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Trailbreaker (G1)

2026-01-15T18:33:38Z

PixelatedShinobi: /* Energon Universe */ Added spoiler-tagged information of Trailbreaker's role in issue 28 with an accompanying image. I'm new so feel free to correct my work if I've done something wrong.

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{{disambig3|Trailbreaker}}
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:''Trailbreaker is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:Trailbreakerg1.jpg|upright=1.34|thumb|I may not be fast... but I'm effective and provide soothing relief.]]
It's hard not to like '''Trailbreaker''' (aka '''Trailcutter'''<ref name="cutter">From 2011 onwards, "Trailcutter" was Hasbro's substitute name for toys of the Trailbreaker character when that name was not available to them as a [[trademark]], including a toy of the [[Trailbreaker (Prime)|''Transformers: Prime'' version of the character]]. Hasbro finally got the name "Trailbreaker" back for the 2016 ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' toy. In the meantime, the name "Trailcutter" was also used in the [[2005 IDW continuity]] to reflect the [[Thrilling 30]] toy's name, as well as in the [[Transformers Legends (mobile game)|''Transformers Legends'' mobile game]].</ref> and '''Trailblazer'''<ref name="blazer">The name "Trailblazer" was used three times: Once as a one-off error in a line of dialogue in the 1985 [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1]] cartoon episode "[[A Prime Problem]]", spoken by Optimus Prime (the ''real'' one, no less); the ''Transformers'' portion of IDW's 2012 ''[[Infestation 2]]'' crossover established the ''[[Hearts of Steel]]'' version of the character as going by the name "Trailblazer"; and the character's card for the 2014 [[Rushdown Road]] event from the [[Transformers Legends (mobile game)|''Transformers Legends'' mobile game]] also used that name despite all other cards from the game using the name "Trailcutter".</ref>). He's a good-humored cheerleader, always ready with a joke or comment to lighten the mood when things get dark. Sadly, Trailbreaker's joking is often a cover for his low self-esteem. His form is the most fuel-consumptive of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] crew, and his vehicle mode is very slow. As such, he feels like a useless drain on their limited resources. Other days, he feels like a one-trick-pony whose talents are taken for granted. It's not uncommon to see him burying his woes in a tall glass of liquor that can [[Nightmare Fuel|push a Warworld into hyperspace]].

The Autobots know better, of course. Trailbreaker's good humor, bravery, and impenetrable [[force field]] and [[magnawheels]] are all of great use, and he knows how to make the most out of both his abilities. But convincing him of that is hard. Once he starts moping about his handicaps, nothing short of a strong push in the right direction will get him in gear.

{{bigquote|An Autobot's as good as the fuel in his tank.|Trailbreaker's Generation 1 bio quote}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics====
{{noteukonly}}
Trailbreaker was part of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s original crew, crashing to Earth four million years ago aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. {{storylink|The Transformers (issue)|The Transformers}}

[[File:Trailbreaker man of iron.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.66|Above: Trailbreaker's force field in actio—What? Sorry, false alarm.]]
Trailbreaker was one of the Autobots who participated in the battle outside of [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug's]] garage when the Decepticon came about to abduct the mechanic. The Autobots failed in preventing Sparkplug from becoming the Decepticons' prisoner, and Trailbreaker returned to the Ark afterwards, too low on fuel to participate in the subsequent rescue effort. {{storylink|Prisoner of War!}} Trailbreaker joined a detachment of Autobots investigating robot sightings in [[United Kingdom|Merry Ol' England]]. After making contact with a young boy named [[Sammy Harker|Sammy]], the Autobots were caught by surprise when the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] fire-bombed them from the sky. Trailbreaker was blasted before he could activate his force field. Like a freakin' drama queen, he went offline whimpering, "It's no good. Everything's gone... just plain ruined..." {{storylink|Man of Iron (issue)|Man of Iron}} ''When the Decepticons attacked the Ark and Optimus Prime was forced to reactivate [[Aunty|Auntie]], Trailbreaker was pinned to the ship's wall by her magnetic fields.'' {{storylink|Raiders of the Last Ark}}

[[File:Swoop trailbreaker icarus theory.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Above: Trailbreaker's force field in—Geez, again? Okay, never mind.]]
Like many Autobots, Trailbreaker was too low on fuel to join Optimus and the others in what would've been their climactic battle with [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]]'s forces, and was taken prisoner without a fight when [[Shockwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Shockwave]] assumed command of the Decepticons and the Ark. {{storylink|The Last Stand}} His body was strung up from the Ark's ceiling alongside the other Autobots. {{storylink|The New Order}} He was revived after [[Ratchet (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ratchet]] and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] reclaimed the Ark, however. When the Autobots went to recover Optimus Prime's head and restore their leader to functionality, Trailbreaker was one of many Autobots caught off-guard by the false Prime created by Shockwave and was shot down before he could raise his force field. {{storylink|Prime Time!}}

''On another occasion, the Dinobot [[Swoop (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Swoop]] was under the control of a human scientist and attacking the Autobots. Trailbreaker jumped in his path and tried to wrestle the pteranodon to the ground. Instead, he was lifted up and slammed into the cliffside...'cause he never turned on that force field.'' {{storylink|The Icarus Theory}} ''During the Dinobot Hunt, Trailbreaker joined [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] in hunting [[Snarl (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Snarl]] among the sands of the [[Black Rock Desert]]. They managed to collect him virtually without a fight once Snarl wandered into a secret military base and unleashed a molecular disintegrator bomb that ended his rampage.'' {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt!}}

''Upon discovering that the human [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] had gone to take on the Decepticons alone in his [[battlesuit]], Optimus Prime assembled a team of Autobots including Trailbreaker, Ratchet, [[Bumblebee (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] and [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] to rescue him.'' {{storylink|Robot Buster!}}

[[File:Brawn trailbreaker tracks target 2006.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Above: Trailbreaker's forc—DAMMIT TRAILBREAKER!]]
''When [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] and his future Decepticons arrived in the present, the Autobot chain of command was crippled as Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet vanished and [[Jazz (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Jazz]] was taken prisoner. [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] attempted to rise to command, accepting support from [[Ironhide (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ironhide]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]], but the Autobots were simply outclassed. Trailbreaker was part of a group of more than a half-dozen Autobots who collectively failed to bring down even one of Galvatron's lieutenants. In desperation, the Autobots turned to Megatron himself (who had quickly been disposed of by Galvatron when he first arrived) as a temporary ally and battlefield advisor.''

[[File:Dirge trailbreaker the gift.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|That's it, I'm outta here.]]
''Under the Decepticon's direction, the Autobots staged a trap for the lone future Decepticon [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] in order to weaken Galvatron's power base. Unfortunately, Scourge's enhanced sensors detected the trap almost immediately, and his [[acid ray]] nailed Trailbreaker THROUGH a wall before the battle even began. (Too early to have activated that force field, huh?) Scourge was ultimately brought down, but Trailbreaker was left inactive for days until Ratchet was restored to the present and able to repair him.'' {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

''Well, he was up and about soon enough, and after Optimus tasked [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] to lead the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] in a mission to test their psychological mettle, Trailbreaker gave the group the exact coordinates where the Decepticons had last been spotted.'' {{storylink|The Return of the Transformers}}

''Trailbreaker later accompanied Prowl and Jetfire on a mission to stop the Decepticons from accessing a [[NASA]] space transmission facility, only to get knocked around helplessly by [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]], and beaten to the ground long enough for the Decepticons to escape... all because he didn't turn on that slaggin' force field to protect himself.'' {{storylink|The Gift}}

Trailbreaker was present to watch [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] and [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] duke it out on the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]] for Autobot leadership. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
In [[2008]], Trailbreaker was one of the Autobots taken down and strung up by the [[Quintesson]]s when they invaded [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]]. {{storylink|Space Pirates!}}
{{--}}

====''Regeneration One''====
[[File:Ultra magnus trailbreaker loose ends.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3]]
{{NoteRG1}}
In [[2012]] Trailbreaker worked under [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ultra Magnus]] in the [[Cybertronian Civil Defense]]. When [[Kup (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Kup]] and the [[Wreckers]] went rogue it fell to Trailbreaker to deliver the bad news to Magnus, who ordered him to investigate further. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 2}} In a report to Optimus Prime he revealed his investigations had led him to uncover Kup's journey to Earth aboard the [[Cosmic Carnival]], that the Wreckers were in trouble and Megatron was back, prompting the Autobot leader to leave Cybertron to confront him. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 3}}

After [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s [[Gene Key]]-fuelled reign of terror on Cybertron, more than ninety percent of the Civil Defence Force had been wiped out. Trailbreaker listened as Magnus gave a speech to rally the survivors, then informed him that Optimus Prime wanted to speak to him from Earth. {{storylink|Destiny, Part One}} Later, he helped [[Prowl (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Prowl]] rehabilitate the [[Nucleon (substance)|nucleon]]-affected [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]], [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]], [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]], and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]. {{storylink|Destiny, Part Two}}
{{--}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Frank Welker]] (English), [[Ken Shiroyama]] (Japanese), [[Takurō Kitagawa]] (Japanese, "A Plague of Insecticons", "The Ultimate Doom, Part 3")|[[Liu Qin]] (Chinese), [[Roberto Alexander]] (Latin American), [[Toni Orlandi]] (Italian, second dub), [[Raffaele Palmieri]] (Italian, ''40th Anniversary Event'' dub), [[Albert Augier]] (European French), [[Jean Roche]] (European French, "More than Meets the Eye, Part 2"), [[Michel Bedetti]] (European French, "Divide and Conquer" and "The Ultimate Doom" episodes), [[Gérard Hernandez]] (European French, "Changing Gears"), [[Francis Lax]] (European French, "The Immobilizer"), [[Serge Bourrier]] (European French, "The Autobot Run"), [[Jacques Ferrière]] (European French, "A Prime Problem"), [[François Leccia]] (European French, "Blaster Blues"), [[Sílvio Navas]] (Portuguese, "Transport to Oblivion" to "Divide and Conquer"), [[Orlando Drummond]] (Portuguese, "S.O.S. Dinobots" onwards), [[Mário Monjardim]] (Portuguese, "Changing Gears"), [[Júlio Chaves]] (Portuguese, "Triple Takeover"), [[Celso Alves]] (Portuguese, DVD dub)}}

[[File:Mtmte2 witwickys and trailbreaker.jpg|left|thumb|"Tea Party Radar" was one of his more seldom-used powers.]]
Trailbreaker was part of the bridge crew of the Ark spaceship when it blasted off from Cybertron to search for new sources of energy four million years in the past. When he was awakened in 1984, [[Teletraan I]] reformatted him so that his alt mode was a terrestrial Toyota 4WD camper truck. Trailbreaker accompanied his fellow Autobots on their first mission to stop the Decepticons on Earth, a mission that took him to an off-shore oil rig. The Decepticons plundered the rig for energon and destroyed it, leaving it a flaming wreck that endangered its human crew. Trailbreaker used his force field to contain the fire, while [[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]] used his built-in fire-suppression systems to douse the flames. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1}}

Later, Trailbreaker served as a spy despite his stated function as defensive strategist. ([[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] was apparently busy that day.) He, along with the humans [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike]], camped out near the Decepticons' headquarters and eavesdropped on their plans to raid the ruby mines of Burma. Their surveillance did not go totally unnoticed, however, as a set of [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] spotted the Autobot making his getaway. Trailbreaker summoned the brothers [[Sunstreaker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sunstreaker]] and [[Sideswipe (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sideswipe]] to fend off his pursuer and got the information safely back to [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prime]]. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 2}}

[[File:MTMTE3 Trailbreaker jogging.jpg|thumb|Trailbreaker took up jogging after Sunstreaker made a crack about his weight.]]
Trailbreaker watched [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] fish [[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] and [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] out of a lake during the mission in [[Burma]]. He volunteered along with all of the rest of the Autobots to attempt to prevent the Decepticons from leaving Earth with the Energon they'd gathered. He fired on the Decepticons as they boarded the [[Victory (G1)|space cruiser]] they'd built. Though the ship still launched despite their efforts, Mirage brought it crashing back to Earth. {{storylink|More than Meets the Eye, Part 3}} Trailbreaker was part of a group of Autobots who were lured into a cave by a reprogrammed [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and ambushed by the Decepticons. {{storylink|Transport to Oblivion (episode)|Transport to Oblivion}} He also took part in the assault on an antimatter laboratory when the Decepticons got their hands on an antimatter formula, and was damaged when the lab exploded during the Decepticon withdrawal. {{storylink|Roll for It}}

[[File:SOSDinobots Trailbreaker in force field.jpg|thumb|left|"I'm trapped in a Fabergé egg! Help!"]]
A team of Autobots, including Trailbreaker, rolled out to give Optimus backup at an ammunition plant, but arrived too late, and found Prime badly damaged. When Prime needed a new [[Cosmitron]], Trailbreaker volunteered for a mission to Cybertron to retrieve a replacement from [[Wheeljack's workshop]]. [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] had his forces on that planet use [[acid rain]] on the group, but after a pep talk from [[Chip Chase]], Trailbreaker remembered he could use his force fields to protect them. They subsequently returned to Earth and, while the replacement Cosmitron was being installed, helped defend Headquarters against a Decepticon attack. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer}} When the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s ran amok during their unveiling, Trailbreaker protected himself from [[Slag (G1)|Slag]]'s [[fire-breath]] with a force field. Of course, this merely deflected the fire onto Sunstreaker. Some time later, Trailbreaker and most of the rest of the Autobots went to the [[Great Falls]] to try and stop the Decepticons from raiding it, and were all captured. They would have been terminated, had Wheeljack not come to the rescue with the upgraded Dinobots. {{storylink|S.O.S. Dinobots}}

Trailbreaker and [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] were going for a drive one day, only to find two [[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|suspicious-looking]] [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|jets]]. The jets revealed themselves as Decepticons who had come to a nearby refinery to make off with its steel to build a weapon. Brawn and Trailbreaker interrupted them, but Starscream blasted missiles at them, destroying the refinery, and made his getaway. The Autobots reported the incident back to Optimus Prime. Toward the end of the ensuing battle in [[Peru]], Trailbreaker pitched in to fire at the new weapon. {{storylink|Fire on the Mountain (episode)|Fire on the Mountain}}

[[File:UltimateDoom3 Trailbreaker firing.jpg|thumb|Who needs a forcefield when you're covered in guns.]]
When the Autobots began studying a meteorite that had fallen to Earth, Wheeljack discovered the sample fragment was highly unstable and summoned Optimus and Trailbreaker to his laboratory. On command, Trailbreaker unleashed his force field around the meteorite to contain the explosive blast. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}} In the aftermath of a Decepticon attack on Headquarters, Trailbreaker took part in cleanup efforts. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 1}} Following Cybertron's arrival in Earth orbit, he and Jazz mocked Thundercracker when the Seeker was blasted by his own fire, whipped back by the strong winds. Trailbreaker volunteered for a mission to Cybertron to rescue Sparkplug, intending to use his jammer beam to mask their approach. Unfortunately he left it too late, but [[Jetfire (G1)|Skyfire]] was able to dodge the incoming missiles. The team arrived on Cybertron, but became separated, with Skyfire, Trailbreaker and Wheeljack left on the surface. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 2}}

The trio made their way down and arrived in time to rescue Spike and the smaller 'bots from the Decepticons. After a swift retreat, they reached the relative safety of Wheeljack's workshop, where the scientist worked to construct a counter for the Decepticon [[hypno-chip]]s. That done, they rescued Sparkplug, and headed back to Earth in time to liberate the enslaved humans and prevent Megatron from getting away with a shuttle full of Energon. {{storylink|The Ultimate Doom, Part 3}} Trailbreaker was at headquarters when they discovered that Megatron was still operational and leading the Decepticons. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction}}

[[File:PlagueOfInsecticons Trailbreaker projecting forcefield.jpg|thumb|left]]
With the emergence of the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] in [[Bali]], Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who went to investigate. They arrived in time to reinforced the smaller team who'd already found the Insecticons, and the foe, now teamed up with the Decepticons, took off. During the pursuit, [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] used his control beam on Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, compelling the pair to try and ram their fellows, but Trailbreaker used a force field to sever the beam. They eventually reached an oil refinery, but during the battle, Shrapnel harnessed lightning from a storm that had moved in, and zapped Trailbreaker and Wheeljack. Both survived, and Trailbreaker was later able to use his force field to disable the Insecticon clones, rescuing Bumblebee and Spike. {{storylink|A Plague of Insecticons}} After Megatron challenged Optimus to a one-on-one duel, Trailbreaker and the rest of the Autobots turned out to cheer their leader on. To their horror, Optimus lost, meaning they'd have to leave Earth forever, but once they returned to headquarters, they used Teletraan I to establish that Megatron had cheated, rendering the result void. {{storylink|Heavy Metal War}}

During Sparkplug's demonstration of his latest invention, [[Autobot X (G1)|Autobot X]], the creation went wild. Trailbreaker, Ironhide and [[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] tried to charge it, only to be blasted on their cans. Trailbreaker's force field provided his companions with cover so they could take down the beast. {{storylink|Autobot Spike}} He was on the ill-fated mission to come to the aid of some gold miners, during which [[Gears (G1)|Gears]] was captured by the Decepticons. He subsequently joined the effort to rescue Gears and disable Megatron's [[Solar Needle]]. When they found that Megatron had temporarily reprogrammed Gears to be a happy-go-lucky kind of Autobot, Trailbreaker was the one who voiced what everyone was thinking and said maybe they should just leave him that way. {{storylink|Changing Gears}} He was also on the mission to [[New York City]] when the Decepticons started replacing buildings in an attempt to create a new Cybertron, {{storylink|City of Steel (episode)|City of Steel}} and was turned evil by Megatron's [[personality destabilizer device]]. {{storylink|Attack of the Autobots (episode)|Attack of the Autobots}}

[[File:TheImmobilizer Trailbreaker force field.jpg|thumb|"And the only side effect is Ratchet's mouth disappears!"]]
Trailbreaker witnessed the demonstration of the [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer]], and protected his comrades with a force field when the Decepticons attacked. Though they managed to steal the Immobilizer, the Decepticons fell into a river and Trailbreaker lightened the situation with a healthy joke. {{storylink|The Immobilizer}} He took part in a charity race, though he wasn't the fastest of Autobots, and still managed to outrun Ironhide. When the old timer complained about a weird jolt in his circuitry, Trailbreaker suggested he was making an excuse, but it was actually the effects of Megatron's [[Transfixatron]]. Locked in their vehicle modes, the Autobots were taken to an old ghost town, and it looked like they were going to be destroyed, until the Autobots who'd remained at base turned up to rescue them. Ironhide and Trailbreaker took great delight in smashing the Transfixatron to bits. {{storylink|The Autobot Run}} Trailbreaker took part in the defense of [[Washington, D.C.]] when the Decepticons teamed up with the residents of [[Sub-Atlantica]]. {{storylink|Atlantis, Arise!}}

[[File:EnterNightbird flying Trailbreaker.jpg|thumb|left|In an early example of [[Slogism]], here's Trailbreaker stuck to the roof of a building with a wad of cotton candy.]]
Trailbreaker was also a guard when [[Doctor Fujiyama the Famous Scientist]] revealed his [[Nightbird (G1)|Nightbird]], though when Decepticons inevitably attacked, they blasted through the door Trailbreaker was standing in front of, sending him across the room. {{storylink|Enter the Nightbird}} After an apparently successful attack on the Decepticons at a crevasse, the Autobots found that they somehow had two Optimus Primes—the real one referring to Trailbreaker as "'''Trailblazer'''". Trailbreaker was one of the proponents of using a series of trials to work out which was the real thing. When that was unsuccessful, the Autobots ended up going on another mission to the crevasse to investigate strange readings, and once again encountered the Decepticons. After [[Optimus Prime clone|one of the Primes]] apparently destroyed [[Starscream clone (G1)|Starscream]], Trailbreaker announced that he must be the real thing, because he offed the Decepticons' "number two varmint". As it turned out, that Prime was a phony, trying to lure them into a ravine filled with dangerous [[korlonium crystal]]s, as they discovered moments later when he disregarded a threat to Spike's life. {{storylink|A Prime Problem}}

