MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Drench (G2)

2009-04-23T20:05:24Z

70.188.155.36:

{{factions|autobotg2}}
{{disambig3|Drench}}

:''Drench is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 2]] section of the [[Generation 1]] continuity family.''

[[Image:G2_Drench_cardart.jpg|thumb|right|What the hell?]]

'''Drench''' can drive very fast in vehicle mode, but his mind is quicker yet. He puts this flow of knowledge to work in the laboratory, staying up far past his recharging time on [[Kremzeek]]-fueled invention binges. At these times he is completely caught up in his research, like a youthful [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], and from this research comes a steady stream of powerful tools for Autobot warfare, built by his own skilled manipulators.

To his army buddies, however, Drench is just a young bot who thrives on excitement, and a valuable companion in a firefight. They value him for his ironclad courage, but equally for his skill with the weapons he builds. Of these, his favorites are those which rely on high-pressure fluids.

Drench probably finds it irritating when fellow [[Transformers]] confuse him with [[Deluge (Autobot)|Deluge]].

==Fiction==
===IDW comics continuity===
Drench was killed by [[Nova Prime| Nemesis Prime]]'s death touch when the corrupted Prime attacked the [[Garrus-9]] facility. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}

==Toys==
===Generation 2===
*'''Drench''' (Color Changer, 1993)

: Drench transforms into a LeMans-style race car. In both vehicle and robot modes, he has a double-barreled water-cannon that uses a plastic bellows to store water. His hood/chest changes from dark green to a milky-white with temperature changes, but faster in cold or warm water.

: There is a variation to Drench's water-cannon; one version has painted-gold gun-tips, while later releases have unpainted yellow tips and uses a larger bellows.

: Drench is almost identical to the European [[Aquaspeeder]] [[Deluge (Autobot)|Deluge]]. The most immediately obvious difference is that Drench uses transparent-black plastics for his windows and visor, though the colors on the decals are different between the two versions as well.

==Trivia==
* Drench's car-mode color scheme was used in a proposed—but ultimately unreleased—''[[Universe]]'' [[Battle in a Box]] set. The toy would have been a [[redeco]] of ''[[Armada]]'' [[Wheeljack (Armada)|Wheeljack]]. What the character originally would have been is unknown, but the design was used years later (with a few alterations) to create [[BotCon 2008]]'s ''[[Shattered Glass]]'' [[Sideswipe (Shattered Glass)|Sideswipe]].

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1993/Autobot/Drench/drench.htm Drench at TFU.info]

[[Category: Autobots]]
[[Category: Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category: Toy-only characters]]

Manta Ray (G2)

2009-04-23T20:02:16Z

70.188.155.36: /* Toys */

{{factions|autobotg2|decepticong2}}
{{disambig2|the Generation 2 Autobot|the Beast Wars Predacon|Manta Ray (BW)}}
[[Image:Escalation-mantaray.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Leadfoot's head isn't normally part of his character model.]]
:''Manta Ray is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 2]] portion of the [[Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

Brave to the point of foolishness, '''Manta Ray''' is an intrepid aquatic warrior. Luckily, his prodigious speed gets him out of most scrapes - and when that doesn't work, he has his deadly [[Rotor Force|roto-prop]] weapon to fall back on!

:''European market name'': '''Piranha'''

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 2====
[[Image:Totalwar-mantaraycanstillcutit.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Manta Ray's rotor-related puns may be awful, but he's young. Cut him some slack.]]
Like the rest of the Rotor Force, Manta Ray was originally one of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron's]] next generation of [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], animated by the stolen power of the [[Creation Matrix]]. He first saw combat on [[Tykos]], when the Decepticons raided a [[Rheanimum]] gas mine. {{storylink|New Dawn|New Dawn}}

When the Decepticons allied with the Autobots to combat the [[Cybertronian Empire]], Manta Ray later joined the other Decepticons in rescuing their new allies from Cybertronian attack on [[Ethos]]. {{storylink|Escalation!|Escalation!}}

Manta Ray's allegiance began to shift during the course of the alliance, as the youthful Transformer's innate likability won over his new allies. He and [[Leadfoot]] earned [[Tracks]]' praise for their swift and skillful blading during the initial sortie. Manta Ray later impressed [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], of all bots, with another quick save. Manta Ray was quick to return Grimlock's respect, but their mutual admiration society caused [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] to doubt the young Decepticon's loyalty. {{storylink|Total War!|Total War!}}

When the war against the Cybertronians turned into a battle for survival against the [[Swarm]], Manta Ray joined the survivors in preparing a makeshift defense point. Manning the perimeter defenses, Manta Ray ignored Razorclaw's order to fire, instead waiting for Grimlock's direction. This almost cost him his life, but Leadfoot decapitated Razorclaw before the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacon]] could kill him. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!|A Rage in Heaven!}}
{{note|In the ''Generation 2'' comics, each faction had different symbols lining their speech bubbles -- Decepticons had triangles, Autobots had rectangles, while Dinobots were slightly in-between. To indicate his changing loyalties, Manta Ray began with triangle boxes, switched to Dinobot-style boxes when he made the decision to listen to Grimlock instead of Razorclaw, and finally had full Autobot boxes in the end.}}
===Timelines===
Manta Ray is one of countless "offworlders" residing in [[Axiom Nexus]]. {{storylink|Gone Too Far|Gone Too Far}}

===IDW comics continuity===
[[Image:SpotlightDoubledealer MantaRay Drench.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He's got a large portable fan and he's NOT afraid to use it!]]
Manta Ray was among the first responders to [[Nova Prime|Nemesis Prime]]'s attack on [[Garrus-9]]. He and [[Drench (Autobot)|Drench]] fell victim to the corrupted Prime's touch of death. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}
{{-}}
==Toys==
[[Image:G2 MantaRay toy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|President of the Grimlock Fan Club. [[Wolfang (Maximal)|Wolfang]] is vice-president.]]
===Generation 2===
* '''Manta Ray''' (Rotor Force, 1994)
*''Accessories'': Engine, 2 "flying" rotors
: Among the first of the totally-new molds designed for ''Generation 2'', Manta Ray transforms into a twin-pontoon racing boat. His rear fan engine block is a manually-wound spinner that launches his flying disc into the air. He graciously came with two in case you lost one. This assembly becomes a hand-held weapon for robot mode.

==Trivia==
[[Image:Rotorforce-crosssell.jpg|right|300px|thumb|He traded in his yellow head for a green chest.]]
* Pre-production samples of Manta Ray had a yellow head, as seen in the Rotor Force's [[cross-sell]]. Though the yellow head design also showed up in the ''Generation 2'' comics, it never made it into mass production.
{{-}}
==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/1994/Autobot/MantaRay/mantaray.htm Manta Ray at TFU.info]

[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]

Repugnus (G1)

2009-04-19T21:49:39Z

70.188.155.36: /* IDW comics continuity */ Added through MD 5

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Repugnus}}
:''Repugnus is an [[Autobot]] [[Monsterbot]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:G1Repugnus boxart.jpg|right|300px|thumb|<strike>Why hasn't anyone USED me yet??</strike> [[Maximum Dinobots| THANK]] you, [[Simon Furman| Furman]]!]]

Never a [[Decepticon]], '''Repugnus''' is not always an Autobot. No, sometimes he's a former Autobot who has been discharged for insubordination or just plain nastiness, but he always gets called back to perform some mission too unsavory for anybody else. Though he doesn't give a slag for authority or decency, Repugnus always does his job well.

Man, does he love his job. He'll describe with relish how he clawed an enemy within an inch of his life, then beat the bastard's head into a fuel-soaked wad of scrap metal with his own torn-off leg unit. He'll also add plenty of profanities and colorful idioms to the story. His friends would find this disturbing, if he had any.

:''Japanese name'': '''Repugg'''
:''French-Canadian name'': '''Répugnus'''
:''Hungarian name'': '''Undor''' ("Disgust" or "Abomination")

==Fiction==
===''The Headmasters'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Michitaka Kobayashi]] (Japanese)

[[Image:RebellionBeest Repugnus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|At least Japan cares about me. ''sobs'']]

Repugnus and his fellow [[Monsterbot|Monsterbots]] were sent to the planet [[Beest]] by [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]], as a fair number of the planet's natives had been enslaved by [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. While rescuing some slaves from the Decepticon base, Repugnus found some sort of blueprint attached to a wall, and decided to take it with him. After Autobots had driven the Decepticon forces off the planet, the blueprint turned out to depict a component of [[Transtector|some kind of giant machine]]. Rodimus Prime subsequently ordered the Monsterbots to stay on Beest and protect it against any future Decepticon assaults. Repugnus was fine with this, replying that it seemed like a nice planet to stay on. {{storylink|Rebellion on Planet Beest|Rebellion on Planet Beest}}

The Monsterbots were later called away from Beest to assist [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] during a battle on the planet [[Paradise]]. Repugnus and his comrades attacked [[Abominus]] with their fire-breath, and some stray flames served to destroy the [[Energon cube|energon cubes]] that the Decepticons had amassed. {{storylink|Head Formation of Friendship|Head Formation of Friendship}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
[[Image:Brothersinarmor-repugnus-morethanwords.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Obviously, that whole "quest for peace" thing worked out pretty well for him.]]
For reasons not even [[Vector Sigma]] would be able to compute, Repugnus decided to join [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] in abandoning the war and settling down for a peaceful, quiet life on the verdant paradise of [[Nebulos]]. Maybe there's actually a great deal more complexity to Repugnus's personality than we were led to believe. Maybe he secretly longs for an end to the fighting, and his repulsive and unsavory behavior is just his way of acting out his frustration at the never-ending cycle of violence.

Or maybe he thought pacifists would be easier to harass. {{storylink|Ring of Hate!|Ring of Hate!}}

After Decepticon treachery turned the locals against the Autobots, Repugnus and the other Monsterbots attempted to defend the [[Mercury Gardens of Melanossus]] from [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s forces. Repugnus fought ferociously, blasting his enemies with optic lasers while trash-talking the Decepticon leader, and was outraged when Grotusque, realizing the gardens were being destroyed by the battle, ordered a retreat. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!|Brothers in Armor!!}}

===3H comics===
Less than 3 [[deca-cycles]] after the [[reformatting]] of Cybertron into a [[technorganic]] wonderland, Repugnus and his fellow [[Monsterbot|Monsterbots]] (apparently all having undergone the [[Maximal upgrade]] downsizing) were seen exiting a bar at the [[CSSB-16 Spaceport]], soused out of their minds (Repugnus especially so, as he was half carried by [[Doublecross]]) on some high-quality [[Energon (G1)|energon]]. {{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part I|Wreckers: Finale Part I}}

===IDW comics continuity===
[[Image:MaximumDinobots3 RepugnusBeastMode.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Aw... wook at da cute widdle Monsterbot. Here, boy! Kootchie, kootchie... AUGH! AUGH! IT'S RIPPING MY ARM OFF!"]]

Repugnus, apparent leader of the Monsterbots, was held as a prisoner in the [[Garrus-9]] penitentiary complex overseen by Fortress Maximus, stripped down to his [[spark]] and held in a tiny box for an as-of-yet unknown crime or offense. {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee|Spotlight: Arcee}}

He has apparently served out his sentence, as he showed up on Earth with the other Monsterbots to bail out [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2|Maximum Dinobots issue 2}} He merrily directed his team to mass-murder the [[Sunstreaker clone|Sunstreaker clones]], while threatening that Grimlock ''better'' have something to make his trip worthwhile—both Monsterbot and Dynobot may be outcasts, but he doesn't do things [[Death's Head|for free, yes?]] {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 3|Maximum Dinobots issue 3}}

Later, aboard the Monsterbots' ship, Repugnus and his cohorts had a little sit-down with Grimlock. Repugnus wasn't particularly happy with Grimlock remaining mum on their payment, and not-so subtly hinted that they'd have to resort to violent methods (perish the thought, of course!) in order to extract their due. Grimlock calmly explained that they'd be given payment in the form of whatever information the Dynobots took from [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s ship [[Spotlight: Shockwave| before they destroyed it]]. Repugnus seemed satisfied enough by this.

The Monsterbots dropped the Dynobots off at [[Machination]] HQ, and even laid down a suppressive bombardment to knock out the anti-air defenses, but that was the extent of their help. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots issue 4}}

When the battle largely went south, Repugnus and crew were summoned again for evac. [[Slag (G1)| Slag]], [[Snarl (G1)| Snarl]], and [[Swoop (G1)| Swoop]] showed up and Repugnus noted that they'd be good fits for his team, being interested only in themselves. This remark didn't appear to sit too well with the three Dynobots and they decided to return to help Grimlock battle Shockwave.

The Monsterbots presumably lit out of there in a hurry before [[Ultra Magnus (G1)| Ultra Magnus]] caught sight of them. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 5|Maximum Dinobots issue 5}}

{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Repugnus toy.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Moonlights as a tin of baked beans.]]
*'''Repugnus''' (Monsterbot, 1987/1988)
*''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-98'''
*''Accessories:'' Venom Laser

: Repugnus transforms from robot to bizarre bug-thing and back. His toy can shoot "cold" sparks from his bug-mode mouth by pressing down on a geared button on his bug-skull. His mandibles open and close as well.

: In Japan, Repugnus was never made available as part of the normal retail line. Instead, he was offered only as a mail-order item during ''[[Super-God Masterforce (franchise)|Super-God Masterforce]]'', the series ''after'' [[The Headmasters (franchise)|the one in which the character appeared]]. He cost 2500 yen (200 yen more than the other two Monsterbots) and five [[robot points]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1987/Autobot/Repugnus/repugnus.htm More info on Repugnus at TFU.info.]''

==Trivia==
*In the [[Monsterbot]] [[Commercial|toy commercial]], Repugnus and the Monsterbots were created accidentally during an attempt to create new Autobots. [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] raced to warn [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] of the accident as the wild Monsterbots trashed the lab where they were born. Thankfully the [[Decepticons]] attacked just then, and the Monsterbots burst out of the building through the wall to fight them. Repugnus, sweet guy that he is, gave [[Octane]] a great big hug. Rodimus expressed relief that, though they were monsters, at least they were Autobot monsters.

* Repugnus has been the inspiration for a pair of [[homage]] toys in later lines, [[Repugnus (disambiguation)|both of which bear the same name]].

* Repugnus is holding [[Doublecross]]'s Rust Ray in all of his instruction graphics and vice versa.

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

[[Category:Articles in need of images]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]

Furmanism

2009-04-17T20:19:58Z

70.188.155.36: /* YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE THINGS I CAN DO NOW! */

[[Image:Furmanismsrod.jpg|right|350px|thumb|"Rhythms of Darkness!": A Furmanism in every bite!]]
''Transformers'' writer [[Simon Furman]] is infamous among fans for dialogue concepts that are frequently retrod. Such repeated phrases are known informally as '''Furmanisms'''.

