meets The Eye]] profile art of him, seen at the top of this page, seems to have been based on the boxart's flip, as well as IDW's material for a long time. In [[Devastation issue 6]], IDW's Nightbeat chest is symmetrical, mirroring the half of his chest with the "boob," giving him an approximation of the made-up Marvel Comics/character model chest -- but in [[Spotlight: Hardhead]], it's back to the asymmetrical design again.
* Nightbeat has worn the trenchcoat and fedora on occasion. [[:Image:MarvelUK-230.jpg|Sometimes]] the artist remembers he has very tall shoulders under there, [[:Image:MarvelUS-62.jpg|sometimes not]].
* In the (hilariously bad) [[RTM 1 dub|English-Malay dub]] of ''[[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Super-God Masterforce]]'', [[Minerva]] is called "Nightbeat."
* At [[BotCon 1997]], [[Simon Furman]] was asked why he killed Nightbeat in ''[[Generation 2 (Marvel Comics)|Generation 2]]''. He said:
{{bigquote|I don't have a good answer for you... It was too easy to say, I'll kill off all the incidental characters, all the ones I don't like. It sort of added to the bigger picture by ... some of the favorites got it in the neck as well... It's like, say [[Rattrap]] or something died, it's like.. Who cares? I do like Beast Wars as well... it was too easy to just knock off 'B' characters...}}
:Suffice to say, Furman wasn't very familiar with ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' at the time. [http://www.builtstlouis.net/tf/nightbeat/index.html]
* A "dinner mystery theatre" starring Nightbeat was planned for [[OTFCC 2004]], with Optimus Prime as the murder victim. Instead, the Transformer theme was shelved and attendees were subjected to [[DEATH BY CHOCOLATE]].
{{-}}

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Autobot/Nightbeat/nightbeat.htm Nightbeat at TFU.info]

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

*[http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPATD311042&id=O6IoAAAAEBAJ&pg=RA1-PA4#PPA2,M1 Nightbeat's patent on Google.]

*[http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-MDd7cdi0 1988 Headmasters commercial starring Nightbeat, on Youtube]

*[http://www.builtstlouis.net/tf/nightbeat/index.html Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About NIGHTBEAT]

[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Classics characters]]
[[Category:Fan Club exclusives]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters]]

More than Meets the Eye, Part 3

2009-07-27T08:46:11Z

69.155.117.217:

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=3
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=3
|image=More Than Meets Part 3.jpg
|caption= NOW ENTERING AREA 51 - ACCESS RESTRICTED! NO TRESPASSING, NO PHOTOGRAPHY PERMITTED
|title="More than Meets the Eye, Part 3"
|production code=4025
|airdate=[[September 19]], 1984
|written by=[[George Arthur Bloom]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''When an Autobot attempt to lure the Decepticons into a holographic trap fails, the villains succeed in gathering the energy the need, leaving the Autobots with only one chance to stop them returning to Cybertron.'''

:''Japanese title:'' 地球脱出! (''Chikyū Dasshutsu!'', "Escape from Earth!")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Die letzte Schlacht'''" ("The Last Battle")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:MTMtE Part3 PushingPrimeupright.jpg|left|200px|thumb|After a bad fall, it's important that you move every part of the victim. Forcibly if needed.]]

Caught in the blast of [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack's]] explosive, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] tumbles down the mountainside. Shaken but not defeated, he musters the energy to transform into robot mode. The [[Autobot|Autobots]] begin digging through the rubble and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] finds [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] alive and unharmed. Before the Autobots can begin celebrating what they presume to be the end of their enemies, there's a blast from the rubble. The [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] have survived their burial and have blasted their way out. With their [[Energon (fuel)|Energon]] haul unscathed, the Decepticons take to the air.

[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] is tired of this string of defeats, and he soon takes to the air to follow. [[Bluestreak]] takes off to try to rein him in. Ironhide takes a few pot-shots at the fleeing Decepticons, and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] breaks formation to teleport behind their pursuers. He lands a rocket square in Ironhide's back, knocking the old Autobot out of the chase. Ironhide crashes into a lake, and the Autobots catch up with him to pull him out of the water and into [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet's]] waiting repair bay. The Autobots return to base.