[[File:DinobotIsland1 Trailbreaker projects force field.jpg|thumb|Trailbreaker's bakery went under because he had difficulty using pastry bags.]]
When the Dinobots attempted to demonstrate their newfound "finesse" to the other Autobots, [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] accidentally set fire to the Ark, threatening Teletraan I. Thinking quickly, Trailbreaker projected his force field over the Autobot supercomputer, allowing [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] time to extinguish the blaze. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} The Decepticon's pillaging of [[Dinobot Island (G1)|Dinobot Island]] began causing time warps to appear across the world, and Trailbreaker flew to the island by [[jet pack]] to investigate with the rest of the Autobots. After a prolonged battle, the Autobots and Dinobots succeeded in chasing the Decepticons from the island. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

On another occasion, the Autobots were forced to abandon Earth by Megatron aboard a spacecraft set on a course into the sun. After the Autobots discovered they couldn't alter their course, their ship exploded. Trailbreaker cast a massive force field large enough to contain the entire Autobot force safely; from within the field, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] towed the group back to Earth. {{storylink|Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2}} Trailbreaker was incapacitated by [[Cybertonium]] depletion, as were the rest of the Autobots. They were only saved when Spike, [[Carly (G1)|Carly]], and the Dinobots brought more back from Cybertron. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2}}

[[File:Trailbreakerdance.jpg|left|thumb|Do a little dance...make a little love... get down tonight... I said get down tonight!]]
Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who arrived too late to prevent the theft of the [[Voltronic Galaxer]]. When Megatron used the device to knock out radio transmissions during a blizzard, Trailbreaker's force fields proved to be a valuable asset, protecting humans and Autobots alike from snowfall. {{storylink|Blaster Blues}} He took part in an attempt to defend an [[Electrum]] pool from the Decepticons, {{storylink|The Golden Lagoon (episode)|The Golden Lagoon}} and a baseball stadium incident during which Optimus and a number of other Autobots were lost through the Decepticon [[space bridge]]. {{storylink|Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play}}

After that, a Decepticon coup by [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], and [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] resulted in a city being flooded. Trailbreaker used his force field to protect himself and a small group of Autobots from a large tidal wave. {{storylink|Triple Takeover}} He rolled out with the majority of the Autobot forces to rescue [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] from the Decepticons, though it resulted in them all being infected with [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]]. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}} He was also hanging around Headquarters when the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] were captured, and a group of Autobots disguised as them in an attempt to find out what Megatron was up to. {{storylink|Masquerade}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
=====''Generations Selects Special Comic'' (1)=====
Four million years ago, Trailbreaker was one of the Autobots on the bridge of the ''Ark'' before it was attacked by the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]''. {{storylink|Super Megatron comic 2}}

=====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' story pages=====
Trailbreaker was a participant in a battle in New York City, early in the Autobot/Decepticon war taking place on Earth. The Autobots were victorious that day. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (story page)|Broadcasting on TV! Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers}}

Later, Trailbreaker battled Devastator alongside Optimus, Wheeljack and Ironhide in Cybertron orbit. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (story page)#Part 6|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers Part 6}}

=====''The Battle of the Star Gate''=====
Trailbreaker was amongst the Autobots who once more confronted Megatron and his Decepticons at the ''[[Trigger]]'' in Earth orbit. When Starscream combined himself with the ''Trigger'' to create a powerful new body for himself, Trailbreaker had to contend with the volley of asteroids thrown towards both Autobots and Decepticons from Starscream's star gate. He was then almost sucked into a portal to a black hole when Starscream neared defeat, but was instead sent plummeting down to Earth when Optimus and Megatron worked together to defeat Starscream. {{storylink|The Battle of the Star Gate}}

=====''Story of Binaltech''=====
Trailbreaker was one of many Autobots who suffered from an outbreak of the [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]] virus after the Decepticons unleashed it on Earth. He was supposed to receive a new body thanks to the [[Central City (Earth)|Central City]] Institute of Technology, but the Decepticons managed to infiltrate the Binaltech Project. Through the use of [[hypno-chip]]-controlled spies and pawns, Trailbreaker's new body was hijacked and used to upgrade the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]] known as [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] instead. {{storylink|Expose All of Evil's Designs!}}

=====''Unite Warriors''/''Legends''=====
[[File:SkyReignChapter TrailbreakerForceField.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Now with Kung-Fu Grip!]]
In 2011, Trailbreaker was part of the [[Disaster Relief Team]] sent to the ruins of the recently destroyed Cybertron in search of survivors. They located [[Vector Sigma]], which reformatted the team into new, stronger bodies that allowed them to combine into [[Sky Reign]] and also to restore Cybertron to a habitable state. When [[Grand Galvatron]] attacked the planet in 2021, Trailbreaker used his "ultra force barrier" to knock the enemy combiner's limbs before forming Sky Reign, who could wield his force fields as well. {{storylink|Sky Reign Chapter}} Sky Reign was then broken apart by [[Megaempress]], and Trailbreaker and the others were subdued by [[Moonheart]] who cut their combiner joints off. {{storylink|Megatronia Chapter}} Things escalated when Unicron attacked Cybertron with the [[Commando (RID)|Combatrons]], and Trailbreaker raced into battle with the other Autobots only to be held at bay by [[Movor|Shuttler]]'s blasts. {{storylink|Ruination Chapter, Part One}} Once the battle reached Unicron himself, Vector Sigma restored the team's combiner joints so they could participate in the battle as Sky Reign. {{storylink|Ruination Chapter, Part Two}}

Trailbreaker was the main character in a musical produced by Disaster Relief Team, playing a knight who saved princess [[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] from the evil dragon, [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]]. {{storylink|Invitation to the Dress Rehearsal!}} The team was later summoned to the [[Legends World]] by [[Alpha Trion]] to help rebuild [[Akihabara]]. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 43|Bonus Edition Vol. 43}} When the city was attacked by three out-of-control mutant [[Targetmaster (technology)|Targetmasters]], Trailbreaker shielded a group of citizens with his force field. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 62|Bonus Edition Vol. 62}}

=====''Generations Selects Special Comic'' (2)=====
[[File:VolcanicusComic2 TrailbreakerVSludge.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|Outwitted by Sludge...c'mon man.]]
In [[2050]], Trailbreaker and the Autobots supported the [[Selector]]s' revolution from the humans. The [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s remained loyal to their friend Carly and the Witwickys, and so Trailbreaker was forced to fight them. He tried to defend against [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]'s charge using his force field, only for the Dinobot to open up a trench under his feet. When the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcon]]s took to the field with metal-eating gas, Trailbreaker's force field served him better the second time around. {{storylink|Volcanicus comic 2}}

====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic====
When [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] sent [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] to raid [[Tokyo]] for energy, Trailbreaker accompanied [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and a unit of Autobot vehicles to defend the city. Trailbreaker didn't perform very well, cowering in fright beneath Menasor's size and taking the [[combiner]]'s humongous fist to the face. Luckily, his pummelling made the perfect distraction for Optimus Prime, [[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]], who drove up a ramp and slammed Menasor and the Seekers directly in their faces, sending them into retreat. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 1|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #1}}

As a member of the [[Four-Wheel Drive Corps]], Trailbreaker accompanied [[Kenji]] and the rest of the team to a crater in [[Kyushu]] where Decepticon activity had been discovered. Entering the crater, however, Trailbreaker and the Corps were caught off-guard by numerous landmines that had been planted by the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]. As they sunk toward as steaming pit of magma, the other four members of the Corps managed to defeat the Decepticons by forming a human pyramid and using their "Four-Wheel Drive Robo Combination Scrumbuster" attack. Trailbreaker, unfortunately (or perhaps ''fortunately''), had to sit that one out because he was escorting Kenji within himself and couldn't transform to [[robot mode]]. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 3|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #3}}

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

====''Wings Universe''====
{{wingsnote}}
Trailbreaker was among the Autobots chosen to be part of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity#Wings Universe|Optimus Prime]]'s new military. He agreed with [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] that dealing with [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity#Wings Universe|Megatron]] would be a piece of [[oil cake]]. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 2}} A week later, he was part of the Autobot forces at [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]'s city walls as the Decepticons broke through with [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 5}} The battle was won, but not without casualties. In search for energy to replenish the Transformers, an Autobot crew including Trailbreaker left the planet in the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 6}}

====''Cloud''====
Prior to his departure on the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', Trailbreaker was witness to the incursion into their spacetime by another [[Optimus Prime (Cloud)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (Cloud)|Megatron]] from [[Cloud World]]. He got knocked around as the foreign Megatron unleashed the power of [[SARA]]. {{storylink|Rampage (Cloud)|Rampage}} {{storylink|TFC-A01}}

====Yolopark comics====
After [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] was replaced since his manufacture by the "[[Cliffjumper (Yolopark)|Cliffjumper]]" of another universe, the unknowing Trailbreaker had her among his comrades that awoke on [[Earth]] in [[1984]]. {{storylink|A Cliffjumper(s) Tale}}

===Marvel Storybooks continuity===
[[File:Autobothuddle-ASW.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|Bottom left, in the wrong colors.]]
Trailbreaker was present when [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] conveyed a message to Optimus from Megatron. The Autobots learned that Megatron had taken [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] captive, and was demanding the Autobots to surrender. Though the Autobots sent out rescue party, it failed to liberate their comrade. Trailbreaker and the other Autobots became frightened as the situation appeared hopeless, but thanks to an inspirational speech courtesy of [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]], they regained their courage. Trailbreaker was presumably amongst the Autobots who afterwards helped defeat the Decepticons by using a statue of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] as a {{w|Trojan Horse}} of sorts. {{storylink|The Autobots' Secret Weapon}}

===Marvel Colouring books===
[[File:Bumblebeetdr-trailbreaker.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|Yikes!]]
Trailbreaker, who looks... ''odd'', was captured by the Decepticons under unknown circumstances and put in their special Autobot prison. He and the other prisoners were eventually freed by Bumblebee, after which they struck back against the Decepticons. Trailbreaker projected his force field around some of the villains in order to trap them, and after the battle was won, he and the other Autobots cheered for Bumblebee. Hip hip hooray! {{storylink|Bumblebee to the Rescue!}}

Trailbreaker was one of the many Autobots who followed Optimus into battle when it was discovered that the Decepticons were stealing fuel from all across the globe with the help of a [[molecular transfer device]]. {{storylink|Summertime Coloring Book}}

Trailbreaker joined the Autobot convoy as they left to patrol the area near the Autobot base for Decepticons. Upon their return, the Autobots discovered that the Decepticons had seized the base in their absence. Trailbreaker watched as Optimus Prime sent a fake radio message to lure the Decepticons out into an Autobot ambush. {{storylink|A Message From Outer Space}}

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

===Ladybird Books continuity===
{{voiceactor|[[Blain Fairman]] (English)}}
Trailbreaker seems to have an opinion on the viability of neutron drives versus ion drives. Or he was just drunk and felt like he was being ignored. Anyway, Optimus Prime sent him and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] off to record Decepticon communications traffic. {{storylink|Autobots Fight Back}}

===Listen 'n Play audiobooks continuity===
When the Autobots learned that the Decepticons were abducting humans to ransom for fuel, Trailbreaker took part in a raid on the warehouse where the hostages were being kept, using his force field to block transmissions so that [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] couldn't call for help before they overwhelmed him. The Autobots subsequently fought off Starscream's squad. {{storylink|Sun Raid (Listen 'n Play)}}

===Desert Flight===
{{notemultipath}}
Trailbreaker was part of a group of the Autobots’ best scouts, led by Optimus on a fuel-finding mission. When the convoy heard a large explosion in the distance, Optimus sent Cosmos to investigate the noise.

If Cosmos radioed his findings to Optimus immediately, Optimus's convoy moved in to investigate a nearby Decepticon base. En route, the Autobots passed near a human town, but Trailbreaker was the first to notice that the Autobots had begun floating in mid-air as they approached it. Evidently, the phenomenon was caused by a Decepticon anti-gravity weapon.

If Optimus ordered his troops to come to the humans’ aid, they found themselves taking part in a struggle in futility, as the entire town was near-weightless, meaning they couldn't put the humans anywhere where they wouldn't float away once more. Then, the Autobots heard Decepticons approaching. Helpless in their current position, the Autobots were quickly eradicated by the Decepticons.

If Optimus ordered his troops to attack the Decepticon base, they soon reached an area free of the anti-gravity beam's influence. They were then attacked by a small fleet of Decepticons. The Decepticons were quickly forced to break off their attack and retreated. But with the battle over, the Autobots noticed a small human boy at their feet. The Autobots then headed for the Decepticon base, with their stowaway. Megatron delivered an ultimatum; if the Autobots did not surrender Optimus Prime to the Decepticons immediately, he would use his gravity beam to have the nearby humans float off into space.

If the Autobots decided to continue with their initial plan to simply attack the Decepticon base, their advance was halted by a force field. Megatron then fired his beam in all directions, causing a ripple effect that sent everything not fastened down to the Earth's surface to float helplessly out into space.

Alternatively, the Autobots could concoct a plan where Optimus would pretend to allow himself to be taken prisoner, per Buddy's suggestion. In actuality, Trailbreaker and the rest of the Autobots were hidden away inside Optimus's trailer. The Autobots then led a surprise attack on their unsuspecting foes.

In the event that Buddy tampered with the gravity gun in the ensuing battle, the Autobots would emerge victorious.

In the event that Buddy instead entered a space-time anomaly created throughout the course of the battle, the Autobots would lose their fight against the Decepticons, and Trailbreaker wound up either injured or dead.

If Optimus destroyed the duplicate Cosmos, the real one would inform the Autobots of the Decepticons’ schemes, and the convoy would roll out to take on their adversaries. They were soon met by a squad of flying Decepticons, but were at a strict disadvantage against their adversaries as their vehicle modes possessed no weapons. The Autobots nonetheless managed to fight their way to the Decepticons’ base, one way or another, and defeated the Decepticons by using their own gravity weapon against them. {{storylink|Desert Flight}}
{{-}}

===Frito-Lay posters===
When the Decepticons attempted to secure precious data about the power source of [[Sherman Dam|Boulder Dam]], Trailbreaker helped in defending it. He and Jazz worked together to back up Optimus Prime in his duel against Megatron. Ultimately, the Autobots were successful in thwarting the Decepticons. {{storylink|Battle in the Desert Valley}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity===
{{notekeepers}}
[[File:Bumblebee trailbreaker war within.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.6]]
Trailbreaker was present under the command of [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] at the battle of [[Altihex]] when the Decepticons destroyed a building full of neutral Cybertronians. Unable to save the city, the Autobots helped evacuate civilians before retreating. Later, Grimlock ordered him, [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], and others to the ruins of [[Praxus]], where Grimlock declared that if the new [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] was unable to lead successfully, they would take control of the war's leadership... and take out the Prime. This did not come to pass, as Optimus Prime managed to make a good first impression by taking out three assassins sent after him during his inauguration. {{storylink|The War Within issue 1|The War Within #1}} When Decepticon Military Operations Commander [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] led a force of Decepticons against the Autobot capital of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who defended the city-state. {{storylink|The War Within issue 5|The War Within #5}} Though the Autobots were facing annihilation, they were spared this fate when Starscream activated one of Cybertron's planetary engines, causing a chain reacting which crumbled Iacon into a crater. This drove away Shockwave's forces, and allowed the Autobots to escape into Cybertron's underground to continue the war. {{storylink|The War Within issue 6|The War Within #6}}

[[File:Trailbreaker dark ages.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|right]]
When Decepticon leader [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and Autobot leader [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] disappeared in an accident with a [[space bridge]], the Autobot and Decepticon forces splintered into smaller factions. Trailbreaker stayed with the Autobots under the leadership of [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]. He and [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] filled in [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] on what missions the rest of their group were on after Jetfire returned from a survey. {{storylink|Devastation (issue)|Devastation}} Trailbreaker was later part of the group of reinforcements that helped battle [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. He and his group stood little chance against the giant Decepticon however, and only managed to survive the encounter because Trypticon was recalled to the neutral zones mid-battle. {{storylink|Revelation (The Dark Ages)|Revelation}} Trailbreaker and his allies returned to [[Autobase]] for repairs. There, Trailbreaker informed Prowl that Jetfire had begun to suspect some outside force was manipulating current events on Cybertron. Prowl grew concerned upon finding that Jetfire had gone mission, only for [[The Fallen]] to then break into the Autobots' base to reappropriate [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] from one of their holding cells. The Fallen was temporarily held within a forcefield (much to Trailbreaker's protestation, as several Autobots were imprisoned with him) but managed to break out and took off with Blitzwing. {{storylink|Confrontation (issue)|Confrontation}} Once The Fallen's base of operations was uncovered, Trailbreaker joined a cross-faction army in rushing it to put an end to the ancient Transformer's scheme. Ultimately, The Fallen was defeated by the power of [[Primus]] himself, and all factions agreed to keep the chamber The Fallen had tried to breach sealed to prevent anyone from further abusing the power held within it. {{storylink|Conflagration}}

When Megatron returned with [[Air Warrior|an army of cloned Seekers]] and conquered Cybertron, Trailbreaker was arrested and put to work in [[Internment Camp Pi]]. {{storylink|The Age of Wrath Pt.2}}

{{note|Due to [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]]'s closure, the end of its ''War Within'' series was never published. Years later, [[Simon Furman]] released the unpublished scripts to the final three issues. Within said issues, Optimus would return to Cybertron, and the Autobots would be freed from slavery.}}

Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who followed Optimus Prime on his mission on board the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. They were attacked by Megatron's ship, the [[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]. After being boarded, the Ark crash-landed on [[Earth]], where all on board were preserved in emergency stasis. In 1984, a volcanic eruption awakened the Ark's computer, Teletraan I, and it repaired all on board.

