MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:Tailgate (G1)

2013-12-30T21:36:06Z

Retep911: /* Note section */

== Mexican Tailgate ==

[http://www.tf-1.com/articles/eurous/yellowtail_template.html]--[[User:Nevermore|Nevermore]] 19:24, 17 October 2011 (EDT)

==Main image and opening paragraph==
His main image should be his first body, of which that art is definitely not. And there's not really an excuse for not mentioning his only character trait for 25 years. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 21:34, 21 September 2012 (EDT)
:Firstly, it wasn't his sole character trait - neither his Marvel UK nor Japanese comic appearances (the latter of which is set on Earth) show ANY sign of him obsessing over inanimate objects. Indeed, his Marvel UK appearance shows him as concerned about being thought a coward, and level-headed under pressure, which are character traits which DON'T fit with his TFU bio (I worked that in to the top section - it isn't pure IDW MtMtE).
:And, yes, it is ''mentioned'' ("...sensitive to the point of irrationality" is basically how the DW bio puts it), but it shouldn't be given such prominence ōwhen it '''doesn't fit with *ANY* of his fictional appearances, and contradicts most of them'''. If there was a "Transformers Universe bio continuity" section (lots of them, not just Tailgate, are either ignored or outright contradicted by even their Marvel in-comic appearances), or you want to work it into the Dreamwave section, that would make sense rather than forcing it in when it doesn't apply to any of the sections it leads into.
:As for the image... that doesn't seem to be a hard rule - the most obvious expression being the pages of those who appear in both the Prime cartoon and War for Cybertron, who should have WfC pictures for the mainpic by that rule - it both came out months before Prime episode 1 aired *and* is set before it fictionally (Starscream & Soundwave being the most blatant examples, since their bodies in the game and cartoon bear virtually no resemblance to one another). And there are others - shouldn't Movie Prime & Starscream have their Protoform bodies for mainpics, Optimus Primal should be his bat body, BW Megatron his alligator body, BW Dinobot have colouring to match the cartoon/original release rather than the BWX redeco with the bright blue highlights, and so forth. On that basis, since this is the first body in which Tailgate has ''regularly done stuff'' and shows character, this fits fine with my reading. - [[User:Mammalian Verisimilitude|Mammalian Verisimilitude]] 06:34, 22 September 2012 (EDT)
::I disagree with your wall of text. Tailgate's intro paragraph has no excuse to completely ignore the only personality we know he has in any continuity but IDW, and whatever you think you wrote that included it, nobody but you sees it. -[[User:LV|LV]] 10:00, 22 September 2012 (EDT)
:::Okay, in short words - show me where in [[Underworld!|UK #245]] or the [[Fight!_Super_Robot_Lifeform_Transformers_issue_7|JG1 #7]]-[[Fight!_Super_Robot_Lifeform_Transformers_issue_8|#8]], ''neither of which he is a background character in'', he shows ANY trace of the personality the TFU bio gives for him. - [[User:Mammalian Verisimilitude|Mammalian Verisimilitude]] 10:54, 22 September 2012 (EDT)
::::You act as if Furman or the Japanese mangas ignoring the bio character traits and making them generic guys acting generically is somehow uncommon. Never mind that in "Underworld", ''Tailgate is not on Earth''. Kind of a vital component to trigger his crazy missing there. --[[User:M Sipher|M Sipher]] 15:06, 22 September 2012 (EDT)
::::::I really dislike giving his IDW personality complete prominence over the TFU/toy bio that has been his only character personality for decades.i thought our policy was the opening paragraph should be Continuity Neutral and if there were different portrayals they went in the fiction section? At the very least the TFU bio NEEDS to be here somewhere. It was Who he is FAR longer than his new IDW stuff well written or not.--[[Special:Contributions/76.28.76.206|76.28.76.206]] 15:28, 22 September 2012 (EDT)
:::::::Query: Why is it that Tailgate's opening paragraph can't mention the personality he's been given in IDW, whereas Swerve's features it prominently? [[Special:Contributions/68.42.199.32|68.42.199.32]] 14:10, 25 September 2012 (EDT)