==Various Furmanisms==
===A SHORT, SHARP LESSON===
*"You will find the nerve center of this bunker and shut DOWN its defenses...while I teach these [[Mini-Con|Mini-Cons]] a short, sharp LESSON in discipline!" —[[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]], "[[Dreamwave Armada issue 10|Fortress, Part 3]]"
*"Think of it, [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]]...as a short, SHARP lesson." —[[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] again, "[[Multiplicity, Part 2]]"
*"YOU-- need a short, SHARP lesson, Decepticon!" —[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]], "[[The Age of Wrath issue 2]]"

===A WHOLE WORLD OF PAIN!===
*"Below the surface of the Transformers' homeworld, below Cybertron's long-disused sewer system, there is... ''Underworld.'' A world of towering, twisted metal ''screaming'' at shadows that ''writhe'' in ''unholy'' silence embracing the ''unwary'' in ''circuit-chilling'' tendrils of mist. A WHOLE WORLD OF PAIN AND HURT." --Narrator, "[[Underworld!]]"
*"Get ready, quite literally... for a whole WORLD of pain!" -- [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], "[[Dark Shadows!]]"
*"It's about PAIN, Megatron... here's a whole WORLD of it!" -- [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] again, [[The War Within issue 3|''The War Within'' #3]]

===ALL THE DIRTY JOBS===
*"ALL THE DIRTY JOBS..." —[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]], "[[...All This and Civil War 2]]"
*"HH. All the DIRTY JOBS..." —[[Kup (G1)|Kup]], [[The War Within issue 4|''The War Within'' #4]]
*"Feh...all the dirty jobs!" —[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]], [[The Gathering issue 3|''The Gathering'' #3]]

===CAN I DO LESS?===
*"NO! While I function I will do everything in my power to thwart you. As an Autobot I can do no less!" —[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], "[[Target: 2006]]"
*"As long as life remains in me, I will do everything in my power to save him. ''I can do no less!''" —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], "[[Under Fire!]]"
*"But both [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] sacrificed themselves to save me. Can I do any less than risk my life to AVENGE them?" —[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]], "[[The Legacy of Unicron!]]"
*"Always lived life in the FAST LANE -- guess you DIED that way, too! Can we do any less?" —[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], "[[Life in the Slow Lane]]"
*"I've stood here and watched humans -- frail flesh creatures -- fight and die for their world. CAN I DO LESS?" —[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]"
*"[[Carnivac (G1)|You]] are WRONG! You were ready to sacrifice yourself to save my family. CAN I DO LESS FOR YOU?" —[[Jose (Marvel Comics)|Jose]], "[[A Savage Place!]]"
*"Kup, there's got to be another way! Ratchet sacrificed everything to save us -- can we do less?" —[[Sureshot (G1)|Sureshot]], "[[The Price of Life!]]"
*"The real Scorponok wouldn't have turned and fled! He'd have accepted his responsibilities, his FATE! Can I then do less?" —[[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], "[[On the Edge of Extinction!]]"

===DIE SCREAMING===
*"Infinite possibilities, a Cybertron where I seized power...and you died SCREAMING." —[[Obsidian (Universe)|Obsidian]], "[[Abduction]]"
*"YOU WILL ALL DIE SCREAMING, IN IGNORANCE, BLIND TO WHAT LIES BENEATH." —[[Rhinox (Armada)|Rhinox]], "[[What Lies Beneath, Part 2]]"
*"You can either follow my lead...or die in screaming torment." —[[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]], [[Stormbringer issue 1|''Stormbringer'' #1]]
*"Once I'm in sync with the primary Beast Wars, I'll free [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], and then you and EVERY Maximal on this planet...will die scream--ing?" —[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]],[[The Ascending issue 2|''The Ascending'' #2]]
*"Unless we act now, Cybertron will die screaming and [[Unicron]] will be reborn." —[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] again,[[The Ascending issue 4|''The Ascending'' #4]]

===DOWN TO EARTH--LITERALLY!===
*"Aww, did I bring the poor Autobot DOWN TO EARTH with a bump?" —[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]], "[[The Gathering Darkness]]"
*"Let's bring these latter-generation big shots DOWN TO EARTH!" —[[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]], "[[Total War!]]"
*"Bring him DOWN TO EARTH!" —[[Ravage (G1)| Ravage]], [[The Ascending issue 3|''The Ascending'' #3]]

===FIGHT AND DIE===
* "Better to go, to run, to try — than just sit here and wait to die!" -[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] flips this one on its head, "[[Space Pirates!]]"
* "Yeah. Better to FIGHT AND DIE-- than live with the knowledge that I ran!" —[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]"
* "We're Dinobots; we stick together, FIGHT together -- and DIE together, if necessary! Better that than live with the knowledge that we turned and ran, abandoned a comrade!" —[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]], "[[Still Life!]]"
* "What of it? Better to die a warrior's death than endure this ''mockery'' of life!" —[[Crankcase (G1)|Crankcase]], "[[The Fall and Rise of the Decepticon Empire]]"
* "Better to die a hero than live as a coward." —Narration, "[[Salvage!]]"
* "Hold still, relic... Better to stand and die than perish in ignominous flight!" —Random Generation 2 Cybertronian chasing [[Tracks]], "[[Total War!]]"
* "For years, we fight and die...and for WHAT? To run, hide?" —[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], [[The War Within issue 2|''The War Within'' #2]]

===IT CAN BE HURT===
*"He's not invincible! He can be hurt!" —[[Buster Witwicky|Buster]], "[[Robot Buster!]]"
*"Springer's right! If they can hurt... they can BE HURT!" —[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]], "[[Survivors!]]"
*"This is no demon, no ghost! It is metal and circuitry! It can feel pain -- IT CAN BE HURT!" —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], "[[Skin Deep]]"
*"Concentrate your fire! It has FORM, it has SUBSTANCE... it can be DESTROYED!" —[[Mindset]], "[[Swarm (comic issue)|Swarm]]"
*"Whatever that thing is, it has mass, it has substance... IT CAN BE DESTROYED!" —[[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], "[[A Rage in Heaven!]]"
*"Ultimately, Megatron is argonized steel and polymer sinew, just like us. He can be HURT... He can be KILLED..." —[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Infiltration issue 6|''Infiltration'' #6]]

===IT IS OVER -- FINISHED!===
*"To be honest, CHAINCLAW-- I don't know why we're BOTHERING! The war's over -- FINISHED!" —[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]"
*"Step out of line, disobey my orders-- and it's over...FINISHED!" —[[G.B. Blackrock]], "[[The Human Factor!]]"
*"Me just want this over with -- FINISHED!" —[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], "[[The Price of Life!]]"
*"I'm warning you, Prime -- Interfere now and the alliance is over, FINISHED!" —[[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], "[[...All This and Civil War 2]]"
*"The battle is OVER, done. The victory, as such, is ours." —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], "[[The Void! (US)|The Void!]]"
*"Do you not understand? It's OVER -- FINISHED!" —[[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], "[[End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!]]"
*"And now... it is time for this mindless war to cease. It is done, finished." —the [[Last Autobot]], "[[End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!]]"
*"ENOUGH! Do you not understand, Decepticons? It is over -- FINISHED!" —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], "[[End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!]]"
*"And suddenly, in one massive stroke - it was done, finished." —Narrating [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], "[[Another Time and Place]]"
* "The war is over, FINISHED." —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] "[[War Without End]]"
*"That's ENOUGH, Kup! It's OVER -- finished! Do you HEAR me?!" —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], "[[Primal Fear!]]"
*"IDIOTS! INCOMPETENTS! I am surrounded by DOLTS! This should have been over, FINISHED!" —[[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]], "[[Dark Shadows!]]"
*"Set charges. Minimum safety margin. I want this DONE, finished...before something ELSE tries to stop us!" —[[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]], "[[Worlds Collide, Part 4]]"
*"Your day, such as it was, is done! Over!" —[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], "[[A Meeting of Minds]]"
*"Officially, hostilities are OVER, finished. Maximal-Predacon, we're one big happy family. But WE know different." —[[Lio Convoy]], [[The Gathering issue 1|''The Gathering'' #1]]

===IT NEVER ENDS===
*"But it's not the end is it? It's NEVER the end. It just goes on and on- one battle blurring into the next." —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], "[[Under Fire!]]"
*"And so it ends! Though it never really ends, does it?" —[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], "[[Time Wars]]"
*"It never stops, does it? One battle blurring into the next! Sometime I wonder if there'll EVER be an end to the fighting! —[[Override (G1)|Override]], "[[Kings of the Wild Frontier]]"
*"Okay, okay. I know I have a responsibility, a duty! But when does my contract expire? When does it end?" "It never ends, Spike." —[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] and [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]], "[[The Last Autobot?]]"
*"But it never ends." —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (opening narration), "[[Another Time and Place]]"
*"The future holds only conflict and mayhem! It never ends!" —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (closing narration), "[[Another Time and Place]]"
*"I wish I could share their elation, believe that is truly over. Before he died, Jhiaxus mentioned a name, a place. In my heart of hearts, I know... IT NEVER ENDS!" —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], "[[A Rage in Heaven!]]"
*"As one they attack, Autobots and Decepticons who fought for and against the dream, now united in the pantheon of Transformer myth. Their time, they thought, had come and gone. But some battles... NEVER END!" —Narration, "[[Reaching the Omega Point]]"
*"That should have been the end. That should have been ENOUGH! But no. It NEVER ends." —[[Optimus Primal]], "[[Escape]]"
*"Even the business of running a bitter war of attrition does nothing to stave off the dark, foreboding, fracturing of my psyche. I see the end. But the shuddering, lurching instant brings scant comfort. For I know, deep down... IT NEVER ENDS!" —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], [[Stormbringer issue 1|''Stormbringer'' #1]]
*"Oh god - it ''never'' ends!" -Random civilian, [[Transformers Comic issue 14]]

===LIKE SOME PREDATORY BIRD===
*"I now believe a SECOND menace exists, one that hovers like some predatory bird at the edge of my consciousness." —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], "[[Devices and Desires!]]"
* "Ahead, hovering like some vast, predatory bird on the fringes of Fahl Space... the Decepticon flagship, Twilight--" —Narration, "[[New Dawn]]"
* "Like some dread bird of prey, Megatron would hang suspended in the upper atmosphere, raining lightning bolts down on enemy emplacements while his drone (ground) troopers picked off any who attempted to flee or fight back." —Description of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]]'s vehicle mode, ''[[Transformers: The Movie Guide]]''

===NEVER DID WANT TO LIVE FOREVER!===
*"A mere three minutes of air left. Ah well, who wants to live forever?" -[[Hi-Q]], "[[Dreadwing Down!]]"
*"HAH! Who wants to live forever?" —[[Longtooth]], "[[Whose Lifeforce is it Anyway?]]"
*"Demolishor! Oh, well... never expected to live forever!" —[[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]], "[[Worlds Collide, Part 2]]"
*"Thunderwing. HNH. Never DID want to live forever." —[[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Stormbringer issue 2|''Stormbringer'' #2]]
*"Oh well... never DID want to live forever!" —[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]], ''[[You Can Draw Transformers]]''
*"You think? Oh well... never DID want to live forever!" —[[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]], [[Transformers Comic issue 2|''Transformers Comic'' #2]]

===NO! YOU'RE DEAD!===
*"No! Y-you were dead... I killed you!" —[[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]], "[[The Big Shutdown!]]"
*"No! It - it ''can't'' be you... you're dead!" —[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], "[[Back From the Dead]]"
*"But he's ''dead!'' We saw him die, didn't we?" —[[Siren]], "[[Assault on the Ark!]]"
*"But...but YOU'RE DEAD! You disappeared down-- UHHRK!" —[[Mindwipe]], "[[Eye of the Storm]]"
*"No! I saw you die, felt your ''aura'' leave its mortal remains! You were ''no more!''" —[[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], "[[End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!]]"
*"Noo! It ''can't be''... I ''killed you!'' You're ''dead!'' ...you must be!" —[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], "[[Vicious Circle!]]"
*"YOU did this... but you're DEAD!" —[[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]], "[[Race with the Devil]]" (cover)
*"No! It can't be you... you're dead!" —[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], "[[Salvage!]]" (cover)
*"Nooo! You're - you're dead... ''dead!'' I saw you die!" —[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], "[[Salvage!]]"
*"We're ''not'' stopping them!" / "How can we? They're ''already dead!''" —[[Autobots]], [[Transformers Comic issue 7]]
*"You're dead. I ''saw'' you die." —[[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], [[Transformers Comic issue 22]]

===POWER BEYOND MEASURE===
*"FLEE! Power beyond MEASURE thiss one! Hiss light-- hurts!" —A [[Demon]], "[[Still Life!]]"
*"H-HK! POWER...beyond measure, but-- GNN-AAHH!" —[[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]], "[[Fire & Ice]]"
*"I offer FORBIDDEN fruit, timelost secrets, power...BEYOND MEASURE!" —[[The Fallen]], "[[Fragmentation]]"

===REAP THE WHIRLWIND<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Hosea Hosea 8:7</ref>===
*"Our sins remembered, final judgment pronounced. The heavens opened, and we reaped, I say... REAPED THE WHIRLWIND." —[[Spinister]], "[[Worlds Collide, Part 2]]"
*"When you posted me to this backwater rock in space, you were sowing the seeds of your OWN destruction! Now... REAP THE WHIRLWIND!" —[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], [[Infiltration issue 6|''Infiltration'' #6]]
*"We saw the signs, the portents--the dark clouds gathering on our horizons. And yet we averted our eyes, pretended it wasn't coming. And in doing so we unleashed a storm of even greater magnitude, one that so very nearly destroyed us all. And now, it seems... others shall REAP THE WHIRLWIND." —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'s inner monologue, [[Stormbringer issue 2|''Stormbringer'' #2]]

===SURPLUS TO REQUIREMENTS===
*"Doesn't matter we came through for you guys, almost got ourselves killed in the process...we're now just surplus to requirements, RIGHT?" —[[Hunter O'Nion]], [[Escalation issue 1|''Escalation'' #1]]
*"We have to find him...before whoever has him decides he's SURPLUS to requirements." —[[Verity Carlo]], [[Escalation issue 4|''Escalation'' #4]]
*"[[Headmaster (technology)|HEADMASTERS]]. In evolutionary terms, the next step. Which rather makes you two...SURPLUS to requirements!" —[[Machination]] Headmaster guy, [[Devastation issue 2|''Devastation'' #2]]

===THE WORST CASE OF INDIGESTION IT'S EVER HAD===
*"Well, then... I'm about to give you the worst case of INDIGESTION you've EVER had!" —[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], "[[Dark Shadows!]]"
*"READY. Let's give this stuff the worst case of INDIGESTION it's EVER had!" —[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], "[[A Rage in Heaven!]]"
*"Let's give this creature... the worst case of INDIGESTION it's ever had." —[[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]], "[[Worlds Collide, Part 4]]"
*"A distraction, eh? How about the worst case of INDIGESTION in the galaxy!" —[[Stockade (Movie)|Stockade]], [[Transformers Comic issue 20]]

===TIME I MADE A STAND!===
* "It is time for someone to make a stand. Time for someone to fight back. Someone like ME... a time like NOW!" —[[Professor Morris]], "[[In the National Interest]]"
* "If I turn away now, I'll just keep on turning away. Sometimes you have to make a STAND!" —[[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]], "[[Way of the Warrior]]"
* "No! I've had it with running! I left those soldiers to the Decepticons' tender mercies, I won't do it with you! IT'S TIME I MADE A STAND!" —[[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] again, "[[A Savage Place!]]"
* "Instead of running around like headless chickens we should be trying to HELP her! I say we make a STAND!" —[[Thunderpunch]], "[[On the Edge of Extinction!]]"
* "They cry out for strong leader, someone to make STAND, here-- NOW! But you turn away, turn other cheek!" —[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], [[The War Within issue 5|''The War Within'' #5]]
* "Time... to make my ''stand''!" -[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], [[Transformers Comic issue 21]]

===TIME I WASN'T HERE!===
* "Auto lock on — transferring all electrical systems to outer hull. Which means it's time I wasn't here!" —[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], "[[Dinobot Hunt!]]"
* "Time I wasn't here!" —[[Hud]], "[[Kings of the Wild Frontier]]"
* "Time I wasn't here!" —[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]], "[[All Fall Down (comic issue)|All Fall Down]]"
* "Time we weren't here, lady!" —[[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]], "[[All or Nothing!]]"
* "Time we weren't here!" —[[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], [[Devastation issue 3|''Devastation'' #3]]

===WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT?===
*"Uhn! Blast it, [[Backstreet]]! What're you playing at?" —[[Dogfight]], "[[Race with the Devil]]"
*"''[[Nautilus]]?'' But he wasn't supposed to break cover for at least another month! ''WHAT ON CYBERTRON IS HE PLAYING AT?''" —[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]], "[[Wanted:Galvatron — Dead or Alive!]]"
*"WHAT IN CYBERTRON'S NAME DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT?!" —[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]], "[[The Legacy of Unicron!]]"
*"SMOKESCREEN- What in the name of the MATRIX do you think you're playing at?" —[[Scattershot]], "[[The Legacy of Unicron!]]"
*"[[Cutthroat]]! What do you think you're PLAYING AT?" —[[Hun-Grrr]], "[[Time Wars]]"
*"Forget ''how!'' What in [[Primus]]' name do you think you're playing at?" —[[Springer (G1)|Springer]], "[[Survivors!]]"
*"Whaddaya think you're playing at, Inferno?" —[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]], "[[Survivors!]]"
*"''What'' do you think" - "you're playing at?" —[[Doubleheader]], "[[Whose Lifeforce is it Anyway?]]"
*"''Hey!'' What are you playing at, ''Nightbeat''?" —[[Kup (G1)|Kup]], "[[The Price of Life!]]"
*"What do you think you're PLAYING at? What EXAMPLE is this for a leader to set?" —[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], "[[Exodus!]]"
*"[[Leader-1 (Armada)|Leader-1]]-- what are you PLAYING at? This is a dead end!" —[[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]], "[[Dreamwave Armada issue 11|Fortress, Part 4]]"

===WHAT CHANCE DO WE HAVE?===
*"If all those Autobots, all those humans, couldn't save Earth... WHAT CHANCE DO WE HAVE?" —[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]"
*"Galvatron accounted for the most powerful Autobots around, so what chance do I have?" —[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]"
*"In my OWN time I destroyed an entire RACE of Autobots, their MIGHTIEST LEADER! What CHANCE then -- DO YOU HAVE?!" —[[Galvatron II]], "[[Surrender!]]"
*"Even the Mighty Optimus Prime has fallen! What chance then, for the rest of us?" —[[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], "[[On the Edge of Extinction!]]"
*"If even THIS great force can fall, what chance then for the REST of us?" —[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], "[[On the Edge of Extinction!]]"
*"Five of us, weaponless, against the whole blasted Decepticon army! WHAT CHANCE DO WE HAVE?" —[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], "[[End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!]]"

===YOU WON'T BELIEVE THE THINGS I CAN DO NOW!===
*"That was just a small demonstration. You won't BELIEVE the things I can do now!" —[[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]], "[[Fire & Ice]]"
*"But these days...you won't BELIEVE the things we can do!" —[[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]], "[[Revelation (The Dark Ages)|Revelation]]"
*"Prime...you won't BELIEVE the things I can do now!" —[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], [[Escalation issue 5|''Escalation'' #5]]
*"Not corrupted- ''liberated''! You won't ''believe'' the things I can do now!" -[[Jazz (Movie)|Jazz]], [[Transformers Comic issue 21]]

==Trivia==
* Furman also uses repeated sound effects. Grimlock gives a stellar example of some favourites during [[The War Within]] as he chases after Prime and Megatron. '''SPOOM!''' used to be quite common, although it has stopped appearing since some fans decided it was so awesome that they asked Simon in person to use it ''more''. Thankfully though, Transformers still have a tendency to die with a good ol' '''SHEEAAAGH!''', more than once preceded by a truncated "Got to—" as their final words.
* Even Furman's non-canonical works are not immune to Furmanisms. In the [[Pseudocanon|pseudocanonical]] story [[The Last Days of Optimus Prime]] Megatron uses the phrase "It never ends."
* Furman himself is wryly aware of his frequently repeated phrases, and even refers to them as Furmanisms.<ref>http://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2007/10/30/beasts-shot/ Simon Furman referring to Furmanisms in a post on his blog</ref>

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Fandom]]

Maximum Dinobots issue 4

2009-04-09T21:44:49Z

70.188.155.36: /* Covers (2) */

{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=[[Maximum Dinobots|''The Transformers: Maximum Dinobots'']] #4
|prev=Maximum Dinobots issue 3
|next=Maximum Dinobots issue 5
|image=Maximum Dinobots 4a.jpg
|caption=Too awesome for words!
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[April 1]], [[2009]]
|coverdate=March 2009
|written by=[[Simon Furman]]
|art by=[[Nick Roche]] & [[James Raiz]]
|colors by=[[Joana Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|edits by=[[Denton J. Tipton]] & [[Andy Schmidt]]
|continuity=[[IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline#Maximum Dinobots|Maximum Dinobots]]
}}

'''While Shockwave makes a deal with Soundwave and his minions, Sunstreaker goes to recover his real head and the Machination crumbles.'''

==Synopsis==
Ravage breaks into a house in [[Portland]], [[Oregon]]. His mission is to reclaim Soundwave from his "owner", Jimmy. Seeing Soundwave, Ravage orders Laserbeak to reclaim him, which he does. As Jimmy's mother runs upstairs to see if he's alright, the two [[Decepticon]]s take Soundwave to [[Mount St. Helens]]. However, Soundwave is weak, and can barely block [[Skywatch]]'s control signal on the cassettes, due to being [[Spotlight: Soundwave|shunted in his cassette player mode]]. Shockwave suddenly appears, orders Soundwave to stand Ravage and Laserbeak down, and proposes a deal to the three.

In [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], Hot Rod escapes from the [[Machination]] HQ, but collapses due to his crushed foot. Hearing a voice, Hot Rod is aghast, believing he has run into another clone—but it's not a clone, it's the real Sunstreaker who blasts two [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]]s following Hot Rod. Hot Rod tries to warn him about the dangers, but Sunstreaker doesn't care; he just wants his head back. Hot Rod, upset over Sunstreaker's arrogance, decides to call for reinforcements while Sunstreaker stomps into the facility. He has had enough, and is determined to get his real head. But Scorponok is watching!

On the [[Monsterbot]]s' shuttle, 60,000 feet above northern [[Nebraska]], the Monsterbots are waiting for Grimlock to give them what he promised them, for which they had to travel to [[Earth]] and participate in the battle in [[Fallon]] to save the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]]. Grimlock says they'll get what they want, but not yet. This upsets Repugnus, who says that he's willing to trust Grimlock, but that Doublecross and Grotusque are more likely to rip Grimlock's head off. Grimlock says their prize is nearly all the technology that was in Shockwave's onboard data-cache [[Spotlight: Shockwave|before the Dynobots blew his ship up]]. Repugnus believes that the data is encoded and Grimlock confirms this, but is upset that they need someone to ''de''-code it and find out more about Shockwave's time on Earth, and how the Earth once had a stratospherically high level of [[Energon (G1)|Energon]].

Outside the cockpit, the Dynobots wonder what the conversation's about. Swoop doesn't care, but doesn't like it anyway. Snarl believes it's another sign of just how ''far'' the Dynobots have fallen. Based on Repugnus' comments during the battle at Fallon, Snarl thinks that the Dynobots' original operation—all that time ago—wasn't officially sanctioned, as they were told by Grimlock. The Dynobots wish that they could return to the simple days of bustin' Decepticons, but have a bad feeling that there's no going back. Grimlock leaves the cockpit, announcing that he managed to extend their alliance with the Monsterbots. They plan to rebuild the ''[[Skyfire (ship)|Skyfire]]'', so that Grimlock can get even with Scorponok. However, he ends up getting a stern look from the Dynobots.

At the Machination headquarters, Hot Rod tries to boost his internal comm system to the right audio reception so that he can get a strong enough signal for someone to answer his call for reinforcements. He manages to get the comm to work, but it shocks him badly. Despite this, he sends out a message galaxy-wide to any Autobot listening in the vicinity. Inside the headquarters, Sunstreaker manages to find to his original head, but as he opens a large door, he is blasted point-blank in the chest by Scorponok. Scorponok advances towards Sunstreaker to go for the kill, but notices that Hunter is gone. Scorponok is enraged, but before he can find Hunter, Drake calls to warn about an approaching Cybertronian vessel, closing in fast. Scorponok mobilizes the headquarters' defenses, as Hot Rod hopes that it's not another epic/heroic tilt.

Inside the Monsterbots' vessel, the Dynobots don't see the point of fighting Scorponok, but Grimlock says that Scorponok made it ''their'' fight when he turned the Dynobots against him. Snarl disagrees, saying that it has always been Grimlock's fight, that he and the other Dynobots went along with him, and that it's now Grimlock's wounded pride at stake. Snarl asks Grimlock, "Does getting even matter so much, you're willing to take us ''all'' down with you?" Inside the cockpit, the Monsterbots target the defenses and blast away at them. Grimlock exits the ship, saying that there's no way he can let this go. With or without the Dynobots, there will be a reckoning for Scorponok. The Dynobots decide that arguing is pointless and follow Grimlock. Scorponok orders that the neural clamps be activated, but the technician says that the implants aren't responding. Scorponok decides to settle the matter... ''personally''.

Hunter comes out of his hiding place and enters the room holding Sunstreaker's real head. Outside, the Dynobots tear away at the Sunstreaker clones with ease, trying to dismantle the Machination empire piece by piece. Snarl gets hit in the leg, and muses that bad language is their ''only'' option now. Grimlock wants to settle the score with Scorponk personally, but Snarl rebukes this, saying that they fight or fall together, and that they're Dynobots to the bitter end. Inside, Hunter says to Sunstreaker that what he's about to do is only because there are no options left. With tears of remorse, Hunter pulls the cords from Sunstreaker's head, shutting him down.

With Sunstreaker offline, the clones cease to function. Grimlock wonders what happened, and Hot Rod slowly walks over to him, saying that Sunstreaker pulled the plug on himself. Sludge cries out in victory, but the moment is short-lived as Scorponok blasts Sludge into stasis. Scorponok is furious, now that his empire is in shambles, and decides to take revenge on Grimlock. However, Shockwave also appears overhead, wanting revenge as well, and a new battle is about to begin.

In space, Ultra Magnus has also received Hot Rod's signal, and vows to Scorponok that only ''one'' of them will walk away.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] (7)
* [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (8)
* [[Repugnus (G1)|Repugnus]] (11)
* [[Doublecross]] (12)
* [[Grotusque]] (13)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (14)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (15)
* [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] (16)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (17)
* [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] (18)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (22)
|c2=
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (1)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (3)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (4)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (6)
* [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] (10)
|c3=
* [[Jimmy]] (2)
* Jimmy's mother (5)
* [[Joshua Red]] (2)
* [[Hunter O'Nion]] (19)
* Drake (20)
* [[Machination]] employee (21)
|c4=
* [[Sunstreaker clone]]s (9)
}}

==Quotes==
*TBD

==Errors==
*TBD

==Items of note==
* When Ravage breaks into Jimmy's house, Jimmy is playing with a [[Snake-Eyes]] action figure.
* The cassettes return Soundwave to Mount St. Helens, the same place the trio were recovered by Skywatch in "[[Spotlight: Soundwave]]".

===Covers (2)===
* '''Cover A:''' Repugnus riding atop Sludge, about to stomp on a red Sunstreaker clone; art [[Nick Roche]] and [[Joana Lafuente]].
* '''Cover B:''' Grimlock protecting an injured Hot Rod, art by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]].
<gallery>
Image:Maximum_Dinobots_4a.jpg|Hi ho, Sludge, away!
Image:Maximum_Dinobots_4b.jpg|Him not heavy, but him not me Grimlock's brother.
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
* [[Maximum Dinobots issue 5|''Maximum Dinobots'' #5]]
* ''Transformers [[More Than Meets The Eye (G1)|More Than Meets The Eye]] Official Guidebook Volume 1''
* ''Transformers More Than Meets The Eye Official Guidebook Volume 2''
* ''[[All Hail Megatron]]'' Volume 1 TPB
* ''Star Trek: Countdown''
* ''Classic [[G.I. Joe]]'' Volume 1
* ''The Presidents of the United States'' comic
* ''G.I. Joe: Origins''
* ''Groom Lake'' #1
* ''G.I. Joe'' comics
* ''Ben Templesmith's Dracula''
* ''Terminator Salvation'' movie adaptation (back cover)

[[Category:IDW Generation 1 issues]]

Spotlight: Drift

2009-04-09T21:32:36Z

70.188.155.36: /* Featured characters */

{{comicstory|seriesissue=[[Spotlight (comics)|''The Transformers: Spotlight'']]'' #22''
|prev=Spotlight: Jazz
|next=Spotlight: Cliffjumper
|title="The Transformers Spotlight: Drift"
|image=Spotlight Drift Coller Lafuente.jpg
|caption=Look, Scratchy! It's our new friend—Poochie!
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[April 8]], [[2009]]
|coverdate=April 2009
|written by=[[Shane McCarthy]]
|art by=[[Casey Coller]]
|colors by=[[Joanna Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|edits by=[[Denton J. Tipton]]
|continuity=[[IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline#All Hail Megatron|Pre-All Hail Megatron]]
}}

'''Everyone deserves a second chance.'''

==Synopsis==
On an [[alien]] planet, inside a seedy bar, a female alien and her two cohorts meet with a shrouded figure. She gives him two cards, saying that they would take him so far as to the docking platforms. The cloaked figure thanks her, but she says that the thanks isn't necessary, but just as he's about to walk away, she mentions that the cruiser is [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]]. The stranger confirms it, as the female alien wonders why Cybertronians have docked on their planet. One of the female's cohorts take the time to mention his disgust of all Cybertronian, but the female shuts him up. When the cohort tries to remind her that she hates them as well, the figure mutters the word "[[Decepticon]]s".

The female goes on to say that the cruiser is a Decepticon vessel, and that they apparently came from the outer reaches, damaged and with Autobot prisoners. The alien is curious about the figure's interest in the vessel, and wants him to reconsider, saying that Cybertronians are the plague, bringing death and destruction with them. The figure isn't interested in her concern, but when she touches him, she realizes that he's Cybertronian as well. The figure bows and thanks her, then walks off. Outside the bar, the cloaked Cybertronian looks up and sees the Decepticon vessel above the city. Moments later, on top of the vessel the Cybertronian tosses his cloak away, activates some switches to turn off the vessel's security systems, then jumps inside. Landing quietly, he slides over to a hallway and sees some Decepticons talking. But just as he's about to make a move, a sudden explosion does the job, and the [[Wrecker]]s, led by Kup, enter the vessel. The Cybertronian laments "So much for quiet".

On the bridge, a Decepticon soldier warns Commander Turmoil that the ship has been breached. Turmoil angrily asks who did this, to which the soldier said that it's a small assault force that the sensors didn't pick up. Turmoil slams his fist in anger, realizing that it's Kup. Meanwhile, the Wreckers battle the Decepticon soldiers, all while wondering who the mysterious white Cybertronian is. He doesn't have a [[faction symbol]] on his chest, and the swords that he wields look familiar. Kup asks him why he's here, to which he replies that he was trying to sneak in. Perceptor examines him and is amazed that he had been recently upgraded in a matter that he hadn't seen since centuries. Kup isn't impressed and orders the Wreckers to move, while asking the Cybertronian to come with them. The Cybertronian insists on taking the lead, since he's here for the same reason.

