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Gears (G1)

2025-06-06T11:24:39Z

JonC2001: /* Notes */

{{factions|autobot|cobra}}
{{disambig3|Gears}}
:''Gears is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[File:Gearsg1.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Gears, ironically, hates [[Neon|bright colors]].]]
'''Gears''' hates [[Earth]], a lush, green planet practically as unlike his cozy, gray, metallic [[Cybertron (planet)|homeworld]] as possible. He grumbles and complains about being shipwrecked on it—complains and grumbles to a ridiculous extent, until he becomes a source of amusement, rather than negativity. This is usually his intent—unlike his fellow [[Mini Vehicle]] [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]], Gears has a desire to help his fellow Autobots see good in a bad situation. Still, he does get depressed from time to time.

Gears is strong and tough, not so much in lifting but in endurance, and carrying heavy loads with little effort, be they energon cubes, disabled Autobots, or potatoes for the farmers' market. He is fitted with infrared vision sensors.

In [[robot mode]], Gears can release controlled bursts of compressed air from his feet, launching himself to altitudes over 100,000 feet, and floating back down. In doing so, he must be careful not to lose air pressure before coming close enough to the ground for a safe landing.

{{bigquote|What did you do to Gears, you monster? You turned him...''nice!''|[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]|"[[Changing Gears]]"}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics====
{{noteukonly}}
[[File:Gearsg1firstappearance.jpg|left|upright=1.5|thumb|Wish we saw more of the design on the right. Yikes!]]
{{quote|The only thing '''Gears''' wants to learn about this planet is how to get off it. I hate this place already. I just know you're going to use me as a mobile transport unit again, once we have to set up. Nuts. Let's go home.|The worst words out of his mouth.}}

''Gears was one of Cybertron's great warriors and fought alongside [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] during [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]]'s assault on [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], placing [[shatter bomb]]s on the support struts of the last bridge into the [[Polities of Cybertron|city-state]].'' {{storylink|And There Shall Come...a Leader!}} Later, he was chosen to join the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] mission to save Cybertron from an asteroid belt—a mission that saw him stranded on [[Earth]] for four million years. Once he woke up in [[1984]] and was rebuilt as an Earthen truck, he immediately began complaining. {{storylink|The Transformers (issue)|The Transformers}}

[[File:Spider-man.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Spider-Man's amazing friend.]]
Gears participated in the battle outside of [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]]'s house and while driving away from the battle scared a cop by yelling at him to get out of his way, leaving the man stunned. Shortly after, Gears teamed up with [[Spider-Man]], using his ability to launch himself upward using compressed air and fly alongside the superhero in an attempt to reach the mountaintop [[Decepticon]] fortress. When Gears ran low on power, he began to fall before Spidey caught him in webbing. Although Spider-Man's webbing was extremely strong, the Autobot's weight threatened to break it. Thankfully they had little left to climb, and Spider-Man completed Gears' ascent using the webbing for assistance. After a fight with [[Ravage (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ravage]], blind-siding [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]], and knocking out [[Soundwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Soundwave]], they came face to face with Megatron, who blasted a hole under Gears, causing him (and human [[Sparkplug Witwicky]]) to fall from the fortress. Although Spidey was able to rescue Sparkplug, and attempted to catch Gears as he had done before, the added momentum of the fall proved too much strain on the webbing, and Gears crashed to the ground. Gears was quickly patched up enough to tell the Autobots that Megatron had gotten what he wanted (a fuel conversion process) from Sparkplug. {{storylink|Prisoner of War!}} His complete restoration was seemingly interrupted when, following recriminations, [[Ratchet (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ratchet]] needed to drive Sparkplug to the hospital to treat his sudden heart attack. {{storylink|The Last Stand}}

''Nonetheless back on his feet soon afterwards, Gears helped restrain [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] after his teammate had gone haywire, following him suffering an electrical feedback while repairing the Ark. But the mighty Brawn escaped from his grasp, and began rampaging in a nearby town. Gears and the others quickly caught up to the renegade Autobot, and returned him to his senses with another electrical shock.'' {{storylink|The Enemy Within!}} ''Soon afterwards, the Decepticons launched a full-on siege on the Ark. Gears faced off against [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] during the scuffle, until the Ark's computer, [[Aunty|Auntie]], was awakened by Optimus Prime. Deranged due to a circuit malfunction, Auntie put an end to the clash by magnetizing all combatants onto the Ark's walls. While Gears was so incapacitated, Auntie was deactivated once more thanks to the efforts of [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] and Ravage. The Decepticons retreated afterwards, and Gears was happy for the victory, but Optimus warned him they had gained only a brief reprieve, as the Decepticons had sworn to return and take vengeance.'' {{storylink|Raiders of the Last Ark}}

[[File:Buzzsawyikes2.jpg|left|upright=0.8|thumb|Ow ow ow.]]
During the Decepticons' next assault on the Ark, [[Shockwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Shockwave]] managed to incapacitate nearly all of the Autobots. Gears' deactivated form was strung up from the Ark's ceiling, alongside most of his teammates. {{storylink|The New Order}} {{storylink|Repeat Performance!}} By teaming up with the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], Ratchet managed to retake control of the Ark, and went about putting his comrades back in working order. Subsequently, to make sure all of the Autobots were back in fighting shape, Ratchet had Gears and the others go on a diagnostics run through the open plains. {{storylink|DIS-Integrated Circuits!}}

When the Autobots overheard Shockwave's plans to dispose of the captured head of their leader, Optimus Prime, Gears accompanied a convoy out to rescue him. {{storylink|Brainstorm!}} He and the others arrived at a nearby swamp, where the Decepticons had dumped the head, with Optimus's body in tow. However, the head was actually a decoy head, which, when attached to the body, caused it to go on a murderous rampage. Several Decepticons then arrived to help the false Prime batter the Autobots, and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]] shot Gears right in the face! {{storylink|Prime Time!}}

''Though in time Optimus was restored and retook command of the Autobots, he had been left troubled by his ordeal. At this time, [[Prowl (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Prowl]] suggested the Autobots use the [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]] to create a breed of Autobot [[Ultimate Autobot|super warriors]], which could swiftly end the war for them. Gears was among the Autobots who argued against this course of action, seeing it as a perversion of the Matrix's purpose. Following an encounter with Ravage, Bumblebee shortly thereafter went missing. Upon detecting his signal returning towards the Ark, Gears ran out to welcome the scout, only to be met with Bumblebee's severed arm; the Decepticons had challenged Optimus Prime to retrieve their prisoner alone. The ensuing rescue only served to snap Prime out of a funk however, and he returned to announce his decision against building the "Ultimate Autobots."'' {{storylink|Crisis of Command!}}

[[File:Cliffjumperuk.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|right]]
''Gears joined [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] and Windcharger in searching for [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] during the Dinobot Hunt. Their mission was suddenly cut short by the arrival of Soundwave and the Decepticons, who shot the Minibots in the back and took them prisoner. [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Bumblebee]] soon rescued his disabled comrades from the captured [[Ark shuttlecraft]].'' {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt!}} However, the injuries Gears suffered were grave. Alongside many other Autobots, he was brought to Ratchet's repair bay to be patched up. Due to a lack of supplies, Ratchet only had faint hopes of reviving all of the damaged troops. {{storylink|Rock and Roll-Out!}}

''Gears was witness to Optimus, Ratchet, and Prowl suddenly de-materializing within the Ark. Though at the time they had assumed that the Decepticons had somehow managed to slay the trio, the Autobots soon learned otherwise. Optimus and the others had been transported to [[Limbo|another dimension]] as part of a [[Mass substitution|mass displacement]] effect, triggered by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] traveling to their present from twenty years in the future. A first strike against the time-traveling tyrant and his cronies ended in [[Jazz (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Jazz]]'s capture, and Gears participated in the subsequent effort to free his fellow Autobot but the future-Decepticons wielded unimaginable power, and Gears was brought low by [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]].'' {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

''Gears was repaired in time to help his fellow Autobots gather up what they believed were Optimus Prime's remains; the Autobot leader had apparently been slain in combat against the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]]. Little did they know that the body they had found was a [[facsimile construct]], planted by Prime to fake his own death.'' {{storylink|...The Harder They Die!}}

[[File:Newyorkunderbase.jpg|upright=0.7|thumb|left|Barely snuck into the margins during his own death scene.]]
Though Gears was left inoperative ''once more'', Ratchet began gathering the necessary parts to fix him and the other severely damaged Autobots. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}}

He was back on his feet by the time the Ark was launched into the Earth's orbit. At this time, Optimus was gone and [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] had taken control of the Autobot forces, though his leadership proved unpopular among the troops. Gears begged the deserter [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] to usurp the Dinobot alongside the bulk of the Autobot forces. {{storylink|Spacehikers!}} This led into Gears witnessing a battle between Grimlock and Blaster for Autobot leadership on [[Earth]]'s [[Moon (moon)|moon]]. While Autobots around him cheered vehemently for either combatant, Gears chose to watch in stoic silence. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

Gears was among the Autobots who answered Buster Witwicky's distress call from just outside the Decepticons' [[Club Con|headquarters]] in the Arctic. Shortly thereafter, when an [[Underbase]]-powered [[Starscream (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Starscream]] announced that he would "destroy the cities of [[New York City|New York]], [[Tokyo]], and [[Buenos Aires]]", Gears was among the allied Autobot/Decepticon teams sent ahead to New York City. As Starscream approached, [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Goldbug]] led a team of Autobots which included Gears, and the entire team was destroyed with a "single wave of <s>[[To sell toys|a market executive]]'s</s> Starscream's hand"! Oops. {{storylink|Dark Star}}

Gears' torso, head, and right arm were shown in the midst of attempted repairs while Optimus Prime explained the bleak condition of their fallen to [[Cloudburst]] and [[Landmine (G1)|Landmine]]. {{storylink|Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?}}

====''Transformers '84''====
Gears was among the Autobots preparing to leave Cybertron aboard the ''Ark''. {{storylink|Transformers '84 issue 0|'84 #0}} He was thrown by an explosion when the Decepticons boarded the ''Ark'' in flight. {{storylink|Secrets & Lies issue 2}}
{{--}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Don Messick]] (English), [[Toshiro Ishii]] (Japanese), [[Ken Shiroyama]] (Japanese, "Transport to Oblivion", "Fire in the Sky")|[[Yao Huang]] (Chinese), [[Roberto Alexander]] (Latin American), [[Peter Bertram]] (German, "Transport To Oblivion"), [[Henry Djanik]] (European French), [[Jacques Ferrière]] (European French, "Fire in the Sky"), [[Serge Lhorca]] (European French, "The Core"), [[Georges Atlas]] (European French, "B.O.T."), [[Francesco De Santis]] (Italian, ''40th Anniversary Event'' dub), [[Nelson Batista]] (Portuguese), [[Orlando Prado]] (Portuguese, "The Core"), [[Přemysl Přichystal]] (Czech)}}
[[File:Hufferg1animated.jpg|left|upright=1.34|thumb|A competition of who complains the most!]]

Gears was one of the original crew of Autobots on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] spaceship when it crash-landed on Earth millions of years ago. When he awoke in 1984, he was reformatted by [[Teletraan I]] so that his [[alternate mode]] was an Earth-based pickup truck. Not a true combatant by nature, he didn't participate in many of the Autobots' more famous battles against the Decepticons, but he did his part despite his complaints. Gears first saw action on Earth at an off-shore oil rig, fighting one of the Seekers with his partner, [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}} Gears' infrared sensors were useful in capturing [[Ravage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ravage]] when the Decepticon was caught trespassing at the Autobot headquarters. By modifying his searchlight wavelength, Gears could illuminate Ravage's heat traces and neutralize the jaguar's ability to hide in shadows. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}} When Prime was injured in an explosion outside the [[ruby crystal mines of Burma]], Gears discarded the complaining facade he often wore, in order to encourage [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] to push himself into returning to [[robot mode]]. He later donned a lab coat to help sell [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s holographic rocket base idea, although it didn't do much good. In the final battle to stop the launch of the Decepticon space cruiser, Gears and [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] were engaged in battling [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] until [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] called for a retreat. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}}

[[File:FireintheSky Gears crashes through ice.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"The animators can't even decide what to do with my headlights!"]]