==Main image part 2==
This is just my personal opinion, but I ''really'' do not like Tailgate's new main image. It looks...amatuerish. Maybe it's a bad scan, I don't know, but to me it looks really bad. I'd much prefer the Universe profile image than ''that'', and I don't like the Universe art that much (bit too bland and un-transformable for my liking). Thoughts? Or am I alone in this opinion? [[User:Bobpiecheese|Bobpiecheese]] 01:28, 23 September 2012 (EDT)
:It looks horrible, yes. [[Special:Contributions/68.42.199.32|68.42.199.32]] 15:29, 23 September 2012 (EDT)
::Agreed, the Universe art is preferred to this. Or perhaps if someone could snag the Dreamwave MTMTE art? I forgot if that was good or not. --[[User:Nu-Priest|Nu-Priest]] 19:33, 23 September 2012 (EDT)
:::Personally, I like it for the variety. We have an awful lot of TFU and MTMTE images for mainpics already, and although this one is pretty bad, it's a change. -[[User:LV|LV]] 20:06, 23 September 2012 (EDT)
::::Here's the MTMTE art, though it's typical Dreamwave.[[User:Riddlerj|Riddlerj]] 16:49, 25 September 2012 (EDT)
[[Image:TailgateMTMTEProfileArt.jpg|150px]]

== Opening paragraph II ==

So, in light of the revelations of MTMTE #13.... shouldn't we revise? Again? -- [[User:Repowers|Repowers]] 22:21, 9 April 2013 (EDT)
: Yeah. It's kinda awkward to have the opening go on about what a super-awesome soldier Tailgate is when we know he never actually did any of the stuff he said he did. -[[User:Ookalf|Ookalf]] 22:42, 22 April 2013 (EDT)

== Note section ==

i had a slight thought earlier one day, but its gone, so i'll say again. you know, in the comic, when he's draining the bomb? of propex? and the green inner energon? what if they mixed, and he poured out propex and energon for the vial as an offering to cyclonus? just a thought for a note, that went for some reason. -- [[User:Retep911|Retep911]] 16:20, 28 december 2013
:Because James Roberts explicitly said that his energon is supposed to be that color. It had nothing to do with the propex. --[[User:Detour|Detour]] ([[User talk:Detour|talk]]) 12:45, 28 December 2013 (EST)
:Thank you for clearing that up. I didn't know the writer had said that about the subject. Thanks again. [[User:Retep911|Retep911]] 21:34, 30/12/2013 (GMT)

Talk:Tailgate (G1)

2013-12-28T16:22:08Z

Retep911:

Tailgate (G1)

2013-12-24T21:30:56Z

Retep911: possible note people have skipped (summary of edit)

{{factions|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Tailgate}}
:''Tailgate is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:Tailgate universe.jpg|250px|thumb|Shake harder, boy!]]
The naïve '''Tailgate''' needs to be liked. It's hardly the most unique of flaws, but he has an unfortunate, childlike, tendency towards extremes. Placed in a situation with [[Autobot]]s who don't know him from [[Primon]], this sanitation 'Bot will spin a tall tale the height of a [[Metrotitan (body-type)|Metrotitan]] in an attempt to impress his fellows before it all comes crashing down. And it ultimately will - while he's a 'Bot with a spark of gold, he's broadly unfocused, frequently distracted and easily led, and often gets impulsive, irrational obsessions. And his timekeeping ''sucks''.

Easily his most distinctive mental issue is his occasional inability to tell the difference between a non-living [[Earth]] machine and sentient robotic life such as himself. While it's a [[:Image:Ratchetfriendtrafficsignal.jpg|mistake many other Cybertronians have made at first]], typically they learn quickly and let it go. Not Tailgate. Once he gets it into his head, his compassion turns to rage against the "enslavers", and is quite vocal in his desire to "free" the machines of Earth.

That boy ain't right.

Sometimes, he acts as a scout—with strict orders not to break cover for any reason. In this, he is aided by a ridiculously powerful iron-cobalt magnet installed behind his bumper, which he can use to follow closely behind other vehicles and travel far into enemy territory using minimal fuel.