Back at the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] taunts the captive [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] and discusses the Decepticon spy's apparent abandonment by his comrades. In using a hologram of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] to goad Ravage, Hound and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] brainstorm an idea: to use an enormous hologram to trick the Decepticons into a trap. He pitches the idea to Optimus Prime, and the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] agrees.

Soon after, Hound talks to Mirage about a report from Teletraan-1 of a secret supply of rocket fuel. He says all this quite within earshot of Ravage, explaining how there's enough fuel there to make "four trips back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]." As Mirage and Hound walk away, Hound "accidentally" drops the key to Ravage's cage. The Decepticon retrieves it and escapes captivity.

[[Image:MTMtE Part3 Starscreambegs.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The genesis of a whole lot of slashfic.]]

Back at the Decepticon camp, Ravage reports in to Megatron about the rocket base. Megatron is delighted; it's the last energy source they'll need before they can return to Cybertron. As Megatron gloats, [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] grouses about the need for a change in leadership. In a foolish move, Starscream tries to blast Megatron in the back. [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] warns his leader, who deflects the blast with a built-in energy shield. Starscream has spent all his ammunition in this single shot, and he is left defenseless. Megatron returns the sentiment by blasting Starscream in the arm, knocking his disloyal lieutenant to the ground. Groveling, Starscream huddles to Megatron's feet, who answers his pleas only by issuing the command: "We attack the rocket base at sunrise!"

In a flat stretch of desert, Hound creates the rocket base hologram. The Decepticons move into position, and Megatron orders them to attack.

[[Image:MTMtE Part3 Jazz ScrapDecepticon.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Jazz soon regrets buying from eBay.]]

The Autobots spring their trap, running out from hiding to ambush the attacking Decepticons. However, when they engage in hand-to-hand combat, the Decepticons break apart like poorly made machines. Optimus Prime realizes they've been had. These aren't the Decepticons, but are instead decoys. Megatron, the only real Decepticon present, laughs at Prime's misstep. He saw through the phony release of Ravage. Megatron reveals to his defeated enemy that the real Decepticon army has been attacking the real rocket base.

Cut to [[Cape Carlson]], the real rocket base, where the Decepticon jets arrive. They transform and neutralize the human army's attempt to stop them. In short time, Megatron rejoins them, and they soon return to their launch base with all the fuel they need. Soundwave reports the space cruiser's readiness, and Megatron orders the Decepticons to prepare to blast off.

[[Image:MTMtE Part3 Optimus overacting.jpg|right|200px|thumb|KHAAAAAAAAAN!]]

Back at the Autobot ship, Optimus Prime briefs his soldiers on the grim situation. He tells them that Megatron is on the verge of returning to Cybertron, where he could become unstoppable with the energon he has tapped from [[Earth]]. The Autobots have no choice but to directly attack the Decepticons. Prime asks for volunteers, and all the Autobots—and their human allies [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and Sparkplug—step forward. The Autobots transform into vehicle mode and roll out.

As the Decepticons begin to board the [[Victory (ship)|cruiser]], the Autobots encircle the base. Prime's forces transform into robot form and begin the attack. The Autobots grapple with the Decepticons, but the battle is brief. Megatron and his forces get aboard their ship and blast off into the sky.

[[Image:MTMtE Part3 ExtinctiontoallTraitors.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Naturally, Megatron is firm advocate of the Second Amendment.]]

Optimus Prime refuses to concede defeat. He orders [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] to hand over his rocket pack. Donning the pack, Prime takes off to personally pursue the Decepticon cruiser. Starscream spots Prime in pursuit. The cruiser opens fire, blasting Prime who falls out of the sky and hits the ground hard.

The Autobots gather to see if Prime is okay, and the tough Autobot shrugs off their help. It's then that he notices that Mirage is missing from their ranks.