Gears was part of the Team of Autobots who fought the Decepticons at a hydroelectric dam, though a thrown piece of equipment blew up the Decepticons Energon cache and had to retreat. {{storylink|Roll for It}} Gears assembled for battle when the Decepticons returned to attack a solar power plant, and chastised [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] for missing roll call. At the plant, Gears and [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] attempted to stop the Seekers from taking off with the energon cubes, but [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] knocked them aside with a concussion blast. Later, after Bumblebee led the Autobots to the supposed site of the new [[space bridge]], only to find a deserted cave, Gears offered to electrocute Bumblebee in order to juice up his memory circuits. {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion (episode)|Transport to Oblivion}} When Optimus Prime was heavily damaged in battle, Gears returned from patrol with [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and Windcharger to check on his condition. None of them, however, was sharp-eyed enough to spot [[Laserbeak (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Laserbeak]] swoop down and land on Brawn's shoulder as they entered the base. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}}

After it started snowing, in July, in the middle of the desert, Optimus Prime got suspicious and consulted Teletraan I for a weather report. Gears, who was performing reconnaissance scans on the now-frozen tropical region of the planet, concurred with Teletraan I's conclusions, that Megatron and the Decepticons must somehow be draining heat energy right out of the [[Earth's core]]. In the Arctic, as the Autobots prepared to enter the Decepticons' cavernous base of operations, Gears stalled outside the entrance on the sneaking suspicion the Autobots were falling into a trap. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy—by lingering too long on the ice, the combined weight of Gears, Hound, [[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] and [[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] caused the tunnel to collapse beneath them. Gears and his buddies were briefly captured by the Decepticons, but escaped thanks to Hound's holograms. {{storylink|Fire in the Sky}}

[[File:SOSDinobots Soundwave shoots Gears.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|"Hey! Being shot in the face plays havoc with my sinuses."]]
Gears attended the unveiling of [[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]]'s latest science project, the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], and managed to stay out of the way after they ran amok. He joined Optimus Prime and the other Autobots on a mission to the [[Great Falls]]. Being one of the few Autobots who can fly (usually), Gears took to the air to fight [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] face-to-face, but was quickly shot down by the more experienced Decepticon. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}} On one mission, Gears travelled to Peru to help the Autobots remove the [[Crystal of Power]] from Megatron's control. {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain (episode)|Fire on the Mountain}} He was also involved in the dino-design project that created [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] and [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]]. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}}

Following a Decepticon attack on the Ark, Gears was briefly seen cleaning up the deadly fire extinguisher foam which drove them away. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} In the aftermath of Cybertron's orbit around Earth, Gears worked on the massive repairs necessary to rebuild human society. He also participated in the raid on [[Doctor Arkeville]]'s laboratory. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}}

[[File:ChangingGears Gears Bee acrobatics.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Bumblebee and Gears - [[Powerlinx]]!!]]
During an Autobot Alert, the Ark's crew all leapt into action at high speed...well, except for Gears. The alarm interrupted his plan to "lube his cables", making the cranky Gears slow to respond to the call of duty. He might have trudged even slower if he knew the entire alert was a ruse by Megatron, designed solely for the purpose of capturing Gears. It seemed that Megatron's newest toy, the [[Solar Needle]], required a specific circuit board in order to be properly completed, and Gears contained just such a circuit board in his chest. A curious side effect of removing the circuit board was that it negated Gears' inclination towards squawking and complaining. He was now a compulsively good-natured people-pleaser, unable to refuse requests by anyone, even Megatron. With the solar needle activated, the Decepticons put Gears to work harvesting energon cubes, filled by the sun's mighty power.

Despite the alterations to his personality, Gears tried to remain true to himself. Even while helping Megatron's energy pilfering, he still managed to toss an insult or two at the Decepticon leader. In a good-natured way, of course. And, after the Autobots arrived to destroy the solar needle and drew the Decepticons' attention, Gears made a break for the control panel to retrieve his circuit board and restore his real personality. He was interrupted by [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], who had been looking for an excuse to blast Gears all day, but Bumblebee knocked the Seeker aside before he could eliminate the tiny Autobot. Also, when Megatron hurled Prime out of control into the solar needle's incinerating energy grid, Gears used the holdout blaster in his sleeve to disrupt the grid and save Optimus. Still, once Megatron got the drop on the Autobots, he was able to exploit Gears' new personality glitch to make him repair the solar needle while the Decepticons held his teammates at gunpoint. Megatron gloated too much about the nature of Gears' problem, though, allowing Optimus Prime to circumvent his control over Gears. Tricking Megatron into agreeing to honor his last request "as a condemned mechanism", Prime turned the tables on Megatron by asking Gears for a favor of his own. Gears was all too happy to oblige...and destroy the solar needle for Optimus.

[[File:ChangingGears got a bang out of that.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.55|In the uncut version, Gears farts.]]
With the fight back on, Gears happily got in on the action and tossed Starscream for a loop. The Decepticons abandoned the field of battle, leaving the Autobots behind to clean up the mess caused by their solar needle. As the needle was being dismantled, Prime was ready to return Gears' circuit board to him when [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] stepped in. Seems the Autobots took a vote, and they would rather not restore Gears' talent for complaining, and whining, and hypochondria, and...well. After a quick joke, though, they did return the circuit board, and Gears showed his gratitude by going "whine, whine, whine" all the way home. {{storylink|Changing Gears}}

Gears was seen awaiting his turn at the [[recharging chamber]]s, but did not appear later on rampaging with the other Autobots afflicted by the [[personality destabilizer device]]. {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots (episode)|Attack of the Autobots}} He attended Wheeljack's demonstration of the [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]]. When the Decepticons got their metal mitts on the device, Gears was trapped in mid-transformation by the device's rays. He was restored to normal after [[Carly]] fiddled with the controls to reverse its effects. {{storylink|The Immobilizer}}

[[File:AutobotRun Gears lifts ground.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Stupid Mother Earth!!!]]
Like most of the Autobots, Gears was temporarily trapped in [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]] after Megatron unleashed his [[Transfixatron]] on them during a car rally for charity. Wheeljack came up with an [[anti-transfixation grenade]] to reverse the process (even his cures explode!), but that only revived the Autobots in time to deal with Plan B: [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. While he isn't in Brawn or Prime's class, Gears is still one strong little Autobot, and demonstrated his strength by ripping out huge chunks of rock to hurl at the massive Decepticon. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}} Sometime later, Gears helped install [[detection plate]]s around the Ark as an early warning system against any intruders. {{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}} He was also briefly seen gawking at the two Optimus Primes who showed up in the dirt. After a sharpshooting contest and car race failed to uncover the imposter, the Autobots rode into battle anyway with both Primes at their side. Gears didn't have much fun in the following melee: first he got sent face-first into the dirt by one of the opening salvos, and was later overmatched in single combat against [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]. He was saved only by the continuation of Megatron and Starscream's cockeyed, overly-elaborate scheme of clones killing clones. {{storylink|A Prime Problem}}

Gears was on patrol with the team when they suddenly came across an empty riverbed. After a quick mud massage from Jazz's spinning tires, Gears and the others decided to follow the river's trail to see where it had been diverted. What they found was trouble: [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. The Autobots barely escaped battle with Devastator to report on Megatron's activities to Prime. {{storylink|The Core}}

Gears attended Wheeljack's demonstration of how he had taught [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] "finesse". The resulting chaos and destruction was predictable, but memorable. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} Despite not being seen in the battle at all, Gears was injured fighting Megatron and the [[Heart of Cybertron]] in [[South America]]. All the repairs and none of the glory. Boy, he must have been ''craaaanky''... {{storylink|Microbots}}

[[File:MMP2 Seaspray and Gears shooting.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4]]
Gears and many of his fellow Autobots showed up in [[Central City (Earth)|Central City]] for the Autobot Day parade and celebration. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1}} The city soon turned on the Autobots, thanks to Megatron's machinations, but they returned to help drive the Decepticons away once the humans were temporarily enslaved. Gears was seen among the horde of Autobots that overwhelmed the Decepticon slave-drivers. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}} He was also one of the Autobots cheering for the Dinobots when they returned from Cybertron with a fresh supply of [[cybertonium]]. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2}} Gears was part of the third wave of Autobots to confront the invulnerable Decepticons, but fared no better than his predecessors against their [[electrum]] coating. {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon (episode)|The Golden Lagoon}} Gears stood by as [[Chip Chase]] and Teletraan I tried to locate the Autobots lost aboard the Space Bridge. {{storylink|Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play}} He was also seen applying [[Corrostop]] to the Statue of Liberty. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}

When Megatron and the Decepticons attacked the Ark looking for the [[Combaticon (G1)|renegade Decepticons]], Gears joined Optimus Prime in fending off their assault. Megatron soon retreated once he realized Prime had no slaggin' idea what he was talking about. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

Gears, Ironhide and Bumblebee responded to an S.O.S. from [[Benjamin Franklin Pierce High School]] and found themselves chasing [[B.O.T. (G1)|B.O.T.]] around the city. They were beaten to it by [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]], who needed to get back [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]]'s personality component, and Gears later found himself defending Autobot Headquarters from [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]]. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}
{{--}}

====''Legends'' comic====
[[File:Legends Jumpstarters Chapter Gears annoyed.jpg|thumb]]
Gears watched Megatron depart in the wake of the battle over the [[Transform Super Cog]]. {{storylink|Slugslinger's Ambition}} Like most Autobots, he was annoyed by [[Twin Twist (G1)|Twin Twist]] and [[Topspin (G1)|Topspin]]'s antics, commenting that the two were hopeless. {{storylink|Jumpstarter Chapter}}

====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic====
Gears was amongst the Autobots who defended [[Ark (G1)|Autobot headquarters]] in [[Arizona]] from a Decepticon attack. Although the Autobots won the day, the attack was actually just a distraction so that [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] could go do evil in Japan or something unspecified. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 2|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #2}}

====Full Throttle Scramble Power!====
Gears accompanied the massive Autobot reinforcements called in to counter Megatron's nefarious [[Omega Wave Cannon]]. {{storylink|Full Throttle Scramble Power!}}

====''Wings Universe''====
{{Wingsnote}}
To alleviate the Transformers' energy woes, a team of Autobots including Gears was formed to crew the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], which soon departed. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 6}}

====''Cloud''====
The Gears of "OG001 Spacetime" was caught up in the tussle between the [[Optimus Prime (Cloud)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (Cloud)|Megatron]] of [[Cloud World]] when they came to his spacetime. {{storylink|TFC-A01}}

===Sticker Adventures books===
In the aftermath of a battle with the Decepticons, the Autobots found that Decepticon activities had seemingly stopped altogether. Taking advantage of the situation, Optimus went on a trip. Once he had left, Gears found out, to his horror, that the Autobots’ entire fuel supply had been stolen. Gears and the others tried to fend off the Decepticons nonetheless when they attacked once more. Thankfully, Optimus returned just in time with a new shipment of fuel. Re-energized, the Autobots forced the Decepticons to flee once again. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons}}
{{-}}

===Marvel Storybooks continuity===
Gears was one of the thirty-five active Autobots stationed on Earth. He participated in the battle against the Decepticons that ensued after Megatron put into motion his plan to take hostage millions of humans to gain the Earth's unconditional surrender. After the Autobots had emerged victorious from the conflict, Gears drove away with the rest of his comrades back to Autobot headquarters. {{storylink|Battle for Earth}}

Gears was present when the Decepticons sent a communication to Autobot headquarters, informing them that not only was [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] their captive hostage, but that the rescue party that tried to liberate him had been captured as well. Gears was shaken by the message, and the Autobots questioned their next move. Thankfully, Optimus Prime renewed morale by coming up with a clever plan to trick the Decepticons. The Autobots hid within a false peace-offering, a life-size statue of Devastator. When the Decepticons approached the statue with their guard down, the Autobots burst forth, taking them by surprise. The Autobots were ultimately victorious that day. {{storylink|The Autobots' Secret Weapon}}
{{-}}