In a large room, Perceptor senses Turmoil's group behind on of the locked doors, and they're attempting to break in his locks. But then, they suddenly stop. Perceptor decides to add several more blocks to the ones that he had planted in the system, and doesn't imaging that they will break through. Without warning, a beam pierces Perceptor in the chest, as Turmoil and his group fire away at the Wreckers. The Cybertronian rushes at Turmoil, ignoring Kup's orders. The Cybertronian is stopped by a small explosion, and Turmoil recognizes the Cybertronian as Deadlock. Deadlock runs away as Turmoil orders the traitor be destroyed. Turmoil as he charges his cannon arm and fires at a wall, causing Kup and Deadlock to fall down below.

When they land, Kup now knows who Deadlock is: a Decepticon who slaughtered quite a few [[Autobot]]s. Deadlock says that he no longer goes up that name, and is no longer a Decepticon. Kup said that long ago, there used to be a third faction (actually more of a faction ''against'' factions), which was a large group of Cybertronians that refused to have any part of the [[Great War]]. Kup believes that this faction either died or went into hiding from Cybertron. Most of the Autobots didn't care about them, because they were concerned about the war. Looking at Deadlock's sword, Kup is beginning to think differently, and asks him if the meeting had to do with him leaving the Decepticons, to which Deadlock confirms. Kup thinks he's getting a second chance, but Deadlock says that he already has one. Kup knows, because Perceptor (who normally wouldn't be along with the Wreckers) kept an eye out on Kup, repairing and upgrading his body, making him ''even more'' better. With the talk over, Kup decides to move out, but Deadlock stops him; although he's not an Autobot, he has an idea to bring the ship down, and Kup is listening.

Later, inside the ship's core, Deadlock is finishing setting the core to overload its system in several minutes, which will tear the vessel apart. Kup is amazed that Deadlock knows about the ship, to which he replies that he used to serve under Turmoil. Kup says that Springer and the other made it out (except Perceptor) and are bringing their ship out. Deadlock sets the core system, but Turmoil appears from behind a part of the wall he blew up. Deadlock tells to go, and Kup manages to exit just as Turmoil blasts at them.

Turmoil says that he thought he'd lost Deadlock. Deadlock says that that name is dead—he now wants to be known as Drift. Turmoil doesn't care and fires at him again, but Drift manages to evade the blasts and stabs at Turmoil's shoulders and slashes at his chest. Drift tells Turmoil that they're going about it the wrong way in the Great War. After countless centuries of fighting, the Autobots are a step away from the Decepticons when they started, and the Decepticons became something worse than they could imagine. Turmoil says that the Autobots would never accept an outcast like him, and asks Drift to kill him and run, proving that he's nothing more than when he left the Decepticons. Drift ''knows'' what he came for, then leaves the room just as the core starts to overload. After transforming briefly, Drift grabs Perceptor and they jump off the vessel just as it explodes.

Later on, Springer tells Kup that they will be docking with the ''[[Trion]]'' shortly, and that all six Autobots are accounted for, but Kup corrects him, saying that it's actually ''seven''. Kup tells Drift that he's forming a new unit, and wants him to join. Springer is stunned, but Drift accepts. Springer whispers to Kup that it wasn't wise, but Kup says that Drift proved himself down at the Decepticon vessel, and that there's more to fighting the war than blowing heads off. Besides, as Kup says, "everyone deserves a second chance".

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Drift (G1)|Deadlock/Drift]] (4)
*[[Twin Twist]] (10)
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (11)
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (12)
*[[Roadbuster]] (13)
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (14)
*[[Topspin]] (15)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (16)
*[[Sandstorm (Autobot)|Sandstorm]] (17)
*[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] (18)
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (19)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (20)
|c2=
*[[Turmoil]] (16)
|c4=
*Cohort 1 (1)
*Female alien (2)
*Cohort 2 (3)
}}

==Quotes==
*TBD

== Errors ==
*TBD

== Items of note ==
* '''Cameos:''' Misc. Decepticon crewmen, misc aliens.
* This issue explains what happened to Kup after his ''[[Spotlight: Kup|Spotlight]]'', and alludes to Perceptor's upgrade in ''[[All Hail Megatron]]''. It also explains why the Wreckers aren't a group in ''All Hail Megatron'', and shows some of the Autobots that would later be in Kup's group.

===Covers (3)===
{{picsneeded|Cover B, correct cover RI}}
* '''Cover A:''' Drift, about to draw a sword, against a manga-styled background, art by [[Casey Coller]] and [[Joana Lafuente]].
* '''Cover B:''' Semi-shadowed Drift, with a half-Decepticon, half-Autobot symbol behind him; art by [[Guido Guidi]] and Joana Lafuente.
* '''Cover RI:''' Drift with his swords drawn against a red "rising sun" background on top, with Drift in car mode against a black "rising sun" background on bottom; art also by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente.

<gallery>
Image:Spotlight Drift Coller Lafuente.jpg|He has to go now; his planet needs him!
Image:Spotlight_Drift_b.jpg|Cover B
Image:SpotlightDrift coverRI.jpg|Note—Drift died on the way back to his planet.
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*"[[Spotlight: Cliffjumper]]"
*TBD

[[Category:Spotlight issues]]

Spotlight: Drift

2009-04-09T21:30:52Z

70.188.155.36: /* Featured characters */ That's Sandstorm, not Scoop

{{comicstory|seriesissue=[[Spotlight (comics)|''The Transformers: Spotlight'']]'' #22''
|prev=Spotlight: Jazz
|next=Spotlight: Cliffjumper
|title="The Transformers Spotlight: Drift"
|image=Spotlight Drift Coller Lafuente.jpg
|caption=Look, Scratchy! It's our new friend—Poochie!
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[April 8]], [[2009]]
|coverdate=April 2009
|written by=[[Shane McCarthy]]
|art by=[[Casey Coller]]
|colors by=[[Joanna Lafuente]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|edits by=[[Denton J. Tipton]]
|continuity=[[IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline#All Hail Megatron|Pre-All Hail Megatron]]
}}

'''Everyone deserves a second chance.'''

==Synopsis==
On an [[alien]] planet, inside a seedy bar, a female alien and her two cohorts meet with a shrouded figure. She gives him two cards, saying that they would take him so far as to the docking platforms. The cloaked figure thanks her, but she says that the thanks isn't necessary, but just as he's about to walk away, she mentions that the cruiser is [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertronian]]. The stranger confirms it, as the female alien wonders why Cybertronians have docked on their planet. One of the female's cohorts take the time to mention his disgust of all Cybertronian, but the female shuts him up. When the cohort tries to remind her that she hates them as well, the figure mutters the word "[[Decepticon]]s".

The female goes on to say that the cruiser is a Decepticon vessel, and that they apparently came from the outer reaches, damaged and with Autobot prisoners. The alien is curious about the figure's interest in the vessel, and wants him to reconsider, saying that Cybertronians are the plague, bringing death and destruction with them. The figure isn't interested in her concern, but when she touches him, she realizes that he's Cybertronian as well. The figure bows and thanks her, then walks off. Outside the bar, the cloaked Cybertronian looks up and sees the Decepticon vessel above the city. Moments later, on top of the vessel the Cybertronian tosses his cloak away, activates some switches to turn off the vessel's security systems, then jumps inside. Landing quietly, he slides over to a hallway and sees some Decepticons talking. But just as he's about to make a move, a sudden explosion does the job, and the [[Wrecker]]s, led by Kup, enter the vessel. The Cybertronian laments "So much for quiet".

On the bridge, a Decepticon soldier warns Commander Turmoil that the ship has been breached. Turmoil angrily asks who did this, to which the soldier said that it's a small assault force that the sensors didn't pick up. Turmoil slams his fist in anger, realizing that it's Kup. Meanwhile, the Wreckers battle the Decepticon soldiers, all while wondering who the mysterious white Cybertronian is. He doesn't have a [[faction symbol]] on his chest, and the swords that he wields look familiar. Kup asks him why he's here, to which he replies that he was trying to sneak in. Perceptor examines him and is amazed that he had been recently upgraded in a matter that he hadn't seen since centuries. Kup isn't impressed and orders the Wreckers to move, while asking the Cybertronian to come with them. The Cybertronian insists on taking the lead, since he's here for the same reason.

In a large room, Perceptor senses Turmoil's group behind on of the locked doors, and they're attempting to break in his locks. But then, they suddenly stop. Perceptor decides to add several more blocks to the ones that he had planted in the system, and doesn't imaging that they will break through. Without warning, a beam pierces Perceptor in the chest, as Turmoil and his group fire away at the Wreckers. The Cybertronian rushes at Turmoil, ignoring Kup's orders. The Cybertronian is stopped by a small explosion, and Turmoil recognizes the Cybertronian as Deadlock. Deadlock runs away as Turmoil orders the traitor be destroyed. Turmoil as he charges his cannon arm and fires at a wall, causing Kup and Deadlock to fall down below.

When they land, Kup now knows who Deadlock is: a Decepticon who slaughtered quite a few [[Autobot]]s. Deadlock says that he no longer goes up that name, and is no longer a Decepticon. Kup said that long ago, there used to be a third faction (actually more of a faction ''against'' factions), which was a large group of Cybertronians that refused to have any part of the [[Great War]]. Kup believes that this faction either died or went into hiding from Cybertron. Most of the Autobots didn't care about them, because they were concerned about the war. Looking at Deadlock's sword, Kup is beginning to think differently, and asks him if the meeting had to do with him leaving the Decepticons, to which Deadlock confirms. Kup thinks he's getting a second chance, but Deadlock says that he already has one. Kup knows, because Perceptor (who normally wouldn't be along with the Wreckers) kept an eye out on Kup, repairing and upgrading his body, making him ''even more'' better. With the talk over, Kup decides to move out, but Deadlock stops him; although he's not an Autobot, he has an idea to bring the ship down, and Kup is listening.

Later, inside the ship's core, Deadlock is finishing setting the core to overload its system in several minutes, which will tear the vessel apart. Kup is amazed that Deadlock knows about the ship, to which he replies that he used to serve under Turmoil. Kup says that Springer and the other made it out (except Perceptor) and are bringing their ship out. Deadlock sets the core system, but Turmoil appears from behind a part of the wall he blew up. Deadlock tells to go, and Kup manages to exit just as Turmoil blasts at them.

Turmoil says that he thought he'd lost Deadlock. Deadlock says that that name is dead—he now wants to be known as Drift. Turmoil doesn't care and fires at him again, but Drift manages to evade the blasts and stabs at Turmoil's shoulders and slashes at his chest. Drift tells Turmoil that they're going about it the wrong way in the Great War. After countless centuries of fighting, the Autobots are a step away from the Decepticons when they started, and the Decepticons became something worse than they could imagine. Turmoil says that the Autobots would never accept an outcast like him, and asks Drift to kill him and run, proving that he's nothing more than when he left the Decepticons. Drift ''knows'' what he came for, then leaves the room just as the core starts to overload. After transforming briefly, Drift grabs Perceptor and they jump off the vessel just as it explodes.

Later on, Springer tells Kup that they will be docking with the ''[[Trion]]'' shortly, and that all six Autobots are accounted for, but Kup corrects him, saying that it's actually ''seven''. Kup tells Drift that he's forming a new unit, and wants him to join. Springer is stunned, but Drift accepts. Springer whispers to Kup that it wasn't wise, but Kup says that Drift proved himself down at the Decepticon vessel, and that there's more to fighting the war than blowing heads off. Besides, as Kup says, "everyone deserves a second chance".

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Drift (G1)|Deadlock/Drift]] (4)
*[[Twin Twist]] (10)
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (11)
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (12)
*[[Roadbuster]] (13)
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (14)
*[[Topspin]] (15)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (16)
*[[Sandstorm(G1)|Sandstorm]] (17)
*[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] (18)
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (19)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (20)
|c2=
*[[Turmoil]] (16)
|c4=
*Cohort 1 (1)
*Female alien (2)
*Cohort 2 (3)
}}

==Quotes==
*TBD

== Errors ==
*TBD

== Items of note ==
* '''Cameos:''' Misc. Decepticon crewmen, misc aliens.
* This issue explains what happened to Kup after his ''[[Spotlight: Kup|Spotlight]]'', and alludes to Perceptor's upgrade in ''[[All Hail Megatron]]''. It also explains why the Wreckers aren't a group in ''All Hail Megatron'', and shows some of the Autobots that would later be in Kup's group.

===Covers (3)===
{{picsneeded|Cover B, correct cover RI}}
* '''Cover A:''' Drift, about to draw a sword, against a manga-styled background, art by [[Casey Coller]] and [[Joana Lafuente]].
* '''Cover B:''' Semi-shadowed Drift, with a half-Decepticon, half-Autobot symbol behind him; art by [[Guido Guidi]] and Joana Lafuente.
* '''Cover RI:''' Drift with his swords drawn against a red "rising sun" background on top, with Drift in car mode against a black "rising sun" background on bottom; art also by Casey Coller and Joana Lafuente.

<gallery>
Image:Spotlight Drift Coller Lafuente.jpg|He has to go now; his planet needs him!
Image:Spotlight_Drift_b.jpg|Cover B
Image:SpotlightDrift coverRI.jpg|Note—Drift died on the way back to his planet.
</gallery>

===Advertisements===
*"[[Spotlight: Cliffjumper]]"
*TBD

[[Category:Spotlight issues]]

Hot Rod (G1)

2009-04-08T19:22:26Z

70.188.155.36: /* IDW comics continuity */

{{factions|autobot|autobotg2|wreckers}}
{{disambig3|Rodimus}}
{{disambig2|the turbo-revvin' young punk introduced in ''The Transformers: The Movie''|the ''Henkei! Henkei!'' character|Hot Rod (Henkei!)}}

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

[[Image:DVDbox3d1.jpg|right|301px|thumb|Opening the Matrix gives you wrinkles.]]

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

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

One thing that both sides of this Autobot's identity have in common is their impatience—neither Hot Rod nor Rodimus Prime can stand to wait around when they could be doing something instead. He is also very self-reliant, rarely sending others to do anything when he could be doing it himself. His [[Targetmaster]] partner is [[Firebolt]].