[[File:Trailbreaker prime drective.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9]]
Eventually, the combined forces of the Autobots on Earth and their human allies were able to capture the Decepticons. In [[1999]], a ship called the ''[[Ark II]]'' was built to take the Cybertronians back to Cybertron, along with some human companions, but the ship exploded shortly after takeoff. The human allies were killed, but the Cybertronians were lost in the ocean, again in stasis lock. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 1|Prime Directive #1}} Three years later, Spike Witwicky assisted the US "Defense Ministry" in reactivating Optimus Prime by placing a piece of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] into his chest. Optimus traveled to the remote Arctic shoreline where he'd been found after the crash and used the Matrix to revive Jazz, Mirage, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], Trailbreaker and Wheeljack from where they lay under the waves. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2|Prime Directive #2}}

Shortly afterwards, the Autobots assisted the US military in rescuing the survivors of the Smitco Oil Refinery attack. When Optimus Prime learned the attackers were Autobots and Decepticons under the control of terrorist arms dealer [[Lazarus|Adam Rook]], he asked his Autobots to accompany him to fight for '''Great JUSTICE.''' Trailbreaker was among the Autobots who agreed to come along, stating that Prime only needed to point him in the right direction. Trailbreaker participated in the battle at Rook's destroyed base when [[Robert Hallo|General Hallo]] double-crossed them and attempted to destroy all the Transformers with a low-yield [[nuclear weapon]]. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 3|Prime Directive #3}}

[[File:DW Trailbreaker Devastatorstomp.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Devastator crush puny Autobot... and make scale joke while crushing. Har har har!]]
After the Autobots extricated themselves from the nuke-absorbing hardened virus shell, Trailbreaker helped rescue the captive Autobots Megatron was using to fuel his technovirus. After Ironhide informed the other Autobots of Megatron's imminent attack on [[San Francisco]], they flew there and engaged the Decepticons. Trailbreaker smashed Grimlock in the face with a steel girder and informed the former Dinobot commander that he'd made the wrong choice in leaving the Autobots and was now going to pay. Unfortunately, Superion was taken down by the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], prompting Trailbreaker to join Optimus Prime, Sideswipe and Megatron in a moment of [[dull surprise]], gaping at Devastator as if they had never seen him before. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 4|Prime Directive #4}}

As Jazz and the Autobots in [[Canada]] were preparing to deal with the technovirus, Trailbreaker frantically radioed them for backup, reporting that Superion was down. As he was distracted, Devastator attempted to stomp on the Autobot. Trailbreaker caught the foot in time, but was crushed into the pavement. He was later retrieved and placed into restraint by the Decepticons as Megatron attempted to convince Optimus Prime to join his cause to wipe out the humans and rule the universe. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 5|Prime Directive #5}} Once Prime managed to free the Autobots with assistance from human firefighters, Trailbreaker resumed his assault on Grimlock by sending him flying with a punch. After Superion sacrificed himself to save San Francisco from General Hallo's unauthorized nuclear strike, Trailbreaker called Optimus over when he and Sideswipe discovered the abandoned Grimlock under rubble. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 6|Prime Directive #6}}

''While the [[Keeper (species)|Keepers]] were invading Earth, the Transformers also had to deal with an over-reaching American President who wanted to destroy all the Cybertronians. He offered the Autobots his help in setting up an ambush for the Decepticons, but Prime and his advisors quickly realized the President planned to eliminate all of them. Taking what seemed to be the lesser of two evils at the moment, the Autobots forged an alliance with the Decepticons before travelling to the ambush site. Trailbreaker was among the Autobot soldiers Optimus chose for the battle. He fought against the military forces and apparently survived the attack of the [[deconstructionite]]s relatively unharmed. {{storylink|Transformers: Fusion|Fusion}}''

[[File:Prowl hound trailbreaker war and peace.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.9]]
Months later, the united Cybertronian army arrived on Earth, demanding the surrender of all combatant Autobots and Decepticons. When they came under attack from Shockwave and the [[Triple Changer]]s, Trailbreaker used his force field to the retreat of Optimus Prime's Autobots. He was later out on patrol with Prowl and [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] when he suffered serious injuries battling [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] and the Seekers, {{storylink|New World Order}} and had to be placed in a [[CR chamber]] for repairs on the flight back to Cybertron. After Shockwave's fall, he joined Prowl and the rest of the Ark's old crew for a meeting {{storylink|Original Sin}} where they decided to return to Earth, to work on the construction of a new Autobot City. Though many objected to leaving Cybertron after having returned to it for such a brief period of time, Trailbreaker reminded the others (especially Mirage) that they needed to put their friends first, and that their human allies would need their protection as threats would inevitably pop up. {{storylink|Atonement}}
{{--}}

===3H comics===
[[File:Rattrap legs.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|Gah! Someone call an exterminator!]]
Trailbreaker, and fellow Autobots [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], and [[Shadow Striker (Universe)|Shadow Striker]] and [[Roulette (Universe)|Roulette]] returned to Cybertron after a long absence. They arrived on the newly technorganic Cybertron roughly one year after the defeat of [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|this era's Megatron]]. They were welcomed by the surviving members of [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]]'s band of [[Maximal]]s, including [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]], who offered to share a vintage keg of [[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's Old Oil]] with the Autobot veteran. Unfortunately, Trailbreaker did not have an opportunity to take Rattrap up on his offer, because immediately afterwards, he and his associates were abducted by [[Unicron]] and teleported to the [[Cauldron]]. There, they were rebuilt against their will into new bodies... except Trailbreaker, because why mess with success? {{storylink|Abduction}}

Alongside his fellow abductees, Trailbreaker was placed inside his own energy cage while in the queue for the his own death match. He speculated that each cage was keyed to its captive's [[bio-mechanical aura]]. When Optimus Primal arrived to save the captives and grappeled with [[Razorclaw (Universe)|Razorclaw]], Trailbreaker and [[Silverbolt (Fuzor)|Silverbolt]] initiated a [[primary system program transfer]], in essence becoming each other. He and Silverbolt then initiated a mass jailbreak, and dozens of Transformers stormed their captors. The horde stampeded across the bridge that Trailbreaker and his fellow abductees to the arena, only for a corrupted Shadow Striker to blast away the bridge. Primal then had [[Snarl (BM)|Snarl]], a [[Matrix Templar]], call upon [[Primus]] to open a portal out of Unicron, and Trailbreaker safely arrived on his native technorganic Cybertron. {{storylink|Escape (Universe)|Escape}}

Back on Cybertron, [[Striker]] and [[Ratchet (Universe)|Ratchet]] tried to remove the [[Unicron virus]] from Sideswipe. When Ratchet grumbled about the distraction from Rattrap and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]'s debate over Optimus Primal's sanity, Trailbreaker ushered them out while voicing his confidence in Primal. {{storylink|Homecoming (Universe)|Homecoming}}

Some time later, Optimus Primal led the [[Child of Primus|Children of Primus]], which included Trailbreaker, into a final fight with the [[Minion of Unicron (Universe)|Minions of Unicron]] on the surface of Unicron himself. However, as their victory was imminent, Unicron began to dissolve beneath their very feet, and [[King Atlas]] had to carry Trailbreaker and Roulette to safety through a transwarp portal back to their native Cybertron. {{storylink|Revelations Part 2}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[File:GIJoevsTF5 Autobots.jpg|thumb|upright=1|left]]
Trailbreaker was among the Transformers discovered on Earth by [[Cobra]], and reworked into a piloted death mechanism known as a [[Stinger (G.I. Joe)|Stinger]]. The Transformers were eventually freed, and the Autobots fought both their Decepticon enemies and their Cobra oppressors. During the battle, Trailbreaker and several other Autobots located [[Cobra Commander]] and tried to capture him, but he was protected by Cobra troops in robotic [[S.N.A.K.E.]] suits. Unfortunately, the Autobots underestimated their human opponents, and Trailbreaker was decapitated by [[Storm Shadow]] during the battle. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 5|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #5}}

This was apparently not as fatal as it seemed, however, as Trailbreaker was up and fighting again shortly afterwards. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 6|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #6}}
{{--}}

===2005 IDW continuity===
{{first|''[[Spotlight: Kup]]''}}

[[File:Trailbreaker all our parlous yesterdays.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Rodimus knew Trailcutter was something special from the first moment he saw him...chronologically]]
Before the war, Trailbreaker's force field ability marked him as an [[Outlier (group)|outlier]]: a Cybertronian with special powers that didn't match up with their [[alternate mode]]. This got him noticed by [[Shockwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Senator Shockwave]], who took him and other outliers in at the [[Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology]] to nurture their abilities and protect them from [[functionism|functionists]]. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}} After Shockwave was taken away by the [[Senate]], the outliers fell in with his friend [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Orion Pax]], aiding him in protecting a new [[hot spot (phenomenon)|hot spot]] from [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]]'s forces. Joining forces with a second group claiming to be reinforcements—in actuality [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] and his crew time-traveling from the distant future—Trailbreaker was taken aside by Rodimus who tried to change history by warning him of his eventual death. Unfortunately, once Trailbreaker was done using his force field to protect the hot spot long enough for the day to be saved, he shook hands with [[Chromedome (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Chromedome]], causing his memories of the encounter to be wiped. {{storylink|Elegant Chaos Part 1: All Our Parlous Yesterdays|All Our Parlous Yesterdays}}

Trailbreaker later began serving in the Security Forces under the command of Sentinel Prime, during which he participated in the battle of [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]] where the criminal known as [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]] began a rampage with his army of convicts. He was kicked off a walkway by [[Starscream (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Starscream]] when he attempted to grab him as he was flying away. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}}

When the war broke out, Trailbreaker responded to [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Optimus Prime's]] call of distress against Megatron and his Decepticon forces who had overthrown the government and were now ruling Cybertron. He participated in the battle at the [[Citadel (building)|Citadel]] and managed to block most of the Decepticon attacks with his force field but couldn't withstand Megatron's [[vamparc ribbon|vamparc annihilator]]. {{storylink|Endgame}} During a Decepticon surprise attack on [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], Trailbreaker used his force field to save the giant warrior. {{storylink|Primacy issue 4|Primacy #4}}

[[File:SpotlightKup Trailbreaker.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1|Mommy told me never to open the door to strangers.]]
Many years later, Trailbreaker was called in by [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to extract a deranged [[Kup (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Kup]] safely from [[Tsiehshi|the planet]] where he had crash-landed. The planet possessed [[Ore-8|a radiation]] which was dangerous to Transformers without special protective covering, causing Kup, in his delusions, to believe his rescuers were monsters trying to attack him. Trailbreaker's force fields allowed him to walk on the planet without any protective gear, and his appearance shocked Kup for long enough that he could save the old bot's spark core from meltdown. {{storylink|Spotlight: Kup}}

Later, he was one of [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]'s old friends who took time off duty to greet the return of "The Voice". {{storylink|Spotlight: Blaster}}

A year later, Trailbreaker had joined [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Optimus Prime]]'s team of Autobots on [[Earth]]. They made a plan to drive the Decepticons off the planet once and for all, but fell into a trap and were defeated by [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}} Trailbreaker and the rest were subsequently dumped on the ruined [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] to be finished off by the [[Insecticon swarm]]. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 1|All Hail Megatron #1}}

Frustrated at being stranded on Cybertron, he listened to [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks's]] story about how awesome and cool [[Jazz (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Jazz]] is to pass the time. {{storylink|Spotlight: Jazz}}

[[File:Autobots all hail megatron 4.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|Trailbroken]]
His primary role appeared to be playing bodyguard to [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]], making sure nobody lynched the guy for being a suspected traitor. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 4|All Hail Megatron #4}} After the Autobot starship ''[[Trion]]'' crash-landed on the planet, Trailbreaker and the others listened to [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Hot Rod]]'s story about what happened. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 5|All Hail Megatron #5}} They proceeded to mingle with the rest of ''Trion''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> crew. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} Trailbreaker later oversaw the process of putting a giant cannon in place on the Autobots' temporary base. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 9|All Hail Megatron #9}}

After the [[Surge (event)|Surge]], Trailbreaker split his time between Earth and the [[Kimia Facility]], where he served on the [[Ethics Committee]] alongside [[Xaaron]] and [[Animus]]. Around two years after the fall of Megatron, he attended a meeting over [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]]'s newest invention, [[cerebro-sensitive bullet]]s, and openly disapproved enough of both the weapons and their inventor to see their usage banned. {{storylink|Bullets}} Subsequently, returning to Earth, Trailbreaker was present when Hot Rod announced his plans to abandon the planet and what was left of the war, but chose not to join the Autobot cavalier or his followers. {{storylink|Things Fall Apart, Part 1: "New Arrivals, Old Encounters"|New Arrivals, Old Encounters}}

[[File:Trailbreaker rodimus numbers.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|left|"Hot—Rodimus is a nice guy, I'm sure this won't become a trend..."]]
When news of the threat of [[Galvatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Galvatron]]'s army reached the Autobots on Earth, however, Trailbreaker changed his tune and volunteered to join Optimus Prime in returning to Cybertron to combat the threat. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}} During the trip, he spent a lot of time staring at Megatron, now in Autobot captivity. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 1|Chaos Theory #1}} Upon arriving at Cybertron, the Autobots were faced with Kimia Facility, which had been captured by Galvatron, transformed into a giant laser cannon and used to fire on the planet. Rodimus (formerly Hot Rod) grabbed Trailbreaker and had him project a force field around the cannon's muzzle, but it proved too weak to stop the next blast. The shock of having his force field ripped apart knocked him unconscious, and he had to be repaired by [[Garnak]]. {{storylink|Chaos Part One: Lamentations|Lamentations}} {{storylink|Chaos Part Two: Numbers|Numbers}}

After the battle was won and peace was restored to Cybertron, Trailbreaker joined Rodimus's crew on the ''[[Lost Light]]''. They left Cybertron to search for the [[Knights of Cybertron]] and were promptly lost in space. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} Their quest already off to a bad start, things only got worse when the [[Duobot]] [[Shock (G1)|Shock]] was slain by a stowaway [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]]. When [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] attempted to shoot the creature, Trailbreaker was forced to protect it with a force field in order to prevent the sparks it had consumed from igniting. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}} Trailbreaker was later seen hanging around [[Swerve's|Swerve's newly opened bar]]. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}}

[[File:Spotlight- Trailcutter forcefield face.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Dat Ass.]]
Not long afterwards, the ''Lost Light'' was gouged open by a mysterious piece of space debris, but Trailbreaker was on hand to shield the breach whilst the trio of Chromedome, [[Brainstorm (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Brainstorm]] and [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] fixed things up. When, subsequently, only those three received [[Rodimus Star]]s for their efforts, Trailbreaker was not best pleased, and wound up taking self-help advice from Whirl. They got as far as choosing the new name "'''Trailcutter'''" before the newly christened forcefield specialist became fed up and went to his hab suite for recharge.

On awakening, Trailcutter found everyone else aboard the ''Lost Light'' mysteriously frozen in place, and his forcefield powers gone. Worse yet, the ship had been boarded by a party of Decepticon [[Titan Hunter]]s seeking the debris from earlier, actually a chunk of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]. After giving a pair of invaders the slip with his [[magnawheels]], Trailcutter confronted their leader, [[Lockdown (G1)|Lockdown]], in the shuttle bay. Using a remote for the ship's gravity and advice from Whirl about "bigging himself up", he was able to convince the Decepticons that he was a super-powerful forcefield warrior who could crush their sparks with a thought, and the boarding party turned tail and ran.

Later, the crew's freezing was revealed as the work of a malfunctioning Brainstorm device, and that Trailcutter been protected by throwing forcefields as he powered down, which in turn temporarily shorted out the fields. Receiving a Rodimus Star for his actions, the forcefield specialist was briefly cheerful until he learned that the rest of the crew had been awarded huge shields for "enduring" the freezing effect. {{storylink|The Reluctant Specialist}}

[[File:Interiors-Trailbreaker.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|left|D'oh!]]
Grumpy once more, Trailcutter went to Swerve's, where he watched Chromedome show off his ability to identify an Autobot just by their transformation sound. Still resentful of his own reputation as a one-trick pony and with a little too much [[engex]] in him, Trailcutter began tipsily ranting about [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]'s overblown reputation and leg guns, just as Max himself walked into the bar. He then began to compliment the bot on the exact things that Trailcutter had just been ranting about. Fortress Maximus ignored him in favor of shooting [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]]. {{storylink|Interiors}} Later, he and [[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] made fun of Ultra Magnus after the toughened officer had smiled. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}} [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] stole a bottle of [[Nightmare Fuel]] from his secret stash to serve during one of [[Rewind (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rewind]]'s story sessions. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

At some point, Trailcutter had Brainstorm install guns in his legs. [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] admired them as they traveled to [[Temptoria]] in the ''[[Leading Light]]'' to attack a Decepticon base. {{storylink|Before & After}} He would later attend an "[[alternate mode|alt mode]] party", held by [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] as part of a wager with Swerve. {{storylink|Little Victories}} When [[Overlord (G1)|Overlord]] was freed on board the ''Lost Light'', Trailcutter was part of the assault led by Rodimus to stop the Decepticon. {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}} In the aftermath of the battle, he suggested to [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] that bereaved Chromedome might be out on the ship's hull, a place that Rewind and the mnemosurgeon often spent time together. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

[[File:Trailcutter dipstick hoist house of ambus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.9|Dat. ASS!]]
A short while later, the ''Lost Light'' encountered the missing [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]], and the craft was invaded by [[Legislator]] robots working for the deranged Chief Justice [[Solomus|Tyrest]], who sought to arrest the crew for harbouring the fugitive Skids. During their assault, Trailcutter used his forcefields to protect Hoist and a wounded [[Dipstick]], {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}} but the ship was eventually captured. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}} The crew was subsequently freed when the Legislators were withdrawn and then immobilised thanks to events on Luna 1's surface. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}}

When the fragment of Metroplex on board the ''Lost Light'' began pulling the ship off course, Trailcutter was brought into the discussion to share what he'd learned about the object from Lockdown. {{storylink|Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3|Winners & Losers}} The crew followed the signal summoning the fragment to [[Hydrophena]], where they were attacked by hostile [[Ammonite]]s. {{storylink|Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4|Into the Abyss}} Trailcutter was among those who set out to defend the ship while others searched for Metroplex. {{storylink|The Dead Are Not Enough: Dark Cybertron Chapter 7|The Dead Are Not Enough}} Using Metroplex's [[space bridge]], the ''Lost Light'' was able to return to Cybertron, where the crew was reunited with [[Bumblebee (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Bumblebee]]'s Autobots. {{storylink|Finis Temporis: Dark Cybertron Chapter 9|Finis Temporis}} Once Metroplex brought down the rampaging [[Necrotitan]], everyone finally had a chance to unwind and just mingle for a while. {{storylink|The Becoming: Dark Cybertron Chapter 10|The Becoming}} Once all the dust had settled, Trailbreaker attended Megatron's trial at the [[Raskol Arena]] on [[Moonbase Two|Luna 2]]. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} Later, at a "F**K OFF MEGATRON" party in Swerve's, he entertained the other patrons by larking about with his magnawheels. {{storylink|No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases}}

[[File:Trailcutter drunk words hang in the air.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|"I found these big chewy pretzels that aberor go bwaaah hebabeer FIVE DOLLARS?! Get outta here!"]]
After the ''Lost Light'' relaunched with Megatron as "co-captain", [[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] was drinking with Trailcutter before the Gambling 'Bot was taken to the Medibay by [[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]]. Trailcutter later complained about how everyone merely talking about Megatron being captain was boring. [[Riptide (G1)|Riptide]] managed to convince Trailcutter to break into the Medibay to get some of Megatron's "superfuel". Upon reaching the Medibay, the forcefield specialist found that the door had been locked but was amazed to see the door disappear - allowing him to enter and drink some of the supposed superfuel. His entry of the Medibay triggered the activation of the silent alarms that brought Megatron and a security team down to arrest him, this caused Trailcutter to activate a "panic bubble" that he had no control over. Once the bubble was deactivated, Megatron engaged Trailcutter's [[fuel intake moderation chip]] permanently and, seeking to provide him with purpose, appointed him Director of Security.. Trailcutter's first job was to perform a risk assessment of the mysterious coffin that his forcefield had cracked open. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}}

Megatron's intervention had a strong effect on Trailcutter, who took to his new position with gusto. While still considered a gregarious and well-liked member of the crew, Trailcutter started to share more of himself and to even took to reading [[Towards Peace|Megatron's autobiography]], taking the text fairly seriously. {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}} However, the gradual disappearance and resulting evacuation of the ''Lost Light'' prevented him from reading too far before he was temporarily phased out of existence by a bunch of wibbily wobbily timey wimey stuff. {{storylink|Twenty Plus One}}

An alternate Trailbreaker was created when the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[quantum generator|quantum engines]] malfunctioned. This duplicate Trailbreaker was forced to transform before being executed by the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] when they boarded the ship and slaughtered the crew. {{storylink|slaughterhouse}} His corpse presumably vanished with the rest of his ''Lost Light'' when the main ''Lost Light'' crew shut down the duplicate ship's quantum engines. {{storylink|Slaughterhouse Part 2: The Road Not Taken|The Road Not Taken}}

[[File:BirthsDeathsAndInterventions-kaonkillstrailcutter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Above: Trailcutter's forcefield in action. Trailcutter, not so much.]]
Following the resolution of the quantum paradox, Trailcutter, [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]], Mainframe, and [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] set their shuttle down on [[Ofsted XVII]], where they found an injured Transformer. Generous as ever and eager to live up to his new lease on life, Trailcutter was happy to answer First Aid's call for a donation of energon to save the stranger's life, and insisted on doing so even after learning that the bot wasn't only a Decepticon, but a member of the ''Decepticon Justice Division''. The Decepticon, [[Vos (G1)|Vos]], repaid his kindness by attacking him immediately, forcing him to activate his panic bubble while First Aid ran for reinforcements. What he didn't know was he'd trapped himself inside the bubble with a ''second'' D.J.D. member, [[Kaon (G1)|Kaon]], who viciously tore him apart, removed his [[brain module]] and crushed it against his own force field. {{storylink|Births, Deaths, and Interventions}} Trailcutter's remains were returned to the ''Lost Light'', where somebody placed the Rodimus Star he had so longed for in his hand. {{storylink|The Custom-Made Now - An Elegant Chaos Prologue|The Custom-Made Now}}