===Marvel coloring books===
[[File:G1 GearsPotatoes AutobotSmasher.jpg|upright=0.95|thumb|Steve Ditko is noted for his superb use of shading, his handling of facial expressions, and his ability to do cosmic vistas of mystery. Here he was asked to do a line drawing of a truck carrying potatoes.]]
Gears and Optimus were attacked by Rumble, who used his Earthquake-inducing abilities to bury the two Autobots in a landslide. Though they managed to dig their way out of the rubble, Gears was ws rendered immobile when Soundwave snuck up on him and unplugged a cable inside his back. Gears was brought to Megatron's newly constructed prison and incarcerated within. Thankfully, Bumblebee had evaded capture, and managed to free the rest of his teammates. Upon release, Gears and the other Autobots gave Bumblebee three cheers! {{storylink|Bumblebee to the Rescue!}}

Gears was one of the many Autobots who stopped the Decepticons from harming Sparkplug and Buster Witwicky. Later, he helped the Autobots in protecting Hoover Dam from the evil robots. {{storylink|The Deadly Fuel Shortage}} On a rainy day, Gears read a book inside the Ark. {{storylink|A Message From Outer Space}} Gears was counting how many gasoline barrels the Autobots had in storage when Bumblebee asked if he could help. When Bumblebee admitted he couldn't reach the higher stacks of barrels, Gears dismissed him and grumbled he'd do the job himself. {{storylink|Bumblebee's Dangerous Mission}}

Gears was hauling a load of potatoes, with plans to sell them for oil and gas money. (Really.) He was tricked by the Decepticons into taking a detour, which led him to their "[[Autobot Rest Stop]]"—a car crusher disguised with pillows and a set of curtains. Gears rolled into the Rest Stop and was enjoying himself when [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] activated the machine, crushing Gears flat.

Gears was later restored by [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], with no ill effects. {{storylink|The Autobot Smasher!}}

When the Autobots on Earth received word from [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] that the Decepticons were razing a human village to build a fuel plant in its place, they assumed their vehicle forms to sneak upon their enemies as they were working. Once they were in close enough proximity to the Decepticons, the Autobots transformed and launched a surprise attack. Cosmos continued to observe the battlefield from his post in orbit, and warned Gears and [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] when [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] and [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] attempted to flank the Autobots to attack them from behind. Gears restrained Kickback, spoiling the bug's attempt to catch [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] and [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] off-guard. The Autobots then beat up the rest of the Decepticons, shoved them down a pit, and covered them with quick-drying cement to keep them out of further trouble. {{storylink|The Autobot Spy in the Sky}}

{{charstubfiction|{{storylink|The Big Book of Coloring Fun}}}}
{{--}}

===Big Looker storybooks continuity===
When the Cybertronian civil war had yet to leave the planet, Optimus asked his Autobots to join him in leaving their home world behind and travel out into space. When Bumblebee volunteered to join Optimus, Gears and the rest of the Autobots jumped in as well. After crash-landing on Earth and being offline for about 65 million years, Gears and the rest of the Autobots met Sparkplug and his son Spike. With the Decepticons still not in the know of what forms the Autobots had taken, Gears was one of the troops that Optimus led into the desert in order to ambush their enemies. Though they successfully took by surprise a squadron of Decepticons, the Autobots had not anticipated a second group flying in from the opposite direction. Thanks to a warning from Spike and Sparkplug, the Autobots managed to fend off the Decepticons, and came to accept Earth as their new home. {{storylink|Battle for Cybertron}}

===Ladybird Books continuity===
[[File:Miscolored minibots.jpg|thumb|left|Crazy [[Estrela]] colors?]]
When Optimus Prime hoped to harness the power of lightning as an energy source, [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] was commissioned to do the design. Huffer requested Gears to assist him with the work, and together the pair worked diligently while trying to out-complain each other. {{storylink|Autobots' Lightning Strike}}

Gears assisted his fellow Autobots in the construction of their space cruiser. {{storylink|Megatron's Fight for Power}}

===The Battle for Planet Earth===
{{voiceactor|[[Peter Marinker]] (English)}}
Gears was one of a group of Autobots who traveled to [[South America]] in search of energy. When they spotted [[Mount Sheelah]], Gears was put to work clearing rocks so they could ascend it for a closer look, though he grumbled almost as much as [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] while doing so. He helped repel a subsequent Decepticon attack and retreated before the volcano erupted. {{storylink|Terror of Mount Sheelah}} After a hard day spent making repairs on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] he and the other Autobots relaxed by watching [[television]], and were alerted by a news bulletin to the fact that the Decepticons were kidnapping humans. {{storylink|Bumblebee to the Rescue (G1)|Bumblebee to the Rescue}} After [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] pretended to defect and the Autobots tricked him, allowing them to destroy the Decepticon base, Gears wondered if they were going to keep Starscream prisoner indefinitely. [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus]] opted to let Starscream go. {{storylink|Espionage!!!!!}}
{{--}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity===
[[File:Prowldarkagesvehicle.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|right]]
When [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] vanished in a space bridge during the war on Cybertron, their respective factions were split into several smaller groups. Gears remained in the main Autobot faction, now under the command of [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]. {{storylink|Fragmentation (G1)|Fragmentation}} He was part of a team who scouted out the [[Praetorus Wharf]] in search of the Decepticons' new mobile command base. Unfortunately, it was a bit [[Trypticon (G1)|''too'' mobile]] for them to handle. {{storylink|Devastation (issue)|Devastation}} Trypticon proceeded to shrug off everything the Autobots threw at it, forcing the Autobots to try and outrun it instead. This too proved ineffectual. Even assistance from the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] helped little against the giant Decepticon. In the end, the Autobots were spared when their target just left in response to other orders it received. {{storylink|Revelation (The Dark Ages)|Revelation}} Later, when [[The Fallen]] broke into [[Autobase]], Gears was eager to get out there and do something about it. Prowl opted for trying to contain the villain instead, but he turned out to be unstoppable anyway. {{storylink|Confrontation (issue)|Confrontation}}

Gears was part of the Ark's original crew, crash-landing on Earth four million years ago and awakening in 1984. Like all the Transformers of Earth, he was believed dead for many years after the mid-air explosion of the ''[[Ark II]]''. In fact, Gears was one of many robots who were salvaged by the mercenary known as [[Lazarus]], who began the time-consuming process of installing remote control programming into his inert Cybertronian captives. Lazarus was doomed to failure, however, for Megatron regained control of his own body shortly after the human reactivated him. With the Decepticons back in action thanks to Megatron, Gears and the other Autobots held captive by Lazarus were left at their mercy. Although a small group of Autobots were free under Optimus Prime's command to combat the Decepticons, most of the 'bots recovered by Lazarus (including Gears) were too badly damaged to be reactivated for that first battle. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 3|Prime Directive #3}}

[[File:PassiveAggression GearsGrumble.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left]]
Gears and the other deactivated Autobots were recovered, though, and were back to full functionality by the time [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] arrived from Cybertron, denouncing all Earthbound Transformers as war criminals. {{storylink|New World Order}} As the Autobot forces split in two, Gears went with Optimus Prime and his contingent back to Cybertron aboard [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], peacefully surrendering to Magnus, while another secret team would be left to move freely and uncover the truth behind this turn of events. Despite them being treated as prisoners on the trip home, Gears remained optimistic that the war was finally over, and they could say goodbye to Earth permanently. {{storylink|Brothers' Burden}} But the Autobots were treated no better on Cybertron. Gears and the rest of his group were locked up in cages, while footage of the Autobots and Decepticons' battles on Earth were broadcast around the planet to turn public opinion against them. Thankfully, there were dissidents in Shockwave's regime, and the Autobots were sprung from their cells. {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}} While [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] took Prime through the [[Old Slave Trails]] to see [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]'s rebel team, Gears and the others were taken by Broadside to meet with the Autobots rebels [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] was aligned with. En route, Bluestreak tried to have Gears fess up that it had been foolish to trust Shockwave in the first place. Bitter over where events had taken them, Gears replied that Bluestreak should "blow it out of [his] waste regulator!" {{storylink|Passive Aggression}} Afterwards, Gears participated in the insurrection by Autobot dissidents against the rule of Shockwave. After an Autobot victory, Gears cuffed several Decepticons, and led them away from the battlefield. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}

Much to his dismay, Gears was soon put in the position of having to return to Earth. {{storylink|Original Sin}} With Prime temporarily out of action due to injuries, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] had assumed command of the Ark's crew on Cybertron, and made the decision that a new base of operations needed to be constructed on Earth, to fortify Autobot interests there. Gears griped throughout the meeting discussing this, {{storylink|Atonement}} but eventually agreed to leave his beloved homeworld behind to return to Earth. His mood wasn't much improved by A) having to work with Bluestreak and B) Bluestreak dropping boxes on his feet during the loading of the shuttle. {{storylink|Lost and Found (issue)|Lost and Found}} Once they arrived, Gears and the others began work on the construction of [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]]. {{storylink|The Route of All Evil}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[File:GIJoevsTF4 Gears Brawn FlightPods.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Cobra Commander finds out about the "Trouble" part of the "Trouble Bubble"]]
Gears was among the dormant Transformers found by the terrorist organization [[Cobra]] and reprogrammed to be under the humans' control. In the process, he and [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] were rebuilt to transform into Cobra [[Flight Pod]]s. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4}} The two may have participated in an attack on the [[SPS Research Facility]], or it may have just been two regular Flight Pods. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 3|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #3}} When [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] hacked Cobra's computers and undid his comrades' reprogramming, Gears and Brawn hunted down [[Cobra Commander]] and blew up the ship he was going to escape from [[Cobra Island]] with. However, before the Autobots could capture the commander, they were taken out by [[Storm Shadow]]'s [[S.N.A.K.E.]] mech. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4}}

Gears didn't give up so easily, however, as he joined several other Autobots and located Cobra Commander and his S.N.A.K.E. guards again. Storm Shadow fought back and killed [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]], sending Gears and the others into a berserker rage as they ripped his S.N.A.K.E. apart. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 5|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5}}

===''The Beast Within''===
After a brutal battle during which [[Beast (G1)|The Beast]], a monstrous gestalt of unimaginable power, was released, Gears's butchered form lay smoldering in a mass grave of both Autobot and Decepticon corpses. {{storylink|The Beast Within Part 2, Consequences}}

===''Henkei! Henkei! Transformers -Visualize-''===
Gears stood behind Optimus Prime with his fellow Autobots, ready to fight. {{storylink|Visualize Shot 1}}

===2005 IDW continuity===
{{first|[[Megatron Origin issue 3|''Megatron Origin'' #3]]}}

Gears was [[Reproduction#2005 IDW continuity|constructed cold]] during the first wave, presumably as part of the [[Silver Harvest]]. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}} Millions of years ago, Gears was one of several mourners seen at the funeral of [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]] and [[Fastback (G1)|Fastback]], after [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]] killed them. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 3|Megatron Origin #3}}

[[File:WokenFuries GearsIsHurt.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.5|"There will be only half as much complaining if we leave him behind!"]]
At some point after [[Surge (event)|a widespread Decepticon attack]], Gears made it to Earth, where he was captured by [[Skywatch]], along with [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] and later, [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]]. {{storylink|...For All Mankind}} He was eventually released once Skywatch realized their misgivings in regards to the Autobots. After a Decepticon attack on their base, Gears and the other Autobots tried to flee and regroup at [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], but were attacked by armed civilians with a grudge against the Transformers. Gears was injured and had to be carried inside [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ultra Magnus]]'s trailer. Before they could reach safety, the Autobots were attacked again, this time by Megatron. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 3: Woken Furies|Woken Furies}}