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

:''Japanese name (Hot Rod):'' '''Hot Rodimus''', except for "The Rebirth"
:''Japanese name (Rodimus Prime):'' '''Rodimus Convoy'''
:''French-Canadian names (Hot Rod):'' '''Météorite''' ("Meteorite")
:''French-Canadian names (Rodimus Prime):'' '''Rodimus Primo''' ("Rodimus First", official toy name)
:''French-Canadian names (Rodimus Prime):'' '''Rodimus Primus''' (official dub name)
:''Italian names:'' '''Folgore''', '''Captain'''<br />
:''Hungarian names (Hot Rod):'' '''Nagyágyú''' ("Hot Shot")
:''Hungarian names (Hot Rod, The Movie):'' '''Peca''' ("Fisher"?) in the first dub of the film, 'cause he deals with marine life throughout the film, you see.
:''Hungarian names (Rodimus Prime):'' '''Rodimusz Fővezér''' ("Prime Commander Rodimus")
:''Chinese names (Hot Rod, Taiwan):'' '''Rod''' / '''Rhode'''
:''Chinese names (Rodimus Prime, Taiwan):'' '''Rhodie Jr-tsūn''' (羅迪至尊, "Rodimus Prime")
:''English-maylay Headmasters name (Hot rod):'' '''Roadimus Prime''' (yes. ROAD-imus.)
:''Russian TV dub name (Hot Rod):'' '''Patron''' ("Cartridge")
:''Russian TV dub name (Rodimus Prime):'' '''Rodomes Prime'''

==Fiction==
{{picsneeded|Cartoon, G2 comic, DW comic, a few other minor continuities.}}
===American cartoon continuity===
====Madman ''Transformers'' comic====
[[Image:Madman comic HotRod sigh.jpg|left|150px|thumb|"You're gonna be the death of that guy, you know?"]]
{{bigquote|Everyone has their time. Yours is coming!|[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] ''and'' the [[Autobot Matrix of Leadership]]|[[Madman Transformers Comic]]}}

In the year 2001, Hot Rod was on guard duty at the construction site of [[Autobot City]] on [[Earth]] while the main Autobot forces were evacuating from the Decepticon-conquered [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. As he was complained about his boring assignment to [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], the Decepticon [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] struck, intent on stealing the [[Autobot Matrix of Leadership]] which Optimus Prime had secreted in a bunker at the building site. When he reclaimed the Matrix, Hot Rod received a vision of the future where he fought [[Galvatron (G1)|a powerful Decepticon]]. After returning the Matrix to Optimus Prime, the Autobot leader considered that perhaps Hot Rod's destiny was greater than any of them realized. Kup thought differently, however. {{storylink|Madman Transformers Comic|Madman Transformers Comic}}

{{-}}

====Generation 1 cartoon====
:''Voice actors:'' [[Judd Nelson]] → [[Ted Schwartz]] → [[Dick Gautier]] (English), [[Hiroya Ishimaru]] (Japanese)

[[Image:HotRodFishing1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"I'm tellin' you, Daniel, you HAD to kiss me to activate my fishing rod. STOP crying! And, uh, don't tell your dad or Optimus."]]
In 2005, Hot Rod was one of the many Autobots based in the completed Autobot City. He was close friends with the young human [[Daniel Witwicky]], and seemed to have a reputation for being something of a trouble-maker, judging from a few of Kup's comments to him at the time. Realizing that the Decepticons were invading, Hot Rod opened fire on their stolen shuttle and exposed their ruse before Megatron could enter the city. Although this did give the rest of the Autobots time to begin transforming Autobot City and raising their defenses, it also left Hot Rod trapped outside with Kup and Daniel. After defeating the Decepticons [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] with some help from Kup, Hot Rod managed to find a way inside the fortress city and took part in its defense. During [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime's]] battle with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], Hot Rod intervened in an attempt to help, but succeeded only in giving Megatron the chance he needed to mortally wound the Autobot leader.

After Prime's death, Autobot City was attacked again—by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. While escaping, Hot Rod and Kup (and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]) were separated from the rest of the Autobots and crashed on the planet [[Quintessa]]. There, Hot Rod met the Quintessons, an enemy who would haunt him for some time to come. After escaping their sadistic trial and attempted execution (as well as meeting [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]]), Hot Rod went on to the planet [[Junk]], where he was just in time to stop [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] from destroying the rest of the Autobot City refugees with a timely use of the [[Universal greeting]]. Together, they all traveled to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to stop [[Unicron]] before he could eat more than just its moons.

[[Image:RodimusPrimeMovie1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Stop putting in captions that are just blatantly not funny!"]]
Inside of Unicron, Hot Rod was separated from the rest of his team when their ship crashed (something which happens to Hot Rod a lot). Alone, he found himself facing Galvatron in a battle to the death over the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. Claiming the Matrix, Hot Rod [[Renaming|evolved into]] "Rodimus Prime", an older, larger, and more powerful version of himself. After overpowering Galvatron and hurling him through Unicron's hide, into the void of space, he opened the Matrix and destroyed Unicron from within. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie|The Transformers: The Movie}}

Peace reigned on Cybertron for at least long enough to put up some of the more important buildings, and Rodimus Prime began to ease into his role as the new Autobot leader. When [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and Spike Witwicky were kidnapped during a [[Galactic Olympics]], it was Rodimus who spied on the Decepticons with [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] to determine if they were the ones who had done it. The way Rodimus had it figured, the Decepticons were usually behind everything anyway, so they seemed like a good enough place to start. After getting caught and severely beaten by the Decepticons (who were innocent of the kidnapping, but not really fans of his anyway), Rodimus was able to interface with the Matrix and learned about the origins of the Transformer race. He also learned that his old enemies, the Quintessons, were back and looking to destroy every Transformer in existence. Making things worse, Galvatron soon returned as well, and the war that everyone had assumed was safely over quickly started up again. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness|Five Faces of Darkness}}

Throughout 2006, Rodimus Prime's greatest achievements both revolved around his predecessor, Optimus Prime. While fleeing from a Decepticon attack, Rodimus and several other Autobots took refuge in a massive [[Autobot Mausoleum]] and discovered that their former leader seemed to have returned to life. Perhaps a little too trusting of Optimus (and possibly eager to relieve himself of the burden of leadership), Rodimus quickly passed the Matrix back to Optimus and, much to his glee, reverted back into Hot Rod. His happiness was short-lived, however, as Optimus was quickly revealed to be nothing more than a puppet of the Quintessons, sent to trick the Autobots into an ambush from which none of them would escape. With no other choice, Hot Rod was forced to do battle with Optimus Prime for the fate of the Autobots. Although their duel was clearly in the favor of the more powerful Optimus, Hot Rod was able to re-awaken the true spirit of his leader. Returning the Matrix to Rodimus, Optimus then piloted his ship into the heart of the ambush and sacrificed himself to save them all. {{storylink|Dark Awakening|Dark Awakening}}

Soon after Perceptor left on a standard research mission to a nearby asteroid belt, Rodimus Prime and the Autobots received a distress call from the survey group. They arrived to find the asteroid infested with Quintessons, and managed to drive off the tentacled freaks and their Sharkticon shock troops. Perceptor was near deactivation due to injuries, however, and the rest of the Autobots were nowhere to be seen. The Quints attempted to retake the asteroid but, after failing, were soon desperate enough to tell the truth: their technology on the rock was a [[Time Window]], and leaving it open was risking the fates of all time and space. With the help of the Quintesson scientist, and a [[Alpha Trion (G1)|mysterious stranger with a devilish moustache]], Rodimus Prime retrieved his lost Autobots and shut down the time window. {{storylink|Forever Is a Long Time Coming|Forever Is a Long Time Coming}}

The Autobots learned of a lost Cybertronian colony known as [[Paradron]] after one of its citizens, [[Sandstorm (Autobot)|Sandstorm]], arrived on Cybertron begging for help. It seemed that Galvatron and the Decepticons had seized control over the planet and its vast energon reserves. Rodimus Prime and the Autobots staged a tactical infiltration, but the escalation of violence between the two forces led to total devastation. Rodimus gave the pacifistic Autobots of Paradron his impassioned "Move it or lose it!" speech before hustling them off-world so that Ultra Magnus could blow up their home. As Sandstorm sat there mourning the loss of his world, Rodimus Prime gave him some solemn advice.
{{bigquote|Well, no need to get all mushy. Cybertron's a better place anyway—not so...perfect.|}}
{{storylink|Fight or Flee|Fight or Flee}}

Rodimus and the Autobots were stumped when someone carried off [[Fort Knox]] in the middle of the night. Seriously -- they detected [[Dinosaur transform static]] at the scene, found a small pile of [[Energon cube|energon cubes]], and had just been informed by [[Teletraan II]] that Trypticon was still alive. It was a head-scratcher all right. They eventually figured it out, though, and sieged the occupied nation of [[Carbombya]] to chase Trypticon and the Decepticons away, and recovered Fort Knox and the other monuments Trypticon had stolen. {{storylink|Thief in the Night|Thief in the Night}}

When the freelance agent named [[Octane]] was being kidnapped right off of Cybertron's surface by Cyclonus and the Sweeps, Rodimus Prime and the Autobots stormed out to save their associate. Things were more complicated than they looked, as when Rodimus confronted Cyclonus, the Decepticon lieutenant spoke with [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s voice! For some reason, learning Starscream was involved made Rodimus willing to let the Decepticons go. Crazy as it sounds, though, it worked -- Starscream and Octane managed to lure Galvatron into an Autobot ambush. Rodimus Prime gave a friendly wave at Starscream for a job well done as he departed. ''Zuh''? {{storylink|Starscream's Ghost|Starscream's Ghost}}

While preparing for the first annual Cybertron peace conference, Rodimus Prime got together with [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] to prepare a surprise party for Danny. They were interrupted by a [[Combaticon]] attack, as the Decepticons wanted to prevent the conference from occurring. The Combaticons were driven off, however, and only minor damage was done. {{storylink|Surprise Party|Surprise Party}}

During a diplomatic function, Rodimus Prime was forced to play statesman and deal with Ambassador [[Ynara]] and the other delegates. Curiously, when Daniel Witwicky went missing and Rodimus had an excuse to duck out of the "festivities", he chose to delegate the search mission to Ultra Magnus and Blaster. Perhaps the normally action-hungry Rodimus Prime was actually becoming more accepting of his leadership duties. {{storylink|Madman's Paradise|Madman's Paradise}}

{{storylink|Nightmare Planet|Nightmare Planet}}

Cybertron was put on high alert after [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] broke into Metroplex on Earth, stealing his eyes and blowing up a bomb in his brain. Rodimus and the Autobots were eventually able to suss out that Scourge was working with the ghost of Starscream, and they in turn were acquiring those eyes for Unicron. Rodimus put together a strike team and sent Ultra Magnus, Springer, [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] and [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] to Unicron to investigate, but they were repulsed by the Chaos-Bringer's defenses. Their second mission was more successful, detonating a series of explosives underneath Unicron once he came down to Cybertron, intent on connecting himself to the planet and turning it into his new body. After Unicron was successfully blasted back into orbit, Rodimus congratulated his men on a job well done. As a joke, he told Magnus and the others their next mission would be to return to the head of their Living Devil and retrieve his stolen eyes. That Roddy -- he's hilarious. {{storylink|Ghost in the Machine|Ghost in the Machine}}

{{storylink|The Big Broadcast of 2006|The Big Broadcast of 2006}}

At a galactic peace conference, Rodimus and Ultra Magnus attempted to end the centuries of war between the planets of [[Xetaxxis]] and [[Lanarq]]. They might as well have asked Galvatron "Why you so ''crazy''?" Every attempt at straight talk and reasonable discourse broke out into a brawl, fist-fighting and eventually laser fire. The two worlds only reached an accord once Blaster and Sky Lynx arrived with a Quintesson journal, detailing how the entire war between the two planets was a "case study" in escalation manipulated by the Quints to sell bigger and better armaments to both sides. {{storylink|The Quintesson Journal|The Quintesson Journal}}

{{storylink|The Dweller in the Depths|The Dweller in the Depths}}

{{storylink|Only Human|Only Human}}

Rodimus Prime began to struggle with the burden of leadership again during a skirmish in Europe, where the Decepticons were working in conjunction with human terrorists. The pacifistic [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] chose to leave the Autobots after his refusal to fight cost Metroplex his transforming cog, and Rodimus chided himself for not having the words to convince the medic to stay. He was also unsettled by Galvatron's crowing about a new "[[Ultimate Weapon]]" which would bring the Autobots to their knees. Regardless of his internal strife, Rodimus continued the fight. He came up with a plan where Spike and Daniel Witwicky posed as part of the (evil?) human repair crews working on Trypticon, and liberated the Decepticon city-bot's transforming cog just as the 'Cons had taken Metroplex's. Rodimus and Ultra Magnus had to fight off Galvatron and [[Stunticon|Stunticons]] in order to stall for time so that the Witwickys could complete their mission. Fortunately, the Stunticons had been off the shelves for awhile by this point, and so were utterly demolished off-screen by the two Autobots. Eventually, First Aid returned to the Autobots to finish repair work on the cog, and Rodimus ultimately called Galvatron's bluff and uncovered his "Ultimate Weapon" as the sham it was. These victories renewed Rodimus's confidence in his leadership abilities...until next time. {{storylink|The Ultimate Weapon|The Ultimate Weapon}}

{{storylink|The Face of the Nijika|The Face of the Nijika}}

At the unveiling of the new power generator, Rodimus Prime got frustrated at Grimlock's gross stupidity. Things only got worse when the Autobots discovered [[Anti-electron|anti-electrons]] being beamed out of the power generator, and needed to negotiate the tunnels beneath Cybertron to reach the generator core...and Grimlock broke their only map. Luckily for Rodimus's sanity, Grimlock spontaneously developed super-intelligence after biting through the cables connecting the anti-electrons to the power generator. The Autobots then went on a mission to Unicron's head to prevent the Decepticons from recovering any more anti-electrons to use against them. They were nearly overwhelmed by the animalistic [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]], but Grimlock constructed [[Computron]] and the [[Technobot|Technobots]] as a counter-force against the bestial Decepticons. Rodimus and the others drove off the remaining Decepticons, and restabilized the power generator for Cybertron's use. {{storylink|Grimlock's New Brain|Grimlock's New Brain}}

On a lifeless planetoid with absolutely no discernable military value, Rodimus Prime and the Autobots were engaged in trench warfare with the Decepticon to claim said planetoid. Rodimus demonstrated his keen tactical brilliance when the Decepticons attacked and he suggested the Autobots do the unexpected...and counter-attack. No, really -- Galvatron seemed utterly amazed when they did that. {{storylink|Call of the Primitives|Call of the Primitives}}

After a particularly strenuous series of Decepticon attacks on Japan, Rodimus Prime was in no mood to be chewed out by the Japanese government for "not helping enough". When [[Marissa Faireborn]] stopped by at just the wrong time with yet another problem, Rodimus blew her off and went racing on the backroads to let off some exhaust. Unfortunately, he was spotted by the Stunticons [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] and [[Wildrider]], who knocked him for a loop and (surprisingly) shook the Matrix of Leadership loose from his chest cavity. After the Stunticons made off with the Matrix, Rodimus woke up as Hot Rod. Shockingly to Springer and Ultra Magnus, Roddy was in no hurry to go after the thieves and recover the Matrix. His ''giri'' had become too burdensome, and Hot Rod was hardly interested in reclaiming the burden so soon. He returned to a dojo that had been upset by [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] during the earlier attacks, and observed the sensei and his pupils. After finding his center again, Hot Rod returned to the city, where the huntsman known as Scourge had been mis-using the Matrix as a source of raw power to destroy everything around him. After a brief fight, Hot Rod reclaimed the Matrix from Scourge and became Rodimus Prime once more, accepting his path in life.

Oh, and Kup was nodding sagely on the sidelines this entire time. I'm sure that helped, somehow. {{storylink|The Burden Hardest to Bear|The Burden Hardest to Bear}}

[[Image:HotRodReturnOfOptimusPrime1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Does my thumb look infected to you?"]]
As it turned out, far from being destroyed, Optimus Prime had been retrieved by a team of human scientists who were hoping to use him (again) as a weapon against the Autobots—this time as the bearer of a malignant "Hate Plague" that would cause them to destroy each other. When he learned of this, Rodimus swiftly formed a rescue party and led them to retrieve Optimus's body so that their former leader could rest in peace. When all of the rest of the Autobots with him were exposed to the Hate Plague, only Rodimus was able to escape unharmed—and with the still uninfected body of Optimus. Returning to Autobot City, Rodimus ordered [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky-Lynx]] to find a Quintesson to repair Optimus, then risked his life to shut down [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] before the Plague could spread to it. Attacked by Ultra Magnus and Wreck-Gar in the process, he succumbed to the plague and became infected with hate. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}} In order to stop the Plague, the resurrected Optimus had to defeat the crazed Rodimus and forcibly extract the Matrix from him, changing him back into Hot Rod once more. This time, as Optimus had decided to stick around, the change was a permanent one. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

Even after losing his position as Autobot leader, Hot Rod was not the sort to rest on his laurels. In 2007, he was among a group of Autobots who were caught in a blast from the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]] and shot across the galaxy to the planet [[Nebulos]]. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 1|The Rebirth, Part 1}} There, the Autobots fell in with a group of native rebels and aided them in opposing the tyrannical rule of the dictatorial [[Hive (G1)|Hive]]—a partnership that ultimately evolved into [[binary bonding]], the fusion of Transformer and Nebulan into [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] and [[Targetmaster|Targetmasters]]. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2|The Rebirth, Part 2}} Hot Rod was linked to the Nebulan sharpshooter Firebolt, and went on to aid in the defence of Cybertron as Galvatron attempted to use the Plasma Energy Chamber to destroy it. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3|The Rebirth, Part 3}}

Rodimus has a tendency to say insensitive, stupid things to people in dire situations, such as joking about humans suffocating to death, {{storylink|Dark Awakening|Dark Awakening}} or ripping on someone's home planet while it's being destroyed {{storylink|Fight or Flee|Fight or Flee}}.