When Megatron and "[[Team Rodimus (G1)|Team Rodimus]]" were betrayed by the rest of the crew and stranded on the [[Necroworld]], [[Ten]] invoked Trailcutter's image in order to bypass his limited vocabulary and effectively communicate to the others a method of powering up the [[Mortilus|Necrobot]]'s [[storm-shield]]. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 2: The Sun in Flight|The Sun in Flight}} Subsequently, it was revealed that Megatron had swiped Trailcutter's force-field generators from his corpse and spent a considerable amount of time figuring out how to make them work for him. Through a combination of extreme brute force and cunning psychology, Megatron managed to trap the Decepticon Justice Division in a panic bubble with ''him'' and tore them apart with his [[antimatter]] powers, avenging his former protégé in a most apposite manner. {{storylink|The Dying of the Light Part 6: Do Not Go Gentle|Do Not Go Gentle}}

Some time later on Luna 1, Red Alert remembered Trailbreaker queuing to join the crew of the ''Lost Light'' alongside such incongruous characters as First Aid, Bumblebee and [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]]. {{storylink|Last Light (issue)|Last Light}} A simulation of Trailcutter later appeared to Team Rodimus on [[Mederi]] alongside the also-deceased Pipes. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (1): Metastasis|Metastasis}} The two tried to convince the others that they were in the [[Transformer afterlife|Afterspark]] and everyone should accept death. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (2): The God War|The God War}} However, the truth behind Mederi was soon uncovered and the apparitions of Trailcutter and Pipes vanished. {{storylink|The Everlasting Voices (3): You Are Here|You Are Here}}

Trailcutter appeared among the spirits of the dead that welcomed [[Soundwave (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Soundwave]] into the Afterspark. {{storylink|Ceremony}}
{{--}}

===''Hearts of Steel''===
[[File:HoundTrailblazerRatchetnfestation2-1.jpeg|thumb|right|upright=1.3]]
'''Trailblazer''' was one of Autobots active in [[1888]], and transformed into a locomotive. He formed a train with [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] in order to bring [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], [[Tobias Muldoon]], and [[Nikola Tesla]] to the glacier where [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] lay dormant. {{storylink|Infestation 2: The Transformers issue 1|Infestation 2: The Transformers #1}} He then helped launch the [[Tesla tower|device]] Tesla made to generate the electricity needed to reactivate Prime, and along with the other Autobots, gave up his his own power reserves for it to work. Once Prime was back, he revived his troops and led them to [[Port Cenotaph]] to fight the minions of an [[Elder God]]. {{storylink|Infestation 2: The Transformers issue 2|Infestation 2: The Transformers #2}}

{{IDW HOS}}

===''Kre-O'' cartoon===
'''Trailcutter''' took part in a game of soccer against [[Airachnid (Prime)|Airachnid]] and the Constructicons. {{storylink|Ultimate Defender}}

===''Transformers vs. G.I. Joe''===
[[File:EverybodyHatesMetroplex SunstreakerTrailbreaker.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|"Wouldn't it be wacky if we ended up on [[Lost Light|a ship]] with him?"]]
Trailbreaker was stationed within [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] when both [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] and a mind-controlled [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] lay siege to the Autobot city. To his great confusion, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Imhotep Rodimus]] returned to Metroplex in the midst of the battle to retake his place as leader of the Autobots (as far as Trailbreaker was concerned, Rodimus was a "washed up bum"). {{storylink|Everybody Hates Metroplex}}

Once Optimus returned to Cybertron and retook command of the Autobots, Trailbreaker participated in the final battle against the combined forces of [[Cobra]] and the Decepticons. {{storylink|Transformers vs. G.I. Joe issue 12|Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #12}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
When the [[Renegade]]s of [[Gargent 087.0 Kappa]] tricked the [[Guardian (GoBots)|Guardian]]s into leaving Earth and then sealed the planet off with an [[Embargo Field]], Guardians [[Nick Burns|Nick]] and [[Tri-Trak]], stranded behind the field, contacted their Autobot allies in [[Primax 085.0 Eta]] for help. [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] gave Trailbreaker a [[Spychanger|Spy Changer]] upgrade, and the two went to help the Guardians on Gargent Earth. With Trailbreaker's expertise in force fields, they were soon able to discover and deactivate the Renegades' Embargo Field generator at the [[Eiffel Tower]], forcing the Renegades to retreat as the Guardians returned en masse. {{storylink|Source:Ask Vector Prime/Facebook#September 9, 2015|Ask Vector Prime, 30/09/2015}}

Wheeljack, Trailbreaker, Prowl, Jazz, Red Alert, Hoist, and Silverstreak later embarked on a mission to an alternate dimension when the Decepticons kidnapped Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Transformers: Renegade Rhetoric|Renegade Rhetoric, 2016/05/02}} Shortly after arriving, Prowl, Silverstreak, and Trailbreaker encountered Soundwave, Rumble, and Frenzy at a [[Unit:E]] military base. {{storylink|Transformers: Renegade Rhetoric|Renegade Rhetoric, 2016/05/03}} Trailbreaker put his force fields to use against both the Decepticons and antagonistic human organizations like [[Intelligence and Information Institute|Triple-I]] and the [[Society of Ultimate Villainy]], {{storylink|Transformers: Renegade Rhetoric|Renegade Rhetoric, 2016/05/02}} but the couldn't prevent the Decepticons from upgrading themselves into [[Go-Bot (G2)|Go-Bot]]s and brainwashing Optimus into the evil [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]]. Had it not been for Trailbreaker's force field, the Autobots might've perished; instead, they held out long enough to retreat to a nearby [[Vintage Salvage Depot for the Discriminating Nostalgist|scrapyard]] to lick their wounds, and Trailbreaker wound up leaving with a rebellious Red Alert and Silverstreak. {{storylink|Transformers: Renegade Rhetoric|Renegade Rhetoric (2), 2016/05/12}}

Trailbreaker returned to the main Autobot force in time to battle Nemesis Prime and his followers as they hijacked the D-5 supertrain as it launched from [[Jasper]], [[Nevada]]. In the ensuing battle, Frenzy's sonic vibrations penetrated Trailbreaker's force field and allowed him to steal the train. While trying to free human hostages, Trailbreaker admitted that his force field couldn't protect them from gunfire and he was forced to back down. Ultimately, however, Optimus was able to reassert himself when forced into nearly killing a human, and amidst the confusion the Autobots successfully captured several of the Decepticons responsible for the plot. The Autobots regrouped and headed for Megatron's lair, only to learn that he'd already fled through the [[Reality Bridge]] into another universe. At that moment, a [[Waspinator (BW)|unfamiliar Cybertronian]] materialized and told the Autobots he needed their help to save six Cybertronian sparks from the manipulations of their Megatron. With no other option, Wheeljack and his team followed their unexpected guide into the breach, but vowed to one day return home. {{storylink|Transformers: Renegade Rhetoric|Renegade Rhetoric (2), 2016/07/14}}

===''Prime Wars Trilogy'' marketing material===

<s>Trailbreaker</s> <s>Trailcutter</s> ''Trailbreaker'', who had once changed his name to try and boost his confidence, was a point of particular concern for [[Rung (G1)#Prime Wars Trilogy marketing material|Rung]]. He noted that despite saving a great number of Autobots' lives thanks to the powerful forcefields he generated, being equipped with impressive [[magnawheels]], and his upbeat personality, the irreplaceable Autobot suffered from serious self-worth issues even with the trust and support of his teammates. Rung went so far as to consider this his only weakness. {{storylink|Source:Combiner Wars pack-in comic bios|Trailbreaker's bio}}

Candidates for the combination that would come to be known as [[Sky Reign #Prime Wars Trilogy marketing material|Sky Reign]] were chosen {{storylink|Source:Combiner Wars pack-in comic bios|Wheeljack's bio}}{{storylink|Source:Combiner Wars pack-in comic bios|Smokescreen's bio}} by other Autobots. {{storylink|Source:Combiner Wars pack-in comic bios|Trailbreaker's bio}}

When [[Sky Lynx (G1)#Prime Wars Trilogy marketing material|Sky Lynx]] mastered the act of combination Sky Reign proved to be a ferocious beast on the battlefield, {{storylink|Sky Lynx (G1)#Combiner Wars|Sky Lynx's bio}} serving the Autobot cause on Cybertron. {{storylink|Source:Combiner Wars pack-in comic bios|Wheeljack's bio}}{{storylink|Source:Combiner Wars pack-in comic bios|Autobot Hound's bio}}{{storylink|Source:Combiner Wars pack-in comic bios|Trailbreaker's bio}}{{storylink|Source:Combiner Wars pack-in comic bios|Smokescreen's bio}}

===''Beast Wars: Uprising''===
'''Trailcutter''' died during the Great War. The [[Micromaster]] [[Hydraulic]] considered him to be his "great-uncle". {{storylink|Derailment}}

===''Mazinger Z versus Transformers''===
One of the many Autobots and Decepticons transported to the Japan of an alternate universe, Trailbreaker was one of the Autobots who was impressed by [[Doctor Hell]] and [[Baron Ashura]]'s collection of monstrous [[Mechanical Beast]]s. Shortly afterwards, he took part in the battle against the [[Mazinger Z]] super robot when the evil scientist mislead Optimus Prime and his followers into making an attack on the [[Photonic Power Laboratory]]. {{storylink|Mazinger Z versus Transformers}}

===''Transformers/Ghostbusters''===
[[File:GhostsOfCybertron-Part1-Trailbreaker.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
Trailbreaker took part in the final battle of the Great War before the launch of the ''Ark'' and the arrival of [[Gozer]]. {{storylink|Ghosts of Cybertron Part 1}}

===''War for Cybertron Trilogy'' marketing material===
[[File:Earthrise-Trailbreaker-art.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|left]]

{{bigquote|An Autobot is as good as the Energon in his tank.}}

After Cybertron fell, the Autobots left their homeworld aboard the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', traveling through space in pursuit of the [[AllSpark]]. Trailbreaker was a [[Cybertronian military insignia|Ground Command Special Ops Captain]], {{storylink|Trailbreaker (G1)/toys#War for Cybertron: Earthrise|''Earthrise'' toy packaging}} whose function was a defensive strategist. His primary objective was to be efficient, and his primary weapon was the [[Concussion weapon|Concussion Beam]]. {{storylink|War for Cybertron: Earthrise|''Earthrise'' webpage}}<ref>[https://transformers.hasbro.com/en-us/brands/earthrise ''Earthrise'' website]</ref>

===''Transformers vs. The Terminator''===
While fighting the [[T-800]] aboard the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] blasted him into Trailbreaker's still-deactivated body. {{storylink|Enemy of My Enemy Part Two}}

===''My Little Pony/Transformers''===
During the final battle against [[King Sombra]], Optimus Prime and his Autobots advanced under the cover of Trailbreaker's impervious force field. {{storylink|Finale (The Magic of Cybertron)|Finale}}

===Energon Universe===
[[File:TF2023no16 Trailbreaker.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|In case you were wondering this time around.]]
Trailbreaker was part of the ''Ark'''s crew and about to be reactivated by [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] when [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] halted the process by destroying the Autobots' power source. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 5|Transformers #5}} Later, [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] attempted to revive Trailbreaker again. Though the restoration device was once again destroyed when the Decepticons suddenly attacked, {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 15|Transformers #15}} Trailbreaker managed to reactivate and quickly used his force field to protect some humans that had wandered into the crossfire. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 16|Transformers #16}}

Tracking the combiner brawl to [[Seattle]], Trailbreaker took part in evacuating humans caught in the crossfire. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 17|Transformers #17}} When [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] suddenly returned and halted the Decepticon in-fighting, Optimus ordered the Autobots to retreat. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 18|Transformers #18}}

Retreating to the ''Ark'', the Autobots prepared for an assault, Trailbreaker manning one of the turrets and flagging [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s location to Optimus. Though Optimus sought to turn Megatron's stolen [[fusion cannon]] on Starscream, Megatron forced the weapon to take aim at the Autobots before the ''Ark'' suddenly teleported away. As the Autobots picked themselves up, Optimus ordered them to shoot off Megatron's arm, his troops reluctantly obeying before [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] arrived to evacuate the Autobots. Though they managed to escape the battle, Megatron, having reattached his arm, managed to fire one last shot that killed [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]]. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 21|Transformers #21}}

After Superion made a crash landing, the Autobots were rescued by the people of [[Farmingham]]. Upon arriving at the town, Optimus and Spike fell into a trance induced by the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. As the Decepticons continued their advance, the people began an evacuation to [[Chicago]] for a last stand. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 22|Transformers #22}}

Sheltering in the [[Alder Planetarium]], the Autobots laid Optimus to rest before [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] arrived, rallying the Autobots to fight in Optimus' honour. The Decepticons soon managed to break through the Autobots' lines, Magnus dragging a wounded Trailbreaker away. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 23|Transformers #23}} Trailbreaker lay among the defeated Autobots, but ultimately Optimus Prime managed to defeat Megatron and force the Decepticons into a retreat. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 24|Transformers #24}}

Trailbreaker aided in recovery and rescue in Chicago after the battle. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 25|Transformers #25}} {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 26|Transformers #26}} He returned to the ''Ark'' in time for a number of Autobots to be reactivated, including [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]. Trailbreaker was in the middle of filling them in on what had happened when [[Bulkhead (G1)|Bulkhead]] barged into the room and made things uncomfortable with his boisterousness. Shortly thereafter, Trailbreaker bore witness to [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] formally joining the Autobots. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 27|Transformers #27}}

{{spoiler|Transformers (2023) issue 28|Feburary 11, 2026}}
[[File:Tf2023 no28 trailbreakergrab.jpg|thumb|Oh, Primus, not again!]]
Later, Trailbreaker was missing from the lineup of Autobots being dispatched to search for Decepticon activity around the ''Ark''. Optimus and the newly christened [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee Magnus]] noted his absence, as he hadn't come back from watch. Trailbreaker had in fact strayed from his post to explore the surrounding forests, marveling at the beauty of Earth and sharing Optimus's resolve to protect it. Unfortunately for Trailbreaker, Megatron was preparing to launch an attack at this moment and snuck up behind the Autobot. Megatron crushed Trailbreaker's head with one hand, cutting off his cry of warning and offlining him instantly. To demonstrate his new method of "dealing with" Autobots, Megatron brutally ripped Trailbreaker's body open and drank from his internal energon, draining his spark and bestowing upon him a permanent death. {{storylink|Transformers (2023) issue 28|Transformers #28}}

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

===3D Battle-Card Game===
Trailbreaker was one of [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]]'s many Autobot allies in a fight against [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s Decepticon forces, in what might possibly have been an inter-universe battle. {{storylink|3D Battle-Card Game#Energon Wars expansion|Energon Wars Expansion Set}}

===''Transformers Legends''===
Following a Decepticon attack on [[New York City]], '''Trailcutter''' joined [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]]'s team of infiltrators on a hunt for Decepticons. They were thwarted by three of the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]]. {{storylink|War Dawn (Legends)|War Dawn}}

'''Trailblazer''' was part of [[Drift (G1)|Drift]]'s team which had to speed a vital component to a power station to prevent it from exploding. They made it, despite interference from [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] and [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]]. {{storylink|Rushdown Road}} After [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]]'s mind was placed inside [[Autobot X (G1)|Autobot X]] and the trauma caused Spike to turn against the Autobots, Trailcutter and Brawn were forced to fight both him and the Decepticons. Fortunately Spike eventually came to his senses and helped them battle Skywarp and Thrust. {{storylink|Autobot X (Legends)|Autobot X}} When Spike had the genius idea of holding a charity race, [[Bluestreak (G1)|Silverstreak]] and Trailcutter talked the other Autobots into it. Unfortunately the Constructicons zapped them all with the [[Transfixatron]] during the race, and the Autobots, now stuck in vehicle mode, had to hold the Decepticons off long enough for their scientists to reverse the effects. {{storylink|Autobot Run}}

===''Transformers: Battle Tactics''===
[[File:BattleTacticsTrailcutter.jpg|thumb|400px|I'm exclusive to Facebook users, folks!]]
'''Trailcutter''' participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He was a promotional Uncommon character that could be recruited by connecting to Facebook. {{storylink|Transformers: Battle Tactics}}
{{--}}

===''Transformers: Earth Wars''===
[[File:Trailbreaker EarthWars.jpg|right|thumb|400px]]

Trailbreaker is every inch the redoubtable Autobot warrior but suffers from severe self-doubt and a general low opinion of his own abilities. He's highly conscious of the fact that not only is he one of the slowest Autobots in his bulky vehicle mode, he's also one of the least fuel-efficient. He covers up his insecurities with a jaunty and jokey demeanor that can lighten the darkest mood (or hour).
The fact is, other Autobots respect Trailbreaker's good humor, bravery and would kill (not literally) for his personal forcefield and gripping Magnawheels. {{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars|Trailbreaker Bio}}

{{charstubgame|{{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars}}}}

*'''Class''': Gunner
*'''Lowest Star Rating:''' 2 stars
*'''Ability: Reflective Force Field''' - For seconds, you generate a Force Field. Within its range, you and your allies reflect a percentage of the damage received back to your enemies.

[http://wiki.transformersearthwars.com/character:trailbreaker Trailbreaker at Transformers: Earth Wars Wiki]
{{--}}

===''Transformers Roleplaying Game''===
Trailbreaker was an Autobot. {{storylink|Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook|Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook}}

==Toys==
{{main|Trailbreaker (G1)/toys}}

==Merchandise==
{{main|Trailbreaker (G1)/toys#Merchandise}}

==Notes==
[[File:Trailbreaker-Alex Milne-MTMTE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4]]
*Trailbreaker had the preliminary name of "Guzzle".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071230210811/http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=41003 Post on The Allspark Forums by Jim Sorenson, 25 December 2007]</ref> Coincidentally (?), the figure that actually ended up being named [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]] had the same French-Canadian name as Trailbreaker, "Glouton".
*Like many of the early Generation 1 Transformers, Trailbreaker's toy and [[character model|animation model]] differ a lot, especially as far as the head design is concerned. In recent years, both comic book artists and toy designers typically aim for an amalgamation of both designs, usually with the toy's helmet and the animation model's face. However, no-one can seem to agree whether his radar scanner is supposed to be directly attached to the back of the head (as it was on the toy) or attached to the back of the robot. The [[2005 IDW continuity|2005-2018 IDW comics]] originally had it attached to a massive "[[kibble]]"-like backpack before switching to a design more akin to the original animation model with ''[[The Transformers: All Hail Megatron|All Hail Megatron]]''. Meanwhile, had the ''[[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]]'' [[Swindle (G1)#Alternators|Jeep Wrangler mold]] been released as Trailbreaker like originally intended, he would have lacked the scanner entirely.
*In storyboards for ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', Trailbreaker's dead body is seen at the end of the Autobot City battle. However, this didn't make it into the final film. In an early draft script, Trailbreaker survives the two initial attacks on Autobot City and is part of a guerrilla unit led by Blaster on Earth.
*The highly Sunbow-influenced series ''Transformers/Ghostbusters'' did a take on what a "season 1" Cybertronian-style hovercar alt-mode would look like for Trailbreaker ([[#Transformers/Ghostbusters|see above]]).
*Originally, [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] was going to be used in ''[[Spotlight: Kup]]'', but after re-looking at Trailbreaker's [[Tech Spec]] and [[bio]], [[Nick Roche]] decided that his power and cheery personality would work better. "It's nice to use a character who gets no love."<ref name="rochekup">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIkqheta3GE Nick Roche interview with Moonbase Two]</ref>

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Trailbreaker''' (トレイルブレイカー ''Toreirubureikā''), '''Trailcutter''' (トレイルカッター ''Toreirukattā'')
*''Czech:'' '''Rezerva'''
*''French:'' '''Glouton''' (Canada, "Glutton")
*''Hebrew:'' '''Shovér Kronot''' (שובר קרונות, "Trailer Breaker")
*''Hungarian:'' '''Ösvényvágó''' ("Trailcutter")
*''Italian:'' '''Tuono''' ("Thunder")
*''Mandarin:'' '''Kāilù Xiānfēng''' (China, 开路先锋, "Trailbreaker")
*''Portuguese:'' '''Pica-Trilhos''' (Portugal comic), '''Abre-alas''' (Brazil comic)
*''Russian:'' '''Sledopyt''' (Следопыт, "Tracker")

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Beast Wars: Uprising Autobots]]
[[Category:Children of Primus]]
[[Category:Cloud Autobots]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Decoys]]
[[Category:Defense specialists]]
[[Category:Dimension hoppers]]
[[Category:Dreamwave Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Earth Wars Autobots]]
[[Category:Energon Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 cartoon Autobots]]
[[Category:Generations Selects Autobots]]
[[Category:IDW (2005) Autobots]]
[[Category:Legends Autobots]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Marvel Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Regeneration One Autobots]]
[[Category:Second Cybertron Alliance]]
[[Category:Strategists]]
[[Category:Transformers Roleplaying Game Autobots]]
[[Category:Unite Warriors Autobots]]
[[Category:Universe Autobots]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]

File:Tf2023 no28 trailbreakergrab.jpg

2026-01-15T18:27:59Z

PixelatedShinobi: Trailbreaker in the woods, turning around as Megatron's hand appears in his visor.