{{TOCclear}}

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' comic====
[[File:FSRLmanga7 Tailgate.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Rumors help him grow. Paranoia nurtures him.]]
With the [[Autobot]]s being framed by the [[Decepticon Trailer Brigade]] for numerous crimes, [[Kenji]] was feeling a bit dejected at how his schoolyard chums were suddenly turning on them. Tailgate appeared to give him a lift home from school and attempted to cheer him up, reminding him that as an [[Honorary Autobot]] he had nothing to worry about. Their drive was interrupted by a crowd gathering around a display put on by a pair of robed figures (secretly [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]]), decrying the Autobots and preaching the heroism of the [[Decepticon]]s. The rest of the Autobots soon arrived to straighten things out. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 7|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #7}}

Tailgate later responded to a distress signal sent from [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]], who was fighting to rescue a [[Murdered puppy|puppy]] that was brimming over with [[Decepticon super science]] from the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]]. Dying from its wounds, the dog transferred the super science into Powerglide, giving him brief access to [[Scramble Power]]. Along with the other [[Mini Vehicle|Minibot]]s, Tailgate merged with Powerglide into a [[Minibot combiner]] and swiftly defeated [[Bruticus (G1)|Bructicus]]. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 8|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers #8}}
{{-}}

====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Ted Schwartz]] (English), [[Ken Shiroyama]] (Japanese), [[Jorge García]] (Latin American)

[[File:FFoD5 MiniVehicles.jpg|220px|thumb|"That machine is alive I tell you! Aliv—" "WE KNOW, TAILGATE!"]]
Tailgate was one of a group of [[Mini Vehicle|Minibots]] stationed at the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] in 2006. When the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] built [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] out of a human city, [[Mount St. Hilary]] and the Ark were the first stop on his journey to destroy Metroplex. Tailgate and the other Autobots on duty rolled out to defend the Ark with all the firepower at their disposal. It didn't go very well. The Ark was left devastated in Trypticon's mighty wake, and Tailgate's troops were beaten and scattered by the colossal dinosaur. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}
{{-}}

====''Wings Universe''====
[[File:BattleLines6-UltraMagnus.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]
Tailgate was present at the first "meeting" of [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] nine million years ago. {{storylink|Battle Lines, Part 6}}
{{-}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Marvel UK Generation 1 comics====
[[File:Underworld!-TailgateFlattopSubsea.jpg|thumb|"I'M NOT A COWARD!"]]
Tailgate was one of the Autobots working with [[Emirate]] [[Xaaron]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]'s covert cell on Cybertron, and was briefly seen when [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] came to Cybertron and rallied the troops for an assault on [[Darkmount (Cybertron)|Darkmount]]. {{storylink|Resurrection!}}

He eventually finished his training at the [[Autobot Military Academy]], but upon graduation was provoked into joining [[Flattop (Autobot)|Flattop]] and [[Subsea]] in venturing [[Underworld|underground]], in order to prove his courage. When a group of [[Mutant (G1)|Cybertronian Mutants]] attacked and slaughtered his fellow cadets, Tailgate stood his ground. A blast into [[Smeltdown]]'s chest-furnace obliterated most of the sewer-dwellers, leaving only the ape-like [[Rotgut]]. However, a little quick thinking, and Tailgate was able to use the larger machine's bulk against him, flipping Rotgut into the pyre left in Smeltdown's wake. Thus, he proved he was not a coward... and also not very good at watching his friends' backs in a fight. [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] and [[Outback (G1)|Outback]] eventually arrived as Tailgate surfaced and let them know of his fellow cadets' fate.

Unfortunately, Tailgate's actions inadvertently [[Demon|woke something ''worse'' than the Mutants]]... {{storylink|Underworld!}}
{{-}}

====''Regeneration One''====
{{noterg1}}
Tailgate particpated in the defense of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] against the onslaught of the [[Blitz Engine]]s and the Decepticon crew of the [[Warworld]]. He didn't have time to do much of anything except get shot by [[Needlenose]]. {{storylink|Destiny, Part Five}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity===
[[File:BlackSunshine Autobot training failures.jpg|thumb|left]]
Tailgate was among the Autobot civilians who watched [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s anti-Optimus-Prime propaganda broadcasts. {{storylink|Cold War (issue)|Cold War}} Didn't seem to do the trick, though, as he was later seen training alongside several Autobot recruits against [[auto-combatant]]s following Shockwave's defeat. None of them fared particularly well in training, however, much to [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]'s dismay. {{storylink|Black Sunshine}}
{{-}}