===Japanese cartoon continuity===
{{note|The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in Japanese animated continuity as described above, except that the events of "The Rebirth" do not occur. Additionally, this continuity moves the events of 2006 forward to 2010, and inserts several additional events into the newly-created intervening years.}}

====''Kiss Players''====
:''Voice actors:'' [[Ryōtarō Okiayu]] (Japanese)

When Rodimus Prime hurled Galvatron into space at the conclusion of their battle within Unicron, he could not have predicted the tragic result of this action. Galvatron crash-landed on Earth, on top of [[Tokyo]], [[Japan]], devastating the city and sparking off a massive anti-Transformer movement spearheaded by the [[Earth Defense Command]]. Horrified by what his actions had wrought, Rodimus gave up the Matrix to Ultra Magnus, reverted to Hot Rod once more, and returned to the human homeworld.

[[Image:HotRodKP.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Flames on his arms and a naked girl in his tummy.]]
As he descended to Earth, Hot Rod was badly damaged by the [[anti-electron]] field that the E.D.C. had set up around the planet. Arriving at the E.D.C. headquarters, Hot Rod interrupted a grotesque experiment in a basement laboratory involving the severed heads of various [[Legion]] (monstrous creatures created by Galvatron's scattered cells) and former E.D.C. operative [[Shaoshao Li]]. The Legion attacked Hot Rod and began to [[ParasiTech|fuse]] with him, but a [[kiss]] from Shaoshao—one of the E.D.C.'s [[Kiss Player]] operatives, also given fusing powers by Galvatron's cells—saved him, reformatting him into a Ford GT body. Now partnered with Shaoshao, he traveled around [[Japan]] battling the E.D.C., Legion, and the resurrected Optimus Prime.

Hot Rod was cocky and confident in his speed and sharpshooting skills, and often weathered his human partner's complaints that he was slacking off on his hand-to-hand combat training. He much preferred to practice kissing, the resulting fusion granting him Shao's considerable martial arts skills as well as the ability to wield his firearms as [[wikipedia:tonfa|tonfas]]. In return, he stole [[Marissa Faireborn]]'s underwear for her.

He continued to enjoy fishing and carried a customized rod that he could convert into a forearm-mounted weapon called the "Exhaust Eliminator". Shaoshao didn't like working with him after a fishing trip due to the smell, but she secretly wished that he would take her with him anyway. Hot Rod was very suspicious of Optimus Prime, claiming that he was not the ''real'' Optimus, presumably because he still believed his former commander to be dead following the Battle of Autobot City.

Hot Rod had the distinction of being the only known robot with a Kiss Player partner to have lips. This might have contributed to Shao's feelings of excitement when she kissed him, though the rest of the time she acted outraged that a robot would have the audacity to talk to her like a real person.

After numerous battles, Hot Rod and his human partner settled their differences with Prime. Together, they teamed up with the E.D.C. Kiss Player [[Atari Hitotonari]] and her [[Autrooper]] and entered the secret "Genital System" facility hidden beneath E.D.C. headquarters in Tokyo. There, they discovered Galvatron's headless body and realized that the only way to end the current crisis was to allow the Unicron-empowered Decepticon's cells to return to his body. When Hot Rod did so, he was restored to his original body. {{storylink|Kiss Players (fiction)|Kiss Players}}

Hot Rod went on his way, but did not take back the Matrix and leadership of the Autobots until the year 2010. It is unknown whether he ever discovered that the true cause of the Tokyo incident was temporal interference by the [[Sparkbot|Sparkbots]].

====''The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers''====
{{note|The events of this manga occur concurrently with the events of Generation 1 cartoon, as described above.}}
Rodimus Prime faced numerous bizarre challenges in the year 2010. In one instance, Rodimus and his troops were taken under siege by a horde of Megatron clones calling themselves the [[Megatron Military]]. The Megatron Military made short work of Rodimus, leaving him to wonder how he could defeat a whole horde of the baddie, when Optimus Prime could barely deal with ''one''. Rodimus eventually realized that Galvatron was secretly controlling the clones and singled him out. With Galvatron defeated, the Megatron Military ceased to function. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 2|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 2}}

During another battle, he was forced to team with his arch-nemesis, Galvatron, to defeat the all-powerful [[Guiltaur]]. Guiltaur was a creation built by the [[Quintesson|Quintessons]] utilizing the powers of both Optimus Prime and Megatron. Together, Rodimus and Galvatron defeated their foe (who it turned out was being controlled by the ghost of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]) and called off the truce. {{storylink|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 4|The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms: The Transformers issue 4}}

====''The Headmasters'' cartoon====
[[Image:DoubleConvoy1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Race ya to the Matrix!" "Yer on!"]]
One year after the Hate Plague affair and the resurrection of Optimus Prime, Hot Rod maintained a high-level position among the Autobots as well as a new sense of duty and responsibility. Hot Rod was stationed on [[Athenia]] when the Decepticons, bolstered with the addition of new Headmaster warriors, attacked Cybertron in an attempt to take control of [[Vector Sigma]], which had become destabilized as a result of the Matrix's energy being released. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} When a group of Autobot Headmasters arrived to help, Optimus Prime broke off from the battle and ventured into Cybertron's depths, hoping to find a way to stabilize Vector Sigma. This, however, would require the sacrifice of his own life if attempted without the Matrix, which was hidden somewhere on Earth, recharging. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master|The Mystery of Planet Master}} Hot Rod and the Autobot Headmasters searched the Matrix out and returned to Cybertron with it, where the spirit of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] recharged its empty shell, transforming Hot Rod back into Rodimus Prime. Optimus and Rodimus defeated the Decepticons together, but Optimus still wound up sacrificing himself to stabilize Vector Sigma, leaving Rodimus Prime in command of the Autobots once again. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

Not long thereafter, a plot by Decepticon leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] resulted in a massive planetary explosion devastating Cybertron, leaving it a burnt-out husk. Deciding that his time was over, and that newer, younger Transformers should take over, Rodimus passed leadership of the Autobots to [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress]], and departed for space with Kup and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] to search for a new planet that the Transformers could make their own. Arcee asked if she could go, too, but Rodimus instructed her to stay behind to look after Daniel and Wheelie. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}

====''The Headmasters'' comic====
[[Image:Ep14.jpg|right|100px|thumb|He's so dreeeaaaaamyyyy.]]
On his journey through space, Rodimus faced many dangers and hardships, but was supported by the wisdom of the Matrix and the energy of the Earth that now coursed within it. Learning a new admiration for the human race and the planet Earth, he returned to Earth in the wake of the defeat of Scorponok, and reunited with the Autobots. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 8|The Headmasters issue 8}}

====The Battlestars====
It would be many years before Rodimus resurfaced. He eventually returned at the same time as Optimus Prime was resurrected as [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Star Convoy]], and was shown to have reverted back into Hot Rod, and been converted into a [[Micromaster]]. As a Micromaster, Hot Rod took up residence in Star Convoy's chest, boosting his Supreme Commander's power.

====''15 Go! Go!'' comics====
[[Image:Hotrod-micro.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Well, at least this girl has clothes on.]]
During her travels through time and space, [[Teletraan 15]] encountered Micromaster Hot Rod, who rescued her from a strange mechanical monster, a [[Novaroid]]. Teletraan 15 noted that Hot Rod was considerably smaller than she remembered him.

Hot Rod asked if she was the one responsible for all the [[Transwarp]] travel and blamed her for the wormholes that were opening everywhere. Spotting a large wormhole opening, he transformed to vehicle mode and told her to climb inside, saying that something big was coming.

[[Star Convoy]] appeared and requested Hot Rod's assistance, telling him that [[Megatron (G1)|Ultra Megatron]] was fusing with [[Dark Nova]].

As Hot Rod said his farewells to Teletraan 15, he was suddenly struck by an immense blast from the wormhole overhead. The shadowy form of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] descended from the rip in the sky.

15 leaped in front of Hot Rod to protect him, and was rewarded for her heroism by seeing her right arm torn off by the Decepticon's power. The severed arm gripped in his teeth, Galvatron throttled the much smaller Hot Rod. As [[Safety]] and [[Fly-Up]] of the [[Guard City]] team raced toward her, Teletraan 15 faded into unconsciousness, leaving Hot Rod's fate and the outcome of the battle unknown. {{storylink|15 Go! Go!|15 Go! Go!}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{note|Events from the UK-only comics are in italics, and are flippin' convoluted.}}
''Several hundred years ago, [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] dispatched Hot Rod and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] to search for habitable worlds. During this mission, the pair ran afoul of the [[Tyroxian|Tyroxians]] — unpleasant [[Alien|aliens]] who captured Blurr and pursued Hot Rod through space. While fleeing, Hot Rod crossed paths with the Autobot war veteran, Kup, living a nomadic existence wandering through space at the time, and the youth's bravado in attacking [[Tyroxia]] single-handed re-ignited Kup's fighting spirit. After saving Hot Rod and helping him to rescue Blurr, Kup joined the pair in returning to Cybertron.'' {{storylink|Kup's Story!|Kup's Story!}}

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

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

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

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

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

{{-}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
[[Image:M1988 rodimusprime runlikehell.jpg|right|250px|thumb|I'M KID FRIENDLY, DAMN IT!]]
''Hot Rod rose to greater prominence in the alternate future timeline of [[Earth-120185]]. In 1990, he, Kup and Blurr were captured by Megatron; although rescued by a double-agent named [[Warmonger]], Hot Rod was recaptured and bore witness first hand to Megatron's mercilessness when he executed Warmonger. Then, in 1991, he was part of a unit that escorted the captive [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], only to lose the Decepticon leader when forced to defend a human settlement against an attack by the [[Air Strike Patrol]].'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!|Aspects of Evil!}} ''On another occasion in 1995, Hot Rod was present when Optimus Prime first unveiled the female Autobot, Arcee, to a dubious crowd of human feminists. Hot Rod was more than a little flustered by Arcee's presence on the battlefield.'' {{storylink|Prime's Rib!|Prime's Rib!}} ''In 2003, he and Blurr were given "Ark duty," assigned to stand guard over the [[Ark (G1)|Autobots' spaceship]] while construction on [[Autobot City]] began. Kup was apparently instructed to deliver the plans of the city to the American government, and when Hot Rod saw him being jumped by the [[Stunticon|Stunticons]], he disobeyed orders and sped out to the rescue. The Stunticons brutally beat on Hot Rod and took the plans, but Hot Rod learned a hard lesson when Kup informed him that it was meant to happen that way because the plans were a fake.'' {{storylink|Ark Duty|Ark Duty}} ''When the city was completed in 2004, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] attacked it on its opening day, and Hot Rod repelled him by attacking in a wildly illogical manner, tackling him down a mountain repeatedly.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!|Aspects of Evil!}} ''Also, at some unknown point in the past, Hot Rod's Targetmaster partner Firebolt was killed in action. {{storylink|Headhunt|Headhunt}}''

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

[[Image:Rodimusprimerequestdenied.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Rodimus learned the wrong lesson from Optimus's death.]]
''As the new Autobot leader, Rodimus became paranoid about Galvatron's eventual return, since no body was ever recovered from space. He led the Autobot forces high and low searching the universe for the Decepticon leader, neglecting Cybertron in the process. As a result, Shockwave arose as the new Decepticon leader, and total war broke out on Cybertron once again. Unable to take the time to find Galvatron himself anymore, Rodimus rashly placed a bounty on the Decepticon's head. What Rodimus did not realize, however, was that Galvatron had time-jumped again, traveling back to 1987.'' {{storylink|Wanted:Galvatron — Dead or Alive!|Wanted:Galvatron — Dead or Alive!}} ''In 2007, when the freelance peace-keeping agent [[Death's Head]] pursued Galvatron back to the '80s, Rodimus was informed of this fact by an Autobot double-agent named [[Nautilus]], and, dismayed at the danger he had unleashed on the past, promptly headed back in time himself to stop the dual threats.'' {{storylink|Burning Sky!|Burning Sky!}} ''Once again teaming up with the present-day Ultra Magnus, Rodimus and his team of Kup, Blurr and [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] tracked Galvatron down to [[Mount Verona]], where he was attempting to harness the volcano's molten energy. While arguing with Death's Head, Rodimus and the bounty hunter were both attacked, but when Ultra Magnus opened fire on his power siphon, Galvatron was distracted long enough for Rodimus to escape.'' {{storylink|Hunters|Hunters!}} ''Rodimus then arranged a plan that saw the Autobots capture Galvatron's time-jump mechanism, in order to have Wreck-Gar re-engineer it to return all the time-travelers to their point of origin. Rodimus engaged Galvatron in a protracted battle to buy Wreck-Gar time, but when the device was activated, Rodimus, Death's Head and the other Autobots were returned to 2007—but Galvatron was left behind.'' {{storylink|Fire on High!|Fire on High!}}

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

[[Image:Targetmaster-nomore.jpg|right|180px|thumb|"I'm not being melodramatic, you're being insensitive!"]]
''Later in 2008, the alien Quintessons targeted Cybertron for colonization, and attacked the Autobots with a two-pronged assault on both Cybertron and Earth. When [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] shirked her guard duty at Autobot City, the Quintessons were given an opening that allowed them to take over the city, and when she returned, they gunned her down as bait for a trap for Rodimus Prime. Arriving at the city, Rodimus discovered the injured Arcee and opened his chest compartment to heal her with the Matrix, only to have it yanked from his grasp by the Quintesson general, [[Ghyrik]], causing him to revert to Hot Rod. Liberating [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]'s cassettes for back-up, Hot Rod and Arcee proceeded to fight their way through the Quintessons to Autobot City's control room, where Hot Rod activated [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] to smash the alien threat. In battle with Ghyrik, Hot Rod duped the Quintessons with a bit of amateur ventriloquism and reclaimed the Matrix; transformed back into Rodimus Prime again, he routed the Quintessons.'' {{storylink|Space Pirates!|Space Pirates!}}

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sometime after, Hot Rod was operating somewhere in the universe with Optimus Prime and Kup when Grimlock summoned them to deal with the threat of [[Jhiaxus]] and his Cybertronians. Together, they formed the initial Autobot resistance to the Liege Centuro. {{storylink|War Without End!|War Without End!}} Once Optimus's visions convinced him there was a much greater threat at work in the universe, however, he took the Autobots into hiding until they were ready to deal with the bigger picture. Stuck on a distant asteroid base, Hot Rod amused himself by running training with the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], and other soldiers as the army slowly regrouped and reorganized, but chafed at the lack of real action. {{storylink|The Power and the Glory|The Power and the Glory}} Luckily, the Autobots soon joined forces with the old Decepticons, the fight ramped up to epic proportions... and Hot Rod proceeded to do nothing of import for the rest of the war.