Aboard the cruiser, Starscream makes his move to usurp Megatron. Waiting for the Decepticon leader to lower his guard and remove his arm-cannon, Starscream raises his weapon to Megatron. Just then, Mirage drops his invisibility power to fire a few shots in the cruiser's controls. Starscream turns to blast Mirage, and Megatron takes advantage of the distraction to retrieve his cannon and fire on Starscream. Chaos erupts aboard the cruiser as Mirage's sabotage begins spreading and Soundwave loses control of the ship.

[[Image:MTMtE Part3 Mirage HALOjump.jpg|right|200px|thumb|WHEEEEEE!]]

Mirage scrambles to his feet and jumps from the doomed ship as it crashes into the ocean. The Autobots on the ground stare incredulously as the Decepticons are suddenly and mysteriously defeated. They then spot Mirage, the unlikely hero, floating to the ground in a parachute rig. The Autobots celebrate their victory.

Spike writes in his journal that because the Autobots stopped the Decepticons from stealing Earth's resources, the governments of the world have decided to give Optimus Prime the energy he needs to revitalize Cybertron. The Autobot ship is being refurbished, and Spike and Sparkplug eagerly await their trip to the Transformers' home world.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the ocean, the Decepticon space cruiser rests. Bubbles emerge from a hatch that is pulled free from the inside by massive metal hands. Megatron lives.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (2)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (3)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (4)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (5)
*[[Bluestreak]] (6)
*[[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (7)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (8)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (9)
*[[Roller]] (10)
*[[Gears]] (11)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (12)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (13)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (14)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (23)
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (24)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (25)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (26)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (28)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (17)
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (18)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (19)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (20)
*[[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] (21)
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (22)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (27)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (29)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (30)

|c3=
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (15)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (16)
}}

==Quotes==
"You gave us all a pretty good scare." 
"It's been worse. I remember the time on Cybertron-" 
"Save the war stories, hot shot. Just remember, there's a thin line between being a hero, and being a memory."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Ironhide'''

"The rocket base is located one hundred and forty kilometers due west of the Autobot camp."
:—'''Ravage'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s sole line of dialog in the entire series.

"I am the leader of the future!" 
"You couldn't lead ant-droids to a picnic. How can you pretend to lead the Decepticons?"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Megatron''' arguing over Starscream's competence... again.

"We knew you were anxious to get back to Cybertron, but you could have waited for us." 
"Sorry, Prime. The ship was... full."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Mirage''' uttering a classic line.

==Other notes==
[[Image:MTMtE Part3 ExaggeratedPrime.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Apparently Pat Lee had this as a poster in his office.]]

* There is a nice touch by the animators during the scene where the Autobots assist Optimus Prime after he rolls down the hill at the start of this episode. After Mirage, Prowl and Ratchet have pushed Optimus Prime's truck mode upright, he bounces as his suspension compensates for the weight of the truck landing on its wheels.

* After Ironhide assures that he'll be right back in action, Optimus Prime is depicted with rather exaggerated 'puffy' proportions for a brief sequence before he transforms into vehicle mode, which is similarly exaggerated with large wheels in comparison to the rest of the truck, followed by an exaggerated Ratchet in vehicle mode. Part of this animation is later reused near the end of the episode after the Decepticon space cruiser crashes, with the rest of the Autobots having similar proportions in both robot and vehicle mode.

===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:Autobot Soundwave.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Autobots superior, Decepticons inferior.]]

* As the Autobots gather around Optimus Prime's fallen form and Mirage and Cliffjumper fly in, Cliffjumper is colored yellow like Bumblebee, who is currently buried under tons of rubble.

* Inside the mines, Soundwave is shown with a [[Shattered Glass (franchise)|purple Autobot insignia]].

* After the Decepticons fly out of the mines, Skywarp and two generic purple Decepticon jets are drawn with the silhouettes of pilots sitting inside their cockpits.

* Ironhide's back-mounted rocket launcher is shown in firing position before it emerges from his back.

* The energon cubes that Megatron holds when giving permission to Skywarp to teleport are uncolored.