===IDW Generation 1 continuity===
{{ongoing}}
{{note|Tailgate in the [[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]] is an ancient Cybertronian who is not, as of yet, an Autobot.''}}
[[File:MTMTE1 tailgate damaged.jpg|thumb|300px]]
Tailgate was born in [[Rivets Field]] six million years ago, two weeks before the launch of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark-1]]. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} Assigned the role of fourth-class sanitation 'bot, he was tasked with cleaning out the craft's coolant tubes before take-off, {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} but ran late to the job and made the mistake of trying to make up the time by short-cutting across the fragile [[Mitteous Plateau]]. The terrain collapsed out from under him, leaving him badly damaged and trapped underground, but he soon hit upon the plan of detonating the trailer-full of [[energon]] rations he had brought with him in hopes of blasting his way out. Unfortunately for him, he kept repeatedly passing out as he set this up, and with his chronometer damaged had no way of measuring the passage of time. He finally succeeded ''six million years later'', and was dragged from his pit by a group of Autobot who were on their way to depart the planet on the starship ''[[Lost Light]]'' launch. Suffering a panic attack and passing out when he saw his explosion had damaged [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]], the unconscious Tailgate was brought aboard the ''Lost Light'' by the Autobots, since he'd mentioned "the launch" and they had who had no idea who he was. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|How to Say Goodbye and Mean It}}

[[File:MTMTE2 Tailgate.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Just your average kick-boxing, bomb disposing, metaphysics and epistemology student, and I once caught a fish ''this big!'']]
[[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] soon discovered Tailgate's age when he studied his ancient systems, and called [[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] in to carbon-date him. Tailgate woke up before that was necessary (happily observing that he hadn't killed "Nut-Job", as he mistakenly thought Whirl was called), so Swerve instead gleefully took it upon himself to inform him how long he'd been offline. {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} Tailgate was horrified and heartbroken: by all rights, he should have been found in days, but the length of his absence made it clear he was so unimportant that nobody had noticed or ''cared'' he was missing. Since there was nobody around who knew the truth, and since he had always wanted to do something big and heroic with this life, Tailgate decided to make up a dramatic, overblown past for himself. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} He and Swerve went for a walk, during which he claimed that the damaged "Waste Disposal" decal on his arm actually read "Bomb Disposal", and that he had been part of the [[Primal Vanguard]], though Swerve was more interested in seeing his [[alternate mode]]. After Tailgate was introduced to [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]], the group were caught up in a battle between the amnesiac [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and some [[Legislator|strange robots]], in whose repeated chanting of "nineteen-eighty-four" Tailgate took an interest.

A little later, back on the ''Lost Light'', Swerve finally convinced Tailgate to attempt to transform, {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 2: Hangers On|Hangers On}} but he wound up getting stuck halfway. It was at this inopportune moment that the crew were ordered back to their rooms, since a [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]] had been reported loose aboard the ship; spotting [[Cyclonus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Cyclonus]], another Transformer from his time, Tailgate asked for some help getting to a room. Cyclonus carried the half-transformed Tailgate there and quite rudely dumped him on the ground. As the Sparkeater situation unfolded outside, the two ancient 'bots discussed the six million year gap in history they missed; Cyclonus described the [[Great War (G1)|Autobot-Decepticon conflict]] to Tailgate as he understood it, romanticizing the Decepticons' position enough that later, as Ratchet was unsticking his half-transformed body, Tailgate declared that he wanted to ''be'' a Decepticon! {{storylink|Liars, A to D Part 3: The Chaos of Warm Things|The Chaos of Warm Things}}

[[File:Cyclonus Tailgate LifeAftertheBigBang.jpg|250px|thumb|Tailgate goes to see his KRAK dealer.]]
Learning of Tailigate's aims, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] insisted that ship's captain [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] set the "confirmed Decepticon sympathizer" straight, so Rodimus recruited Rewind to beam a compressed visual history of the war directly into Tailgate's head. Sobered by what he saw and realizing that the Decepticons were the "bad guys", Tailgate fumed at Cyclonus for misleading him and impotently struck him, leading his icy roommate to reciprcoate with a vicious backhand. Leaving their room, Cyclonus kicked the downed Tailgate on his way out, leaving him cowering on the floor. {{storylink|Life After the Big Bang}}