===S.T.A.R.S. pack-in flyers===
Rodimus Prime remembered the Transformers' [[Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction|greatest battle on Earth]]. {{storylink|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.|Rodimus Prime remembers the Transformers greatest battle on Earth.}}

===Ladybird Books continuity===
Hot Rod was one of several troops stationed on Earth when [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] was in charge and the Transformers' war was still a secret one. He got along well with [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]], the two spending their downtime looking at car magazines together, and was quite pleased to receive some snazzy gold wheel-trims from the boy. {{storylink|Decepticon Hideout|Decepticon Hideout}}

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

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

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

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

Some time later, Hot Rod ran a simulation combat scenario against Kup, and won using tactics that, in Kup's opinion, would have killed them both had it been real. Only after his victory did Hot Rod remember that he'd promised to take Arcee to see an [[Earth]]-bound shuttle launch—a duty Springer was happy to relieve him of. {{storylink|Lost and Found (comic issue)|Lost and Found}} Soon afterward, he was assigned to perimeter guard duty at [[Autobase (G1)|Autobase]] with Gnaw and Wheelie, separating him from Arcee. {{storylink|The Route of All Evil|The Route of All Evil}}

===''Universe: The Wreckers''===
[[Image:Hotrodg1.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Undergoing the Maximal Upgrade mostly involves applying your stickers.]]
A few months after the destruction of [[Unicron]] in 2005, Rodimus Prime spearheaded an effort to establish multiple recon posts to watch for advancing threats... even though some of his scientists said he shouldn't. When only two of the five launched ships were ever heard from again, Rodimus felt like a schmuck. Guy can't catch a break. {{storylink|Betrayal|Betrayal}}

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

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

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

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

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

{{charstubfiction}}

{{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II|Wreckers: Finale Part II}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. Transformers''===
[[Image:GIJoeTFHotRod70s.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"That bumperchest really doesn't feel right. How do Prowl and Jazz live with it?"]]
When [[Teletran 3]] malfunctioned and sent many Cybertronians into different Earth eras, Hot Rod ended up in the 1970s, mode-locked as a hot rodded muscle car. When some young punk hotwired him, [[Lady Jaye]] challenged the driver to a race inside [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] to lure him someplace isolated to reactivate him. In the end they raced all the way to a hangar where a drug bust took place around a [[Blitzwing (G1)|large cargo plane]]. Hot Rod was promptly reactivated, but had little time to gain his bearings as the plane, who turned out to be a Decepticon, was reactivated. Before any battle could begin, they all traveled back to their own timeline. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers II issue 1}}
{{charstubfiction}}
{{-}}
===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[Image:SpotlightHotRod rush.jpg|right|180px|thumb|WHEEEEEEE! AWESOME! TUBULAR! COWABUNGA! REAGANOMICS!]]
Years ago, Hot Rod was put in charge of a mission to the planet [[Ki-Aleta]] to obtain a powerful artifact named the [[Magnificence]] so as to keep it out of the hands of the Decepticons. The mission started off smoothly enough, with [[Gizmo]] using a [[holomatter]] generator to distract the defense systems while the rest of the team went after the Magnificence. Unfortunately, after that everything that could go wrong did go wrong. First, the generator malfunctioned, then [[Download]] tripped the security lasers around the Magnificence itself. Gizmo, Download, and [[Backbeat]] were destroyed by the security systems while Hot Rod and [[Doubledealer|Dealer]] fled. Hot Rod, nearing the exit tunnels they had previously drilled, got a call from Dealer—he had been ambushed by a Decepticon attack squad and needed help. Unfortunately, Hot Rod had been given his own, top secret orders: the Magnificence was to be the top priority of the mission, and placed before all else. With a heavy heart, Hot Rod abandoned Dealer to his fate as he left Ki-Aleta with the Magnificence.

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

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

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

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

[[Image:HotRodMaxDino02.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You're not fooling anyone, [[Judd Nelson |Bender]]. The next screw that falls out will be YOU.]]
Returning to Earth to continue his search, Hot Rod arrived at the gates of the Machination's complex, and Scorponok prepared himself to deal with the intruder. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 1|Maximum Dinobots #1}} Unfortunately, Hot Rod found himself fighting well out of his weight class as he was man handled by Scorponok, who cheerfully bashed his face in, put out one of his optics and snapped his leg. The Headmasters dragged him into Scorponok's control room where, with absolutely no prompting, the big man explained his entire plan for the Dynobots, Skywatch and the Machination. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 2|Maximum Dinobots #2}}

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

{{spoiler|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|April 15}}
He made it out of the building and ran into the real Sunstreaker, who blasted the 2 clones following Hot Rod. Sunstreaker ignored Hot Rod's warning about Scorponok's army and stormed into the building so Hot Rod painfully wired himself to send a distress signal. When Sunstreaker's real head was later disabled by Hunter, the Headmaster clones shut down, which Hot Rod explained to [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. The group was surprised by the arrival of [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], but [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] had heard Hot Rod's distress call and was on his way to Earth. {{storylink|Maximum Dinobots issue 4|Maximum Dinobots #4}}

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

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

After the Autobots narrowly avoided the [[Insecticon swarm]] and Sunstreaker sacrificed himself, Hot Rod jumped to [[Drift (G1)|Drift]]'s defense when he was being insulted by [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}}
{{-}}

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

==Notes==
* In ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Hot Rod does not transform the same way twice.

*Voice actor Ted Schwartz was originally cast to succeed Judd Nelson as the voice of Rodimus Prime for the third season of the animated series, but was subsequently replaced by [[Dick Gautier]]. Before his replacement, however, Schwartz recorded Rodimus's lines for several episodes (most likely all five parts of "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]"), and although Gautier re-recorded the dialogue, technical oversight led to some of Schwartz's readings making it into the finished episodes. He can be heard delivering all of Rodimus's lines in the recap for [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1|part 1]] that plays at the beginning of [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2|part 2]], and speaking one line during the scene on [[Goo]] in [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3|part 3]].

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

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

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

* One of the first concepts for Classics Rodimus was based around the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pagani_Zonda Pagani Zonda] super car, before the [http://www.supercarnet.jp/File/File-Japan/File-Dome.htm Dome Zero] design was decided upon.

* At [[BotCon 2002]], Dick Gautier "confirmed", jokingly, that Rodimus Prime is gay.

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/HotRod/hotrod.htm Hot Rod at TFU.info]

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

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

[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Classics characters]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category:Kiss Players characters]]
[[Category:Matrix bearers]]
[[Category:Micromasters]]
[[Category:Return of Convoy characters]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Targetmasters]]
[[Category:Universe characters]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]
[[Category:Primus]]
[[Category:Rulers of Cybertron]]

Gas Skunk (RID)

2009-04-07T20:47:33Z

70.188.155.36: /* Robots in Disguise */ old caption restored

{{factions|predaconrid}}
:''Gas Skunk is a [[Predacon (RID)|Predacon]] from the [[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:GasSkunkAnime.jpg|right|250px|thumb|I just love those little boats!]]

'''Gas Skunk''' is one of the Predacons under the command of [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] who has come to [[Earth]] to rob it of energy and perform other evil deeds. In battle, his bicep-mounted "Left Laser" blaster and serrated tail can do impressive damage. In both modes he can also cough up huge, billowing clouds of foul-smelling smoke that blind and disorient opponents and can corrode structures. Unfortunately for Gas Skunk and his fellow Predacon stooges, [[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] discovered that this gas is rather flamable.

Gas Skunk is the smartest of the Pred trio—and while that doesn't take much, he actually is pretty clever. He is a skilled inventor able to create new weapon technology when needed, and also has extensive knowledge of Cybertronian law and computer programming. But he's not as smart as he thinks he is: he tends to mangle large words he tries to use (and some not-so-large ones), and sometimes tends not to ''think'' about whatever he's doing beyond the very-short-term. Plus, he's a bully and a craven coward at heart, and as soon as he's up against a show of force, that aspect of his personality comes screaming to the forefront while he goes screaming to the rear of the battlefield.

He seems to be on friendly terms with his fellow stooges [[Dark Scream]] and [[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]], especially when it comes to shifting blame for their failures onto their commander [[Sky-Byte]]. Though he definitely shares Sky-Byte's hatred of the new [[Decepticon]] forces, who are a real threat to their jobs!

:''Japanese name:'' '''Gaskunk'''

==Fiction==
===''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Jerry DeCapua]] (English), [[Norio Imamura]] (Japanese)

[[Image:Battle Protocol Gas Skunk.jpg|left|200px|thumb|No! I'm NOT surendering! those are my beast mode legs!]]

[[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] invited the Predacon trio to the battlefield in New York, where they fought over who was going to defeat [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]]. When the [[Autobot Brothers]] arrived, Gas Skunk reflected on how a nice day can "turn into such a bummer" after feeling [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]]'s fusion flame. [[Doctor Kenneth Onishi|Doctor Onishi]] was captured by Megatron, but the trio were seen off with a missile. {{storylink|Battle Protocol!}}

When the Predacons brought back a pile of small batteries to use as energy, Megatron was not impressed. He placed Sky-Byte in charge of them for a mission to retrieve an explosive device. The trio found the car and prepared to take it to Megatron, but Sky-Byte destroyed the car and took the bomb. The shark was himself intercepted by X-Brawn, who inadvertently activated the device, causing the three Predacons to flee. Back at base, they observed Sky-Byte trying to work out how to understand humans by reading their literature. {{storylink|An Explosive Situation}}

After Gas Skunk destroyed a freight train, he was mocked by Sky-Byte for being useless. Sky-Byte, on the other hand, was aiming to attack the highly-advanced Linear RFG train. To that end, Slapper and Gas Skunk planted a [[pulsar bomb]] on a bridge ahead of the train, and found themselves fighting both the [[Autobot Brothers]] and Optimus Prime. Although they were eventually chased off, they succeed in destroying the bridge, forcing the Autobots to save the train. {{storylink|Bullet Train to the Rescue}}

After a failed attempt to steal a plutonium energy generator from a building, the Predacon trio tried again while the generator was being transported by truck. After chasing off the truck drivers, Slapper and Gas Skunk picked up the generator (and Dark Scream) and made off with it. They ended up on the beach where the [[Spy Changers]] ran rings around them. Sky-Byte turned up and managed to blast the Spy Changers, allowing Slapper and Gas Skunk to spirit away the generator (lamenting that Sky-Byte never seemed to do the heavy lifting himself). Unfortunately when they got back to base, it turned out that the generator had been switched for a statue. {{storylink|Spychangers to the Rescue}}

[[Image:Secret of the Ruins Gas Skunk.jpg|right|200px|thumb|His worst idea ever? yes.]]

Slapper and Gas Skunk worked on tapping some deep-sea power lines, though Gas Skunk was convinced Sky-Byte would take the credit for the victory. Sure enough, when the Autobots turned up to do battle, Sky-Byte was around to stick his fins in. {{storylink|The Hunt for Black Pyramid}} To distract the Autobots from Megatron's real plan, the Predacon trio attacked [[Metro City]] and kept [[Team Bullet Train]] busy. Gas Skunk attempted to use his acid breath, which backfired when [[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] ignited the acid and he ended up frying Slapper and Dark Scream. {{storylink|The Secret of the Ruins}}

After [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] was captured by Megatron, Sky-Byte and the Predacon trio ended up guarding the Autobot. Gas Skunk took the opportunity to take out a few frustrations by kicking their captive. After the inevitable failure of the plan, Sky-Byte managed to deflect the blame onto Gas Skunk and Dark Scream and Megatron announced the pair would be punished severely. {{storylink|Sideburn's Obsession}}

[[Image:Secret Weapon D5 Gas Skunk.jpg|left|200px|thumb|What do you mean, too anime-ish, Oni-chan?!]]

The three Predacons investigated a laboratory pointed to by information extracted from Doctor Onishi and stole a disk. The disk contained information which the Predacons interpreted to indicate that a steam train was some sort of weapon and set about trying to steal the train. Gas Skunk's contribution was an ion beam weapon capable of disrupting electrical systems—it was extremely effective against the Autobots, but against "Grandpa", not so much. After it was successfully stolen, Slapper and Gas Skunk redirected the steam train via a secondary rail line towards Megatron. {{storylink|Secret Weapon: D-5}}

Gas Skunk's next invention was a combination tracker/bugging device which he slipped onto [[Mirage (RID)|Mirage]] when the Spy Changers foiled the theft of a ruby. The Predacons listened keenly as Mirage appeared to fall out with the other Autobots and convinced Megatron that they should let Mirage join them, although to Gas Skunk's annoyance, Sky-Byte managed to take the credit again. Unfortunately for them, the defection turned out to be a ruse anyway. {{storylink|Mirage's Betrayal}}

The Autobots entered the Great Race to locate one of their comrades who'd gone missing. The Predacon trio attempted to drop a rock-slide on the Autobot forces, and were taken aback when Optimus leapt from boulder to boulder to reach the cliff-top they were on. The trio swiftly fled. {{storylink|Skid Z's Choice}}

[[Image:Ultimate Robot Warrior Gas Skunk beast.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Dude... My hands are HUGE!]]

After spying new Autobot [[Tow-Line (RID)|Tow-Line]] and his overzealousness in towing illegally parked vehicles, the Predacon trio captured the Autobot and set about trying to brainwash him. After Slapper's attempt failed, Gas Skunk recommended using a metronome... which also put Slapper to sleep. Eventually they managed to brainwash Tow-Line with a disc, and sat back while he began abducting Autobots from around the city. Unfortunately a malfunction meant Tow-Line dropped off the captives at the wrong location, and by the time the Predacons located him, Optimus Prime and Prowl had already cured him of the rogue programming. {{storylink|Tow-Line Goes Haywire}}

After Doctor Onishi revealed something about the [[Cave of the Dragon]] to the Predacons, Gas Skunk saw a report on television about a statue transforming into a dragon (in reality a movie effect), which led them to try to find the cave. Sky-Byte and the Predacon trio found the Cave of the Dragon finally, and were frightened off by a ruse of the Autobots to make them believe that the transforming robot was hostile. {{storylink|The Ultimate Robot Warrior}}

[[Image:Optimus GasSkunk02.JPG|left|200px|thumb|I AM OPTIMUS PRIME...tee-hee!]]

Not all of Doctor Onishi's information was unhelpful. The Predacons were sent to [[Castle Peak]] in [[America]], where they began digging and unearthed a crashed Autobot spaceship. After Megatron retrieved the six [[protoform]]s from inside it, the Predacons began scanning new vehicle modes for the protoforms, creating the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Decepticons|The Decepticons}} Unfortunately this development left the Predacons as second-stringers to the new troops. Sky-Byte came up with the idea to disguise themselves to get the Decepticons and Autobots to destroy each other. With typical finesse all four of them picked Optimus Prime to dress up as, but the Decepticons and Autobots ended up fighting anyway. {{storylink|Commandos}}

Digging under the volcano on [[Montrose Island]], the three Predacons were first assaulted by some bats, then chased by molten lava. They eventually reached the ocean, and were forced to dive when the lava followed them over the cliff. {{storylink|Volcano}} On a later mission, Sky-Byte had the trio attempt to draw Megatron's face in the ground to indicate a rendezvous point. They did get to fight X-Brawn though. {{storylink|Attack from Outer Space|Attack from Outer Space}}

[[Image:The Fish Test Gas Skunk Prowl.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Why he even wants to follow Skybite's orders is a mystery.]]