*In the Japanese dub of the scene where Ironhide chases after Megatron and Skywarp, it is ''Thundercracker'' who requests permission to teleport.

* Skywarp's damaged tailfin isn't damaged when he teleports back into the scene.

* A mislayering of animation cells when Hound creates a hologram of Megatron to taunt Ravage causes it to appear as if Hound is standing in the prison cage with Ravage.

* After Ravage escapes, Hound explains to Optimus what happened, but it is Mirage's voice.

* In the reaction shot of the Autobots when Optimus Prime is pleased at Ravage's escape, the tips of Prowl's doors are colored as parts of Jazz and Mirage's heads.

* As the Decepticons move into position to attack the holographic rocket base, one shot has two Starscreams. However, given that these Decepticons are all junky decoys, this may not necessarily be an error.

* When Hound and Rumble struggle at the final battle, bubbles are rising up in the close-up of Hound. Either the animators got this confused with last episode's underwater fight, or Rumble is doing something really gross.

* In the original broadcast version of the episode—and in Rhino's DVD release—the establishing shot at the start of the third act uses a flubbed take: A major piece of artwork—the Decepticon starship blasting off into the sky—is missing, meaning the Autobots on the ground are reacting to nothing. (The completed shot does appear in the teaser for the episode at the end of Part 2, however.) Oddly enough, the bonus disc in this DVD set calls out the error in a collection of bloopers and oddities.

* This episode features a curious sound oddity as presented on the More than Meets the Eye 25th Anniversary Special Edition disc, (The disc that is a pack-in with Transformers Universe 25th Anniversary Optimus Prime.) When the edited-together film reaches the point covered by the third episode, the viewer will notice strange, random mechanical sound effects popping up that have no on-screen source. The sound effects usually appear at scene transitions, and indeed seem to be the sound effects for the [[Cybernet Space Cube]] used in the [[Generation 2]] broadcast of this episode. Note however, that Cybernet Space Cube visual effects are ''not'' present, as the episode is presented more in terms of it's original broadcast. How and why the Cybernet Space Cube sound effects were included in this presentation of the episode, (and why the problem only afflicts the third part and not parts one and two) are currently unknown.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:MTMtE Part3 Dullsurprise.jpg|right|200px|thumb|DULL SURPRISE!]]

* Mirage, Hound, Jazz and Prowl all react with shock at Optimus' statement that Ravage's escape was a good thing. Yet they were all in on the plan to let Ravage get away to tell the Decepticons about the secret hologram rocket base that is most certainly not a trap. Did they just forget?

* The [[Mini Vehicle]] Autobots are shown disguised as lab-coat-wearing scientists to complete the holographic illusion of a rocket base, though it's a pretty poor disguise when you realize these scientists are big enough to turn into trucks and cars. Also, where'd they get the lab coats? (For that matter, why not just make holographic scientists?)

* Spike can throw a rock with enough force to knock Starscream's Null Ray off his arm. To be fair, it was the arm that Megatron blasted in an earlier scene. Of course, when we next see Starscream a few seconds later, it's been magically repaired and reattached, so it all works out.

* Mirage is clearly visible (prominent, in fact) during the Autobots' final, desperate assault on the space cruiser, despite later being shown to have snuck aboard it. This is either a major continuity error or the one time that Mirage's electro-disruptor works in the cartoon in the way his [[bio]] says it does.

[[Image:OptimusCDeckMTMTE3.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Look away from the animation errors!"]]

* During the final showdown between the Autobots and Decepticons, there is a scene in which Optimus Prime uses his [[Combat Deck]] to shoot the fusion cannon off Megatron's arm. This allows them to fight hand to hand. However, only a scene change or two later, Prime throws Megatron to the ground, his cannon perfectly visible in place.

* Also, in the shot of Optimus telling his Combat Deck to fire, there is a mountain visible in the background. When the exact same shot of Prime and the Deck appears again, there's a clear sky behind them.