[[File:IDW MtMtE5 MagnusTailgateAttentionDirt.jpg|left|thumb|300px]]
Determined to be one of the "good guys", Tailgate requested that Ultra Magnus teach him the [[Autobot Code]]. By this point, Tailgate had edited his own [[Autopedia]] entry to reflect the false history he had created for himself—claiming he had studied metaphysics under [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], was a champion kick-boxer who graduated from the [[Ibex School of Epistemology]], helped invent the idealised heat engine, coordinated a search for the long-lost [[Moonbase One|Luna 1]], and he was part of [[Nova Prime]]'s inner circle, encouraging him to explore space—and the impressed Magnus agreed to educate him. Alas, Tailgate was soon to discover this meant an excruciating slog through an intense analysis of ten thousand pages of text. He was briefly interested in section 19, subsection 80, paragraph four because it reminded him of the robots that attacked Skids, {{storylink|How Ratchet Got His Hands Back}} but by and large the experience was a grueling one, and he moaned long and loud about it in [[Swerve's|Swerve's bar]], especially once he discovered there was an ''abridged'' version of the Code. {{storylink|Interiors}}

[[File:MTMTEannual rodimus writes on tailgate.jpg|thumb|250px]]
Ultimately, Tailgate passed his Autobot Code exam, though he professed it was not with "his best grades ever". Asking Cyclonus to attend his [[Act of Affiliation]], a step on the way to the full [[Rite of the Autobrand]], he was seemingly ignored - although his fellow Ancient Cybertronian would secretly attend. At the ceremony itself, however, Rodimus was briefly possessed by a [[Metrotitan (body-type)|Metrotitan]] and, rather than drawing his probationary Autobot symbol, scrawled "Set Me Free" in [[Cybertronian language#IDW Generation 1 continuity|Old Cybertronian]] on his chest. {{storylink|Primus: You, Me, and Other Revelations|You, Me, and Other Revelations}}

Tailgate loved "Movie Night" in Rewind and Chromedome's quarters, where he watched such films as the old public information piece "[[Proteus]]' Promise", with several other members of the crew {{storylink|Scavengers (Part 2): Who's Afraid of the DJD?|Who's Afraid of the DJD?}} and would later recall it as the happiest time of his life. {{storylink|Before & After}} He was invited to listen in on Rewind's third communal storytelling session, part of an attempt to help the damaged [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] regain his memories; Tailgate had to interrupt Drift to ask what a [[Relinquishment Clinic]] was, {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 1: Post Hoc|Post Hoc}} and was particularly impressed by the skills of one Orion Pax {{storylink|Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|Patternism}} even though he hadn't realized that Orion was actually [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Optimus Prime]], despite the notes he'd been making to keep track of all the characters. {{storylink|Shadowplay (Conclusion): An Intimate Beheading|An Intimate Beheading}}

[[File:MTMTE12 panic keeps me focused.jpg|left|thumb|250px]]
Tailgate joined a mission to [[Temptoria]] to investigate the possibility that the [[Circle of Light]] were being held there. While the larger Autobots roughed up the occupying Decepticons, Tailgate and Rewind investigated the contents of [[Battery|The Battery]] only to find that the Decepticons didn't have the Circle and were merely converting the native life forms to [[energon]], and had rigged up a bomb. {{storylink|Before & After}} Now forced to actually dispose of a bomb, Tailgate tricked Rewind into telling him how to actually do it. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}} Unfortunately he accidentally triggered a timer, and when he refused to stop work and escape, he had to be physically thrown from the room by Cyclonus. Cyclonus and Rewind were caught in the bomb's explosion, and Tailgate dragged the severely-damaged Cyclonus back to the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> medibay on his own. Observing the other Autobots leaving offerings of [[innermost energon]] for Rewind, Tailgate attempted to leave an offering for Cyclonus, only for it to be rebuked. Cyclonus did seem to have a change of heart after seeing Rewind's offerings, and helped Tailgate pick up the pieces of the shattered vial. {{storylink|Before & After}}