Roped into another of Sky-Byte's plans, Gas Skunk disguised himself as Prowl in another attempt to get the Decepticons and Autobots to fight. The plan did not go well, nor did the next plan, to let the Autobots know where the Decepticons were going to strike. Gas Skunk's retort to Slapper's assertion that it was worth it to see Sky-Byte "bark like a seal" was simply to tell him to get a life. {{storylink|The Fish Test}}

Sky-Byte and the three Predacons raided a diamond mine in Antarctica in order to lure the Autobots into a trap. The [[Build Team]] turned up instead of the expected Autobot Brothers, but Sky-Byte took their leader [[Wedge]] captive. The Build Team tried to exchange him for a disk with a map of the [[Space bridge|Global Space Bridge]] and, after a chase with a penguin, the Predacons obtained their prize. Unfortunately it turned out to just be a map of some sewers. {{storylink|Wedge's Short Fuse}}

Sucked into another of Sky-Byte's plans to attack the [[CGA Tower]], the Predacon trio instead found themselves holding the building up after the shark had an abrupt change of plans and insisted everyone save the hostages. Much complaining ensued. In the end the tower was saved, but the Predacons realized they still hadn't gotten the [[O-Part]]s Sky-Byte was after. {{storylink|Sky-Byte Saves the Day}}

The Predacon trio were put in charge of guarding the Autobot Brothers after their capture. They didn't last very long when the newly-arrived [[Ultra Magnus (RID)|Ultra Magnus]] came to the Autobots' rescue. {{storylink|The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus}}

Hiding in some bushes, the Predacons observed the failure of one of [[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]]'s plans and observed that he was still Megatron's favourite. They attempted to join the battle only to flee when Optimus and Ultra Magnus merged to become [[Omega Prime]]. {{storylink|Power to Burn!}}

[[Image:Maximus Emerges Darkscream gasskunk.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]

The Predacon trio accompanied Megatron and the Decepticons to the Sahara to recover the [[Orb of Sigma]]. Their main contribution was to attempt to flee when the cavern in which the Orb was located began to collapse, and subsequently became buried under rubble. They were able to dig themselves out, only to find their energy being drained by a mysterious force. {{storylink|Peril from the Past}} This didn't seem to slow them down, as they were hanging out with Sky-Byte again soon after the Autobots found [[Cerebros (RID)|Cerebros]], and were able to snatch the 'bot while the Decepticons kept the Autobots busy. Although they turned up to the battle in Metro City to claim [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|Fortress Maximus]], their contribution to the fight was minimal. {{storylink|Maximus Emerges}}

With the Decepticons' treachery taking them out of favor with Galvatron (as Megatron had become), the Predacons found themselves moving up in the hierarchy finally. They took part in the attack on the Autobot base, and were lured into a trap by Optimus Prime. The trio wisely took shelter once the ''Megastar'' turned up to add its fire-power to the fight, but the battle station was soon destroyed by Fortress Maximus. {{storylink|Surprise Attack!}} They continued to contribute little to the ongoing battle, and ended up following Sky-Byte into the space bridge when he and the Decepticons pursued the retreating Autobots in. Thus they were subsequently also trapped when Galvatron flooded the tunnel with molten lava. {{storylink|Galvatron's Revenge}} Fortunately for them, they survived and went on to face the Autobots again (and were swiftly trampled into the dirt).

After the defeat of Galvatron and his Decepticons, Slapper, Gas Skunk and Dark Scream were rounded up and shipped off to an asteroid prison colony on board Fortress Maximus. As all the other villains argued and shrieked vengeance from within their ''Phantom Zone''-like prison cells, the Predacon trio lamented that Sky-Byte had been left stranded on Earth; a fate they considered worse than incarceration. {{storylink|The Final Battle (RID)|The Final Battle}}

===Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?===
{{charstubfiction}}

==Toys==
===Robots in Disguise===
[[Image:RID Gas Skunk Toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Stinkbomb is the preferable name" is a phrase I thought I'd never say...]]
*'''Gas Skunk''' (Basic, 2000)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-002'''

: A [[repaint]] of the ''[[Beast Wars (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' [[Transmetal 2]] [[Maximal]] [[Stinkbomb]] (they use the same base plastic colors), Gas Skunk transforms into a techno-organic monstrous skunk. His tail features a separate swinging scissor-blade at the tip. He has a hidden [[spark crystal]] in his right rear leg in beast mode (left bicep in robot mode) revealed by a simple flip-up panel.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2001/Predacon/GasSkunk/gasskunk.htm More information Gas Skunk at TFU.info]''

{{anchor|Hasbro3pack}}
*'''Dark Scream / Gas Skunk / Slapper''' (Mega 3-pack, 2001)

: For his [[Hasbro]] release, Gas Skunk was only made available in a Mega-class 3-pack with [[Dark Scream]] and [[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]]. There are no notable differences between the Hasbro and [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] versions of any of the three in the set.

==Trivia==
*In the Japanese version, Gas Skunk speaks in effeminate Japanese. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

*According to the ''Car Robots'' toy catalog, [[Dark Scream]], Gas Skunk and [[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]] make up a subgroup known as the "3 Metal Beast Brothers" (メタルビースト３兄弟 ''Metaru Bīsuto 3 Kyōdai''). Apparently [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s intent was to have them parallel the deluxe "Three Car Robot Brothers" (as [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]], [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]], and [[X-Brawn]] were called in Japan), but both the Japanese and American versions of the cartoon ignored them having any sort of familial relationship.

*According to [[Fox Kids]]'s (now defunct) website, the name of Dark Scream's, Gas Skunk's and Slapper's three-member team is the "Predacon Field Squadron" [http://web.archive.org/web/20020124195705/http://www.foxkids.com/tvshows/transformers/characters.asp] Where this name came from is unknown, as it wasn't used in the the ''Robots in Disguise'' TV series dub at all. All that's known about it is that Slapper is its third member, meaning Gas Skunk and Dark Scream are the first and second (but exactly who is the first and who is the second is not known).

* In "[[Wedge's Short Fuse]]", Gas Skunk reveals that the diamond is his birthstone (which should mean he was "born" in [[April]]; how this works for Cybertronians isn't entirely clear).

[[Category:Character stubs missing fiction]]
[[Category:Japanese-original characters]]
[[Category:Predacons]]
[[Category:Robots in Disguise characters]]

Tentakil (Masterforce)

2009-04-06T20:07:54Z

70.188.155.36:

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Tentakil}}
:''Tentakils are [[Decepticon]] [[Seacon (Masterforce)|Seacons]] from the [[Super-God Masterforce (franchise)|Super-God Masterforce]] portion of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Tentakil masterforce.jpg|right|300px|thumb|[[Thrust (Armada)|Squidhead]]?]]
'''Tentakils''' are devoid of sentience, like all the [[Seacon (Masterforce)|Seacons]] commanded by [[Turtler]], serving only as mindless mass-produced [[drone]] warriors designed to overwhelm their opponents by numbers. They can fire jets of poisonous ink, and perform vicious sustained barrage attacks with their ten legs.

The Tentakils can combine with the rest of Seacons to form [[King Poseidon]].

==Fiction==
===Cartoon continuity===
====''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon====
[[Image:Tentakil headasplode.jpg|left|210px|thumb|Headshot! SLICE!]]
When [[Decepticon]] [[Pretender]] [[Dauros]] attacked a Japanese city in an attempt to draw out the [[Autobot]] Pretenders, he brought a pair of Tentakils with them, which began their assault by destroying an oil refinery in the dead of night. Autobot Pretender leader [[Metalhawk]] arrived to battle the drones, but as he tangled with one, another snuck up behind his human friend [[Shūta Gō]] and seized the boy. Metalhawk was able to destroy the first Tentakil, but was then attacked by the Decepticon Pretenders and was badly outnumbered until his fellow Autobot Pretenders arrived to aid him. With his allies occupying the Decepticon Pretenders, Metalhawk destroyed the second Tentakil and saved Shūta. {{storylink|Rise Up!! Pretenders|Rise Up!! Pretenders}} On a later mission to disrupt the wildlife of Africa, more Tentakils again accompanied the Decepticon Pretenders in battle against the Autobots, and met a similar end at the hands of Metalhawk's Titanium Saber. {{storylink|Panic! Protect the Wild Animals!!|Panic! Protect the Wild Animals!!}}

With the debut of the Seacon commander Turtler on the battlefield, at least one Tentakil would usually be present in order to combine with its leader as the left leg of the giant King Poseidon. The Seacon combiner battled Autobot [[Godmaster]] [[Ginrai]] on an island off the coast of America {{storylink|Heroism!! The Birth of Super Ginrai|Heroism!! The Birth of Super Ginrai}} and in Canada {{storylink|Lightfoot: A Dramatic Encounter|Lightfoot: A Dramatic Encounter}}, but during a battle in the French town of [[Dagneux]], the Seacons were wiped out before Turtler could even give the order to combine, leaving only two rather unhappy Tentakils plaintively flailing their tentacles amid the destruction. [[Image:Tentakils surrender.jpg|right|275px|thumb|No... IT WAS MY LIFE TO BE TAKEN! NOT THIS! NEVER THIS!]] {{storylink|At Full Strength! The Four Godmaster Gunmen|At Full Strength! The Four Godmaster Gunmen}} A swarm of Seacons later backed up the Decepticon Pretenders in a battle on [[Atlan Island]], where a Tentakil had the misfortune of going up against [[Lightfoot]]'s Land Waterfall attack and losing explosively. {{storylink|Save the Little Girl! The Chōjin Warriors, the Godmasters|Save the Little Girl! The Chōjin Warriors, the Godmasters}}

Tentakils were among the swarms of Seacons that besieged [[British Motors]] alongside [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]] and [[Buster (Masterforce)|Buster]] and were destroyed by the Autobot Godmasters, {{storylink|Life? Death? Lightfoot Must Choose|Life? Death? Lightfoot Must Choose}} and vast numbers of them attacked Lightfoot in the waters off the coast of [[Australia]] when the Autobot investigated the Decepticons' activities in the area. {{storylink|Escape!! The Underwater Volcano Erupts|Escape!! The Underwater Volcano Erupts}} Numerous Tentakils joined in the Decepticons' all-out assault on the Autobot headquarters, tearing their way into the base and destroying it from within, {{storylink|Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes|Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes}} and more of the sea-beasts joined in occupying the Autobots' attentions when the powerful Decepticon [[Scorponok (G1)|BlackZarak]] began cutting a swathe of destruction across [[Earth]]. {{storylink|BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space|BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space}}

When Ginrai approached the Decepticon base in order to rescue his captive comrade Shūta Gō, several Seacons, including some Tentakils, were patrolling the perimeter and attacked him, forcing him to blast out the base's airlock, sucking himself and his opponents inside. At the same time, a Tentakil was also spotted in Geneva, battling [[Ranger]] and the Autobot Pretenders alongside the Decepticon Pretenders. Subsequently, a Tentakil was always handy for the formation of King Poseidon, inside the Decepticon base, {{storylink|God Ginrai: Showdown at the Decepticon Base|God Ginrai: Showdown at the Decepticon Base}}, in a battle on its roof {{storylink|The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform|The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform}}, in the [[Grand Canyon]], {{storylink|Autobots! Desperate Attack!!|Autobots! Desperate Attack!!}} and in the Alps, where the Seacons had their final battle with Ginrai, and were once again defeated and destroyed. {{storylink|Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z|Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z}} Whether or not any Tentakils remained on Earth following the destruction of Decepticon emperor [[Devil Z]] and the departure of most of the Transformers from the planet is unknown. {{storylink|A Battle... and Then...|A Battle... and Then...}}

====''Zone'' cartoon====
Years after the Masterforce war, the Seacons, including one Tentakil, were recruited by the supernatural new [[Emperor of Destruction]] [[Violen Jiger]]. Although they never appeared in their individual forms, as King Poseidon, they attacked Earth in search of the [[Zodiac]] and were destroyed by the new Autobot [[Supreme Commander]], [[Dai Atlas]]. {{storylink|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!}}

===Comic continuity===
====''Super-God Masterforce'' comic====
[[Image:Tentakil manga.jpg|left|175px|thumb|]]
A Tentakil was first seen when the Decepticons attempted to dupe the Autobots with holographic images of legendary Decepticons of years past. It joined with its fellow Seacons in forming King Poseidon for an attack on the Autobots, only to be defeated by the new-born Super Ginrai. {{storylink|Burn, Super Soul! The New Commander Super Ginrai!|Burn, Super Soul! The New Commander Super Ginrai!}} Later, when Turtler led a Decepticon attack on the planet [[Athenia]] and merged with various other Decepticons to create "[[Scramble 7]]", a Tentakil served as a hand-held weapon for the mis-matched combiner, which was soon destroyed by Ginrai. {{storylink|The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops|The Battle Begins! The United Earth-Space Troops}}

====''Zone'' comic and story pages====
The Seacons, including a Tentakil, were recruited by the supernatural new Emperor of Destruction Violen Jiger. Appearing only in their combined form of King Poseidon, the team battled the Autobots on the planet [[Wall]], {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone story page #3}} and were later defeated by the new Autobot commander Dai Atlas when they attacked Earth in search of the Zodiac. {{storylink|Zone (manga)|Zone}} It is unclear if the Seacons survived their clash with Dai Atlas; they did not reappear, suggesting they may have been destroyed, but [[Predaking]] and [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], who were also blasted by Dai Atlas, were both shown to have survived the experience. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone story page #6}}

==Toys==
===Super-God Masterforce===
*'''Tentakil''' (Seacon, 1988)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''D-317'''
**''Accessories'': Left & right "Laser Guns", "Tripod Rifle", connector, weapon stand base

[[Image:Tentakilg1toy.jpg|right|400px|thumb|]]
: Tentakil transforms into a pink and blue robotic squid-monster. The figure is armed with two blue laser guns, which can mount on its creature-mode head, or in its robot-mode hands. The guns also plug together to form the barrel of Tentakil's third mode; an artillery emplacement that mounts on top of a stand formed from three individual components. The central piece of this stand, the "Tripod Rifle", can also be wielded as a weapon by robot-mode Tentakil.

:Tentakil combines with his fellow Seacons to form King Poseidon. Although he nominally forms the left leg of the super-robot, as a "[[Scramble City]]" style combiner, Tentakil can form any limb for King Poseidon (or any other combiners that use the Scramble City design). Like the other small Seacons, Tektakil can also be used in his artillery mode as a hand-weapon by King Poseidon.

:This mold was released concurrently in [[Hasbro]] markets as the American [[Seacon (G1)|Seacon]] also called [[Tentakil (G1)|Tentakil]], with no notable differences between the two. The toy was later redecoed into [[Scylla]], and then back into the American Tentakil, with a new coloration for the [[Transformers Collectors' Club]] exclusive [[Piranacon]] giftset.

*'''King Poseidon''' (Gift set, 1988)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''D-318'''

: Unlike the Hasbro Seacon box-set, which excludes [[Nautilator]], the [[Takara]] King Poseidon box-set comes with all six members of the team; Turtler, Tentakil, [[Gulf]], [[Kraken]], [[Lobclaw]] and [[Overbite (Masterforce)|Overbite]]. The individuals are identical to their individually boxed releases.

==Trivia==
[[Image:G1Masterforce tentakil cardart.jpg|right|180px|thumb|]]
* None of the ''Super-God Masterforce'' Seacons were ever depicted in robot mode in the cartoon or manga. The toy's [[package art]] is the only known "fictional" depiction of a Tentakil in robot mode.

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Decepticon/Tentakil/tentakil.htm Tentakil at TFU.info]

[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Mass-produced Transformers]]
[[Category:Masterforce characters]]
[[Category:Seacons]]