The Decepticon leader scattered the Autobots with extreme firepower, then left them beaten and bruised on a school playground inside Albuquerque city limits. Gears and his comrades were held hostage by two humans carrying Megatron-based handguns, unable to fight back or defend themselves without risking human lives. The dilemma was ultimately taken out of their hands by [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], whose special ops training kicked in and led to him blasting one of the humans. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|Burning Chrome}} {{storylink|Earthfall Part 4: Full Fathom Five|Full Fathom Five}}

Like most Autobots, Gears left Earth a few months later, intending to return to Cybertron. On board Omega Supreme's rocket mode, he gathered with a few others who sought to witness a conversation between Optimus Prime and Megatron. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1}} Once the Autobots arrived at Cybertron, they battled [[Galvatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Galvatron]]'s [[Sweep (G1)|Sweep]] army. {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}}

[[File:FecundMoon-Impressive.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|He's the red and blue guy who's basically Swerve.]]
After the Chaos War ended, Gears joined [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] and the crew of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' in their search for the [[Knights of Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} He was one of the crew members invited to [[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]]'s first story session meant to cure [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}} and later watched ships land in Shuttle Bay 3. {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} When [[Overlord (G1)|Overlord]] was let loose on the ship, Gears rushed into action only to be beaten down. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}} After recovering, he and many others gathered on the observation deck to witness the discovery of a mysterious portal just hanging in space. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}} Gears battled the [[Legislator]]s alongside [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] and [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] when they suddenly teleported on board. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}} After the Legislators were defeated, he was one of a group of Autobots who helped repair [[Swerve's]]. {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}} When the ''Lost Light'' finally returned to Cybertron, Gears participated in the celebrations. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}}

Gears continued to serve aboard the ''Lost Light'' as it searched for the Knights of Cybertron, and was present on the [[Rodpod]] when the quantum duplicates of the ship and its crew began to cancel out. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}}

Gears and many other members of the ''Lost Light'' crew were present when Rodimus gave his speech about [[Thunder Clash|Thunderclash]]'s pre-wake. {{storylink|The Sensuous Frame}}

Gears was willingly complicit in [[Getaway]]'s mutiny against the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s command team. {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 2): Filling in the Blanks|Filling in the Blanks}} He was seen socializing with Siren (...perhaps unwillingly) at [["Visages"]] once the search was underway again under Getaway. {{storylink|The Plotters' Club (Part 1): Full Circle|Full Circle}} When Cyberutopia turned out to be a hoax, Getaway sold out his crew to the [[Adaptus|Grand Architect]] and [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], turning them into [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeaters]]. Gears was subjected to concussive medicine by [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]], apparently clearing him of the Sparkeater virus. {{storylink|Crucible (Part 2): Lūstrāre|Lūstrāre}} Gears later attended the ''Lost Light'' farewell party. {{storylink|How To Say Goodbye And Mean It: Part 2}}
{{--}}

===''Hearts of Steel''===
[[File:GearsVictorianEra-HOS4.jpg|thumb|left]]
Gears and his fellow Autobots battled the Decepticons in Earth's distant past, until an ice age came around and forced them to go underground and wait it out. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1|Hearts of Steel #1}} They eventually woke up in the mid-19th century, and learned that the Decepticons were up and going as well. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 2|Hearts of Steel #2}} In order to pursue the [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], Gears took on the form of what appeared to be a coal car and linked up with his friends to form an Autobot train. During the chase, much of the train was trapped when the Decepticons collapsed a tunnel on it, although Gears made it out safe and sound. He was hammered by Decepticon fire as he helped clear away rubble, but survived and went back to sleep underground after the Decepticons were defeated. {{storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 4|Hearts of Steel #4}}

{{IDW HOS}}

===''Transformers vs. G.I. Joe''===
During the final showdown between the Autobot/[[G.I. Joe (team)|Joe]] and Decepticon/[[Cobra]] alliances, [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] punched into [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s chest and unleashed several soldier into the Decepticon base's interior, Gears among them. {{storylink|Transformers vs. G.I. Joe issue 12|Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #12}}
{{--}}

===2019 IDW continuity===
{{first|[[The World In Your Eyes Part Two|''Transformers'' #2]]}}

[[File:TheChangeInYourNaturePartFive-Gears.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]

Gears was forged in the years leading up to the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] and worked with his [[mentor]] [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] on the [[Tether]], the great space elevator that linked [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to the [[Winged Moon]]. While most other newly forged Cybertronians found their calling and went their own ways a little more than two kilocycles after their creation, Gears chose to stay with his mentor longer than was usual—more than ten thousand cycles. {{storylink|The Change In Your Nature Part Five}} Overenthusiastic, and more than a little accident-prone, Gears would frequently lose his footing on the Tether and drift off into space, necessitating frequent rescues from Chief of Space Security [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]]. {{storylink|Open Comms}} {{storylink|The Change In Your Nature Part Five}} During one workshift on the Tether, Gears spent some time helping another new Cybertronian, [[Rubble]], understand the basics of engineering alongside Wheeljack. {{storylink|The World In Your Eyes Part Two}} At the end of Rubble's second trial shift, one of Gears' coworkers sprayed him with a hose. {{storylink|The World In Your Eyes Part Five}}

Wheeljack brought Gears with him when he and his engineering team investigated the Winged Moon for signs of sabotage, and discovered that a member of [[The Rise]] had planted an [[energon siphon]] on the moon with the intent of redirecting it to their former headquarters underneath the [[Memorial Crater]] outside of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]. Gears unsuccessful attempted to dismantle the device; the resulting explosion knocked him into space again and necessitated another impromptu rescue from Wheeljack. When the rogue Titan [[Vigilem]] attacked the Tether, Gears fled with the other workers into the deepest parts of the Winged Moon, where they remained even after Vigilem severed the Tether itself. {{storylink|The Change In Your Nature Part Five}}

[[File:WheeljackOrbitalDecay-WheeljackGears.jpg|thumb|left|200px|I am effectively the 23 year old guy still living in his parent's basement]]

Ripped free from its orbit, the Winged Moon's new trajectory put it on a direct path towarsd Cybertron's sun; while most of the other workers evacuated the moon, Gears stayed behind with his mentor and a small team of engineers to see if they could save the moon within seven cycles before it plummeted into the sun. After first attempting to overpressurize the moon's [[energon]] reserves, then unsuccessfully trying to manually reactivate the moon's rotational jets, the team had to take shelter as the moon drifted through the [[Croaton (G1)|Croaton]] cloud, then discovered and interrogated [[Enemy (G1)|Enemy]], the culprit responsible for sabotaging the moon in the first place. Finally, however, the team hit upon a last-ditch solution to manually detonate the moon's wings, giving them enough delta-vee to push them out onto a wider orbit—while Cosmos carried out the actual demolitions work, Wheeljack taught Gears how to manually keep the moon's panels correctly aligned and later laid into Huffer when he suggested that Wheeljack was too nice to his mentee. The plan went off without a hitch, and the team celebrated their victory... only for a [[Slipstream (G1)|Slipstream]] and her team of Decepticons to invade the moon at that moment. {{storylink|Wheeljack: Orbital Decay}}

While Wheeljack went to get help, Gears and the other stayed behind on the moon and did what they could to make the central control room inaccessible to the invaders, including rigging the corridors with booby-traps and other annoyances. The team successfully kept the Decepticons out long enough for [[Firestar (G1)|Novastar]] and her Autobots to rescue them, and the engineers made the desperate decision to keep the Winged Moon and its energon stores out of Decepticon hands by creating a miniature singularity that destroyed most of the moon's energon reserves. With the moon now all but lost, Gears and the other engineers returned to Cybertron aboard [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]]. {{storylink|War World: Moon|Moon}}

[[File:EscapePartFive-WheeljackGears.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right]]
Gears joined up with a refugee convoy made up of organic aliens and neutral Cybertronians, and reunited with his mentor, who had helped organize the exodus from Iacon, soon after they arrived at the city of [[Darkmount (Cybertron)|Darkmount]]. {{storylink|Escape Part Three}} Later, [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] tried to keep him entertained by showing him some of the flora and fauna they'd recovered from Iacon's destroyed [[A'ovan habitat]], but Gears eventually ran off to see if he could help [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] repair [[Leviathan (G1)|Leviathan]]. {{storylink|Escape Part Four}} When a swarm of [[Insecticon clone]]s invaded the city, Wheeljack and Gears used some jury-rigged alien technology to rescue a fallen Leviathan from the monsters, but over-energized their weapons and collapsed from fuel depletion. The pair awoke just in time to see an exploding ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]''-class ship take out the majority of the swarm. {{storylink|Escape Part Five}}

Gears remained at Darkmount, helping to defend against the frequent Insecticlone raids. {{storylink|The Landscape of Fear}} Eventually, he joined the rest of the Autobots aboard the last ''Ark'' as they left Cybertron behind. {{storylink|Transformers: Fate of Cybertron|Fate of Cybertron}}

===''Transformers vs. The Terminator''===
In a post-apocalyptic [[2029]] where [[Skynet]] waged war against the [[Decepticon]]s, Gears's shattered remains lay in a ruined [[Los Angeles]] overpass alongside many other Cybertronian casualties. {{storylink|Enemy of My Enemy Part One}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===''Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons''===
Gears, along with several other Autobots, was abducted and held captive by the Decepticons. Optimus Prime undertook a rescue operation to free his friends from Megatron's clutches, entering the Decepticons' labyrinthine base in order to do so. {{storylink|Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons|Adventure Game: Defeat the Decepticons packaging blurb and game}}

===''Transformers Legends''===
Bumblebee recruited Gears to join the [[Bee Team (G1)|Bee Team]], a secret strike force. {{storylink|The Bee Team}} [[Bluestreak (G1)|Silverstreak]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], and Gears were sent to [[South America]] where the Decepticons were attempting to build a cannon to harness the energy of the [[Crystal of Power]]. Even joined by [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], the Autobots were unable to prevent the cannon's completion, but later destroyed it and capped the shaft on which the crystal had stood. {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain (Legends)|Fire on the Mountain}} After [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] was inflicted on the Autobots, Gears and Beachcomber managed to sneak past the Decepticons and get a sample of [[corrostop]] from the [[Statue of Liberty]]. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (Legends)|Cosmic Rust}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Battle Tactics''===
[[File:BattleTacticsGears.jpg|thumb|I'm just a starter character that everyone soon forgets. ''grumble'']]
Gears participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a Common character that could be recruited for 8 units of Cybermetal. {{storylink|Transformers: Battle Tactics}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===''The Transformers''===
[[File:G1-toy Gears.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Grumble... I suppose they want me to supply my own penny..."<br>(''Rubsign variant not pictured'')]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Gears''' (Mini Vehicle, [[1984]]/[[1985]])}}</ul>
{{toydesigner|[[Masaki Maruyama]] (TakaraTomy)|[[Mark Watts]] (packaging artist)}}

: Gears was part of the first assortment of ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|The Transformers]]'' Autobot [[Mini Vehicle]]s released in 1984, transforming into a red and blue pickup truck of indeterminable model (though some details resemble an old Dodge Power Wagon or Kaiser Jeep M715), with some likewise indeterminable ''stuff'' in the truck bed.

: In 1984, Gears and the other Mini Vehicles came packaged in [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]]. In 1985, they were switched to come in [[robot mode]], a change preceded by the addition of a picture of their vehicle modes to the front of their cards. The same year, the Autobot [[insignia]] on Gears's hood was replaced with a heat-activated [[rubsign]] placed on his roof, plus the re-released first-year Mini-Vehicles came packaged with [[Mini-spy#Toys|Mini-spies]]: Gears (and [[Brawn (G1)/toys#The Transformers|Brawn]]) always came with a yellow one.

: For reasons unknown, Gears was the only Mini Vehicle not made available as part of Takara's original retail line in any capacity (while [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] and [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] were not available at normal retail, both were offered as mail-away toys).

: The mold was first released in 1983 as part of [[TakaraTomy|Takara]]'s ''[[Micro Change]]'' line with a slightly darker blue coloration as the "Micro Robot 04 4WD Off-Road," but evidence exists to suggest it was originally designed by defunct American toy company Knickerbocker for the cancelled toyline, ''[[Mysterians]]''.