‎[[File:MtMtE13-BabyTailgate.jpg‎|thumb]]
Some time later, he went to the bars on [[Hedonia]] with his usual crowd (his psycho-reactive [[holomatter|holomatter avatar]] taking the form of a human baby). When Rewind was about to show a recording of the ''Ark-1'' opening ceremony that included the naming of its original crew, Cyclonus suddenly flew into a "drunken rage" that disrupted the proceedings. Tailgate ushered the others away so he could calm him down; after they had departed, it became clear Cyclonus had done this so the others wouldn't realize Tailgate wsn't part of the crew. Cyclonus revealed he had known from the start that Tailgate had been lying, and the little 'not broke down and admitted to having falsified his past, and his grief over being a nobody. Cyclonus took pity on Tailgate and taught him how to sing an Old Cybertronian anthem. {{storylink|Cybertronian Homesick Blues}}

[[File:MTMTE22 tailgate altmode.jpg|left|thumb|250px]]
While lounging around in the ship's oil reservoir, Tailgate, Swerve and Rewind took to discussing the cool alternate modes of their crew-mates, and entered into a wager to see who could be the first to solve the longstanding mystery of what Rung turned into. Tailgate tried to trick Rung into transforming by holding an "alt mode party", claiming they were all the rage back in his day, but since Rung hailed from the same time as him, it proved an unconvincing gambit. Interviewed by Rewind for a documentary movie about life on the ship not long thereafter, Tailgate continued making up accolades for himself, but openly admitted to never having been happier than he was on the ship, and looking to the future with glee. {{storylink|Little Victories}}

Tailgate and Cyclonus remained close after their experiences on Hedonia; Tailgate was in the ship's workshop crafting a new horn to replace Cyclonus's missing one when the 'bot in question angrily came storming in after learning that their quarters were to play host to "Movie Night". {{storylink|Under Cold Blue Stars}} That concern melted away in the face of [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]]'s subsequent rampage through the ship; Cyclonus and Tailgate sat together during the funeral for the crewmembers who lost their lives in the chaos. After the ceremony, Tailgate went to help Ratchet to care for the dying Ultra Magnus, but accidentally scanned himself with Ratchet's "death clock", which announced that Tailgate had only three days to live. {{storylink|The Gloaming}}

[[File:Tailgate_Cyclonus_Hope_Is_A_Lie.jpg‎|thumb|250px|The Hope is a Lie]]
An examination by Ratchet revealed that he had a terminal case of [[cybercrosis]], and Tailgate elected to trust only Cyclonus with the news, though the Cyclonus seemed almost disinterested in the tragic announcement. Tailgate went to Swerve's Bar to drink away his sorrows, oblivious to the massive portal that the ''Lost Light'' was about to travel through. When Luna 1 was discovered to lie on the other side of the portal, an evidently distressed Cyclonus made up for his behavior by inviting Tailgate onto the team who would explore the moon. He insisted it was just for the experience, with the caveat that despite Luna 1's reputation as a "Miracle Moon", Tailgate must not hope for a cure. {{storylink|Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|The Fecund Moon}}

On arrival on Luna 1, Tailgate was captured and imprisoned with most of the ''Lost Light'' away team, becoming separated from Cyclonus, remained free. As none of the others knew he had less than three days to live, Tailgate's claims of impatience and panic at being in captivity were dismissed. {{storylink|Remain in Light 2 of 5: House of Ambus|House of Ambus}} Things looked brighter once their co-prisoner [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Minimus Ambus]] revealed that he was really a healed Ultra Magnus; when Tailgate asked how he could have cheated his impending death, Minimus declared that the [[Tyrest (G1)|Chief Justice Tyrest]], who has using the moon as a base, had doctors that could apparently work miracles. {{storylink|Remain in Light 3 of 5: The Divided Self|The Divided Self}}

[[File:MTMTE21 tailgate amends law.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Chekhov's [[semicolon]]!]]Tailgate's clock was down to one day and twelve hours by the time [[Getaway]] sprang the group from the cell, by which time he could no longer walk and had to be carried by Rodimus, though he played off his paralysis as seized-up servos. Reuniting with Ratchet, Tailgate told him of the moons' "miracle medibay", but Ratchet solemnly informed him that only Tyrest's medical minion [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]] could really use the tools within it. The group proceeded to confront Tyrest and were all apparently immobilized by a "though weapon" that paralyzed their bodies. {{storylink|Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|Arm the Lonely}} Tailgate's cybercrosis, however, had rendered him deaf to the frequency of the suggestion weapon, and he managed to jump Tyrest and deactivate the weapon, only to be taken hostage by the Chief Justice. Though he urged Rodimus to open fire, admitting his terminal condition, Tailgate was saved moments later by [[Minimus Ambus]]. As the room was swarmed by [[Legislator]]s responding to Tyrest's distress call, Tailgate put his knowledge of the Autobot Code to good use, using Tyrest's computer to amend and repeal the law in its totality. He barely had time to celebrate his achievement before collapsing.