Trailbreaker in the woods, turning around as Megatron's hand appears in his visor.

Broadside (G1)

2026-01-10T21:28:01Z

PixelatedShinobi: /* Legends */ Fixed a few small grammatical mistakes.

{{factions|autobot|wreckers|autobotg2|decepticon}}
{{featured}}
{{disambig3|Broadside}}
{{suite}}
:''Broadside is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''
[[File:DW G1Broadside.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Every mode is a loser.]]

'''Broadside''' is a huge loser. He's the forgotten [[Autobot]] [[Triple Changer]] who can convert into two vehicle forms: a jet (of various sizes) and an aircraft carrier mode, for which he becomes an even huger loser by [[size changing|expanding]] to 1200 feet. Broadside also happens to be terrified of heights. And gets seasick on the water. For some reason he's pretty irritable all the time!

His life must ''suuuuuuck.''

Fortunately, as one of the [[Wreckers]], Broadside is almost constantly shooting the scrap out of [[Decepticon]]s, which is probably a good outlet for any frustration.

{{Bigquote|I like the sea far away and my feet on the ground.|Broadside's Generation 1 bio quote}}

==Fiction==
===Marvel UK ''The Transformers'' comics===
[[File:Triplechangerstarget2006.jpg|left|upright=1.4|thumb|No colors yet. That comes later.]]
Broadside and his fellow [[Triple Changer]]s were late recruits into [[Operation: Volcano]] by [[Emirate]] [[Xaaron]], taking the place of [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ultra Magnus]] in the battle scenario. [[Emirate]] [[Xaaron]] decided to the best way to convince [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] that Broadside, [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] were up to replace Magnus was by having them pretend to be Decepticons and beating the [[Slag (slang)|slag]] out of him. Their display impressed the Wreckers leader, and the Triple Changers quickly began training in [[Debris]]. Their introduction into the Wreckers was marred with tragedy, however, as Impactor was killed when Volcano finally went down. Springer succeeded Impactor as squad leader. {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

The Autobots' informants learned that there was a Decepticon spy posing as [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] on Cybertron, out to infiltrate their ranks. The Wreckers were sent to pursue this imposter. In due course, Broadside, Springer, Sandstorm, and [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] managed to track down the "spy" after he had already escaped from the Wreckers once with the help of [[Outback (G1)|Outback]]. Before they could execute him, they were ordered to stand down by Ultra Magnus and Emirate Xaaron, who had learned that the Autobots had been fed false information; before them was the real Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Distant Thunder!}} With his name cleared, Optimus led several raids on Decepticon encampments in which Broadside participated. The last of these raids saw Optimus off to [[Earth]], as he and Ultra Magnus battled [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]] while Broadside and the others kept the Decepticon rank-and-file busy. {{storylink|Resurrection!}}

[[File:Technician wreckers legion of the lost.jpg|thumb|upright=2]]
After Prime had left, [[Autobase]] was moved to [[Kalis]] and was soon rocked by a huge explosion. Believing the explosion to be caused by an underground reactor, Broadside and the other Wreckers searched in vain for the chamber. Upon their return to headquarters, the Autobots were overcome by a legion of [[zombie]]s! Springer, still ill-at-ease in his role as leader, floundered when the shambling horde burst through the floor, and without anyone to coordinate them, the Wreckers were easily vanquished. They were captured by the undead horde's controller, [[Flame (Marvel)|Flame]], fitted with [[inhibitor band]]s, and detained within an underground cell. Though things seemed grim, Springer regained his senses following a pep-talk from Xaaron and managed to escape. {{storylink|Legion of the Lost!}}

[[File:Wreckers magnus meltdown.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.8]]
Broadside and the rest of the Wreckers managed to break out of their cell as well, reacquired their weapons, and once more took up the fight against the zombies patrolling Flame's headquarters. They then bumped into a returning Springer, now accompanied by Ultra Magnus, [[Fizzle]], [[Sizzle (G1)|Sizzle]], and [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]]. Unfortunately, any further progress towards Flame's inner sanctum was blocked off by a massive blast door. Springer and Broadside headed back for the surface in order to procure the heavy armament necessary to breach it, only to bump into [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] en route. Though taken aback at first, Broadside learned that the behemoth had arrived to repay a favor that fellow Decepticon [[Flywheels]] owed Ultra Magnus. With his help, the Autobots reached Flame, albeit a bit too late. The madbot's machines had already destabilized, and the countdown to Cybertron's destruction had begun. While Springer, Ultra Magnus, and Xaaron dealt with Flame, the rest of the group cut through the remnants of madbot's zombie army, and headed back to the surface. There, Broadside learned that a zombified Impactor had sacrificed himself in order to prevent the whole planet from blowing up. The Autobots stood in solemn silence to honor Impactor's heroic passing. {{storylink|Meltdown!}}

[[File:WreckingHavoc-yourfoe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8]]
The Wreckers next prepared for their next mission: to travel to [[Earth]] and do battle against the [[Time travel|future]] Decepticon [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. Broadside helped put together the Wrecker's weapons stockpile in anticipation for this task. {{storylink|Deadly Games!}} Their mission nearly proved to be a complete disaster, however, as the Wreckers blindly portal-jumped onto Galvatron's coordinates, only to find themselves in the middle of a populated human city, surrounded by potential civilian casualties. Worse yet, Glavatron wasn't alone; with him were fellow future Decepticons [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Nonetheless, the Wreckers were forced to engage the enemy units, with Broadside managing to tackle Galvatron... only for his target to retaliate with a devastating right-hook to his face. Galvatron, thoroughly unimpressed with the Wreckers, proceeded to beat the snot out of them all. In order to bring an end to the fight, and any further damage to the city they were in, Springer lured Cyclonus and Scourge away, leaving the rest of his team with the opportunity to gang up on Galvatron. But Galvatron pointed out to them that Springer would surely die if pitted against both his cronies alone... Broadside and the others were forced to go after their commander, despite it meaning that Galvatron would get away from them. Their mission gone completely awry, Springer called for the Wreckers to return to Cybertron and plan anew. {{storylink|Wrecking Havoc}}

[[File:Advance surveillance unit firebug.jpg|thumb|left]]
In order to guard against future problems such as the ones the Wreckers had encountered in their previous outing, Xaaron assigned Broadside, [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] and Sandstorm to Earth full time as an [[Advance Surveillance Unit]], gathering information on the planet so that they would be better prepared for the next battle with Galvatron. Though Broadside wanted to follow Xaaron's instructions to the letter, and not involve themselves in human affairs, his two teammates convinced him to nonetheless help out some humans whose town had been set ablaze. While evacuating the townsfolk, the Autobots discovered that the fire had been started by an alien lifeform, a cute-but-dangerous [[Firebug (G1)|Firebug]]. Broadside was all too willing to simply destroy the pest, but Inferno convinced him instead to send it off to [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]], where it wouldn't pose a danger to anyone else. {{storylink|Firebug!}} Later, the three Autobots caused a panic when they tried to celebrate [[Christmas]] with a bunch of humans, leaving the town of [[Border Flats]] in ruins as a result. Broadside and his teammates made themselves scarce, only for the Autobot [[Powermaster]]s to track them down and attack, thinking they were dealing with a trio of Decepticon trouble-makers. Suitably ashamed of the damage they had caused, the Advance Surveillance Unit apologized for the misunderstanding. As the Autobots settled down, Optimus Prime joined them to impart on Broadside and the rest about their responsibility to the planet. {{storylink|Cold Comfort and Joy!}}

The trio's mission became serious once the [[time rift]] raging at both ends of Galvatron's time-jump began to tear apart the fabric of the universe. Xaaron had isolated Galvatron—and his time-tossed minions [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]—as the source of the distortion, and sent the full contingent of Wreckers to Earth, complete with unexpected back-up from their Decepticon counterparts, the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]]. Broadside balked at the idea, but honestly... they needed all the help they could get. Even that wasn't enough, however, against the combined might of Galvatron and the [[Straxus (G1)|Megatron clone]]. The twin titans tore through the Wreckers and Mayhems without mercy: at the end of the so-called "Time Wars", less than half of the warriors were left alive. {{storylink|Time Wars}}

[[File:Broadsidesurvivors.jpg|right|upright=1.4|thumb|That's a sidekick, not a broadside!]]
Cut off from any supplies or assistance from [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Broadside, Springer and Inferno felt left behind and abandoned to their fate on Earth. They were approached by the remaining members of the Decepticon [[Mayhem Attack Squad]], who felt equally deserted by their faction. Despite this, one of their members, [[Snarler]], still felt that joining up with Autobots constituted treason, and nearly butted heads with Broadside, necessitating Inferno to talk both of them down. Any talk of alliances was postponed when a processing of emergency vehicles passed by, and the Autobots investigated, while the Decepticons hung back. The source of the disturbance turned out to be [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], recently escaped from [[Limbo]]. While in the nether-dimension, Skids had dreamed up several horrors, who materialized into reality upon his return to Earth. He was ready to trigger a nuclear meltdown to eradicate them, but the other Autobots talked him out of it, and fought by his side against the monsters. Though Broadside was ready to use lethal force, the others were hesitant, fearing that the monsters' destruction could somehow lead to Skids's death. Losing ground, Springer wound up calling on the Decepticons for help, and together they defeated the monsters. Better yet, their destruction had no effect on Skids after all! Banded together, Broadside, Inferno, Springer, Skids, [[Catilla (G1)|Catilla]] and [[Carnivac (G1)|Carnivac]] rebranded themselves as the "[[Survivors]]". {{storylink|Survivors!}}

Unfortunately, Carnivac found life as a ''de facto'' Autobot difficult as the need to fight was in his blood and so Broadside and the other Survivors watched as he fought with Springer, ultimately breaking away from the main group. At the same time, Snarler didn't take kindly to warriors abandoning the Decepticon cause and assembled a new Mayhem Attack Squad to assassinate the traitors, chancing upon the lone Carnivac first. {{storylink|Way of the Warrior}} Although Catilla pleaded Carnivac's case, Springer was unmoved until Catilla ran off to save his friend and he had to explain himself to Broadside and the others. {{storylink|Survival Run}} Now resolved to assist their former comrade, they arrived on the scene too late; although they were able to drive off the Mayhems, [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] had already killed Catilla and so Carnivac broke away from the Survivors permanently to seek his revenge. {{storylink|A Savage Place!}}
{{-}}

====Marvel UK future timelines====
[[File:Rodimus technobots wreckers peace.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6]]
In [[2510]], Broadside was fighting alongside Springer and the Wreckers when they fired the very last shots of the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. The Decepticons were not totally gone, however—a deep cover agent named [[Triton]] lived on inside the Autobot ranks. In order to stir up discord, Triton challenged Prime's decision when he announced that Springer would e his successor as Autobot leader. Triton declared that [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ultra Magnus]] was a better choice to carry the Matrix, and the argument quickly escalated into a firefight. A new war between the Wreckers and the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]] grew out of the conflict, bringing an end to Broadside's brief shore leave. {{storylink|Peace}}

====Earthforce====
{{earthforcefiction}}
[[File:Survivors wolf in the fold.jpg|thumb|left]]
Springer voted for the Survivors to wait to avenge Catilla's death, but Carnivac quickly ran out of patience. After the Decepticon left to attack the Mayhem Attack Squad within their own base, Broadside petitioned the Autobots went after him. Though Springer resisted going to [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]]'s [[Earthforce]] for the help they would need in order to take on the Mayhems effectively, Broadside and the other Survivors convinced him that this was the best course of action. {{storylink|Wolf in the Fold!}} It took some convincing, but Grimlock eventually acquiesed and allowed a handful of soldiers to join the Survivors in storming the beach where the Mayhems were holed up. While the others fought Stranglehold, Bludgeon, and Octopunch near the sea, Broadside investigated inland, finding Snarler dead and the remains of Carnivac's Pretender shell. He deduced that, despite what the Decepticons believed at the time, Carnivac was still alive. Indeed, Carnivac turned up soon afterwards, and the surviving Mayhems were taken into Autobot custody. {{storylink|Where Wolf?}}

Later on, the Earth-based Decepticons under [[Starscream (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Starscream]] and [[Soundwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Soundwave]] attempted to divide the Autobots' attention, staging a full-scale assault on [[Earthbase]] while Starscream secured a [[Oil tanker|tanker full of fuel]] in the meantime. While the main Earthforce defended their base, however, the Survivors fought back Starscream's energy-stealing attempt. Broadside used his rarely seen [[alternate mode|carrier mode]] to transport his fellow Survivors into battle on the high seas against Starscream, and the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] was driven off without much effort. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer!}}
{{-}}

===Marvel US continuity===
====Marvel US ''The Transformers'' comics====
[[File:Broadsidetotaled.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|In the UK, I was replaced by some other dude!]]
Broadside was present to watch [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] and [[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]] duke it out on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]] over leadership of the Autobot forces. The proceedings were interrupted by a massive Decepticon attack, however, which sent the Autobots scrambling until Blaster and Grimlock were able to put aside their differences, and rally their forces into a counter-attack. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

{{note|Broadside's appearance on the Moon in US #41 is his only appearance in the American Generation 1 comics. In the UK, he was edited into a [[generic]] because in their continuity, he was elsewhere with the Wreckers.}}
{{--}}
====Marvel ''Generation 2'' comic====
[[File:WarWithoutEnd-Broadside.jpg|upright=1.8|thumb|Wonder if his aircraft carrier mode has more guns strapped to it, too?]]
{{quote|Oh, ''yes.'' The building — and occupants — are ''toast!'' ''Maximum points!''|Broadside, armed to the teeth and entirely too happy about it|"[[War Without End!]]"}}

[[File:Springerg2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2]]
Broadside served with [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Hound (G1)|Hound]], and [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] as part of a team of [[Firestormer]]s, who fought alongside the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]. They attacked [[Outpost B-67 exo-structuring party|their enemy]] with so much zeal, that ''[[Grimlock (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Grimlock]]'' had to remind them what side they were on. Broadside and his Firestormers' team were the first to uncover the existence of [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] and his [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian Empire]] and alert [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] to its threat. However, Jhiaxus' command ship, the ''[[Twilight (G2)|Twilight]]'' blasted them from orbit and kept Broadside and the others prisoner until Optimus Prime and Grimlock managed to set them free and escape. {{storylink|War Without End!}}

Broadside continued serving as a soldier throughout the Autobots' conflict with the Cybertronians. He was last seen fighting alongside Springer and several other veteran Autobots on the planet [[Ethos]]. {{storylink|Escalation!}}
{{--}}

====''Classics''====
{{noteclassics}}
[[File:Invasion SlapdashSandstormBroadsideInfected.jpg|right|upright=1.2|thumb]]
Broadside helped rebuild the [[Ironworks (facility)|Ironworks]]. When the evil Autobots attacked from the negative polarity universe, Broadside was one of the first wave assimilated by the [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]]. {{storylink|Invasion (issue)|Invasion}}
{{--}}

====''Regeneration One''====
{{NoteRG1}}
[[File:Wreckers loose ends.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|left|"Where was I the first 80 issues? ...Would 'on the can' be an acceptable answer?"]]
A member of [[Kup (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Kup]]'s [[Wreckers]], Broadside elected to follow their leader's plan to leave Cybertron and visit the other planets touched by the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. Some time later they hitched a ride with [[Berko]]'s [[Cosmic Carnival]] to the Sol system, where Broadside and Whirl piloted their shuttle towards Earth. After launching surveillance drones they discovered that the planet had been devastated by Megatron, who at that very moment launched nuclear warheads at their shuttle, apparently destroying it. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 1}}

Though the Wreckers managed to escape the exploding ship by descending to Earth in their escape pods, Broadside suffered damage to his [[Circuit (circuit)|neural circuits]] which left him incapacitated and he had to be cared for by [[Rack'n'Ruin (G1)|Rack 'n' Ruin]]. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 2}} He was led about by the duo until they fell to [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Circuit Smasher]], though the super-powered human was talked into staying his hand afterwards. The Autobots were then led by a group of humans accompanying Circuit Smasher to their headquarters. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 3}} After a spell at [[Argus Base]], Broadside was sufficiently recovered to join the human resistance in an assault on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] though his targeting systems were still not fully functional. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 4}} Broadside was shot down by a [[Guardian (Marvel)|Guardian unit]] during the subsequent battle. {{storylink|Loose Ends, Part 5}}

[[File:Wreckers war to end all wars.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.8]]
[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] later put Broadside on the list of bots in critical condition, alongside fellow Wrecker [[Leadfoot (G2)|Leadfoot]] and two [[Brawn (G1)|other]] [[Mirage (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|bots]]. {{storylink|Natural Selection, Part One}} Broadside's injuries left him sidelined for some time.