: This mold was used to make the [[Malignus (G1)|Malignus]] [[Pick-Up (Malignus)#Toys|Pick-Up]], the Autobot [[Small Foot#Toys|Small Foot]] and was [[retool]]ed to make [[Swerve (G1)#Toys|Swerve]] (except in Mexico, where Swerve was a straight redeco of Gears).

::*''[http://www.transformerland.com/wiki/toy-info/transformers-g1-mini-vehicles-gears/47/ Patent info, price guide, and further reading on Gears at Transformerland.com]''
::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/Gears/gears.htm More information on G1 Gears at TFU.info]''
{{G1GearsMold}}

{{-}}
[[File:Estrela-RobocarPickUp.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Oh, so I came first but of course that everyone calls [[Small Foot|her]] the 'orange Gears'... Always the same, I tell you."]]
{{anchor|Estrela}}
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-multi|'''Pick-Up''' (Robocar, 1985)}}</ul>

: Released by [[Estrela]] in Brazil, "Pick-Up" was available in two different colorations: the original toy's blue-and-red, or orange-and-lighter-orange.

: This release lacks the Autobot symbols, instead having a variation of the original ''Micro Change'' groin-sticker in robot mode. This sticker is of considerably cheaper quality, and is rarely left on loose samples.

: Whether or not he is the same character as either the [[Bat-Robô]] [[Pick-Up (Bat-Robô)|Pick-Up]] or the [[Malignus (G1)|Malignus]] [[Pick-Up (Malignus)#Toys|Pick-Up]] is unknown.

{{-}}{{anchor|Lynsa}}
[[File:Lynsa-Gears.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Look, they can't even decide what my colors are!"<br>(''Orange/yellow and blue/yellow versions pictured'')]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Gears''' (Mini Vehicle, 1986)}}</ul>

: Manufactured by [[Peru|Peruvian]] company [[Lynsa]] and sold in Peru and [[Chile]], these releases of Gears lacked paint, stickers or [[vacuum metallizing|chrome]]. Yes, plural releases. So far, three different colorations have been confirmed: the original blue-and-red, dark-blue-and-yellow, and orange-and-yellow.

: It is claimed that there may be ''six'' different versions of Peruvian Gears all told, with the three others being unique to that market, but no-one has been able to find and confirm the others so far.

{{note|Peruvian company BASA (which eventually changed to HUDE) apparently also (briefly) sold ''Transformers'' in Peru, but these were straight imports of Hasbro Mini Vehicles with a company sticker applied to the packaging.}}
{{-}}

===''The Transformers Collection''===
[[File:G1Gears toy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"20 years without a new toy... ''grumble.''"]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Minibots Team''' (Multi-pack, [[2004]])}}</ul>
:*''Set ID number'': '''12'''
:*''Individual ID number'': '''85'''
{{toydesigner|[[Pat Lee]] (packaging artist)}}

: Gears was ''finally'' put out at Japanese retail in 2004, as part of ''[[The Transformers Collection]]'' "Minibots Team" set. Despite looking identical to his original release, this version is an entirely new tooling, distinguishable by a few minor traits like his upper leg detailing being thicker and the ridges on his chest being more pronounced. His truck mode has ''both'' the Autobot sigil sticker on his hood and the [[rubsign]] sticker on top of his roof.

: This set also includes a retooled [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#The Transformers Collection|Bumble]], [[Cosmos (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Adams]], [[Huffer (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Drag]], [[Powerglide (G1)/toys#The Transformers Collection|Powerglide]], and [[Warpath (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Warpath]].

: This set was later [[redeco]]ed to make the [[e-HOBBY]] [[exclusive]] [[G1 GoBots]] team.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2004/Cybertron/ReGears/gears.htm More information on ''The Transformers Collection'' Gears at TFU.info]''
{{G1GearsMold}}
{{-}}

===''Generations''===
[[File:Generationstoy-Gears with Eclipse.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"Oh sure, I should be 'happy' that I'm getting my first new toy in 30 years, even though Swerve used to be ''my'' retool... ''grumble.''"]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Autobot Gears & Autobot Eclipse''' (Legends, [[2014]])}}</ul>
:*''Series / Number'': '''02 / #010'''
{{toydesigner|[[Andrew Scribner]] (deco artist)}}

:''[[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]]'' [[Legends Class (2005)|Legends Class]] Gears is a retool of ''Generations Thrilling 30'' [[Swerve (G1)#Thrilling 30|Swerve]] with a new head based on his fictional appearances rather than his original faceless toy. He transforms into a modernized 4-wheel-drive pickup truck of a made-up model and comes with [[Eagle Eye (G1)#Generations|Eclipse]], who transforms into either a jet or a weapon for Gears to wield via its 5mm handle.

:Gears and Eclipse's [[Hasbro]] product number, A6686, was originally occupied by a '[[Brawn (G1)/toys|Brawn]] & [[Mudslinger (G1)|Mudslinger]]' pack, leading [[Amazon]] to erroneously list them under those names.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160329075047/http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/96540-monzos-mega-hasbro-customer-service-listing-breakdown/ Hasbro customer service database 'leak' on The Allspark (via the Internet Archive)]</ref>

:The original version of this mold was redecoed and given a shell to make [[BotCon 2015]] [[Oilmaster#Timelines|Oilmaster]]. It also served as the basis of the non-toy ''[[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]'' incarnation of [[Swerve (SG)|Swerve]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2014/Autobot/GenGears/gears.htm More information on ''Generations'' Gears at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===''Kre-O''===
[[File:KreO-Toy Gears.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|"I'm still going to end up amidst a debris field of building blocks anyway."]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Autobot Gears''' (Kreon Micro-Changer, 2014)}}</ul>
:*''Collection'': '''''Age of Extinction'' Collection 2'''
:*''Accessories'': Logo brick, blaster

: Part of the sixth regular assortment of [[blindpacking|blind-bagged]] ''[[Kre-O]]'' [[Micro-Changer]]s, Gears can be rebuilt into a teeny pickup truck. He sports [[Mirage (G1)/toys#Kre-O|Mirage]]'s helmet.

:Unlike prior Micro-Changer assortments, this series does not have any sort identification code for the bags' actual contents, meaning you'd best be good at the feel-though-the-bag method.

:This assortment was originally slated to be a [[Toys"R"Us]] [[exclusive]], but US stores dropped the line before its release. It was still available in Canada, Australia and Chinese/Asian markets. In 2015, the Collection appeared in US Dollar Tree stores, with a price tag of a whopping $1 a pop. They didn't last long.

{{-}}{{anchor|SDCC2014}}
[[File:Kreon-Class-of-1984-Gears.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"And I'm still going to be trapped in a display case, never to be free."]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1d1|'''Kreon Class of 1984''' (Kreon figure set, 2014)}}</ul>
:*''Set number'': '''B0090'''
:*''Voted'': Class Grouch
:*''Accessories'': Double-barreled pistol

: This version of Gears has more extensive [[tampograph]]s than his prior version, including a masked-and-visored face, and silver paint on his helmet.

:He was only available in a pack of 30 Kreons dubbed "Class of 1984", [[exclusive]] to [[San Diego Comic-Con]] 2014. Remaining stock was to be sold at [[Hasbro Toy Shop]] online, but there ''was'' no remaining stock after the show.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2014/Autobot/SDCCKre-OGears/gears.htm More information on Class of 1984 Gears at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===''Vintage G1''===
[[File:VG1-toy Gears.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"Second again... ''grumble''"]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Gears''' ("Legion Class" reissue, 2019)}}</ul>

:Part of the second wave "Legion Class" figures in the ''[[Vintage|Vintage G1]]'' line, Gears is a reissue of his [[#Generation 1|Generation 1 figure]]. Like his prior ''[[The Transformers Collection]]'' release, he has both a [[rubsign]] and a normal foil Autobot insignia sticker in vehicle mode. The rubsign is an all-new type used on all of the ''Vintage G1'' toys; the insignia only turns red rather than the mood-ring multicolor of older rubsigns, plus the silver border is mirror-level reflective. This version also has production information tampographed onto his inner right foot.

:Like all ''Vintage G1'' figures, Gears was [[exclusive]] to [[Walmart]] in the United States and Canada.

{{G1GearsMold}}
{{--}}

===''Legacy''===
[[File:TF-Legacy-G1-Universe-Autobot-Gears.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"Took ''how many years'' for Hasbro to remember me? Grumble..."]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''G1 Universe Autobot Gears''' (Deluxe Class, [[2024]])}}</ul>
:*''TakaraTomy ID number'': '''TL-75'''
:*''Accessories:'' Blaster
{{toydesigner|[[Mark Maher]] (Hasbro), [[Shogo Hasui]] (TakaraTomy)}}<ref>[[March 21]], 2024's [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPkQZZ4zasE Hasbro Pulse | Transformers 40th Anniversary Fanstream | March 21, 2024] on YouTube, with [[Ben MacCrae]], [[Mark Maher]] and [[Evan Brooks]].</ref>

:Released in the second wave of ''[[Transformers: Legacy|Legacy: United]]'' Deluxe Class toys, "G1 Universe Autobot Gears" is an animation-accurate version of the character, turning into a pick-up truck in 12 steps. His only accessory is a blaster pistol.

:As an homage to "[[Changing Gears]]", his chest can be opened to reveal inner machinery. Gears' entire chest plate is detached from his body in the packaging, included inside alongside the blaster—a move likely done to prevent theft from the exposed, plastic-free packaging. The Japanese release of the toy, however, has his chest plate attached by default. The instructions were not reprinted to reflect this.

:The back of his head also features a large molded "M"—a subtle homage to ''[[Mysterians]],'' the toyline from which Gears' original toy originated.

: This figure was officially revealed by EB Games Australia, and later spotted at retail in Singapore, without any prior announcement by Hasbro.

:This mold was also used to make ''[[Generations Selects (toyline)|Generations Selects]]'' Go-Bots Guardians [[Small Foot]].

::*''[https://www.instagram.com/p/C5UfnVzMSBW/ Designer commentary on ''Legacy'' Gears from Mark Maher on Instagram]''
{{--}}

===''Transformers Retro''===
[[File:RetroG1Gears.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|"They wheel me out again instead of the Swerve we all know is coming? Typical, I tell you..."]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Autobot Gears''' (Deluxe Class, [[2025]])}}</ul>
:*''Accessories:'' blaster

:Unusually for the [[Transformers Retro|''Transformers Retro'']] line, Gears is not a reissue of his original toy, but a retool of his ''Legacy'' figure in G1-toy accurate colours, with a new face to match! He is now packaged on a cardback depicting his original toy’s boxart (and, of course, replacing the alt-mode stock photo of that toy with one of this one).

:The figure went up for pre-order on the Walmart website on [[October 10]], [[2024]], and released in March 2025.

{{--}}

==Merchandise==
===McDonald's===
*'''Gears''' (St. Louis McDonald's promotion, 1985)
{{charstubtoys}}

===''Transformers Trading Card Game''===
[[File:W5AutobotGears.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66]]
*'''Autobot Gears, Transport & Reconnaissance''' (2020)
**'''Wave 5: Titan Masters Attack'''
**''Rarity: '''''CT'''
**''Card Number: '''''T02/T46'''
**''Stars: ''7

:Autobot Gears, Transport & Reconnaissance is one of forty-six double-sided character cards released as part of Wave 5 of the [[Transformers Trading Card Game]], Titan Masters Attack.

:The card's artwork is based on the ''Generations'' Legends-class Gears toy, with line-art by [[Sara Pitre-Durocher]] and colors by [[Alex Tarca]] for both modes.

:This card's set was originally set for an April 2020 release, however due to the global COVID-19 pandemic the release was pushed back to May 29, 2020.
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[File:TFTM-MaybeGears.jpg|thumb|I sign on to a major movie, and all I get is a lousy cameo appearance?!]]