* Prime is nearly knocked out of commission by the explosion that collapses [[Ruby Crystal Mines of Burma|a Burmese ruby mine]], yet he simply seems to shrug off the effects of getting hit by a cruiser cannon and falling to Earth from the very edge of the atmosphere.

* Despite the heights the space cruiser certainly reached before the sabotage, Mirage parachutes down to exactly the spot where the Autobots were assembled.

* The space cruiser is shown crashing into the ocean near the coast. However, later episodes show the cruiser is well far away from any coast line.

===Real-world references===
* Rocket base Cape Carlson may be a reference to Cape Canaveral, Florida.

===Trivia===
* This is the only time in the original series that Ravage speaks, relaying the information on the rocket base with his own voice instead of merely replaying Hound and Mirage's conversation about it. When he reappeared in ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]],'' he was similarly growly, but he had gained an [[Accents|Eastern European accent]].

* During the aforementioned final showdown between Optimus Prime and Megatron, an animation oddity results in what a few fans have taken as evidence of an obscure, little-used ability of Optimus: the Finger of Doom. As described, Optimus deploys Combat Deck to shoot Megatron's cannon off of his arm. Simultaneously, Megatron fires his arm cannon and destroys Combat Deck. However, during the shot of Combat Deck exploding, the animation of Prime pointing at Megatron is ''re-used''. The next immediate shot is Megatron being disarmed by an energy blast, which would seem to have come not from Combat Deck, whose blast should have already arrived, but from Prime's immediately prior pointing finger. Thus, Optimus Prime's Finger of Doom.

* In a continuing trend during the Generation 1 cartoon, Prime's Combat Deck looks nothing like its toy counterpart or like it will appear in any future episodes. Not really an error since it's blown up here and could've been rebuilt differently.

==Home video releases==
* In 1984, this episode was edited together with "Parts 1" and "2" to create a "feature-length movie", which was sold on videocassette as Volume 1 of [[Family Home Entertainment]]'s ''Transformers'' collection. The release had the (now somewhat quaint) honor of being available in both VHS and Betamax formats.

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/more_than_meets_the_eye_part_3.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Brunt (G1)

2009-07-25T05:47:47Z

69.155.117.217:

{{disambig2|the Generation 1 tank|the ''Revenge of the Fallen'' tank|Brunt (ROTF)}}
{{factions|decepticon}}
:''Brunt is a [[Decepticon]] [[drone]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Brunt MTMTE.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Brunt, F.C.A.!"]]
'''Brunt''' is a tank that splits into several towers of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s city mode (plus a couple of leftover pieces). In battle station mode, Trypticon uses Brunt's turret as his main cannon. Though the towers and/or cannon have been seen in each of the continuities Trypticon has appeared in, the tank mode is a much rarer sight. Only two universes acknowledge Brunt's separate existence, and even then just as a mindless drone.

==Fiction==
===''The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers''===
[[Image:TheTransformersManga3_Brunt.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]
After [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] laid the smack down on [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (who was filled with [[human]] children) and [[Full-Tilt]] made short work of [[Scamper]], Brunt was deployed in order to deliver the finishing blow to [[Autobot City]]. Full-Tilt ''would'' have fired Brunt, too, had [[Six-Gun]] not intervened. Defeating Full-Tilt, Six-Gun took command of Brunt and fired him at Trypticon, injuring the Decepticon so much as to cause [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] to order a retreat.

Because Brunt is ''that'' powerful. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 3|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers #3}}

{{-}}
===Dreamwave comic continuity===
Brunt is one of two "battlefield drones" controlled by Trypticon, the other being [[Full-Tilt]]. {{storylink|More Than Meets The Eye (G1)|More Than Meets The Eye}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
*'''Trypticon''' (Decepticon City, 1986/1987)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-63'''

: Brunt's only independent mode is a tank. The "transformation" is simply a split into five pieces, three of which are used as towers in Trypticon's city mode. In battle station mode, only the turret remains as Trypticon's main cannon.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Decepticon/Trypticon/trypticon.htm More information on Brunt (with Trypticon) at TFU.info]''

[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]