Broadside was back on the field soon enough, and joined in with the other Wreckers in an attack on [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s [[Hub (G2)|Hub Network]], managing to destabilize it while also fighting off countless [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronians]] in the process. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 4}} After Jhiaxus was defeated, Broadside, along with his fellow Wreckers and Autobots returned to Cybertron to find it deserted, save for [[Shadow-leech|horrifying creatures that drained the life from whomever they touched]]. As [[Hot Rod (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Rodimus Prime]] departed to destroy the Dark Matrix entity controlling the creatures, the remaining Autobots split up, with the Wreckers heading to Earth to enlist the help of the humans. The humans were [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|understandably quick]] to attack, but the Autobots were able to their trust. With the humans, the Wreckers traveled to Nebulos, where together they killed Fortress Maximus. As Rodimus closed off their universe from the rest of the multiverse, severing their connection to [[Primus]] and killing the Matrix entity, all Transformers, including Broadside became mortal, and eventually died of old age over the eons. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 5}}

====''Transformers '84''====
Shortly before the launch of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], Broadside was part of a crew recruited by [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] to retrieve the injured [[Dinobot (G1)|Dynobots]] following a battle with [[Shockwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Shockwave]]. {{storylink|Secrets & Lies issue 1|Secrets & Lies #1}} Later, Broadside, [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], and [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] followed [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Ultra Magnus]] in a counterattack against Decepticon forces led by [[Straxus (G1)|Straxus]] besieging an Autobot fort in the [[Border Regions]]. Following their intervention, Straxus ordered his troops to retreat but to gather as many prisoners as they could as they did so. {{storylink|Secrets & Lies issue 2|Secrets & Lies #2}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
{{voiceactor|[[Bill Martin]] (English), [[Masashi Ebara]] (Japanese)|[[Chen Chun]] (Chinese), [[Francis Lax]] (European French)}}

[[File:Broadsidecrushesdevastator.jpg|upright=1.5|right|thumb|Best use of size changing ever.]]
While trying to escape [[Quintessa (planet)|Quintessa]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] contacted the [[Autobot fleet]] for transport off-world. Having received his call, Broadside and the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] showed up, providing cover fire against the [[Sharkticon (species)|Sharkticons]], while [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] picked up the Autobots. After returning to Broadside, the fleet then took their leave. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} Unbeknownst to the Autobots, however, the [[Quintesson]]s boarded a ship themselves and detonated their home-world. While attempting to escape, debris from the blast hit Broadside, blowing him to smithereens, sending the Autobots aboard him tumbling helplessly through space. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}}

When a [[Quintesson Scientist]] sought to collect specimens for his experiments, he disguised his ship as Broadside to lure in [[Cyclonus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cyclonus]]. {{storylink|The Killing Jar (episode)|The Killing Jar}}

{{note|Broadside's appearances in the previous three episodes are rather complicated. For a breakdown of all of the issues presented in these episodes, see "[[#Canon or error?|Canon or error?]]" below.}}

[[File:Broadsidegrimlocksnewbrain.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|left|Seriously, I'm huge.]]
When [[Teletraan II]] casually brought up in conversation that [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], the Decepticons' largest weapon of mass destruction, had not been destroyed as everyone thought, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] sent Broadside and [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] out to investigate the site where Trypticon fell into the sea. Sure enough, they found no body, but instead a trail of massive footprints leading back towards land. Once the Autobots tracked Trypticon down to the [[Socialist Democratic Federated Republic of Carbombya]], Broadside transported the Autobot strike force in by the coast. {{storylink|Thief in the Night}}

During a strike against a new [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicon]] weapon asteroid, the Autobots and Decepticons alike were interrupted by a powerful [[Harmony|harmonic discharge]]. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]], [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] and Broadside broke away from the main battle to prevent Galvatron and [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] from taking control of the harmony for their own evil ends. Although Soundwave did manage to temporarily copy the harmony onto his tapes, Blaster erased the recording and the Autobots were able to drive off the Decepticons. {{storylink|Carnage in C-Minor}} Broadside was among the Autobots attending the unveiling of a generator on Cybertron when the Decepticon [[anti-electron]] attack was unleashed. {{storylink|Grimlock's New Brain}}

At a time when the Decepticons were carrying out a series of assaults on the nation of [[Japan]], Broadside confronted [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] in the waters near a fishing village. Broadside nearly capsized a small boat due to the waves generated by their fight, but he managed to stabilize the craft before returning to battle. When the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix-charged]] [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] rampaged through Tokyo, Broadside attempted to stop him by lifting him up with both arms. However, the Decepticon merely unleashed a burst of Matrix energy, hurting Broadside enough to release him. {{storylink|The Burden Hardest to Bear}}
{{-}}

====Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity====
=====''2010'' cartoon=====
While working for the Decepticons, Broadside was known as '''Broadswipe''' (ブロードスワイブ).<ref name="broadswipe">This is a dub change to "[[The Killing Jar]]", either to fix the error or the translator worked off [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nff7JQQJcwJRWAb3EeUZInyCk3VWIKws/view the second revision for the episode script] that used "Broadswipe" as a preliminary name for Broadside. Later Japanese fiction would establish that both Broadside and "Broadswipe" are the same individual regardless.</ref> {{Storylink|The Killing Jar|Four Captives}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====
{{voiceactor|[[Ken Yamaguchi]] (Japanese)}}
[[File:Hm4 Autobot Triple Changers.jpg|200px|thumb|Possibly his ''only'' [[canon]] final-model jet mode appearance.]]
Alongside Springer and Sandstorm, Broadside was sent from [[Athenia]] to Cybertron in order to defend against a major Decepticon assault. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} The Triple Changers then travelled to Earth, where they helped [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Twincast]] sneak into [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] by keeping their Decepticon counterparts busy with a dogfight. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}}

Broadside later returned to Athenia, where he used his [[Size changing|giant jet form]] to transport [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] and the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] back to Earth. {{storylink|Terror! The Six Shadows}} He helped out in this manner again when a volcano erupted in [[Peru]], carrying the Headmasters, [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike]], [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]], and [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] to the village of [[Pan]] to help evacuate the locals. However, Broadside was unable to help the villagers directly, as the raging volcano stopped him from landing safely. {{storylink|The Dormant Volcano Mysteriously Erupts}} He also ferried the Headmasters to [[Mars (planet)|Mars]], but didn't stick around to help fight the Decepticons, apparently. Maybe he got airsick. {{storylink|Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger}} In either case, he helped the Autobots survey the damage to Mars after it was devastated by Scorponok's plasma energy explosions. {{storylink|Return of the Immortal Emperor}}

=====e-HOBBY comics=====
[[File:EHobBroad.jpg|left|upright=1.2|thumb|"I'm tired of just listening to the serious story in my stomach with worrying comrades." We love the Japanese.]]

In the [[2030]]s, Broadside carried Optimus Prime, [[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]], and [[Perceptor (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Perceptor]] as they arranged back up for [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]], who was controlling an [[Eldedroid]] and battling a Decepticon monster under the sea. Perceptor suggested that it might be best if Broadside took them to the surface over the spot where the battle was occurring. Broadside and Prime both agreed.

The triple-changer was eager to get there, as the combination of seasickness and worry over his friends was not enjoyable. Unfortunately they were interrupted in their travel by the giant "ghost" of [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]]. Some days you just can't win. {{storylink|MP-3G Destron Air Commander / Starscream Ghost Ver.}}

=====''Legends'' comic=====
[[File:Legends BE 53 Broadside.jpg|thumb]]
In the G-2 era of the [[2030]]s, Broadside and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] were by [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] when he declared he would turn his life around. {{Storylink|LG19 Sprung Prologue}}

Self-conscious about his weaknesses and phobias, Broadside always strove to get stronger and would often upgrade his body, but his yearning for power also led to various missteps such as one time working with the Decepticons. Sometime in the 2030s, he modified himself into a giant [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]] in control of an even more giant triple-changing [[transtector]] that was so powerful he was able to defeat [[Grand Scourge]] with ease. Following that battle, he and the Aerialbots were deployed to the keep the peace in the [[Legends World]], where Broadside was approached by [[Thrust (Armada)|Armada Thrust]] who suggested they could use his power to conquer the world together. Broadside refused, so Thrust stole his transtector to do it himself, but he was able to take it back by using [[Repugnus (G1)|Repugnus]]'s scaled-up armor suit. When Thrust explained that he really only wanted to prove his strength to the world, Broadside could relate and forgave the Decepticon, allowing him to stay with him and the Aerialbots as long as he used his intelligence for good instead of evil. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 53|Bonus Edition Vol. 53}}

Broadside attempted to defend the city from the out-of-control [[Pinpointer (G1)|Pinpointer]], [[Spoilsport]], and [[Peacemaker]], but even he was defeated by the super-powered mutants. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 62|Bonus Edition Vol. 62}} When the world was flooded by [[Tigerburn]], many sought refuge on Broadside's carrier mode. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 64|Bonus Edition Vol. 64}}

After [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s and [[Devil Z]]'s machinations ensured the destruction of the Legends World, Broadside's transtector was used to evacuate the Decepticons who had made the world their home. {{Storylink|Targetmaster Chapter Finale: Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two|Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two}} After returning to [[2038]] in the [[G1 World]], Broadside and the Decepticons aboard were attacked by [[Dark Nova]] (in disguise as Unicron Neo), {{storylink|The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 4: LG-EX Big Powered Prologue Part One|LG-EX Big Powered Prologue Part One}} who abducted [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]. The damaged Broadside limped to the [[Micro|Z Planet]], where [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] ran out of the ship to warn the others of Dark Nova's plans for Megatron. {{Storylink|The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 5: LG-EX Big Powered Prologue Part Two|LG-EX Big Powered Prologue Part Two}} When the Legends World was reborn, its refugees returned to their home planet aboard Broadside. {{storylink|Transformers Legends Final Chapter "Epiloge"|Epiloge}}
{{--}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity===
[[File:Broadsidewarwithin.jpg|upright=1.4|left|thumb|They shrink me later.]]
During the beginning of [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'s tenure as [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot]]s, Broadside was an enormous warrior. He helped defend the Autobot capital of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], alongside [[Vibes]]. {{storylink|The War Within issue 4|The War Within #4}}

A few thousand years after that, Broadside, now the size of a standard Transformer, was a member of the [[Wreckers]] fighting for control of the Tagan Heights region. {{storylink|Escalation}} During one of their missions, he organized the evacuation of his team as [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] were decimating the area. {{storylink|Devastation (issue)|Devastation}}

In the modern era, Broadside was one of the Autobots upgraded into a Triple Changer by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s new process, after the Autobots and Decepticons negotiated a truce following the [[Great Shutdown]]. Along with his fellow former Wrecker Sandstorm, Broadside served as part of Shockwave's Triple Changer Strike Force alongside the Decepticons [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], [[Octane]] and [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]]. Together, they traveled to Earth and apprehended Megatron's followers as war criminals. {{storylink|New World Order}} {{storylink|Generation 1 issue 0|Generation 1 #0}} But, while Shockwave was making many promises of a new world order where Autobots and Decepticons could live forever in peace, Broadside eventually concluded he could not be trusted. As a result, Broadside and Sandstorm made contact with [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] and [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] in the Autobot resistance, and began reporting on Shockwave's activities. {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}}

[[File:Broadsidewarandpeace.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Toldja.]]
The Triple Changer Strike Force accompanied Shockwave to Earth, where they took into custody the castaway Transformers from the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'' and the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' who had been cut off from developments on Cybertron for the last four million years. As soon as they got the chance, Broadside and Sandstorm freed the Ark's crew from imprisonment, {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}} and took them to meet Smokescreen's unit to plan an uprising against the Decepticon rule. {{storylink|Passive Aggression}} Optimus soon sent out a call to arms to all Autobots, uniting them into an organized army. Broadside and Tracks were among those directly contacted, and afterwards openly moved against Shockwave's regime in an assault on his headquarters. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (issue)|Countdown to Extinction}} The insurrection went off successfully, and the Autobots reclaimed control of Cybertron from Shockwave. {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}}
{{-}}

===2005 IDW continuity===
{{first|[[Stormbringer issue 2|''Stormbringer'' #2]]}}

[[File:RequiemoftheWreckers WreckersWelcome.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.4|"Hi, I'm mis-colored...I mean Broadside."]]
Broadside was there. He saw it happen. The conquest of [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]. The fall of a Prime. The beginning of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. Broadside was there, and amazingly well armed for such a "peaceful" period, though perhaps he took a cue from [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]]. Either way, the huge old bot was one of the survivors who managed to evacuate before [[Megatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Megatron]]'s takeover. {{storylink|Megatron Origin issue 4|Megatron Origin #4}} He was among the Autobots who turned against [[Zeta Prime (G1)|Zeta Prime]]'s rule and provided [[Ironhide (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Ironhide]] with battlefield surveillance during the attack on Zeta's [[Citadel (building)|Citadel]]. {{storylink|Overthrown}}

As the war began, Broadside was one of many Autobots tapped at one time or another to join the elite fighting squad known as the Wreckers. Over time, Broadside would become one of the longest-serving (and surviving) members of the group, being present to welcome [[Springer (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Springer]] on his first day. {{storylink|Transformers: Requiem of the Wreckers|Requiem of the Wreckers}} At the command of [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]], he fought against the Wreckers' opposite number, [[Squadron X]], and eventually participated in their final conflict on planet [[Pova]] in the [[Redan Quadrant]]. After the battle, the Wreckers were informed that due to the fact the Wreckers had no jurisdiction on Pova, Squadron X had to be let go or else the Autobots would face diplomatic repercussions. Broadside turned away as Impactor snapped and murdered their prisoners, necessitating the creation of a cover story and Impactor's imprisonment at [[Garrus-9]]. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|Last Stand of the Wreckers #5}}

Though Broadside and the others agreed that Impactor had done the right thing, they didn't want to be thrown in Garrus-9 alongside him. To keep Impactor's second-in-command Springer from testifying against them, they convinced him that they hadn't expected Impactor to snap and asked him to be their leader. {{storylink|Zero Point}} Official records would state that Squadron X had managed to escape their confinement, forcing the Wreckers to finish them once and for all. {{storylink|Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 4|Last Stand of the Wreckers #4}}

[[File:SpotlightBlaster GetawayKupHufferBroadside.jpg|upright=1.7|thumb|Seriously, doesn't he have anything better to do than appear in group shots and be mis-colored?]]
Around four hundred years ago, Broadside was attempting to defend Autobot territory on Cybertron from Decepticon expansion. He was part of a unit alongside [[Kup (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Kup]], [[Getaway]], and [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] shortly after the Battle of [[Thunderhead Pass]], stuck in the trenches on what was left of Cybertron after [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] stomped through it. {{storylink|Spotlight: Blaster}}

Broadside's "desperate gamble with the psychic explosives" was one of many thrilling Wrecker exploits chronicled in the [[Wreckers: Declassified]] datalogs. {{storylink|Bullets}}

[[File:Stormbringer2 Wrecker fliers.jpg|left|upright=1.6|thumb|Oh, he flies through the air, with a touch of unease...]]
In the present, Broadside was assaulting the Decepticon [[Infiltration protocol|Siege Mode armature]] on [[Varas Centralus]] alongside [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] when Springer received orders from [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Optimus Prime]] to pull out the Wreckers and return to Cybertron. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 2|Stormbringer #2}} After Optimus and the Wreckers quickly crushed [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]]'s cult, Broadside reported that Thunderwing was coming back. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 3|Stormbringer #3}} When Thunderwing touched down on Cybertron, Broadside, [[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]], and [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] operated as advance recon, watching as the monstrous Pretender slowly erupted into a rage as memories of his past flooded what was left of his mind. Broadside had to pick up Scoop and run for it as Thunderwing unleashed a massive wave of energy. After [[Twin Twist (G1)|Twin Twist]] managed to get himself into trouble, Broadside's team were tasked with getting his attention, but were blown away with a mighty clap of his hands. After recovering from having a pocket of gas detonated from underneath them, Broadside and the remaining Autobots fought alongside two squads of Decepticons and reprogrammed [[Centurion droid]]s to help defeat Thunderwing. {{storylink|Stormbringer issue 4|Stormbringer #4}}

[[File:SpotlightSideswipe ThunderwingVSWreckers.jpg|upright=1.7|thumb|You can identify him by his height...and the complaining.]]
Later, as the [[Expansion]] began, Broadside and the Wreckers came to [[Corata-Vaz]] to back-up Ultra Magnus and the [[Ark-12]] crew, once again pitting themselves against Thunderwing. The Pretender had been co-opted by [[Nova Prime|Nemesis Prime]] and his [[Dead Universe]] Transformers as guardian to one of three [[Nega-Core]]s, devices which would allow the Dead Universe to expand across the living one completely. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}} Broadside and the others tried fruitlessly to get past Thunderwing and shut down the Nega-Core. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}} They were only successful once [[Jetfire (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Jetfire]] used Bludgeon's old Axis Cradle to hack into Thunderwing's programming and shut down the new directives [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] had hardwired into him. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

Broadside and several members of the Wreckers were captured by [[Turmoil]]'s Decepticons. They were rescued by the remaining Wreckers under Kup and Springer, and the former Decepticon known as [[Drift (G1)|Drift]]. After this adventure, Kup and Springer formed a unit distinct from the Wreckers aboard the starship ''[[Trion]]'', but Broadside and several other Wreckers were not added to this crews. {{storylink|Spotlight: Drift}}

While rebuilding the Wreckers after the [[Surge (event)|Surge]], Springer remarked to himself that Broadside was "all but lost to them now". What he meant by this is unknown. {{storylink|Bullets}}

[[File:RanksofBronze-BroadsideJetfire.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|left|Man, you guys I had this crazy dream where everyone was suddenly in their Sunbow models for like one story arc.]]
Several years later, Broadside was among the Autobots who gathered on [[Earth]]. Taking on the form of a battleship, he participated in the combined Autobot-[[Skywatch]] attack on the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] in [[North Korea]]. Their battle plan involved pushing [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] and [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] to the shore, where Broadside opened fire on them. However, this plan failed when [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] shot down Jetfire, who crashed right into Broadside, heavily damaging them both. {{storylink|International Incident Part 2: "Ranks of Bronze"|Ranks of Bronze}}

Broadside eventually recovered and returned to America in time for Megatron's revenge on Earth. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 4: Burning Chrome|Burning Chrome}} He watched as [[Hot Rod (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Rodimus]] entered the Autobot base, bringing with him news that Cybertron had been occupied by [[Galvatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Galvatron]], and was among the Autobots who left Earth to liberate their home planet. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}} When Megatron's Decepticons arrived on the scene during the massive battle on Cybertron, Broadside joined Jetfire in an aerial strafing run against them. {{storylink|Chaos Part Three: Kings|Kings}}

[[File:BeforeTheDawn BroadsideDevastator.jpg|thumb|"Ah slag, is this payback for [[Broadside (G1)#The Transformers cartoon|that time I landed on you]]??"]]
Three weeks after the battle had concluded, Broadside assisted as an air-traffic controller in the main Autobot command hub. He directed ships returning to Cybertron to appropriate landing zones based on [[Bumblebee (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Bumblebee]]'s recommendations. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}} After reporting a ship coming in from the [[Lilivuvian Quadrant|Lilivuvian/Livulian Quadrant]], he was ordered by Bumblebee to call [[Metalhawk (G1)|Metalhawk]] for him. {{storylink|The Autonomy Lesson (issue)|The Autonomy Lesson}} Broadside was hanging around in the command hub when [[Wheeljack (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Wheeljack]] put a stop to the energy discharges that had been causing explosions on Cybertron. {{storylink|Stick Together}} He was later seen at exactly the same place. {{storylink|Devisive}} He got to receive word of a [[Sky-Byte (RID)|new arrival]]. {{storylink|A Better Tomorrow}}

Later, the Decepticon captain, Turmoil, landed his ship on Cybertron. Broadside wasn't too pleased to meet him again. {{storylink|Interference Patterns}} He was still doing his duties at high command as the faction leaders began discussing fair elections. {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt (IDW)|Dinobot Hunt}} {{storylink|Primus: All Good Things|All Good Things}} When Megatron suddenly appeared in Iacon, Broadside and many of the other Autobots immediately tried to kill him, but were ultimately stopped from doing so by the Decepticon population. {{storylink|City on Fire}} He was back to doing his job at high command by the time Megatron's return led to rioting amongst the Decepticons. {{storylink|The Verge}} As he was trying to deal with the increasingly chaotic situation, [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] ripped into high command and destroyed it with Broadside still inside. {{storylink|Before the Dawn}}

[[File:WordsHangInTheAir-Pallbearers.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Broadside could probably carry the coffin on his own...but ''ehhhhhh''.]]
Broadside survived and was later seen escorting Megatron to his trial along with Sandstorm. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 1: Towards Peace|Towards Peace}} The Triple-Changers acted as bailiffs during the subsequent court proceedings against Megatron. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 3: Predestination: A Beginner's Guide|Predestination: A Beginner's Guide}} Broadside would subsequently join the crew of the ''[[Lost Light]]'' under Megatron's command and helped to bring in a strange coffin they found floating in space, alongside [[Mirage (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Mirage]], [[Grotusque]], and [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]]. {{storylink|World, Shut Your Mouth Part 2: Words Hang in the Air|Words Hang in the Air}} Broadside was sitting in [[Swerve's]] when [[Minimus Ambus]] and [[Ten]] entered together to hang out. {{storylink|Our Steps Will Always Rhyme}} Broadside later received Springer's final message before entering the [[Timemaze]], watching it alongside [[Perceptor (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Perceptor]]. {{storylink|Transformers: Requiem of the Wreckers|Requiem of the Wreckers}}
{{-}}

===''Beast Wars: Uprising''===
The former [[Builder of Cybertron|Builder]] Broadside, left mindless and trapped in her<ref>The ''Broadside'' is referred to with feminine pronouns, which may be down to the fact that naval vessels are traditionally referred to in the feminine in English, but, given that ''Uprising'' made several traditionally-male characters female, we are assuming that the ''Uprising'' version of Broadside is female.</ref> battleship mode due to lack of Energon, was the flagship of the [[Resistance (BWU)|Resistance]] Navy during the [[Grand Uprising]], commanded by Captain [[Scylla]]. In the Battle of the [[Yuss Straits]], the ''Broadside'' supported half of all Resistance fighters and tonnage as they advanced on Iacon up the [[Rust Sea|Great Rust Sea]]. With the Yuss defensive batteries disabled, it was the Builders' Navy led by [[Banzai-Tron (G1)|Banzai-Tron]] and the ''[[Tidal Wave (G1)|Tidal Wave]]'' that stood in their way.