*Early bio material gives his (unused) nicknames as '''Ox''' and '''Sourball'''.<ref>Nicknames found in early ''[[The Transformers Universe|Universe]]''-style profiles published in [[The Transformers Comics Magazine]]</ref>
*In his first Marvel Comics appearance, Gears sported a more humanoid [[character model]] that looked less like his toy than his final animation model. He would also use this model in the UK annual story "[[And There Shall Come...a Leader!]]", while ''[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]]'' was inexplicably drawn with this model in the earlier UK story "[[The Enemy Within!]]".
*The dialogue script for ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' reveals that Gears was supposed to appear in the film during the [[Battle of Autobot City]], speaking a single line in horrified reaction to the formation of Devastator ("We're finished! Aaaaahh!"). He was cut from the finished feature, but actor Don Messick recorded the line and remains listed in the film's credits as Gears (but not, oddly enough, as [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]], who ''does'' speak). A 'bot with Gears's color scheme appears on Moonbase One, but is probably not supposed to be him.
**The script provides no context for Gears's scream, so it might be intended to imply that Devastator proceeded to kill him in some fashion. This would fit with the earliest draft of the film, which also saw Gears killed off, albeit in a different way: blown to pieces in a carpet-bombing run by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] during [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]'s attack on the city.<ref>http://boltax.blogspot.com/2010/12/heritaage-auctions-transformers-movie.html</ref>
*Gears appeared in a [[:File:PulseCon-Kingdom-promo-art.jpg|concept poster]] for ''[[War for Cybertron: Kingdom]]'', suggesting a new toy of him was considered for inclusion in the toyline, but such toy never materialized. Three years later, Gears would ultimately receive a [[Gears (G1)#Legacy|new ''Generations''-styled toy]] in the ''[[Transformers: Legacy|Legacy: United]]'' line.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Gears''' (ギアーズ ''Giāzu'')
*''Czech:'' '''Převodovka'''
*''French:'' '''Rollo''' (Canada)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Fuvaros''' ("Hauler")
*''Italian:'' '''Mulo'''
*''Mandarin:'' '''Biànsùxiāng''' (变速箱, "Transmission")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Mecano''' (Portugal comics), '''Engrenagem''' (Brazil comics), '''Pick-Up''' (Brazil toys)
*''Russian:'' '''Privod''' (Привод, "Drive")
*''South American:'' '''Pick-Up'''

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Cloud Autobots]]
[[Category:Dreamwave Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 cartoon Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 toy Autobots]]
[[Category:Generations]]
[[Category:IDW (2005) Autobots]]
[[Category:IDW (2019) Transformers]]
[[Category:Kre-O Autobots]]
[[Category:Kreons]]
[[Category:Legacy Autobots]]
[[Category:Legends Autobots]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Marvel Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Mini Vehicles]]
[[Category:Reconnaissance specialists]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]

Hot Shot (Armada)

2025-02-21T01:23:25Z

JonC2001: /* Notes */

{{factions|autobot|{{factions/icons|custom=Energon Powerlinx Silver symbol.png|cLink=Powerlinx}}|velocitron|{{factions/icons|custom=Cybertron Defence.png|cSize=50px|cLink=Cybertron Defense Team (Cybertron)}}}}
{{disambig3|Hot Shot}}{{suite}}
:''Hot Shot is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Unicron Trilogy continuity family]].''
[[File:HotShot-AR-DVD.jpg|thumb|upright=2.3|I'm Optimus Prime's choice for successor. Scary what goes through the big guy's head, huh?]]
'''Hot Shot''' is the quintessential young hero. He's been around long enough to earn a name for himself and a place in [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime's]] entourage, but he's still too young to know when he's in over his head. In other words, he's blunt, overconfident, naïve, and more than just a little annoying, yet brave, honorable, loyal to his friends, and willing to risk his life to stop the [[Decepticon]]s and help the Autobots. With time and experience, Prime believes, he could make an excellent leader, and Prime has appointed him to his command structure accordingly. Hot Shot's got the goods, but he just needs to pay attention for more than five seconds. Until that day, Hot Shot's likely response to most anything is, "Yeah yeah, like, whatever."

Hot Shot's [[Mini-Con]] partner is [[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]], though he has been known to moonlight with [[Mirage (Armada)|Mirage]].

==Fiction==
===Toy pack-in comics===
[[File:Hotshotarmadaminicomic.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|How dumb can he be? He's fluent in three languages!]]
[[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] chose Hot Shot to stop a Decepticon plot to drain power from the city, but Hot Shot balked when Prime picked [[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]] to be his partner. After speeding off to complete the mission alone, Hot Shot found himself overwhelmed by [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]] and his partner [[Crumplezone (Armada)|Crumplezone]]. Thankfully, Jolt arrived and gave Hot Shot a hand, and together they defeated Cyclonus and Crumplezone by detonating their energy-draining device, and letting the Decepticons get caught in the blast. Hot Shot had learned a valuable lesson about teamwork. {{storylink|Armada Volume 1}}

Hot Shot reported to Optimus about his responsibilities somewhere and listened to [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]] discuss his. {{storylink|Armada Volume 2}} Optimus Prime again contacted Hot Shot from [[Autobot Headquarters (Armada)|Autobot Headquarters]]. {{storylink|Armada Volume 3}}

On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Hot Shot, [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]], [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]] were present for [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]]'s defeat of [[Megatron (Armada)|Galvatron]]. They didn't, however, see his smile upon his capture. {{storylink|Armada Volume 4}}

[[File:HotShotEnergonminicomic.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|He's so polite.]]
After Hot Shot and [[Strongarm (Energon)|Strongarm]] found a pool of [[Energon]] in a desert, they were attacked by [[Battle Ravage]]s. Though the Autobots were able to fight off the drones, they realized too late that they had been duped; another pack of Battle Ravages had used the distraction to get at the Energon pool. When the situation was bleakened further by the arrival of [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]], Strongarm fashioned an [[Energon weapon|Energon axe]] for Hot Shot, allowing him to drive the [[Terrorcon (Energon)|Terrorcons]] away. Unfortunately, he couldn't do so in time to prevent them from absorbing all of the remaining Energon. Nonetheless, Hot Shot and Strongarm were relieved that they had faced a formidable foe and come out on top. {{storylink|Energon Volume 1}}

Some time after, Hot Shot was seen alongside [[Skyblast (Energon)|Skyblast]] and Optimus Prime battling Scorponok and his Terrorcons. {{storylink|Energon Volume 2}}

Optimus Prime and Hot Shot (powerlinked with Inferno) found themselves alone and outmatched in a battle with Megatron, [[Shockblast]], [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Snow Cat]], [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] and [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Mirage]]. As the Decepticons closed in on Optimus, he warned Powerlinx Hot Shot to stay away, for he was too damaged. But at the last minute, [[Wing Saber (Energon)|Wing Saber]] arrived, combined with Prime, and drove the Decepticons away! {{storylink|Energon Volume 4}}

With a group of Autobots, Hot Shot investigated the site of an energon reaction. They found a [[Grand Scourge|Scourge]], a dark duplicate of Optimus Prime who quickly entered in battle with Optimus. {{storylink|Optimus Prime VS Mysterious Supreme Commander Scourge}} When Optimus was cornered by Scourge, Hot Shot and Ironhide forced the two apart with cover fire, allowing Optimus to gain the upper hand on his enemy. {{storylink|Supreme Commander Optimus Prime VS Dark Commander Scourge}}

===Dreamwave ''Armada'' continuity===
====Dreamwave ''Armada'' comic====
[[File:Hotshotraizeyes.jpg|thumb|left|Hot Shot watches in horror as [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] buys the last can of Energon.]]
One million years ago, Hot Shot was a member of the Autobots, the guardians of [[Cyber City]]. Soon, news of a warlike faction called [[Decepticon]]s, led by the power-hungry [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]], reached Cyber City via a dying [[Mini-Con]] Hot Shot found. The Mini-Con handed him a video disc, and with his dying breath, demanded Hot Shot take it to Optimus Prime. Optimus Prime played the disc, a distress signal from [[Leader-1 (Armada)|Leader-1]], head of [[Mini-Con Sector|Mini-Con village D10]], who begged the Autobots for help. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 1|Armada #1}}

The Decepticons themselves soon arrived in Cyber City, armed with Mini-Cons they had captured and reconfigured to bestow incredible power when [[Powerlinx]]ed. Outclassed and near total defeat, Optimus Prime called his troops into retreat, and after the majority of Mini-Cons escaped [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to parts unknown, {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 2|Armada #2}} the Autobots lost much of the planet to the Mini-Con-powered Decepticons. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 3|Armada #3}}

[[File:Hotshotfreecomicbookday.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|Hot Shot, stop stealing Jolt's gun!]]
In the present day, both the Autobots and Decepticons received a signal of the Mini-Cons' activation on the planet [[Earth]]. Hot Shot and his colleagues [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]], [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]], and [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]] were led by Optimus Prime to the planet, {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 4|Armada #4}} where they met the Decepticons in battle. But this time, with the help of the estranged Mini-Cons, the Autobots regained the edge they'd lost against the Decepticons one million years prior. An uneasy alliance was formed, and Hot Shot was partnered with the Mini-Con [[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]]. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 5|Armada #5}}

When their human friends [[Rad White|Rad]], [[Carlos Lopez|Carlos]], and [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]] befriended a Mini-Con named [[Swindle (Armada)|Swindle]], they soon attracted the attention of the Decepticons, and Hot Shot and the other Autobots weren't far behind. With the arrival of Megatron, however, the Autobots were quickly defeated and restrained, and the children were shocked to learn that Swindle had been working with the Decepticons all this time! Swindle found himself conflicted, as he genuinely liked the human children, and so he eventually had a small change of heart. Grabbing Hot Shot's gun, he was able to disable the Autobots' restraints, and the Decepticons retreated... though with Swindle. {{storylink|Armada Free Comic Book Day}}

[[File:Hotshotdwissue6.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|Wait, Jolt attaches ''where?'']]
After their initial battles on Earth, Megatron was quick to capture the [[Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Armada)|Air Defense Mini-Con Team]] and forge them into the [[Star Saber (Armada)|Star Saber]]. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 6|Armada #6}} Optimus Prime led Hot Shot and Red Alert against the Decepticons again, despite being at a strategic disadvantage while the Mini-Cons were missing, a point Hot Shot belabored. Thankfully, the Autobot-allied Mini-Cons arrived just in time to Powerlinx with Hot Shot and the other Autobots, fend off Megatron, and rescue the Air Defense Mini-Cons from the Decepticon leader's clutches. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 7|Armada #7}}

[[File:Hotshotguido.jpg|thumb|"Well, let's go!"]]
Soon, a Mini-Con beacon tower was erected in [[Tranquility, Kansas|Tranquility]], [[Kansas]] drawing all Earth-bound Mini-Cons to it. Hot Shot and the rest of the Autobots again met the Decepticons in battle at the location when the tower's effect was discovered. However, they were too busy fighting to notice the beacon tower blasting off toward the Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]]. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 8|Armada #8}} Hot Shot and Red Alert secreted Optimus Prime into the Decepticon base for the use of their space bridge, so that the Autobot leader could ask for reinforcements from [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 9|Armada #9}} The Decepticons returned while the two were still waiting for Prime's return, forcing them to hide for a bit. {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 10|Armada #10}}

After the Mini-Cons were evacuated from the Moon, five did not return home safely and sent a distress signal from northern Alaska. When the [[Adventure Mini-Con Team]] failed to retrieve them, Hot Shot and the other Autobots arrived in full force, though they were kept in check by Cyclonus, who was suffering from a Mini-Con overdose. Though they were successful, Optimus Prime disappeared before their eyes, {{storylink|Dreamwave Armada issue 13|Armada #13}} and when Hot Shot returned to Autobase, he found [[Optimus Prime (G1)|another Optimus Prime]], dying, sent from a different timeline to warn of [[Unicron]]'s coming. {{storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4}} Learning of the "real" Optimus Prime's disappearance, Megatron and his Decepticons stormed Autobase, nearly killing Smokescreen and heavily injuring Hot Shot, Red Alert, and Scavenger. {{storylink|Worlds Collide, Part 2 of 4}}