[[File:Cyclonus SparkTransfusion ThisCalamitousLife.jpg|thumb|250px]]
The next day, back on the ''[[Lost Light]]'', Tailgate asked Cyclonus to spare him a lingering death by terminating him, but Cyclonus refused. Though a cure was subsequently found, thanks to Tyrest's collection of esoteric medical equipment, Tailgate's spark had faded to a point where the process would no longer be viable. However, on Whirl's suggestion, Cyclonus used his [[Great Sword]] to directly transfuse energy into Tailgate's spark, boosting it to a condition that allowed the small 'bot's life to be saved. {{storylink|Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|This Calamitous Life}} Tailgate underwent a period of recovery. {{storylink|The Sound of Breaking Glass}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[File:G1 Tailgate toy.jpg|300px|thumb|White Rider.]]
*'''Tailgate''' (Mini Vehicle, 1986)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''C-61'''

:Tailgate is a white-and-blue [[retool]]ing of the 1984 Autobot, [[Windcharger (G1)#Generation 1|Windcharger]], transforming into a Pontiac Firebird Trans Am sports car. His head sculpt is much more elaborate than the earlier toy's (which shared the ''[[Micro Change|Microchange]]'' sculpt), and his chest sticker bears an odd resemblance to a portable radio.

:The original version of this mold was used by [[Camaro]] and [[Rook (Universe)|Rook]], as well as the Mexican versions (yes, plural) of Tailgate, which were only redecos of Windcharger. Tailgate's toy was also used as the non-toy comic model for [[Wipe-Out]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1986/Autobot/Tailgate/tailgate.htm More information on Tailgate at TFU.info]''
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===Encore===
[[File:Encore Tailgate.jpg|300px|thumb|Immediately, something like scales fell from Tailgate's eyes, and he could see again.]]
*'''Bumble & Minibots''' (Multi-pack, 2008)
**''Encore number'': '''10'''

:In 2008, Tailgate was reissued in the ''[[Transformers Encore|Encore]]'' line, bundled with [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Encore|Bumblebee]], [[Pipes (G1)#Encore|Pipes]], [[Swerve (G1)#Encore|Swerve]], and [[Outback (G1)#Encore|Outback]]. This version of Tailgate has extra paint details on his face.
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===Generations===
[[File:Generationstoy-Tailgate.jpg|thumb|300px]]
*'''Tailgate''' (Legends, 2014)
**''Accessories:'' Groundpounder

:Tailgate transforms from a white muscle car into a robot mode largely based on [[Nick Roche|Nick Roche's]] design for [[IDW Publishing|IDW's]] ''[[The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]]'' comic, with some blue flame-decals on his hood likely inspired by his [[Tailgate (Prime)|''Prime'' counterpart]]. He includes the Mini-Con [[Groundpounder]].
{{comingsoontoy}}
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==Notes==
[[File:ToyFair1986-TFpage01a-TailgateHubCap.jpg|thumb|250px|Little. Yellow. Different.]]
*In the pre-[[Toy Fair 1986]] catalog, Tailgate is featured with a yellow car body, a black chest/torso, and a red face. Fellow 1986 [[Mini Vehicle]] [[Hubcap (G1)|Hubcap]] is featured with a white car body. Hmmmmm.
*While Tailgate did not appear himself in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|US comics]], [[Wipe-Out]]'s [[character model]] was based on Tailgate's toy.
*Some think the green innermost energon seen given from Tailgate is from curdling, or from him possibly being a Point-One-Percenter, it could possibly be Perspex that he absorbed when doing his first bomb disposal.

===Foreign names===
*''French:'' '''Hayon''' (Canada)
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==External links==
*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Tailgate Tailgate's ''Universe'' profile at NFTA.net]

[[Category:Generation 1 Autobots]]
[[Category:Generations]]
[[Category:Mini Vehicles]]
[[Category:Scouts]]
[[Category:Wings Universe Autobots]]