Scylla coordinated a daring two-pronged assault from the ''Broadside'' with [[Cybershark]] leading the Resistance's subsea forces. An unhesitant advance by the Navy allowed Scylla to take advantage of the Builders when they scrambled to reposition and support their failing subsea forces. The ''Broadside'' and the Resistance drove a wedge through their foes' position, isolating and targeting the Builder ships individually.

Unfortunately, Banzai-Tron would not allow a clean victory. He charged the ''Tidal Wave'' straight at the ''Broadside'' in a kamikaze maneuver. Scylla ordered all hands to abandon ship, but an enormous number of casualties resulted when the ''Tidal Wave''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s relentless advance pierced the ''Broadside''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s reactor, sending up a mushroom cloud that consumed hundreds of lives. {{storylink|Derailment}}

===''Titans Return'' marketing material===
Partnered with the [[Titan Master]] [[Blunderbuss]], Broadside gained the ability to temporarily alter his size. {{storylink|#Generations|''Titans Return'' Blunderbuss/Broadside toy bio}}

==Commercial appearances==
[[File:Commercial-TripleChangersBroadside.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66]]
Broadside and [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] came to the rescue of [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] and [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]], pinned down by a Decepticon attack. The Autobot [[Triple Changer]]s shifted quickly through their modes to keep pace with their fleeing enemies, the Decepticon Triple Changers [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]]. {{storylink|Commercial/Generation 1#Sandstorm, Broadside, Octane|Sandstorm, Broadside, and Octane commercial}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===''The Transformers'' (PS2)===
{{Note|Broadside is a non-playable character. He appears among the legion of Autobot duplicates in the Decepticon campaign.}}
{{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers}}

===''Transformers: Earth Wars''===
[[File:Broadside-Earth Wars.jpg|300px|thumb|Even Earth Wars didn't like the jet mode.]]

{{chargamestub|{{storylink|Transformers: Earth Wars}}}}

===''Transformers Roleplaying Game''===
Broadside was an Autobot with an aquatic alternate mode. {{storylink|Transformers Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook|Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook}}

==Toys==
===''The Transformers''===
[[File:G1 Broadside toy.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|A brick in two and a half modes.]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Broadside''' (Triple Changer, [[1986]])}}</ul>
:*''Takara ID number'': '''C-85'''
:*''Accessories'': "[[plasma-pulse gun]]", "[[vibro-axe]]", 2 [[missile]]s
{{toydesigner|[[Kaouru Matsumoto]] (TakaraTomy)}}

: Released in the third year of the original ''[[The Transformers (toyline)|The Transformers]]'' toyline, Triple Changer Broadside transforms from a robot to an aircraft carrier or an oddly-proportioned fighter jet that ''somewhat'' resembles a Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker or F/A-18 Hornet. He carries a plasma-pulse gun and a relatively small axe in robot mode. Two non-firing missiles attach to his wings in jet mode or can be held in robot mode.

: Though the instructions imply the spring-loaded jet cockpit is unlocked by swiveling the rear metal fins, no such mechanism actually exists to lock down said cockpit, often leading to a lot of scratched clear blue plastic in carrier mode.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/Broadside/broadside.htm More information on Broadside at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

===''Titans Return''===
[[File:TF-Generations-Titans-Return-Voyager-Broadside.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Over thirty years later, and he's upgraded to only being a brick in ''two'' modes now.]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Blunderbuss & Broadside''' (Voyager Class, [[2017]])}}</ul>
:*''Accessories'': Seated gun, "[[Blunderbuss]]" [[Titan Master]], 5 mini Aerialbot jets
{{toydesigner|[[John Warden]] (Hasbro)}}

: Part of the fourth wave of ''[[Titans Return (toyline)|Titans Return]]'' Voyager-class toys, Broadside is an extensive [[retool]]ing of [[Alpha Trion/toys#Titans Return|Alpha Trion]], transforming into another ''blatantly'' out of scale aircraft carrier and another aircraft-carrier-sized and very not-aerodynamic jet fighter (however, the legs can be shrunken down with some fiddling, and there are many [[fan mode]]s that leave the legs partially untransformed to eliminate the top block). The stock photo depicts the jet mode mistransformed: the robot mode arms are supposed to be collapsed down to make a vaguely more aerodynamic front and eliminate the weird gap below his legs.

: Broadside comes with [[Blunderbuss]], a [[Titan Master]] who transforms from a tiny robot into Broadside's head, and is also compatible with any Deluxe-or-larger ''Titans Return'' figure. Blunderbuss can sit in his jet mode cockpit; in boat mode, Broadside's bridge can flip backwards to form a seat for Blunderbuss to ride in.

: Broadside also features a number Titan Master-compatible pegs across his various modes; the ones on his carrier deck are there specifically to work with the tiny [[Aerialbot (G1)#Titans Return|Aerialbot]] jets included in the package. Based specifically in the alternate modes of their ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' figures released just two years earlier, these five come molded on a sprue and must be cut free.

: Like all ''Titans Return'' figures, Broadside features a small peghole made to accommodate a stand. Unfortunately, due to the nature of his transformations, the peghole will only work for his jet fighter mode. However, this can be circumvented for the robot mode by not keeping his back panel flush to the body.

:Even though early Hasbro CG renders of Blunderbuss used colors very close to the final product's light gray plastic, pre-production samples used for [[stock photography|stock photos]] featured a gray face for Broadside's head and even darker plastic (with a green-ish tint) for Blunderbuss's arms, legs and head. Early stock photos also depicted paint for Broadside's aircraft carrier main deck, which turned out to be stickers on his actual release. Like with the previous wave, the packaging design Broadside was released in was the new "Decepticon" style standard for ''Titans Return'' Voyagers compared to the "Autobot" style used for figures from the first two waves, regardless of actual allegiance.

:In many places, this toy became a [[shelfwarmer]].

:Broadside was further retooled into [[Tidal Wave (G1)#Titans Return|Tidal Wave]].
{{-}}

===''Legends''===
[[File:TF-Legends-LG53-Broadside.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|A brick in two modes plus a ''bug''.]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Broadside''' (Voyager Class, [[2017]])}}</ul>
:*''Release date'': [[November 25]], 2017
:*''ID number'': '''LG53'''
:*''Accessories'': Weapon, Headmaster, Aerialbot sprues, "Repug Armor" Partner Drone

:''[[Transformers Legends (franchise)|Legends]]'' Broadside is a redeco of the ''Titans Return'' Voyager figure, in cartoon-accurate colors and head, and the stickers replaced with tampographs. He retains the Aerialbot miniatures, though they are cast in a shade of gray very close to the color of his deck, making them hard to make out when attached.

: He also comes with a [[Repug Armor#Legends|Repug Armor]] slightly redecoed from the accessory originally included with ''Titans Return'' [[Repugnus (G1)#Titans Return|Repugnus]].
{{-}}

==Merchandise==

===''Transformers Character Card''===
[[File:Transformers Character Card Broadside and Astrotrain.jpg|upright=1|thumb]]
*'''Broadside & Astrotrain Set''' ([[February 6]], [[2023]])
**''ID number:'' '''39 & 40'''

:Released as part of the sixth wave of the [[e-HOBBY]] exclusive ''[[Transformers Character Card]]'' series, this pair of holographic trading cards depict super-deformed art of Broadside and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] along with [[bio|character profiles]] and [[Tech Spec|tech specs]].
::*''[[Source:Transformers Character Card#39|Translation of Broadside's Transformers Character Card]]''

{{--}}

==Notes==
*According to "[[Carnage in C-Minor]]", Broadside has quite a temper when it comes to his paint job.
*In the Italian adaptation of the characters names, all three of the Autobot Triple Changers were named after winds. The Italian name of Broadside, however, fit particularly well because it is also the name of a {{w|Mistral (L9013)|French Navy helicopter carrier}}: "Mistral".
*In the Italian dub, Broadside/Mistral's speech imitates whale song.
*In the original cartoon, as well as in both [[Dreamwave Generation One continuity|Dreamwave]] and [[2005 IDW continuity|IDW]]'s comics, Broadside has been portrayed as a relatively large warrior, likely because one of his altmodes is an aircraft carrier. (In Dreamwave's case, however, he was large only in ''[[Transformers: The War Within|The War Within]]'' series and was "normal-sized" in the modern era.)
*Broadside's bio in Dreamwave's ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' attempts to explain his ability to change into a giant aircraft carrier. Plates, which overlap in his other modes, extend out to cover the mass. As a result, his armor is terribly thin in this mode. It's not like those things need to repel gunfire or anything. (By contrast, ''More than Meets the Eye'' describes Astrotrain as a normally-armored space shuttle whose plates compress when he shrinks to robot mode, making an incredibly dense and armored warrior.)
*Broadside being referred to with feminine pronouns in ''Beast Wars: Uprising'' may have been a nod to ''Uprising'' fan and then-Allspark Forums moderator [https://web.archive.org/web/20210116112539/https://www.allspark.com/forums/user/17368-broadside/ Jolene Blake], who went by the screen name "Broadside".

===Canon or error?===
[[File:Possible-Broadside-appearances.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|So Broadside gets blown up, then found by the Decepticons and rebuilt, and then rejoins the Autobots at a later date, right? If only we knew the writers and animators had ''actually'' put that much thought into these appearances.]]
Trying to determine which episodes Broadside ''actually'' appears in in the Generation 1 cartoon is rather difficult. While he has had several issues with different animation companies flip-flopping between two sets of drastically different [[character model]] sheets based on different toys ([[#Differing designs|see below]]), he also has some discrepancies surrounding the first three episodes he appears in.

The first episode Broadside shows up, is in the episode "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2]]", where he is piloted by the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbot]]s as they go to rescue the other Autobots on [[Quintessa (planet)|Quintessa]]. The [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3|subsequent episode]] then shows him being blown to smithereens after being hit by debris from the detonation of Quintessa, with all of the Autobots onboard being thrown into space from the explosion. Originally Broadside was not scripted for either of these episodes, instead an "'''Aerialbot Carrier'''" is mentioned in the script,<ref>[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1X3ym3afjo_LVOUU6w4jvc9PPB7JLy7jF/view "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2" full script] (quote from script page 45).</ref> with the following description given:

{{quote|''This is a uniquely designed ship that serves as a space and atmosphere-worthy aircraft carrier for the Autobots.''}}

It seems pretty clear that the original intent was for it to just be an ordinary ship, however; the animation department (or possibly someone else in charge of the episode) appears to have taken the descriptor "aircraft carrier" literally and had Broadside replace the "Aerialbot Carrier" based on his [[alternate mode]] matching said descriptor. While this presumably improvised insertion would've been fine originally, the next episode's script called for the carrier to be absolutely obliterated, emphasising that it was to be reduced to "flying pieces of trash".<ref>[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JY3l7qihryrSUjfyZ65m4twbsPNBRKQQ/view "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3" full script] (quote from script page 3).</ref> While it is obvious that Broadside's appearance was not scripted, several other moments within the script also saw some changes in the final episode, such as the "[[Autobot fleet]]" which was meant to be made up of more than just a single carrier, so even comparing the script to the final product is kinda like comparing apples to oranges. With all of that in mind, there are only two logical explanations:
#It's just a case of the animators repurposing a character's animation model as a ship, or
#It's an improvised insertion of a character into a scene, without knowledge of the subsequent episode's fate for the inserted character.
As this script is all the evidence that we have, it's uncertain what the thought process was, as it was likely done on the fly, meaning there are presumably no recorded documents to back up either theory, so it's just a matter of [[Personal canon|choosing]] whether or not to take it as a ship that just happens to look like Broadside being blown up or Broadside himself being blown up, only to return a few episodes later unscathed ([[Omega Supreme (G1)|which wouldn't be]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)|the first time]]). On the other hand, the ''[[Titans Return (toyline)|Titans Return]]'' and ''[[Transformers Legends (franchise)|Legends]]'' Broadside toys included a set of mini, non-transformable ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' (or ''[[Transformers Unite Warriors|Unite Warriors]]'') Aerialbot planes that were presumably made as a reference to these two episodes, so perhaps Hasbro and Takara believe this to be him? Who knows.

The third episode Broadside appears in is "[[The Killing Jar (episode)|The Killing Jar]]", where a [[Quintesson Scientist]] disguises his ship as Broadside to get [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] to board it. While this is not the ''real'' Broadside, and the fact that he is depicted as being allied with the Decepticons is an error in and of itself, the voice that the ship emits is definitely Broadside's and the dialogue script also confirms his role in the episode.<ref>[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Prb53pZ1DIn9HVedXDCJH5rZr7DsM7lS/view "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2" dialogue script] (Broadside's credited line is line 37).</ref> Japan would dub this appearance as "Broadswipe", although the reasoning behind this is unconfirmed (either an intentional change or working off old revisions of the script). But, in [[2017]], the ''[[Transformers Legends (comic)|Legends]]'' comic would say that Broadside used to work for the Decepticons in the past, so unlike the "Five Faces of Darkness" appearances above, this appearance is at least confirmed to be [[canon]] in the [[Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Japanese cartoon continuity]].

===Differing designs===
[[File:Proto broadside.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Awesome... no wait, the opposite.]]
[[File:Broadsidecharactermodels.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|No, that's not a miscolouring, the actual pre-final model has two different colored leg fins!<ref>[http://www.toyarchive.com/Transformers/Cels/Broadside1a.jpg Original pre-final animation model photograph.]</ref>]]
*Broadside has the distinction of having two sets of drastically different character models. His pre-final models are based on a prototype of his toy that apparently went just short of production for some reason and features a similar color palette to his final models. His final models, on the other hand, are based directly on his finished toy. The prototype design—which could be seen in the [[Toy Fair]] 1986 catalog,<ref name="tf86">[https://imgur.com/a/vtnxv Toy Fair 1986 catalog] featuring the infamous Generation 1 Broadside prototype.</ref> at right—was rendered in animated form in the [[AKOM]] episodes "[[Thief in the Night]]" and "Carnage in C-Minor", as well as the commercial for the 1986 [[Triple Changer]] toys. As with most of the characters used in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] comics, all of Broadside's appearances used the pre-final model—even going so far as to color it with the same palette as the prototype toy!
**Bizarrely, Broadside's appearance in "Thief in the Night" (which only depicts him in vehicle mode) is a mash up between both his final and pre-final models. While most of the aircraft carrier is made up of the pre-final model, the cabin of the carrier is shown to be the final model's version, complete with the extra aerials and dishes.
**But wait, it gets even more bizarre! In "Carnage in C-Minor", his robot mode is obviously that of his pre-final model, but [[:File:Broadsidecrushesdevastator.jpg|his aircraft carrier mode]] is his final model colored like his pre-final model! It also features a purple Autobot insignia of all things too. His jet mode in this episode is still the pre-final one, however.
**Broadside's final jet mode model appears twice in the US cartoon, but both of these appearances could be considered continuity errors ([[#Canon or error?|see above]]), meaning that the only proper canonical use of this model (without the aid of a [[retcon]] made thirty odd years after the fact) is in ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]'' cartoon.
**Much like Broadside's aircraft carrier mode in "Carnage in C-Minor", Broadside's final jet mode model used in the "Five Faces of Darkness" episodes is often mis-colored in the pre-final jet mode's colors; the dead giveaways being more red around the cockpit, the black nosecone and the all-gray wings, which feature the missiles that the pre-final model lacks.
**Surprisingly, AKOM animated the episode "[[Grimlock's New Brain]]" as well, but used the character's final model; something that isn't very common for AKOM-animated episodes. However, when you take into consideration the amount of flip-flopping between both sets of Broadside models from the previous AKOM episodes (including the possible non-canonical jet mode appearance in "Five Faces of Darkness"), it appears that they possibly had both sets of models on hand.
*A design based on the prototype of Broadside's toy was also used for the 1986 [[package art]] mural.
*Broadside's [[Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 53|''Legends'' pack-in comic]] retconned his mural/prototype toy design, his pre-final model design and his final model design as all being canon within the Japanese cartoon continuity. The explanation given for Broadside's frequent change of appearance is that due to his lack of confidence and many fears, he'd change his appearance as an attempt at self-improvement.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Broadside''' (ブロードサイド ''Burōdosaido''), '''Broadswipe''' (ブロードスワイブ ''Burōdosuwaipu'')<ref name="broadswipe"/>
*''French:'' '''Navalo''' (Canada)
*''Hungarian:'' '''Deltás'''
*''Italian:'' '''Mistral'''
*''Mandarin:'' '''Xiánpào''' (舷炮, "Broadside")
*''Russian:'' '''Krutoj''' (Крутой, "Tough")
{{--}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Beast Wars: Uprising Autobots]]
[[Category:Beast Wars: Uprising vehicles]]
[[Category:Classics Autobots]]
[[Category:Dreamwave Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Earth Wars Autobots]]
[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 cartoon Autobots]]
[[Category:Generation 1 toy Autobots]]
[[Category:IDW (2005) Autobots]]
[[Category:Legends Autobots]]
[[Category:Lost Light crew]]
[[Category:Marvel Earthforce]]
[[Category:Marvel Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:The Headmasters Autobots]]
[[Category:Regeneration One Autobots]]
[[Category:Sea specialists]]
[[Category:Titans Return Autobots]]
[[Category:Transformers Character Card Autobots]]
[[Category:Transformers Roleplaying Game Autobots]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]
[[Category:Variable gender characters]]
[[Category:Watercraft]]
[[Category:Wreckers]]

Hashtag (ES)

2026-01-05T21:58:27Z

PixelatedShinobi: Prev. listed Takara DX deco as "show-accurate". While technically correct, it's show accurate to the wrong body. Changed to explain the technicalities - the deco is based on her season 1 body, while the actual sculpt is based on her S2 body.

{{factions|terran|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Hashtag}}
:''Hashtag is a [[Terran]] from the [[Transformers: EarthSpark (franchise)|EarthSpark]] [[continuity family]].''

[[File:Hashtag-earthspark-stock.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|[[Alex Malto|Father]], I cannot click the book.]]

We're going to be talking about '''Hashtag Malto''' today, so make sure to Like, Comment, and Subscribe to our feeds! And now without any further ado, let's dive in. Some people might get on Hashtag's case for compulsively surfing the web and sometimes caring more about it than RL, but you can't deny the level of excitement and engagement she brings to every new method of online communication she finds. The young Terran finds herself granted with not just innate internet-savviness but also borderline technopathy thanks to her [[G.H.O.S.T.]] surveillance van [[alternate mode]]. While perhaps not having the best social tact or attention span, she's nevertheless eager to put her skills and abilities to use when it comes to helping her fellow Terran siblings, even if it come off as a little self-aggrandizing at times.

==Fiction==
===''EarthSpark'' cartoon===
{{voiceactor|[[Stephanie Lemelin]] (English), [[Mamiko Noto]] (Japanese)|[[Gabriela Ortiz]] (Latin American Spanish), [[Laura Martínez García]] (Castilian Spanish), [[Jade Jonot]] (French), [[Karina Fonseca]] (Brazilian Portuguese), [[Serena Sigismondo]] (Italian), [[Magdalena Herman-Urbańska]] (Polish), [[Jenny Maria Meyer]] (German)}}

[[File:Earthspark AOEP2 HashtagSkywarpTale.jpg|thumb|left|300px|They were just roommates!]] Hashtag was first brought to life, at the same as her other siblings [[Jawbreaker (ES)|Jawbreaker]] and [[Nightshade (ES)|Nightshade]], by the Malto siblings of [[Mo Malto| Mo]] and [[Robby Malto| Robby]] via the [[Emberstone]] in the same cave where her other Terran siblings, [[Twitch]] and [[Thrash (ES)|Thrash]] were first created. The otherwise happy moment was interrupted by a cave-in caused by a battle outside of the cave between [[Optimus Prime (ES)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Bumblebee (ES)|Bumblebee]] against the Decepticon Seekers, [[Skywarp (ES)| Skywarp]] and [[Nova Storm (ES)| Nova Storm]]. {{storylink|Age of Evolution, Part 1}} Despite being only a few seconds old, Hashtag and the other new Terrans instinctually came to their new family's safety by shielding them from the collapsing cave rubble.