Optimus Prime was returned to them and insisted on teaming up with the Decepticons to battle the arriving Unicron. Hot Shot excused himself from this alliance, as Smokescreen's critical condition due to the Decepticons' recent attack still weighed heavily in his mind. So when Megatron stole away during the battle with Unicron to strike a deal with the Dark God, Hot Shot, Scavenger, and Red Alert ambushed him, leaving him to die as Unicron was seemingly destroyed by the [[Mini-Con Matrix]]. {{storylink|The End (Armada)|The End}}
{{--}}

====''Energon'' comic====
[[File:Hotshotironhidedw.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|Sorry, Hot Shot, you've been replaced.]]
Ten years later, at the beginning of the Energon Era, Hot Shot accompanied Optimus Prime, who was skeptical and restless about the new peacetime, on his visit with the High Council in Cyber City. Prime's demands for vigilance were denied, so Hot Shot later followed him to a special [[uplink platform]] that [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] had directed them to. This trip was a first outing for the rookie Autobot [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]], who fawned over Hot Shot. Hot Shot met this with difficulty. Learning of the continued existence of [[Unicron]], {{storylink|This Evil Reborn}}

[[File:WhatLiesBeneathPart2 HotShotInfernoPowerlinx.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|right|Sorry Jolt, now Inferno becomes his ass.]]
Prime once again returned to the High Council, again accompanied by Hot Shot. But this time, Cyber City was attacked by [[Cheetor (Armada)|Cheetor]], [[Rhinox (Armada)|Rhinox]], [[Airazor (Armada)|Airazor]], and [[Terrorsaur (Armada)|Terrorsaur]], who were presumed dead during the [[Unicron Battles]], but in fact were transformed into [[Unicron's Four Horsemen]]. {{storylink|What Lies Beneath}} The Four Horsemen overwhelmed Hot Shot and the other Autobots, and they were saved from destruction only by the timely arrival of the [[Omnicon]]s. Hot Shot, Optimus Prime, and the others were granted the [[Spark of Combination]] by [[Alpha Trion (Energon)|Sig-Omega]], and thanks partly to the combined powerlinked form of Hot Shot and [[Inferno (Energon)|Inferno]], the Horsemen were deterred. {{storylink|What Lies Beneath, Part Two}}

Hot Shot, along with Inferno, Ironhide, and [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]], followed Prime to Earth after the Autobots received a distress signal. They regrettably arrived four hours later than the signal was sent, and Hot Shot boggled at how much damage could have been done in that time. Indeed, [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]] and his [[Terrorcon (Energon)|Terrorcons]] had caused massive devastation while chasing after a young boy named [[Kicker Jones|Kicker]] who could detect [[Energon]]. The Terrorcons outclassed the Autobots upon arrival, however, and left only when their Energon-mining gear was destroyed...but not without taking Kicker. {{storylink|What Lies Beneath, Part Three}} After the Autobots reunited with [[Carlos Lopez|Carlos]], [[Rad White|Rad]], and [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]], Hot Shot and the Omnicon [[Strongarm (Energon)|Strongarm]] were able to pursue the Terrorcons and deliver a special suit to Kicker that his father, [[Brian Jones|Dr. Brian Jones]], had made for him. With Kicker's help, the Terrorcons were defeated and returned to Unicron. {{storylink|What Lies Beneath, Part Four}}

Hot Shot, along with Optimus Prime and Inferno, attended a public meeting with the [[United Nations]] in [[New York City]] after the ratification of the [[Cybercord Treaty]]. {{storylink|Multiplicity}}

[[File:Hotshotomni-potent.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|left|Wait, ''Hot Shot'' has wisdom?]]
After the Omnicons, while trying to tap into an underground Energon reserve, nearly destroyed [[Chicago]] by accident, Hot Shot was put in charge of the unruly 'bots and sent to [[Base Site One]] in [[Yukon|Yukon Territory]]. Immediately upon arrival, Strongarm crashed into the base site's intrathermal uplink assembly and subsurface transference grid, frustrating Ironhide. This was the final straw for Hot Shot. After telling them to get lost, he was darkly amused that this was the first order he'd given that they actually followed to the letter. An hour later, Hot Shot had a change of heart, and he and Kicker left to track them down. Their search abruptly ended when [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Snow Cat]] was dropped in their laps, defeated during the Omnicons' solo adventure. Eight days later, Hot Shot had returned to Optimus, who tasked him with protecting the Autobots' growing Energon-gathering installations on Earth. {{storylink|Omni-Potent}}

When Terrorcons orchestrated an attack on four major Earth cities, Hot Shot (leading a team consisting of [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]], [[Rodimus (Energon)|Rodimus]], [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]], [[Beachcomber (Energon)|Beachcomber]], and [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Hoist]]) was sent to repel [[Divebomb (Energon)|Divebomb]] drones in [[Toronto]]. Badly outnumbered and confined, Rodimus suggested the group split up. Hot Shot agreed, sending him and Red Alert elsewhere. Hot Shot contacted Jetfire in [[Los Angeles]], telling him it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed and the battle was lost, but he interrupted his transmission to witness a spectacle above. {{storylink|Multiplicity, Pt. 3}} [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] had arrived in a new body, and he was dramatically tearing through the Divebomb drones. After Megatron cleared away enough of the Terrorcons in Toronto to give Hot Shot's team a fighting chance, he moved on to the concurrent battle in [[Tokyo]]. {{storylink|Multiplicity, Pt. 4}}

===Cartoon continuity===
[[File:Gale jaamsword.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
{{main|Hot Shot (Armada)/Cartoon continuity}}
{{-}}

===Panini ''Armada'' comic===
[[File:DevicesandDesires-yourownsize.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|Well, gee, Hot Shot, when you put it that way, it doesn't sound fair anymore.]]
As the Autobot-Decepticon war was in its early stages, Hot Shot was stationed at the main [[Autobot Command HQ]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. Upon detecting four Decepticon battalions heading towards them, he reported this to [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] and raced into battle. He and the other Autobots were eventually forced to abandon their base when it turned out to be rigged with explosives. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 9|Counter-Strike!}} After the Mini-Cons left Cybertron, he was seen dispensing firepower and sarcasm during another clash with the Decepticon forces. {{storylink|First Encounter!}}

Hot Shot and [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] were later summoned to [[Earth]] when the Mini-Cons were found to have awakened there. The Mini-Con [[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]] grudgingly power-linked with Hot Shot, allowing him to fly through the air and ram [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]]. {{storylink|Friends and Foes!}} Following the battle, he stood guard outside a small cave while the Mini-Cons and their [[human]] friends made their way inside. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 3|Deep Trouble!}} When the Autobots decided to keep the Mini-Cons safe by sending them back to Cybertron, Hot Shot stood watch, and soon reported that the Decepticons were going on the offensive again. In the ensuing battle, the Mini-Cons decided to stay on Earth, and Jolt power-linked with Hot Shot and helped him drive the Decepticons away. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 4|No Way Back!}}

Alongside Optimus Prime and Red Alert, Hot Shot later saved the [[Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Armada)|Air Defense Team]] from getting captured by [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]]. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 5|Devices and Desires!}} After the Air Defense Team revealed that the [[Land Military Mini-Con Team|Land Military Team]] had been captured by humans, Hot Shot piloted an Autobot shuttle to the [[Nevada]] desert and helped liberate them. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 7|Sale of the Century!}} Next, the Autobots learned that the Decepticons were planning to [[Nuclear weapon|nuke]] them from the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], and their [[space bridge]] was too busted up for them to do anything about it. Hot Shot was tasked with repairing the device and use it to warp the incoming warheads elsewhere, and he succeeded at the last second. {{storylink|Panini Armada issue 8|Earthshaker!}}

{{-}}
===The Balance of Power===
[[File:BalanceOfPower-Autobots.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Hot Shot has particular skills?]]
Shortly after Hot Shot was brought online, he and Red Alert were sent deep into Decepticon territory to uncover an [[Data-Con|ancient relic]] that would tell them how to find the long-lost race of [[Mini-Con]]s. The two were discovered by passing [[Dropship (Armada)|Dropships]] and the [[Spider Tank]]s they carried, and so they quickly dodged for cover. But there was nowhere to run; the Decepticons had created a massive army of [[Decepticlone]]s. After sending out an auto-distress signal, Optimus Prime arrived to bolster their firepower. This caught the attention of Megatron, and the two leaders grappled while Hot Shot and Red Alert continued to evade the Decepticlones. Meanwhile, Starscream had managed to find the relic, and a portal was opened in front of them. Hot Shot, Red Alert, and Optimus Prime followed the Decepticons through the portal to [[Earth]]. The search for the Mini-Cons began! {{storylink|The Balance of Power}}
{{note|This comic was written as a tie-in to the [[Transformers (Armada PS2)|''Armada'' video game]], but its details differ from the introduction seen in the game itself. [[#PS2|See below]] for Hot Shot's role in the game.}}

===Bendon ''Armada'' books===
[[File:RTD-HotShotflipsDemolishor.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1]]
Hot Shot and Optimus Prime were forced to defend the Autobot base from a surprise attack. When the attack accidentally triggered a landslide, Hot Shot rushed in to save the kids. {{storylink|Cave Catastrophe}}

Hot Shot would once again rush in to save the kids after they left themselves out in the open, ramming Demolishor hard enough to flip him over. {{storylink|Race to Disaster}}
{{-}}

===''Superdeformers''===
[[File:Superdeformers Hot Shot.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Don't look at me, I'm slightly less handsome!]]
Facing down [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]] one day, Hot Shot was unprepared when the Decepticon lobbed [[Thunderwing (Armada)|Thunderwing]] at him. Luckily before the Mini-Con could hit Hot Shot, Blurr jumped in and snatched it out of the air. The pair promptly ran off with Thunderwing, leaving Thrust to face [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]]'s wrath. {{storylink|Superdeformers}}

===Reader's Digest ''Armada'' novels===
Hot Shot was one of the Autobots teleported to Earth by the warp gate within the remains of a Mini-Con ship. Despite the radical change in scenery, Hot Shot continued to do battle against the Decepticons who had been teleported alongside them. The fighting came to an end, temporarily, thanks to the efforts of [[Perceptor (Armada)|Perceptor]]. {{storylink|Transformers Armada: The Battle Begins|The Battle Begins}}

After securing their base on Earth, Optimus, Hot Shot and Red Alert headed to a nearby highway to adopt new alternate modes based on local vehicles. Hot Shot took on the form of a sleek sports car and became giddy over his new form, annoying Optimus with his rambunctious behavior. When their human allies joined them, Hot Shot scrutinized their Mini-Con companions with great interest, as he had only heard of the diminutive robots in old war stories up until that point. Explosions emanating from nearby interrupted Hot Shot's observations. The Decepticons were attacking the Autobots' base! The Autobots launched a counter-attack, though Hot Shot was forced to leave the battlefront when a stray shot from Megatron triggered a rock-slide, endangering the children. Hot Shot got Carlos, Alexis and Rad out of harm's way, along with their Mini-Cons. Before Hot Shot had a chance to leave to rejoin the battle, Alexis pointed out something to him; the rock slide had unearthed several dormant Mini-Cons! One of the panels reacted to Hot Shot's presence, with the Mini-Con within transforming into a lightning-bolt-shaped hood ornament for his vehicle mode. The diminutive robot granted Hot Shot electrical powers, so Hot Shot decided on naming his new partnent "Jolt." The children then hid themselves nearby, and Hot Shot took on the Decepticons once more. Another Mini-Con reacted to Red Alert, and together, the empowered Autobots easily bested the Decepticons that opposed them. Realizing they were outmatched, the Decepticons retreated, though they managed to steal away the remaining Mini-Con panels as they warped off-planet. The children were saddened that the Decepticons had managed to take off with Mini-Cons in tow, but the Autobots assured them that they had done everything they could, and joined them in a "circle of friendship." {{storylink|Transformers Armada: Race for the Mini-Con Robots|Race for the Mini-Con Robots}}

===''Transformers Legends'' anthology===
Hot Shot was part of the Autobot forces during a battle in [[Yellowstone National Park]], and seconded Optimus's warning that the area was too geologically unstable to battle in. Megatron ignored their advice. {{storylink|Lonesome Diesel}}

===''Universe'' comic===
Hot Shot was one of several Transformers from across the [[multiverse]] suggested by [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] for [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]] to recruit into his [[Child of Primus|Children of Primus]]. Optimus Primal decided to pluck [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]] back from death instead. {{storylink|Homecoming (Universe)|Homecoming}}

===''Cybertron'' toy bios===
Optimus Prime teamed Hot Shot up with the Mini-Con [[Mirage (Armada)|Mirage]]. Hot Shot brought Mirage with him to the Speed Planet, and they formed a fast friendship and nearly undefeatable racing team. {{storylink|#Cybertron|Wal-Mart exclusive two-pack toy bio}}

===''Regeneration One''===
[[File:RG1 93 rodimii.jpg|thumb|left|Day 16 - The Hot Rods have still not realized I am not one of them.]]
Hot Shot (in his [[Hot Shot (Armada)/toys#ArDxPx|Powerlinx colors]]) was one of the many different versions of himself that [[Hot Rod (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Hot Rod]] saw during a [[Multiverse|multiversal]] out-of-body experience in the [[Primus]] chamber after journeying to the centre of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] with the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]. {{storylink|Destiny, Part Three}} After becoming Rodimus Prime, Hot Rod infiltrated [[Zero Space]] to confront the [[Dark Matrix]] creature that threatened his reality but it summoned three versions of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] to defend itself. Rodimus likewise sent ripples throughout the multiverse, calling forth all the various versions of himself (including [[Hot Shot (Armada)/toys#CyDVD|yet another version]] of Hot Shot) to take down anything without a "Hot" or "Rod" in its name, loosening the Dark Matrix creature's control over Optimus and allowing Rodimus to seal the multiversal breach with the [[Sword of Primus]]. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 5}}
{{--}}

===''Hot Shot's Bot Thoughts''===
Hot Shot conducted a series of interviews with Transformers from other parts of the [[Multiverse]]. His first with a [[Primax]] version of [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] included questions about the weird eyeball headlights Kup had in vehicle mode. During his interview with [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], Hot Shot got into a disagreement with his interviewee about how easy it was to obtain a [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]. He proved his side of the argument by easily stealing Optimus's Matrix, and upgrading himself into '''Shotimus Prime'''. During his last interview, this time with [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]], his interviewee became irate at his insistence that Tarantulas and Sideways might be one and the same. This eventually lead to Tarantulas taking his Matrix and beating him with it, causing him to revert to Hot Shot. {{storylink|Hot Shot's Bot Thoughts}}

===''Legacy VS500 Collection Special Comic''===
Hot Shot was a spectator for the second week of the [[Speedia 500]] on [[Velocitron]], where he swung around the [[Star Saber (Armada)|Star Saber]]. {{storylink|Velocitron Speedia 500 Part 3}}

==Games==
===The Energon Within===
As Optimus and Hot Shot prepared to escort a truckload of energon away from one of the Autobots' mines, the Decepticons launched a full-scale assault. Their objective was to steal 100 of the Autobots' energon cubes.

The Decepticons either eventually succeed, though at the cost of many Decepticon troops being destroyed, with the mine remaining under Autobot control, OR, before the Decepticons could succeed succeed, Hot Shot inadvertently blew up the mine. {{storylink|Transformers Armada: The Energon Within}}

===''Transformers''===
{{voiceactor|[[Dublin James]] (English)|[[Jesús Barreda]] (Castilian Spanish), [[Cédric Dumond]] (French), [[Alberto Olivero]] (Italian)}}
[[File:PS2game-HotShotDecepticlones.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|He's the best there is at what he does! (We don't like to say what he does...)]]
Hot Shot found himself in the sweeping jungles that surrounded abandoned Aztec ruins. After failing to find Mini-Cons under a rock, he managed to pair up with the Mini-Con Jolt, and when he reached the top of the ruins, he faced Cyclonus. The following battles took him many places, such as a frozen wasteland, the interior of a battleship (which eventually revealed itself as the gigantic Tidal Wave), and ultimately Hot Shot battled Unicron himself.

Hot Shot, having collected all the Mini-Cons on Earth, was able to wield the legendary [[Matrix Cannon]], which he used to fire a deadly shot into the core of the Planet Eater. {{storylink|Transformers (PS2)|Transformers}}

{{note|The events of the game listed above are exactly the same for when players choose to take Red Alert or Optimus Prime into battle instead of Hot Shot... except for the rock thing. That's all Hot Shot, baby.}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
{{main|Hot Shot (Armada)/toys }}

==Merchandise==
{{main|Hot Shot (Armada)/toys#Merchandise}}

==Notes==
[[File:HotShotisBumblebee.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|YELLOW KID APPEAL SINGULARITY]]
*In an early ''Armada'' series bible, Hot Shot was originally called "'''[[Bumblebee (disambiguation)|Bumblebee]]'''". His character description says that he is the youngest of the Autobots at "about 16 years of age". The Autobots' teen-aged human allies would have teased him for not being old enough to have a driver's license. It further notes that "Everything about him is fast- including his speech," which definitely wasn't taken to heart. The rest of his personality was as you would expect, being young and brash yet showing leadership potential, and his Mini-Con was still called Jolt.
**When asked about the Bumblebee name, designer Aaron Archer remembered looking into it, but thinking it was too generic at the time!<ref>{{citesocial|quote=I think we looked into it? But I think we thought it was fairly generic, for a long time I think we just didn't want to use it because it was like, so generic—sad to say, but it ''is''.|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNgWvNmMJfE&t=2660s|name=Aaron Archer|site=''The Toy Armada''|year=2021|month=12|day=14}}</ref> It's likely that [[trademark]] issues would have been a factor regardless. On a spreadsheet shown by Archer at a TFcon Toronto panel, Hot Shot was the first name listed for consideration for the character—had that trademark not been available, the second and third names they would have attempted to use were “Wheeljack” and “Hot Wire” respectively.<ref>[https://youtu.be/-eb7DrK1KqQ How to Name a Transformer - Toy Trademarks with Designer Aaron Archer]</ref>
*According to the [[Transformers (Armada PS2)|''Armada'' PlayStation 2 game]] instruction booklet, Hot Shot's ''Armada'' body has the following statistics:
:*Mass: 3,109 lbs
:*Robot height: 16' 5"
:*Robot top speed: 50 mph
:*Vehicle height: 5' 11"
:*Vehicle top speed: 186 mph
:*Vehicle power: 400 hp @ 8000 rpm
*Hot Shot's ''Armada'' design is visually influenced by racecar drivers. He wears a crash helmet and sports a permanent 5-point harness seat belt as part of his chest design.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=#hot shot was influenced by race car drivers, he is wearing a crash helmet and sports a permanent 5-point harness seat belt as part of his chest design.|link=https://www.instagram.com/p/BuesGsXHqwp/|name=Aaron Archer|site=Instagram|year=2019|month=03|day=01}}</ref>
*For a while, ''Galaxy Force'' was treated by [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] as a separate universe from ''Legends of the Microns'' and ''Super Link'', which would have made Exillion (Hot Shot's Japanese name in ''Galaxy Force'') a different guy, even though the character's head design and [[control drawing|control art]] labeled him "Hot Shot" in English.<ref name="control">[http://snakas.web.fc2.com/event/0410entama.htm Galaxy Force control art on display at Tokyo International Entertainment Market 2004], at Autobase Aichi.</ref> With ''Galaxy Force'' later reintegrated into the "[[Unicron Trilogy|Micron Trilogy]]", this original distinction likely became irrelevant.
*The license plate for Hot Shot's 2008 ''Universe'' toy reads "[[JaAm]]", referencing an early fandom meme derived from a fan-edit of the toy pack-in comics. The accompanying tech-specs also make allusions to the fancomic.
*A character looking quite similar to Hot Shot showed up to die in [[Drift issue 2|''Drift'' #2]] because someone convinced artist [[Alex Milne]] to draw him as a casualty. This in order to spite longtime fan [[David Willis]], who wuvs Hot Shot. Milne drew him into the story based on his dislike of ''Armada'' and reasoning that the character would not be one used again in the continuity.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=lets see, well i don't know what i'll be working on in the future, so if i get a chance to draw some characters i want to in, then i take that opportunity to draw them. yes coming up with random bots is also fun, but then i might also like the bot i'm coming up with so it's the same thing. it's hard to choose what i want to draw. now i thought we were talking about issue one here. lets see. when i started issue 2 i had a battle scene between the autobots and decepticons and i asked a few of my friends who to draw in there. a few of them said i should draw hot shot, and i was like hot shot??? why the hell do i want to draw him??? i'm not the biggest fan of armada anyways. then one of them said it was Walky's favourite, but i still don't know if that's true or not, and i laughed, and i said, if you want me to put him in, i will. personally i don't care. so at first i asked my friends what characters to add, they gave me a few choices and when i then wanted to know the reason behind there choice they told me, and i got a laugh out of it. so, no lie here. no favourite characters of anyone who i hardly know in issue one. in issue 2, there is. did i do it because that guy upsets me. no. i don't really care what he says. i did it because my friends thought it was be funny and it's a character not in the G1-G2 line that will be used. oh, and i'm not the biggest fan of armada, so theres that too.|link=https://web.archive.org/web/20120627081743/http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=204657|name=Alex Milne|site=the IDW Publishing Forums|title=Transformers Drift #1: Reactions, Reviews, Spoilers|year=2010|month=09|day=20}}</ref> Because it is a Generation 1-based story, however, the incident is documented on [[Hot Shot (G1)|"Generation 1" character Hot Shot]]'s page, rather than here.

===Foreign names===
====''Armada''====
*''Japanese:'' '''Hot Rod''' (ホットロッド ''Hotto Roddo''), '''Hot Rod Super Mode''' (ホットロッド{{ruby|S|スーパーモード}} ''Hotto Roddo Sūpā Mōdo''), '''Hot Shot''' (ホットショット ''Hotto Shotto'')
*''Hungarian:'' '''Nagymenő''' ("Badass")
*''Korean:'' '''Red Gun''' (레드건 ''Redeu Geon'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Jīshè''' (激射, "Passionate Shot")
*''Polish:'' '''Piorunus''' ("Thunderboltus")
*''Romanian:'' '''Șmecherul''' ("Wise Guy")
*''Russian:'' '''Likhach''' (Лихач, "Scorcher")
*''Ukrainian:'' '''Garyachkun''' (Гарячкун, "Hothead"), '''Zharostril''' (Жаростріл, "Heatshot")

====''Energon''====
*''Japanese:'' '''Hotshot''' (ホットショット ''Hottoshotto''), '''Hotshot Fire''' (ホットショット{{ruby|F|ファイヤー}} ''Hottoshotto Faiyā'')
*''Hungarian:'' '''Tűzgolyó''' ("Fireball")
*''Mandarin:'' '''Jīshè''' (激射, "Passionate Shot")

====''Cybertron''====
*''Japanese:'' '''Exillion''' (エクシリオン ''Ekushirion''), '''Exigeyser''' (エクシゲイザー ''Ekushigeizā''), '''Hot Shot''' (ホットショット ''Hotto Shotto'')
*''Hungarian:'' '''Tűzgolyó''' ("Fireball"), '''Nagyágyú''' ("[[Optimus Prime vs Megatron: The Ultimate Battle]]")
*''Korean:'' '''Exillion''' (엑실리온 ''Eksillion''), '''Exigeyser''' (엑시게이저 ''Eksigeijeo'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Jīshè''' (激射, "Passionate Shot")
*''Ukrainian:'' '''Zharostril''' (Жаростріл, "Heatshot")

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Armada Autobots]]
[[Category:Athletes]]
[[Category:Autobot leaders]]
[[Category:Cybertron Autobots]]
[[Category:Dimension hoppers]]
[[Category:Energon Autobots]]
[[Category:Energon combiners]]
[[Category:Letters page answerers]]
[[Category:Regeneration One Autobots]]
[[Category:Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Velocitron]]