Emerging from the collapsed cave, she was warmly greeted by the legendary Optimus, who inquired about her and her siblings' names. Stuck at a loss, Robby used his [[Cyber-sleeve]] connection to the new Terrans to inform everyone her name was "Hashtag", leading her to gasp that he was correct as she didn't have the word to describe what it was. Sensing the pain the other Maltos and Terrans felt about learning their [[Dot Malto|mother]] was held captive by someone called [[Mandroid]], Hashtag eagerly volunteered to help them. Infiltrating Mandroid's base with Jawbreaker and Nightshade posing as Decepticons who had captured Optimus, Hashtag put on an over-the-top Australian accent, claiming to be a Decepticon called "Sparkleplug" who used to be Skywarp's roommate in "Bad Guy School". Seeing through their disguise, a battle soon erupted that saw Mandroid's base turn into a walking Mech that took the combined efforts of Malto family and their allies to take down. Following the battle, Hashtag was formally introduced to Dot and welcomed into her family. {{storylink|Age of Evolution, Part 2}}

[[File:Hashtag Hashtagoops.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Run Hashtag.exe]]
Having moved into the Malto farmstead, Hashtag quickly developed more of an interest in using her phone to watch videos on the internet than learning how to be a Transformer. Twitch, eager to be a mentor to her younger sister, brought Hashtag into [[Witwicky (town)|Witwicky]] to help her find an alt-mode but found Hashtag was still more concerned with getting a good Wi-Fi signal. Bartering with Hashtag that if she got an alt-mode they could go back home where there was Wi-Fi, Hashtag scanned the first thing she saw, which turned to out to be a G.H.O.S.T. surveillance van. As a result, Hashtag found herself inadvertently abducted by three G.H.O.S.T. agents who mistook her for their actual van. Taken to their secret mountainside base, Hashtag soon learned her alt-mode granted her the ability to connect to any Wi-Fi point on the planet. With the help of Twitch and Bumblebee, she was able to use these new found abilities to escape G.H.O.S.T.'s base. Back at the Malto family home, she covered for her sister Twitch when asked if the two and Bumblebee had gotten in any trouble. Nightshade soon arrived and introduced everyone to the [[dugout|new base]] they had been working on that would serve as a new living space for the Terrans. Hashtag, for her part, eagerly said she could provide the Wi-Fi. {{storylink|Hashtag: Oops}}

When Jawbreaker was attempting to video interview others asking about how to get an alt-mode, Hashtag eagerly volunteered her services to aide her brother. While well-intentioned, Hashtag's efforts soon became more about trying to turn Jawbreaker's personal quest into an attempt at her "directorial debut". When she brought Jawbreaker to have a [[spark]]-to-spark conversation with Megatron and [[Elita-1 (ES)|Elita-1]] about alt-modes, Jawbreaker finally called her out on her being more concerned with making a movie than his feelings. Following chasing down a rogue [[Arachnamech]] that tried to scurry away with their camera containing highly-sensitive Transformer information, Hashtag apologized to Jawbreaker. Later that night, Jawbreaker surprised Hashtag with a home movie cobbled together from the remains of her footage, as well promising her when he finally decided on an alt-mode she'd be the first to know about it. {{storylink|Outtakes}} Hashtag later, more indirectly, aided in another of her siblings' personal quests when she provided [[Nightshade (ES)|Nightshade]] with the last known address of famed author D.E. O'Neil. which led to Nightshade encountering the Decepticon, [[Tarantulas (ES)|Tarantulas]]. {{storylink|Missed Connection}}

When [[Jon Schloder|Agent Schloder]] arrived at the Malto family farm hot on the trail of finding Bumblebee, Hashtag and Nightshade used the opportunity to show off the new "Emergency Lockdown" protocol they had installed in the Terran base. Sealing up the base whenever a G.H.O.S.T. vehicle (Hashtag excluded) was sighted, it made entry into the dugout virtually impossible. Unfortunately the two hadn't worked out all the kinks yet and after Schloder departed they discovered that instead of keeping the lockdown going for 10 minutes, it was instead set for 10 ''hours''. Stuck in the base, Hashtag and the others were unable to help Bumblebee and Dot in their attempts to evade G.H.OS.T. When Dot and Alex returned later that night and informed them Bee had to go back on the run, Hashtag confronted the devastated Twitch. {{storylink|Security Protocols}} When Hashtag and the Maltos found themselves being terrorized by a mother bear looking for her cub, Hashtag tried to use advice she found online on how to survive a bear attack, with each attempt being less helpful than the last. {{storylink|Bear Necessities}}

[[File:Hashtag MegatronSelfie Warzone.jpg|thumb|left|300px|#timeandplace]]
Hashtag, along with the other Terrans and Malto children, was soon taken by Megatron to [[Spacebridge Memorial Park]] to learn of the history of the Autobot/Decepticon War, though when she attempted to go for a poorly-timed selfie with Megatron she learned that the memorial probably wasn't the best place for that. When the history lesson was interrupted by the returning Shockwave, Hashtag found herself forced into stasis lock by a stray shot from The Immobilizer. Upon Shockwave's defeat, Megatron was able to free her. {{storylink|Warzone}}

When the Terrans were taken by Robby and Mo to their old home city of [[Philadelphia]], Hashtag's initial eagerness at experiencing city-life quickly soured when she encountered anti-Cybertronian sentiment in the city. Dejected, she and Twitch were comforted by Robby to not blame themselves for his own disappointment he had in discovering this about his old home town. Upon being re-united with the rest of her family, Hashtag was surprised to see Bumblebee returning in tow with them, who then recruited his students for their first real mission; recovering the lost Autobot, [[Grimlock (ES)|Grimlock]]. {{storylink|Home, Part 1}}

[[File:HashtagMindControl HomePart2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Error 404_Hashtag Not Found]]
However, the rescue mission quickly turned into a battle with the returning Mandroid and his latest Arachnamech creation. During the battle, Hashtag discovered her Wi-fi powers went beyond just being to connect to the internet, being able to remotely control any machine that was hooked up to the city's Wi-fi. Using this to take control of the city's trains, she was able to quickly destroy Mandroid's Arachmench army. Seeing Mandroid was still in the vicinity, Hashtag went to apprehend him, only for the scientist to deploy his latest creation on the young Terran; a control badge that was able to make Cybertronians his obedient drones. Before departing, Mandroid ordered the subservient Hashtag to return to him with her Terran siblings either alive or in pieces. While Hashtag's body battled it out with her family, Hashtag's consciousness found herself being mentally tortured by a digital avatar of Mandroid, preying on her fears of being hated by humans and having no real home. Unable to remove her control badge by force, the Maltos were able to free Hashtag from Mandroid's control when they were empowered by a strange energy originating from the same cave where the Terrans were born. Breaking through Mandroid's control through their connected sense of family, Hashtag was comforted by Twitch upon coming to her senses. With the morning approaching, Hashtag and the others raced back to [[Witwicky (town)|Witwicky]] before their parents could wake up. {{storylink|Home, Part 2}}

The kids encountered Grimlock while collecting flowers in the woods and had to flee back to the farm, where they eventually fought the Dinobot into submission. Hashtag was later training in the quarry by punching rocks Elita-1 was throwing when Jawbreaker joined them. When Grimlock lost control again, rampaging through Witwicky, Hashtag joined Elita-1 in trying to reign him in, until Jawbreaker was eventually able to talk him down from his rage. {{storylink|A Stygi Situation}} When Robby's cyber-sleeve manifested a new shield ability, Optimus smuggled the entire Malto family into G.H.O.S.T. HQ to have [[Teletraan I (ES)|Teletraan I]] scan the devices. The kids were later training in the base's rec room when Robby asked Hashtag to raise the difficulty. While she was doing so, Mandroid took control of the system, unleashing a holographic Megatron on them, and though Hashtag was able to shut it down, the fight resulted in Robby's cyber-sleeve becoming inactive and the emotional link between the kids was lost. {{storylink|Disarmed}}

While trying to reactivate the cyber-sleeves with the cave water that the Maltobots were using to energize, the kids stumbled on a cave system through which [[Starscream (ES)|Starscream]], Nova Storm and Skywarp were trying to escape. Things were complicated more when they encountered the energon-feeding [[Dweller (ES)|Dweller]] and when Starscream was separated from the others, Hashtag, sympathetic to his tales of abuse at the hands of Megatron, went to his aid. When a plan to lure the Dweller went wrong, Starscream almost sacrificed himself to give Hashtag the opportunity to get away, but she was able to use the energising power of the cave water to drag the beast to its doom. {{storylink|What Dwells Within}} Robby's cyber-sleeve began affecting his health, and Dot assured the other kids that they'd do all they could to help the boy get better. When the other human members of the Malto family lapsed into unconsciousness, the Maltobots took care of them until they recovered, having had an encounter with Quintus Prime that restored both Robby's health and the cyber-sleeves. {{storylink|Prime Time (episode)|Prime Time}}

When Bumblebee was tasked with infiltrating G.H.O.S.T. HQ, the kids resolved to help their mentor. Hashtag, Jawbreaker and Mo remained at the Dugout to monitor the others as they sneaked into the HQ, though Hashtag was able to remotely operate systems for them. {{storylink|Stowed Away, Stowaways}} The trio rejoined the rest of the family in Witwicky when it turned out they were facing a Mandroid-controlled Shockwave, and managed to take down the Decepticon, shortly before being surrounded by G.H.O.S.T. agents. With a timely intervention by their parents, they were able to escape back to the farm and revive Shockwave, only for Croft to arrive with an army of Ghoids. During the ensuing battle, the Maltos, with the help of the Autobots, overcame the Ghoids, only to face Croft to disabling the Autobots and the arrival of Mandroid, grotesquely enhanced into a new robotic form. {{storylink|The Battle of Witwicky}}

The Malto family attempted to escape from Mandroid and his two [[Sharkticon (species)|Sharkticon]] henchmen, but during the flight, a missile resulted in Thrash, Hashtag and Jawbreaker plunging over a waterfall. {{storylink|The Last Hope, Part 1}} The trio survived the fall and successfully tracked down Twitch and Nightshade who'd freed Bumblebee and Schloder from G.H.O.S.T. HQ., helping them overcome a Mandroid-controlled Optimus. As they headed for the spire Mandroid had erected, they encountered more controlled Autobots and Hashtag had to stay behind to battle the Sharkticons with Nightshade and Jawbreaker, allowing Twitch and Thrash to go on ahead, however Mandroid successfully activated his superweapon, putting Hashtag and the other Transformers on Earth into shutdown. Fortunately Mo and Robby were able to reverse the process using their cyber-sleeves to channel the power of Quintus Prime, and the Malto family were reunited. {{storylink|The Last Hope, Part 2}}

During a mission to retrieve a shard of the shattered Emberstone, Hashtag and Thrash pursued Breakdown. The Con tossed the shard into a puddle, resulting in the creation of the Chaos Terran [[Aftermath (ES)|Aftermath]], who injured Hashtag using his tow hook. She was hurt badly enough, she had to spend time hooked up to medical equipment to recover and missed out on the subsequent mission to try to steal the Decepticon embershard hoard. {{storylink|Aftermath (ES episode)|Aftermath}} Hashtag teamed up with Jawbreaker as the family searched the Witwicky surrounding area for loose Embershards. {{storylink|In Ruins}}

Hashtag migrated her systems over to the Autobot mainframe after G.H.O.S.T. was shut down, granting her a virtual assistant named [[V.A.L.]] After Optimus suggested she might want to select a new alternate mode, she was wracked with indecision and pondered many choices while helping clean out the base. The Decepticons were after the hard drives that were being discarded, leading to Hashtag having a run-in with Shockwave and scanning a new pickup truck alternate mode, allowing her to escape Shockwave with the hard drive he was after. {{storylink|Control Alt Delete}} Hashtag joined the family for a trip to pick up more cave water, only to discover Aftermath had swiped it all. {{storylink|Togetherness}}

As part of the [[Polyhex Protocol]], the Malto family took part in an assault course to decide who would go on an Autobot mission. Hashtag was eliminated after the overhead bars collapsed. {{storylink|Spitfire (episode)|Spitfire}} Robby and Hashtag persuaded Optimus to take part in a photoshoot for [[Trucks Illustrated]] and promised to get his trailer nice and clean for the event. Unfortunately their cleaning party was crashed by the Decepticons who ended up thoroughly trashing the trailer in their attempts to get inside. The rest of the kids came to their rescue and Hashtag was able to tow the trailer to the photoshoot in the nick of time. {{storylink|Dude, Where's My Trailer?}}

Hashtag accompanied Mo into the caves beneath Witwicky to help her sibling complete a history report. After braving Dwellers and working their way through the tunnel system, they found the [[Titan (group)|Titan]] [[Terratronus]] and realized Starscream's plan was to take control of her. {{storylink|Witwicky, Part 1}} The pair contacted the rest of the family, but once Starscream completed the Emberstone, the Decepticon leader ejected them from Terratronus's spark chamber and enacted his plan. Hashtag and Thrash were able to get Robby and Mo to a safe location where the two kids used their cyber-sleeves to trap Terratronus and Starscream in a [[Chaos Dome]]. {{storylink|Witwicky, Part 2}}

When Robbie wanted to watch a movie with Izzy, Hashtag asserted that he must watch it on a big screen, leading the family to arrange a movie venue and Hashtag picking out the movie ''[[The Alien Mole Bots Who Ate Philadelphia]]'', though her posting about it on social media meant that much of the town turned out. She accidentally bumped Nightshade's [[hyper-reality film projector]], resulting in the [[Mole Bot]]s emerging from the film and causing havoc while the Terrans tried to round them up. {{storylink|Attack of the Drive-In Movie}} The Malto kids were lured into a trap by Fairmaestro, who had them take part in a series of tests which they failed solely due to Twitch helping everyone else. This resulted in Hashtag, Jawbreaker and Nightshade being trapped as part of a ride until they were able to escape and help Twitch overcome Fairmaestro. {{storylink|The Great Escape}}

Hashtag hacked the controls on the [[Hypershuttle]], allowing the Malto kids to use it to get to an old G.H.O.S.T. base in the [[Arctic]] for some snow fun. Meanwhile, back at base the Autobots were infected with [[Hate Plague]]. The discovery that cold was an effective cure meant Hashtag could remote hack the base's systems and flood it with coolant gas, curing everyone. {{storylink|Fire and Ice}} The family assembled at the Autobot base for a briefing on the Hate Plague. {{storylink|The Truth Is Out There}} When the [[Quintesson]]s arrived in a huge ship, the Autobots and Maltos assembled at the edge of the [[Chaos Dome]] to greet it. The Quintessons destroyed the dome, unleashing a violent storm of chaos energies and the group had to scramble to save Witwicky's citizens from it. {{storylink|Judgment Day, Part 1}} Hashtag took part in a diversionary battle while Mo brought Terratronus back to life, and was subsequently one of the family members who cyber-synced with the Titan, enabling her to destroy the Quintessons. {{storylink|Judgment Day, Part 2}}

==Games==
===''Transformers: EarthSpark - Expedition''===
{{voiceactor|[[Lauren Weisman]] (English)|[[Sietske van Peursem]] (Dutch), [[Marie Nonnenmacher]] (French), [[Marcel Mann]] (German), [[Mary Giugliano]] (Italian), [[Agata Woźnicka]] (Polish), [[Anna Mestre]] (Spanish)}}
{{charfictionstub|{{storylink|Transformers: EarthSpark - Expedition}}}}

==Toys==
===''EarthSpark''===
{{anchor|Tacticon}}
[[File:TF-Earthspark-Tacticon-Hashtag.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.67|]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Terran Hashtag''' (Tacticon Assortment, [[2023]])}}</ul>

: Part of the second wave of Hasbro's ''[[Transformers: EarthSpark (toyline)| EarthSpark]]'' "Tacticon assortment", "Terran Hashtag" is a tiny figure that converts from a tiny G.H.O.S.T. surveillance van into a non-poseable robot with just a single step, activated by inserting your fingertip into the van's back end. Conversion back to van mode needs to be done fully manually, though.

{{-}}{{anchor|DX}}
[[File:TF-EarthSpark-JP-ESD-13-DX-Terran-Hashtag.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-terran|'''DX Terran Hashtag''' (DX Series, [[2024]])}}</ul>
:*''ID Number'': '''ESD-13'''
:*''Release date'': [[July 27]], 2024
:*''Accessories'': Two guns

: Released in the fifth wave of TakaraTomy's ''EarthSpark'' DX Series toys, this release is a [[redeco]] and minor [[retool]]ing of the Hasbro Warrior Class Hashtag (see below). Aside from her more extensive deco, the "Combine & Ride" gimmick has been removed, leaving a simple plain panel in its place. She now comes with a pair of 5 mm-compatible small pistols which can be stored in robot mode by sliding the sights into the slots on the back (since they're not being used for "Combine and Ride") or attaching to tabs on the sides of the torso, or on the tabs on the sides of the truck bed in either mode. Hashtag's deco is based on her season 1 G.H.O.S.T van body, not her later pickup truck body, most clearly identifiable by the presence of orange lights on the insides of her faux-wheels.

{{-}}{{anchor|Deluxe}}
[[File:Earthsparktoy-DeluxeHashtag.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-terran|'''Terran Hashtag''' (Deluxe, 2025)}}</ul>
:*''Accessories'': Pistol, tow hook

: Part of the seventh wave of Hasbro's ''[[Transformers: EarthSpark (toyline)|EarthSpark]]'' Deluxe Class figures, Hashtag converts from a robot to pick-up truck in 14 steps. She includes a small pistol, as well as an axe-like tow hook. The pistol can store on a panel beneath her truck truck bed. In robot mode, the tow hook can be wielded as either an axe or a crossbow-type blaster, or can store on her arm or back; in vehicle mode, it can mount on the truck bed or underneath the front bumper. The [[:File:EarthsparkDeluxeHashtagStock.jpg|stock photography]] is missing deco on the faux-leg-tires which exists on the production toy.

:Hashtag and her wave-mate [[Soundwave (ES)#Deluxe|Soundwave]] came in the updated 2025 ''Earthspark'' packaging.

{{-}}{{anchor|Warrior}}
[[File:TF-EarthSpark-Warrior-Class-Hashtag.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.67]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-terran|'''Terran Hashtag''' (Warrior Class, [[2025]])}}</ul>

: Part of the sixth wave of Warrior Class figures, "Terran Hashtag" transforms from a purple pickup truck of probably-made-up model to a robot in just 10 steps. Her hands are [[5 mm post]] compatible, but she comes with no accessories herself.

: Hashtag features a "Combine & Ride" gimmick similar to the ''[[Transformers: Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' Autobots' "[[Powerlinx]]" gimmick, that allows her to form an upper body to attach to a compatible vehicle mode, or to allow another "Combine & Ride" Warrior Class figure to attach to the top of her pick-up truck mode. Her combination connectors are also compatible with ''EarthSpark'' Cyber Combiner figures.
{{comingsoontoy}}
{{-}}

==Notes==
* Hashtag was designed by [[Nick Roche]].<ref name = "ES2">{{citesocial|quote=So, as far as I remember... Out of the new ones, I worked on the Bot mode for Breakdown, Bot mode for Grimlock... took passes at Nightshade and Dino Grim, but didn't make it (They're mostly Ciro's?) but Shockwave, Hashtag and Tarantulas started as my 2D designs!|link=https://twitter.com/NickRoche/status/1631974068445388803|site=Twitter|name=Nick Roche|year=2023|month=03|day=4}}</ref>
* An unrealized episode idea from the ''Earthspark'' Series Production Bible would've seen Hashtag posing as a human online, resulting in a dilemma when Hashtag's online friends want to meet up with her in real life.
* The Deluxe toy was revealed online prior to the final Earthspark season, giving fans spoilers as to the character's new mode before the relevant episode aired.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Hashtag''' (ハッシュタグ ''Hasshutagu'')
*''Hungarian:'' '''Fruska''' ("Filly")
*''Mandarin:'' '''Miàoyǔ''' (妙语, "Punchline")

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:EarthSpark Autobots]]
[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:Terrans]]